Bourbon & Branch Water

by Patricia Green

  She hadn’t had time to talk to the Portermans about her burgeoning idea, so there was a good possibility that they’d be blindsided by it and make her look like a fool if they protested against it. She’d surely be fired when Mr. Holyfield learned that she’d mishandled the case so badly. Cary’s threats had her stomach churning. And now, it appeared her relationship with Jeff was over. Could the day get any worse?

  Stormy fixed her makeup as best she could and made her way to the conference room. The Randolphs had arrived and the two couples were sitting stiffly as they tried not to get into a staring match across the table. Jeff sat beside the Randolphs, his legal pad and pen in front of him.

  “I’m sorry I’m late,” she said, “hello, Mr. and Mrs. Randolph.” They nodded at her.

  She sat next to the Portermans and wished she had a pen to play with. She’d been so flustered that she’d left all her notes and papers on her desk. Well, she’d just have to wing it. “I’d like to present a proposed settlement,” she said. The Portermans looked at her with surprised expressions. Stormy cleared her throat, more nervous than she’d ever been before. If the two couples didn’t go for this, she was in the hurt locker.

  “I propose that the distillery proceed-”

  “Miss Stillwater-” Russell said, but she interrupted before he could step on her proposal.

  “Please hear me out. We’ve established, through the environmental impact study, that the distillery is unlikely to be an environmental hazard. We have further established that the water usage is unlikely to impact the Porterman ranch adversely.”

  “But-” said Ella.

  Stormy held up her hand, and the woman frowned, but remained silent. “However, we have not addressed the fact that there would be a potential negative impact on the community.”

  “Miss Stillwater,” Jeff said his voice professional and remote, so cold to Stormy’s ears. “There are many jobs at stake here. I fail to see how that negatively impacts the community. Those jobs are needed badly in these economic times.”

  “Jobs are important, Mr. Hand, but moral turpitude is also important, I’m sure you’d agree.”

  “Morality is quite subjective, Miss Stillwater.”

  “Perhaps,” she said. “But I have a solution to the moral issue.”

  Jeff’s eyes got a little brighter. Maybe he was not completely cold where she was concerned. But Stormy remained aware that he was her opponent.

  “I propose,” she said, “that the distillery go forward, but that twenty-five percent of the profits be donated to Fire Gorge’s alcoholics recovery program, and any other town charity that the Randolphs stipulate.”

  There was squirming from the Randolphs, but the Portermans’ posture got a little less stiff. “That’s right,” said Russell, and Stormy wanted to hug him for supporting her surprise proposition. “We think twenty-five percent is fair.”

  Stormy tried not to show her amazement at Ella Portermans’ lack of protest, but then she noticed that the Portermans were holding hands under the table, and she realized a silent communication had occurred between them.

  Jeff spoke up. “That’s an interesting proposition, Miss Stillwater-”

  “Fifteen percent,” Leland interrupted.

  “Mr. Randolph,” Jeff said, but he was interrupted again.

  “Fifteen,” said Leland firmly as he locked eyes with Russell.

  “Twenty,” said Russell.

  Leland nodded. “Done.”

  Jeff smiled and Stormy realized that she’d done the right thing. She’d settled the matter and now all that was left was the paperwork. “Mr. Hand?” she said.

  “This will be acceptable, Miss Stillwater. If the Randolphs are agreeable, I see no problem with it.”

  “Very good,” she rose and offered her hand to the Randolphs. They rose and shook it in turn. She offered it to Jeff while the Portermans and Raldolphs shook hands. “Mr. Hand,” she said.

  He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. It was a gentle touch and he lingered a little overlong with the contact. Stormy gave him a confused glance, but he nodded slightly and offered another professional smile.

  “I’ll draw up the paperwork and have it to you before the weekend, Miss Stillwater. Are there any other matters on the table?”

  Yes! What about you and me? What about us? But she let nothing of her inner turmoil show. Instead she met his eyes and said, “No, Mr. Hand. I think the matter is settled.”

  The Portermans and Randolphs left the room and Jeff took Stormy’s elbow, causing her to linger behind. “Good job, Stormy. I didn’t expect that proposal.”

  She was elated by his praise, and wasn’t the warmth in his eyes rather personal? Maybe she was reading too much into it. “It was a last-minute idea,” she admitted.

  “Well, it worked. Fire Gorge gets its jobs. The Randolphs get their distillery. And the Portermans’ moral issues are neatly wrapped up as well, excellent work.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I’ll get the paperwork to you as soon as possible.” He paused, touching her shoulder. “And, Stormy, once those papers are signed, we’re going out to dinner.” Leaning in, he whispered in her ear, “And we’ll celebrate with champagne in bed.”

  A shiver of longing moved over her body. He wasn’t put off. He hadn’t meant their relationship was over! She wanted to shout her joy, but of course, she couldn’t at that moment, so she smiled with genuine pleasure. “I’m sure something can be arranged, Mr. Hand.”

  “I want you, baby,” he said softly.

  Stormy thought her heart was going to expand right out of her chest. They left the conference room, but Stormy couldn’t remember ever before floating on air as she walked down the hall.

  * * *

  It took until Friday that week to get the papers drawn up and signed. The Portermans had chosen a second charity to split the donations with the local AA chapter. Everyone seemed happy with the agreement. Stormy even received a call from Fire Gorge’s mayor thanking her for her good work and praising her on the results. He was enthusiastic over both the jobs and the charitable donations. Stormy hoped maybe he’d steer some work her way in the future.

  Jeff called and they made a date for that evening at his place in Las Vegas. Stormy was beyond thrilled, she was gloriously excited. Her whole body was vibrating with joy. And she knew it was because she could finally admit that she was in love with Jeff. He’d stuck by her ever since their crazy first night together. He must feel something for her, too. He must!

  She spent the rest of her workday spinning dreams of her upcoming night with Jeff. She didn’t know if she should tell him she loved him. So far, taking a chance had worked out okay for her, especially where Jeff was concerned.

  He greeted her from the kitchen and held his arms open to receive her. Grinning broadly, she hurried over to him and let him gather her in his arms. They kissed amidst the smell of tomato something, onions and pungent garlic, but Stormy was most interested in Jeff’s own warmth, the spicy smell of his cologne, the slight roughness of his late-evening beard. She drank in every second of their tongues twining as though she was savoring a delicate filet mignon.

  When they parted for air, Stormy said the thing that had been preying on her mind. “Jeff…”

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “I…” Brave, brave, take a chance. “I love you.”

  He smiled and it was a warm, welcoming smile. There was no rejection or fear in it. He kissed her gently on the lips again. “I love you, too. There’s more to you and me than jumping in the sack, Stormy. It’s good there, really good, but I love the way you deal with life, your smarts, and your genuineness.”

  Blushing, Stormy felt like he’d handed her a million dollars and said, here, have fun. “I love everything about you, Jeff.”

  He reached behind her and turned off the stove. “That has to cool before we can eat it, but I’d rather taste you first. I’ll race you to the bedroom.”

  A little pang of guilt nibbled at her mind an
d she ought to confess. “Before we…uh…before, I need to tell you something. You might be mad at me.”

  He held her at arm’s length and his gaze searched her face. Stormy didn’t turn her face away, though she did bite her lip with insecurity. There was a possibility that Jeff would be mad at her. “What is it?”

  “I told a big, fat lie.”

  “You don’t love me?” he said with a teasing grin.

  She smacked him on the chest. “No, silly! I do love you, but I told a lie that could have gotten me fired. I wanted you to know because…well, because I didn’t want you to find out some other way.”

  “Ah.”

  Stormy confessed her lie about having a case plan.

  “That’s okay, baby,” Jeff said, touching her face gently. “I don’t like the idea that you’d lie, but I can tell you were desperate and I can understand why you couldn’t come to me.”

  Relief flooded her. “Thank you.”

  “Lies deserve punishment, though, Stormy even if they work out okay.” He looked at her closely. “You wanted me to say that, didn’t you?”

  She nodded, her cheeks growing hot.

  “You want to do penance and get it off your mind. Well, go into the bedroom and take off your clothes.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Stormy wasted no time in doing what he asked, then sat on the bench at the foot of his bed. The celery tone of the room was comforting and she tried to relax. A minute or two later, Jeff came in without his apron or his shirt.

  For the hundredth time, Stormy was fascinated and excited by the breadth of his bare chest, the power in his arms, and the definition in his abs. He was no body-builder, but he was a powerful, masculine man. Her nerves got a little jittery as she eyed those thick arms. He was going to spank her and it wasn’t going to feel good.

  He pulled his belt out of its belt loops and wrapped it around a fist, tucking the ends in securely. It made a loop of about eight inches, smacking it on his palm made a pop sound that had Stormy jumping.

  “Stand up,” he said “and put your hands flat on the bench.”

  Both scared and excited, Stormy stood nervously. The bench was soft under her hands, but her palms were sweaty with anticipation. How hard was he going to hit her? Was the belt going to hurt worse than the silicone spatula or his hand?

  She didn’t have to wait for long. First Jeff touched her upturned fanny gently, rubbing her skin tenderly from the dimples at the small of her back down to her pussy. He paused there and touched her folds with exploring fingers. “You’re getting wet, Stormy. How effective is this punishment going to be if you like it?”

  There was no answer for that, so she kept quiet.

  The first smack of his hand on her bottom surprised her, even though she was expecting something. He smacked her three times more with his hard palm, thoroughly covering her bottom with stinging slaps. Her behind got warm and she bit her lip, trying not to cry out with each swat, though she wasn’t much successful at that.

  “Ouch!”

  “That’s enough of a warm-up, babe.”

  “Oh no…”

  “Yes.” With that, he swatted her with the belt. It made a large thwacking sound and Stormy jumped at the sudden searing pain on her left cheek. She barely had time to draw breath before a second strike hit her right cheek, and another landed where her bottom and pussy met.

  “Lying is bad, baby,” he told her as he whacked her three more times on the same spots. “Don’t you dare lie to me or you’ll get a lot worse than this.”

  “Y-yes, sir,” she said, and the next six smacks brought tears to her eyes. “I’m sorry!”

  “I ought to make you apologize to Mr. Holyfield, Stormy. How would you like that?”

  Another six spanks rained down on her aching and burning fanny. The pain was excruciating and she couldn’t help but flinch and squirm to try to make it less so. “He’d fire me, Jeff. Please don’t make me do it! Please!”

  “He would fire you. And who could blame him.” Whack, whack, whack. “Stop squirming.” His free hand came to her back and held her in place. “Do you lie often?”

  “Hardly ever!”

  “I want that to become a ‘no’ immediately.” Another six whacks drew the point home. Jeff wouldn’t tolerate lies. That wouldn’t be too hard to do. Stormy rarely told lies. But the burning of her bottom, the heat and searing pain was enough to make her swear off doing it ever, ever again.

  “I’m sorry! I’ll be good!”

  He struck her another six times and Stormy though she might curl up and die, the pain was so bad. Tears were streaming down her face and sobs tore from her throat uncontrollably. “Yes, you will.”

  “Y-yes, sir! I’ll tell the truth.”

  Two more whacks where her pussy and thighs met, and then the belt bounced on the floor nearby, the buckle clacking as it hit the carpet. Jeff smoothed his hand over her aching flesh so softly, but Stormy only felt the warmth of his palm against her already hot behind. He walked around her and sat on the bed, patting his thighs as he did. “Come here and you can cry in my arms where you belong.”

  Rubbing her fanny, she padded over to him and took a seat on his lap very gingerly. His slacks were a little scratchy on her tender behind, but Jeff’s arms around her made up for a lot of that. Jeff pulled her close onto his lightly furred chest. “There now,” he said. “Baby got what she deserved and now it’s over. You won’t do that again, right?”

  “R-right. I promise.”

  He tilted her chin up and gave her a soft kiss. “That’s my sexy girl.”

  She was his girl. His! And he was her man. Hers!

  “You know, Stormy, I think we ought to take your mother’s suggestion to heart.”

  “My mother?”

  “Right. She wanted us to be married before Christmas, remember?”

  Stormy’s head was about to explode with rainbows. “Jeff, are you asking me to marry you?”

  “I love you. You love me. This is Las Vegas.”

  “You don’t think it’s a little soon?”

  “Unwilling to take a chance on me?”

  It was risky, but incredibly appealing. You didn’t marry a person on a whim, but if they loved each other and they’d established the basis for a relationship…it could last. She’d take another chance on Jeff, but this one seemed a lot less like the spin of a roulette wheel. “Yes.”

  “Yes, you’ll marry me?”

  She nodded, the lump in her throat too great to let words out.

  He held her tightly against him, finally taking her face between his palms and kissing her soundly. “My Stormy,” he said. “Baby, you make me so happy.”

  “Jeff?” She sensed his attention as he held her close, so no answer was necessary. “Can we make our official wedding cocktail a bourbon and branch water? After all, that’s what brought us together.”

  “Well, I’m normally more of a wine or beer drinker, but bourbon and branch water it is.”

  “Thank you, Jeff. I love you.”

  He nuzzled her hair. “Sweet baby, I love you, too.”

  The End.

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  This book is intended for adults only. Spanking and other sexual activities represented in this book are fantasies only, intended for adults. Nothing in this book should be interpreted as advocating any non-consensual spanking activity or the spanking of minors.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

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