“In the car, please, before I join you on the back seat and take you over my lap again.”
Leah couldn’t tell if he was joking and decided not to second-guess him. She shuffled into the car, lifting up her skirt and lowering her bare bottom on to the black leather seats. She flinched, jerking as her heated behind made contact with the seemingly arctic surface. Sliding across the seat, her buttocks clenched. Part of her relished the coolness, another part felt embarrassed at her predicament. Finally, she settled back, knees pressed together and back upright. Throughout the manoeuvre, he watched her intently.
“There,” she said. “Happy?”
“Very,” he said, smiling.
Leah wanted her turn. She had revealed her driving penalty and now she wanted to know why he was back in Liverpool. “What happened in Switzerland?”
The streets were becoming quieter, the rush of commuters dying down. Rick didn’t answer at first, as if he was deciding what to say.
“I protected a wealthy banker and his family. As simple as that. A decent kind of man, didn’t take any nonsense, loved his family and I kept them safe,” said Rick.
“There’s a sadness in your voice,” she noted.
“Unfortunately, he also had a fondness for flying. He crashed during a flying lesson. Low cloud.”
“I’m sorry,” said Leah.
“I am for his family. He had young children. His wife couldn’t bear to have me around. She associated my coming and going with her husband. So she kindly asked me to leave. I miss the mountains, the fresh air, but to be honest, the work wasn’t as grand as I hoped.”
“So you came back here?” she said with disbelief.
“Not straightaway. That happened nearly six months ago. I went to work for another businessman in… Italy, in the south. Ferrying him around.”
“And?” she asked, expecting to hear more.
“Didn’t work out and I decided to come back to England, review my options and I signed up with the same agency because it is familiar territory.”
Leah thought she had been told fragments of a story. He spoke about Italy in a hurry, a brisk summary, which told her nothing. She had revealed her secrets, but Rick kept his closer and she didn’t know how to make him open up.
Beneath her, the heat of the spanking had dissipated into the cold seat. Now the leather was as warm as her bottom. She slid about the seat, feeling the smooth surface, and it gave her little shivers of delight.
She wanted to find out more about Rick. Things were different this time. No longer a student with paternal issues, she had her own money and time. She was a woman, not a teenager fresh out of boarding school learning to stand on her own two feet. She might employ a housekeeper and handyman to help about the house, but she owned it. It was all hers.
The car pulled up on the semi-circular driveway. She waited for the door to open and then she slid her naked bottom off the seat, letting the skirt slip down and cover her exposed thighs. He shut the door behind her and she couldn’t stop her hand. It reached out, touching the back of his hand, which still held the door handle. She ran her fingers up his forearm, towards his shoulder. Rick didn’t move, nor did he stop her.
“I’ve a very sore bottom,” she said quietly. Her hand moved across his soft suede jacket and came to rest on his chest. She could feel the rapid breathing, the pace of his quickening heart.
“You should put something on it. Camomile is soothing,” he suggested in a voice as soft as his jacket.
“Except I don’t think I can reach back there very well,” she said coyly.
His hazel eyes, with their dark surrounds, glistened, picking up the rays of light from the outdoor lamp. The corner of his lips curled upwards, a quirky smile. “Would you like some assistance?”
“That would be very helpful,” she replied, sliding her hand down his front. Just as she reached his waistline, he caught her wrist, paralysing it in his grasp, neither tightly nor gently, directing it away from her target.
Leah became aware of how cold the night air had become. Her exhale left a white mist, a visual sign of her rapid breathing. The cool wind picked up the edge of her coat, rising up her dress and blew against her naked sex. She let out a tiny sound, a little exclamation of surprise.
“You’re cold,” said Rick. Taking her hand, he led her to the front door, allowing her the chance to find her keys and unlock the door.
Leah flicked on a few light switches, lighting up the tiled hallway and the staircase, curving up the central support wall.
“Probably easiest if you lie on your bed,” he said. Helping her slip off her coat, he kicked off his shoes, leaving them alongside her own.
“Yes,” she agreed. “Probably.”
He followed her up the bare wooden stairs. Her hand slid along the smooth oak banister rail; she let it linger slightly behind her as if it was bait.