Irritable (3 page)

"
Owwwww
! Stop it, you son of a bitch!" Kelsey screamed
furiously. "Stop it right now!" She kicked and reached around to
pinch Cleve's side as hard as she could.

Cleve
let out a yelp and immediately brought both her hands back to the small of her
back and pinned them there. "You shouldn't have done that, Pebbles.
Now I'm going to make sure you regret acting like a brat." He suited
actions to words, and started applying his hand again.

Kelsey
was shocked by how much his hand hurt on the seat of her jeans! She'd
never been spanked, and it was not only humiliating and embarrassing, it was
painful as could be! "Stop!
Owwww
!
Please! It hurts too much!
Owwwww
!"
Kelsey hated herself for begging, but she simply couldn't stop herself.
"Please stop, Cleve. I'm sorry I pinched you! I'm sorry for trying
to get even. Please... I'm sorry!"

Cleve
continued to spank her wiggling bottom. "You're only sorry because you're
getting a spanking. I imagine you will be truly sorry by the time you've
finished dealing with all this mess, young lady."

"
Owwwww
! Ouch!!! I'm sorry! Please stop,
Cleve! Please!" Kelsey was horrified when she started crying.

"Are
you going to stop giving me sass and clean up this mess you are responsible
for, young lady?" Cleve demanded, giving her upper thighs a couple of hearty
spanks for emphasis.

"Yes!"
Kelsey promptly agreed, anything to stop the spanking. She immediately
found herself on her feet and Cleve hit the switch to open the garage door and
the garage was flooded with daylight once more.

"Here
is a pair of gloves so you don't get blisters. You can spread that stuff
on all the flower beds in both our yards, and don't go overboard or you'll kill
our plants," Cleve ordered. "The yard tools and wheelbarrow are yours to
use. Don't waste time. I want this done before dark, and I want
this driveway hosed down so I can pull my car inside without tracking manure
inside."

Kelsey
swiped her face with the backs of her hands before pulling on the gloves.
She hated yard work and hired a company to mow her grass. She hired a
nursery to put out flowers and tend the beds. She wanted no part of
spreading the fertilizer over their yards. "Why don't I just call Mr.
Treas
and have him come and remove his product? It
would be much simpler..."

"For
you, yes. But, you started this and now you will deal with it, young
lady. Get busy or I'll take you over my knee again. You don't want
to give me another reason to spank you right now, Pebbles. You have a
serious punishment coming and you don't want another spanking before that
happens."

"No!"
Kelsey was horrified at the very thought of another spanking. "Please
don't! You already hurt me and I don't ever want that to happen
again. I'll clean up the mess, but only if you promise you won't do that
again!" she put her hands on her hips and faced him. "I'm already sore as
can be!"

"You
are sore because you didn't heed my warning, and you were promised you would be
punished. I'm not going to change my mind, Pebbles, and if you know what
is good for you, you'll get your little butt busy right now and stop arguing
with me."

Kelsey
looked at him for only a few seconds before deciding she needed to do as he
said or he would actually spank her sore bottom again! She picked up a
shovel and pushed the wheelbarrow out beside the pile and got busy. This
was going to take hours and she absolutely hated yard work of any kind.

Cleve
got a bottle of water from the fridge he kept in the garage and took a long
drink as he watched the little redhead work. At the rate she was going it
would take her a week to finish moving the pile of manure from the driveway and
spread it around the flower beds, trees, and bushes. She looked perfectly
miserable and he was positive that she was learning a lesson, a lesson she
desperately needed to learn.

"I'm
tired, Cleve, and I need a break," Kelsey whined an hour later. Her back
and upper arms were aching and it looked as though she'd barely made a dent in
the pile. She was discouraged and wanted nothing more than to go inside
and take a shower and lie down.

"You've
got a lot to do yet. Get back to work."

"That's
easy for you to say. You're sitting on your butt, sipping water, and
watching me do all the work by myself. You could at least help!"

"Help?
I didn't order this delivery, Pebbles, and it's plain to see that spanking is
already wearing off... Maybe I need to give you another one to get you motivated
again...?"

"You
are a bully!" Kelsey declared, but she started shoveling manure into the
wheelbarrow once again.

Pebbles
was a spitfire, Cleve decided. He watched her work a while longer and
could see that she was beginning to show signs of pain in her arms and
back. He abruptly realized that she wasn't used to doing this sort of
work and she'd done enough to make her body ache. He got to his feet and
took the shovel from her and pitched in. "I'm getting hungry, young
lady. Let's get this done."

Kelsey
was shocked at how quickly he loaded the wheelbarrow and it only took a few
more minutes to complete the job that would have taken her another two hours at
least. When he told her that she needed to wash down his driveway, Kelsey
gave him a dirty look, but followed his instructions and soon the driveway was
spotlessly clean and the horrible stench wasn't nearly as noticeable. She
was delighted the job was finally done and turned to go home, weary, and in
need of a bath.

"Just
where do you think you're going, Pebbles?" Cleve reached out to stop her.

"Home.
I need a long soak in the tub."

"Aren't
you forgetting something?" Cleve asked softly and watched as her green eyes
filled with comprehension.

"No...!"
Kelsey shook her head. "I'm still hurting from before, Cleve. You
can't!"

"Yes,
I can."

"I
already cleaned up the mess and I said I was sorry! That should be
enough, especially since you already spanked me once and it hurt!" Kelsey
tried to tug free but Cleve didn't let go. Instead he drew her closer to
him.

"You
earned a spanking, Pebbles, and you are going to get one to remember.
We're going to be neighbors for a very long time and you will not be free to do
something like this again. It's best you learn that lesson right
now." He gently pulled her into the garage behind him.

"No,
Cleve! You just can't do that again! Please! I've already
learned my lesson, I promise. I will leave you completely alone!" Kelsey
desperately pleaded with him, but he merely flipped the garage lights on and
put down the door to give them privacy. "
Nooooo
!"
she struggled to get free. "Please... Let me go! You have no right to
do this again!" she started to cry.

"Crying
isn't going to help, Pebbles. You earned a good spanking, and I guarantee
you will think twice the next time you're tempted to tangle with me."

"I
have no intention of doing that...! Why won't you believe me?" she demanded
as he pulled her down across his lap for the second time that evening.

"Actions
have consequences, little lady," Cleve said softly, and then kept his
word. He intended to give her something to think about when she tried to
sit for the next few days.

Kelsey
cried from the start. Her skin was so sensitive, and she was going to
have bruises. She wasn't going to be able to sit down to work, either,
and she knew that Cleve had no idea that he was creating serious problems for
her. He was simply angry with her for pulling that stupid prank, and
determined that she not repeat it. She wouldn't, but there was no way to
convince him of that.

Cleve
felt sorry for the redhead and he stopped the spanking sooner than he intended,
wondering if she was more fragile than he realized. When he offered to
comfort her, she pulled away from him and slapped at the button to raise the
garage door. "I never ever want to see or speak to you again, Cleve
Blankenship. Stay the hell away from me." She ran through the door,
sobbing, and Cleve suddenly felt guilty. Was he too hard on her?

*****

Kelsey
ran straight upstairs and into her bathroom and stripped out of her clothing in
an attempt to release some of the heat that was making her skin burn
relentlessly. She turned on the shower and quickly stepped in and did her
best to ease the pain by aiming the hand held shower at her backside. The
needles of spray hurt and she cried out, but the cool water felt good on her
stinging flesh. Kelsey cried and cried and took her time showering and
washing the horrible smell of manure off her body. Once she was done, she
wrapped a towel around her hair, dried off with another large towel, and then
went to her room and looked at her backside in the full-length mirror hanging
on her closet door. Her butt and upper thighs were a deep dark red and
Kelsey immediately took out a tube of aloe gel and applied it liberally.
The cooling relief was instant, but Kelsey was truly done in. Her back
and shoulders and arms ached unbearably from using the shovel over and over for
hours. She crawled into bed and cried herself to sleep. There was
no way she would be able to work while she was in so much pain.

*****

Cleve
heated up his soup but it didn't taste as good as he hoped it would. He
felt bad and knew he wasn't going to get any peace of mind until he checked on
little Pebbles and made sure she was all right. He quickly washed his few
dishes and then headed next door, prepared to have the door slammed in his
face. He rang the doorbell but there was no answer. He started to
knock, but to his shock and disapproval, the door opened. It was clear as
could be Pebbles hadn't locked it. Cleve went on inside, calling her
name, but when he didn't get an answer, he decided he needed to make sure she
was all right.

Chapter Three

Cleve
felt guilty as he walked through the condo that was a mirror image of
his. He called out a time or two, but when he opened the door from the
laundry room that led to the garage, he saw that Pebble's car was still
there. She had to be home. He didn't hear water running, and she
wasn't in her office, wearing earphones, which was his next thought.
Calmly, he made his way upstairs, wondering if he should have picked up his
gun. A quick look in one bedroom told him it was being used as a storage
room for odds and ends.

Finally,
Cleve found Pebbles. She was in the other bedroom upstairs, and sound
asleep. She had obviously taken a shower, and she went to lie on top of
her quilt with a towel around her hair and one around her womanly body.
Both towels had come off... and Cleve winced when he saw how red and sore her
backside looked. He'd spanked her hard, meaning to give her a lesson, but
from the looks of her bruising skin, that second spanking wasn't
necessary. Poor little Pebbles was going to unable to sit down at all for
a day or two! He saw the tube of aloe lying beside her, and decided she
needed another coat. He was startled at the feelings he had for the woman.
She wasn't the type of female he was normally attracted to, but for some reason
she was under his skin.

"Pebbles,"
Cleve spoke softly, not wanting to startle the redhead. "Wake up,
sweetheart. I'll put some more of this on you," he said. Cleve put
a generous amount on his hand and gently started applying it to her upper thigh
first.

"
Wha
--? YOU! What do you think you are doing?"
Kelsey woke and tried to scramble away from the man.

"Hold
still, Pebbles. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Don't
you dare touch me, and my name is NOT Pebbles! Stop calling me that!"
Kelsey slapped at his hands.

"Honey,
I'm not trying to take advantage of you; I just want to help. Your skin
is a lot more sensitive than I realized, and I feel bad that I spanked you a
second time. I promise my intentions are good. Let me help you."

"No!
Get out. Leave me the hell alone!" Kelsey snapped.

"What
happened to you to make you so prickly and nasty with people, young lady?"
Cleve asked with a frown.

Kelsey
felt as though he'd slapped her and she hated it when she felt her eyes fill
with hot tears of shame. "Get out, Cleve. Get out and leave me
alone!" She wanted nothing to do with him.

"Fine,
I'll leave, but not until I speak to you about your door locks. You left
your front door unlocked again, and it's not safe to do that... especially when
you live alone."

"I
will do as I damn well please, Chief Blankenship. It is not against the
law to choose to leave my doors unlocked." Kelsey was furious with him
and wanted the big man to leave her home. She was barely covered with the
damp towel!

"No,
it's not against the law, but it is foolish. Have you listened to the
news? Or read the newspaper lately? We have a rapist on the
loose. He preys on single women and he tortures them for hours. I
had two of my seasoned detectives crying in my office today because they saw
what he did to his last victim. Please lock your doors, Miss Sherwood."

"Please
leave."

"You
have no intention of complying, do you?" Cleve asked angrily. "I swear, if
you weren't already so sore I would turn you over my knee and spank some sense
into you, young lady." Her lovely green eyes opened wide, and then filled
with anger. Cleve braced himself, and didn't have long to wait. She
let him know in no uncertain terms that she thought him despicable. He
let her speak her piece, and then said quietly, "You are too beautiful a woman
to act like such a smart-mouthed brat, Pebbles. If I find your door
unlocked ever again, five minutes from now or five years from now, I am going
to paddle your bottom. Mark my words. Now, come along, and lock up
behind me... or else!" he added when she drew herself up to retort.