No More Laters

by Coleen Singer

  And he was also semi-naked. The curves of her bare bottom mirrored by the curves of his strong upper arms. Nakedness, power, submission…. It was a heady concoction of thoughts and emotions, and Jill could feel herself trembling and growing thick and swollen between her thighs. She squeezed her legs together, desperately not wanting him to see her most private treasure, wishing this tortuous moment would last forever and yet wishing it would end immediately and release her from her torment.

  It ended with the crack of his hand against her flesh, and a new and different kind of torment began. She could feel her bottom wobbling and jiggling as his hand smacked against her soft flesh but her desire to keep her thighs protectively closed over her hidden jewel gave her the strength to keep absolutely still while his large hand smacked several times on one cheek, several times on the other and several times in the middle.

  "Oh", she gasped at last as the repeated impact of his hand on her flesh produced a growing burning sting in her bottom. Still determined to preserve her modesty, she gripped the side of the ute and steeled herself to keep her position until the spanking was over.

  But Michael had other ideas. Pausing her punishment, he ran his hand gently across her soft mounds, which his hand had already turned a hot pink

  "Why are you being spanked, Roo?" he asked firmly.

  "For hurting Rachel," she blurted out without thinking, and was rewarded with a flurry of hard spanks, which drove all thoughts of modesty from her mind and left her wriggling and squirming and pleading with him to stop. For the first time, Michael caught a glimpse of the soft sweet secret he'd let her keep hidden in all her previous spankings. A few tiny pale downy curls peeked between her legs, failing to hide the soft ridges that enclosed her warm dark pleasure tunnel.

  "That was for that last answer," he told her gruffly, and hearing the huskiness in his voice and feeling the tell-tale hardness beneath her, Jill knew miserably that she'd betrayed herself. "Now try again. Why are you being spanked?"

  "For startling the horses," she whispered. "You told me not to make sudden movements around them and I did."

  "Good girl," he crooned, his hand still circling over her bottom, gently squeezing the plump cheeks, slipping dangerously near the forbidden territory. "This spanking is punishment for endangering yourself, and in this case, others as well, and a warning to take more notice of what I say and to obey me better in future. Are you ready, then?"

  "Please, Michael," Jill whimpered, putting her hand protectively behind her. "I won't do it again, I promise. Please don't spank me like this. Please."

  "Hush, naughty girl, and move your hand. Once I've said you're getting spanked, that's it. There's no point trying to talk me out of it because it isn't going to happen. The best you can do now is keep your bottom nice and high for me and keep as quiet and still as possible until I'm satisfied I've made my point."

  Jill squeezed her thighs more tightly, as if she could glue them together so they would stay that way until Michael finished spanking her and allowed her to slip her panties back up. Michael's hand running down the cleft of her bottom and stopping, suggestively but protectively, cupped over the junction of her thighs and cheeks, told her plainly that he knew what she was doing.

  "I'm sorry if you are embarrassed, Roo," he told her. "But if you don't want to find yourself in this compromising position, you have to learn to be a good girl so you don't have to be spanked. Embarrassment is part of the punishment, so relax your bottom and thighs. I'm going to spank you until your cheeks are like two ripe tomatoes, but I don't want to bruise you. Come on. Relax."

  A sharp slap on her thigh convinced Jill to do as she was told.

  "Arch your bottom up nice and high for me," he commanded, the former gentleness in his voice being replaced with a brusque tone, which clearly indicated he meant to get down to business.

  Now more tipped forward and her bottom arched up, Jill knew it would not be long before she would treat him to a completely unimpeded view of all her charms. Nothing could save her now, and she was desperate for her shame to be over as quickly as possible.

  "Please do it," she begged. "If you're going to."

  "Very well," he agreed, not wanting to draw her misery out.

  Raising his hand, he began spanking her again. Unhurried, he allowed his hand to fall in a random pattern across both cheeks, across the cleft of her bottom, across the juncture with her thighs and across her thighs as well. Varying the time between spanks as well, Michael kept Jill in a state of heightened anticipation. Unable to predict where or when the next blow would fall, each stinging spank surprised her, causing her to wriggle and squirm, offering him glimpses of the permanent deep pearly pinkness, which she desperately wanted to keep hidden.

  As the spanking continued, and the heat and sting grew ever more intolerable, Jill could no longer prevent her legs kicking with each smarting smack.

  "Please," she begged again, as the pain in her bottom reached unendurable levels. "Michael, please! How can you?"

  "I can because I must," he answered roughly, punctuating his words with smarting spanks which caused her bottom to writhe and toss and her legs to kick apart. "I have always looked out for you, Jill. I wanted to make sure nothing ever happened to you. Who else have you had to take care of you?"

  As if his words reminded him of some deep offence she had committed, he began spanking her harder and faster, his hand clapping against her bottom like hail on a tin roof.

  She responded immediately. Her squirming became violent wriggling and her sobs became disbelieving squeals. "You're hurting me!" she cried, no longer caring that every sacred untouched pleasure centre was being opened like a lotus flower for him to see into its hidden depths. "Michael," she cried over and over. "Don't hurt me, don't hurt me, don't hurt me!"

  "Keep still, Roo," he warned her gruffly. Seeing her bottom turning from pink to crimson and knowing the spanking must soon end, he turned his attention to her thighs. "I don't want to hurt you," he muttered. "But you really scared me. I don't want you ever to do that again, do you hear?" And gripping her around the waist to hold her still, he spanked her bottom again and again and again until her cries and pleas were incoherent.

  "I won't," she sobbed, not even sure what it was she was promising not to do. "Ever again. I'm sorry I hurt Rachel." She wasn't aware she'd said it again, but just as quickly as it had caused a rain of spanks to fall on her bottom last time, this time it stopped Michael's hand in mid-strike.

  "What did you say?" he asked grimly.

  "I'm sorry I hurt Rachel," she repeated. "I didn't mean to. I'm sorry, Michael. Really!"

  In one swift movement, he'd picked her up from over his knee and plonked her on his lap.

  "What are you talking about?" he demanded. "I told you before that I'm not spanking you because you hurt Rachel. She has nothing to do with us."

  "Yes, she does," Jill cried against his damp, hot shoulder. "She… you…."

  "Ah," Michael said after a long pause. "I think you and I need to have a little talk, don't you? Come on, let's put you back together a bit."

  Standing her up, he pulled up her panties, replaced the drums, jumped to the ground and lifted her down. After he'd put the tail-gate back up, he took her hand and walked to the front of the ute, leaning against it and looking at her.

  "Okay?" he asked.

  She nodded silently, wincing as stabs of throbbing pain continued to shoot through her well-spanked bottom, her free hand rubbing it comfortingly.

  Still holding her hand, he gazed across the top of her head and out into the distance.

  "You know what River Gums means to me, don't you, Roo?" he asked.

  Jill nodded. She knew.

  "Dad's always taken for granted that I would take over running it one day, and it's what I've always wanted, too." He paused, and Jill waited in the silence, which was broken only by an occasional sniffle and the thumping in her chest as she waited to see where he was leading her. The sound of her heart stopped abrupt
ly as he turned to look at her, then restarted as he again averted his gaze.

  "It's hard to run a farm on your own. I don't think Dad could've managed without Mum, they've had a real partnership. I know any marriage is supposed to be a partnership, but when you're farmers it's even more important. It's a difficult life for a woman and it takes a special kind of woman to make it work. I guess it's easier if the woman has grown up on a farm."

  "Is that why you're going to marry Rachel? Because she grew up on a farm." There was an edge of bitterness in Jill's voice but Michael didn't seem to notice as he whirled on her.

  "Who said I'm going to marry Rachel?" he demanded.

  "No one," Jill stammered, feeling her cheeks blush with colour. "I just thought…."

  "Well, if anyone has been saying that Rachel and I are getting married, they're jumping the gun," he said grimly.

  "Are you saying you're not going to marry her?" Although she feared his anger, Jill was unable to stop herself from asking. She had to know.

  "Listen, Roo," he said gently, his hands taking hold of her shoulders and his eyes finding and holding hers. "I'll be honest with you. It would be surprising if the subject of Rachel and I marrying had not come up at some time. For starters, it would bring together the two best farms for miles. There'd be a number of advantages in terms of pasture and water . . . I don't want to burden you with details, but, yes, it's come up."

  Instinctively, Jill tried to pull away from him, but he slipped his arms around her waist and held her fast.

  "From my point of view, I'd have a wife who knows the farming business inside out. She's as at home on a horse or a tractor as she is in a car but nothing's been said, not by anyone! If you've heard talk, it's just that, idle speculation and gossip."

  "But you have been seeing her?"

  "A little. Don't get the wrong idea about the amount of time I spend at Two Springs. The majority of that has nothing to do with Rachel. We have a reciprocal deal with Bill, that's all. But, well, I guess I'd be being dishonest if I tried to pretend that I haven't spent time with Rachel as well. Like I said, I don't know many women and both families would be happy, I think, if we made a match, but I've always held back without really knowing why. It would've been easy just to go ahead." He grinned, looking momentarily abashed. "I'm assuming here that she would accept if I proposed!"

  "I think that's a fairly safe bet judging from the comments she's made."

  "Oh, really?" Michael looked amused. "Rest assured that any aspirations Rachel may have on that score are not solely out of any burning passion she may feel for me. I've no illusions about that. Rachel is definitely a woman who enjoys her creature comforts and I know full well there's no way she'd even consider me as husband material if I didn't have a hefty dowry. If we were to marry and the farms merged, it would pretty well make her the richest woman for a long way, and I could see that appealing."

  "Are you saying she'd only be marrying you for your money?" Jill couldn't hide her shock.

  "I'm a bit too conceited to admit to that," he laughed. "And it's not really as though she needs it. She's already a wealthy woman in her own right, but nonetheless you must know she has expensive tastes and likes to travel and move amongst the jet-setters. She may even think I don't have enough money."

  He seemed to have finished speaking but still nothing was resolved as far as Jill was concerned. She waited for him to continue, but he seemed to be caught up in his own thoughts, almost as if he'd forgotten she was there. She had to know, though, whether he intended asking Rachel to marry him, even though it could well be the most painful thing she'd ever have to hear, still she had to know.

  "So," she forced out the words "are you going to marry her?"

  She thought he hadn't heard, so still he stayed, his gaze again above her head, staring at nothing. Then slowly he looked down at her again, his arms tightening around her waist.

  "I said before that I've been holding back without really knowing why. Now I think I'm beginning to understand." Jill felt her breath catch in her throat. "It's strange," he went on quietly "how you can know something without knowing that you know it. Or maybe I just didn't want to admit it. Then when Vick and I went to meet you at the bus and I saw you waiting there, I knew at once. You did too, didn't you?"

  "Knew what?" Jill's voice was barely a whisper. If Michael's answer was what she hoped, she stood now on the threshold of paradise, but the mobile phone in his pocket chose that moment to ring and once again Jill found herself having to wait until later for her answer. Whipping the phone out, he checked the caller's number.

  "It's home," he said, answering it immediately. "Michael. What? Right, I'll be there in a minute. No, I'm just down the road, on my way home anyway. Couple of minutes. Yep. Bye."

  The tone of his voice told Jill it was urgent, and without asking she got into the passenger side of the ute, wincing gingerly as her recently-spanked bottom met the seat. Michael was already in and had the engine on. Before her seat belt was done up, he was back onto the highway speeding towards the farm.

  "It's Mum," he said eventually. "She fainted apparently. Doyle's on his way. Vick says she's okay now," he added hearing the gasp of distress from Jill.

  It took them only a few short minutes to get back to the farm. As soon as the ute was in the garage, Jill went to jump out, but Michael stopped her.

  "That conversations not finished yet, Roo. We'll finish it later, okay?"

  Chapter Seven

  By the time the doctor arrived, Elizabeth was adamant she was feeling quite back to her old self, but with the family already concerned about her health, there were no chances being taken. She was ordered to bed to rest, and until Jack took charge, was in imminent danger of being fussed over to death.

  Dr. Doyle examined her carefully and then assured everyone that the fainting spell had no more sinister overtones other than that Elizabeth had been overdoing things during Christmas and really must rest more. His words were comforting, but it was still a sombre group who sat down to the evening meal. Their mother's fainting had been an unwelcome reminder to all of them that she was not as robust as she had been and was, in fact, in danger of becoming seriously ill.

  Jack managed to get a couple more hours work in while his wife slept, but the bulk of the chores were left to Michael, with some help from Ali and later from Dave when he'd arrived home from the automotive workshop in town where he worked as a mechanic.

  With all the confusion, it was a late evening meal and nearly ten by the time everything was cleared away. There had been no time for Michael and Jill to speak privately, and their thoughts had been more taken up with Elizabeth than their own problems. So when Ali and Vicky bade the others goodnight and Michael flashed her a silent question, which she knew was asking if she felt like continuing their earlier conversation, she gently shook her head with an apologetic smile. He seemed to understand and with just the barest caress of her hair wished her goodnight as they all decided to turn in early.

  Jill wanted to be with him, but it just seemed too callous to be thinking of herself tonight. If Elizabeth was better in the morning, and Dr. Doyle had assured them she would be, then tomorrow would be a different matter. It was New Year's Eve and they were going to the dance. She would make sure, somehow, that she got a chance to speak to Michael then, to find out what it was he'd known at the bus stop, and she would know at last if happiness was to be hers.

  * * * * *

  With Elizabeth clearly feeling and looking quite well the next day, Jill's spirits rose. For the first time in what seemed forever her heart was light and she was looking forward to the coming evening with its promise of Michael and, if she had her way, romance under the stars. She was sure now that if they could just talk things through, she could show him his future lay with her and not with Rachel or anyone else.

  "Wow," exclaimed Vicky in admiration as Jill appeared at her doorway ready for the dance. The dress Jill had chosen was a deceptively simple style, but its soft lines accent
uated her slender but shapely figure. The shimmering, blue material was the exact colour of her eyes making them seem even more vivid, and the rich bronze of her tanned skin and the flowing blonde of her hair completed a picture, which had satisfied even her own critical eye.

  "You look fantastic, Roo!"

  "Thanks," Jill blushed, embarrassed by the exuberance of Vicky's praise, but glad she seemed to be looking her best. Tonight was an important night—maybe the most important of her life so far. "I'll wait downstairs for you guys, okay?"

  In the lounge room, Jack and Elizabeth were also ready and waiting.

  "It looks like we needn't be so squashed for the ride into town," Elizabeth surprised her by saying. "Michael's taking the ute in, so someone can ride with him."

  "Is Michael here?" Jill asked in surprise.

  "Yes, I'd assumed he'd go over and pick up Rachel, but he muttered something about making different arrangements. I didn't quite follow it all, but you know what Michael's like, he's not very forthcoming, is he?"

  "No, he isn't," Jill agreed, trying to sound casual to cover the shock Elizabeth's words had given her. She'd also assumed he'd take Rachel, even though she had plans to ensure he came home with her. That he wasn't taking Rachel at all was a complete surprise. At the thought that it might be she who accompanied him to the dance, her heart began to race and a frisson ran through her causing her hands to tremble.

  "I think I'll wait outside," she said, still trying to sound casual, but afraid they'd notice her excitement. She was also hoping to intercept him on his way to the house and thereby give him the opportunity to offer her a lift.