"Well, Roo, looks like it's up to you," he said steadily, letting go of her arm. "See, you're free to go. I'm going to sit down on that stump. If you go back to the house, looks like I'll have to leave it to Dad to deal with you. If you decide to take a spanking now, then it will be over and we can both forget about it. You won't have to worry that I'll ever mention it again."
He turned his back on her as he walked to a small stump and sat down. Jill knew he was giving her the opportunity of grabbing her things and running home, but she couldn't. Involuntarily, she began jiggling and whimpering, as though the spanking were already done, and her bottom burning from its sting. She would have to go through with it. She had no choice. Surely, he wouldn't spank her hard. She wished she was wearing something a little more modest than the high-cut bikini bottoms which covered very little of her cheeks.
Settled into position, Michael turned back to her. "Well?" he asked, patting his knee.
"Oh," Jill wailed, mortified and desperate, her hands instinctively covering her bottom in an attempt to protect them from what was coming. "Oh, Michael, please don't do this!" She made one last attempt to plead her way out of the trouble she had gotten herself into to, but the intransigent expression on Michael's face told her clearly she was wasting her time.
"Come on, Roo," he demanded. "You've wasted enough of my time already."
Jill managed to take a few bumbling steps toward him, but then her feet failed her. Half rising, Michael reached out and took hold of her hand, pulling her the rest of the way so she was standing by his right side. He looked up at her, his expression more gentle than before.
"Sometimes you're your own worst enemy, Roo. You know that, don't you?" he asked.
"Yes," Jill responded miserably.
"Sometimes you just don't think about your own safety, and sometimes you're just too headstrong for your own good. One of these days, you could really come to grief. And your Dad's never around to keep you in line and you don't have any real brothers to look out for you, so I guess the job comes down to me. I've wanted to spank your bottom for a long time, Missy, and this time, I'm afraid, you've gone too far and now I am going to spank it. Maybe next time you'll think before you act, huh?"
"Oh," Jill hopped from one foot to the other. "Don't spank me, Michael," she begged again. "You can't. You just can't! I won't do it again, I promise."
"I can spank you, and I'm going to spank you," he told her pulling her over his knee and holding there with a hand on her back. "I hope you don't ever pull a stunt like this again, Roo, but if you do, I'll spank you again. You can be sure of that!"
As he scolded her, he tucked one arm around her waist, holding her tight. She was very slight and he had no trouble positioning her so her bottom was well forward. She wriggled and kicked, but was no match for Michael's superior size and strength.
Spank! His big hand crashed against her right cheek causing an immediate squeal of discomfort.
"No, Michael," Jill wailed amazed at how much just one smack could hurt.
"Yes, my girl," he muttered through gritted teeth, his hand coming down again on her other cheek.
Thwack! Jill's bottom was quite small compared to the size of Michael's hands and each spank covered her entire cheek.
Crack! The third one landed on top of the pink handprint left by the first, and the burning pain it created caused Jill's leg to jerk violently as she wailed and struggled again. Smack!
"Ow!" The fourth one was as hard as the first three and already Jill's bottom was stinging painfully.
After the first four initial swats, Michael reduced the severity of each blow, but settled into a quicker rhythm. He could see how quickly her soft, tender bottom was changing colour and he didn't want to be too brutal. But nor did he want this spanking to be a few hard strokes which would quickly be forgotten. He wanted to make sure this was a proper spanking, which Jill would be reminded of for the next few days every time she sat down, and one that would cause her to be more careful and thoughtful in the future.
To keep it going longer, he spanked as large an area as possible, without going too high but concentrating on the fullness of her perfectly round, firm cheeks, the lower part of her bottom, normally hidden by the crease but now exposed as he tipped her further forward across his knee, and the tender flesh of her thighs.
"Oh, Michael, no," she wailed louder with each spank. The heat in her bottom became a scalding inferno from which she longed to escape. She kicked and bucked and wriggled and writhed, but Michael spanked steadily on. "Please," she gasped, giant tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'll be good. Ow! No more. Ah! Please."
"You were very naughty, coming here on your own, weren't you, Roo?" Michael scolded her as he spanked.
"Yes," cried Jill, willing to say anything if only he'd stop the pain in her fiery bottom. "I won't do it again. I'm sorry."
"Well, you'd better remember in future," he warned her, sensing she was close to her limit and preparing to bring the spanking to an end, "that naughty girls get their bottoms spanked!" He spoke slowly, emphasizing each word and underlying it with a sound smack to her bottom and thighs.
The final onslaught was more than Jill could bear. No longer able to fight, she could only lie sobbing across his knee praying for an end to her torment, and promising to herself that she would never, ever do anything in the future that would result in her being spanked like this again.
"Well," he said when he'd finished. He lifted her to her feet and stood her in front of him. "Do you think you've learned your lesson?"
"Yes!" Jill sobbed, jumping up and down and rubbing her burning bottom furiously in an effort to cool the raging fire.
"Okay, Roo," he said gently. "I'm sorry I had to do that, but really sometimes I think someone has to look out for you. And be warned, if I think it's called for, I'll do it whenever necessary. Okay?"
"It won't be necessary again," Jill assured him hurriedly, determined this was never going to happen for a second time. She'd make very sure of that!
Taking her towel, he dipped a corner in the river and then wrung it out.
"Here," he offered it to her. "Wipe your face with this, and then I think you'd better wrap it around your waist when you're ready to go back to the house."
The sting subsiding a bit, Jill was able to regain some of her composure.
"I'm ready now," she told him as coolly as possible, having wiped the tearstains from her face. Now it was over, she wanted to get away from him as quickly as she could. She tied the towel around her middle so it covered her obviously well-spanked bottom and thighs, collected her things, and headed down the track back to the house wanting desperately to be alone so she could sort out her jumbled emotions, but he quickly caught up with her and took her hand in his. Instinctively she tried to pull away, but he held it tightly, until she relaxed. He then squeezed it gently and smiled into her eyes when she turned to look at him. He might have just given her a serious spanking, but instead of being angry, Jill realized she felt somehow warm inside, protected and safe, a feeling she had not had often in her life before.
They walked together in silence, Michael only releasing her hand as they neared the end of the track. As they reached the homestead, they unexpectedly came face to face with Vicky standing by her mother's car.
"Been for a swim?" she said as the other two approached. "Mum forgot her banking so we had to come back. Want to throw some clothes on and come this time, Roo?"
Jill felt her face turn as scarlet as her bottom. Vicky's casual manner made it clear she had no idea of what had just taken place by the river. But that didn't prevent a wave of embarrassment flooding over her as great as if her friend had come down to the river and seen everything with her own eyes, first the spanking and then her and Michael walking back holding hands.
"No," she muttered, desperate to get away. "I think I'll have a shower. See you when you get back," she finished lamely and scurried off.
* * * * *
And that was the incid
ent to which Vicky, seven years later, was now alluding. Jill had never told her what had really occurred. Not that first time, nor the few other times Michael had taken her over his knee in the intervening years. No one knew but them. But the last time had been two years ago now. Surely he couldn't mean he would still spank her. She was no longer a child, but a grown woman! Although, she remembered wryly, that argument hadn't saved her when she was 21 either.
"So," Vicky's voice brought her back to the present. "What did happen by the river that day? Tell me the truth. You did kiss, didn't you?"
"No, we did not," Jill answered, grateful her friend had framed the question in such a way that she could answer easily with total honesty. "I'm really sorry to disappoint you, Vick, but there is nothing romantic at all between Michael and me. Never has been, never will be," she added with absolute finality. "Got that?"
"Aye, aye, Cap'n!" Vicky gave a mock salute. "Message received loud and clear. Now stop looking so fierce and come and find the others. I know Mum's dying to see you. You can finish unpacking later."
Not finding anyone downstairs, the two girls headed outside just as Elizabeth O'Connell emerged from a shed.
"There you two are!" she exclaimed with delight, her face lighting up at the sight of Vicky and Jill. "Hello, Roo. We were just looking at the truck," she exclaimed giving Jill a warm hug. "Useless thing's broken down again. Anyway, dear, it's lovely to see you here again."
"It's wonderful to be back, Mum," Jill answered, returning the hug. Not having had a mother of her own since she'd been a baby, she'd quickly substituted Vicky's mother into that role.
Approaching middle age, Elizabeth O'Connell was still a striking looking woman. Her long chestnut hair, pinned neatly in a roll at the back of her head, now had a few grey strands hiding among it, and fine lines showed about her eyes and the corners of her mouth, but her complexion, as a result of meticulous and constant protection from the sun, was still smooth and creamy. It was her eyes, though, which remained her most remarkable feature: large and heavy-lidded, they smouldered with the same night-blueness as those of her eldest son. Also like Michael, she was tall and slender and carried herself with the same lissome grace.
"Now, where are those men," Elizabeth said, turning back to the shed. "I wonder if they'll be able to tear themselves away from the truck long enough to have some tea."
But even as she spoke, three men emerged.
"Well, well," Jack O'Connell said, striding towards them. "So, our second daughter's arrived, has she?"
"Hi, Jack," Jill greeted him as she received yet another hug. As a child, she'd called him Uncle Jack, but now both seemed happier with the simpler greeting. He was looking older and more weather-beaten, she thought to herself, but still strong and handsome, and his dark eyes had lost none of their sparkle.
Suddenly, she felt herself scooped up and whirled around.
"Oh," she squealed breathlessly. "Dave, stop. You'll drop me!"
David O'Connell, the younger of Vicky's two brothers, set her back on the ground so she could see the familiar freckled, boyish face surrounded by his unruly mop of sandy-coloured hair. He grinned cheekily as he exaggeratedly looked her up and down and whistled appreciatively.
"David!" his mother scolded. "Stop that. You'll embarrass her. Now come along all of you. I've set the table on the back verandah. Would you like some tea, Roo?"
"Yes, please," Jill answered. "Hi, Ali," she added as a third man joined them.
"Hi, Roo," Vicky's husband greeted her as he bent to kiss her cheek.
"Well, you go and make yourselves comfortable, and Vicky and I will fetch the tea," Elizabeth said as she headed for the kitchen. "Come along, Dumpling."
Seated in the shade of the verandah, Jill gazed out over the vast flat paddocks, awed by the feeling of space and freedom. How she loved this wild outback country! Its harsh beauty exhilarated her, and she felt the claustrophobic pressures of the city evaporating, leaving her feeling light and relaxed. She breathed deeply of the warm clean air.
"So, Roo," Dave's voice brought her back from the wilderness. "How's the photography going? Still with the same paper?"
"Yes," Jill replied, always eager to talk about her work. "The Eastern Suburban Star."
"Have you applied to any of the major papers yet?" Ali asked.
"Not for a full-time job. But I've done some free-lance work for them. Had a few photos printed in The Age. They asked me to submit a folio, but I haven't bothered. I'm happy where I am at the moment, and Tim, the editor, is about the best photographer I've ever seen. He's taught me heaps. Anyway, enough about me," she said turning to Dave. "Your turn. What have you been up to? Got a girlfriend yet, or are you still too busy fiddling with cars."
Jill was referring to Dave's lifelong passion for anything mechanical, a passion he'd quickly turned into a career as soon as he finished school.
Dave was saved from answering by the arrival of Elizabeth and Vicky carrying trays on which were a pot of steaming tea, a plate of fresh scones, pots of jam and cream and a jug of iced cordial.
"Tea?" Elizabeth asked her husband "Or something cold?"
"Tea, thanks, love," Jack answered.
Vicky, meanwhile, helping her mother set the tea on the table, joined in the banter.
"Hey, Mum," she said. "You tell us. Has Dave got a girlfriend?"
"Goodness!" laughed Elizabeth. "He has so many. I don't think any girl in the district is safe, but none of them would be silly enough to take him too seriously, I shouldn't think."
"What do you mean?" Dave demanded indignantly. "They're all dying for me, I just can't make up my mind, that's all."
"Oh, yeah, sure..." his sister chided him and they all laughed. "What about Michael?" she asked suddenly, turning back to her mother.
"Well, dear, I suppose you should ask him that," Elizabeth answered diplomatically.
"Come on, Mum. You must have some idea."
"I'm sure Michael would not take kindly to me gossiping about his private life, even if it is just to his nosy sister. All I'll say is that he does spend quite a bit of time at the Longroh's, and Rachel has been here on more than one occasion."
Jill found herself listening intently, unsure why the subject of Michael's love life should suddenly seem so important, nor why she felt a twinge at Elizabeth's suggestion that there might indeed, be a woman in his life.
"Well, well," Vicky chuckled. "Fancy Michael with a lady friend! I don't remember ever seeing him with a girl before."
"The man's just got some sense," Jack teased. "Knows when he's well off."
"Oh really?" One of Vicky's eyebrows was arched in mock indignation. "And I'd always thought it was because he's a social clod."
"Now, now," Alistair chided her. "That is not a nice thing to say about your brother. Michael is just quiet. Had to be, I would think, growing up with you."
As her husband spoke, Vicky turned and playfully poked him in the ribs. Despite his teasing words, his eyes shone with love as he looked at her and she smiled lovingly back. He put his arm around her shoulder and she leant forward so he could kiss her gently on the forehead.
Jill, able to once more slip into her own thoughts as the conversation moved on to the practical business of the afternoon's chores, reflected on how perfect Ali and Vicky were for each other. Not so much alike, as complementary: Alistair was steady, quiet and dependable, whereas Vicky was energetic, vivacious, bouncing through life like a kangaroo caught in a willy-willy. Even physically they differed in almost every aspect - Vicky, all softness and dimples with a mop of dark curls, and Alistair, taller and very fair with some premature grey adding flecks of silver to his short-cropped hair. Yet, despite their differences, they seemed as two halves of a picture, which could only be seen in its entirety when they each brought their different aspects together.
Her thoughts switched to Michael, and his present whereabouts. She had assumed he'd gone back out into the paddocks, but maybe he hadn't, maybe he'd gone to the Longrohs
. Although there seemed to be no particular explanation, the news of his romance had left her strangely disconcerted. It was silly really, she told herself. Even if she had had a schoolgirl crush on him, she'd barely seen him in the last few years.
Although, it was true, she thought, her bottom tingling and her ears turning pink as though the others at the table were able to read her thoughts, he had always seemed to find occasion to spank her whenever she'd returned to River Gums for her all too infrequent visits. At first, she'd thought his recent comment about "brotherly duties" meant he intended finding a reason to spank her this time, too, but as he was apparently spoken for, she realized she must have misinterpreted his meaning. She wondered if her reaction to that was relief or disappointment, but before she could answer her own question, her reverie was broken by Vicky's voice.
"Ali and I are going for walk to the river, Roo. Want to come?"
"No, thanks, Vick. You two go. I'll give Mum a hand to clear up and then I'll hop in the shower if that's okay. I'm dying for a wash and a change of clothes."
"Okay," Vicky smiled, rising to her feet and pulling up her husband. "We'll see you later then."
"Don't worry about that," Elizabeth said, as Jack and David made their way back to the new sheep pens they were building a mile or so from the homestead, and Jill began clearing the table. "I can manage."
"No, really," Jill insisted, as she picked up the last of the cups. "I want to help."
"Okay, love. Thanks." Elizabeth smiled at her as they walked into the house.
Chapter Two
"We should make some plans," announced Vicky later that evening as the family sat together on the verandah enjoying after dinner coffee. "Tomorrow, we must definitely get the tree organized and the decorations put up."
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