Bourbon & Branch Water
Page 5
His brief! She was looking for the legal brief for the Randolph/Porterman case. Why that little tramp! She had had him completely fooled. Here he thought she was a guileless, honest woman, maybe a little extra-randy, and yet he finds her searching his personal papers for information. Talk about a ruthless competitor. That she would use him like this, sleep with him in order to get access to the files soured him. Fortunately, all the papers for the case were in his locked briefcase.
He stepped into the room and leaned on the wall. “Find what you’re looking for?”
She straightened as though shot and turned around quickly. “I was…I was looking for a piece of paper and a pen.”
“What for?”
“I was going to leave you a note, a good-bye note.” Her cheeks were flushed and she wouldn’t meet his gaze. Either she was extremely innocent and shy or she’d missed her calling as an actress.
“Oh, I see. You were just going to leave without waking me. Run off like our time together didn’t matter. And,” he stalked closer to her. “You’d have accidentally stuffed the Randolph/Porterman file in your purse.”
“File?” she squeaked.
His frown was immediate. “Don’t play that game with me, Stormy. You’re here for privileged information. You’re so desperate to win this case that you’ll stoop to anything to do it.” Bitterness seeped into his tone. “You’d sleep with me to get it. How low is that?”
She gasped. “I didn’t! I wouldn’t! That’s not true!”
“Come on, Stormy. The evidence is clear.”
She stepped toward him, hands imploring. “But, Jeff, you’ve got to believe me. I was looking for paper and a pen. I wasn’t looking for the brief. We’re not even supposed to talk about the case, let alone share information.”
Jeff grunted his disbelief. “Yeah, right. So, were your orgasms real?” He stepped closer, unable to resist the warm, sexy smell of her. “Did you fool me with those, too?”
“Oh God, Jeff, I wouldn’t do that. You have me all wrong. I’m sorry.”
The Randolphs came to mind. It was a fleeting notion, but he spoke with growing confidence in his new idea. “How sorry?”
Stormy stepped back a pace. “Wh-what do you mean?”
He smiled, though he didn’t feel particularly amused at her innocent act. “How sorry are you? What would you do to convince me?”
“I’ll leave,” she whispered. “You’ll never have to see me again.”
“We’ll meet during negotiations,” he pointed out. “But you said you were sorry.”
“I am. I really am. You can’t forgive me?”
“Even if I believe you on the brief issue, you should have known you’d be invading my privacy by rifling through my desk, and that you’d be treating me rudely by just dropping me a note and running off as if I have leprosy or something.”
Her eyes were troubled, regret shone in the sparkle of burgeoning tears.
Jeff stroked her trembling arms, fleetingly wondering what had gotten into him. He ought to take her up on her offer to get out. But he was so damned attracted to her. A part of him wanted her story to be true. That wouldn’t forgive her for pawing through his desk; that was rude under all circumstances—but it would preserve his first impression of her as a good girl who was barely coming out of her shell. He’d liked the Stormy he was getting to know.
“You want me to forgive you?” He cupped her jaw and tilted her face up toward his. Her eyes closed, her lips parting slightly. She was so fuckin’ sexy. Acting without thinking, Jeff took her mouth with his own. He was rough. He wanted to punish her for getting under his skin. She was breathless as he lifted his mouth from hers, and that breathlessness reminded him of the Randolphs again and their way of harmonizing. “I’ll forgive you-”
“Thank you, thank you-
“If-
“If?”
He nodded and stepped back a pace. “You agree to let me punish you. Spank you.”
A tiny frown built between the dark arches of her eyebrows. “Punish me?”
Jeff nodded. He wasn’t sure how viable this solution might be, but he was more and more comfortable with it as he went along. “Yeah, I’ll spank you and we’ll call it even.”
She looked truly puzzled. “But spanking is…it’s… I don’t understand.”
“Not for fun, Stormy. A real spanking, you might even cry.”
“What will you do if I don’t go along?”
“Nothing but show you to the door. That will be the end of…of whatever was going on between us. Terminer, no mas, finito.”
Her lip went between her teeth—those beautiful lips that could bring him so much pleasure, now swollen and full from his rough kisses. He hated what had happened, wanted to reverse the situation and go back to where they’d been. Could she be telling the truth? If she was the ruthless tart he’d assumed upon finding her rifling through his things, why would she even be considering his suggestion? A spanking like the one he’d described wouldn’t be pleasant, and what would she get out of it except a red butt and some sort of forgiveness from him? Why would she care about his forgiveness if all she wanted was to win? It didn’t make sense.
Her breath was shallow, quick, but her whispered words were clear. “Okay. I’ll take the spanking. I didn’t mean to make you mad. It was thoughtless of me to go through your things. I could have…I dunno, done something else.”
He nodded, watching her carefully. “Look at me.”
Slowly, her eyes moved to gaze at his. Their darkness was infinity and he was lost, pulled into the twin black holes of the Stormy universe. There were tears in those eyes and Jeff was nearly undone.
“Okay. I’ll spank you and we’ll call it even. The whole thing will be forgotten. Is that fair?”
She nodded.
“Say it.”
“Yes. It would be fair.”
With a brief nod, he gestured. “Take off your clothes.”
“All of them?”
“Yeah, all of them.”
Slowly, Stormy complied, dropping her things on the floor at her bare feet. Jeff’s erection began, but he stifled those urges as ruthlessly as he could. This was punishment. It was not sexy, even if she did have a body that could make a man lose all sanity.
Just to make sure she understood that she was the plaintiff and he the judge and jury, he looked her up and down long and hard. Her cheeks flushed, but her nipples stiffened. She was not immune to whatever the hell was going on between them. After finding her with her fingers in the cookie jar, he wasn’t sure that they could build on their attraction, but they had to get past this situation before he could even consider it.
Jeff turned and walked away, going to sit on his raw silk-covered sofa. He never sat there. It was a showpiece his decorator had raved about, but it looked too modern and uncomfortable to him. He preferred his gliding rocking chair in the corner. But for his purposes today, the sofa was a better choice.
He sat and patted his lap. “I don’t think you need instructions.”
“I’ve never been spanked like this Jeff.”
He watched her slowly approach. Every physical signal she was giving off said she was a bit afraid and submissive. That was something to be put aside for further contemplation. “So you’ve only been spanked in the sack, hmm? Well, considering how much you like that, I think I’m going to have to work at making this unpleasant.”
She stood in front of him, her hands white knuckled in front of her. “You won’t hurt me, will you?”
“Punishments are supposed to hurt, Stormy. But I won’t do you any harm, if that’s what you mean. I’m trying to make a point here, not get put in jail for assault and battery.”
“Okay.” She glanced from the sofa to his lap and back again, obviously at a loss about what to do with her body.
Jeff had never spanked a woman for punishment, but he’d certainly seen it recently, so he tried to use what he’d learned. “Put your chest and face over here, your butt in the middle, a
nd your legs toward the other side.”
It took a small amount of wrangling to get her positioned exactly right, but they managed. “If you change your mind during this spanking, if you want to throw in the towel and walk away like we’d never met, you tell me to stop. I promise I’ll stop immediately. But, Stormy, that’ll be the end.”
She nodded.
“Say it.”
“If I say stop, it’s over.” There was a little hitch in her voice already. Jeff wondered if she was beginning to cry. Maybe the humiliation of being buck naked over a man’s lap was as bad as getting your ass paddled. It was just one more thing to think about.
Her ass was perfectly formed, round, nicely padded, clear skin and the color of light mahogany. There was the faintest blush there from all the erotic spanking through the night, but he planned to take her into a new realm in that regard. With that, Jeff brought his hand down on her right ass cheek with a resounding smack. She bucked on his lap and then quieted. The next slap got the same reaction from her. The third brought on a gasp and wriggle. Jeff didn’t relent, spanking her brightening buttocks without pause. She began to sob.
“You’ll never snoop in my apartment again, right Stormy?”
“Y-yes!”
“Say, yes sir.” Jeff didn’t know why that mattered, but it sounded right when he said it. The words had barely passed her lips before he resumed the spanking. She squirmed and cried out with each stroke. He finally had to put one of his legs over hers in order to keep her still and not allow her to fall off his lap. He didn’t want her to hurt herself. As he spanked, and as she began to cry, he wondered if he was doing the right thing. To put her into a submissive kind of role in their…relationship, for want of a better term…was to put him in a dominant position, a role of authority and deep responsibility. Was that what he wanted? It seemed natural to him, but hearing her cry was tough. He tried to remember that she was being punished. It had to be painful.
Still, her heart-wrenching sobs had gone on long enough. He stopped spanking and stroked her red ass with the flat of his palm. His hand was smarting. Hopefully, they wouldn’t have to do this again.
“I-I-I’m sorry, Jeff,” she said thickly.
“Okay, babe, come up here.” Pulling her into his arms, he tried to arrange her in his lap. He leaned back in the sofa. Maybe this seat was good for something other than décor. She smelled hot, as she snuggled up against him. Her hair was damp around her face and tears streamed down her cheeks. He grabbed a tissue from a box on the nearby end table and handed it to her. They sat there like that, cuddling for several minutes.
“Do you want me to go now?” she asked.
That stung. Maybe instead of bringing them closer, he’d pushed them further apart. “Do you want to go?”
Stormy shook her head.
“Say it.”
“No, I don’t want to go…sir.”
“I don’t want you to go. This would not be a good note to end our weekend on.”
Her voice was barely a whisper. “No.”
“I think we should take a shower and have some food. I’ve built up an appetite. Could you eat something?”
The corner of her mouth turned up. “Depends on what you have in mind.”
He laughed. “Babe, you are insatiable.”
“I am?”
“Am I just lucky?”
She didn’t answer. Yeah, maybe he was lucky to have found a woman with such a passionate nature and an equally innocent demeanor. It made him uncomfortable to think of her with anyone else, but she hadn’t been a virgin when they’d first had sex, he hadn’t expected her to be, and she was an adult. But her past was her past. So long as she didn’t sleep around while dating him, he didn’t want the past to haunt either of them.
He was putting the cart before the horse. They weren’t actually dating, they were fucking. Whereas Jeff might want it to be more, he was pretty sure Stormy had other ideas. Which reminded him…
“Why were you going to sneak off this morning?”
“I…uh…thought it might be best.”
“Why?”
“You know why.”
Maybe he’d been wrong about her inexperience. Maybe it was all an act—an elaborate one, to be sure, but he couldn’t read her mind and know her motivations with certainty. It made him feel a little slutty. Like sex was all he was good for. Was he being gullible? He’d been broken up with his former girlfriend nearly a year and had been pretty footloose and fancy free. Women hadn’t been an issue. Sex hadn’t been an issue. But the encounters had been hollow. He liked the companionship of a woman he could talk to, one who had common interests with him and bright intellect. He’d learn soon enough if he was being a fool by pursuing her.
“Okay,” he said. “Shower.”
“Me first?” she asked.
“The shower is big enough for two.” He pressed her gently off his lap. “I have designs on your body, Ms. Stillwater.” He waggled his eyebrows at her and she giggled and took his offered hand. He’d have to make the best of the time he had with her. Maybe it wouldn’t grow, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy her company while he had it.
Chapter 4
From: j_hand@boonedunn.com
To: stillwater_s@firegorgelaw.com
Subject: Gift
You left your panties at my apartment. Were they a souvenir? If so, I might have them framed.
J
From: Stillwater_s@firegorgelaw.com
To: j_hand@boonedunn.com
Subject: Gift
Dear Jeff: Are you trying to get me in trouble at work? How did you get this email address anyway?
From: j_hand@boonedunn.com
To: stillwater_s@firegorgelaw.com
Subject: Gift
Your email address is on the “Employees” page of Fire Gorge Law. It says you’re a law clerk, by the way. Of course, now you’re a law clerk without panties.
J
From: j_hand@boonedunn.com
To: stillwater_s@firegorgelaw.com
Subject: Gift
Dear Jeff: I don’t want to discuss my panties with you. And the website is out of date. I’m an attorney here. An attorney who needs to get back to work or I’ll be a law clerk again.
From: “Jeff” 702-555-1177
To: 775-555-3569
Is this better?
From: 775-555-3569
To: “Jeff” 702-555-1177
Yes and no. I should be working.
From: “Jeff” 702-555-1177
To: 775-555-3569
I’ll call U later. I want to give U back Ur panties.
From: 775-555-3569
To: “Jeff” 702-555-1177
Ur making me crazy!
Stormy waited, but there was no further response. The panties were unimportant and they both knew it. Their weekend and everything material about it had ended at four a.m. on Monday morning. It had been a whirlwind and some of her muscles were sore from all the exercise. Maybe she needed to get to the gym more often.
She and Jeff had been too busy groping and kissing to talk about anything in the future and Stormy really hadn’t expected much in that regard. Jeff was a bachelor who was interested in her for sexual calisthenics and little else. Except for two meals together—which they’d had only because they were both starving after they woke on Sunday morning and after a turn in the Jacuzzi on Sunday night, they’d had little time to talk. Mostly their conversations had consisted of sexual innuendo and Jeff saying sexy things to her about what he wanted to do next. The memory of some of what he said made her shiver with lust.
But that was then, and this was now and she had to get to work. That work might involve Jeff Hand, but only as an opponent. Her boss would look quite unfavorably on her having more than a professional relationship with Jeff. The very idea that he’d send her email on the company account was outrageous. His teasing could have landed her in trouble. Switching to text messages was better, but she didn’t understand his motivations. Was she
so good in bed that he wanted more? Didn’t a guy like that move on after he’d gotten a healthy dose of “new”?
It was puzzling and painful.
Later, as she was driving home, he called.
“Hello?”
“How are you?”
She’d been expecting his call, but had hoped it would be later in the evening, after she’d gotten home and relaxed a little. Stormy wasn’t sure what to expect from him and didn’t want to be caught wrong-footed.
“Hi, Jeff.”
“I hear backup beepers. Are you driving?”
“I’m stuck in a road construction nightmare. They’re only letting two cars through at a time.”
He got a little gruff. “You shouldn’t be using the phone while you drive babe.”
“I’m not driving, I’m sitting in a long line of cars waiting to pass.”
“You could get a ticket.”
“Jeff! Don’t be so worried. I’m a big girl.”
“I don’t like it. Hang up the phone and I’ll call you again later.”
“Jeff!”
“Do it.” There was silence on the other end of the line.
“Jeff?’
He’d hung up, hung up on her after trying to boss her around. The nerve! She had a mind to call him back and tell him exactly what he could do with his advice. In fact, she’d like to give him what-for in person and see his reaction. He’d be floored at the realization that she had a spine. Yeah, maybe a drive into Las Vegas was a good idea.
* * *
Stormy wasn’t sure if Jeff would agree to let her ride the elevator up to his place, but after the required phone call, she was allowed to go up. She knocked firmly on his door, and he opened it a few seconds later.
“Hi, babe, what an unexpected pleasure, come in.”
Jeff’s politeness grated on her nerves. “I don’t want to come in. I want my panties back and I want to tell you not to boss me around. You treat me like I’m ten years old.”
He sighed and took her by the hand, drawing her into his apartment. “Let’s not have this discussion in the hall where all the neighbors can gape, okay?”