Mastering Maeve (7 page)
Maeve rose to do what she was told, but on her way out she kissed her old granny.
“You drive me nuts, but you’re pretty wise at times. Thanks. Now if the bugger rings again, tell him I’m out but he can email me.”
“That’s my girl. Go down fighting.”
He did call again, and Maeve had the satisfaction of hearing Bridie pass on her message. She could picture him fuming, but pity about him. He bought the Smartphone; he might as well put it to good use.
From:
[email protected]
Subject: Last night
Damn, Maeve,
Why won’t you give me a chance to explain in person? Email is no way to talk about this. I’ve written and deleted about twenty mails so far and sooner or later I’ll send one.
You’re a beautiful young woman, of course I wanted you. Who wouldn’t? I’m totally flattered by you but it’s all wrong for so many reasons; I’m too old, we’re in business together, I live in a different country, and you’re too wilful for me. We could have been intimate last night, but then this morning we would be full of regrets. While I regret upsetting you, at least we didn’t wake up this morning ruing what we had done and we can still work together. Could we have done that if we’d slept together?
Please reply ASAP, I can’t stand this silence.
Larry
Maeve was furious.
Flattered?
The cheek of him! And how dare he call her
wilful
? The way she saw it he had been toying with her all day, touching her so much. If that was the way he wanted it, two could play at that game.
From:
[email protected]
Subject: re Last night
Dear Mr Williamson,
Of course, you are quite right. Please forgive my inappropriate behaviour. I can’t think what came over me. We’re totally unsuited for all those reasons you listed although I might argue my so-called wilfulness. Somehow or other I misread the signals and took your friendliness to mean more than it did. I apologise. It’s my turn to promise to keep my hands under control. I can assure you it won’t happen again. Naturally, I will keep you abreast of any business issues you might need to be aware of in your absence.
Yours sincerely,
Maeve O’Reilly
McNamara’s Hotel
He could put that in his pipe and smoke it!
From:
[email protected]
Subject: re (2) Last night
Maeve,
What happened to Larry? Please, let’s not go backwards.
Larry
From:
[email protected]
Subject: re (3) Last night
Larry…
If that makes you feel happier. Now if you’ll please excuse me, I have a hotel full of guests needing attention.
Maeve O’Reilly
McNamara’s Hotel
She hoped that would make her point and it seemed to, as she didn’t hear from him again for a couple of days. She had a vague sense of victory. As Granny said, she would go down fighting. Somehow it made her feel better.
From:
[email protected]
Subject: Contract
Hi, Maeve,
My lawyer has completed a draft contract, as attached. May I suggest you bring it to yours and ensure it is acceptable to you and also under Irish law? Please confirm receipt and if you have any concerns.
Hope you’re keeping well. I’m hoping I might be free within a couple of weeks to come back to sign if your lawyer is happy. I’m looking forward to seeing you again. Dad sends his regards.
Larry
Maeve forwarded the contract on to her solicitor, with a note asking for an appointment the following day as she was anxious to get everything up and running before the bank started harassing her. She still found that side of managing the business stressful. She missed having Larry around to reassure her on the financial issues. It was amazing how much she had learned to rely on him. Maybe it was a good thing he left when he did, as she had to learn to stand on her own two feet sooner or later. For the most part she was coping with the business and grateful for the distraction it brought.
She wondered what their relationship would be like if he did come back within a few weeks as he had suggested. Would she be able to work as closely with him now? Or would it be too awkward? She would just have to try to keep it as impersonal as possible and hope that the embarrassment would pass.
From:
[email protected]
Subject: re Contract
Hi, Larry,
Received the contract and the solicitor has approved it. Can sign whenever suits you. Please give your father my best wishes.
I have gone ahead with your suggestion and interviewed some part-time staff to cover meal times and wish to hire. I trust this is ok.
Maeve
The correspondence followed a similar vein over the following ten days. She saw Larry trying to break down her barriers but she carefully kept them in situ; once was enough to make an ass of oneself. There was no way she was going to leave herself open to his ridicule again. He made no further mention of his return so she assumed his business was taking longer to sort out than he had expected.
Finally she had staffing in place to be free to take a night and morning off and she arranged to meet up with Sean. She badly needed some fun and he was, as always, more than happy to oblige. They attended an open air concert, stayed with friends, and they all went out for a late breakfast. It was noon when she arrived back at the hotel. She and Sean went in linking arms and giggling happily. She got a hop to see Larry sitting in the foyer reading a newspaper.
“Hello, Larry, I wasn’t expecting you. You never said you were coming… Do you remember Sean?” she asked, remembering her manners.
“Hello again, Sean,” he said coolly. “No, I was on stand-by so I couldn’t give you advance notice. Obviously you weren’t expecting me,” he said, pointedly looking at Sean and his watch.
“I had a scheduled morning off; you may check the staff roster if you wish,” she replied. “Or are you just looking for another excuse to exert your will on my behind?” she whispered just loud enough to be heard if Sean had been really listening. Luckily he wasn’t, but Larry was raging. She was deliberately goading him, making him out to be some sort of monster.
“You’re the manager; I trust you made sure the staffing levels were adequate. I don’t need to check. When you resume working I would like to make an appointment to review what happened in my absence.”
“Two p.m. would suit me,” she said with false sweetness. “Can I organise some refreshments for you,
Mr Williamson
? Have you been shown to your room?”
Maeve was momentarily embarrassed to recognise that Sean seemed to feel the tension, because he quickly pecked her on the cheek and said:
“Gotta run, Maeve, catch you later. Nice to see you again, Larry.” He didn’t hang around for their goodbyes. It was poor professionalism on her part, she knew.
“I believe I’m in the same room and my bag has been taken up. I was waiting here in the hope I could see you.”
“And so you have. I’ll see you again at two, unless there is something more urgent.”
“Damn, yes, there is something more urgent, why are you doing this? What can I do? You think I don’t wish I had done things differently? I’m only a man, Maeve. I make mistakes. How long are you going to punish me?”
“Would you like to continue this discussion in private?” she asked in an urgent tone. She’d already embarrassed Sean; no need to spread the tension to the receptionist or any guests lounging in the foyer.
“That might be best,” he agreed. She started to lead the way to the office, but he took her by the arm and led her towards his room. He fumbled with the key card until she took it from him and opened the door.
“Now where were we?” he asked. “Oh, yes, I remember.” Grabbing her firmly by the shoulders, he kissed her hungrily. He inhaled her sea scent and moved his hands to her behind, pulling her as close as he could, as he plunged the depths of her mouth greedily with his tongue.
“Is this what you wanted?” he asked before roughly tugging her hair to raise her mouth towards his again. She was breathless; it was rougher than she expected, but yes, she had to admit it was exactly what she wanted. Her heart was pounding, her pulse racing, and an aching desire swept to the core of her being.
“New rules, Maeve, I’m no longer keeping my hands to myself.”
Maeve made no effort to resist as he undid the buttons of her shirt, slipping it down off her shoulders. His mouth explored her torso, kissing and nipping as he unhooked her bra. His eyes drank in the sight of her bare full breasts, as he caressed them gently with his hands before taking a nipple in his mouth and sucking greedily. She was almost too taken aback to react in any way or to assist in undressing herself, as she had only just begun to come to terms with his rejection. She was almost frozen, a mixture of excitement and fear. His fingers hooked into the elastic of her leggings and panties as he removed both at the same time, Maeve just about having the wherewithal to lift her legs enough for him to pull them over her feet, pulling her light canvas shoes away simultaneously. She stood before him naked and exposed, nervously watching his expression as he saw her in all her glory. His eyes were dark with desire and he stopped and stood still, simply looking at her. Her instinct was to try to cover herself with her arms.
“Don’t hide, you’re beautiful,” he said, tugging lightly on her arm. To her shock and unexpected pleasure, he pulled her naked body across his knee again and spanked her once more.
“No more toying with us. Either it’s him or me. I expect my woman to be faithful.” Each word was met with a sharp slap on her buttocks. While she writhed to escape the pain, she relished his possession of her.
“So what exactly do you want from me?” he asked as he smacked. “Because I want honesty and transparency from you from now on.”
Maeve was in no position to reply as she was squealing. But it was a bittersweet pain and she relished it. Finally he let up with the spanking, but held her in position across his lap; she was neither crying nor upset. She felt very tender, but strangely elated. And then he was massaging her bottom, causing the pain to subside to a delightful sensual pleasure. She was aroused as hell as the tingle spread across her bottom, the tops of her thighs, and right through to her lady-parts.
“For what it’s worth, while I stayed out with Sean, nothing happened.” She didn’t know why she had volunteered this information, but somehow it seemed important. She didn’t want him to think she was jumping from one man’s bed to another.
“Ouch,” she protested as the walloping started again, the mention of another man setting him off.
“Good, because one man should be enough in a twenty-four–hour period and something is definitely going to happen now. Jesus, woman, I’ve spent the two weeks regretting what I did. I don’t want to have to wait another day. From now on, you’re mine. Nobody else’s. I can’t bear to think of another man touching you like this. And another thing, if I think you need a spanking, I fully intend to give it, so get used to this position.” He continued whacking as if trying to eradicate her history. But it wasn’t like before. It hurt, but she felt it wasn’t anger so much as ownership. He took breathers from slapping her, rubbing and stroking, and then back to punishing her again. She had no idea how long he had been spanking or how many times he’d struck her, but for some bizarre reason, she was in no hurry for it to stop. It was creating a bond, a connection. And he seemed better able to spill his thoughts out as he chastised, instead of his usual cautious reticence. He had become different, more confident.
“Fuck, your face and your bottom are both blushing for me, how sexy is that?” Larry said as he raised her to standing.
Maeve wanted to hide from his gaze; she tried to crawl under the bedclothes. She worried that he might find her pale white body distasteful as he would be more used to tanned women. While her arms, legs, and face had taken the sun, the rest of her was milky white, apart from a trimmed neat strip of black hair on her mound.
“No, no, I want to see every bit of you. You have nothing to hide, you’re gorgeous, curvy, and sexy; don’t you dare cover up. I’ve waited too long.”
She was feeling more embarrassed by the second. Before she been ashamed of his rejection, now it was his open admiration. Maeve realised how silly she was being, but she couldn’t help it.
