The Finest Line (9 page)

Victory was sweet until James
fired his last shot, “Bedtime.”

Mairead frowned. “It’s not even
nine o’clock.”

“No arguments,” He told her
firmly. “You are going to bed and the light is going off. Your
bedroom door will remain open and I will be sitting out here
reading. If I hear you get out of bed for no good reason, I will
finish what I started. Is that understood?”

Mairead pouted angrily. She
understood perfectly that what her father had failed to do in
twenty years, James had achieved on his first attempt. She was
going to bed, thoroughly chastised, without any hope of benefiting
from her experience.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The first light of morning was a
welcome sight after a long restless night. Mairead rolled over and
looked at her bedroom door still wide open. James had gone to bed
just after midnight and she had contemplated sneaking out of bed
and grabbing a magazine. Anything would have been better than
having to lie in bed, even the possibility of another spanking. She
had decided against it with her embarrassment growing with every
passing hour.

The dynamics of their
relationship had changed dramatically. It wasn’t as if he had
kissed her and implied a romantic alliance. He had put her over his
knee like a naughty child and tanned her arse. What the hell did
that imply?

“Oh my god, I am such a retard,”
Mairead wanted to scream with anger. She looked down and addressed
her vagina. “This is your entire bloody fault. That’s the absolute
last time I listen to you.”

Her vagina ignored her and was
already animated with its own memories, but with that door open,
Mairead had no intention of getting lost in a fantasy.

The thought of facing him again
was tormenting. Surely he had lost all respect for her. She
certainly had none for herself. How could a friendship exist
between them? James now had the upper hand and one wrong move on
her part might mean a trip across his lap.

Mairead screamed into her
pillow. How could she have ever wanted, fantasised about, being
treated in such a debasing manner? The moment she got home she
would seek therapy and she would certainly make clear to James that
this was never going to happen again.

Rolling back to the other side,
Mairead cried herself to sleep.

It seemed that she had only
slept for minutes when she was woken by a knock on the door. She
rolled over enough to glance at James who was dressed in his dark
grey suit and blue silk tie.

She rolled back away from him.
“Yes?”

“We have to be at the airport in
two hours Mairead,” he spoke kindly to her. “You’ll need to get up
soon.”

“Okay.”

James was placing some cases
near the door when she finally emerged from the bedroom. Mairead
hurried to the bathroom trying not to look at him but he called out
to her. Sighing, she turned and smiled at him.

“Yes James?”

He seemed concerned. “Are you
alright?”

Looking at him, she was suddenly
reminded of how wonderful it had felt when he had held her against
him, after taking her down from the railing. It had taken her by
surprise but in that fleeting moment she had become fully aware of
the hardness of his body, his strength and that damn fucking sexy
cologne.

The colour rushed to her face
and her vagina tightened. “Quite alright thank you James. I’m just
looking forward to getting therapy... getting home. I meant getting
home.”

Before she could humiliate
herself further, Mairead quickly slammed the bathroom door between
them.

The drive to the airport was
silent and uncomfortable. They hardly spoke and she grinned with
relief when she saw a crowd of journalists waiting for her in the
terminal.

Mairead had never been so
grateful for media attention. James had to work diligently to steer
her through crowds of journalists and general public. For the first
time Mairead enjoyed shouts of approval and would have liked to
have answered a few of the questions being called out to her.

“Mairead,” One journalist
called. “Do you think Thalia Lindsay is regretting her decision to
kick you out?”

“You’ll have to ask her,”
Mairead called back.

“I know the rest of Australia
is,” The journalist laughed and others joined in.

Someone else called out. “Give
us another chance Mairead. We’re not all arseholes.”

“I’ll think about it,” Mairead
was beaming. They loved her and all it had taken was an act of
kindness and a death-defying demonstration of her abilities. The
accolades continued right up to boarding the plane where she
received a round of applause from passengers and flight personnel.
It was only as she took her seat next to James that she was
reminded that her day had not begun so pleasantly.

“Ouch,” Mairead shifted in her
seat and glowered when James grinned at her.

“Is there a problem?”

“Yes, a six foot bad-tempered
bastard with a hand made of granite.”

“Oh not me then,” James leaned
back in his seat. “I’m six three and my parents were definitely
married long before my birth.”

Mairead’s mouth fell open.
“James Vaughn, are you being facetious?”

The mirth vanished from his
face. “Yes, I suppose I am and I apologise.” James turned to
Mairead. “I’m genuinely concerned for your well-being.”

Mairead blushed deeply, but then
felt sorry when she saw that he was quite serious. His rare display
of humour reminded her that perhaps there was a funny side to an
embarrassing situation.

“My
‘well-being’
is a
little tender but surprisingly unblemished.”

James smiled weakly. “I’m
pleased to hear it.”

“It seems that, like in all your
duties, you have a proficiency in chastisement.”

The smile was gone and James sat
back. It was not the reaction she had expected. She couldn’t
imagine what nerve she had hit. Surely James didn’t have anger
management issues.

He had been perfectly calm and
controlled when he had punished her and even throughout the painful
experience, Mairead had not felt afraid. As much as she hated to
admit it to herself, she had felt some weird sense of security. But
that was another matter for therapy. Right now all she wanted was
to test that friendship which he had promised her existed.

“So James,” Mairead mused,
taking a magazine and flicking through it. “Have you ever thought
about seeing a stylist for a whole new look? You know, hair,
clothes...”

James quickly looked at her.
“What’s wrong with what I have?”

Absolutely nothing, Mairead
thought, but in the safety of a crowded plane, she was determined
to push a few buttons. “Oh nothing really... maybe a little
outdated.”

“Outdated?” James expelled that
long breath. “My suits are tailored annually and I see a hair
stylist that won an international award for cut last year.”

Mairead was impressed but there
were still a few buttons begging to be pushed. “Oh dear, I think I
have made a mistake.”

James eyes narrowed. “What do
you mean?”

“Ray Sanders wanted to know if
you had a gay twin brother and I said...”

“Before you continue Miss
Kavanagh,” James looked at her with one eyebrow raised, a tiny
smirk at the corner of his mouth. “Be aware that the arm rest
between us folds up and your
well-being
could be in
jeopardy.”

His humour had returned along
with some tingles in her backside. However mortifying, his threats
were still powerfully arousing. She’d given up trying to convince
her body that it was acting terribly unnaturally.

For now, she just wanted to hear
his voice. “So James, are you sure your parents were married before
your birth?”

During the rest of the flight,
she learned more about him. Like her, he was an only child and he
spoke fondly of his parents. His father was a high school teacher
and his mother owned a bakery. He usually flew home to be with them
at Christmas.

He was still reluctant to speak
about his army life but she learnt that he had joined at the early
age of sixteen and was barely twenty when he gone to Afghanistan.
It was an uncomfortable reminder that at the same age Mairead was
leading a much more immature life. Hopefully that would change when
she got home and maybe she could make something of herself that
James might grow to respect. Maybe she could take her gymnastics
training seriously and even become that Olympic champion her father
dreamed her to be.

The plane touched down in
Auckland and they were home by mid afternoon. She had been well
received by the media and general public at the airport but she was
anxious about the reception she would get at home.

James had refused to allow her
to sit in the front of the car with him. Mairead smiled as she
remembered James leaning against the car with his arms folded as he
waited until she had got out of the front and into the back. Her
stubbornness became boring after twenty minutes and James had won
again.

Her smile vanished when she saw
her father come out of the house. Sean Kavanagh was no small man,
only slightly shorter than James but a little more rounded. Mairead
had thankfully inherited her mother’s slight figure.

She had often heard her father
complain about politicians and their eating habits. “If we were
rolling up our sleeves instead of having discussions over dinner,
something might get done in this country and I wouldn’t be on blood
pressure pills.”

James opened her door and
Mairead got out and walked towards the house. Sean was frowning as
he watched her approach and she steeled herself for the explosion.
Joanne emerged from the house and ran past Sean to receive the
first hug.

“Welcome home Mairead.” Joanne
kissed her warmly. “We missed you so much. Your father has been
restless all day waiting for your return.”

The frown on his face said
otherwise. When Joanne finally released her, Mairead walked quietly
towards him.

When she was at arm’s length the
frown suddenly became a huge smile as Sean picked her and hugged
her tightly.

Mairead giggled. “Daddy put me
down. You’re embarrassing me.”

“No I won’t,” He shook his head.
“Not until you promise me you will never leave me again.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”
Mairead embraced him tightly. “Besides, you’re the only one who
will have me.”

Sean set her down, hugged and
kissed her and then grinned at James who was standing by patiently,
hidden behind his sunglasses.

Sean shook his head, “Above and
beyond James... again.”

“Not at all Sir,” James shook
his hand. “If you have no further use for me Sir, I would like to
make some preparations for my holiday.”

Mairead gasped quietly. “Are you
leaving so soon James?”

James nodded, “Tomorrow morning
Miss Kavanagh.”

“James cancelled his leave
voluntarily when we hadn’t heard from you for a few days.” Sean
smiled at James. “I was deeply grateful.”

Mairead sighed. “Oh god Dad, is
this the preliminary for the oncoming lecture?” She trudged up the
front steps. “Hang on, I’ll go and prostrate myself in the library,
ready to hear the riot act.”

“Mairead Kavanagh!” Sean’s roar
vibrated every nerve in her body but Mairead kept walking and
didn’t stop until she was safely curled up in her favourite leather
recliner in her father’s library.

She had been tempted to go
straight to her bedroom but it would have only delayed the
inevitable. At least this way, she was choosing the time and place
to hear all about his disappointment and how badly she had treated
everyone.

He kept her waiting for half an
hour, but when Sean entered, Mairead was puzzled by his composure.
Sitting in an adjacent recliner, Sean sighed deeply and remained
silent for a few minutes.

He began quietly. “Mairead, your
behaviour outside was extremely rude. Do not talk to me like that
again.”

“I’m sorry Dad,” Mairead sulked.
“I just didn’t want you going off at me in front of Joanne and
James.”

“I had no plans of ‘going off at
you’” Sean shook his head. Mairead detected a smirk on his face.
“As far as I am aware, James quite clearly delivered my
message.”

Mairead’s mouth opened widely.
“Dad, are you hearing yourself? You sanctioned a beating to your
daughter by the chauffeur. That’s not only perverse and abusive,
it’s damn bloody criminal.”

Sean laughed heartily. “I must
admit, I did have a momentary change of mind but then I thought...
what the hell.” He laughed again. “Poor James, I don’t pay him
enough.”

“Poor James,” Mairead was
incensed. “Poor James just about branded your message on my
arse.”

Sean chuckled again. “I know and
frankly I was a little surprised. He had told me quite determinedly
that he would lose his job before laying a hand on you, but then he
rang me last night to let me know that you were safely in bed with
a good sore backside.”

Mairead yelled with frustration.
“I am twenty years of age! I am not a child and you and James are
lucky I’m not pressing charges against both of you.”

Sean laughed heartily. “I don’t
know what changed his mind, my lass, but I can tell you this. I
laughed myself to sleep, just knowing that for once, you got
exactly what you deserved. I often wish that lad would hurry up and
marry you and then he can deal with you permanently.”

For a moment Mairead was
speechless until she could calmly speak again. “Dad, whatever world
you are living in, there is no way on God’s living earth that James
and I are ever going to get married.”

Sean nodded. “Yes, the lad is a
bit slow on the uptake which is quite surprising considering how
intelligent he is. You two will work it out for yourselves.”

“There is nothing to work out.
James is just some old chauffeur with a bad temper and definitely
someone I have no interest in.”