Rescuing Rudi Page 6

  On Wednesday, Denver closed the office at lunchtime and, after they’d eaten, drove Rudi to her doctor’s appointment in Melbourne. She was surprised when he went in with her, but discovered that she didn’t mind; in fact, she felt reassured by his presence. He watched the doctor examine her hip and shoulder, give her the all clear and discard her sling, and then he listened carefully, taking notes, when the doctor gave suggestions for her rehabilitation, which included gym exercises and swimming.

  Back in Emerald, they prepared their evening meal together, and Denver produced a bottle of champagne and two glasses.

  “I thought we might celebrate the end of the first phase of your rehabilitation. Now we can focus on the second part: getting you a job and a place to live. I’m not having you back on the streets.”

  He poured her a small glass and smiled broadly as he handed it to her.

  “You can’t have too much; I don’t want you turning up for work tomorrow with a hangover. Cheers”

  Rudi clinked his glass and took a sip. She loved champagne normally, but his toast had given it a sour taste. He was clearly happy that the end of his obligation was in sight and he’d soon be able to get rid of her.

  She didn’t feel like eating any more, and when he queried her silence, she pleaded tiredness. She had to wait, though, until he was finished as she was still on kitchen clean up for the week but, as soon as she could, she bid him “good night.”

  “Wait a moment,” he said, stopping her from going. “I have something else to show you first. Come to the bungalow with me.”

  Inside, he went straight through the office to the bedroom door that was always closed. Opening it for her, she was surprised to see a well-equipped gym.

  “Do you use this?” she asked understanding now how he kept in such good shape.

  “Yep,” he shrugged. “Every morning from 5:45 to 6:45. You haven’t heard me come out here?”

  “No.” She blushed not wanting to add that she’d been too busy snoring.

  “Well, the doctor said it’s important you build up your shoulder again and he’s given you those exercises, so you will join me here now in the mornings at 6:30. You can start with fifteen minutes as he said. I want to make sure you are doing them properly.”

  “Can’t I swim instead? He said that would be excellent rehab.”

  She saw him blanch at the question and look away.

  “I’ll see,” he muttered gruffly. “Now get off to bed and I’ll see you here in the morning at 6:30. You can wear the grey tights, then change into your office clothes before breakfast.”

  So, for the next two days the routine was gym first thing, showers and dressing, breakfast, work, dinner together after which she cleaned up and then went straight to her room, and Rudi was starting to get worried.

  She was clearly almost completely recovered from the accident and would be expected to leave soon. She didn’t have much time left to try and convince Denver that he should invite her to stay on, and she wasn’t getting to spend any leisure time with him. Still, she decided, if she was going to have to leave, she would make the most of her time here until then.

  So, at breakfast on Saturday morning, she broached the subject of the pool again. She loved swimming and it seemed silly to have a heated pool right there that no one was using. A brooding darkness passed over his face at the mention of it, though, and for a moment she thought he was either going to yell at her or not answer at all, but at last he spoke slowly and steadily.

  “Would you really like to use the pool?”

  “Oh yes. Please. Please. Can I? I love swimming, and it would be really good for me,” Danny pleaded.

  For a long moment, he said nothing. Just looked at her, almost as if he’d never seen her before. When he spoke, his voice was brisk, and his words clipped.

  “Very well. If you want to swim that badly, you may. But only when I am with you. Is that absolutely clear? You are never, ever to go in the pool on your own. Do you understand?”

  Despite her secret delight at the prospect of being able to do something fun with him, a cold shiver of apprehension ran up Rudi’s spine as she saw the furrow in his brow and heard the pain in his voice.

  “Say it,” he barked.

  “Okay. Okay.” She threw her hands up. “I won’t go in the pool unless you’re there. Sheesh. I can swim you know.”

  “Good! Don’t forget it or you will be sorry. And don’t be rude unless you’d like me to fetch the ruler.”

  “No!” she firmly shook her head. “Sorry.” She tried a sweet smile, but he didn’t respond. “Can we swim this morning then?” she asked excitedly, quickly changing the subject from rulers. Then her face fell. “Oh, but I don’t have any bathers.”

  “I am going to pay you this morning for your work this week, so why don’t we go into town and you can buy yourself some bathers and anything else you need.”

  Rudi was excited in the car. She’d always been proud of her figure and she was looking forward to finding a pretty pair of bikinis to show it off to Denver.

  While her breasts weren’t large, they were high and full, her tummy was firm and gently curved, her legs sturdy and shapely if not very long, but her best feature of all, she believed, was her bottom, which was very plump and stuck out behind. Other women might fret about their bottoms looking big, but Rudi loved the way hers filled her jeans to bursting.

  Denver went into the shop with her so, after trying on what she thought were a stunning pair of floral bikinis, she pulled the curtain back so he could see her breasts swelling out the top and then swivelled around so he could get the full effect of how her cheeks bulged out of the bottoms.

  When she turned back around, though, she was horrified to see that, far from looking impressed, he looked disgusted. Striding over to her, he pulled the curtain across in front leaving only her face exposed.

  “Cover yourself,” he growled. “You are not wearing those. If you insist on swimming, stay there and I’ll get you something suitable.”

  Waiting for him to return, Rudi blinked back tears. Denver had never done anything to suggest he regarded her as more than an annoying child he was obliged to take care of until she could go out on her own, and he’d certainly never looked at her as he might a woman to whom he was sexually attracted. Still, she hadn’t expected him to find her physically repulsive which seemed to be his response to her in a bikini.

  All the pleasure had been taken out of the purchase of her new swimwear, and when a salesperson arrived with a pair of one-piece bathers, Rudi was already dressed. After checking, they were her size, she bought them without looking at them or bothering to try them on.

  She’d been looking forward to the shopping expedition. For a start she needed a new phone, and she wanted to buy herself some make-up, but now she was too angry with Denver for crushing her pleasure and sick with herself for allowing him to humiliate her. So, when he asked if she wanted to do anything else, she replied with a surly “No,” and didn’t speak on the drive back to the house, just stared out the passenger window.

  Once home, Denver decided there wasn’t time before lunch for a swim and that she would have to wait for an hour after eating. After the incident with the bathers, the regimentation of when she was allowed to swim, and his insistence that he unwillingly be there, Rudi didn’t feel like going for a swim or even being around him. She was mortified and hurt by his rejection of her in the bikini and cross with him for making her miserable.

  Rather than get into a confrontation, she ate most of the sandwich he made for her, quickly cleaned up and went to her room.

  Throwing the bag holding the despised bathers onto the floor and herself onto the bed, she told herself how much she hated him, what a horrible man he was and how she was going to leave immediately – well, as soon as his back was turned and she could sneak out without him knowing! It didn’t matter that she had nowhere to go; she’d managed for thirty-one years without Mr. Denver Bane and could manage thirty-one more.


  The only thing she was really giving up by leaving, she told herself sternly, was an excellent hiding place, but she could always disguise herself again and maybe get further away. She could hitch a ride west to Adelaide or maybe even go as far as Perth.

  At two o’clock exactly, the time Denver had designated for her swim, there was a small knock on her door.

  “Go away,” she yelled.

  He knocked again.

  “Fuck off! I don’t want a swim.”

  The door opened, he came in, strode to the bed, bundled her up as though she weighed no more than a pillow, tossed her across his lap and started spanking her bottom, hard.

  “Ow, what! Stop! Ow! Stop! Ow! Let me up!”

  Unable to believe what was happening, Rudi tried her best to struggle but Denver was much bigger and stronger and had no trouble pinning her down so she couldn’t hurt herself.

  “I’ve thought about spanking you for being sulky and sullen since we left town,” he growled without missing a beat as his big, hard hand rose and fell onto her jiggling bottom. “I was going to let you off. I’m not letting you off using language like that though. You are a very rude girl! I will not stop until you have learned some manners.” And true to his word, he wasn’t stopping. If anything, he just spanked harder and faster.

  Despite her protestations of pain, the jeans she was wearing had provided quite a bit of protection, but he was spanking so hard and fast now it didn’t take long before each ‘ow’ was an honest response. Her demanding he stop became begging.

  “Please. Ow! Oh, please. Ow! Stop. Ple… ow! Please. Ohh. Please!”

  Denver didn’t stop, but he did slow down, pausing between each smack.

  “Is that all you have to say, naughty girl?” he growled.

  “Ow! What… ow! Oh! Ow… I’m… ow… sorry. I’m sorry. Ow!”

  “Not good enough,” Denver said increasing the tempo again. “Are you being punished?”

  “Yes. Ow. Ow. Ow. Please stop. Ow. I’m sorry.” Rudi’s eyes and bottom were both clenched tight as she desperately sought a way for this awful situation to end. Yes, she was being punished. Wasn’t that obvious? Then she remembered.

  “I’m sorry, sir,” she managed to blubber in between Ows. “Please, sir. Don’t spank me anymore. I won’t swear again.”

  Denver stopped spanking her but held her in place. Rudi squirmed but he held her fast.

  “Stop struggling. The spanking is over. Are you really sorry? Or just sorry you got spanked?”

  “I’m sorry I swore, sir,” Rudi promised as contritely as she could.

  “Are you angry with me for spanking you?”

  “No,” Rudi whispered, too shocked by what had just happened to know quite what she was.

  “Are you sure?”

  Looking into her heart, Rudi knew that she wasn’t.

  “Yes, sir,” she whispered. “I’m not angry with you.”

  “Good,” he muttered, his voice sounding dangerously close to breaking. “Come here then.”

  Tipping her upright, he plonked her down on his knee and wrapped his arms around her. She was so tiny compared to him; she was like a little fragile bird held gently in his arms. It felt more wonderful than anything else she could ever remember in her life. The pain in her bottom shifted to her heart, which felt like it was about to burst. Happily, she laid her head on his big chest and tucked her knees up to make herself into an even smaller ball snuggled in against him.

  She heard him chuckle under his breath as his arms tightened around her and his chin ever so gently brushed the top of her head.

  “Now then, missy, you are going to have a swim. We went to all the trouble to get you bathers and I’ve got the pool ready especially for you, so I’m going to wait here while you go into the bathroom and change. I’m prepared to let that spanking do for your swearing, not being ready on time and being sulky, but you’d better get ready now and make it snappy… or else! And next time it won’t be over your jeans!”

  Feeling him give her a small push to get her moving, Rudi jumped off, grabbed the bathers out of the bag on the floor and ran into the bathroom. She most certainly didn’t want any ‘or else’!

  Shutting the door, she collapsed on the edge of the bath, trembling like a leaf in the wind. Her mind was whirling, trying to comprehend what had just happened and how she felt about it.

  She’d had her bottom slapped by lecherous men as she walked past them before, but no man had ever pulled her over his knee and spanked her like a naughty girl the way Denver just had. Was she angry with him for doing it? She’d said she wasn’t and as she carefully scrutinised her innermost feelings, she had to confess that that was the truth.

  She should be angry though, she thought; shouldn’t she? He had embarrassed her, and his hand had hurt, at least a bit. How dare he? But try as she might to resent him, the image of her curled up on his knee afterwards with his big, strong, manly arms holding her protectively to his chest, filled her mind, and a feeling of warmth and closeness filled her heart.

  She didn’t understand why he would treat her like that or why it made her feel so good – well, not the spanking! That didn’t actually feel good at all, but the aftermath was like a precious moment, and she yearned for more such precious moments with him. But she mustn’t, she warned herself. He seemed as determined as ever to get rid of her as soon as possible and falling in love with him would just make her leaving even more unbearable.

  “Aren’t you ready yet? Do I have to come in and give you a hand?” His stern voice from the other side of the door snapped her out of her reverie.

  “Be right out,” she called hurriedly. He’d just given her a hand, all over her bottom, and she didn’t relish him giving her another one!

  Stripping off, she pulled her bathers up, slipped the halter strap over her head and turned to face the long mirror convinced she must look completely daggy and old-fashioned in her one-piece.

  Surprise turned to pleasure, though, as she carefully surveyed herself. The apricot colour complemented her olive skin giving it a golden glow, the sweetheart neckline showed off the curve of her breasts, the ruched centre accentuated her waist and the little skirt, which she’d thought would look ridiculous, was adorable. She looked over her shoulder and lifted the skirt up, giggling to herself thinking how glad she was now that her bottom was hidden. It had most definitely been tinged with pink when she’d taken off her jeans and checked it out to see what effect the spanking had had, and she blushed imagining Denver seeing it like that. Fortunately, now he wouldn’t.

  Only a few hours ago, she’d provocatively flaunted what she had at Denver thinking she could tempt him. She cringed thinking how she must have looked. At least, hopefully, when he saw her in this swimsuit he would not look as disgusted as he had earlier.

  Suddenly shy to be even semi-naked in front of him, Rudi pulled her jumper back on and wrapped a towel around her waist before opening the bathroom door.

  She needn’t have worried. He barely looked at her.

  “Come on then,” he said, turning his back and leading her out of her bedroom.

  “Denver? Can I ask you something, please?” Rudi said hesitatingly as they made their way down the hall to the stairs.

  “Yes, of course. What is it?”

  “Why don’t you use the pool? Don’t you like to swim?”

  Denver didn’t answer, and Rudi felt him tense and thought she heard him grind his teeth. He had turned his head away, though, so she couldn’t see his expression. She was beginning to worry she’d made him angry, but reaching the poolroom door, he turned to face her before he opened it. His face was carefully composed and his voice calm.

  “Yes, I can swim, and I used to swim a lot, but I haven’t been in this pool for a long time. Now stop asking questions and get in the water. That’s what we’re here for.”

  “Aren’t you coming in?”

  “No. I’m just going to stay here and keep an eye on you.” So saying, he pulled up a banana c
hair, adjusted it to an upright position and sat on it. “Hurry now. Have your swim. Do you remember what the doctor suggested?”

  Shyly, Rudi dropped her towel on the concrete platform, pulled her jumper off and slipped into the water quickly. Stealing a quick glance at Denver, she was surprised to see him with his head back and his eyes closed. Apparently, she had no need to worry about what he might think of her in her bathers as he didn’t even care enough to look!

  He clearly had no interest in her, well apart from behaving as though he were running a finishing school and it was his job to smooth off her rough edges and get her out into the world as an independent young lady!

  She sighed with disappointment. Still, no use worrying about it now, she told herself. She may as well enjoy the moment, and the water felt absolutely heavenly. Although it had been a tiny bit chilly when she first got in, after she’d swum a few gentle laps as the doctor had told her to do, seen how far she could get underwater without breathing, done some handstands, and generally had a lovely time the temperature was absolutely perfect.

  A couple of times she called to Denver to join her, but he refused and just sat watching, not taking his eyes off her now she was in the water.

  After half-an-hour, he called to her that it was time to get out.

  “Oh, can’t I stay in a bit longer, please?” she begged, holding onto the edge of the pool and looking up at him with pleading eyes.

  He grinned but shook his head.

  “Sorry, little girl. The doctor said not too much to start with. Hop out now and you can have another swim tomorrow, maybe.”

  For a moment, she felt like arguing but something in his tone cautioned her against it.

  She clambered out of the pool and quickly wrapped her towel back around herself, but again saw that he’d turned away so he couldn’t see her anyway. Clearly he had no desire to see her scantily clothed. She’d never met a man before who didn’t want her to take her clothes off. How was she supposed to try and seduce him if he wanted to avoid her naked body? She sighed and joined him.