Page 2 of Rory: His to Discipline

Sean O’Malley was a big man and he dwarfed the woman beside him. He was proud to be walking his daughter down the aisle and relieved to be delivering her to such a man as Nick Kord. Maggie had been widowed, leaving her with three children to care for. Nick was the father of Maggie’s oldest son, Jason, but no one had known it until recently as she had guarded her secret well. It was quite a hullabaloo when Nick found out and he immediately began to court the high-spirited widow. In Sean’s opinion, Nick was exactly the kind of man his daughter needed. Loving and generous, Nick was also firm and provided the stable environment Maggie required. Sean was a firm believer that a husband was the head of his house and he had no doubt Nick would never abdicate that position.

Maggie O’Malley Cassidy, soon to be Maggie Kord, looked lovely as she walked down the aisle with her father. Tess loved Maggie’s ivory satin dress accented with rum pink cutouts along the hem. The vintage style suited her perfectly as did the short veil. All eyes were on the bride and her father as Tess took a moment to glance at Rory O’Malley. He, too, was watching his sister and Da approaching the altar. Damn, why did he have to be so good looking, Tess thought. Six foot four of mouthwatering sex appeal, with his black hair and clear blue eyes, Rory affected her like no one else ever had. A detective on the police force, Rory was a no-nonsense kind of man. Several years in Special Forces had given him an appreciation for rules and structure that served him well in his chosen profession.

Feeling her scrutiny, Rory looked at Tess and wasn’t surprised to see her quickly stick out her tongue. Despite trying to hide a grin, his look scolded her without uttering a single word and she quickly turned her eyes back to the bride.

Tess tried to pay attention to the ceremony. She loved Maggie, Nick and their three children, Jason, Todd and Caitie, and was very happy for them. The heat coming from her bottom was distracting though, and several times she glared reproachfully at Rory who simply raised his eyebrow in response. His expression clearly said, well you asked for it, and she wondered how she had come to understand him so well in a few short months.

Today wasn’t the first time Rory spanked her. When he’d found her sleeping on a park bench for the third time in one week, Rory had put his foot on said bench, pulled her over his knee and smacked her poor defenseless bottom until she was a weeping mass of contrite female. The fact that he had absolutely no right to administer such a punishment hadn’t deterred him in the least. Along with a stern lecture about the dangers of a woman sleeping in a park where he’d seen multiple crimes lately, he had her car impounded. Instead of arresting her for vagrancy, which he certainly could have, being that she was homeless with no job and no shelter except her little car, he deposited her at his mother’s doorstep. Although she had been terrified, the O’Malley’s had taken her in with no questions asked. It wasn’t long before she found herself embedded in a big Irish family with all the love and baggage that entailed.

Rory was the oldest and by far the most serious. Patrick, the second son, was funny and warm. Married to the ethereal Molly, they had two boys, Ryan and Michael, who were fifteen and thirteen. Colleen and her husband Noah had three children, Devlin, who was eight and twin six-year-old girls, Rose and Lilly, who were identical almost down to the last freckle. Maggie was marrying the love of her life this very day. Their oldest son, Jason, was fifteen now and Todd just turned nine. Little Caitie was four years old, going on sixteen.

Bridget was the youngest O’Malley and still somewhat of a wild child despite being a full-time college student. All in all, they were quite a surprise to Tess who grew up with just one sister. After their parents were killed in a car accident, her older sister, Maria, took her in until she turned eighteen. A week later, Maria swiftly packed up and moved to California, wishing Theresa well but clearly glad to have no further responsibility for her care.

Tess used what little money she’d saved to find a small efficiency apartment in a seedy part of town. Working as many hours as she could, she took whatever college courses she could afford and still be able to eat. For several years Tess was able to eke out a living in this fashion, although some would have called it simply surviving and miserable to boot. Unfortunately, the restaurant she worked at was being forced to close and she quickly found herself not only out of a job, but homeless, as she could no longer afford the rent.

Then Rory came along. At this point she still wasn’t sure if he was angel or devil. While she was grateful to have the support of the O’Malleys, she certainly wasn’t feeling too charitable toward one O’Malley in particular today.

The whole hair debacle started innocently enough. A week ago, Tess gathered around Maeve’s kitchen table with the O’Malley women discussing hairstyles for the wedding. Just as Bridget jumped up and gathered Tess’s hair high on her head, showing her how wonderful she would look in a bob, Rory walked in the back door. He got a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter, watching with keen interest as his family raved over how nice Tess would look with short hair.

“I forbid it,” fell out of Rory’s mouth before he could stop it.

Tess’s head might have been on a swivel, so fast did she turn around.

“Excuse me?” she asked, not sure she actually heard him right. He couldn’t possibly be talking to her.

“You heard me. But on the chance that any of you misunderstood, I’ll repeat myself. You may not cut your hair under any circumstances.”

Jaws dropped around the table and complete silence ensued until Tess rose slowly and faced him.

“Who are you to tell me I may not cut my hair?” she demanded, trying to hang onto her temper. “It is my hair and I shall do with it as I please.”

“Do not defy me on this, Theresa. I mean what I say, and believe me you won’t like the consequences,” he informed her dryly as he calmly sipped his coffee.

“Rory,” Maeve began, stunned at the uncompromising attitude of her son.

The table erupted and suddenly Tess was defended by multiple female voices each trying to be heard above the next.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Bridget shouted.

“What the hell?” Colleen added.

“Rory, this is too much, even for you,” Maggie interjected

“Hush,” Rory ordered. “I have my reasons and please don’t encourage Tess to misbehave. She finds enough trouble on her own,” he continued as he calmly rinsed out his cup and put it in the sink.

The only one to remain quiet was Molly, whose crystal blue eyes met and held Rory’s for a second before she dropped her gaze, blushing furiously.

Rory barely made it out the door before Tess was surrounded by irate females offering comfort and advice.

At the salon, the day before the wedding, Molly tried her best to convince Tess her hair would look lovely with the pillbox hat in a French twist, but Tess was having none of it. Rory issued a challenge and she was not backing down. Yes, he helped her immeasurably when she was at the lowest point in her life, but that did not mean he could take over her life. It was her hair and as Molly sank into her salon chair in defeat, Tess brazenly told the stylist to “chop it off.” It was for a good cause, after all. The stylist groaned as she cut off over two feet of Tess’s silky black hair.

The style itself was attractive, Tess thought this morning, as she put the finishing touches on her make-up. Already dressed, she leaned over the antique vanity, trying to get as close to the huge oval mirror as she could. The bedroom door opened, closed with a click, and she turned.

“I am almost ready, but …” her voice fell away as Rory flipped the lock into place.

He studied her in silence as her heart rate rose rapidly. Incredibly handsome in his black tux, Tess trembled as fear wrestled desire within her. Swallowing with difficulty, she forced herself to turn back to the mirror and her shaking hand picked up her mascara.

“Don’t put that on yet,” he insisted, walking up behind her. The image in the mirror clearly showed the size and strength of him compared to her petite form.