The O'Malley Brides (17 page)

Patrick looked at the ceiling as if he expected to see Tess strapped to the rafters. 
In the next second he fixed
his
wife with a hard stare.  “Molly, I can’t believe you lied to me
, A
ngel.  Why would you do that?” he asked,
genuinely
confused.

“No Patrick, I didn’t,” Molly insisted taking his arm with her small hand.  “I wouldn’t do that.” It was breaking her heart to see Patrick hurt.

“Yes, you did.  I specifically asked you if you had told Tess she could stay in the apartment and you said no.  Geeze
,
Molly girl, don’t make this any worse by lying again.”

“I did not lie to you.  You asked me if I had told Tess she could stay in the apartment for free and I said no.  That was the truth.”  Little bells rang as Molly stamped her delicate foot in frustration.  “I didn’t tell her she could stay for free, I charged her rent!”

“How much rent?” Patrick
asked, determined to get to the truth.

“Does it matter?
” Molly shot back.

“It might
,
how
much?”

“Patrick….”

Patrick didn’t say anymore, but the look in his eyes was compelling and Molly shivered.  She hated disappointing her husban
d and there
was no doubt in her mind that there would be consequences,
despite
the fact that she hadn’t lied to him, technically.

“A dollar a week,” she admitted.

Rory snorted and shook his head.  Chances were pretty good that all three of these
women were getting their bottoms
spanked tonight and as far as he was
concerned they all deserved it; Tess
for running away, Molly for hiding her and Maggie for jumping in and lying about it. 

“Rory
,
is Tess up there now?” Patrick asked
, taking Molly’s hand firmly in his.

“Yes, she’s getting some of her things together.  She should have been down here by now.”

“Would you mind watching the bar for a few minutes?  I’ll send Tess down the inside stairs.”

“Sure, take your time,” Rory answered, almost wishing he could work up some sympathy for Molly.  He loved her like a sister, but he couldn’t forget how sick with worry he had been
,
not knowing where Tess was.  Granted
,
Molly hadn’t lied, but she had withheld the truth.  Rory was pretty sure Patrick was about to take care of that omission right now.

Walking behind the bar,
Rory
was
hed his glass and poured a
soda.  He wanted to be running on all cylinders tonight and he was already beat.  It had been a long couple of days for him.
 

“Want another beer
,
Nick?” he asked.

“No thanks
,
Rory, we need to be heading home.  Come on
,
Maggie.”

“I want another beer,” she told him as he walked away to get her coat.

“No.”

“What do you mean no?” she asked annoyed.

“We still have to pick up the kids, and there are a few things we need to talk about, so no.” Nick informed her, holding her coat out for her to slip her arms into.

“Wow, I guess the honeymoon is ove
r,” she complained
, jumping off the bar stool and taking her coat out of his hands.

“Sweetheart
, I love you more than anything in the world but there’s an old saying, ‘Begin as you mean to go on’ and that’s just what I’m going to do,” he told her, twirling her into his arms and kissing her deeply.  “Take care
,
Rory.  See you soon and tell Patrick and Molly we said goodnight.”

“Will do
,
buddy,”
Rory
replied, grinning at the bemused look on his sister’s face as her husband led her from the bar.

Tess came around the corner into the bar just as Maggie and Nick were going out the front door.  She was dragging a large duffel bag and
Rory
glanced at his watch.

“
What
took you so long?” Rory asked suspiciously.  “I hope you weren’t taking care of anything that you shouldn’t have.”

“
Shhh
,
Rory
do not say such things,” she answered embarrassed.  “Why did Patrick and Molly come upstairs?  Was that Maggie and Nick just leaving?”

“Pat had some things he and Molly need to get straight,”
Rory
answered, sitting a glass of white wine in front of Tess.  “Maggie and Nick stopped in for a drink.”

“Oh, I guess
Patrick knows
that Molly let me stay here.  Is she in very much trouble?”

“A fair amount I would say.  Don’t worry about it
. 
Molly knew what she was doing.
”

“
I
cannot
help but feel responsible.  If it were not for me…” she trailed off, looking at the rafters as if she could see what was going on up there.

“Tess, Babe
, stop it,” Rory scolded.
 
“It’s all over and done with now and you know how much Patrick loves Molly.  It will be fine.  Why don’t you go check on that table in the corner and see if they need another drink?” Rory suggested as he moved down the bar to take care of a couple of customers.

For the next hour or so Tess served drinks and a few specials while Rory tended and stoc
ked the bar.  Patrick and Molly
came
back
downstairs holding hands.

“Sorry we took so long,” Patrick told them
gruffly, taking Rory’s place behind the bar.

Molly avoided looking at them, her hair covering the side of her face.

Tess was twisting her hands.  “I am so sorry I put you in an uncomfortable position Molly,” she offered.  “I
hope you did not have a hard time dealing with…”

Molly swung her hair back and grinned.  Winking at Rory, who had actually begun to feel somewhat sorry for her, she wrapped her arm around her husband, pulled him close and gently bit his ear.

“No, not too hard of a time,” Mo
lly purred
as Patrick’s face became almost as red as his hair. 

Rory snorted and took Tess’s hand.  “No, I can see tha
t.  Patrick you are such a w
uss
,” he laughed.  “Come on Babe, let’
s go home.”  Rory picked up Tess’s bag and slung it over his shoulder.

“You worry about your woman and let me worry about mine,” Patrick shot back.  “At least I can find mine.”

“True,” Rory admitted
,
shooting a look at Tess as he steered her towards the door.  “Night you guys.”

“
Goodn
ight.”

Chapter 10

Tess sighed as she sank into the passenger seat and closed her eyes.

“Tired?” Rory asked, reaching over and squeezing her hand.

“Yes.  Last night was very long and I did not sleep
well
.  Someone was following me,” she told him with a glare, “and I was scared.”

“Good.”

“No
,
it was not good
,
Rory,” she told him pulling her hand away and slapping his arm. “You frightened me.”

“You’re lucky that’s all I did. 
Do you think I liked
having on
e of my men tail you,
having
him know I can’t keep track of my own woman?”

“Am I your woman
,
Rory?” Tess whispered.

“Abso-
fucki
n’-
lut
e
ly
, and after tonight there won’t be any question,” Rory growled, his foot pushing a little harder on the gas.

“Why after tonight?  I thought you were taking me home?”

“I am taking you home, to my home.”

Tess bolted up, her seatbelt the only thing holding her in the seat.  “I thought you
were taking me to your
ma
dre’s
,” Tess asked anxiously.

“No, we’
re going home
.  I thought this was settled.  This morning you agreed to give us a chance, and I’
m taking you at your word.”

“But Rory…I’m not sure this is…”

“I am.  Look Babe, there is something between us, something powerful.  I refuse to let you hide f
rom it any longer.  I need you, H
oney, and
I know you need me too.  I want
to touch you, love you in ways
to
o
intimate
to describe right now, witho
ut pulling this damn car over,” he told her roughly, his hands gripping the steering wheel.  “Please don’t fight me on this, you won’t win and
it will only make you more anxious than you already are.”

Slumping against her seat in defeat, Tess kept quiet.  The darkness was a blessing.  It hid her shaking hands and red face.  He was right about one thing, she did need him.  His stre
ngth was like a magnet, drawing her in
.  For him it was about sex, at least it seemed to be.  For her it was something else entirely.  Although she was disappointed that they were not returning to his family home, in reality it did not matter.  Home for her was wherever Rory was. The sheer size of him comforted her.  Instead of being intimidated by it she adored it.
He could consume her and it would
not matter. 
Shy by nature, if it had been up to her to make t
he decision, it might be weeks,
or
months before she would come to him.  Rory was ev
erything she was not. Incredibly
strong, brave, and resourceful, he made things happen.  He took from life exactly what he wanted, and it seemed tonight, he wanted her.  He acted like he would want her forever, but Tess had heard that before.  It was what men said to gain your trust, break down your defenses and acquire your body.

Most of her life Tess had been like a leaf on the wind
,
prayin
g for a soft landing that
never came.  She made the best of her circumstances over and over again, thankful for what little she had.  A roof over her hea
d, food to eat, a job and family, were
all things she had
lost and struggled to find again.  Living with the O’Malley’s had made her crave more, much more.

There was a bond
,
a
permanence
in their family that fascinated her.  People were not disposable to the O’Malley’s.  If you carved
out
a place for yourself, in their lives, in their hearts, there was a better than good chance it would always be there.  She hoped that
her
place would still be there when Rory tired of her.  And he would, she was pretty sure of that.  Everyone did eventually, even her sister. 

Sighing heavily
,
Tess looked out the window taking in the residential neighborhood. 
Pretty houses lined the streets.  Manicured lawns and flowering shrub
s
divided
the
lots.  Mini vans, children’s toys and basketball hoops told her even more.  Families lived here in these comfortable homes.  There was not anything as impressive as the Victorian home the O’Malley’s live
d
in, but it was all still
very nice. 

Rory signaled a turn and pulled into the driveway of a corner house.  Automatically the
garage door opened and he eased
in, turning off the vehicle.  They sat in total silence for s
everal minutes.  He watched
her closely wo
ndering if she would bolt from
the car.  Tess hadn’t spoken since he told her where they were going.  It made him
slightly
nervous.

Tess unbuckled her seatbelt but did not get out of the car.  What sense was there in worrying, she thought.  It would not solve anything.  Rory said he would take her tonight, and so he would.  He said she would be his woman after this, but she was already his woman in her heart.  Her mind might question her judgment, but her body would do anything he asked of her.  That was just the way of things.  She could still feel his long, thick finger inside of her and he had not touched her for hours.  Her panties were soaked
even though she had changed them
when she went upstairs at the pub to get her things. 
All he had to do was speak about touching her and muscles in her abdomen clenched
. W
armth flowed and her body prepa
red itself as though
possession was imminent.
It did not matter if he was firm and commanding o
r soft and gentle
, she wanted him.  H
e could praise her or scold her,
it seemed to make no difference.  All Rory had to do was look at her and her heart be
at faster
, knees weakened and palms sweated.
At first she tried to convince herself it was fear that inspired this reaction, and in truth there was a little of that too.  Even among his family and their antiquated ideas, Rory stood out as just a little tougher, a little firme
r,
and a
little harder.  There was
darkness in him, a resolve that she did not sense in the others. 
Whether it came from his time in the military or was just in his nature, Tess did not know.