by Kira Barcelo
"She's swimming? Naked?" Her husband asked, his eyes still firmly covered by Sarah's hand.
Kelly quickly sank in the water to her neck. "Oops. You didn't tell me we had company, McSwain!"
Sarah frowned, jerking her head in McSwain's direction. "I'm no one to tell you what to do, Jess. But you really need to take a switch to that woman's backside!"
"Believe me, Sarah, before this day's over," McSwain promised her, "I'll make sure she doesn't ever do that on your property again."
Charles tenderly lowered his wife's hand from his face and guided her with a hand on her waist. "Let's give her some privacy, my love," he told her.
Barely waiting until they'd left, McSwain returned his attention to Kelly. He kept his voice low, telling her, "I'm not going to tell you again. Get out of that water now."
"No. Not unless you promise not to spank me in front of those people!" she hissed back.
Her mouth, the same mouth that had kissed him earlier that day, formed a pout. He did a poor job of pretending he didn't find it adorable, combined with the way her eyes looked so large now, with her hair away from her face.
"I mean to wait until I get you home," he let her know. "But if you don't get out of that water right now, you'll get your spanking right here. I don't care who is around to see you. And you can forget about looking for that waterfall for the rest of the day, too."
She didn't delay any further. Kelly emerged from the water, eyeing him uneasily. McSwain knew that he should have turned away, holding the dress out to her, that he shouldn't have stared, but he couldn't help himself.
He'd never seen undergarments like that. They were like tiny pants that displayed every inch of leg she had to offer. And they were a tantalizing, almost naughty shade of pink. There was a tiny bow in the waistband. Above that was her navel, and further up were her breasts, barely concealed in those small bits of material. They spilled over slightly, overflowing, the sight of them making his heart race and his adrenaline pulse hard throughout his veins. She came up onto the creek's bank on her own, yet then he grasped her forearm and pulled her up roughly the last couple of steps.
Kelly gasped but was fast to regain her composure. She gave a saucy toss of her head.
"Can I have my dress back…please?"
McSwain glared back at her. He thrust the garment into her arms. She ventured a smile, to no avail, because he refused to smile back.
"I wanted to see if being back in the water—"
"You shouldn't have done that. You shouldn't have jumped in there, completely nude."
"I'm not completely nude, McSwain. I'm wearing my panties and my bra."
"That's nude enough!" he said evenly.
"Hmph. Like you haven't been around any naked women."
"Not lately, no."
McSwain took advantage of that moment when she wasn't expecting anything to swing her around and give her tempting nether region a loud, stinging smack. Kelly let out a yelp in protest.
"You promised not to spank me here!" she sputtered.
"I never promised that at all. I just said I preferred to wait till we get home to punish you. But as I recollect, I also told you to get dressed. And as of right now…" Another painful spank landed on her wet bottom, another protesting cry. "You still haven't obeyed me."
Kelly wriggled out of his hold, frantically trying to pull the long dress back over her head. "Fine. But I'm still wet—"
McSwain picked up Mimi, waiting until she had herself together enough to hand the dog into her arms.
"You should've thought of that before. We don't have time for you to dry off. On the wagon. Now."
She bent over to put her shoes back onto her feet. "I don't think it's fair. Why am I being spanked? Just because I embarrassed you in front of your—"
The third spank, harder and louder that the first two, sent her standing ramrod straight and bending an arm back to cover and protect her bottom from further punishment.
"My house, my rules. That understood… future girl? I won't have you tossing your clothes off on people's property. That's disrespectful to them, to me, and to you. I won't have people thinking you're a trollop when you're not, Kelly Long. Now get on that wagon," he warned, "before I ask Sarah to let me borrow her hairbrush and wear it out on your rear right here!"
* * * * *
One of two things would happen that night. Kelly suspected that either McSwain had forgotten about his threat to spank her, maybe even having decided he was being overly strict. Or, the option that had her on pins and needles all through supper, he was planning on waiting until after their meal to blister her butt.
She ate her meal, which included potatoes, corn and more of the venison they'd had the night before, watching the candlelight cast shadows on McSwain's face. He was brooding, as he often did, but he didn't seem angry. She hated to admit it, yet she was on her best behavior that night.
Although, her current behavior probably wouldn't make any difference towards discipline. From the little time she'd spent with Jess McSwain, she knew he wasn't a man to throw around idle threats. If he said he was going to do something, he did it, end of story.
And what in the world was up with her? She should have been devastated. There she was, spending another night in the past. No closer to home than she'd been the moment she rose from the creek. She should have been frightened and despairing over the life she'd left behind.
But really…what had she left back there? Her curiosity was also piqued: What was happening back there in North Carolina? She lived alone. Over twenty-four hours had passed since she'd disappeared. Had anyone sent the police out looking for her? Did anyone back there care at all that she was gone?
Instead of dwelling on those thoughts, she was wondering how long it would take for McSwain to get it over with. Spank her and be done with it. The nerve of that man! Taking her to task over something as trivial as her taking off her dress before swimming. There hadn't been anyone else around when she'd done it. How was she to know that her two "favorite" blasts from the past, Charles and Sarah, would show up? Admittedly, Charles wasn't so bad, but Sarah couldn't seem to get over her embarrassment of that first time Kelly had seen her. As for what had happened that day, it wasn't like she was totally naked. Everything that needed to be covered up was.
She tried to be angry with him. Thinking straight wasn't easy for her that night.
What was that he'd said earlier? Something about, "I'll not have people think badly of you," or something along those lines.
It wasn't long after dinner, after she'd picked up the table, when she saw him step out. She hardly had time to wonder where he was going before he returned.
In his hand was a long, thin twig. A switch. Her heart began to pound, first with trepidation and then, to her utter amazement, excitement. Why should that have come as a surprise to her? She hadn't been herself ever coming to Wyoming. She was still trying to sort out her little love/hate relationship with being thoroughly spanked, which carried with it a certain amount of embarrassment and getting taken down a few notches.
McSwain didn't appear at all angry when he patted the table, empty for all but the lit candle, which he moved to the hearth.
"All right, little lady," he said. "You pull that dress up to your waist, nice and high, and you bend all the way across the table."
Kelly glared at him. "Now, wait a minute! I'm getting a spanking, and I'll have you know that's humiliating enough—"
"This about those little pants you got on under that dress? I already seen 'em. Didn't seem to bother you before when you were taking your swim in that creek."
She raised her chin in defiance. Deep down, she knew that was a battle she'd be losing. "I'll bend over but I'm not lifting my dress."
"Then I'll lift it for you. And then I'll bare your backside completely."
"No!" As fast as she could move, Kelly draped herself, facedown, over the table. Reaching back, she clutched handfuls of that skirt and tugged the fabric up to her waist. "
There. You win, McSwain."
"This isn't about me or you winning. Before I teach you a lesson, I want you to understand that. You cannot just go disrobing anywhere you please. No decent woman does that."
"So I'm not decent?" She craned her neck to look back at him. Her expression was more of hurt than insult. "Is that what you're saying?"
"That's just the point, Kelly. You are a decent woman. But you're also impulsive and you don't think sometimes. I know you're smart, but you are careless sometimes, even with yourself."
Resignedly, she turned back around. Her feet were dangling in the air. His hand, set flat on her waist to hold her in place, felt oddly comforting.
"Now, you'll be getting ten with the switch," he told her. "And then you'll get the rest of this spanking with my hand. I'm not gonna lie to you, this'll hurt a lot more than the first spanking. But I'll be making sure you never do anything like that again."
It's going to hurt more than the first one? That couldn't be right. How much more could a little twig hurt, after all?
She had the answer to her question when the switch was whipped through the air and landed for the first time across her panty-clad, rounded orbs. Kelly tried to swallow back a cry, stunned by how quickly her eyes watered.
Again the switch came down, hot and stingy, like a small swarm of hornets making a target of her poor bottom. The third painted a streak of fire across her sit spot.
"Oh, sheesh—three of those!" she grunted. "I'm not making it to ten!"
The idea—or so she'd hoped—was to maintain some of her dignity. No hollering, no crying. Then came the fourth lash of the switch and she was bucking and writhing on the table, fighting off the urge to cry. What struck her was that it was more than just the spanking—which was bad enough. What had she been thinking, stripping down to her underwear on someone else's property? Would she have done that back in her own time?
This whole thing had her behaving in ways she normally wouldn't have.
"Almost done, honey," McSwain encouraged her.
"Almost done? I still have s—"
Crack!
"Five! Five to go!"
Maybe it would break. It was only a flimsy twig. Why couldn't the stupid thing break and let her misery be over?
But no such luck. By the seventh lash, she was kicking her legs, her bottom squirming.
"McSwain, spank me with your hand, please, please, please!" Was she really making that request?
"I will. Almost done."
"No! I mean instead of the s-s-switch!"
The man had certainly picked one sturdy castoff from a branch. Regardless of her pleas, it was applied three more times to her derriere, her crying so loud that it filled the cabin.
There was no break in between, no rest. As soon as the switch was tossed aside, McSwain brought the flat of his big hand down again and again on her already blistered tail.
"Stop, stop!" she cried. "I will never, ever, ever go skinny-dipping again! Ow, ow, I promise, Jess! Honest, please stop, ow!"
"I've got a creek on my land," he was saying. "You're welcome to swim there… with or without your dress."
"Thanks, but I've lost my taste for skinny-dipping!" She sounded frantic.
She lost track of how many times his hand connected with her blazing flesh. To her relief, the spanking did come to an end. She couldn't move at first, only lying across the table, a crying, teary, snotty mess. Kelly was sure she must have looked like a cave woman, with her hair all messy and tangled.
"All right, young lady. That's enough. Enough spanking."
Kelly sniffled and felt his hands on her waist, helping her off the table with care and righting her onto her feet. Awkwardly, he offered her his handkerchief.
"That's clean. You can blow your nose," he told her softly. "And come over here when you're done."
She did as he instructed, cleaning herself up. When she stood, the skirt of her dress fell back down. Her bottom was throbbing so badly, she could only rub it very, very gingerly.
"Here," he said, and guided her to the bed.
He sat down first, then positioned her on his lap. Kelly could barely sit, and she wiggled on his lap, trying to get comfortable. That made him chuckle, and she could hardly believe she was also smiling.
Then his strong arms encircled her. With his hand, he pressed her head to his shoulder.
"There. No more. It's over," he said in a sweet, hushed voice.
Slowly, she began to calm down. The pace of her breathing returned to normal. Whatever fury she'd experienced before, whatever embarrassment, faded within moments. Kelly allowed herself to be cradled in his embrace, wrapping her own arms around his neck. She felt small, protected. Cared for in a way she hadn't felt in a long time.
"I've been nothing but trouble to you ever since I got here," she murmured.
"That's not true."
"It is. I don't know why you've put up with me. Just because I showed up on your door, that doesn't mean you have to deal with me."
"Shh. It hasn't been so bad. Actually, it's been good. Most of the time."
"You mean when I'm not misbehaving." She was admitting that? "Or giving you a hard time? Or feeling sorry for myself."
"Now, Kelly," he said, brushing a lock of hair away from her eyes. "It's been interesting. And I don't mind correcting you when you need it. You're mostly a good girl. Just need a little guidance now and then.
A second passed while he rocked her in his arms. He stared into her eyes, and then planted a kiss on her forehead. She moaned lightly.
"Enough sitting?" He grinned.
"More than enough. Maybe I can walk around a little. Right outside, not far—"
"No, it's bedtime for you."
Her jaw dropped open. She flashed him an incredulous smile. "You're sending me to bed?"
"Yes, ma'am. I'm putting you to bed early, besides your spanking. You behave yourself tomorrow, be a good girl, and I'll let you stay up later."
This was new. Kelly didn't feel like protesting. Even if she did, her bottom couldn't have handled another spanking, just in case. She obediently climbed into the bed, though she reclined on her belly. She was way too sore to sleep with her bottom against the mattress.
"How red is my butt?"
His hearty laugh made her giggle. "I'd have to peek under those little pink drawers of yours."
"Okay. So…" Kelly licked her lips and drew closer to him. "Have a little peek. How red?"
McSwain paused but then he pulled up her skirts. His hand, touching her flesh again, made her gasp as he eased her panties down. The action of that alone aroused him.
"Not as red now," he informed her and pulled them back up. "But your pants are almost as pink as your butt."
"Ouch."
"Yeah, well," teasingly, he pinched her chin. "Next time, try behaving yourself and that won't happen! Be a good girl."
"Yes, sir." Kelly reached her hand back, not too embarrassed to sooth her sore backside with a rub. "Anything else you'd like to have a peek at, Jess?"
He rested his head on his pillow and turned fully to her. "You called me Jess before, too."
"That okay?"
"That's fine. It was nice." He took an uneasy breath. "And there's a lot I'd like a peek at."
"Really? Like… at these?"
Her seat may have been scorched, but the rest of her was downright smoldering. Kelly cupped a hand around one of her breasts, prepared to shimmy out of that bodice and her bra until he stopped her.
"You, my little temptress, are going to bed."
"Oh, McSwain…"
Kelly pouted. She knew she was risking a warning smack, but she could barely contain herself. Every inch of her was aching for his touch. She wanted his hands on her, his shaft, rock-hard, inside her. She was itching to be stroked and coddled and kissed, until she climaxed and felt she could climb the walls from the eruption of excitement.
"I really want you, McSwain," she whispered.
She could swear she was breaking
down his resolve. He even pulled her in closer to him and kissed her. A kiss that was both rough and sweet, bruising her lips as her erect nipples brushed against his chest through the fabric of their clothing. A hungry kiss.
He also wanted her.
"You'll go to bed right now, just like I said. My rules." McSwain shook his head. "I want you, Kelly. I want you so bad. But I'm not reinforcing your bad behavior of earlier right now."
She thought better of arguing with him. Sighing, she let her face drop into her pillow, amusing him unwittingly with a muffled, "Yes, sir!"
Chapter Five
A beautiful lady had offered herself to him… and he hadn't taken her up on that offer. McSwain decided he'd been living out there in that valley for too long.
They had been at it for a couple of hours, starting out right after breakfast. It only seemed right. He had made Kelly wait until he'd finished some of his work the day before. That day he'd indulged her by heading out first to search for the portal to the future. By now, though neither of them had talked about it, he suspected they were both starting to believe their search was in vain. If there had been a portal once—and there had to be, considering it had delivered a woman from the future to those parts—it was gone now.
In spite of that suspicion, he combed what he could of that mountain, with Kelly in tow. They headed out on foot, first because that was how she found the portal in the first place, by walking in the mountains. Secondly, Kelly was still a bit sore from last night's spanking to sit for long periods.
"Will I see them, too?" he asked, leading the way through the trees. "The lights? The ones you followed to the waterfall?"
Glancing back at Kelly, she smiled at him. "I don't know, McSwain. I believe so. Maybe we'll go through all this and you'll end up stuck with me in North Carolina. In the future."
His response was a laugh. Some pebbles slid under his boot, almost causing him to slip, but he kept his balance. Instinctively, he touched his pistol, which he'd brought with him in case of any trouble, tucked in its holster.
"Would that be so bad?" she asked.
"That depends. How bad is it for you—stuck here in 1871 with me?"
