Irish Sex Fairy: Ellora's Cave by Kelly Jamieson (free books to read txt) 📗

She held a glass in one hand and gave the other hand a shake, drops flying off it. She muttered something he couldn’t hear.

“Spill your drink?” he asked. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“What the hell else do you think my reaction would be? I wasn’t exactly expecting company. And anyway, what are you doing here?” Her eyes swept over him. Please don’t let her notice my hard-on. “You’re not wearing your uniform, so it’s not like you were out patrolling or something.”

“As deputy police chief, I rarely patrol anymore,” he replied, a smile curling his lips. “I was just on my way home.” He lifted a brow.

“Oh.” She rolled her lips in. Pretty lips, except she seemed to perpetually hold them in a tight line. “So it was a late night.”

“Or early morning.” He shrugged, shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Whatever.”

She took a sip of what little remained in the glass. It looked like whiskey. Did she share Maeve’s enthusiasm for a wee dram of the Jameson’s?

“Well, if you’re okay and the place isn’t being robbed…”

She flinched, a flash of something like fear in her eyes, her mouth tightening even more. The whiskey again threatened to leap out of the glass. “That’s why I stopped,” he explained, watching her carefully. “I thought maybe someone had broken in…”

Her eyes shifted, went glassy, and she rubbed her fingers over one eyebrow. “No,” she rasped. “No one broke in.”

And then he remembered. It had been all over the news and Maeve had been distraught with worry about her great-niece. “Fuck,” he muttered, straightening. “I’m sorry. I forgot…”

Her eyes blinked rapidly. “You know about the robbery.”

“Yeah. Are you okay?”

She laughed. Kind of a weird reaction. “Of course I’m okay! It happened six weeks ago. I’m fine.”

The fingers lifting the glass to her lips trembled now and he realized he had indeed scared the shit out of her. Damn. “I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said. “Are you sure you’re all right? Come on, I’ll make sure you get upstairs all right.”

“That is not necessary,” she replied, her tone frosty. “I’m fine. You can go. Thanks for checking, though, I know my aunt would appreciate you keeping an eye on the store.”

Her cool politeness was only slightly less annoying than it had been earlier. The fact that she’d ignored her old aunt for years still pissed him off, but the glimpse of vulnerability beneath the icy façade appealed to his need to protect. Dammit. After what she’d been through, no wonder he’d scared her. What an idiot he was.

“Are you sure?” He didn’t want to leave her, now he remembered what had happened to her.

“Yes I’m sure!” She scowled at him, a pretty scowl, but it carried a clear message.

“Fine,” he said. “Sorry to bother you.” He turned and opened the door, then paused. “Make sure you lock this and rearm the alarm.”

“I’m not stupid.”

He stepped out onto the sidewalk, and even though he knew she was far from stupid, he waited until he heard the locks click. Then the lights inside the shop went out and he could no longer see her.

Well. In the cool, damp night air, he sauntered back to his car parked at the curb. Fucking weird, because he’d just had several rounds of vigorous sex, but all he could think about was kissing Keara’s tight mouth into a soft pout, like he had all those years ago. Why had she shown up here after all these years? And why was his head full of her instead of the sexy blonde he’d just had hot sex with?

* * * * *

Keara woke when Maeve pushed open the door of her bedroom and said softly, “You going to sleep all day, muirnín?”

“What time is it?” Keara shoved her hair out of her face and tried to focus blurry eyes on of the alarm clock beside the bed. “Eleven o’clock! Dear God!”

“I thought you needed the sleep.” Maeve smiled as she withdrew from the bedroom.

Keara sat up and stared fuzzily across the room. Yeah. She’d needed the sleep. Losing a few hours in the middle of the night did that to you. Her sleep patterns had been so messed up lately, with nightmares and insomnia and…gorgeous, annoying cops.

She remembered the embarrassing encounter with Shane in the middle of the night. Him on his way home from a hot date where he’d apparently used a whole box of condoms. Her—edgy, sleepless, grouchy…and alone. She sighed and flopped back down on the bed, arms out at her sides.

What was the point of getting out of bed? She had nothing to do. Nobody cared.

Oh brother. Want some cheese with that whine? There was nothing wrong with her. She just needed a little diversion. Coming here had been the right thing to do. She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

She showered. Dressed. Found coffee in the kitchen and drank it while she poked in Maeve’s cupboards for breakfast. Maeve must have gone back down to the store.

She pulled out some bagels and bread. Carbs. Ugh. She’d given up carbs years ago. Cottage cheese and egg whites apparently weren’t part of Maeve’s diet. And yet she was so slim and trim. Not fair.

Keara probably didn’t need to worry about carbs right now either. She’d lost at least ten pounds, and she didn’t have ten pounds to lose. But once again, she couldn’t bring herself to care.

In fact, she wasn’t really hungry, so why she was looking for breakfast she had no idea. Coffee was perfect.

She carried her mug down the stairs to the store to find her great-aunt.

Maeve handed a package to a customer with a smile and thanks, and the customer turned to leave. Maeve eyed Keara. “You’re up, sleepyhead,” she remarked, but her smile and gentle tone softened the words. “You must have been needing sleep.”

“I was up for a while in the night,” Keara told her. “I couldn’t sleep. I happens