A Fine Cauldron Of Fish (5 page)

“
Finally, she’s beginning
to understand.” Margaid sighed.

“
Are you saying if I had
had my contacts I’d be dead now, my blood drained into a big
cauldron?”

“
Yes, no matter how sweet
this Margaid seems, you can’t underestimate the
lhiannan shee
.”

“
Forget what I said, she
doesn’t know what she’s talking about Andrew.”

“
So you think she's
dangerous?”

“
Andrew, how can you say
that?" Margaid asked in a hurt tone.

“
Well, you said she’s your
slave.”

“
Yes, that’s what she
says.”

“
Yes, I am.”

“
Then she’s no danger to
you now. But why do you want help, you won, you have a
lhiannan shee
enslaved to
you.”

“
That’s what I’ve been
telling you, Andrew.”

“
I can’t have a slave. I’m
an American. I can’t bring a Manx fairy-vampire slave home with
me.”

“
Then it’s not a hospital
you need, it’s a druid.” The nurse stood.

“
She might have something
there.”

“
Really?” The mental ward
nurse thinks I should see a druid. “Do you know any?”

“
I know where you can find
one. The laws that direct the
lhiannan
shee
can only be broken by the god who
created them. Only Mannan beg mac y Leir can change Margaid’s fate.
But it’s not without risk. The sea god won’t be happy when he finds
his
lhiannan shee
enslaved to a man from America.”

“
Andrew, she’s
right.”

“
Well, I am a Quayle
also.”

“
He won’t care,” the nurse
said.

“
But you’re saying that he
can give Margaid her freedom.”

“
He is the only one who
can, but before you go asking a trickster god like Mannan for a
favor, stop and think for a moment. He can just as easily turn you
over to a
lhiannan shee
who’ll drink your blood. Margaid will be free, but you’ll be
dead. The chance of Mannan beg mac y Leir keeping both you and
Margaid alive and free… is slim.”

Andrew rubbed his forehead. “This is a
crazy island with its four horned sheep, cats with no tails, and
now this. It’s all warped and fifth dimensional.”

“
You know, it’s your
choice.” The nurse shrugged. “Leave matters as they are and learn
to be happy, or have a druid summon Mannan at risk to your own
life.”

“
That’s scary.” All this
started just because I was looking for a club to go to.

“
You have to sort it out.
It’s like that American expression—shit happens.”

“
Is that her medical
opinion?” Margaid’s brows arched.

“
I guess so.”Andrew rolled
his shoulders in a shrug. “I don’t even know how to find a
druid.”

“
At the nearest
metaphysical store, Celtic Cauldron, just two blocks down. Ask for
the owner. If you’re sure that’s what you want to do.” The nurse’s
tone held a hint of warning.

“
Okay, can we go now?”
Margaid headed to the door.

“
Let’s go back to my hotel.
I have to think about this and I need a drink or two.”

“
Me too.” Margaid grabbed
his hand.

He nodded at the nurse. “Thank
you.”

“
Enjoy your stay on the
Isle of Man.”

“
Sure.” Everyone on this
island is crazy. “I’m having so much fun. So glad I
came.”

As Andrew walked out, he overheard the
admissions lady ask the nurse, “Are you going to just let him walk
out, as clicky as he is?”

“
No, he’s not crazy, just
an American having a little joke on us.”

“
Well, as if I didn’t have
better things to do,” quipped the woman in blue scrubs.

“
Hurry,” Andrew goaded
Margaid.

They walked as fast as they
could away from Nobles Hospital. Andrew stopped in his tracks when
he noticed the store they had just come to was the Celtic
Cauldron.

Relief filled him when he
read the closed sign on the door. Good, I can’t deal with this
right now. “We have to come back tomorrow.”

“
Andrew,
I don’t want some
lhiannan
shee
drinking your blood. I won’t be able
to stand it. Why not keep things as they are?”

He gazed at her oval face.
Even without his contacts her could make out her rounded, dimpled
cheeks. His gaze fell to the shapely curve of her ample bust. His
fingers itched to squeeze them, pinch them, his mouth moistened at
the thought of sucking them.

“
We’ll talk about it soon.”
He wrapped his arm around her as they crossed the street. His skin
tingled from the contact of her warm, soft skin. He pointed to the
large building on the sea front. “Here we are.” Pressure coiled in
his crotch, muscles clenching throughout his pelvis. His cock and
testicles felt wrenched tight with desire for her.

“
Wow, this is big. This is
your house?”

“
No,” he laughed. “It’s the
Hilton.” Nodding to the doorman, Andrew led her inside.

“
I’ve heard people call it
that. What’s a Hilton, is it like a chief’s house or a castle?” She
swept her gaze over the spacious lobby.

“
No, it’s a place Americans
go when their parents are paying for the vacation.”

“
I’ve also heard this place
called a casino. What is that?”

“
It’s a place you go to
lose money.”

“
Why would anyone want to
lose their riches?” She followed him down a short hall.

“
Good question.” Andrew led
her to the elevator and pushed the button. When the doors opened,
he motioned to her. “Come on in.”

“
It’s so small.”

“
It’s an
elevator.”

“
I’m telling you, Andrew,
it’s too small.” She stepped inside. “With a big estate like this
Hilton, they should let you have a larger room.”

He chuckled. His favorite
thing about Margaid was the way she made him laugh. The elevator
came to a stop and the doors slid open. “Come on.” He stepped out
and gestured for her to follow.

“
Where are you going? Why
are you leaving? We just got here?”

“
It took us up so we didn’t
have to climb the stairs. This is our floor.”

“
Wow, its magic. It moved
us.” She followed him down the hall.

He swiped his card key at
their room and as he held the door open for Margaid, he asked her,
“Want something to eat?”

“
Oh, yes.
I can make yummy food for us, Manx kippers from herring and Manx
queenies with scallops, and I can fix
bonnag
for dessert.”

“
Or I can just call room
service.” Hunger pulled his stomach tight and his lower pelvis area
even tighter but it wasn’t food he craved. It was Margaid’s hot
body. Still eating might take the edge off. “Want hamburgers? You
eat don’t you?”

“
Yes, I eat. We keep the
blood in the cauldron for Mannan beg mac y Leir, like a sacrifice.
We seldom drink it.” Her face twisted into a ‘that’s disgusting’
expression. “The taste is thick, hard to swallow. I can’t remember
the last time I drank blood.” Her eyes grew rounder than usual. “I
don’t think I ever have.” She sat down on the bed. “Wow, this is
soft.”

Then he noticed the
suitcase at the foot of the bed. “My bag.” Grabbing it, he pulled
out his contacts. He ran to the bathroom and slipped them in. When
he stepped back into the bedroom his breath caught in his throat
with his first good look at Margaid. A surge of heat shot through
him. His balls felt like a vise squeezed his testicles and his
erection grew hard.

Her perfect oval face
looked as luminous as an alabaster sculpture, with plump cheeks,
dusted rose, and the added dazzle of a generous sprinkle of auburn
freckles. He couldn’t tear his gaze away. She parted her full lips,
revealing pearly teeth. As he peered at her, drinking in her
beauty, his heart thudded.

She ran her fingers from
her temple through the long red strands of hair which tumbled in
graceful curves down her back. Revealing a dainty ear adorned with
a large pearl, probably taken from an oyster from the sea bottom
near her cave.

“
You’re not squinting
anymore. Can you really see better with slips of glass over your
eyes?”

He couldn’t concentrate on
what she was saying, he only knew a flaming sensation engulfed him
with one good look at her. “You’re gorgeous.” His cock swelled to
the point of pain.

“
I am?”

Covering her soft cheeks
with his hands, he gazed into her eyes. He was a goner, drowning in
her beauty. Tilting his head, he covered her mouth with his. He
twisted his lips over hers, devouring the warm saltiness. Her
trembling lips parted and he plunged his tongue inside her mouth,
flicking it in and out, plunging deeper each time. She let out
small moaning sounds as he stroked her hot, wet mouth. Fully
aroused, hard as iron, his erection twitched with need.

Andrew glided his hands
from her cheeks to her soft shoulders and shoved her onto the bed.
With his fingers, he gathered the thin fabric of her chiton and
peeled it off her. He gaped at her lush breasts, he’d never seen
rose-tipped mounds so beautifully formed. She was magic all
right.

He cupped a breast in each
hand, squeezed and massaged the sultry flesh. Margaid’s moans
almost thrust him over the edge as he pinched the pebble hard tips.
Leaning his head down, he captured a quivering nipple between his
teeth, and gently tugged. His tongue lashed the thrusting peak
without mercy. Her breast jiggled, mesmerizing him all the more. A
rush of heat swept through him. Margaid’s breath grew
shallow.

“
I need you Andrew. This
whole thing of the Sea God threatening to turn me into a sea horse
has made me tense. But you make me happy, relaxed. I need you, want
you inside me, so bad.”

“
Me too.”
Andrew’s palms tingled from the heat of her skin as he glided them
across the flat of her belly and to the juncture of her thighs.
“The whole vampires or
lhiannan
shee
are real thing and you wanting to claw
me to shreds has me freaking out.”
His
fingers explored the red whorls between her legs.
“
Nervous. Need you, have to push into your
softness, have to relax. Plus you make me laugh and there is no
woman on earth as beautiful.”
He slid his
fingers down the downy nest to the stiff nub, and he flicked
it.

Margaid’s quick intake of
breath turned into a high-pitched squeal.

“
I’ve got to have you now.”
Withdrawing his fingers from the entrance to her sex, he
grabbed her thighs. With one hand on each, he slid her legs apart
and gaped at the pink, moist prize his growing erection ached
for.

At that moment there was a knock on
the door. “Andrew, I’m coming in, okay.”

“
What?” His breath was
heavy and he could barely speak. In his head he screamed
no.

What a nightmare for his
mom to walk in on him now. He leapt off the bed and glanced at
Margaid who lay there fully bared, with jutting breasts and arched
thighs spread wide.

He tilted his head toward
the tall, strawberry-blonde woman of average weight, who strode in
wearing a white terry robe over blue pajamas. “Mom.”

“
You look so flushed.” She
peered straight at him as if she hadn’t even seen Margaid. “I hope
you’re not coming down with anything.”

I’m coming down with
Margaid. “No, I feel fine.” Okay, she can’t see her. His gaze
darted to the woman lying on his bed. Only I can see her. There he
was gaping again at her breasts. His eyes shifted to the quivering
petal like folds between her legs where pure joy awaited
him.

“
Andrew, what’s wrong? Why
is your mouth hanging wide open as you stare at your bed? You must
really be tired?”

“
No, Mom, I’m
fine.”

“
Did you see the
bag?”

“
Yes, Mama.” He was afraid
to ask, but he had to know for sure. “Do you see anyone else
here?”

“
Oh, you mean like a ghost
as in the ghost of our ancestors?”

“
Something like that.” He
felt like an idiot. “No, you’re right, no one’s here but me and
you.”

“
Kido,
don’t make fun of me for coming all this way to find my roots.” She
ruffled his hair like she had done back when he really was a kid.
“We’re going to meet downstairs in the
Paragon
at 9:00 am, to take the
train to Cregneash and see how people used to live.”

“
Where they live in huts
with thatched roofs, plow with horses and spin and
weave?”

“
That’s it. Oh, and be on
your best behavior tomorrow, we’re having company for
breakfast.”