Ely was a good-sized town. A good-sized town full of conventioneers from the Deaf Bowlers of America Society. Gretchen could hardly believe it when they got to their third motel and found it, too, was full. Finally, they did find one more motel on the outskirts of town which had three rooms. Bob and the limo driver, Jeff, would occupy one, Gretchen and Rowdy another, and Melody and Amy the third. Steve, the night guard, had slept in the limo all day and would be on duty through the night.
Gretchen made an attempt to keep Rowdy's status with her obscured from Amy but wasn't sure she was having much success. Fortunately, the little girl was sound asleep when they all got settled into their rooms.
Gretchen flopped on the bed, which creaked with her weight, slight though she was. Bob and their driver were in the room next door, so Gretchen was unsure how or if she could make love with Rowdy on the creaky bed. It was one thing for Bob to know intellectually she and Rowdy were lovers, it was another thing altogether to provide proof.
Rowdy sat on the edge of the bed to take off his boots and the bed groaned. Noise aside, Gretchen began to wonder if the bed would support the both of them without collapsing.
"Not exactly plush, is it?" he asked.
"Not exactly."
"Any place where you are, princess, is a palace to me."
"Aww. You're the darlingest man in the world."
"Is darlingest a word?"
"It is now."
They laughed for a moment or two.
"I need a shower," he said. "Join me?"
She got up and peered into the bathroom where there was a four-by-four shower stall. The two of them would be significantly crowded in there. "I'll wait my turn."
He bounced on the bed a bit and it made noises like an aging hippo with arthritis. "I think you want to join me."
Catching on, Gretchen smiled and began to shuck her clothes. "Last one in is a one-horned bull!"
"I think you mean rotten egg."
"Whatever!" She turned on the shower. "I win!"
Rowdy smacked her bare bottom as she stepped into the shower. The water was lukewarm, hot, then cold and back again, but it didn't matter with her body pressed up against Rowdy's. Gretchen loved the feel of his sleek muscles against her. She grabbed the soap and started washing him, knowing luxuriating in the unpredictable water wasn't going to be possible. He appeared to enjoy it, turning this way and that while she soaped and rinsed. His penis was hard by the time she was done rubbing herself against his soapy body. He took the soap from her hand and soaped her down with his free hand, keeping his cast out of the water for the most part so it wouldn't become completely saturated and soak the bed when they went to sleep.
His fingers found her most tender places and cleaned them, making them wet in a whole different way. When he was done and she was rinsed, he pressed her against the wall–not a difficult feat as they were jammed into the tiny stall. He grabbed her hips and bounced her up onto his thighs.
"Your arm!"
"Don't you worry. Pain is the least thing on my mind, I assure you."
She giggled, wrapping her legs around his middle. At first he prodded, then he thrust, filling her vagina full.
"There now," he said with a soft groan.
"Mmm. You can do it a few more times," she said on a sigh.
"Like this?"
"Yes, just like that."
"And like this?" he said, thrusting harder.
"Definitely."
He stopped asking questions and they both focused on reaching the ultimate goal together. When she came, she called out his name softly. But it didn't stop there. He continued, keeping their bodies locked together as he moved his hips against her. She came a second time, this one gentler than the first, but no less enjoyable. After that, he let himself go, buried himself deep, and filled her with liquid pleasure.
"The water is cold," he said after he caught his breath and let her down.
"Is it? I hadn't noticed."
"You were a bit occupied," he pointed out.
"Distracted even."
"I'm glad I could prove to be an adequate distraction," he said, using his lofty professor voice.
"You were, Mr. Jackson. Shall we retire?"
He turned off the water and reached for the towels. "Yes, indeed, Miss Nelson. After you." He made a small bow and handed her a towel. She giggled the whole time she dried off.
They slipped into bed, moist and naked, and the bed shifted beneath them. Gingerly, Gretchen curled up against Rowdy's side and, despite the lumpy mattress, fell asleep.
Rowdy woke to a spear of streetlamp light through the partly opened curtain on the small room's window. He'd been sleeping soundly, and it was now three-thirty. He didn't feel Gretchen's warmth against him, so he turned and reached out. The bed groaned under his weight. Maybe she was in the bathroom?
"Gretchen?"
No answer.
He called a little louder. "Gretchen?"
Finally, he got up and went into the dark bathroom, wondering if she'd gotten hurt or something. She wasn't there. In fact, she wasn't anywhere in the room. There just weren't so many corners to hide in.
"Where could she have got to?" he murmured as he dressed in jeans, socks and boots. Getting a shirt on over his cast was just too much to think about when it appeared Gretchen was gone. Thinking maybe she'd gone to see to Amy for some reason, he went downstairs and around the corner to Amy and Melody's room. Melody answered his knock on the door. She wore sweatpants and a faded t-shirt, but the super-casual look made her look younger and prettier. It was a shame she dressed like an accountant all the time.
"Is Gretchen here with you?"
"Gretchen?" she pushed some short hair away from her forehead. "No. Should she be?"
"No. She should be upstairs sleeping. When I woke and found her gone, I came directly here, thinking this might have something to do with Amy."
"No, we're alone. You should ask Bob. I'll get dressed."
"Okay." He didn't wait for her to shut the door but hurried back up the stairs and directly to the room next to his, Bob's room.
Bob answered the knock immediately. He had on pajama bottoms but no top. Rowdy noticed then just how muscular the older man was. He knew Bob worked out during his lunch breaks, but he didn't know just how much. Judging from his physique, he was just as fit as athletic Rowdy, and maybe ten pounds heavier with muscle.
"Is Gretchen here with you?"
"No. What's wrong?"
"She's missing. I woke up and she was gone."
"Go ask Steve. I'll be right there."
Rowdy searched around for Steve, and finally found him walking the perimeter of the parking lot, where he could get a good view of the building.
"Rowdy? What’s up?"
Steve was a tall, thin man, who carried his gun casually in a visible holster. His shaggy brown hair was clean and his dress shirt and slacks were well cared for. His features were a bit saggy. He was not a handsome man, but his brown eyes were kind and he was good at his job.
So far.
"Have you seen Gretchen?"
Steve stiffened. "No. Is she missing?"
"Yeah. I woke and she was gone. You didn't notice anything wrong?"
"Nothing has moved except for a large number of moths around the parking lot lights and the ever-present crickets. Did you talk to Bob? Could she be with Amy?"
"Been there. She's nowhere."
"Time to mount a search, I think."
Bob approached, wearing his jeans and a hoodie. "No luck with you, Steve?"
"No. Sorry. I didn't see anything."
"You take the backside of the building," he told Steve. "I'll go east toward the Dairy Queen next door."
Melody came up, dressed for business in jeans and a long-sleeved Aggies t-shirt. "I left Amy with Jeff."
"Good thinking," Bob told her. "You head out west toward the Spark Plugs Auto Repair, and, Rowdy, you go search the building. Look in all the linen closets, the ice room, vending machine cubbies, you get it. You might ask the night desk person as well. I'm going to search the limo as I head east." They all nodded. "I'll meet you back here in ten minutes."
Rowdy went to the motel building and combed every corner, nook and cranny. He stopped just short of knocking on doors. If push came to shove, he'd do that, too. After ten minutes of futile searching, he headed back out to the parking lot and met the others. He was shaking his head as he approached.
"Okay," Bob said. "We'll call the authorities."
"Why?" Gretchen asked from about ten feet away. She sauntered up and stopped as they all glared at her. "What?"
"Where have you been?" Melody asked.
"I was taking a walk." Gretchen turned to Steve. "Sorry, I slipped you. I wanted to be alone."
"Totally unacceptable," Bob told her. "There is no point in having a security team if you're just going to 'slip' them on a whim."
She frowned for a moment then looked sheepish. "I had you guys worried, hmm?"
"I thought someone had kidnapped you, Gretchen," Rowdy said. "I can't believe you were so thoughtless."
"I… um… "
"No excuses." Bob crossed his arms over his broad chest. "You'll hire another night guard to keep track of you. Steve is only one person. I should have anticipated something going wrong at night when we're sleeping."
"It's not your fault," Steve said. "I should have been paying better attention. It's a big motel. I was dividing my time between watching Amy's room over on the other side and watching Gretchen's room over here. Apparently, I was over on the other side when I should have been here. I'm sorry."
"Steve, stop," Gretchen said, putting a hand on his arm. "It's all my fault. I was thoughtless. I thought I could go for a walk and slip back in, and everyone would be none the wiser. Rowdy caught me."
Bob spoke up, his voice stern. "I want your promise you'll never do that again."
"Don't worry, Bob," Rowdy responded before Gretchen could say anything. "She won't be doin' it again. I'll see to it."
"Hey! I'm still here. No harm done. I promise I won't do it again. Okay?"
Rowdy reached for her hand and held it in a strong grip. He wasn't going to let her slip away. He had a plan to make sure she thought twice before scaring them all again. A firm spanking ought to teach her a lesson. This one she was not going to like. "Come with me, young lady."
Bob frowned nearby, but let Rowdy pull her away without a word.
"What's he going to do?" Melody asked as he walked away, Gretchen in tow.
"Spank her," Bob said, though the voices were growing fainter.
"Nothing more than she deserves," Steve said.
Rowdy wondered how Bob had known he'd spanked Gretchen before, but then Bob was enigmatic. It was hard to escape his dark eagle eyes. He did have to sleep sometime, which was why this had happened in the first place. Rowdy now had some doubts about Steve, but hopefully, the man would be more diligent in the future.
He pulled Gretchen into their room and closed the door, turning to face her.
Gretchen didn't like the look on Rowdy's face. He looked resolute and frustrated.
"I can't believe you thought your behavior was acceptable, Gretchen," he said, still four feet away. "It was utterly thoughtless and foolish. What if you'd been snatched?"
She was feeling pretty stupid, but there was still a spark of rebellion in her. "I had a lot to think about. And I wasn't snatched."
"Lucky for you! Lucky for Amy!" He headed toward the creaky bed and sat on its edge, making it groan and shimmy. "I want you totally naked for this, Gretchen. I ought to take my belt to you."
A moment of panic raced through her. His belt could do some damage. "Rowdy, please don't."
"No, I won't, not this time. I'm too angry. But you ought to know it's an option I won't hesitate to use under other circumstances."
"I didn't mean to make you angry."
"Get your clothes off."
"You're going to humiliate me," she pointed out.
He nodded. "Now."
She could say no. Rowdy wouldn't insist. However, he might just decide she was more trouble than she was worth. Quit making such stupid mistakes! she told herself. She'd known it was ill-advised to wander off by herself. But she needed to think about things. Specifically, she needed to think about her relationship with Rowdy. She was falling for him, big time. But their lifestyles conflicted, even while their childhood memories did not. They had a lot in common, and yet her money set them far apart in many ways.
All the money in the world meant nothing if it couldn't be shared. That was the plain fact.
She eyed Rowdy, who sat there, his hands on his thighs, elbows out, waiting for her. This was a hard decision. To bear the well-deserved shame for her actions, or go on without Rowdy and his steadying hand, support she trusted and valued.
It really wasn't much of a choice after all.
Off came her clothes. She didn't hurry, but she didn't drag her feet either. The spanking she was going to get was earned and now she'd learn the hard way to be more thoughtful of the people who were defending her.
Once naked, she saw Rowdy's stern gaze soften a bit, then his scowl returned. He patted his right thigh. "Butt right here."
The cheap motel carpet was scratchy under her feet as she shuffled over to him. He helped her position herself, her head, shoulders, chest and breasts on one side of his knees, and the rest of her on the other. He held her in place with his cast arm. She fleetingly thought about how his black cast must look against her light skin. The thought vanished with the first smack on her tender rear. It was a loud crack in the room and sent stinging shock waves through her body. Rowdy said nothing, but started spanking steadily. She ouched and owie'd through a dozen or more spanks. Each one hurting worse than the last one. Her butt was on fire. Stings like a hundred hornets covered her bottom and thighs. And yet, Rowdy didn't relent. Instead, the lecture started.
"You will never willingly scare us again," he said. "Promise."
"Ow! Ow! Okay, I'll never scare you again!" Smack, smack, smack. Her butt felt like it would burst into flames.
"You will never slip out on your guards. Promise."
"Oh, Rowdy, it hurts!"
"It's supposed to hurt. Promise."
"Oh! I'll never sneak out. I promise." She moaned and tears ran down the bridge of her nose and off into the none-too-clean carpet. Sobs racked her body as she cried.
"You will never endanger Amy like that."
"I would never endanger her! You're not being fair."
He spanked her another four times. "If something happened to you, what would Amy do? She'd be an orphan."
Yes, Gretchen had thought of that before. But not tonight. Tonight, she just wanted freedom, freedom from her money and all the restrictions it put upon her. "Okay! I understand. I promise I'll be more thoughtful of Amy."
He peppered her aching behind several more times and then stopped. Her butt throbbed and burned. The pain radiated down her thighs. But when the spanking was over, Rowdy rolled her up in his arms and held her against his big body. "We're done."
"Are you still mad at me?"
"A little bit," he admitted.
"How can I make it up to you?"
As he stroked her hair, he gave her his answer. "Time and good behavior, princess."
"I feel like I've ruined things," she said on a new sob.
Rowdy tilted her chin up to look into her streaming eyes. "No. A bump in the road, not a collapsed bridge. You haven't thrown me off so easy."
"You want to hold on, don't you?"
He nodded, then tipped his head for a light kiss.
Although her butt hurt something fierce, she ignored it to enjoy their kiss. It went from the mere touching of lips to something a lot more passionate. Eventually, though, he pulled away.
"We have a few hours of darkness to sleep. Best you get back to bed."
"But I don't want to sleep," she said, and she realized she was sounding like Amy. "Can't we make love?"
"Nope."
"Please?"
He sighed. "Gretchen, you try my resolve, but no, we will not make love again tonight."
"You don't want me anymore," she sobbed. "I'm too much trouble. I hate my money. I hate all the restrictions. I hate everything."
"What did I hear you tell Amy?" He thought about it for a few seconds. "You don't hate things, you are mad at them. You can be mad at things without hating them." Stroking her cheek, he said, "You'll find a way."
"Will you help me?"
"I'm thinkin' you can do this yourself, but if you want my help, of course, I'll lend it." He handed her a kerchief from his pocket. "Here. Blow your nose."
She did and her voice was stronger when she was done. If he was willing to help, then he would be sticking around. Her heart sang. Despite his suggestion she could manage the situation all by herself, she knew without some help and a person whom she could bounce ideas off of, she'd make more mistakes. Maybe bigger mistakes. Nine-hundred-million dollars was a lot to manage, even with a business manager, lawyer, accountant, investment counselor, and a whole host of other professionals. She had no experience with it and no confidence she'd do a good job. Rowdy was well-off, by cowboy standards, and he'd seemed to manage his money well enough. He was pragmatic and thoughtful. He would be a great sounding board.
And he was her lover. That was not to be minimized in her thoughts. She cared about him with all her heart. Maybe she'd fallen in love with him. It had been so long since she'd been in love, and that had been puppy love, she wasn't sure she'd recognize the adult variety when she encountered it.
She knew she cared about Rowdy. Wanted to be with him all the time. Cared what he thought about her and her people. And felt closer to him every day. They had amazing sex, and although that was hormones talking as much as anything, it was something which gave their relationship spice and intimacy. She even accepted the spankings. The first one had been sexy. This last was the complete opposite. But she hadn't stopped caring for and respecting Rowdy, not one little bit.
"Thank you, Rowdy. I promise I'll do better in the future. I don't want you to be mad at me again."
"I don't want to be mad at you either. You scared me. I don't much like being scared except when on a bucking horse. That kind of scared I understand."
Sighing, she squirmed on his lap, trying to find a comfortable position where there was none. His well-worn jeans were smooth against her beleaguered behind, but it didn't help the heat there. She so wished he'd make love with her and take her mind off it. But she fully understood this was part of the punishment. It had been the same before.
"Into bed with you, princess," he said, helping her up so he could stand.
"Are you coming to bed, too?"
"I'm going to sit in this chair," he said, pointing to the single armchair crowded into the corner. "I need to think some."
Oh, no. What would he be thinking about? Her? Was he making up his mind about her? Was she still in danger of losing him?
"Are you sure?"
"Yep. Now go to bed. I'll turn out the lights."
She crawled in and he tucked her in then turned out the lights. As she drifted off to sleep, she thought about him, sitting there, thinking in the dark.