The Swear Jar (20 page)

“Duncan?  Sweetheart?  We should go
upstairs.  Sleeping on the couch can’t be good for our backs.”

His eyes popped open.  “Are you
trying to get me into bed?”

“Yes, I am.  Let’s go upstairs. 
And no funny business from you until we’re both well rested.  Understood?”  She
wagged her finger.

“I’m innocent!  You’re the one
luring me to bed.  Temptress.”

“Let’s go.  And keep your hands
where I can see them, mister.”

They held hands as they climbed the
stairs.  He was surprised to see the bedclothes straightened and his clothes
folded on the dresser.  He pulled down the blanket.  She climbed into bed.

“It looks like I have a cleaning
fairy,” he teased.

“It’s a librarian thing,” she giggled.

“Oh, no, not the giggle.  I’m not
strong enough yet.”

“Get into bed and go to sleep!” 
She pointed next to her.

“Only if you hug me.”

“Should I tuck you in and sing you
a lullaby?”

“It’s still my birthday, so yes.” 
He climbed into bed and snuggled close to her.

“You’ve been tortured enough with
my singing.”

“I like your singing.”

“You must be in love.”

They curled up in bed, pulling up
the blanket.  He tucked her into his chest.  It wasn’t long before he was
snoring lightly.  She sighed, drifting off to sleep.  In the wee hours of the
morning, she woke up.  He was spooned behind her, his arm wrapped tightly
around her waist.  He was awake too.  He pulled her hair back from her neck and
gently nuzzled her.  He pressed himself up against her buttocks.

“Good morning,” he growled.

“Good morning,” she giggled.

He lowered his arm to her thighs,
pulling her closer.  There was no mistaking he was aroused.  He nibbled her ear
and moved his hand slowly up her body to her breasts.  He stroked her nipples.

“Are you ready for another pillow
fight?” he whispered.

“Are you?” she asked.

“I think I can manage.”

“We’ll see about that,” she
growled.

Chapter Twenty-Three

While Duncan nuzzled Meara, she
grabbed a pillow and whacked his head.  Surprise, he laughed.  She giggled.  He
grabbed a pillow and whacked her leg.

“You said this was a pillow fight,
didn’t you?” she grinned evilly, hitting him in the head again.

“I did.  I guess I’ll have to be
more specific next time,” he said, hitting her hip.

“You can do better than that.  It’s
only a pillow.  Are you afraid of hurting me?” she teased, hitting his chest a
little harder.

Groaning, he hit her in the head. 
Knocking her off guard, she fell onto her back.  He didn’t think he had hit her
that hard.  Concerned, he reached out for her.

“Ouch.  Is that all you’ve got,
mister?”  She scrambled up and whacked his chest.

“Are you okay?”  Laughing, he
cautiously hit her side.

“I’m fine.  Tired yet?”  She
slammed the side of his head.

“No, I’m just getting started.” 
Dropping his pillow, he grabbed her by the waist.

He wrestled her onto her back.  She
struggled to get away from him.  He wondered if she was ticklish.  He stroked
her side.

“What are you doing?”  She froze.

“I’m tickling you.”

“Oh, no.”  She squirmed.

He played across her body to see
where she was ticklish.  She looked very uneasy as she turned red.  He had a
good idea of where to tickle her and was going to have some fun.

“What’s wrong?”  He grinned.  “Is
something bothering you?”

His tickling made her scream with
laughter.  He stopped.  She relaxed.  She thought he was going to kiss her.  He
tickled her again and he wasn’t going to stop this time.  Laughing, she
struggled to get away from him.  He found a spot on the underside of her knee. 
She shrieked, collapsing onto the bed and panting heavily.  He changed the
tickle spot.  She shrieked when he went back to her knee.

“Oh, Duncan.  Please, I give.  I
give,” she gasped.

“You won the pillow fight, but I
won the tickle fight.”  He breathed into her ear.

She nodded.  He kissed her deeply,
placing his hand between her knees.  He was nudging them apart when she stopped
him.

“No,” she whispered.

His eyebrows furrowed, confused. 
He sat back on his buttocks.  He wasn’t going to force himself on her.  She
placed her fingers on his lips to shush him.  She pulled off his shirt.  She
ran her fingers down his chest.  She kissed him and slipped off his underwear. 
She gently pushed him down until he reclined against the pillows.

“Oh,” he whispered.

She nodded.  She massaged down his
chest to below his belly button.  Groaning, he nibbled her lips.  She slipped
off her shirt, panties and bra.  She straddled him.  With a slight thrust, he
was inside her.  She moved her hips up and down while leaning forward to kiss
him.  Eyes closed, his hands went to her hips.  He gripped her tightly and
helped her thrust.  Between the excitement of the pillow and tickle fights, he
was losing control.

He roughly rubbed her breasts and
pinched her nipples.  Her back arched.  He massaged between her legs as her
thrusts became faster and wilder.  She watched the passion on his face.  She
wanted to please him.  Suddenly, he grabbed her hips and grunted.  A wave of
pleasure came over him.  She went rigid and threw back her head.  As she
buckled forward, he stopped her from falling.  She exhaled raspy breaths.  He
cradled her, lowering her next to him.

“Happy birthday weekend,” she
whispered, exhausted.

He kissed her on the forehead. 
“Thank you.”

He pulled the blanket over them. 
She was fast asleep.  He held her in his arms.  He hoped she would like his
plan.  If she didn’t like surprises, then he was going to tell her the truth. 
A little while later, he woke up.  He had a bad feeling, but couldn’t figure
out what was wrong.  He shrugged it off and cuddled closer to her.  His time
with her was almost over.  He needed to feed her and send her home.  He froze.

“Oh, no,” he grimaced.

He untangled himself from her and
threw on his pajamas.  He padded down to the kitchen to check the
refrigerator.  He hung his head and sighed.  He closed the refrigerator door to
find her standing there, sleepy and sexy in his t-shirt.

“Why did you disappear?” she asked,
stretching tantalizingly.

“I promised I would feed you.  I
don’t have any breakfast food.  You go back to sleep.  I’ll run to the store. 
I’ll be right back.”

“No.”  She shook her head.  “I have
a better idea.  Let’s take a shower.  Correction, showers!  Don’t give me that
look, Mr. Mischievous.  We’ll go to my house and I’ll make you breakfast.  Can
I borrow a towel?  And a new shirt?”

He held her hand, leading her back
upstairs.  “Do you want to use my bathroom or the guest bathroom?”

“Can we take showers at the same
time?  Earth to Duncan, come in Duncan.  Separate showers.  Oh boy, you’re
bad.”  She snapped her fingers.

Shaking his head, he cleared his
throat.  “Yes, we can take separate showers at the same time.  There’s enough
hot water.  I’ll be thinking of you the whole time.”

“Duncan!” she giggled.  “A towel
and a shirt, please.  The weekend is young, sir.  Mind out of the gutter, at
least for now.”

He handed her a towel.  She headed
for the guest bathroom.  He placed a soft, deep blue t-shirt on the bed.  She
turned back.

She blushed.  “May I come back here
to get dressed?  Or should I take my things into the bathroom with me?”

He crossed the floor in quick
strides.  He held her face and kissed her.

“This is your bedroom too, Meara. 
Take your shower and get dressed in here.  Understood?”  He watched her
carefully.

Her eyes teared up.  “Understood.”

Showering quickly, she wrapped the
towel around her body and returned to the bedroom.  He was still in the
shower.  She dressed, wearing his shirt with her pants.  She turned down the
blankets and fluffed the pillows on the bed.  Coming out of the bathroom, he
had a towel around his waist.  He shook his head when he saw her tidying up.

“You don’t have to do that.” He
caught her off-guard.

Turning around to look at him, she
caught her breath as she checked him out from head to toe.  She couldn’t help
herself.  He felt self-conscious, but the desire in her eyes pleased him.  If
he made a move towards her, they would wind up in bed again.  It was not an
unpleasant thought.  He shook his head to clear his mind.  He had to talk to
her about his plan very soon.  He pulled clothes together.

Like a deer in headlights, she sat
on the afghan at the foot of the bed.  He wasn’t sure what to do.  He was a
private person, but not a shy person.  He loved her, had made love with her,
and was sharing his life with her.  Getting dressed in front of her shouldn’t
be an issue, but her red face and shallow breathing said it was.  He had to put
her at ease.

“Should I leave?” she squeaked.

“No, but if you keep looking at me
like that, we’re not getting out of here today.  Close your eyes and talk to
me.”

She closed her eyes and exhaled. 
“Good idea.  What do you want to do this weekend?”

He dressed quickly.  “It’s
interesting you should ask.  I have a surprise for you.  Diana tells me you
don’t like surprises, so I’m going to be honest with you.”

“I’m listening.”  She raised an
eyebrow, but kept her eyes shut.

“Our time together has been
wonderful.  I would like the rest of my birthday weekend to be just as
romantic.  I called my friend Mike to borrow his Shore house this weekend.  I
asked Diana if we could switch today’s rescheduled dinner to a lunch.  We can
leave this afternoon and have almost two days at the Shore house.  What do you
think?”  He waited for her reaction.

Hanging her head, she nervously
weaved her fingers into the afghan.  “What expectations would you have?”

He lifted her chin.  Her eyes were
still closed.  He touched her face softly.  She smiled.

“Absolutely none.  There are
several bedrooms.  We don’t have to share one.  We can take walks on the beach
and swim.  We can talk and eat.  We can cuddle together and read a book.  We
don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.  Just be with me.  What do you
say?”

Opening her eyes, she said shyly,
“I’ll have to pack a bag.”

He looked sheepish.  “I have a
confession to make.  Diana’s getting your things together.  I asked her
yesterday.”

She smiled.  “You’ve been nothing
but kind and loving to me.  You wanted to surprise me.  Who am I to complain? 
This is a wonderful weekend so far and if it’s possible, it’s getting even
better.  I should be asking you how I can make you happy.  It’s your birthday
we’re celebrating.”

“Don’t change a thing.  You’ve made
me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt before.  I should be thanking you.”

“You’ve thanked me enough for one
twenty-four hour period,” she blushed.  “I hope we can be thankful again
sometime this weekend.”

“Your wish is my command, Lady
Meara,” he bowed.  “Let’s get going.  Diana will be wondering where you are.”

“Is it true you don’t have
breakfast?” she asked.

“Unfortunately, that was not part
of the plan, but it’s working in our favor.  Maybe we could have a birthday
brunch?” he grinned.

“We’ll see what Diana has to say
when we get there.  Do you have a bag packed?”

“No, I’ll throw something
together.  Should I bring a suit in case I want to take you out to a fancy
restaurant?”

“Why don’t we save that for next
time?  Pick out comfortable clothes.  Do you have shorts?”

“No.”  He made a mental note to buy
shorts.

The sound of the house phone
ringing surprised them both.  He checked, sighing.

“It’s Sean.”  He rolled his eyes.

“Answer it.  I’ll get your clothes
together.  Go!”

He kissed her.  “I’m so lucky. 
Good morning, Sean!  I’m surprised you’re up this early.  Thank you, it was a
good birthday.”

She opened his dresser drawers. 
She made a small pile of socks, underwear and jeans on the bed.  Heading into
the closet, she couldn’t help touching his suits.  She found his ties, running
her fingers through them like ribbons.  She found his casual shirts, choosing
several comfortable ones.  She couldn’t find a swimsuit.  Hands on hips, she frowned. 
She placed his shirts on the bed.

He smiled at her.  “I do have plans
for this weekend.  Yes, as a matter of fact, my friend Meara did wish me a
Happy Birthday.”

She grinned and blew him a kiss. 
She looked through his dresser for a swimsuit.  She threw her hands up in
disgust.

He chuckled.  “Sorry, Sean.  I was
laughing at something.  Thank you again for the birthday wishes.  I’ll see you
at Thanksgiving.  Yes, Sean.  I haven’t forgotten.  You’ll meet Meara then. 
Goodbye.”

She whirled around.  “What?”

He shrugged his shoulders.  “When I
mentioned you at John’s party, they said they wanted to meet you.  Remember, I
told them you were my friend.  We go to Lisa’s mother’s house for
Thanksgiving.  I’ll ask if you can come with us.”

“That’s not such a good idea.  I
don’t want to go where I may not be welcome.  I’ll meet them at Thanksgiving.”

“I’m not sure I want to go without
you.  They know I like you.”

“Don’t change your plans on my
account.  Let’s not ruin this weekend thinking about months from now.”

He pulled her into an embrace,
kissing her.  “Agreed.”

“Where’s your swimsuit?”

“Good question.  We better find it
and get moving.  It’s almost eight thirty.  Diana will be wondering where you
are.”

She laughed.  “And you need
pajamas.”

“Do I really need them?”  He
teased.

“Yes, please.  You’re distracting
enough fully clothed.  Without clothes, I would be helpless.”

“That’s not much of an argument for
me to bring pjs.”

“How about I find pjs to be
extremely attractive and soothing?”

“Better.  From what Mike has told
me, the house has its own pool and hot tub.  The beach is about two blocks
away.  There’s even a little cottage behind the pool.  He says it’s very
private and the house is all ours for the weekend.”

“Find those pjs and swimsuit. 
Let’s get going!”

“As you command, Lady Meara.”