Discipline Down Under (13 page)

“Don’t you want to do that again?” she asked, watching him open cans of something.

“Absolutely. But we need to be safe here first, and keep up our energy. Ya don’t want me to flag right in the middle, now do ya?”

She most certainly did not, but she was still pouting. “No.”

He grinned and warmed up the food in silence. Finally, they ate and cleaned up. Tripp tamped down the fire to safe embers, and gestured toward the tent.

“Yeah!”

That got a huge laugh out of him. “I hope I can live up to yer expectations.”

Peg grabbed him by the waist of his jeans and dragged him close. “I want to undress you. It’s okay to be naked out here, right?”

“Only the stars to see us, luv.”

She looked up. The night sky in Australia looked so different from North America. The stars were in all the wrong places. But there were so many to see! In the outback, there were no city lights to stifle the stars’ twinkling, and it looked like a panorama of shining dots. It almost took her breath away, but didn’t distract her for long. Making quick work of it, Peg pulled off Tripp’s t-shirt and unbuckled his belt. “I hope you never use this on me again,” she murmured.

“Only if ya deserve it.”

“I’ll never, ever deserve it again.”

Tripp chuckled and helped her lower his jeans, and tug off his boots and socks. “Don’t make promises ya can’t keep, Peggy. You’ve got a naughty streak.”

Peg ran her hands up Tripp’s smooth flanks, enjoying the play of muscle there and the breadth of his chest. She rubbed her belly against his belly and what was half-erect when she started, came fully to life and poked her firmly.

“You undress me, too,” she told him, holding her arms out in the air to help.

“You undress you. I want to see ya strip. Put a little tease into it.”

Smiling brightly, she hoped seductively, Peg twisted and shimmied, peeling off her clothes like a stripper. Well, she thought it was like a stripper. She’d never actually seen one. But she seemed to do it well enough, because Tripp was smiling and clapped when she was done and as naked as he was.

“Now, into the tent.”

“Yes, sir!” Quickly she crawled into the tent, and, knowing Tripp was right behind her, she did a little butt wiggle. It got her a smack on the rump, but also a chuckle of appreciation from him.

Peg lay on her back, her arms outstretched in welcome. Moments later, he came to her, accepting her hug, and giving her a passionate kiss in return.

They kissed for a long time as they rubbed their bodies together. Tripp held himself slightly away from her on his strong arms, carefully not crushing her with his weight. There was a significant difference in their heights and weights, so Peg thought it extremely considerate of him. And his kisses were divine. Not only did he tickle her tongue, but he touched his tongue to her lips, licking them as though she was the tastiest thing he could imagine.

It made her want him between her legs even more, but he wasn’t in as much of a hurry as she was, and his low-voiced command proved it. “Slow down, luv. I’m not going anywhere. Let’s take this easy.”

“But…”

“Do ya want another spanking?”

No. Yes. “Depends on what kind,” she whispered in his ear, giving his lobe a little nip.

“The naughty girl kind,” he said, rolling onto his back, away from her.

She quickly moved to straddle his hips. “Not my favorite.” Tripp’s erection teased her pussy lips so pleasantly. Peg felt like she was burning up with need.

Tripp fondled her breasts, teasing her nipples gently, then roughly, then gently again. Peg was squirming when he moved one hand down to the juncture of her thighs.

“Can ya ride a horse?”

It seemed like a non-sequitur to Peg. “Huh?”

“Do ya want me to teach ya to ride?”

“Now?”

He nodded. “Right now.” Beneath her, he bucked his hips slightly.

“Oh! Yes! I want to ride.”

“I thought ya might. Mount up.”

While Tripp thumbed her clit, distracting her unmercifully, she tried to position herself on his hot, hard cock. Mostly, all she could do was moan and wiggle. Finally, he stopped teasing her and guided her to where they both wanted her to be. His eyes closed briefly as she seated herself firmly, and Peg knew he was as lusty as she.

It took her a moment, but she soon found the grinding rhythm that had them both breathing hard. Once again, Tripp manipulated her clit, and Peg thought she might burst right up through the tent ceiling.

“Yes,” she whispered, losing her rhythm. Tripp’s hands on her hips got her back on track.

“That’s good, Peggy-girl.” Peg raked her nails down his torso. She wanted to eat him up, to tear him in two and crawl into his skin. She wanted to fall into pieces and smother him with her love. He grabbed her hands and held them at her rocking hips. “Ah! No nails, luv.”

Peg might have wanted to say she was sorry, but she didn’t; she couldn’t. All she could do was rasp out a breath. After a few moments, he let her hands go, and went back to teasing her clit, her nipples. He even smacked her rump a few times, which pretty much drove her to the edge.

“Oh, God, Tripp! I’m going to come!”

“Go ahead.” His voice was an octave lower, his jaws tight. Clearly, he was holding himself in check.

“Yes, yes, yes!” The southern hemisphere stars collided, and an explosion ripped through Peg’s body, as she orgasmed hard and deep.

“Good girl,” he murmured. With one great thrust upward, filling her so completely that she thought she might come again, Tripp growled and gave it up to her.

Exhausted and replete, Peg collapsed on him, their chests heaving as they caught their breaths.

“Good…” she whispered.

Tripp petted her hair. “Yeah, good.”

Peg would have fallen asleep right there, with him still inside her, but he slid free and rolled them both to their sides, pulling her against him, front to front.

“Another ten hours on the road tomorrow, Peggy,” he murmured against her forehead. “Better get some sleep.”

All Peg could do was yawn. Her eyelids felt so heavy. She pressed against his warm body and slept a dreamless sleep.

Chapter Eight

The next day was a long, hard drive. As they got closer to the cattle station, where cell towers were available, Peggy began to send text messages on her cellphone. It seemed to Tripp that she had a lot of people to text, because her fingers were flying as he drove.

To tease her, he started humming ‘Lonely,’ the Daft Punk song. After a minute of humming, he started singing it softly. Finally, that got her attention.

“You sing well.”

“Did ya recognize the song?”

“Yes. You cannot possibly be lonely. I’m sitting right here.”

“In yer own little world of cellphone friends.”

Peggy’s face got a little red. “I’m sorry. My friend, Mandy, hasn’t heard much from me lately. I’m trying to catch up.”

“S’all right, luv. How is it that she’s up in the middle of the night? There’s quite a time difference.”

“Mandy works at an all-night convenience store. The store is pretty much dead most of the night. This is actually her best time to talk.

“My mother says I’m on my phone too much,” she said, putting the phone down with some reluctance. “Maybe she’s right.”

“Tell me about yer mum.”

“Oh, she’s… motherly. A busy person, though. Always at charity functions.”

“Ya didn’t go with her?”

“Not much. I was in the way, you know. Charities are important, but not so much fun from a kid’s point of view.”

“I suppose not.”

They sat in silence for a time before Tripp turned on the satellite radio. The music blanketed them through a few songs, but Peggy spoke up. “What about your mom?”

He thought about that. He didn’t know how to describe Leticia Ruf. She was a bit of a force to be reckoned with. “If I had to use one word to describe my mum, I’d say
strong
. She’s got a good heart, but wouldn’t take any rubbish from us.”

“Even your dad?”

That brought on a laugh. “No. Dad’s made of sterner stuff. He’s the head of our household and has the final say. Mum handles most things, but when push comes to shove, she’ll defer to him.”

“Like you.”

“With you, ya mean?”

Peggy nodded.

“Yeah. I guess Dad and I have the same outlook.” Still wondering if he could make something out of a potentially heartbreaking relationship, he asked, “How do ya feel about that?”

“I don’t know. You know, my dad and mom divorced when I was little. Dad was always off somewhere else in the world when I was growing up. He was good to me, as much as an absentee father could be, but I was mostly raised by my mom.”

“Why come to Australia to be with yer father, then?”

“Um, Mom and I sort of had a disagreement.”

That was curious. “What about?”

“My leaving school. She thought art history would be the thing for me. All it did was make me frustrated. I didn’t want to learn about great artists, I wanted to be one. With my photography. I have goals. She doesn’t understand. She cut off my allowance. So I caught a plane to Perth.”

Peggy seemed like a spoiled young woman. “Easy as that?”

“Yep. Easy as that.”

“And now yer dad gives ya an allowance instead.”

“A little. He seems to have this idea that I should work for some of it.” She made a wry face and snorted as if it was a very funny joke. Tripp thought maybe it wasn’t so funny.

“Peggy, I only know yer father from a few phone conversations, but he really cares about ya. I believe he wants to give ya the best advantages to help ya achieve yer goal of becoming a nature photographer, but why should ya even try if you’ve got everything ya need or want?”

“Just because!”

“Because yer bored?”

“Well… yeah. Kind of.”

“Imagine how much pleasure you’d get out of making yer own way in the world. Believe me, it’s never boring.”

Apparently, she didn’t want him to side with her father. She picked up her cellphone again. “Whatever. Anyway, I don’t have a job. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

* * *

Eventually, they made it onto the cattle station property. “This is Ruf Springs,” Tripp told her proudly. Although he was a little trepidatious about putting Peggy and his family in the same room, he knew his family would treat her politely, whether they actually liked her or not. He hadn’t brought a girl home since Darla, and his family had treated her well. They’d liked Darla, but would they like Peggy? Peggy was spoiled and bratty, often more concerned about chips in her nail lacquer rather than doing the chores, but Tripp saw a lot of potential in her. During their car ride, she’d told him that she’d written up a photojournalistic article and sent it and photos to a nature magazine in the US. She was waiting on tenterhooks to find out if they were interested. But right now, she was wide-eyed, taking in the desert scenery around Ruf Springs.

“How come it’s called Ruf Springs? I mean, I understand ‘Ruf,’ but is there a spring here?”

“Yes, several underground aquifers. The land is very good for cattle in that regard.”

“Can we go swimming?”

“No pool or billabong, I’m sorry. Ya can take all the showers ya like, though.”

That seemed to disappoint her. “Oh.”

“It’ll be
grouse
, luv. There will be so much for ya to do and see, ya won’t be bored.”

“Okay.”

After a few more miles, they got to the homestead. It was a sprawling house, white with a blue-shingled roof. There was a yard around it, but the grass was rather sere and clumpy and the air smelled hot. The desert encroached everywhere. Nonetheless, Tripp’s sister had stuck several bright pinwheels around the yard, giving the place a cheery air.

Tripp noted that his mum had changed the kitchen curtains again. Now they were yellow gingham. It made him nostalgic to be back home again. He hadn’t visited since Christmas, ten months ago.

They could hear a dirt bike revving up around the steel-framed barn, and saw the dust cloud behind it as it left the homestead and moved out onto the range to move cattle or look for strays. Tripp remembered the many times he’d been the one on the motorcycle, hurrying out to do something with the herd. It had been a dusty, back-breaking lot of chores, working on the cattle station, but he’d loved it. Loved it enough to base his uni courses upon ecological agricultural systems. He had fully expected to take over when his father retired. But during his brief walkabout after college, he’d gone to Kakadu National Park, seen the flora and fauna, experienced a wet, eucalypt environment in deep detail. He’d fallen in love. Not long after that, he applied to be a ranger. His family still thought he’d grow out of it, despite his age.

And maybe he would. Tripp didn’t think so, however.

They drove past the bunkhouse and up to the carport where the bush trucks were secured. Tripp parked and he and Peggy got out.

Immediately, Tripp’s mother came out and nearly bowled him over with a hug.

“Tripp! Oh, son, I’m so glad to see ya!”

He hugged her back. She was a sturdy woman, maybe carrying a few extra pounds, but still very strong, tanned from the sun, and cheerful. She was nearly dwarfed by her son, but that had never stopped her from giving him a crack on the knuckles when he tried to steal cookies. “Ya act like ya didn’t expect me, Mum.”

She held him at arm’s length for a moment. “Let me look at ya. Ya look… why don’t ya shave? Ya look like a pirate!”

Self-consciously, Tripp rubbed his three-day beard. “I’ll shave now that I’m home. Now, Mum, I want ya to meet my… friend. This is Peggy Fisk.”

Peggy offered her hand, but Leticia Ruf gave her a hug instead. Peggy looked slightly uncomfortable, but returned the gesture. When they broke, she did as she always did. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Ruf. Please call me Peg.”

“Oh, Peg, I’m delighted to meet ya, too. I’m Letty—that’s short for Leticia—but if ya call me Leticia, I’ll think yer a bill collector.” Peggy laughed nervously. “I hear an American accent in yer voice. Where are ya from?”