Irish Charm; St. Patrick's Day Romance Collection, page 35
I was only an assistant now, so I didn’t get a chance to work for the senior partners. Though, if things kept going how they were, that could soon change. I just couldn’t let my heart or my pussy distract me from my career.
“Hey.”
I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sudden and unexpected utterance. I’d been so caught up in filing that I hadn’t even heard Nicole come in.
“You okay?” she asked, giving me a peculiar look.
“Yes, absolutely. My mind was elsewhere.”
“I bet it was,” she said with a grin. “You about ready for lunch?”
“Good call.”
“Let’s go to my office; bring the Peterson file with you.”
The phrase ‘working lunch’ took on a whole new meaning as we sat with our brown bags amid a mountain of case law.
“How’s the family?” Nicole asked.
“You don’t want to know.”
“That bad, huh?”
“I don’t know if ‘bad’ is the right word. It’s too simple and neat.”
“Have you decided if you’re going to your parents’ garden party?” she asked. “I’ll definitely be there. It’ll be good for networking.”
I shuddered.
“Not if I can help it. The Ashtons are going to be there. I know my dad is considered to be almost like royalty, but that doesn’t mean he can do arranged marriages.”
“That’s a bit harsh.”
“I suppose, but it is still a marriage of allegiance, which is deeply fucked up in the modern world. A marriage of convenience, I can understand, but in that case, both partners consent and benefit.”
“So, if Harry Ashton were a foreigner in danger of deportation, you would want to marry him?”
“That’s a difficult question to answer. I would consider it depending on where and what he was going to be deported back to.”
“I get that. Still, decent men are hard to find, and we aren’t getting any younger.”
“No one is unless they’re Benjamin Button. It is a biological impossibility.”
“As will having kids be if we wait too long. Granted, you have more time than I do. The clock is tickin’, honey. Isn’t your mom missing you?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t asked.”
“Darcy, be serious. I know you have issues with your dad, but you shouldn’t punish your mom because you don’t want to live in his shadow. If anyone would understand that, it’s her. She’s been doing it for years.”
“Wow.”
“What?”
“Have you been taking guilt lessons from my mom?”
“Nope, I’m just a great lawyer. So, you’ll go to the garden party?”
“Not exactly with bells on, but yeah, I guess.”
The hour of liberation upon us, Nicole let me go a few minutes early, so I could get home to get ready before my date.
Chapter Twelve - Darcy
I was out of my work clothes in record time. I stood in front of my full-length mirror in nothing but my lingerie and studied my body, trying to convince myself it wasn’t as bad as I feared.
I had a few blemishes here and there, but blemishes just come from living life. The scars on my legs didn’t look all the bad. Maybe I was the only one who really noticed.
Scouring my closet for something to wear was quite an expedition. I needed to look sexy but not too eager. I wasn’t going to blow Sean in the parking lot but wouldn’t say no if he wanted to take things further later.
I settled on a pretty blue dress I had made last year using an original pattern from the 1950s. It was flirty and fun and perfect for our date.
Changing into a fresh set of pink silk underwear, I stepped into the dress, which was a bit more of a production than I remembered. The jury was still out on my legs, but the dress did great things for my tits.
I would probably scream if I saw a pair of high heels again, after having worn them for most of the day, so they were out. The only other shoes I had that would work were a pair of cherry red Chuck Taylors.
I’d only worn them a couple of times, so they still looked new. Bold and uncomplicated, cool and young. I was once told by a self-appointed dictator of style that the only color of Chucks someone over 30 could wear was white. I wasn’t 30 yet, and anyway, stuff that noise.
My outfit was far from orthodox, but I couldn’t deny I looked good. I felt that I looked like a good combination of the girl I had been and the woman I was becoming, still feeling very stuck in the middle. And yet I was always very me, which was exactly what I wanted to be, even if I was still trying to figure out who that was.
The butterflies in my belly were aflutter as I parked. It was my first date in what felt like forever, and I was in no way convinced I would know what to do. There were definite conventions around courtship. The only problem was that they kept changing.
Sean already knew about my family and my history as a socialite, so there wasn’t really anything to hide from him. He had been similarly candid about his past. Particularly about his father.
All of our skeletons were out of the closet and doing parades. There was nothing to hide, and it felt freeing. We could both just be ourselves and see if we liked who the other was. The real fear was rooted in the answer, which could still be no.
I saw him immediately. Dressed in a plain black suit and white shirt with no tie. He’d made even the green accented suit at the wedding appear stylish but now he looked even better in his own clothes.
It had been the same even for the jeans and sweater he’d worn last night. He just couldn’t help but look classy.
He stood to meet me, looking almost as nervous as I felt, still putting a hand on my hip as we kissed in greeting. Not a casual peck on the cheek either. It was a full-on smooch on the mouth, tender and intimate but also with a level of chaste innocence appropriate to the surroundings. People were trying to eat, after all.
The change was immediate, all tension and nervousness melting away to a familiar comfort like we’d had at the wedding. An unspoken understanding drew us together in our desire for each other. Not just on a physical level, but in all ways.
I’d never put much stock in the notion of ‘soulmates,’ but if biofeedback and empathic reading were real, I supposed anything was possible. There was ample anecdotal evidence for me to draw on. Most of it was from my own experience, but it still counted. I seemed to remember Maggie telling me about having a similar reaction to Gavin.
“How long are you here?” I asked, our fingers laced beneath the table.
“Three weeks. Why come all this way and not make the most of it? But I’ve been here for a few days already.”
He looked almost apologetic
“Wow! Can’t believe you got that much time off. Will everything be okay at work?”
“Oh yeah, Dunc and my brother Jim can handle things.”
“Dunc?”
“Duncan, my business partner. The one who got food poisoning. I have complete confidence in both him and my brother. There are also advantages to being my own boss, despite some of the stresses.”
No sooner had he mentioned stress than the whole pack of Ashtons came in through the door. I’d chosen the restaurant on purpose because I didn’t think they would ever go there, and I just wanted to have a nice time with Sean.
They must have decided to slum it. Not a term I would use for a mid-level bar and grill, but certainly one that they would.
It could be hard to keep a hold on perspective when one made fifty million dollars a year like Harry did. No doubt that was the other reason why daddy wanted me to marry him. So that Harry could ‘take care’ of me
“What’s wrong?” Sean asked, immediately sensing my discomfort.
“The Ashtons are here.”
“As in Harry Ashton?”
His face looked incredulous.
“Darcy!” Harry called out, before I could answer Sean.
I wanted to hide under the table, but it was too late. He’d already seen me, and there was no chance of escape.
If it had just been Harry, it would have been better. At least I could have handled it, but he was there with his parents.
It seemed a bit odd, him being in his early 40s and all, but it was kind of nice that they still had a good relationship. Even if his mother did make me question what I’d always been taught about the existence of a benevolent God. As far as I could tell, if there was a God, Mrs. Ashton worked for the other side.
“Hello, Mr. Ashton, Mrs. Ashton. Harry,” I said.
To his credit, Harry didn’t look comfortable, either. His mother had a tendency to take over any room she was in, often to the chagrin of anyone she was with.
It wasn’t even that I didn’t like him personally. He was a bit of a jumped-up snob, but I knew as well as anyone that that had more to do with his upbringing than anything else. He was also handsome and incredibly talented. His movies were some of the best that I’d ever seen.
My main issue was our meeting’s circumstances and the forced aspect of our coupling, specifically joining my family dynasty and fortune with his like we were the bloody Borgias. Harry was also old enough to be my father, which put a bit of a dampener on things.
“We just saw you sitting over here in this dark corner and thought we should come over and say hi,” Harry explained.
“Hi,” I said.
“Very droll, dear,” Mrs. Ashton said. “We also wanted to know if you were planning on being at the garden party. It is sure to be the social event of the summer, and a little birdie tells me there is going to be a special announcement.”
The world started to spin. There were very few things that ‘special announcement’ could be, even though I didn’t want to believe that my father could stoop so low to get what he wanted. Then I remembered he’d been stooping to get what he wanted for most of his career.
My lips stretched into an unconvincing smile.
“We wouldn’t miss it, would we?” I said, glancing at Sean.
He reached for my hand, making clear our connection so that even Mrs. Ashton had to take notice. My hero.
“We wouldn’t miss the social event of the summer for all the Guinness in Ireland,” Sean joked.
“Oh, I’m sorry, we didn’t catch your name,” Mrs. Ashton said, looking judgmentally at Sean. “So, you are?”
“Sean MacBride,” he said, shaking each of their hands vigorously. “It’s an honor to meet you. I’m also looking forward to meeting Mr. and Mrs. Matthews at the party. It should be a pip.”
A dark look crossed Harry’s usually handsome face. I didn’t think he wanted to get married much more than I did.
But that didn’t mean he was happy with another guy moving in on what he considered his territory. Particularly one who was obviously beneath him on the socio-economic scale. That was an injustice his lifelong training as a self-centered prick could not let stand.
“Oh, come on, you can’t be serious about this mi—” he started to utter.
“Be very careful what you say next,” Sean warned in a tone that would make Conor McGregor wet himself.
“It’s just ridiculous is all,” Harry amended, deflating like a day-old helium balloon.
“I-I’m sure it is all just a misunderstanding. It will all be cleared up on Saturday,” Mrs. Ashton said, ushering her clan out of the restaurant at warp speed.
I looked at Sean apologetically, afraid he wouldn’t want to continue the date after that crazy spectacle. But he just rolled his eyes and smiled at me, as if knowing how little I wanted to do with Harry and his whole family.
And that was yet another reason I found myself falling for Sean.
He seemed to read me like a book, and I liked it.
Chapter Thirteen - Sean
I did my best not to say anything about what had just happened as we finished our meal, figuring that Darcy wouldn’t want to talk about it in public. But once we left the restaurant, I was full of questions. And when we got to the car, I let my curiosity lead me.
“So, I guess those were the notorious Ashtons,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.
“Yeah.”
“You weren’t exaggerating.”
“Nope. My father is insistent I marry Harry Ashton. Otherwise, I won’t be his daughter anymore. I figured I’d rather have that and be allowed to be myself than kowtow to his demands. He thinks he has the right to control people. Particularly me. He seems to think I’m his little dress-up doll.”
“I suppose one of the advantages of the MacBride Brothers not being anything close to trust fund babies is that our dad doesn’t have anything to hold over us,” I mused, grateful in a strange way. “There’s no way to stop us from doing what we want, when we want.”
“My trust fund will be clipped, shredded, and burned unless I fall in line with his dictates and marry a man closer to his age than mine, who is a class A snob to boot. It’s Harry’s parents who are mostly the problem, and I try to remember that, but there’s no way I’m going to marry him, no matter what they threaten me with.”
“There’s the spirit. It’s impressive that you’re so willing to get by without your dad. I’ve never been in a position to choose, but I can see how it would be difficult. To give all that up to do what you love and live how you want.”
“It also helped me pay for a pretty nice lifestyle, but I’m much happier without all the pressure to dress and look a certain way.” Suddenly she looked at me as if she could think of better things to do than talk about Harry and his family. “Would you like to come back to my place? I don’t want to be on my own.”
I wanted to punch the air in victory, but I didn’t.
Instead, I said, “There’s nothing I could want more.”
Once we were there, the energy was palpable, zapping through me when she took my hand to lead me through the door of her studio apartment. Despite the small size, it was very nicely decorated, Darcy’s talent for creative design being very obvious.
“Nice place.”
“Thanks,” she said. “Would you like a drink?”
“Sure.”
“Beer? Wine?”
“Beer if you have one.”
I could hardly keep my eyes off her as she went to the fridge, the cut of the dress doing wonderful things for her already gorgeous figure. I couldn’t help but imagine what she looked like beneath it and wondered when I would get to find out. Especially when she bent over, the hem of the dress riding enticingly up her sexy thighs, stopping just below her beautiful ass.
Her legs were as great as her ass and her tits. I thought I could detect a cluster of small scars on them, which spoke of an adventurous childhood. Few were the people I knew who got through life unmarked and unscathed, including my own family.
I looked away as soon as she turned, the schoolboy in me blushing furiously. She probably wouldn’t mind me looking, though— not if the nature and quality of our kisses were anything to go by— but I didn’t want to be rude.
Darcy curled up on the couch with a beer for me and a can of pale ale for her, popping both. As though starring in a commercial, we both took a drink at the same time, ending off with a happy ‘ahhh’ sound I wasn’t sure humans actually made in real life.
A little dribble of beer trickled down her chin. I leaped in heroically to stop its progress with my thumb. Wiping away the dribble, I gave her my thumb to suck, which she did with some enthusiasm, the connection between us stronger than it had ever been.
We both knew what was going to happen next, and there was no point in trying to ignore or deny it.
Darcy released my thumb, albeit reluctantly, and turned her back to me, her lustful look beforehand clarifying what she wished me to do.
Seizing the bottom of the well-placed zipper, I eased the little metal tab down toward the small of her back. Darcy held her hair out of the way as I did so.
When I could unzip no more, I pushed the two sides of her dress down gently, bringing the top of the top down to her waist. Darcy raised slightly to wiggle it down to her knees and then along her legs, finally getting it over her feet. I gently pushed her down. She stretched out her legs, and I untied and removed each of her sneakers, followed by her socks.
When she was down to her pretty pink underwear, I undid her bra, managing it in one go, not looking at her tits just then, and eased her soft, silk panties down the same route her dress had followed, joining it, along with her bra and shoes on the floor by the coffee table, where our drinks ended up.
In her most vulnerable state, not a single thing covering her, Darcy turned and leaned her back up against the arm. She opened her legs, showing me her full glory.
“I’ve wanted you from the second I saw you,” she admitted, her voice raspy, heavy with lust.
“Same here. You have no idea,” I said.
I fell into her embrace, licking and kissing the softest part of her lovely neck as she eased off my jacket, beginning her own pile of discarded clothes.
She started on my shirt, working her way down button by button as I nibbled her soft skin, making her hum with pleasure. Caressing her hands down my bare chest and belly, she reached my belt. With only a bit of difficulty, she got my belt buckle to unfasten and my pants open, easing the zipper slowly down.
Her hand brushed against my hard cock through my boxers, making me even more excited. My pants and boxers soon joined my jacket and shirt on the hardwood floor. Darcy’s soft, warm hand stroked my throbbing cock as I worked her nipples lightly between my fingers while softly necking her. I had died and entered heaven.
She made the first move. Her intentions clear. She used her free hand to ease me back against the arm on my side of the couch, getting me into much the same position she had been when I first got her naked. All while never relinquishing her hold on my cock. I figured she’d waited long enough and deserved to have it as long as she wanted.
