The Finest Line (27 page)

“I don’t understand why you are
going back to Australia,” his disapproval was evident. “This place
is ripe for development.”

Mark even seemed a little
uneasy. “I know Dad, but you’ll need efficient management of your
properties in Australia and I believe that I am now in a position
to achieve that.”

Richard smirked humorously,
“Easy Mark, easy. The ring is not on her finger yet but I might
consider your proposal as a wedding gift.”

His attention switched again to
Mairead. “Why is she dressed like that? Surely your use of my
wealth can afford a decent wardrobe for your fiancée?”

“Go and put your dress back on”
Mark commanded her quietly.

Mairead was reluctant. “I’ll be
getting ready for the party later anyway. Might as well stay like
this for now.”

His face became as ferocious as
his voice, “Change your fucking clothes.”

Richard laughed and got up,
holding his hand out to Mairead who was trembling from Mark’s
attack. “He’s always had a temper Mairead and it is best not to
incite him.”

When she did not offer her hand
he took it and pulled her up. “Show me where your dress is and I’ll
help you get changed.”

She couldn’t believe what she
was hearing. Tears spilt over as she looked down at Mark pleadingly
but his stony expression told her she could expect no help. Instead
he stood up and squared up to his father.

“I haven’t fucked her yet so you
don’t get to either. Remember that.”

Richard grinned and nodded.
“Unlike you Mark, I’m a patient man.” His other hand gripped her
bicep tightly and Mairead was pushed towards the bedroom.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Her feet and calves were burning
as Mairead slowly sat down into the steaming bath. The scalding
heat bit into her flesh painfully and reluctantly she turned on the
cold tap to let it run a little until it was just barely possible
to stay in.

The pain released the tears that
had only fallen intermittently up until then. Hopefully it would
remove the lingering sensation of Richard’s hands upon her
body.

Thankfully the assault had been
limited to his inspection of her body with eyes and fingers. When
he had pulled her against him to cup her breasts in his hand and
breathe his foul breath into her ear, she had become aware of the
bulge in his trousers and prayed desperately that she would not
have to relieve him.

For once the gods had listened
but not before he had become acquainted with every contour and
crevice of her body. She was unsure what sickened her most, his
touch or Mark standing there watching him. Maybe if he hadn’t been
there she would have fought back but something, survival maybe, had
told her to endure silently. The enormity of his strength was
unexpected and frightening.

The bathroom door opened and
Mark stepped inside. She couldn’t look at him even when he spoke
her name. He came up to the bath and dipped his fingers into the
water, withdrawing them quickly.

“For fuck’s sake Mairead,” He
took her arm and hauled her out before pulling her to the shower
and turning the dial to cold. As he forced her under, Mairead
screamed as the icy water touched her burning flesh. When she tried
to escape, Mark got in with her fully dressed and held her.

After several minutes he pulled
her out and looked at her skin. The redness had faded to a soft
pink. Mark let her go and sat down on the edge of the bath. He hung
his head and Mairead realised that he was almost crying.

“Stop fucking hurting yourself,”
He pleaded through gritted teeth.

Mairead looked down at him, “Why
Mark? Is that an exclusive task for you and your father?”

He breathed deeply and managed
to look at her. “I’ll never let that happen again.”

She imagined herself pushing him
back into the bath, holding him down somehow, but the thought
quickly disgusted her. She took her robe from the hook and slipped
into it. “I need a drink.”

Mark nodded and got up, “Yeah me
too.”

Curled up on the lounge, she
watched Mark emerge from the bathroom in a similar robe to her own.
He went straight to the drink cabinet and poured two glasses of
scotch with ice.

“Drink that down and I’ll get us
another.” He tipped his own down his throat and Mairead did
likewise.

The second round was put on the
table and Mark sat down next to her.

“I hate the prick,” he said
quietly. “My mother did too and had the sense to leave him even
though it cost us both the price of seeing each other for many
years. I hated her for leaving me, but you begin to understand a
lot when you get older.”

“He’s a fucking monster,”
Mairead snatched up her drink and drained the contents. “And you...
you did nothing to help me. You let that fucking arsehole put his
hands all over me.”

“Because I couldn’t have stopped
him,” Mark yelled his defence. “I tried once years ago and he beat
the fucking shit out of me.”

As if he could read her
thoughts, Mark looked at her. “Contrary to what you think, I’m
nothing like him. He’s in a whole new sub species of his own.”

Mairead smiled grimly. “And I
get to be the meat between the two of you. Life just keeps getting
better.”

“I have ways to stop him,” Mark
said quietly. “I just didn’t want to have to use them yet. He’s a
means to an end and I’ve let him treat me like shit all my life
because it’s the only way I’m going to be free of him. As soon as
he signs over his Australian developments to me, I can put him out
of my life forever.”

She could summon no empathy.
“What does that mean for me?”

“Just stay out of his way,” he
was angry again. “I’m going to talk to him, maybe let him know I’m
not as powerless as he believes.”

“Yeah good luck with that,”
Mairead held out her glass to him, “A little more anaesthesia
please.”

Mark grinned. “I’ve got
something better than that.”

“Bring it on,” Mairead shrugged.
“If it can make me forget your father for a little while, I’ll try
anything.”

Mark got up and disappeared to
the bedroom. When he came out he began clearing the presents from
the glass top table. Mairead watched fascinated as he used a credit
card to scrape some pearly white powder into thin lines.

“I’m not going to become some
drug addict, am I?” Mairead was feeling a little apprehensive.

Mark laughed. “Not at the price
of this shit. This is a special occasion.” With that he leaned down
and put a thin tube into one nostril whilst he held the other and
sniffed a line into his nose.

Mairead giggled as she watched
him sit up and pull a few faces. “Is this going to hurt?”

“Might feel a little burn but it
won’t last long,” He held the tube out for her.

She took it and stared at it,
smiling to herself as she imagined how angry James would be if he
saw her now and even what he might do to her. It was a far better
thought than the memory of how he had last looked at her when he
had walked away in the car park.

Just another stinking memory to
wipe away and she leaned down and imitated what Mark had done. For
several seconds her nose burnt savagely and she wiped at it
furiously to ease the pain. It soon settled and she began to feel
surprisingly calm.

Grinning she looked at Mark,
“Wow that really does the job doesn’t it?”

He was also grinning. “Oh yes.”
He reached out slowly and this time she reluctantly allowed him to
take her hand. “Can we start again? I promise you I have the means
to stop my father from ever touching you again.”

Mairead shrugged, “Yeah whatever
and besides, I have a thousand dollar dress sitting in your
wardrobe which I’m quite looking forward to wearing.”

“You’re going to look
beautiful,” Mark moved closer to her and inclined his head to kiss
her but she drew back.

She laughed. “Not nearly enough
drugs in this system yet Mark. You’re going to have to work fucking
hard to help me forget that you’re nearly as big an arsehole as
your old man.”

She was surprised by her own
brazen attitude and was a little relieved when Mark laughed. “Fair
enough, hopefully this will be a good start.”

From the large pocket of his
robe he drew out a flat box and handed it to her. Still grinning,
she took it and looked at it before looking back to Mark. “Is this
going to be disgustingly expensive and exquisitely perfect?”

Mark nodded and she laughed, “It
better be.”

Opening the box, she gasped as
she looked upon the fine silver chain, set with small pearls every
couple of inches and with diamond encrusted leaves in between.
Above it was a pair of matching pearl and diamond earrings.

“Yeah not bad,” Mairead shut the
box and got up. “I might let you put it on me when I’m dressed but
for now I need a shower, a warm one and all on my own.”

Whatever Mark had given her
seemed to work. She felt energetic and motivated enough to give
herself a thorough regime of cleansing, moisturising and toning.
Her make-up was laid out for application like the instruments of a
surgical tray. She worked on her make-up slowly and
methodically.

Her concentration and the quiet
of the bathroom soon had her mind wandering. Images of so many
terrible events kept flashing into her thoughts. The worst of them
was James walking away after his look of disgust had wounded her so
badly. He had seen past her beauty into her soul, the very nature
of the beast.

She worked to cover the ugliness
she felt inside. When she was done she stared at the stunning
result but felt no better. It didn’t matter now. Soon she would be
far away from all the decent people in her life and could harm them
no longer.

On her way to the bedroom she
stopped when she saw Mark standing in the lounge doing up the
cufflink on his shirt. He was dressed in a black tuxedo with a grey
tie. His hair was neatly styled and he had shaved the stubble from
his chin, though the thin line of fair hair remained above his
lip.

He looked up and saw her staring
at him and grinned. “Will I do?”

Mairead smirked, “Not that I
have a choice but yes, you look really... tidy.”

“You’re a hard woman to please
Mairead,” He laughed. “But I’ll certainly give it my best effort,
especially tonight.”

His innuendo made her groan and
hurried her onto the bedroom where she could give her attention to
her dress. Taking it from the wardrobe she draped it upon the bed
where she could love it all over again.

The baby blue organza and
taffeta was decorated on the sweetheart neckline by silver
embroidery and pearls which swirled across the strapless bodice and
snaked down to the waist. With a layer of tulle, the skirt was full
and short.

Stripping her robe off, she
carefully stepped into it and pulled the bodice up and over,
swelling her breasts as it cupped them tightly. Strapping on a pair
of high heeled silver shoes, Mairead inspected herself in the
mirror and liked what she saw. Her legs looked long and were well
displayed with the skirt barely reaching mid thigh.

For the night, straight hair was
out and she used a curling iron and volumes of hairspray to achieve
a fullness of shiny spirals. She was disturbed by a knock on the
bedroom door.

“What?” Mairead tousled her hair
into place as Mark entered. He stood and looked at her reflection
until she turned and faced him. His expression told her that she
had obviously done well.

“You like?” Mairead grinned.

Mark nodded. “Enough to lock
this bedroom door and forget there even is a party.”

“Like hell,” Mairead scoffed. “I
didn’t spend three hours on this so you could rip it off. And
you’re certainly not getting out of giving me that jewellery so
close your mouth and open the box.”

Laughing, Mark took the chain
from its cushion and Mairead gathered her hair up so he could put
it around her neck. She took the earrings and put them in.

“Wow, I look fucking amazing,”
Mairead giggled as she admired herself and enjoyed Mark’s continued
approving stare. Looking at their reflections together in the
mirror, Mairead knew the world would approve but it would be so
wrong. It should have been James standing there next to her, ready
to celebrate their love and a long happy life together. Instead she
was here with this volatile stranger and the prospect of happiness
seemed highly unlikely.

Looking at Mark, she turned and
smiled. “Could we do some more of your funny white powder?”

He grinned and nodded.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

The function room was decorated
with balloons and streamers and banners. The lights were low and a
band was playing some lively music. A crowd of strangers applauded
their entry.

Mairead was startled but found
it amusing and whispered to Mark, “Do you even know these
people?”

Mark shrugged, “Probably half of
them but a lot would have been invited by my father.”

They were quickly swamped by
well wishes, and with drugs in her system, Mairead found herself
enjoying the attention. It was thoroughly entertaining getting to
know people she would normally have no interest in. The intense
desire to talk and laugh and flirt was infectious and she was
endearing herself to everyone. Conversation flowed from her and
each new person was given the privilege of her full attention.

Everything seemed so much more
wonderful than she expected. The decorations were stunning and the
wine was the best she had ever tasted. Her senses were fined tuned
to appreciate everything.

Her excitement bubbled over when
her father arrived and she hugged him tightly until he was able to
extract himself from her grasp.

Sean eyed her warily. “How much
have you had to drink Mairead?”

She giggled, “Oh not nearly
enough Daddy. This is all so much fun. These people are really
weird.”