Maeve smiled and began inching back to his side.
“You think I won’t spank you here?” he asked when her father went to answer a phone call.
“You won’t,” she assured him, getting on her knees and putting her arms around his neck.
“My da would have somethin’ to say about that. He might even call off our engagement if he thinks you’re abusin’ me.” She grinned slyly.
Sean grabbed her arm and pulled her over his lap so fast she oomphed when her tummy hit the pillow. Three incredibly hard smacks rained down on the seat of her tight jeans, and she was back upright and seated next to him before she could say a word.
“What was that?” her ma asked, poking her head out of the kitchen doorway.
“I didn’t hear anythin’,” Sean replied politely, his eyes on the TV. “It must have been somethin’ out back.”
“Oh,” Maeve moaned, rubbing her bottom.
“Aye, oh. I expect you to be back in school tomorrow. You’ve strung this fake illness out long enough.”
“I’ll have to see how I’m feelin’ in the mornin’,” she said, raising her chin in challenge.
“I already know how you’ll be feelin’,” he informed her sternly.
“Are you clairvoyant?” she scoffed.
“I don’t need to be. There are only two possible ways this can go. Either you will be in school, or I’ll find you and slap your sweet little bottom every step of the way between here and St. Patrick’s.”
Maeve gasped. Sean set the pillow aside and turned to face her. His hands took her shoulders, pulling her to him and tucked her against his chest. Sliding his fingers into her long hair, he forced her head back and claimed her lips in the most passionate kiss she’d ever had.
“Don’t push me, little darlin’,” he warned, his breath hot and moist against her lips. “I’m goin’ away, but I’ll be back soon enough and I better not be hearin’ of any shenanigans in my absence.” Kissing her eyes closed, he hugged her tight.
“Sean, I?—”
“Hush,” he whispered. “Be a good lass while I’m gone. I can think of more pleasant activities we can enjoy when I get back than to spank the bejesus out of you, but I won’t hesitate to do so. Mind me, girl.”
“O’Malley,” she asked, touching his cheek, “why do you make me feel this way?”
“What way?”
“All breathless and mushy, my thoughts buzzin’ round like bees in a hive. I want you to kiss me, but at the same time I want to slap the crap out of you.”
Sean chuckled softly. “I’ll take the kissin’ if you don’t mind. ’Tis because you’re startin’ to want me,” he sighed in her ear, catching the lobe and nipping gently. “Really want me, in the way a woman wants a man, which is far different from the crush you had on me at fourteen,” he teased her, grinning widely. “Of course, you don’t want me nearly as badly as I want you, but you will, darlin’, you will.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I feel how you respond to me. Your heart speeds up when you’re tryin’ to annoy your nosey neighbors,” he told her. “Your body softens in my arms, and while you don’t know it, all these little sounds come from your throat, which I love.”
“What kind of sounds?”
“Sweet tiny moans and sighs; sometimes you almost purr.”
“I do not!”
“Aye, you do, and one day I’ll make you howl with pleasure,” he promised.
Maeve’s eyebrows rose in disbelief. “If you say so, O’Malley,” she snorted.
“I say so, and don’t think for one moment I don’t recall the beginnin’ of this conversation,” he advised, biting her lower lip gently before soothing it with his tongue. “We were talkin’ about what a good lass you’re goin’ to be while I’m away.”
“No,” she drawled. “You were talkin’ about that. I was thinkin’ about it.”
