The Winter Storm, Part 7

Through the steady onslaught of rain and the swish of windshield wipers, Miles spotted Jennifer. She stood on the highest point of a hill surrounded by nothing but grass and mud. Her arms were folded across her chest and she kept her gaze fixed on the flooded intersection below. Miles looked in the direction of her gaze and spotted the upper half of her car peeking out of the town’s newest river.

He swerved onto the wrong side of the road. Traffic was non-existent and the road was clear other than orange striped barricades blocking the way into the flooded intersection. The truck’s headlights illuminated Jennifer’s hill on the left side, water flowed in sheets onto the sidewalk and off into the street draining slowly into a backed up gutter. Miles realized she was oblivious to his arrival. He pulled to a stop next to the curb and honked the horn. She whirled toward him, her long hair slicing through the falling rain like a whip.

Even in the shadow of the storm, Miles could see the annoyed furl of her cheeks. His breath caught in his throat and his heart sent pangs of electricity shooting to his extremities. Her black dress was soaked to her skin. It adhered itself to her every curve like tight leather. For a moment, he forgot he was supposed to be upset with her. She stomped toward the truck, beauty and the beast rolled into one breathtaking body with one bad attitude.

Her march down the hill sent mud flying in every direction. Near the bottom of the hill, just short of the sidewalk, she slid on the slick grass. Her arms waved in the air wildly as she fought for balance. Miles shook himself from his adolescent stupor and grabbed the door handle, thinking only then of getting out to help her. But it was too late. She reached the sidewalk and found her balance without falling.

Secure in her footing, she paused long enough to throw virtual daggers from her eyes into Miles’ skull. He swallowed hard and reminded himself she was the one who had caused her misfortune, not him. He leaned across the compartment and pulled the handle on the passenger door, opening it for her approach. She hopped inside and groaned. With an exaggerated huff she slammed the door and shook her wet hair, sending droplets flying  like indoor rain.

“Nice of you to show,” Jennifer said while squeezing water from her soaked hair onto the center console. “Did you get lost or just drive slower than a fucking snail?”

Miles stared at the glitter of rain falling through the beams of his headlights. He had intended to wait until they were home, until she had a chance to dry off and calm down. If she had only contained her attitude, it would have gone better for her and for him, but that wasn’t Jennifer.  He knew what he had to do and he steeled himself for it. It wasn’t out of anger,  it was because if he let her, she was going to make him angry.

He slipped the transmission into park and stomped on the emergency brake. His fingers moved the wiper switch to off. They squeaked one last time, brushing away the drops on the windshield before disappearing below the top of the hood. He twisted the switch for the headlights, listening to it click twice before the beams faded to darkness.

In his peripheral vision he could see Jennifer watching him with curious eyes. He hit the lever on the back left of the steering wheel and pushed it up and out of his way. His thumb hit the release on his seat belt sending the material zipping back into the door frame and clanking when the buckle hit the stop. He turned in his seat, squaring his shoulders to face the woman he loved.

She stopped wringing the water from her hair and returned his stare. His lips quivered on the verge of words and she spoke before he could. “What’s your fucking problem?”

He sighed at her. His eyes fluttered closed and he took a deep breath, enjoying the honey scent of her perfume. Opening his eyes, he gazed at her, still struck by her rugged, wet-clothing beauty. A hungry smile licked his lips and he opened his arms to her, offering solace and a truce.

She looked into his eyes and inhaled the musky air of his aftershave. The corners of her scarlet lips turned upward, hinting of a victory smile. She slipped into his arms, pressing her hips into the console between their seats. Her breath warmed his stiff shirt collar and she tickled his naked neck with her tongue. He chuckled and she rubbed her wet bosom against his dry shirt. Her hands felt their way up his torso, stopping to massage his firm pecs. She sighed and nestled her head on his shoulder.

Miles cradled her in his arms. She stared up at him and he leaned down, pressing his lustful lips against hers. He basked in the momentary satisfaction. Her happiness was almost enough to change his mind. His arms trembled with indecision. A fog of confusion drifted into her upward staring eyes. He knew the moment was at hand, it was then or never. He twisted her in his arms, pinning her face-down torso to his lap with his left arm. His right hand rested on her newly upturned rump, raised to a convenient height by the presence of the center console beneath her gyrating hips.

“Hey!” Jennifer said, her voice muffled by the close quarters of his pant leg and the car door. “Just cause I let you hold me, doesn’t mean I’m in the mood for a five dollar foot long.”

Miles slipped his hand down her legs until it reached the hem of her dress. His fingers pinched the drenched fabric and began the slow process of inching it up her legs and over her bottom. She struggled to reach behind herself, but found her arms were trapped between his body, the car door, and the steering wheel. She kicked against the seat and the passenger door. He peeled the dress up her body, scrunching it like an accordion above her hips until her legs were bared and her panties were fully exposed.

Miles stared at the exposed skin, perched on his center console. Her choice of black lace panties were provocative, inappropriate and exactly what he had expected. Beneath the lace, shining into his eyes, was something he had not expected and for a moment all he could do was stare. Glistening, red flesh swelled in contrast with the black containing it. He brushed his fingers over warm buttocks and lace undergarment. She flinched, contracting the muscles and hardening her soft, fiery globes.

“Funny,” he said, gently patting her bottom, “I don’t recall your backside looking quite like this when I left this morning.”

Jennifer said, “This isn’t funny. Let me up and take me home.”

Miles rested both his hands on the middle of her back. “Not until I get some answers.”

She tried futilely to push herself upright. “Don’t fucking start with me. If you weren’t so obsessed with making Daddy proud, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“And what mess is that?” he asked.

“Take a fucking guess,” she said, attempting to twist free of his hold.

Miles patted her bottom, until she laid still again. “Would it have anything to do with the redness back here?”

“Wow,” she said, crooking her head to look up at him and roll her eyes, “you must be a fucking genius.”

He raised his hand and solidly spanked each butt cheek once. “I want answers, not attitude.”

“I want a million dollars and a Porsche,” she said. “Sometimes, you just have to settle for what you can get.”

“Jennifer,” Miles said, staring into her eyes, “you can either tell me what’s been going on now, or you can tell me after I spank your bottom ten degrees hotter. It’s your choice.”

She fluttered her eyelashes. He raised his hand and delivered a flurry of spanks to her buttocks. Her eyes shot open wide and she squealed. He continued to spank as she kicked and squirmed.

“Alright, alright, alright, alright,” she said until he paused again. “I made a deal and took a spanking to keep you and your father from finding out I was behind in delivering the last batch of updates to Raven’s Gym.”

Miles delivered another half dozen spanks. “Now don’t you wish you had just told me in the first place?”

She shook her head. “Can we go home now?”

“Sure,” he said, “just as soon as you tell me what you are doing here.  Raven’s Gym is on the other side of town and this isn’t exactly on the way home.”

“I was on my way to Harper and Son,” she said.

Miles shook his head and raised his hand, delivering another round of spanks that left her squirming and breathless. “Wrong answer,” he said, “this isn’t even on the long way around. Do you want to try the truth or should I take your panties down?”

“I got turned around with all the fucking road closures and that’s the fucking truth whether you believe it or not,” she said.

“Alright, maybe I believe you,” he said, laying on a few slow swats with a lot of smack and wobble, “but that still leaves the big question. What have you been doing that’s gotten you so far behind in your work?”

She weathered his spanks in silence leaving Miles to wonder if she heard his question at all. The tension in her body assured him otherwise though, and as it grew in intensity, he determined it was the real piece of information she wanted to keep hidden. He increased the speed of his spanks and waited for the revelation to spill from her lips.

The words burst out from her in a rush. “I was trying to cover up for Rachel, but it got to be too much and I haven’t been able to get things under control since.”

“Rachel was fired a month ago,” Miles said, resting his spanking hand on her hot bottom.

“And I was covering for her for a month before that. I’ve been behind all that time and it’s just now catching up with me,” she said.

“You should have come to me,” he said.

“You were already mad at me over getting her fired,” Jennifer said, looking up at him with tear-filled eyes. “How could I possibly tell you I was behind in my work because of her too?”

“I was not mad at you,” Miles said. His hold on her softened. “Rachel is the source of her own problems, she always has been. Dad and I don’t blame you.”

Jennifer looked up into his eyes. “You really aren’t mad?”

He shook his head. “I’m disappointed you didn’t tell me before you ended up getting a sore backside from a client, but I’m not mad.”

“Can we go home now?” she asked with hopeful eyes.

“Just as soon as we make sure you never lie or hide things from me again,” Miles said.

“I won’t,” she said.

Miles slapped his hand down on her buttocks. “I want to be certain.”

The spanking had her burying her head against his leg in seconds. She kicked and squirmed. Her breath turned ragged under the constant slapping of his hand. Sniffles echoed up from the floorboard. Her buttocks grew hotter with every smack of his open palm. He watched the tension fade from her body and admired the undulating waves rippling beneath her flesh in response to every impact of his palm.

She surrendered to the moment, to the spanking, to him.

He stopped the spanking. His hand tingled on the verge of numbness and he knew it was enough. Her sniffles were muffled by the seat and car door, but he knew the sounds of sincerity wracking from her lungs. He lifted her gently upward and she twisted wrapping her arms around his neck. She rested her head on his shoulder and he wiped away the tears on her cheeks with a brush of his finger. He kissed her cheek.

Her lips and eyes pouted. “That really hurt,” she said.

He whispered in her ear. “It was supposed to.”

“Meanie,” she said and punched his chest with a closed fist and so little force that he barely felt it.

He smiled and kissed her again. “Does that mean you forgive me?”

“No,” she said without hesitation.

Miles lifted her from his chest and sat her properly into her own seat. Properly that is with the exception of tugging her dress back down. If she cared, she showed no sign of it on her face. He reached across her and pulled the seat belt to fasten her securely in place. She turned her head away from him and stared out the window.

A knock on Miles’ window startled them both. Outside in the rain, a heavy set man in a police uniform was leaning down and looking inside the truck. Jennifer blushed dark red and grabbed at the hem of her dress, trying to pull it down past her panties. It was a nearly impossible task with the seat belt in place.

Miles rolled his window down. “Morning officer. Is there a problem?”

The man glanced down at himself before looking back to Miles with a sloppy smile on his face. “I’m not an officer, just with traffic enforcement. The names Brody,” he said and offered his hand to Miles. “We’ve got flooded streets all over town and even the locals are getting turned around. I was just checking to see if you and lady here were in need of assistance?”

Miles shook Brody’s hand and glanced at Jennifer. She was still struggling with the hem of her dress while glaring daggers in Brody’s direction. Miles raised an eyebrow, but she wasn’t paying attention to him. He turned back to Brody.

“I know my way around,” Miles said. He nodded his head toward the flooded intersection. “That’s my girlfriend’s car floating down there. We were just having a little discussion before heading home.”

Brody leaned inside the truck enough to get his forehead out of the rain. His eyes wandered to Jennifer’s exposed panties and his lips hung open in a loose grin. She blocked his view with her hands, but he kept looking anyway. He said, “If I were a betting man, I’d say you learned your lesson today. Am I right little lady or am I right?”

Jennifer’s red face grew darker and her lips puckered in an angry frown. Miles expected a bit of venom to spew from her lips, in fact, he was almost looking forward to hearing it. Instead, she glared in uncharacteristic silence, until Brody winked at her and pulled his head back out of the truck.

Brody grinned at Miles. “Well don’t let me keep you out here. It’s probably best if you head on home and stay there cause what I’m hearing is the real storm hasn’t even hit yet. Can’t quite imagine how bad it’s going to get.”

Miles nodded. “Yeah, home sounds like a good idea.”

Brody’s gaze lingered on Jennifer as Miles rolled up the window. The storm continued to rage outside. A bolt of lightning lit the sky, giving the clouds an eerie platinum glow. The patter of falling rain slipped into silence and the truck reverberated in tune with the roar of thunder rolling off the clouds. Miles kept his eyes on Brody until the man finally turned and walked away.

Turning to Jennifer, he asked, “Do you know that guy?”

She shook her head and looked out her window. “I think he might have gone to my high school.”

“But you’re not sure?” he asked.

Jennifer shrugged. “He looked a little familiar, that’s all.”

“He seemed a little odd,” Miles said.

Jennifer stared out her window. He shook his head, knowing she was keeping something from him. Whatever it was, he decided to pursue it later and turned his attention back to the truck. The steering wheel dropped back into place with a thunk under the weight of his hands. He flipped on the headlights and revved the engine before slipping the transmission into drive.

With a quick glance  in his mirrors and at Jennifer, he pulled away from the curb and turned the truck around to head back the way he had come. The rain had stopped, but his instincts told him Brody was right about the storm;  It was far from over and the worst of it remained ahead.

“You up for seeing my father?” he asked.

She remained silent, staring out the passenger window.

He said, “Cause we should really figure out what were going to do about the Harpers.”

She looked back toward him. “There’s nothing to figure out. I’m not going to let that bastard Julian lay a hand on me and if I have to quit to be sure of it, then I quit.”