Satin and Leather

Creative writing around the themes of spanking, domination and submission

Firewatch 3

Firewatch
Chapter 3
by Patty


The perimeter was clear. In four hours of checks, no smoke trails materialized. This time, thankfully, there were no fires. At least there were no fires in the wilderness.

Patty radioed the all clear to the central station just before dusk. Then parked herself at the desk to complete her logs from the day’s work. Cliff occupied himself going over some of their specimen and field diaries. The evening found both of them settled and comfortable with quiet between them. Only periodic static and short messages relayed between the other towers and the central station intruded on their peace.

The sunset was lovely. To the east, the lingering cloud tops blown apart by the upper level winds, glowed soft pink, and then a deepening red and purple. In the west, the crisp blue sky was slowly painted with a vermilion glow that became deeper and richer until darkness took over.

For the next four days, the pair was able to establish a working relationship, and were able to get past the animosities that had developed between them. Patty was very mindful of her temper. She was not pleased with herself for dropping the ball on her assignment, and she was not keen to have another encounter with the ruler.

Cliff, for his part, was pleased to have a chance to get to know the little spitfire without her temper in the way. He found he quite liked her easy sense of humor. He also respected her strength and intelligence. She could do the job well, and she was creative in how she approached it.

Cliff discovered that Patty was born in Ireland, but had lived in Canada most of her life, first in Nova Scotia, and then in Alberta. She was a forestry major, but her university career was not completely focused on her course work. She was a member of the gymnastics team. That explained the ease she had with her body as she moved over the rocks and the trails.

Cliff smiled as he remembered her tight little frame struggling against his hold while he paddled her backside, and the cute round rosy red butt that jiggled under the impact of the ruler. He wondered what she’d say if she knew that he was entertaining thoughts of using his hand on that backside, if she gave him cause to spank her again.

The terrain surveys and sample collection was the focus of each day. In the evenings as they completed logs and catalogued the survey findings, they were able to talk and get to know one another.

Almost before she realized it, Patty found herself feeling as comfortable and at ease with Cliff as she had felt from the beginning with Paul. She began to let her guard down. A growing regard for him as a person replaced the wary respect for his firm hand as the thing that kept her temper in check.

On Friday morning at the end of the first week of Paul’s vacation, Cliff decided that they would hike together to the rocky northwest limit of the watch. Without thinking, Patty asked why they both had to go. To her it made sense that she could go alone, or he could, leaving the other to complete other tasks. She’d forgotten his comment earlier in the week about the questionable safety of performing the more remote and treacherous fieldwork alone.

The tone of voice she used to question Cliff’s decision, was sharper and more challenging than she realized.

Cliff looked over at her as she puttered with the things she would need in her pack for the day.

“We go together because it’s my call.” His answer was curt, directed more at her tone of voice than at an explanation.

Patty felt her temper flare. ‘Arrogant bastard!’ She almost said aloud. She’d almost forgotten his knack for making his ‘call’ seem so arbitrary and power happy. “It makes no sense for both of us to do work that one person can do!” Was what she actually said.

“I’ve already told you how I feel about doing the remote work solo.” Cliff’s answer was clipped and pointed.

Patty frowned. She wanted to issue a stinging retort suggesting he was being pig headed and belonged to a species other than human and lower than pigs. But she controlled how she responded. “I don’t agree with you. I think it’s a waste of energy and time. We’re going to have to work extra tomorrow to finish the work one of us could finish today.”

“So we work extra?” Cliff answered her.

“I have a say too. This is MY assignment.” Patty argued.

“You answer to me.” Cliff warned. “Do you want to have that conversation again young lady?”

Patty stopped short. As angry as she felt herself becoming, she recognized the pulse of energy that shot through her with the tone of his voice, and the unmistakable meaning in his words. She struggled with a response. Wanting with every thread of her being to stab at him with a smart comment, and at the same time reluctant to step over the line and incur his wrath.

“Fine, let’s waste the day together!” Was what she finally decided on. She infused just enough ire to make it clear she was irritated, and still held back most of the contempt she felt with his decision.

The start the morning got off to set the tone for the day. Patty let her irritation smolder. Even the vigorous hike didn’t help calm her mood.

Cliff held back, and pulled up the rear. He could tell, from the way she planted the walking stick she had picked up that she was stewing. ‘Damned her idiot temper!’ He thought to himself. That she could let herself go off, over what was just common sense, amazed him. That she would not let it go, even though she had to know her position had no merit, aggravated him.

By noon, they’d reached the 8-mile line. There were two more to go, and they were the most dangerous. Cliff called up to Patty to hold up and wait for him.

“What for? I’m fine.” She called back, and ignored him.

“I said HOLD UP!” Cliff called up again. His voice boomed and was all business. Patty kept going forward with her climb. “NOW!” Cliff commanded.

Patty stopped and turned on her perch. Some loose rock dislodged and rained down on him. “I’m just at the ridge. I’ll wait for you up here.” She shot back. She was obeying and disobeying him in the same action. A wry smile settled in her mind, just under the surface. It was a small petulant victory for her pride.

Cliff fumed. He was tempted to call her down. However, he reasoned there would be very little gained by that besides an exercise in power. It wasn’t his style to muscle people for the sake of exercising his authority. Of course, he would apply consequences to those individuals who forced him to make that choice. The little brat in front of him was quickly maneuvering herself into that corner.

When Cliff reached the ridge, he found Patty standing on the far edge ready to step down and start the two-mile descent to the 10-mile limit. As his torso cleared the rocks and he stepped up onto the flat, Patty turned and stepped down.

“Stop where you are and get over here.” Cliff issued a direct order.

“I waited for you? You’re here. Now let’s go.” Patty answered, and stepped further down and almost out of sight.

“So help me Patty if you take one more step down that path….” Cliff’s voice thundered. Patty stopped short and turned back up the trail. “Get over here and sit down while you still can!” Cliff pointed to some large boulders that formed a table on the flat surface of the ridge.

Patty glared at him and held back just long enough to show defiance, but not long, enough to give him cause to act on it. Yet. She moved over and settled on the rock.

“What!?! What is so all fired important that we have to stop and waste time?” Patty released an exaggerated sigh.

“Rest.” Was all Cliff would say. He moved over to the edge of the ridge near the trail Patty stepped down on. The grade was steep, but not as steep as the one they’d just negotiated. They would need to leave the trail to catalogue the old growth, and collect the samples they needed. Cliff wanted to make sure they had a clear idea of the pattern before they got started.

Patty fumed watching his back as he walked the ridge surveying the slope below. She wasn’t going to let him hold her up here for much longer. She knew he was doing it just for the sake of proving he was in charge. Her aggravation with him fueled a restless energy. What took only three minutes, seemed to her to be taking ten.

“Well?” She said after a few minutes. Her impatience was evident in her tone of voice.

“Just cool your heels!” Cliff snapped back. She’d interrupted his train of thought.

‘You son-of-a-bitch!’ Patty wanted to scream it at him. Instead, she picked up a fist-sized rock, and squeezed it. A wicked grin crossed her face with the natural thought that came with it. It would almost be worth it to act on it she thought. The idea did occupy her mind though, and she was effectively distracted from her restlessness and frustration with Cliff. Her hands smoothed the rock, and flicked dirt out of its cracks and fissures. Her mind wandered over the scene that might follow should she launch the rock at the best target available. It was a satisfactory diversion

When Cliff turned back to her, he saw her lost in thought, making absent use of her hands.

“Alright! Let’s get moving.” He called to her.

Patty startled. Her heart felt as though it would leap out of her throat. There is no way he could know what she was thinking, but the guilty awareness that he might guess still played out across her face.

Cliff saw the expressions flicker. He guessed he’d interrupted some private daydream. He also saw her slip the rock into her pocket as she stood up to come to him.

“Got plan for that?” He asked her. As he did, he gestured to her pocket, indicating he saw what she had placed there.

Patty blushed, but she recovered quickly. “No, nothing special. I just like the crystals on it.”

Cliff described the pattern he thought they should use. Patty objected to part of it, and insisted on one change. Cliff was exasperated, but it wasn’t worth the fight. He gave in and let her have her way. She was getting mighty close to the edge of his patience though. Patty could feel it too, and maneuvered so she was pulling up the rear for the next leg of the hike. The last thing she wanted was him behind her, watching her back, and getting ideas.

There was some more bickering in the next two hours as they finished their work. It wasn’t enough to set of either’s temper, though there was enough to keep them simmering.

The return trek was fast, as most of the last eight miles was down hill. The last six was an easy grade. Patty let Cliff know she was going to take a swim before processing the samples, and picked up her pace.

“Alright then you can do the samples solo when you get back. I’ll go up and check in with Central and make some grub.” Cliff answered.

“Fine!” Patty shot back. ‘The least he could do was process the samples he was carrying.’ She thought, but then it was just as well. He’d be out of her hair, and she could do her own thing when she got back to the tower.

The swim did wonders for her mood. The cold mountain water was refreshing, and the lengthening shadows of the fir trees on the lake were soothing. Patty took her time walking back. It was too bad the hike today couldn’t have been this pleasant she thought. What a waste of a beautiful mountain day.

“It’ll be nice when Paul gets back.” She said out loud to the trail.

Back at the tower, she had to turn the lights on in the shed to see well enough to get her work done. Up in the tower it was still full daylight, but down at the bottom, the woods and mountains blocked the light, so well that it felt well past dusk.

It took only forty minutes to finish her work. She stayed down long enough to finish her catalogue and diary, not really thinking that she was wasting power. When she finished, she collected what she needed into her pack, and started a race with herself up the ladder.

As she burst through the floor, and vaulted up over the rail, she was met by Cliff, standing rigid just inches from her.

The expression on his face was dark.

“What!???” Patty was startled.

“What in the Sam Hill were you trying to pull coming up that ladder like that!??” Cliff took hold of her shoulders.

“What!???” Patty was confused. “It’s a race, we do it all the time?!” She answered honestly.

“Of all the damned fool things you could do, this one takes the cake!” Cliff turned her away from him and smacked her backside hard.

“God damn you son-of-a-bitch! What in the hell did you do that for!” Patty scooted out of his reach quickly.

“If you’d slipped on that ladder or this rail gave way, you’d have fallen and maybe killed yourself. At the very least, you’d have done yourself serious injury! Not to mention it’s getting dark and you couldn’t see what you were doing half way up here!” Cliff’s voice was filled with genuine concern.

“God damn! But you can be such a Granny sometimes!” Patty reacted. “Paul and I have been doing that with almost every climb up since we got here. Neither of us has missed a step even once!”

“Well you’re not doing it any more!” Cliff issued an order.

“The hell I won’t!” Patty retorted.

“The hell you will!” Her insubordination made Cliff seethe. “You’ll do as I instruct when it comes to safety, or you’re off this assignment! And young lady! You’ll clean up your mouth and tone down your attitude, or you’re going to have another come to Jesus reconing over my knee.”

He watched her reaction. He could easily see that she was having a hard time controlling her mouth. She looked to be fairly choking on what she wanted to say. Even though he was close to the end of his rope with her today, he found her little struggle amusing.

Patty was almost ready to throw all caution to the wind and let loose every angry word she’d kept back all day. But he had actually threatened her with removal from the assignment. She needed to get her mind around that before she shot herself in the foot. She decided against saying anything at all in answer to what he just said. Instead she turned to the workstation and put her pack down on it, and then to the galley kitchen to wash her hands.

“Not so fast.” Cliff’s words stopped her at the sink.

“What now!???” Patty turned to face him, releasing an exasperated sigh as she did.

“What held you up down there all this time?” He asked her.

“I was processing samples! What do you think?!” She answered.

“That doesn’t take ninety minutes on the generator.” Cliff pointed out.

“No it doesn’t. I took the time to do the data entry while I was there. If you must know!” Patty’s answer dripped with sarcasm.

“I’d watch my tone of voice if I were you right now Miss Priss. You just wasted almost an hour on the generator, when you could have been up here using daylight to get your reports done. Care to defend that?”

Patty’s eyes locked with his, and she swallowed hard against the cotton ball that was starting to fill her throat. His expression told her more than any words could.

“No.” Was all she said.

“No what?” Cliff pressed her.

Patty turned away. She didn’t want him to see her face. She did know that the use of the generator was a strict rule for all of the stations. She hadn’t really given it consideration, once she got busy with her work. The light being on wasn’t even on her mind at the time. She didn’t have an answer for her actions other than to admit she’d completely ignored a hard rule. With all his needling all day, it was just her luck he’d find a legitimate beef to end things on. She ignored his question, and focused on washing her hands.

“Patty, I asked you to explain.” Cliff reiterated.

The trigger on her temper flicked, and the hammer came down on both barrels.

“Look! I forgot! That’s all! I forgot! You’ve been fucking needling me all God Damned day! And now this! It’s not all that important! I won’t do it again!” She stamped her foot down hard enough that the whole cabin shook with it.

Cliff shifted his weight onto on leg, and began to roll up his sleeves. Patty watched his expression, and his actions, and felt an electric surge of awareness that she’d crossed the line.

Cliff moved to the table and turned one of the chairs out. “Come here now.” He ordered.

“No!” Patty answered. “You can’t!”

“I can, and I will. You can make it easy, or you can make it hard.” Cliff’s voice was cool, and his expression was hard and firm.

Patty pushed her back into the counter behind her. He was between her and the exit. She couldn’t just submit to a spanking like that. There was no way she would just walk over and give herself up to it. And just who did he think he was. She was an adult after all.

“I’ll report you! This is not right!” Patty argued.

“You do that.” Cliff nodded his head. “After I set you straight. And young lady, right or not it’s how it’s going to be. Now, do I get the ruler or do you come here under your own steam and take it with my hand?”

“No! I’m not taking it ANY way! You can’t do this!” Patty’s voice raised several octaves with the anxiety she was feeling. Part of her wanted to rip his hair out, another part of her wanted desperately to make him change his mind. But deep inside her psyche was a part of her she didn’t want to acknowledge. A part of her that wanted him to spank her just as hard as he had the other two times. As much as she was afraid of it in that moment, she couldn’t help but feel the nervous anticipation.

Cliff watched her expression. He wanted to smile. Her eyes were darting from his legs, to his face, to the desk where the ruler lay, to the open trap door above the ladder. She looked like a small caged animal. He imagined she must have been searching for a way out of the hole she dug for her self. She’d been asking for this, one way or another, all day though. He told himself. She could not claim he hadn’t given her fair warning. Nor could she claim that this wasn’t the outcome she should have expected given their history over the past week.

He saw when she seemed to settle on an action. Her eyes locked with his. There was a pleading look in them that said to him, ‘Please don’t make me do this.’ He let out an exasperated sigh, and took the two steps toward her so he could capture her arm.

She pulled against him, but did not fight him the way she had the first times.

“Please don’t!” She whimpered, as he pulled her with him to the chair.

With his free hand, Cliff released the snap on her shorts, and pulled the zipper down.

“Pull them down.” He told her.

“Ohhh no please!!!!” Patty pleaded. She clutched the waistband of her pants holding them up, and pulling the front closure back together.

“Pull them down now, or we get the ruler!” Cliff warned, as he settled himself on the chair. He let go of her arm, took hold of the front of her denim shirt, and pulled her to the right side of his lap.

Patty, let out a sigh that was half whine and half moan, as she pushed her shorts down to her knees.

“Underwear too, and bend over.” Cliff coaxed.

She sobbed, and gave over to the humiliation of baring herself, and leaning down over his lap. She was trembling with all of the mixed up emotions and sensations racing through her body. Rather than let her self cry, she fought to keep some dignity.

“I hate you for this!” She said.
 

“Fine by me.” Cliff answered. “I’m none to fond of you right this minute myself.” He smacked her butt hard. “But we’ll fix that right quick now I think.” He chuckled, and her spanking began.

“AaaOOwwww!” Patty cried out. His hand was hard, and stung at least as much as the ruler had. Within seconds, she was struggling to get away, and howling with every impact. The pain made her mad as a hornet.

Cliff held her tight against him, and kept on spanking in-spite of her struggles. Unable to stop herself, Patty began to swing her right hand back to protect her butt from his assault. Each time she did, Cliff shifted his efforts to her thighs, and warned her. “Keep your hands out of the way.” The spanks to her legs burned like fire. Patty would pull her hand out of the way, and kick more vigorously, but within seconds, her hand would fly back again. Cliff finally gave up and captured it, pulling it tight against her side, tucking under her hip.

He spanked her hard and long, until her struggles began to abate. Her howling lost some of its volume, although she still cried out with every spank.

Cliff slowed his pace, but brought his hand down harder. “Are you -ready -to -listen now?” He asked her, smacking her butt with some of the words for emphasis.

“You’re not hurting me you bastard! I’m just mad!” Patty renewed her kicking, and bucked hard against each spank he delivered as he spoke.

“Is that right?” Cliff chuckled. “Then I guess we have a ways to go.” He picked up the tempo again, and kept at it until he felt her struggles loose some of their oomph.

She was a damned tough little brat, he thought. His hand was on fire, and from the looks of her backside, it must be darned hot too. She was a solid little bundle that was for sure. The ruler might be a better choice for the future though, if he had to deal with her in this way again. In fact, if he had to keep this up much longer now, he would stop and get the implement.

When she seemed to settle again, he slowed the pace and asked her again if she was ready to listen. What had been unintelligible cries and howls were now words.

“Stop! Please stop!” She pleaded.

“Are you ready to listen?” He asked her.

“Yes!!!! Please!!! I’ll listen! I’ll listen! Just stop.” Patty answered. Her voice was shrill and hoarse.

“Alright then.” Cliff stopped spanking her, but held her down over his lap. “Let’s get some things straight then. Who runs this show?” He asked.

“You do.” Patty answered quickly.

“Who makes the decisions about what’s safe and what isn’t?” He asked her.

“But!….” Patty started to protest. Cliff smacked her hard four times.

“That’s not the right answer.” He said.

“OAAAAAAAAoooow!!! You do!” Patty cried out, struggling briefly with the renewed fire his hand produced.

“Damn your butt is hard.” Cliff exclaimed. “When I tell you to hold up, or wait for your partner before moving on, what are you going to do?”

“Wait! I’ll wait!” Patty struggled against the words as if he had smacked her. Cliff responded to her bucking and resistance by delivering 10 rapid fire spanks. These made her cry out again.

“Owwwwww! Please! Please! Please! No more, nooooo moooorrrre.” Her cry was now a plaintive moan.

“And the generator?” Cliff asked.

“I’ll do my work in daylight! I promise! Please let me up!” Patty was sobbing now.

“And races up the ladder?” Cliff smacked her once.

“No more! Please! I’ll stop it. I’ll stop it.” She wailed. She wasn’t sure he was ever going to stop.

“Cursing me, and just generally being disagreeable?” Cliff smacked again.

“Oh please! I’m sorry! What else do you want from me!? I’ll try harder!” Patty was pleading and desperate for him to stop.

“Alright. Now young lady let’s seal the deal. 25 more spanks, and you count them.” Cliff delivered the first.

Patty bucked and wailed as he did. “Oh NOOOOOOO! Please no more!”

“Count them!” Cliff repeated, as he smacked her again.

“Two!!!!” Patty fairly screamed the number. She was able to keep count until 11, when her crying became full-blown sobs, and she found she could hardly catch her breath. Cliff picked up the pace, and delivered several more very hard spanks.

By the time he got to 20, she was struggling and crying. “That’s 25! That’s 25! Stop! Ahowwwo ohh ahowwwo,,, that’s 25! StooOoop.” Her sobs heaved from her with her pleas. Cliff administered the last five to her upper thighs, and then he stopped.

Patty released all of her muscles, and sagged limp over his lap. Cliff lifted the sobbing little girl up, and eased her around, so she was perched on his lap. She winced for a second as her raw butt encountered his jeans, and then relaxed, as the initial sharp pain of contact became a dull throb.

She let Cliff sooth her, as if he was a different man from the one who’d just blistered her backside.

“It’s all over now.” Cliff crooned into her hair, as he rocked her gently. Patty cried quietly into his denim shirt. It took her several minutes to calm enough so that her breathing was almost regular again.

When she could talk clearly, she looked up into his face. “Why do you have to spank me like that?”

“Seems like the right thing to do.” Cliff answered. His tone was matter of fact. “You behave like a spoiled brat, I dealt with you like a spoiled brat should be handled.

“I’m a grown woman.” Patty reasoned.

“Then you should act like one.” Cliff answered.

Patty was quiet for a while. His arms around her felt good. She felt like she fit just right in the curve of his chest, under his chin. His arms wrapped around her made her feel warm and safe. In-spite of the throbbing burn underneath her, she felt very comfortable on his lap now that she was upright.

“Why do you hate me so much?” She asked finally.

“I don’t hate you.” Cliff answered. “Never said that.”

“You act like you do.” Patty spoke softly.

“You know kiddo, as a matter of fact, I kinda like you. If you weren’t such a royal pain in the ass so much of the time, I think I’d really like you.” Cliff chuckled. “You’re smart, funny and pretty darned cute when you want to be.”

“You sure have a rotten way of showing a girl how you like them.” Patty spoke into his shirt. His smell was very appealing and the sound of his voice through his chest was seductive.

“You ever stop to think maybe it’s because I like you that you’re brat behavior gets under my skin like it does?” Cliff spoke honestly, betraying for the first time that she was under his skin.

Patty tipped her head up and looked into his face. She saw genuine affection in his eyes, and immediately tears began to flow again. She dropped her gaze, and sobbed into his chest.

Cliff squeezed her tighter, and then lifted her chin, so she had to look at him again. “What’s this all about then?” He was confused.

“Nothing, it’s nothing.” Patty answered through her tears.

Cliff chuckled some more, and then just leaned back in the chair. He held her until she stirred and tried to pull away. As she did, Cliff acted from instinct. He pulled her close again, lifted her chin, and captured her lips with a kiss. Patty leaned into it, and returned it in kind. Their eyes locked. It was done. Paul’s perceptions were right. The animosity between them had been an odd kind of sexual dance. They were two strong personalities, but one was not as strong as she acted. She needed someone who saw through her in charge, tough as nails, persona, someone who would make it safe for her to give up some control. It seemed she might have found him. He was going to have to wrestle control from her though. It would take persistence.

It was well past dark, and Patty was tired and hungry. They both were hungry.

Shifting off his lap, she pulled her shorts and under wear back up. Her butt would be sore for at least another day, maybe longer. She could feel her muscles twinge as she shifted her weight side to side.

Supper was enjoyable. All the animosity of the day was cleansed between them, and now there was something else. Patty knew the man felt affection for her, and she could not deny anymore that she felt something strong for him as well.



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