The Swear Jar (36 page)

“You’re going to get smudges on
your face,” she said between kisses.

“I don’t care,” he replied,
nuzzling her ear.

“How did your meeting go this
morning?”

“Fine.  Checks signed.  I spoke to
the trustee about promoting you to Assistant Director.”

“What?”  She pulled away.

“I explained you’re a vital asset
and I’ve come to rely on you to help me manage this place.  I’m recommending
the Board promote you to Assistant Director.”

She swayed on her feet.  “I’m not
the only one full of surprises this morning.”

He covered her neck with kisses and
worked his way to her breasts.  “You’ve more than earned it.”

She stiffened, struggling to pull
away.  “How have I earned it?  With my work here or with my work in your bed?”

“Meara!”  He pushed her away.  “You
know damn well how you did it.  I would never recommend you if you hadn’t
earned it on your professional merit.  I thought you’d be happy I did it.”

“I’m sorry.  I’m happy.  I didn’t
expect it.  I haven’t been here long and I appreciate you trying.  It means a
lot to me that you value me as a partner.”

“The hellcat is sharpening her
claws today.  Now where was I?  Oh yes, right here.”  He ran his thumb across
her breast while he kissed her.

“You have black on your nose,” she
giggled.

“That giggle sends shivers up and
down my spine,” he exhaled.  “I have a favor to ask.”

“Sure, boss.”  She saluted. 
“What’s up?”

“Can you cover the last hour at the
Circulation Desk today?  Tom’s leaving early and Lucy wants to take her
grandkids trick-or-treating.”

“Just you and me at closing? 
Sounds like fun.”  She winked.

He groaned.  “It’s going to be a
long day.”

To Duncan’s relief, the day flew by
quickly.  When Meara took over at the Circulation Desk, she popped her head
into his office.  He sat ignoring a pile of papers in front of him.  He was
staring at the desk like it would come to life.

“Are you all right?  The desk won’t
bite you,” she laughed.

“I’m fine.  I was thinking about
what we were talking about this morning.”

“What’s that?”

“Desk sex.”

She blushed.  “What about it?”

“It sounds like fun.”

She walked to the front of his
desk, placing her hands on the edges.  She leaned close to him, giving him a
good look at her cleavage.  Wiggling a little, she smiled seductively at him.

“I’ll be back at closing.  Wait for
me here.”

“Yes, Miss Meara,” he gulped.

Walking to the office door, she
swayed her hips gently so her dress flowed.  She closed his door and hurried
back to the Circulation Desk.  She thought of things that would infuriate him. 
She would tease him to distraction for not telling her about Assistant
Director.  By closing time, she knew what she was going to do.  If he thought
she was a hellcat, she was going to act like one.  With the library closed for
the day, she was ready for him.  She walked into his office without knocking. 
He looked up, distracted by paperwork.  Putting her hands on the desk like she
had earlier in the day, this time, she had a snarl on her face.

“I am so tired of covering the Circulation
Desk.  You know I HATE it.  You know I don’t like dealing with all those
people.  Don’t ask me to work at the Circulation Desk EVER again.”

Chapter Forty-One

Shocked, Duncan was speechless.

Meara continued.  “I didn’t bother
discharging the books.  People will have fines the next time they’re here.  I
let kids take books without checking them out.  I turned off the door sensors
so the alarms will go off on Monday.  I forgave all the fines today.  And I put
whoopee cushions on the quiet study room chairs.”

She was losing him.  He didn’t
believe her.  She decided to go for it.

“I called the Board president.  I
told him I’m going to file a sexual harassment claim against you.  You hired me
under false pretenses and you’ve been taking advantage of me.  You promised to
make me Assistant Director, but you have no intentions of doing it.  You’re
doing me instead.”

“MEARA!”  He roared, grabbing and
shaking her.  “What the hell has gotten into you?  Are you serious?  Did you
really call the Board president?”

“Maybe I did and maybe I didn’t. 
Maybe I’m a bad, bad hellcat who needs to be punished.  And maybe I’m not
wearing panties.”

“You made it all up?  To get me
upset?  You’re bad.  You need some discipline.  You need a spanking.  Right
here, right now.”  He pushed her against the desk.

“Yes, I need some discipline.  I
need to be shown how bad I’ve been.  Can you give me the discipline I need? 
Can you give it to me?”

“Are you really not wearing
panties?” he whispered.

“Find out for yourself.  Show me
who’s in charge.”

Growling, he roughly boosted her
onto the desk.  Never taking his eyes off hers, he pushed her dress to her
hips.  Using his hands, he felt her soft mound.  She was telling the truth.

He groaned, “Bitch.”

“Bastard.  You should have told me
about Assistant Director.”

He slipped off her shoes and
leggings.  He pulled her dress over her head, seeing she had on the tricky
black bra.  He moaned.  Except for the bra, she was naked on his desk.  She was
giving him his fantasy.  She reached for his belt.

He slapped her hands away.  “No,
bad girl.”

He unhooked her bra, throwing it
over his shoulder.  He slipped off his tie and used the knot to bind her hands
together.  She gasped.  He took off his shoes and socks.  He removed his belt,
pants and underwear.  He was aroused.  He calmly undid the buttons on his
shirt.

Looking her in the eye, he said,
“You’re a bad, wicked girl to cause so much trouble.  I’m going to punish you. 
You’re sorely in need of discipline.  I’m going to fuck you right here on this
desk.  I’m going to give it to you as hard as I can.  I’m going to make you beg
for mercy.  Do you understand?”

Her face red, she whispered, “Yes,
Duncan.”

“NO!” he snapped.  “I’m Mr.
Phillips.”

Blinking, she inhaled sharply. 
“Yes, Mr. Phillips.”

He grabbed her buttocks, pulling
her to the edge of the desk.  He slipped her bound hands over his neck and he
entered her with a quick thrust.  She gasped.  Seeing her heart pendant swaying
wildly turned him on even more, so he dug his fingers into her buttocks.  She
moaned.  He thrust as hard as he could, but he found the desk to be slippery. 
He had to pull her back after every thrust.

“Wrap your legs around me,” he commanded. 
“Hold on.”

He picked her up and carried her to
the side desk.  It was narrow and against the wall.

“Better.” He placed his hands on
the wall above her shoulders.

He thrust again and this time, her
buttocks didn’t slide.  The desk creaked.  Her head hit the wall and the heart
pendant swayed.  He groaned, taking a hand off the wall and placing it over the
heart pendant.  Seeing it bounce was going to make him lose control.

Grimacing, he said, “Put your hands
behind your head.  I don’t want you touching me while I punish you.  I don’t
want you to pass out until I’m done.  Understood?”

“Yes, Duncan,” she whispered.

“Wrong answer, bitch.”  His thrust
slammed her head against the wall again.

Putting her hands behind her head,
she cried out, “Yes, Mr. Phillips.”

“Better.”  He dug his fingers into
her buttocks, thrusting repeatedly.

Her breasts rhythmically bounced up
and down.  The heart pendant slapped against her throat.  He continued to pound
her against the wall.

“Is that all you’ve got, Mr.
Phillips?  I’m not sure you have what it takes to show me who’s boss.  You
think this is punishment?  You call this discipline?”  Her voice came in rasps.
 “Oh, Duncan, fuck me harder.  Now.”

He growled, “Mr. Phillips.”

Losing control, he thrust harder. 
He couldn’t wait for her to orgasm.  Thrusting one last time, he brutally dug
his fingers into her buttocks.  He groaned aloud.  Her breathing stopped and her
back arched.  She collapsed forward onto his shoulder.

“Meara?”  Panicked, he lifted her
off the side desk and onto the floor, holding her in his arms.  “Are you all
right?  Meara, speak to me.”

Her breathing came in gasps.  “Oh,
Mr. Phillips, I’ll be a good girl from now on, I promise.  Unless I’m a bad
girl.  Then can you show me who’s boss again?”

“You’re going to be the death of
me.”  He untied her hands.

“That was fun.  Can we do it
again?”  She kissed him.

“You know how to press my buttons,
don’t you?”

“Didn’t you like it?”

“I didn’t know I was capable.  You
bring out the animal in me.  I liked it more than I care to admit.  How’s your
head?”

“A few brain cells may have been
sacrificed, but it was well worth it.  I should piss you off more often.  I
like it rough.”

“If I was going to be accused of
sexual harassment, I was going to make it memorable for you.”

“Mission accomplished.”

“Will you wear the hellcat outfit
again for me sometime?”  He whispered.

“Sure, if you promise to use the
vampire teeth to give me a hickey!”  She giggled.

The Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving
found them wrapped in each other’s arms.  They were at her house.  She had her
head buried in his chest.  They had made love the night before and she had cried
afterwards.  She didn’t want to be apart from him.  He felt miserable.  The
alarm sounded.

He reached over, turning off the
alarm without letting her go.  “It’ll be all right.”

“I know.  It’s silly of me.”

“No, it’s not.  Four days is a long
time.”  He stroked her face.

“We’ll both be so busy with family,
we won’t even notice.”

“I don’t believe that and neither
do you.”

“I was trying to look on the bright
side.”  Her eyes filled with tears.

“The bright side is, it’ll be all
right.  When we get back on Sunday, we’ll lock the doors until Monday morning. 
Maybe even call in sick.”

“My boss wouldn’t approve of me
using sick time like that.”

“I’ll have a talk with him.”

“What time are the boys coming for
you?”

“Around one.”

She sighed into his chest.  “The
thought of being apart from you has kept me from being nervous about meeting
them.”

“That’s my girl.  Now let’s get
going.  We have a long day ahead of us.  Is Anne coming with you today?”

“Anne jumped at the chance to miss
a half day of school.  She’s doing storytime with me.  She’ll be staying with
me tonight.  We’re having a slumber party out in the family room.”

“That should keep you occupied. 
And you can chat with Yoli too.”  He untangled from her embrace.

She had introduced him to her dear
friend, Yolanda, via internet chat.  When Meara had first spoken to Yoli about
Duncan, Yoli had liked him.  After the Shore house, Yoli had been wary of him
and was reluctant to accept him back into Meara’s life.  In the end, he had won
Yoli over with his magic.  Meara found out he could speak Spanish.  He spoke to
Yoli and explained he loved Meara dearly.  Yoli had been impressed.  He
understood Yoli was as important to Meara as Diana was, so he treated her like
Meara’s hermanita or little sister.  He was grateful to Yoli for giving him another
chance.  He was also grateful Yoli didn’t track him down and beat him up after
the Shore house.

“I’m going to bring my netbook to
my mother’s.  She has Wi-Fi.  Yoli will keep my mind off you and off killing my
mother.”  Watching him get out of bed, she loved seeing his naked body.  “Nice
view.  Are you sure we don’t have time to cuddle again?”

Frowning, he turned to face her. 
Throwing off the blanket, she curled up naked on his side of the bed.

She reached out for him, purring. 
“The front view is as spectacular as the rear view.  Come back to bed, baby.”

He was tempted.  Her tousled hair
and her round, delicious breasts were calling to him.  She reclined against his
pillows and beckoned to him.

“Woman, you’re evil.  I’m not
giving in.  No, I am NOT giving in.  Who am I kidding?  Five more minutes, and
that’s it.”  He straddled her, covering her with kisses.

“How about a quickie?” she asked,
desire in her eyes.

She ran her hands below his belly button. 
He was aroused.  She giggled and arched her breasts towards him.  She panted
lightly.

“We shouldn’t.  We’ll be late.”  He
was failing to convince himself.

“You always factor an extra thirty
minutes into our schedule, just in case.  If we use both showers, we’ll save
even more time.  You know I bought breakfast for everyone at the library.  I’ll
grab your coffee and I’ll make you some when we get there.  We have the time,
if you want.”  She was working her own special magic between his legs.

“Meara, you know what that does to
me.  I can’t argue with your reasoning.  I’m not going to even try.”  He buried
his face in her neck, panting.  “But if we’re late, it’s your fault.”

“Does that mean I’ll get a
spanking?” she teased.

“We’ll negotiate your punishment
later,” he growled.

“Yes, Mr. Phillips,” she gasped as
he pushed between her knees.

Thirty minutes later, she was
giggling and running to the shower.  “Should I hurry up or not?  I’m intrigued
as to what the punishment would be if we’re late.”

He headed to the hall bathroom. 
“Maybe I’ll let Anne stay with you on Sunday instead of me.  I’ll let you have
another girls’ night.”

She scowled.  “That’s cruel and
unusual punishment, Mr. Phillips.  It goes against the Geneva Convention.  I’ll
beat you to the front door.”

She was waiting for him in less
than fifteen minutes.  Her hair had grown longer and it was slicked back into a
ponytail.  She had on a cream colored blouse and soft brown slacks.  She held
two grocery bags, her big cloth bag and his coffee can.

“I win!” she announced
triumphantly.

He walked calmly to the front door,
carrying his overnight bag.  “You win, but I also set the alarm a little
earlier than usual.  We’re still on time.”

“NOT FAIR!” she cried.

She laughed and hugged him, holding
onto him.  He kissed her forehead and cheek.

“It’ll be all right,” he whispered.

“I know.  We’ll be together again
Sunday.  I had time to think about it.  What if they don’t like me?”

“Is there anyone who doesn’t like
you?  They’ll love you.  And if for some strange, unbelievable reason they
don’t like you, it’s their problem, not ours.  Meeting my family will not
change us in any way.  Understood?”

“Yes, Duncan.”  She murmured into
his shoulder.

“Good,” he kissed her.  “Now let’s
go.  I’m sure Anne is waiting.”

Anne and Diana were waiting on the
back porch of their house.  Anne waved and ran forward to help Meara with her
bags.

“Hi, Duncan! Hi, Aunt Meara!” Anne
chirped.

“Have you ever noticed she says hi
to you first?” Meara asked.  “Hello, Anne.  Hello, Diana.”

“It’s the Duncan magic.  She wants
to stay on my good side in case you two have a fight,” he replied, keeping a
straight face.  “Hello, Anne! Hello, Diana!”

Diana caught Duncan’s eye.  He hung
back while Meara and Anne walked down the driveway to the Jeep.

“How is she?” asked Diana,
concerned.

“She’ll be all right.  You’ll keep
an eye on her for me?”

“Like a hawk.  Anne will keep her
company tonight.  If anything happens, I have your cell number and the number
for Lisa’s mother’s house.  I’ll make sure she has her phone at my mother’s
house.  We’ll pick her up on Saturday afternoon and bring her to Ben’s mother’s
house.  We’ll all come back on Sunday morning.  You’ll be here Sunday
afternoon?”

“Yes.  We haven’t discussed if
we’ll stay here or my house.  I thought we’d decide on Sunday.”

“Good idea.  She’s got enough to be
worried about for now.  Will your family accept her?”

“They’ll have to.  It’s a fact. 
They don’t know how serious we are, but they’ll have to accept it.  Andrew will
be fine.  Lisa will have to warm up to Meara.  Sean will be the only wild card. 
We’re both a little stressed, but maybe we’re worrying too much.”

“I hope so.  Ben, Anne and I love
you.  We know you’re meant to be with Meara.  I’ve never seen her this way. 
She’s a totally different person.  She’s becoming who she was meant to be because
of your love.  Thank you, Duncan.”  Diana hugged him.  “Have a safe trip and
we’ll see you soon.”

Tearing up, Duncan returned Diana’s
hug.  “Thank you, Diana.  I love you, Ben and Anne like my own family.  I hope
my family can see I’m finally the person I was meant to be because of Meara’s
love.”

“If they don’t, Meara will show
them.  Who can resist her?”  Diana shrugged, laughing.

“I know I can’t,” said Duncan,
winking.  “She’s going to beat me to work if I don’t get moving.  I’ll never
hear the end of it.”

“Duncan, I got your back.  Anne!
Come here and say goodbye to me!  NOW!  Run, Duncan, run!” Diana smiled,
wickedly.

They heard Meara groan in
frustration.  Anne ran over to Diana and hugged her.