The Finest Line (8 page)

He was quiet as they ate their
dinner at the coffee table, much to Mairead’s frustration. She had
hoped to flame the spark of friendship that had begun that day with
breakfast.

When he was finished he took his
plate back to the trolley and picked up the bottle of champagne.
Mairead waited for him to open it but was quickly disappointed.

“I’ll have the hotel ship this
to you,” He told her.

She nodded miserably.

He returned to his seat and
reached for the remote control of the television and she quickly
spoke, “I don’t want to watch television. I thought we might talk
for awhile.”

She heard his slight sigh as he
set it down. “What did you want to talk about?”

She smiled. “I just wanted to
say thank you for helping me out today. I was in a pretty dark
place and you got me out of it.”

“All in the line of duty,” He
smiled back at her but his reply upset her.

She looked at him sadly, “Does
it always have to be in the line of duty?”

Her question made him obviously
uncomfortable. His smile was gone and he was frowning and not
looking at her. Mairead immediately wished that she hadn’t put him
on the spot and breathed her relief when his phone rang.

James stood up as he answered
and she sighed and slumped in her chair.

“Sir, I really don’t know what
you mean.”

Mairead looked up to see a
bewildered look on his face, but when his gaze met hers, the
expression changed dramatically. He was furious.

“If you will excuse me Sir, just
for one moment, I’ll get my laptop.”

With that he walked to his
bedroom and shut the door firmly.

Mairead paced the room, tempted
to listen up again his door but the thought of him opening it and
catching her was too intimidating. Eventually she flopped down on
the couch and sulked. Her night was truly ruined.

An hour passed before James
finally emerged from the bedroom. He came over and sat on the other
end of the couch but said nothing.

Mairead smiled. “Was that
Daddy?”

“Yes it was.” James expelled his
breath and he still looked extremely angry. “Mairead, what did you
do while I was out?”

She shrugged, still gambling on
not having been found out. “I had a bath, read a book. So what did
Daddy want?”

“He wanted to tell you that,
like five hundred thousand other viewers of You Tube, he was
completely awed and amazed at your gymnastic ability, one hundred
feet above certain death.”

Mairead swallowed as James
continued.

“He also concurred that your
perilous act to save a dog was very noble and selfless but if he
could get his hands on you right now, he would atone for the severe
lack of discipline of your childhood.” James was breathing loudly
and his voice was gaining volume. “He questioned my sanity in
leaving you alone and quite frankly I have now done the same.”

Mairead gulped, “James,
please...”

His temper exploded. “No
Mairead, you don’t get to talk. You get to listen. I trusted you to
stay in the hotel room but once again you have to find ways to draw
attention to yourself. Do you ever think of anyone else? Does it
ever occur to you that what you are doing is driving anyone who
cares for you completely insane? I have never met anyone so selfish
and irresponsible in my entire life.”

She was trembling as her tears
welled up, “I didn’t do it to be selfish.”

“No you did it because you’re so
self-destructive that you repeatedly sabotage anything good in your
life.”

“Stop it!” Mairead screamed and
jumped up. “You have no right to talk to me like that.”

He glared at her and walked
away. When he finally turned back she was gone and the door to the
balcony was wide open.

The night was clear and cold and
Mairead welcomed the soft wind blowing the silk of her nightie
against her skin as she stood on the railing of the balcony. Her
bare feet were planted on two sides where the balcony cornered. She
watched the lights of the traffic below.

James stood at the doorway.
“Mairead, please get down.” His volume had dropped
considerably.

Tears were running down her
face. “Why should I? This is what I do. Daddy once told me that I
was walking a fine line between happiness and misery.” She smiled.
“Well you don’t get finer than this. Would you like to see me do
it?”

James shook his head. “No I
wouldn’t. Please Mairead, I am sorry I yelled at you. I’m sorry for
the things I said.”

“No you’re not,” she shook her
head. “You just think if you say something wrong I’m going to fall
off or jump, but I’m not and do you know why? Because I am really
good at this and I have absolutely no fear of heights. It’s people
that scare me. Everyone wants to be mean to me, even when I try to
do something good and that’s what I was trying to do.”

James nodded, “I realise that
now and I should have let you speak.”

She laughed softly. “Don’t get
me wrong. I’ve done a thousand terrible things in my life but
saving that dog wasn’t one of them. If you’re going to be angry
with me, please don’t let it be because of that. Let me have one
thing that I’ve done right.”

“Mairead you have done an
incredible amount of right in your life. You are a wonderful
person.”

She laughed again. “Let’s not
exaggerate James. Everything else you said is perfectly true. I’m
selfish, self-destructive and make everyone else’s life a
misery.”

“I was wrong Mairead,” James
shook his head desperately. “I said everything wrong because I was
angry. When I saw you in that video...” He breathed out and then
smiled. “Come on Mairead... you were doing cartwheels on a six inch
wide beam a hundred feet in the air.”

She grinned. “Did I look
good?”

James nodded. “You looked
amazing. Even your father was impressed.”

“But he still wants to kill
me.”

James shifted and looked
uncomfortable. “His anger was mostly directed at me for not keeping
an eye on you properly.”

Mairead sighed. “I’m sorry
James. Once again I fuck up and someone else pays the price. I
won’t let him fire you over this.”

James still looked
uncomfortable. “He has already guaranteed my position and even a
defence team for my trial if... if I was to discipline you for
him.”

Even in the cold air, Mairead
felt her face flush. “And what did you say to him?”

“I told him I wouldn’t.”

Mairead smiled sadly. “Of course
you wouldn’t. It’s not in the line of duty.”

He frowned. “You say that as if
I don’t care about you.”

“Of course you do,” Mairead
shrugged. “I’m the boss’s daughter and it’s your job to care for
me. You do a great job but it’s not like we’re friends or anything.
You’ve threatened me enough but when it comes down to it, all
you’ll every really do is yell at me.”

James studied her intently and
shook his head. “I’ve really let you down haven’t I?”

She wiped some tears away. “I
didn’t say that.”

“Yes you did,” James walked up
to her and held his hand out, “Get down from there now.”

His tone left no room for
refusal. She shuddered slightly as she tentatively reached out.
James grabbed her hand and lifted her down.

For a long time he held her
against him. Mairead was startled and a little confused by the
intensity of his embrace. When he eventually held her at arm’s
length, he was smiling.

“I am so sorry that I yelled at
you and said some terrible things.” He lightly brushed a stray
strand of hair away from her face. “You are right about what you
did today. What would terrify most people is obviously not even a
challenge to you. Your talent is incredible and you used your
abilities for a selfless act of heroism and I am very proud of
you.”

She wilted under his praise and
stared back into his eyes, longing to touch the face so close to
hers.

James continued but the smile
was gone. “I am also sorry that I failed to deliver on a promise I
made you five years ago and tonight I am going to rectify
that.”

Mairead trembled, scarcely
daring to interpret his ominous statement, until he made it quite
clear to her.

“I would never punish you for
doing something you believe to be right. What I am going to punish
you for, is ever doubting I care about you and thinking that you
aren’t even a friend to me. You are more than a friend to me and I
care about you more than any person I know. I am also going to make
sure that you receive the full retribution of every profane word
you have ever used in the last five years.”

With that he picked her up and
tossed her over his shoulder, striding back inside. Mairead opened
her mouth but nothing would come out. She should be screaming her
protest, struggling to get away but she couldn’t.

Every ounce of strength had
drained away. Her body was as much surrendered to her fate as was
her mind. As her fantasy began to cross the forbidden line of
reality, her stomach tightened and her vagina contracted
powerfully.

Only when James had seated
himself on the couch and was looking up at her did she feel the
first twinges of embarrassment and anxiety.

She found her voice. “Maybe we
should talk about this.”

James shook his head. “Time for
talking is over.”

He positioned her between his
legs and pulled her down until she was jack-knifed over his thigh,
her hands coming to rest on the floor. His other leg clamped her
legs immobile. His arm went across her waist and her hip was firmly
grasped.

She whimpered when James pushed
her robe and nightie to the centre of her back, knowing that he was
seeing more of her than he ever had. The useless thong, and the
angle at which he held her, offered him an uninterrupted view of
her buttocks and vagina.

Pushing her legs together and
tightening her buttocks, Mairead tried to restore some dignity but
her attempt was quickly defeated.

James patted her bottom. “Don’t
stiffen up like that or you will end up with bruising. I will grant
you the one concession of leaving your thread of underwear in
place, but don’t push your luck.”

Mairead was quickly regretting
allowing her vagina to dictate to her brain. When she remained
stiffened, James slapped the back of her thigh.

Her mouth fell open, “Ouch. That
really hurt.”

“The back of the thighs is
tender. If you don’t want any more there, then relax your bottom
and take what’s coming to you.”

Mairead knew there was no
turning back. She had asked for this and James was going to
deliver. Reluctantly she complied and waited for the onslaught.

The spanking did not begin.
James was caressing and gently squeezing her cheeks, allowing an
uncomfortable trickle of moisture to reach her pulsating clitoris.
Mairead had to press her mouth tightly shut to keep herself from
moaning.

James spoke quietly to her.
“Tell me not to do this Mairead and I won’t.”

A long silence was all the
invitation he needed. His hand snapped down firmly on one cheek and
then the other. It was the start of a rhythm that continued solidly
for the next two minutes.

“Mairead gritted her teeth as
each painful slap registered. Her bottom was burning and stinging
but it was not unbearable. With her clitoris pressing and rubbing
against a seam in his jeans, her arousal was dominating her
pain.

James stopped and rubbed her
cheeks. “Your bottom is quite pink now. I think you’re warmed up
enough.”

Mairead sighed deeply with
relief. She had survived and an orgasm was imminent. A quick visit
to the bedroom would bring unmeasurable relief but instead of
letting her up, James took a firmer grip on her.

His arm pushed into her lower
back causing her to tilt her bottom higher. His hand grasped her
thigh and he pulled her tighter against his body. Mairead gasped
and tried to struggle as she suddenly realised what James had meant
by ‘warmed up.’

“James please,” Mairead pleaded,
“I’m more than convinced that you care about me and we are
definitely friends. I mean, I wouldn’t be lying here if we were
strangers, would I? And as for profanity... well that’s just not
going to happen anymore.”

“That is very inspiring
Mairead.” Some amusement was mingled with his praise. “But I’m
afraid it’s come down to a question of colour.”

“What the hell...” Mairead
quickly corrected herself. “What do you mean by colour?”

His hand was caressing her
again. “When you showed me those cherries today, I must admit I did
wonder which shade of them I liked the best.”

Mairead groaned. “I reckon the
ones that weren’t quite ripe, you know just pink, much like I am
now.”

James laughed. “The dark ones
certainly held no appeal to me but I believe the ones I liked the
most were those bright red ones, bordering on scarlet.”

“James, please,” Mairead
employed a tearful plea. “Doesn’t remorse count for anything? I am
so truly sorry.”

His hold on her became relaxed.
Mairead breathed out and slumped against him. She was quite happy
to stay where she was for a few moments longer. His hand was still
resting casually on her backside, his fingertips gently massaging
her.

Mairead grinned to herself. The
stinging burn in her backside was no worse than if she had stayed
in the sun too long. There was considerably more heat and activity
radiating from her very aroused vagina.

Reluctantly she got to her feet
with his help. Facing him proved difficult, knowing her face was
redder than her behind.

James was still frowning. “I
really hope you’ve learnt something tonight Mairead.”

She smiled innocently and
nodded, knowing her education was probably not the one he had hoped
to impart. She had certainly learned that a nice light spanking
made her extremely horny. The nicest lesson had been that James did
care for her and considered her a friend and could still be
controlled with a few forced tears.