The Desert

Before you start reading this, I would like to extend my gratitude to the person who helped me with editing and making this story readable. So let's all give a big hand to AVixenLiterally here on Literotica. Oh, and she's also an amazing writer, so be sure to check out her stuff!

A couple of day later Trudy reluctantly announced that she had to go, at least for a little while. They had all known it was going sooner or later, but that didn't help the feeling of sadness they each felt as she told them. It had been a fabulous couple of days, mostly spent with one of the women between the other's legs as Joe either watched, participated or just left them to it while he was busy cleaning up and getting the place in working order. Mostly though, he was right there with them, taking full advantage of whatever holes weren't occupied.

Between their love sessions, they had actually managed to get some work done though. The generator was up and running again and, with that, so were the lights and the pumps. It had taken some hard work replacing and repairing some broken and worn wiring, but in the end it had all been worth it. They even got the air condition up and running, though Jackie swore doing so was nearly the death of her.

They all knew it wasn't going to be permanent, as the gas storage would eventually run dry. But for now it was pure heaven. If she closed her eyes, Jackie could even forget about the world and imagine herself back home. She tried not to though, as the harsh truths of reality always made her cry when she came back to it.

As Trudy was gathering her things, she looked over at Jackie, who looked back at her with sad eyes. She couldn't believe the connection they'd made in just such a short time. And she couldn't believe how easy it had been to submit to a young woman at least ten years her junior. She had finally admitted to herself that there was something a little extra humiliating in being made to submit to her for just that reason. And the humiliation just made it all that much sweeter.

"Come and give me a kiss before you go, pet." Jackie had a hard time keeping her voice steady.

Trudy got to her knees and slowly crawled over to her. When she got to her lover, she bent down and kissed her boots before she stood and flung her arms around the young girl, losing herself in a hot, wet kiss.

"I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise." Trudy spoke as she gently pushed from her lover's arms. Jackie nodded as tears began to form in her eyes. "Oh, don't cry. I'll be back soon, and I'll be your pet for as long as you'll have me. I promise."

She had a hard time keeping from crying herself, but she was determined not to and her stubborn streak finally came to some good use. She kissed Jackie on the cheek, gave Joe a big hug and went out the door. Jackie wanted to run after her but Joe, knowing full well what she wanted to do, took a firm hold of her arm and held her back. Running after Trudy, crying and pleading, wouldn't do anyone any good. Instead, he pulled her to him and held her tightly as she let it all go. As they heard the bike start up and drive away Jackie cried into his chest.

Why this woman had such an effect on her she couldn't understand. She was pretty sure she loved Joe, or at least as sure as she thought she could be. She didn't love Trudy that way; she was pretty sure of that too. But there was something there, something she couldn't quite understand or explain, but very real and wonderful. Right now it was just pure hell.

"Come on." Joe's voice was soft as he started leading her through the store. "We still have things to do. Besides, wouldn't you want to have the place perfect when she gets back?"

Jackie nodded and smiled as best she could. Her Trudy would want that. So she let Joe pull her through the store and when he handed her a screwdriver and a pair of pliers, she took them and hurried off to find something to fix. She didn't have to look very hard. Almost everything in the place was either broken or severely damaged. Most of it she would not be able to fix, but she thought that if she could just get a few things back in working order, she would have done a good job. After all, she was no mechanic. Everything she knew she had learned the hard way, through trial and error, and the various equipment she had at her disposal would give her many more opportunities to do more of that.

Joe mostly kept himself busy cleaning. He had begun to throw out any food that wasn't properly sealed and preserved. What was left was mostly canned food and a fairly good supply of beverages. There wasn't a lot of water, maybe enough to sustain them for a week or so. There were enough soft drinks and sodas to get them through at least that and more. All in all, it would seem that they had enough supplies to last them a while and, when Jackie had set up her water purifier, they'd be able to get on fairly well.

As the day drew to a close Joe could feel Jackie's emotional struggle getting worse. She seemed to be genuinely happy to be there with him, and the tinkering and working seemed to keep her mind busy most of the time. But there was also a sadness about her that tore at his heart. He wasn't sure what he could do about it and that pissed him off a little. He always knew what to do; that was one of the things he took pride in about himself. He decided he would do something about it anyway.

"Slut, get over here!" He tried his best to keep his voice loving but firm. Jackie jumped up from what she was doing, ran to him and knelt at his side. "This sulking is going to stop." She looked up at his, puzzled. "Take off your clothes and bend over the counter."

She quickly did as she was told, though she was deeply confused and didn't understand what she'd done wrong. As she finally bent her naked torso over the counter top, her mind was less focused on Trudy and more and more focused on what was going to happen to herself. She was nervous, fidgeting and unable to keep still, but she was also quickly getting very aroused. Joe always seemed to have that effect on her.

"Now, this is not a punishment, I want you to know that." Joe's voice was as soft and tender as she'd ever heard it. She wondered what he was going to do but didn't have time to think too long. "You have done nothing wrong and I love you very much. But you need to get your head straight again. I didn't see you this... distraught... even after I took you from that locker. You have to let it go for now and I think this will help you."

She was just about to ask him what 'this' was when it all became painfully obvious. When the first hard slap impacted on her naked buttock it didn't even register what it was – until the pain set in. Then came the second, third and fourth in rapid succession, and there was no longer any doubt what was happening. As Joe continued to unleash yet another on her bare bottom, Jackie didn't even try to hold back the whines, whimpers or the tears for that matter.

A good half an hour later she was crying like a baby, tears steaming down her cheeks and her bottom feeling like it had been assaulted by a flame thrower. Joe ceased his onslaught of her butt and stepped up to hold her, but she moved away; not from fear or anger, but something else. She didn't want to be comforted. She wanted him to continue hurting her, but she couldn't find the words. What she found, as she tried to say something, was that she couldn't speak at all. All she could do was utter odd growling noises in between loud sobs.

"Are you okay Jackie?" Joe's voice echoed his concern.

All she could do was shake her head 'no' as she stood, frozen in place, crying and shivering. Joe didn't know what to do. He moved to hold her again but once more found his efforts rejected.

"This isn't really about Trudy leaving, is it?" Joe didn't have a clue what this was actually about but her reactions were far too severe to just be about missing her new playmate. Jackie slowly shook her head. "Do you want to talk about it?" She nodded. "Do you want me to leave you alone for a bit?" Her shaking head was her answer. He was getting low on ideas. He gave it one last shot. "Do you want to get fucked? Spanked more? What?" Slowly nodding her head. "Fucked?" Shaking head. "More spanking?"

Jackie nodded her head as vigorously as she could. She didn't know why but she really wanted more pain. Somehow it seemed the physical pain pushed the pain in her heart away, and the physical pain would eventually pass. She needed this, just as he had said, but she doubted he knew how badly.

He asked her again if she really wanted more spanking; nothing had changed. He thought about it for a bit. While he could give her another good spanking he couldn't just start wailing on her again. Eventually enough would be enough and he doubted she would be able to tell him in her condition. There had to be some way she could make him stop when she needed to. And he also needed to find something to spank her with. His hand was already hurting from the previous round, and he wasn't about to use the wrong hand, as he would be far less able to control the slaps.

After another minute he thought he had come up with a solution. He asked her to wait, gather herself and let him take care of a few things. She didn't answer, but didn't give any signs of changing her mind either, so he left her standing there as he went looking for what he needed.

He had just finished doing inventory the day before so it didn't take him long to find the what he was looking for. When he returned, Jackie she was still standing exactly where he'd left her, though her crying had subsided some. He walked up to her and placed a small metal bell in her left hand.

"When you feel you've had enough just let go of the bell okay? Let it drop to the floor and I'll stop. Will that work?" She nodded her head in agreement. "Good." He held up the other item he had retrieved, a wide leather belt. "I will be using this to spank you with from here on. It might hurt a bit more, but it will be more consistent. Are you still okay with this?"

Jackie wanted to scream at him to stop being so fucking nice and just beat the shit out of her like she deserved! All she could do was nod slowly and hang her head, awaiting the pain she hoped would exorcise at least some of her demons. She didn't want the bell either. She didn't want an out, a way to stop him. She wanted him to have his way with her, hurt her, cast her away and be done with her. At the same time she wanted to curl up in his arms and cry until she was all done.

Joe could sense the inner conflict in her but he choose to not comment on it and stick to his plan. He was in no way sure that this would actually help her but, if she thought it might, he was willing to give it a try. But as much as he usually enjoyed spanking and humiliating her, he would take no joy from this. This was not for him, not an act of leisure or lust. It was all for her, to hopefully help her with whatever was troubling her.

He stood back, adjusted the belt in his hand and sent it flying through the air, landing on her already bright red ass, drawing a low yelp from Jackie and a sharp smack from her tender skin. As he continued to bring the belt down on her buttocks, her yelps turned to cries that eventually turned into screams. But as much as she screamed and as much as he increased the power of his swing, she wouldn't drop the bell. Not until Joe found himself sweating, panting heavily and with a quite sore shoulder, and Jackie's ass had started turning from red to a deep purple, did the bell finally drop from her hand to the floor.

Joe stopped immediately, glad that the ordeal was over. The hardest thing for him hadn't been his aching muscles or his shortness of breath, he could deal with that any day of the week. What had been almost impossible to deal with were the blood curling screams coming from his lover near the end. Every single slap of the belt had been pure torture for him as he could clearly hear the desperation in her cries, but he knew he had to keep going, for her sake. So he had kept on, feeling his heart break with every hit.

After he dropped the belt he went to his woman, pulled her close and ignored her attempts to keep him away. He kept her into his arms and held her, tight enough that she couldn't break free but not enough to be painful. She had definitely had enough pain for a while. All he wanted to do was to make sure she knew he was there for her.

He picked her up and carried her into what was now their bedroom. It had probably been an office when the store was in its prime. He put her on the makeshift bed and lay next to her, pulling her close. There was no resistance this time, and as he pulled her into his arms, she buried her head in his chest and entangled her legs with his, making sure she got as close as was physically possible.

It took a long, long while before Jackie could stop crying. The pain in her buttocks was really bad, but that wasn't what made the tears stream down her cheeks. She had hoped that a thorough beating would help her disconnect from the pain inside her. But as she lay there, safe in the comfort of her lover's arms, she could feel it coming back again; somewhat lessened, but still there.

When her sobs had finally died down, Joe gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. "Are you okay my love?" The concern and unease in his voice almost made her cry again.

"No, not really," she managed to squeak. "I'm so broken, Joe. You have no idea. I love you, I really do, but I'm just so broken inside."

"I know." He tried not to sound condescending but wasn't sure he pulled it off. "If you want to talk, you know I'm here for you, right?"

She nodded into his chest and sighed deeply. She wanted to tell him, wanted him to know everything, but where should she begin? There was so much she had buried deep inside her, so much pain she had chosen to forget. She had actually managed to get to a place where she didn't have to feel anything anymore and then Joe came along. He just had to save her, had to take care of her and let her allow herself to open up again. She hated him for that. She loved him for it. She hated herself for hating him for it.

She screamed in pure frustration into his chest before she lifted herself onto one arm and slapped him across the face with the other. "That's for making me fall in love with you!" She was angry now. That pleased her. Anger was easier to deal with than pain.

Joe just stared, completely stunned, and was about to ask her what the hell he had done when she changed again. Right before his eyes he saw that fiery rage leave her and be replaced by fear. Maybe it was what she'd done and what he might do in return; he didn't know. But he did nothing. He just lay there, looking at her, giving her the time she needed to figure out what she wanted to say - if she wanted to say anything. If not he would just lay there and hold her as long as she wanted.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was back to sad now. "I didn't mean to hit you."

"Yes you did," Joe said, his voice very matter of fact. There was no anger, no blame or resentment. "But that's okay. If it helps you, you can hit me as much as you like." A small smile crept across his face. "You hit like a girl anyway."

That actually made her laugh a little and that pleased him greatly. Jackie couldn't help but smile a little. It actually felt good to laugh. She didn't want to but she couldn't help it. Joe was just to damn... well, too damn much Joe. It amazed her how easily he could make her forget all her problems, but maybe that was another part of the problem. Maybe she shouldn't forget about her problems anymore.

"I'm afraid, Joe," her voice barely more than a whisper. "I'm so afraid all the time. Well, not as much when I'm close to you but almost all the time." She gathered her thoughts for a second, took a deep breath and looked up at him. "Can I tell you my story? Please? I know you might not want to hear it, but I..."

He interrupted her by planting a kiss on her lips. It wasn't a deep, passionate kiss, but rather a means to an end. He wanted her to understand that she was talking rubbish and he would hear no more of it. At the same time he really did like the taste and feel of her lips.

"Now you listen to me young lady," he said as their lips parted. His voice was stern but filled with so much love it brought tears to her eyes all over again. "There is nothing about you that I don't want to know. No matter how horrible or scary, I want to know everything. There is nothing you can say that would turn me from you. Do you understand? I love you."

She heard what he said and nodded slowly, but wasn't sure she believed it. How could he possibly make that promise? How could be possibly want her after he learned what she'd been through? She was used goods, broken and discarded more times than she could count or remember.

"You shouldn't make promises you don't know you can keep." The pain in her voice made Joe's stomach cringe but he never let on. He just kissed her forehead once more, making sure she knew he was there. "But if you want to hear it, I think I need to tell it."

Joe just nodded his head and remained silent. This was her time. He was just who she needed to vent and he was happy to help her in any way he could. Although he was fully aware that listening to her story would probably be among the hardest things he would ever do in his life, he would just have to man up and take one for the team. When he didn't speak or in any way interrupt, she looked up at him with questioning eyes. He nodded and she accepted his offer to just listen.

***

"It all started just after my fifteenth birthday. I had a huge fight with my parents because they hadn't given me the laptop I wanted. Stupid, right? Anyway, we fought and I went to bed really mad and crying. When I woke up the next day I heard some cops telling my mom that dad had been killed while trying to put out a big forest fire. The last thing I every said to my dad was that he was a mean jerk. So stupid..."

She paused a second, more to gather her thoughts than anything else. She knew what had happened, she just wasn't sure how to put it all into words. There was just so much.

"Anyway, I lived with just my mom after that and she did the best she could. Somehow there was always food in the house, although I was too busy thinking life was unfair to really think about how. So when mom died about a year after my dad, I had no idea how to cope with the real world. Up to that point I had been more or less just a spoiled brat, but now... now I had to try to survive on my own. The food was starting to run out and since all the water had been turned off, that was all but gone too. I started sneaking around the neighboring houses, stealing what I could find. Everyone had already left anyway, so it wasn't like I was taking anything anyone really needed."

She pause again and asked Joe if he would get her something to drink. All the crying and screaming had wreaked havoc on her throat, so speaking got more difficult with every word. He wasn't really sure if he should leave her but, seeing the pitiful look in her pleading eyes, how could he refuse? He got her some water and sat back down, placed her head in his lap and stroked her hair as she continued her story.

"I lived like that for a while, until the looting started, and then I just ran away. I had no idea where to go, but I figured I'd have the best chances of making it if I went into the city. We lived a little bit outside, in a suburb of sorts. Anyway, I was only sixteen by then and hadn't even sat behind the wheel of a car, so the only option I had was to start walking. I tried to stay hidden as much as I could but that didn't go too well. I was discovered by a couple of boys I recognized from around. I tried avoiding them at first, but figured, you know, safety in numbers. So I joined up with them."