Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Sean thought about it. It seemed he’d wanted to kiss her for the longest time, but he’d waited, planned to wait until she was eighteen. He didn’t want to do anything to damage her reputation, although she’d done that herself the other night.
Her soft pink lips were parted, her eyes wide in anticipation. He could see the rapid rise and fall of her breasts between the open panels of her coat. At some point her hands had moved to his chest and now clutched his shirt.
Inside the dark car, her hair swirled around her shoulders, nearly black without the sun’s light turning it to flame. That was how he liked it best, but this was pretty too. It gave her a mysterious look.
He waited a second too long. Her hands opened, her flattened palms pushing against his chest. She was insulted, embarrassed, he could see that instantly.
She thought he didn’t want to kiss her, when in reality he’d thought of nothing else for more than three years.
Refusing to let his hesitation ruin the moment, he tugged her across the distance separating them and pulled her onto his lap.
“I’ve changed my mind,” she stated, struggling to get away.
“Now that’s a cryin’ shame,” he replied, gripping her firmly with his left arm and holding her in place.
His right hand brushed across her smooth cheek and cupped her head as he slid his fingers into her hair.
Tipping her face up to his, he slowly lowered his head, brushing her lips with his.
She quivered and tried to turn her face away.
He didn’t let her. Instead he kissed her again, with more pressure and longer, much longer.
Her breath felt moist and warm when he withdrew and looked at her.
Her hand crept to his mouth; fingers touched his lips, her eyes wide.
It was too much for him. He wanted to be gentle and not frighten her, but it was not to be.
His mouth descended again, and this time, he took hers, took possession in an unmistakable way.
It was more than a kiss; it was a claiming.
His tongue danced along the seam of her mouth and she opened for him.
She tasted faintly of chocolate and breath mints as her tongue tentatively met his.
Maeve tried to turn toward him and he relaxed his grip enough to let her.
Soon her hand was in his hair, pulling him closer.
Her breasts brushed against his chest and he moaned into her mouth.
When he let her come up for air, she wiggled again as though trying to get more comfortable.
“Have you somethin’ in your pocket, O’Malley?” she asked with another wiggle.
“Not exactly,” he replied with another groan.
“Is that what I think it is?” she gasped.
“I don’t know, lass. What do you think it is?” he chuckled.
“It feels pretty hard…and big,” she continued, ignoring his question.
“Aye.”
“And you’re going to put that inside me once we’re married?” she whispered, her fingers tracing his ear gently.
“I am, love,” he answered honestly and actually heard her gulp.
“Will it hurt? I’ve heard it hurts.”
“Only the first time; after that you might get sore occasionally, but no more pain,” he assured her. “Don’t worry so. I’ll make you want me to do it.”
Maeve snorted in disbelief, so he pulled her closer and kissed her again until she melted in his arms.
“So you’ll only hurt me the first time, and, of course, when you spank me,” she accused, pushing him away when she came up for air. She seemed relieved when he gave her a bit of space.
“Aye, apart from that first time, but the other is under your control.”
“In what way?”
“Behave yourself and be a proper wife and you won’t have to worry about it. Get a bee in your bonnet or turn into a sassy shrew, and you’ll pay for it over my knees. It’s truly as simple as that,” he stated matter of fact. “I’ll make you happy, darlin’, in every way I know how,” he promised.
“Maybe we should try it out, for size I mean,” she suggested giving another wiggle, clearly trying to judge the size of his manhood.
“That’s somethin’ we won’t be doin’,” he laughed, swatting her bottom and setting her back in her seat. “I’ve waited a long time for you, and I won’t spoil you until I have the right to do so.”
“You make me sound like a piece of meat that’s about to turn,” she huffed, crossing her arms.
Sean laughed. “You’re more like a sweet treat with a bit of spice thrown in,” he teased. “So, what’s your judgment? Am I worth it?”
“I’m not sure. You don’t slobber like Kelly Rourke,” she offered with a grin.
Sean growled and put the car in gear.
“And you do have a certain way about you, to be sure,” she continued thoughtfully, “but I’m still of a mind to experiment a little more.”
“With whom?” he demanded clenching his jaw.
“With you, of course,” she admitted laughing. “We should go somewhere private and see what happens.”
“If and when I take you somewhere private, you enticin’ little brat, you can be sure I’ll be attendin’ to the other end of you and givin’ you the lickin’ you deserve,” he replied sweetly. “Now are we goin’ to the movies or am I lookin’ for somewhere appropriate to take care of business?”
“The movies,” she said quickly. “Stop at my house. I need to tell Ma. She’s not speakin’ to me, but she can still hear.”
* * *
They watched Love Story and Maeve sobbed her heart out while he held her. She was still crying when they got to the car.
“You can’t spank me,” she sniffed, tears running down her cheeks as she looked at him accusingly. “Love means never havin’ to say you’re sorry, so…”
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I ever heard.
Of course people should say they’re sorry if they’ve done wrong.
I expect you’ll be sayin’ it from the first smack on your cute bottom.
The question will be, do you mean it?” he teased, wiping her tears away and kissing her on the nose.
Tucking her safely into the car, he drove her home and walked her to her door.
Under the porch light, he took her in his arms and held her. She’d been sniffling all the way home.
“You’re a silly girl, Maeve darlin’,” he crooned. “’Tis only a movie.”
“But it could happen,” she insisted taking the hankie he offered. “Just suppose you spanked me and I died?”
“No one ever died from a spankin’,” he pointed out with a laugh.
“But suppose I was really sick, like that girl and we didn’t know it. Then you’d feel terrible knowin’ you treated me so shamefully and then I died,” she sighed, looking up at him from under her lashes. “Why I’d bet you’d carry the guilt for the rest of your life.”
Sean rocked her back and forth in his arms, trying to determine if she was having a go at him or not. She was pretty sly, his Maeve, and if he couldn’t figure out when to comfort and when to be firm with her, theirs was going to be a very tumultuous marriage.
“Don’t you worry, lass. You seem to be healthy, and I doubt I’d ever feel guilty over tannin’ your hide if you deserved it. In fact, I’m more likely to feel bad if I knew you were manipulatin’ me and I let you get away with it,” he continued, rubbing her back.
“What?” she asked sharply, her head popping up from his chest.
“You heard me, lass. It occurs to me that you’re pretty clever,” he observed, looking down at her. “I may have underestimated you.”
“You’re no slouch yourself, O’Malley,” she replied.
He could almost see the wheels turning as she glared at him.
“It appears we are well matched, Miss Donahue. See that you remember it,” he ordered, taking her chin in his fingers and tipping her face up to his. “Now give me a kiss.”
“I’d like to give you somethin’,” she hissed.
“I know.” Grinning he continued, “You already offered but I prefer to wait till there’s a ring on your finger.”
“Are you sure you don’t mean through my nose, and that’s not what I meant,” she said with an unladylike snort.
Done arguing, Sean snagged her closer with one arm and brought her to her tiptoes as his lips claimed hers.
He was delighted to feel her hands clutch his shoulders.
She may have thought she was going to fall, but he had no intention of letting her go, not now, not ever.
When he finally released her, she slumped against him, and he enjoyed that too.
“The neighbors will be talkin’,” she complained when she’d regained her breath.
“Let them. Are you ashamed to be seen kissin’ me?”
It took her a moment, but she finally replied, “No.”
“Good, now go on in before you catch a cold,” he advised, pulling up her collar and smoothing her long hair down her back.
“Or worse,” she grinned with a wink. Popping up on her toes, she kissed his cheek, surprising him. He waited until he heard the door lock behind her before walking away.
* * *
He was waiting for her at Mass Sunday morning. Taking her arm, he steered her to the O’Malley pew, nodding at her parents. His parents moved over, allowing Sean to sit on the aisle.
Maeve could feel the stares boring into her back and hear the tittering of some of her friends as they whispered behind their hands. Her cheeks heated up when Sean draped his arm along the back of the pew.
“Before we begin today, I have a few announcements,” Father Fitzgerald said, moving off the dais and walking to the end of the aisle.
“Mrs. Jamison has given birth to a fine baby boy. I know, I know,” he sighed as the congregation moaned collectively.
“We were all hopin’ for a girl this time,” he continued shrugging his shoulders.
“Seven sons is quite a handful, but the good Lord knows what’s best and she and John are pleased nonetheless.
Now if any of you ladies want to swap?” he teased, looking at the O’Connor’s six daughters.
Mrs. O’Connor laughed and shook her head as she snagged a toddler in a blue dress and pulled her back into their pew.
“Mr. O’Reilly is back in the hospital, so if any of you have the time, it might be nice to pay him a visit.
He’ll be laid up for quite a while as he’s broken his hip, and we all know how lonely he’s been since his wife passed on.
His daughter, Mary Ellen, will be arrivin’ next week, and I’m sure she’ll be attendin’ Mass at St. Patrick’s, so please make her feel welcome.
“The Christmas Pageant will be on Christmas Eve this year. Now, I know there’s been some talk of movin’ it up a day so as not to interfere with Midnight Mass, but I feel ’tis important for the little ones to have somethin’ on that most holy of nights, and many are too young to attend the late service, so we’ll be leavin’ it where ’tis always been.
“Sean O’Malley has received his degree early and is back at home with his parents. He’d also like me to announce his recent engagement to Miss Maeve Donahue. Their weddin’ will be in late summer of next year. If you see them after Mass, be sure to congratulate them.
“Now, have I missed anythin’?” he asked, waiting for a few moments. When no one responded, he nodded and turned, bowing before he ascended the steps to the altar.
“You might have warned me,” Maeve hissed, kicking Sean’s ankle when they rose.
“Ouch!”
“I can feel a million eyes on me,” she said quietly with her head down.
“They’re probably just jealous,” he said, turning his bowed head and grinning at her. “You got the best catch in town,” he whispered.
Maeve snorted and got a glare from his mother. She smiled sweetly back. “They’ll all think I’m pregnant,” she complained.
“Well, if they do it t’will be the longest pregnancy in history. We still have nearly eleven long months to go.”
“Maybe longer, much longer,” she snapped, glowering at him and giving him an elbow in the side as they knelt.
Sean grunted, put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “They have a cryin’ room you know,” he growled in her ear. “’Tis used for unruly children but ’tis sound proof. Maybe I should show it to you,” he threatened.
Blushing, she shook her head no and picked up her hymnal, ignoring him for the rest of the service.
As soon as they walked into the vestibule, she was surrounded by classmates of the feminine variety who all wanted to know the details as they looked Sean over like he was the last burger at the picnic.
Squaring her shoulders, she smiled, nodded and acted like they’d been a hot item for a long time, when in reality she’d barely seen him in the last few years.
Apparently he took pity on her because he walked to her side and fielded questions about himself she had no way of knowing the answers to. Ever so gently, he edged her toward the side door until they could make their escape as young and old congregants alike offered their congratulations.
“Slow down,” he commanded when she started to run at the first opportunity.
“Pardon me if I want to get away from the inquisition,” she snapped as he caught her elbow and pulled her to a halt.
“Aye, t’was pretty bad,” he admitted, “but at least ’tis over. Things will have settled down by next week. By the way, my mother’s expectin’ us for dinner.”
“What?” she yelled, turning on him.
“Relax; your parents are comin’ too. They want to discuss the weddin’.”
“And when did all these plans get made? Why don’t I know about them?” she demanded, planting her hands on her hips.
“Ma called your ma yesterday and I imagine you didn’t hear about it because your ma isn’t speakin’ to you,” he said cheekily as he opened the car door for her.
“Oh, this should be fun with both of them talkin’ over my head, decidin’ my weddin’. Your mother doesn’t even like me,” she pouted.
“You’ll grow on her.”
“Aye, like a fungus.”
Sean laughed and took her to the coffee shop for a chocolate éclair.