The Swear Jar (34 page)

“Not happening.  Thank you for
offering to sacrifice yourself.  I won’t let anyone change how I feel about
you.  Understood?”

“Yes, Duncan.  I like it when
you’re hard on me.”

He pushed her back on the couch and
straddled her, pinning her arms above her head.  “Do you want to see how hard I
can be on you?”

“Duncan!  We’re going swimming with
Anne.”  She shrieked with laughter.

“Can we play Marco Polo?” he asked,
grinning.

“Not with Anne around,” she
giggled.  “The Marco Polo you have in mind is not G-rated.”

“Then I’m going to need something
to keep me happy until we can play together,” he breathed into her ear.

“What did you have in mind?”  Her
breathing was raspy as he pressed into her.

“A quick makeout session.  Clothes
on.”  He pushed her legs apart and rolled his hips while nuzzling her neck.

She gasped.  “Oh.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

Chapter Thirty-Nine

At first, all Duncan could say was,
“Wow.”

Leaning against the couch pillows,
he held Meara curled up in his arms.  His sweatpants and underwear were down
around his knees.  She was fully dressed.

“Wow,” he repeated, pulling up his
clothes.

“You’ve said that at least half a
dozen times now,” she said with a furrowed brow.

“I’m still trying to figure out how
a makeout session ended with this.”

“The tent you were sporting in
those sweatpants was easy to see.  I needed to relieve your tension,” she said,
bowing her head shyly.  “Why?  Didn’t I do it right?”

He raised her chin.  “Are you
kidding?  You’re not kidding.  Meara, that was fantastic.  I’m afraid of what
those hands could do to me.  I wish I could repay the pleasure.”

“You did.  A few times.”  She
giggled.

“I would feel better knowing for
sure you weren’t tense.  I could take care of that for you.”  He slid his hands
towards the waistband of her sweatpants.

Laughing, she scrambled out of
reach.  “I’m completely stress free, thank you.  We promised Anne.”

“Let me grab my swimsuit.”

They headed back to her house.  He
had another overnight bag.  Even though she was curious, she didn’t ask what
was in it.  She knew she would find out.  He parked the Jeep on the street and
they walked up the driveway holding hands.

Anne bolted out the back door. 
“You’re here!”

Meara said, “We told you we’d be
back.  Let us get changed.  Meet us by the pool.  Is your Mom here?”

Diana appeared on the back porch. 
“She was pacing.  I told her to relax, but you know Anne.  Hi, Duncan.”

“Hi, Diana,” said Duncan.

“Duncan, why don’t you go ahead and
change?  I want to speak to Diana,” Meara said.

“See you in a few minutes.”  He
kissed her on the cheek.  “Anne, we have to play monkey in the middle.  We’ll
make your aunt the monkey.”

“Cool!”  Running to the pool, Anne
jumped in, squealing.

Duncan had finished changing in the
hallway bathroom when Meara appeared.  She had a sweet smile on her face.

“I’ll have a key made for you.” 
She kissed him on the cheek.

He beamed.  “Wonderful.  I’ll be by
the pool.  Anne and I will be scheming.”

Duncan walked over to the pool
where Ben was waiting for him.  Anne was happily swimming.

“May I speak with you?”  Ben spoke
quietly so Anne couldn’t hear them.

“Of course,” Duncan replied.

“I’m not sure how long we have, so
I’m cutting to the chase.  You two are shacking up now?”

“No, we’re not shacking up.  I’ve
told Meara I’m not interested in a casual relationship.”

“Diana’s a little concerned, but
she’s willing to trust Meara’s judgment.  Even though Meara makes it look like
a democracy, she’s the head of the family.  But as man of the house, I would
like to know what your intentions are regarding Meara.”  Ben was serious.

“Ben, can you keep a secret?” 
Duncan needed to share his plan.

“Possibly.  I might crack under
direct questioning.”

“I’ll trust you.  After we meet my
family in November, I intend to ask Meara to marry me.  Until then, we’re
spending as much time together as possible.  That means living together here,
my house or both.”

Ben blinked.  “That’s a big
secret.  I’m glad you want to marry Meara.  I won’t say anything unless I’m
asked directly.  Or if I feel I’m compelled to say something, but I’ll try to give
you the heads up first.”

“Do I have your blessing?”

“Hell, yes!  I need another guy on
my side who can handle the women in this family.”  Ben shook hands with Duncan.

“What’s going on?” Meara asked,
raising an eyebrow.  “What’s that about handling the women in this family?”

Ben’s look of horror made Duncan
laugh.  Duncan came to the rescue.

“Ben was just wishing me luck. 
He’s aware we’ll be spending lots of time together.”

Ben exhaled.  “Yes.  Diana wanted
to know if you’ll have dinner with us.  It’ll probably be the last barbecue of
the summer.”

“Meara?”  Duncan shrugged.  “It’s
up to you.”

“We’d like that very much.”  Meara
nodded her head.

“Are you guys coming in the pool? 
I’m going to prune soon!” Anne yelled.

Duncan jumped into the pool.  “Last
one in is a rotten egg.  Aunt Meara’s a rotten egg.”

“She’s stinky.  Maybe she shouldn’t
come in the pool.  She’ll stink it up.”  Anne cried.

Meara yelled, “I’m not stinky!  And
you say last one in before jumping in, not after.  It’s not fair!”

Ben laughed.  “Duncan, now you see
what I have to put up with in this family.  Run while you can!”

Meara fumed.  “Ben, don’t come any
closer or I’ll push you in.  And as for you two, I’m not playing if you think
I’m stinky.”

Crossing her arms, Meara sat in a
chair.  Duncan got out of the pool.  As he walked past Ben, he winked.  He
pulled her out of the chair and shoved her into the pool.  He jumped in after
her.

She came up coughing and laughing. 
“You’re so dead.”

Anne chirped.  “Monkey in the
middle!  Duncan, catch!”

She threw a ball over Meara’s head
to Duncan.  Diana joined Ben and watched the horseplay.  Ben gave Diana’s hand
a squeeze.  She had tears in her eyes.

Ben wrapped his arm around her. 
“It’s going to be fine.”

Diana replied, “I hope so.  She’s
so happy.”

“He loves her.  It’ll be fine.”

During dinner, Anne recounted
Meara’s frustration with the horseplay in the pool.  At one point, Anne and
Duncan had gone too far.  Meara had tried to stalk out of the pool.  Duncan had
grabbed her, working his magic at calming her down.

“Seriously, you need to tell us how
you do that,” Ben said.  “Or you need to be on call.”

“Put me on speed dial.  I’ll take
care of it for you,” Duncan laughed.  “I have to have some secrets.”

“Not in this family.  At least, not
for long,” Ben replied.

After dinner, Meara and Duncan
headed back to her house.  It had been a long day.  They were both worn out. 
Holding hands as they walked, she hip-checked him before entering the house. 
He swatted her butt and locked the door behind him.

“I should take a shower to get rid
of the chlorine,” she said.  “Do you want to take a shower?”

He raised his eyebrows.  “A shower
would be nice.”

“Down boy.  Aren’t you tired?”

He frowned.  “I guess.  Why don’t
you go first?”

“I’ll be quick.”  She headed to her
bathroom.

She stripped off her swimsuit and
hung it up.  She stepped into the shower.  He wandered down to her bedroom.  He
listened to the water.  He stripped off his swimsuit and hung it on the closet
door handle.  He knocked on the bathroom door.

“Yes?”

“May I come in?”

“Yes.  Is everything all right?”

Stepping into the bathroom, he slid
open the shower door.  “It will be.”

He stepped in and slid the shower
door closed.  He reached for her.

“Duncan!”  She backed away,
giggling.  “What are you doing?”

“You were very frustrated in the
pool.  I’m here to relieve your tension.”  He watched the water slide off her
body.

“Duncan!  This shower stall is a
little tight for fooling around, don’t you think?”  She giggled nervously.

“I need to make sure my stinky girl
gets cleaned properly,” he laughed, grabbing the soap.

He lathered up his hands, working
the soap into her neck.  He turned her around, massaging her neck and
shoulders.  He gave her the bar of soap.  He used both hands to massage the
small of her back and buttocks.  She braced her arms against the shower wall. 
He took back the bar of soap.  He ran the soap down the back of one leg and up
the other.  He paused at the back of the knee where she was ticklish.  He ran
his fingers over the spot as she giggled.  He stood up and turned her to face
him.  She was still nervous.  He lathered his hands again and bent down.  He
caressed the front of one leg and then the other.

As he stood up, he kissed her belly
button.  He passed close to her breasts, but didn’t touch them.  He kissed her
on the lips, pressing her against the shower wall.  He lathered his hands
again, touching her hips.  He slowly worked his way between her legs.  She
watched him, sighing.  He probed between her legs until he found her soft mound. 
She trembled and panted.  He lathered up his hands again.  He ran the soap up
one of her arms and down the other.  He picked up her shampoo.  He worked the
shampoo into her hair and massaged her scalp.  Her head was a mass of lather
and hair.  He twirled it into a ball on top of her head.  He picked the soap up
again.

“Close your eyes,” he whispered.

She closed her eyes.  He covered
her face with soap.  He gently massaged her eyebrows and cheeks.  He cleaned
out her ears, making her giggle.  He pulled her under the water stream to clean
off her face.  He pushed her back against the wall.  He ran his hands over her
belly and breasts thoroughly.  He gave her nipples a pinch.  She squealed, but
she kept her eyes closed.  She was relaxed.  He pulled her into the water
again, letting the shampoo stream down her body.  He worked his hands into her
hair to get rid of the shampoo.  Seeing the shampoo all over her body was
driving him crazy.  He wanted her, but he could wait.

“Now my stinky girl is no longer
stinky.  She’s all clean and smells good,” he whispered.

She opened her eyes.  She wanted to
make love with him, but she was so tired.  She could barely keep her eyes open.

“Looks like my sleepy girl is
making an appearance,” he said.

He held her close.  The water
covered them both.

He whispered, “Why don’t you get
ready for bed?  I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

She nodded.  Wrapping a towel
around herself, she found an old sleeveless cotton scoopneck nightshirt she
hadn’t worn in years.  She slipped it over her head.  It hugged her curves and
showed off her breasts.  She brushed her hair and rubbed it with her towel.  He
came out of the bathroom, seeing her nightshirt from behind.  He groaned.  She
turned to see him watching her.  He saw her from the front and his jaw dropped.

“You’re trying to drive me crazy,
aren’t you?” he said.

“What this old thing?  I was going
to throw it out,” she said, puzzled.

“No!  Please don’t do that.  We’re
both tired, but I can’t promise I’ll keep my hands off you.”

“You’re looking mighty inviting in
that towel.  Maybe we could wake up early?  Your shower massage made me very
relaxed.”

“Should I even bother with
pajamas?”

“If you want to go without, I won’t
complain,” she giggled, climbing into bed.

He hung up his towel in the
bathroom and slipped into bed naked.  He pulled her into an embrace and kissed
her goodnight.

“I love you.”

“I love you, Duncan.”

Early in the morning, Duncan awoke
and had to use the bathroom.  He slipped out of bed without waking Meara.  When
he returned, her body was in a tangle of sheets, blanket and pillows.  Her
nightshirt had ridden up her hips.  She had a pillow under her back, pushing up
her chest.  He watched the gentle rise and fall of her soft, round breasts.  He
remembered he was naked.  He was aroused.  Climbing back into bed, he hovered
over her.  He needed her to wake up.  His desire for her was strong.  Sleeping
naked next to her was probably not his best decision, but it had felt so good.

He whispered, “Meara?”

There was no response.  He tried
again.  She murmured in her sleep.  She had slept soundly, no nightmares.  He
tried again.  His voice was strained.  If she didn’t wake up soon, he would
have to relieve his own tension.  It was becoming painful.

Her chest heaved and he almost lost
it.  “Oh, Meara, there’s only so much I can take.”

She stirred.  “Duncan?  What’s
wrong?  Are you all right?  Was I having a nightmare?”

“No, everything’s all right. 
Nothing’s wrong.  You weren’t having a nightmare.”  He massaged her thigh.

“Duncan, something’s wrong.  Tell
me.”

“Meara.  Please.”  He kissed
between her breasts while rubbing against her thigh.

She realized he was aroused and
naked.  She woke up quickly.

“Duncan.”  She blushed to know he
wanted her.

“Meara.  Please.  Let’s make love,”
he whispered in agony.

He ran his hands over her body. 
She pushed him back to his knees.  She slipped off her panties.  She put both
hands on his chest and pushed him down on the bed.  She straddled him and with
a quick thrust, he was inside her.  She gently thrust her hips up and down.  He
ran his hands along her sides.  He groaned and reached for her breasts.  Her
soft, round breasts bounced wildly with the increased rhythm of her thrusts.

He groaned again.  He thrust
upwards while gripping her hips.  Crying out, he felt a wave of release. 
Panting, he pulled her down beside him.  He had lost control too soon for her
to orgasm.  He was going to make sure she felt as good as he did.  He straddled
her and pulled off her sexy nightshirt.  He kissed her deeply, massaging her nipple. 
He pinched it and her back arched.  He sucked on her nipple.

“Harder,” she whispered.

He sucked harder.  He switched to
the other nipple.  He applied as much pressure as he felt was safe without
hurting her.  He flicked his tongue over her nipple.  She moaned.  He reached
between her legs and rubbed the soft mound there.  He gently bit her nipple.

“Please, harder.  Please,” she
begged.

She wrapped her legs around one of
his legs.  He grabbed her breasts, pinching one and sucking on the other.  A flash
of pain crossed her face.  She didn’t want him to stop.  Switching breasts, he
repeated the pinching and sucking.  Her back arched and her chest heaved.  The
pressure around his leg increased.