Taming and Tanning Libby Read online

  * * * * *

  An hour later, Libby and Veronica headed for the hotel restaurant for brunch. They had just ordered when Clay walked in and headed to the coffee maker. He poured some coffee into a Styrofoam cup and began to walk away when he saw the women sitting there. He approached their table, and Libby felt her face turning warm and her veins turning cold from embarrassment, while the same time feeling excited to see him.

  As he sat down, Veronica broke the ice. “Did you get that concert in Fort Lauderdale lined up?”

  Clay nodded and smiled. “Middle of next April. Big seating capacity… lots of revenue.” He glanced at Libby as he sipped on his coffee. “And just how are you this morning, Miss Libby? Over the effects of… you know… all that beer?”

  Libby pursed her lips and looked at him with a sarcastic, thin smile. “Yes… I have recovered from… everything, I am pleased to report.”

  Clay displayed a sly smile. “Well… I think we were all a little concerned by your demeanor in the bar.”

  Veronica speared a grape from her fruit cup. “Funny how life takes care of misbehavior. It seems that one way or another, we always pay in the end.”

  Libby nearly choked on her orange juice. “Is everyone around here except for me a comedian?” The diminutive redhead folded her fingers together and rested her chin upon them. “Clay… I am so sorry about how I acted last night.” Her face turned crimson before she continued. “And I hope you don’t mind… Veronica knows about that well-deserved paddling you gave me last night… this morning… whenever it was.”

  Now it was Clay’s turn to blush. “It… I just… I just thought it was the thing to do.”

  Libby reached across the table and took his hands in hers. “It was. I was being stupid and careless… I can’t believe I was so quick to do something like that after Max had reinforced the rules to us all.”

  Clay seemed to relax at hearing Libby’s comments. “I’m glad you don’t hate me for that.” He glanced at his watch, then stood up and bowed theatrically. “Must go now.” He glanced at Libby. “Going to catch some sun by the pool today?”

  Libby looked at him with a mischievous smile and fluttered her eyebrows at him. “I think I’m already sufficiently tanned. I think I may spend the day reading.” The women watched as Clay waved to them and left the dining room.

  * * * * *

  Max’s room was furnished much like an office, with a small conference room and full-size desk. He and Clay spent the afternoon reviewing concert dates that had been secured for the next year, and going over bills to be paid. When their work was finished, Clay leaned back in his chair and began to speak slowly. “I suppose this is not the most ideal question to ask just a few weeks into this job… I was wondering about something. Do you have any objection to me chasing after Libby?”

  Max grinned. “That’s not really an unexpected question. The fellows in the band can’t keep their eyes off her. As long as you think that you can keep the relationship from hurting the business side of things… I have no problem with it. Libby is a very fine young woman. Extremely bright… very creative. Her ideas for everything from costumes to colors adds a lot to our shows.” Max let out a deep breath. “I must say, though, because of that talent and creativity, I put up with some attitude from her I wish was not there. I heard that she got more than a little tipsy last night. I was hoping to ask you to talk to her about that.”

  Clay nodded and laughed. “I’ve done that already. When we were finished with our little conversation, there was no doubt in her mind as to how I intended to deal with such matters.”

  Max smiled. “I assume you know that Veronica brought her to us a few months ago, right after she graduated from college. Veronica has been working with me for a long time. Her late husband was a very good friend of mine, and one of the best fiddle players I ever knew. When he died, I was very relieved that she stayed with the band. Veronica started telling me about Libby, because for a couple of years I’d been talking about hiring somebody to do that kind of work for us. I must say, she warned me that Libby came with some baggage, but that she was a good person. We have found that she was right on both counts. Libby is honest, hard-working, and most of the time she would never mean to hurt another person.”

  He shook his head. “But there have been times when she has come across like a bull in a china shop. She can be condescending and overbearing, but I always remind myself that she is trying to get things done on my behalf. And I want to give her time to season. Some people just need to learn the hard way. Veronica tells me that she has always been that way. Now, don’t let the way she dresses fool you. Veronica says that she has dated a couple of fellows, but she is no loose woman. I did hear that she was kind of coming on to you last night in the bar. That was very out of character for Libby. Maybe she just really likes you.”

  Clay laughed. “Maybe it was the beer talking. And yes… that was much the point of the… conversation we had last night.” Clay looked down and began to speak, then hesitated. “Max… I think I need to tell you something.” He looked up his boss, ready to hear expressions of displeasure. “Last night… I gave Libby a good spanking.”

  Max sat there with a look of surprise, then that expression gave way to a thin smile. “That’s not what I thought for a moment that you were going to tell me.” His smile widened as he nodded his head. “I hope you gave her a few extra hard ones for me. I can’t tell you how many times I have wondered if a good paddling would benefit her.”

  Clay breathed a sigh of relief at Max’s reaction to the revelation. “Only time will tell. I did see her this morning, and she did not throw her plate of food at me. She was apologetic, and seemed to have no problem with what I did. In fact, when I escorted her back to her room this morning she kissed me. Twice.”

  Max broke into a hearty laugh, then stood and slapped his new manager on the shoulder. “I think the next few weeks may be very entertaining around here.”

  * * * * *

  It was early evening as Libby stood in front of the mirror in the hotel room. She kept reliving the phone call that had come to the room an hour earlier. The sound of Clay’s voice as he asked her to dinner was mesmerizing. Everything seemed surreal as she began to get ready for a dinner date with a man who had given her a painful and prolonged spanking. She could not explain it to herself, and she hoped that she would never have to recount the story to anyone other than Veronica.

  Her thoughts raced as she pulled the silky, dark green dress over her petite body. She turned to see how the short dress clung to her form. As she smoothed the fabric to her body, she reached around to eliminate any wrinkles in the back and she was quickly reminded just how sore her bottom still was.

  Turning back and forth in front of the mirror, she was satisfied that she had selected the right dress. Although she was hardly a veteran when it came to romantic affairs, she had been intimate with one boyfriend in college. That romance allowed her to learn that even if a man had seen you naked, he could still be entranced by seeing you in an alluring outfit.

  As for Clay, he had seen her daily in short skirts and short shorts, and had seen her bare bottom, but she wanted to wear something that would maintain his interest and she knew which shades of blue and green best complimented her red hair and green eyes. Glancing at her watch, she saw that it was time for her to head to the restaurant and meet Clay.

  As she entered the restaurant, her date for the evening rose from a distant corner booth, and made his way to escort her to their table. He began to stutter as he commented on how beautiful Libby looked, and it was the first time that she had seen him appear to be vulnerable. But she was also taken by his own striking appearance, his denim trousers offset by an elegant leather sport coat and striped tie against the blue dress shirt.

  As soon as they were seated, the waiter took their drink orders; each asked for a glass of red wine. As soon as he walked away, Libby scooted closer to Clay and whispered, “No more beer for me for a while.” She put her li
ps near his ear. “The last time I drank beer I went overboard, so somebody gave me a good spanking.”

  A smile crept across Clay’s face. “Wow! That must have hurt.”

  “Oh, it did. Believe me, it did. My bottom is still dark pink.”

  The waiter arrived with the wine, and then took their orders for steak dinners. As soon as he walked away, Clay leaned to whisper in Libby’s ear. “This spanking you got… do you think it was effective?”

  Libby took a tiny sip of wine. “Sure as hell felt effective while I was getting it. This guy really let me have it.”

  “Hmmmm… but was it more than you deserved?”

  Libby took another sip and began to laugh. “Can’t say that it was.”

  “And how do you feel about it today?”

  Libby tilted her head and rested her chin on her open hand, her fingers curling up against her cheek. “Funny… I should be incensed and indignant. But I’m not.”

  “Why do you think that is?”

  “Not sure. It may be because the guy was so doggone good looking, in spite of his obvious inclination to be a bully. But I seem to remember saying that I would expect the same treatment in the future if it were necessary. I guess that means I think I deserved it.” She felt her face flushing again as she took another sip of wine. “Believe it or not, I had never been spanked before in my life.”

  Clay leaned back and smiled. “In that case, I suppose I should feel quite honored.”

  Libby allowed herself to laugh. “You can go right ahead and feel as honored as you wish.”

  Clay stared at his wine for a moment. “I’ve never spanked a woman before.”

  Libby leaned over to whisper, “In that case… perhaps I am the one who should feel honored.” She took a sip of her wine and winked at him.

  “Maybe if you’d been spanked before, you wouldn’t have gotten spanked in the tour bus.”

  Libby looked at him and shook her head. “Do you and Veronica read each other’s minds?”

  The next thing she noticed was that Clay was silently gazing at her. “Libby… you’re nothing but gorgeous.”

  Her face turned pink. “Thank you, Clay.”

  “Forgive me if I’m sounding chauvinistic again… I think there is nothing more intriguing in life than an intelligent and talented woman who also happens to be beautiful.”

  Libby looked down. “Clay… I don’t know what to say.”

  Clay laughed again. “You don’t have to say anything in response. But you know that what I just said is true.”

  Libby looked up with a flush on her face. “So, if I was not so attractive to you, would you still have spanked me?”

  Clay looked around, and then found himself blushing. “Yes I would have… I just might not have found it as… intriguing an experience.”

  “So spanking me was… intriguing?”

  Clay nodded his head slowly. “And for you?”

  Libby fluttered her eyelids at him. “Terribly painful… and at the same time… intriguing.”

  Their dinners arrived, and both felt relieved to change the subject as they savored their meals. They chatted about their educations, their childhoods and their families. They lingered over dessert, and made their glasses of wine last through the evening.

  They quickly found that when they were not talking about work, they were enjoyable company to each other. As the evening wore on, they could feel a closeness blossoming between them. As for Clay, he admonished himself for feeling it might be forward of him to place his arm around the same woman to whom he had given a bare bottom spanking.

  They sat in the restaurant booth and talked until midnight, when they begin to walk reluctantly toward their rooms. Standing outside the room in which Veronica was already likely sleeping, they embraced in a deep kiss, and then another, as Clay ran his fingers through the red hair of the smitten young woman before walking away to his own room.

  * * * * *

  They made their way to their next stop for a performance in Peoria, Illinois. On the bus ride, Clay was busy lining up concerts to take place several months later in Bakersfield, California and Portland, Oregon. All the while, Libby was hard at work with her sketchpad, experimenting with different designs and concepts for stage scenes.

  Throughout the day and the long ride, they exchanged glances, smiles and nods, to say nothing of the occasional and discrete blown kiss. Some members of the troupe had seen them huddled in the restaurant, but no one had commented.

  In the hectic last preparations for the evening’s show, Clay had managed to whisper an invitation to have lunch together the next day before traveling on to the Chicago suburb of Evanston, where they would have to spend the evening and the following morning getting ready for a Saturday afternoon concert.

  * * * * *

  The next day, they met in the hotel lobby at noon and strolled down the street in downtown Peoria until they came to a small café with outdoor seating. It was an early fall day, but easily warm enough to enjoy the afternoon outside. They would have just an hour before they had to be at the bus, but they were able to enjoy some relaxed and lighthearted time together.

  When it came time to head back, they were not willing to relinquish each other’s company, so when they boarded the bus they sat down next to each other, and Libby showed Clay how she went about designing clothing for cowboys.

  Clay was forced to make and receive a few calls, but found himself fascinated by Libby’s artistic talent. To his surprise, Libby even invited him to make comments and suggestions regarding her designs.

  They spent the entire afternoon and early evening together until their arrival in Evanston, then immediately shifted gears and went to work for Max and the band as they prepared for their first Chicago area concert.

  Chapter Four

  They had little time to relax; for after the Chicago concert, they had to take off early the next morning for a ride to Milwaukee for a Sunday evening concert there. The sleepy–eyed group was largely content to doze after their 6:00 AM departure. To everyone’s amusement, Libby and Clay sat next to each other, her head appearing to be permanently attached to his shoulder in their slumber nearly all the way to Milwaukee.

  The concert went off without a hitch, and their scheduling had allowed time for fans to mix with Max and the band and to sign autographs. But many of the eyes of the males in attendance were fixed on the petite redhead wearing a cowboy hat and boots, but an oversized Green Bay Packers jersey in place of her customary Western dress.

  When most of the fans had filtered out near midnight, Veronica walked up to Libby and Clay with a grin on her face. “I thought the two of you would be back in our room making out by now.”

  Libby had to laugh. “We would be by now, if we knew you weren’t going to walk in on us.”

  Veronica made a production of looking at her watch. “I can give you half an hour.”

  * * * * *

  Libby and Clay found their way to the room quickly enough, and the cowgirl boots and hat were discarded between the door and Libby’s bed. They sat down as they laughed and began to kiss and stroke each other’s backs and run their fingers through each other’s hair.

  Libby giggled as she felt Clay’s hands reaching down and stroking her bottom softly. He shook his head as the stroking continued. “I swear, you have the most luscious bottom…."

  Libby purred as the pleasant sensations made her want to melt. “And you’ve even seen it… but you were smacking the hell out of it at the time, you brute.”

  Clay uttered a growl. “Maybe I should just do that again sometime.”

  Libby giggled in response as he reached his hands beneath the shirt and continued to rub her bottom. “I must admit… from time to time I get in this certain mood… I think I might welcome it. It hurt like crazy at the time, but there was just something about it…” She shook her head. “It may be a thing that remembering it… and looking forward to the next time… I don’t know. In any case, I don’t understand why the idea appe
als to me so.”

  Clay held her closer. “But Veronica will be coming back in a few minutes…”

  Libby sighed loudly and dramatically. “I’m afraid so… but if she wasn’t… I think that would feel kind of good right now”.

  Clay moaned in disappointment. “How about a rain check for some future time together?”

  They kissed once more, just as they heard the door latch turn, and Libby displayed a pronounced pout. “It’s a deal.”

  Veronica strolled in while pointing to her watch. “You two can stay right there, but I’m going to watch some old reruns.” Veronica flopped down on the bed, reached for the remote control and turned on the television.

  Libby and Clay sighed in unison, and then leaned back to watch an episode of an old Western. Libby would occasionally raise her head up and glance over toward the other bed, until she and Clay heard a sound of gentle snoring. They looked at each other and smiled, and Clay whispered to Libby, “I cannot put into words how hot you look in that football jersey.” They began to hold each other close and kiss deeply, allowing their fingers to roam at will.

  Clay pulled Libby over on top of him, and then slid the hem of the colorful garment on to her lower back. He then reached inside her pantyhose and began to softly rub the bottom that was so sensitive to the touch for Libby, and so attractive to him.

  Libby purred in pleasure, then put her lips next to his ear and whispered, “I’m now convinced that I have lost my mind.”

  Clay continued the soothing motions. “And why is that?”

  Libby giggled. “Because I wish you were spanking that thing right now.”

  Both laughed as they kissed again, and spent the rest of the evening murmuring to each other amid the kissing and petting.

  * * * * *

  The next several days were chaotic, because Clay had been able to line up some dates in Kentucky and Tennessee several months in advance as a result of another performer’s cancellation at some major venues. It was unfortunate for the other performer who had injured himself in an off–road motorcycle race, but it allowed Max to fill his booking calendar solid for another two months. In the midst of the frenetic developments, Libby and Clay worked several consecutive fourteen-hour days around the three already scheduled concerts that week.