~~~~~~~
"Get down from that tree, bambina."
"No."
"Get down NOW!"
"Go stuff yourself," she muttered just loud enough for him to hear.
He smothered his laughter at her words. She really wanted to tell him to go to hell but the last time she did that, she had been frustrated that they were arguing over something not worth their time or energy. She told him so but he caught her and spanked her anyway.
"I want you out of that tree at the count of three!" the commanding officer announced, his no-nonsense tone warning her he was at the edge of his patience.
"You can't count higher than that?" she replied with scorn.
"Don't make me come up there and get you," he growled.
She shook her head at this declaration and climbed to a higher branch.
"Spencer!"
"The first number is one," she taunted.
"Okay, I give up," he conceded, worried she would climb even higher and lose her balance. "You can't stay in that tree forever and when you come down, I'll be waiting."
He settled beneath the tree, his hands behind his head, legs stretched out before him, and closed his eyes.
She climbed to a nearby branch, wedged herself in between two of them so she wouldn't have to hang on and leaned back, enjoying the cool breeze.
Their Virginia home bordered a protected greenbelt - most trees evergreens and difficult to climb but the area was also filled with giant oaks and oaks drew Spencer to their thick branches like magnets. She needed to climb them and see how far she could see. They stayed like that for over an hour, he on the ground feigning sleep, she in the tree dozing.
If she didn't come down by nightfall, he'd have to climb up after her. The air would cool swiftly and that bothered him. She was prone to upper respiratory distress... She'd resist... he'd deal with that when the time came.
The first drops of a light rain alarmed him. He had to get Spencer out of that tree before the shower got heavier.
The first drops of rain enchanted her. She lifted her head so they landed on her cheeks, tongue snaking out to catch them. Suddenly, a loud continuous clap of thunder startled them both and Spencer's arms immediately grabbed and wound around the nearby branch.
"Bambina, come down," JC spoke softly but firmly.
"It's only rain," she murmured, hoping it was only rain and not more thunder and never lightning.
No sooner were the words out of her mouth than another thunderous clap rent the air. The sky was immediately grayer and rain poured as if a heavenly dam had been breached above their heads. In mere seconds, both of them were soaked to the skin.
JC didn't waste time talking. He climbed the tree and grabbed Spencer by the waist. "Hold onto me, bambina. I'll carry you down."
"I'm okay," she insisted but he could see the goose bumps rising on her skin and her body was already shivering.
"Hold onto my neck," he said softly, the concern in his tone evident and overriding everything else.
"Lightning might find us," she whispered against his throat, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as he climbed down slowly and carefully.
"We'll be okay," he murmured just as his foot slipped on the wet bark.
Spencer's involuntary gasp made his heart thud loud against her ear and in his haste to get them on the ground, JC practically slid the rest of the way down.
"You are the most stubborn imp on this planet," he grumbled when his feet finally touched grass. Hoisting her over his shoulder, he ran through the heavy rain toward the covered porch of their house.
"Doesn't matter how stubborn I am," she reminded him. "You have to love me."
"I *do* love you and I'm gonna spank you, too."
"Not my fault it started raining."
"You wouldn't have been caught in it if you had come down when I asked you."
"You didn't ask me," she protested as he set her on her feet when they entered the house. "You ordered me. That was very rude of you and if you haven't noticed, I'm not fond of orders."
JC laughed. Spencer never followed orders.
Then he frowned...
She was shivering.
Despite her protests, he scooped her back up and headed for the shower. They were both soaked and he made a mental note to mop the trail of water left behind. But first he had to get Spencer warmed up.
He managed to get their shoes off while the water warmed - then stood them under the spray even though they still had their clothes on. It took a few minutes to get Spencer warmed sufficiently and when she stopped shivering, he pulled her blouse and bra off. His own shirt and T-shirt were next and he hugged her closer to his chest just to feel her against him.
With an arm around her holding her slightly off the floor, his other hand unsnapped her jeans. It took some effort to peel them from her wet body but when he did, her panties and socks caught in the cuffs and he had to tug at them to get them off.
His jeans and shorts followed and they were finally nude and standing under a hot spray with their clothes beneath their bare feet.
"I'm warm now," she said.
"You're gonna be warmer," he replied, reaching for the shampoo and pulling her head to his chest as he stepped directly under the spray.
"How much warmer?" she mumbled into his chest.
"A lot warmer."
"You're going to spank me for climbing the tree?"
"No. I'm gonna spank you for not coming down when I asked you to."
"You didn't ask me. You ordered me."
"Bambina..."
"JC, I have to tell you something."
"Sono aqui, bambina. I'm here, baby. Sto ascoltando. I'm listening. Dicami. Tell me."
"I have to climb trees," she said simply.
"I know," he acknowledged. "But you have to come down when I tell you."
She pulled her head back so she could look him in the eye. "You should trying asking me instead of telling me what to do. And you don't always tell me; sometimes you order and when I don't jump to do your bidding, you yell. Stop doing that."
Cupping her chin, he gazed back into her eyes. She was fearless. She was a full head shorter and more than 100 lbs. lighter than him and she was fearless. Few people of his acquaintance disagreed with his decisions; a mere handful had the courage to defy him though none had. Only his wife stood up to him and did so with impunity.
"Stop doing what?" His words were softly spoken, his arms tightening around her, the shampoo in his hands forgotten. "Stop worrying about you, stop caring about your safety, your health, your life? Stop breathing? Because that's what it would take for me to ignore some of the risks you take. No, bambina. If I think you should come down from a tree or stop doing anything that might put you in harm's way, I'll tell you, order you, command you, insist, demand and if I remember, I'll ask. And if you don't, I'll spank you. End of discussion."
"You're a bully and I'm still going to climb trees."
"Climb all you want," he agreed. "Just come down when I tell you to."
A string of unintelligible mumbling followed, all of it muffled by her head in his chest.
"What did you say?" he asked, tilting her chin up.
"I said you're a bully and a skunk and a piss-ant and... and... a... a..." She stopped abruptly to catch her breath.
"I'm a what?" he asked when she didn't continue. "What else?"
"I can't tell you," she hissed.
"Tell me," he demanded but there was a twinkle in his eye.
"I can't tell you and that's that!" Spencer completely lost her temper and punched him in the chest.
"You can tell me. Tell me," he insisted, cupping her fist and bringing it to his mouth to kiss.
"I can't!"
"Why not?" He was grinning, wondering what new appellation she had in store for him.
"I can't tell you," she said with great exasperation. "Because I forgot! Okay? You made me so mad I lost my train of thought and I can't remember!"
He gave a shout of laughter and delivered one very hard swat to her unclad bottom.
She gasped and then took a step back to retaliate but JC had anticipated her move and upended her on the spot. He kept her in that position - wiggling, squirming, hissing - while he turned the water off, grabbed a bunch of bath towels and then proceeded to their bedroom and bed.
She managed to pinch his bare butt hard.
He dropped the towels on the bed, sat on them and flipped her over his lap. His hand descended - fast and hard - a volley of spanks that had her gasping. In mere seconds it was over but her bottom had been singed.
"You're not supposed to spank me when you're mad at me," she reminded him when she could talk and breathe at the same time.
"I'm not mad at you," he told her as he held her nude form close to his own, his hand cupping her warm bottom cheeks.
"So you spanked me because you were frustrated I didn't follow your orders? You were punishing me?"
"I was giving you a taste of what will happen if you do that again, bambina. Next time will be harder."
"Next time? Who made you king of the universe, you... you jackass!"
"You did," he smiled. "You made me king of your universe when you married me. Did you know jackasses are stubborn animals? Good thing I'm a jackass," he said agreeably. "That means I'm just a bit more stubborn than you are." Whatever she would have said next was easily stifled when he covered her mouth with his.
"You're very lucky I love you," she told him when he lay on his back and held her hips as she straddled his. "You've very lucky I let you do what you do."
"Si, very lucky," he agreed as his hands wandered.
A mane of damp curly hair fell across her breasts. He reached up and gently pushed it away. She looked at him and raised a brow.
"I like looking at you, bambina. You're beautiful."
"I think I'm still mad at you," she remarked, reaching a hand back to feel the heat lingering on her bottom cheeks.
"Be mad at me later," he murmured, turning them over.
Whispered endearments followed, their breathing heavier and despite everything that had happened, Spencer would not deny her love for the man who brought her to pleasurable fulfillment.
"You have to love me," she told him later.
"I know."
"You don't have any choice in the matter."
"I know."
"Do you know why?" she asked, cuddled against him in the aftermath of their loving.
"Tenete il mio cuore You hold my heart," he told her. "I have to love you."
"But you don't have to spank me," Spencer noted... pushing the envelope.
"Si, I have to spank you," he answered.