The O'Malley Brides (13 page)

Pushing the door open
,
she put as much space between them as she could,
circling
behind her desk and waiting, for what she was not sure.

“Here,”
Rory
said, handing her the coffee.  “One sugar, extra cream
,
just the way you like it.”

Tess held
out her trembling hand and took the cup.  Setting it on her desk
,
she shrugged out of her jacket and backed away from him to hang it up.

“What the hell’s wrong with you?” Rory demanded with a scowl.  “You acting like you’re afraid of me.”

“Are you not mad at me?” she asked, working to keep her voice calm.

“You’re damn right I’m mad at you.  I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since you pulled your disappearing act. My mother was very hurt.  The time I spent looking for you could have been spent looking for real criminals and not a naughty, ungrateful little …”

“Oh no Rory
, please do not say that,” Tess pleaded, twisting her hands in distress.  “I love your family and am so thankful they took me in.  I would never do anything to h
urt them, especially your m
adre
.”

“Then why did you run away?  Is it because I spanked you?” he asked, taking a step towards her.

“No, that was very bad of you Rory, but that is not the reason,” Tess replied, backing up another step.  “It was the other thing you did.”

“Tess,” he barked.  “For God’s sake, will you stop before you’re
in
the closet?  I am not going to spank you now. 
I would not ta
ke the chance of Delbert Bertram Winston
the Fourth
getting a look at your adorable bottom,” he told her with a grin.  “I will
,
however
,
reserve the right to take care of that at a later, more appropriate time.
  By the other
thing
, I take it you are referring to my actions in your bedroom?”

Tess nodded and blushed fiercely.

“Are you angry because I touched you or angry because I stopped?” he asked, watching her closely.

“I’m not angry at all,” Tess insisted, her hands over her face in embarrassment.  “It was wondrous.  I realized that day that you would be a very demanding lover.  What happens if I cannot meet your demands?  I do not think I am a submissive woman.  I will not be able to make you happy
,
Rory,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

“Oh Babe
,”
Rory answered, setting his coffee down.  Striding to her
,
he pulled her hands away from her face and gently tipped
her chin up. “You make me happy
just being near me.  Every smile you give me brightens my day.  I love everything about you, even when you misbehave.  I don’t want a doormat.  I want a woman who gives as good as she gets.  You may not always be able to submit to me,
but
that’s alright. It’s what will make our lives exciting.  I will never hurt you
,
Tess and I will teach you.  If there are times when you just can’t, I’ll adjust.  Please give us a chance
,
Tess,” he whispered, turning her hands up and kissing each palm.

Tess nodded and threw herself into his arms.  Rory tipped his
head back and mouthed a silent "Thank you" to the M
an above.  He was kissing her wildly, her feet far above the floor when Dell walked in.

“Detective O’Malley,” Dell stuttered in surprise.  “Is everything alright?  Tess?”

“I’m fine
,
Dell,” Tess replied, burying her face in Rory’s chest to hide her tears.  “Rory was just leaving.”

Dell stood quietly assessing the situation.  Tess seemed shaky, but happy and
O’Malley
had a self-satisfied grin on his face.

“Actually we are both leaving,” Ror
y answered.  “Get your coat, Babe
.  Nick and Maggie got home last night and called me this morning.  Rebecca and Mason are having their baby today.  We’re heading over to the hospital now.  You should be able to handle things around here, right Delbert?”

“Oh, of course,
you
two go right along.
Don’t worry about a thing Tess
.
R
est assured you are leaving the office in capable hands
.”

“
Thank
you,
Dell.  Oh Rory, a baby.  Come on hurry, I do not want to miss this.”

Rory and Tess arrived at the hospital in plenty of time. 

“First babies take their own
sweet time,” Maggie informed them
giving Rory and Tess a quick hug.

Rory shook Nick’s hand.
  “How was the honeymoon?  Did C
upcake behave herself?”

“Shut up
,
Rory,” Maggie responded with a blush.

Nick laughed.  “It was great
and she did most of the… Ugh!” h
e replied, cut off when Maggie’s elbow made contact with his ribs. 

“Easy there
, C
upcake,”
Rory warned with a grin
.  “
You just got yourself a husband.  Y
ou don’t want to put him out of commission yet.”

“How is Rebecca?” Tess asked trying to change the subject before things got any more embarrassing.  “Is Mason in there with her?  What is the doctor saying?”

“It will be a while yet,” Maggie assured her.  “Mason had been out a couple of times and
he’s just about out of his mind.  It’s absolutely amazing what creampuffs some of these men are.  I have to say I’m enjoying it,” she giggled. 

“Why is he out of his mind?” Tess asked concerned.  “I do not understand.  He was so happy about the baby.”

“Oh, he’s happy about that.  It’s seeing Rebecca in pain tha
t he can’t stand.  What
did he think it was going to be like?”

“Did they not take classes?  I am sure Rebecca told me about them.  She said Mason was very good on the breathing part.”

“Well, he’s not doing so well right now,” Maggie laughed.  “The last time he came out he was as white as a sheet.  I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t need medical at
tention before this is over.  Let’s go get a cup of coffee,” she suggested sliding her arm through Tess’s.  “Do you want anything?” she asked Nick and Rory.

“Not right now,” Nick replied as Rory shook his head no.  “Don’t be long though.  I’m not much use to Mason other than moral support.”

“We won’t be long.”

Maggie and Tess made their way to the cafeter
ia.  After getting their coffee,
Maggie c
hose a table in the back corner far enough away not to be over
heard by the other customers.

“So what
’s
going on?” Maggie asked
,
wrapping her hands around her cup and looking intently at Tess.  “I heard
you moved
out of my parent’s house.  What happened?”

“Nothing really,” Tess mumbled looking flustered.  “I just felt it might be time to get my own place.”

“And have you gotten your own place?”  Maggie asked.

“Not exactly, Molly
let me stay in the apartment over the pub.”

Maggie’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.  “Gee, that’s not really the way I heard it.  The story I got was that you took off and no one knew where you were.  I guess Rory was ready to explode.  Wish I’d been there,” she grinned.

Tess fidgeted on her chair, not sure how much she should reveal. 

“I can’t believe Patrick went along with it,” Maggie mused.  “I would have bet he would have told Rory immediately where you were.  These guys usually stick together, like there’s some unwritten code or something,” she griped, before taking a sip of her drink.

“
He did not
know,” Tess whispered.

“What?” Maggie sputtered loudly, almost spitting out her coffee and drawing the attention of several other patrons.  “You mean Molly went behind his back and hid you?  Oh, this just keeps getting better and better,” she laughed.  “I leave town for a few days and miss everything!  Something big must have happened.  Molly hardly ever goes behind Patrick’s back.  There must have been more to it than you just wanting to get your own place?  What did my brother do to you?”

“Please Maggie,” Tess whispered.  “I do not think I can explain here.  It is too embarrassing.”

“Believe me
,
Tess.  There is nothing you could tell me that would surprise me.  It was pretty obvious to me that Rory spanked you the d
ay of the wedding.  I thought
when you cut your hair, you would have e
xpected it.  You know how he is, and he did warn you.
”

“Oh my God,” Tess cried before clamping her hand over her Maggie’s hand, panic in her eyes.  “
What do you mean it was obvious
, to
who
m
?” 

“Relax
,
Honey,
I’m
sure it wasn’t
obvious
to everyone.  Only someone’s who’s been there would have
noticed and I’ve been there.  Not to mention I was worried you were going to try and wring Rory’s neck most of the day,” Maggie answered, patting Tess sympathetically on the arm.

“So what did my brother do besides that?  I know he has spanked you before and yet you didn’t run.  There’s more to this isn’t there
,
Tess?”

Tess pulled her hand back and dropped her head.  Tre
mbling slightly she could not
get the words out. 

“Tess, tell me
, I promise
I won’t tell a soul and maybe I can help.”

“Well,” Tess tried,
wringing
her hands.  “The morning after the wedding Rory came to my bedroom.  He brought me coffee and
said it was a peace offering.
  I thought he meant to apologize for…you know, but that was not true,” Tess told her, swallowing as she looked into Maggie’s wide eyes.

“Go on,” Maggie coaxed
gently
.
  Tess really needed to get this off her chest.

“
He told me he
was not sorry about the spanking, and then he flipped me over to see how much damage there was.”

“Isn’t that just like a man?” Maggie snorted. 
“
Blister your bottom one day and t
hen want to look at it the next,
like the whole thing wasn’t bad enough in the first place.  What happened then?”

“I was fighting him, but I could not stop him.  He is very strong.  I was able to get away from him after he…inspected my bottom,” Tess told her, her voice so soft Maggie had to lean closer to hear.  “I was on the other side of the bed and he ordered me to come to him.  I did not.”

“So did he get mad and spank you again?  Is that what happened?”

“No.  He reached across the bed and pulled me to him.  I wanted to scream I was so mad but he kissed me, hard, his lips silencing me.  Then he held me tightly in his arms and he…he…forced me too…”

“What?” Maggie whispered, hardly able to hear Tess.

“He forced me to….”

“He forced you to have sex?” Maggie gasped
,
astounded. 

Tess beg
an to understand the significance
of red hair when Maggie shot to her feet.  Tess was so startled
,
she knocked over her c
offee as
she
jumped up
to grab Maggie’s arm.

“I’m gonna kick his ass,”
Maggie shouted her body vibrating with anger.
  “And when I’m done
,
I’m gonna have Nick kick his ass too!
  I love my br
other, but that’s just too much.
”

“No,” Tess pleaded, trying to hang on to Maggie.  “No, you do not understand.  Not that,” Tess insisted
,
pulling Maggie closer and whispering in her
ear.  “He forced me to…to have
a
n
…
orgasm.  Well more than one.  Please Maggie sit down.”

Maggie sat, like a balloon whose air had leaked out.  For a few moments she looked around, realizing the attention they had drawn.  Coffee was dripping onto the floor and Tess had her head in her hands.  Smiling slightly
,
Maggie got up, grabbed some napkins from another table and cleaned up the mess.  Smoothing her hair back into her pony tail, she took a deep breath.

“Did you or did you not have sex with my brother?” Maggie asked.

“I did, he did not.”