Текст книги "Irish Sex Fairy"

Автор книги: Kelly Jamieson

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Текущая страница: 4 (всего у книги 13 страниц)

“Keara?”

Her lungs had tightened and she started to feel that whirl of dizziness. No. No. This could not be happening now.

“Keara, are you okay?”

She tried to focus on Shane’s face across the table from her, like looking at him through a wavery glass wall. She pressed her fingertips to her face. “I’m fine,” she choked out.

Shane snorted and the next thing she knew he’d come around to her side of the table and slid into the booth beside her. “Breathe,” he commanded, his voice like smooth whiskey. His arm circled her shoulders and the heat of his body seeped into her, the scent of him—warm, spicy, male—invaded her nostrils and distracted her from her panic. She swallowed, sucked in air. “Yeah. That’s it. Breathe again.”

When mortification replaced anxiety she knew she was doing better. Her cheeks heated to scorching point and she scrubbed her hands over her wet face. “Shit,” she muttered.

“Yeah,” Shane agreed. “Shit.”

His hand rubbed up and down her back and much as she wanted to shrug him away and tell him to get the hell back on the other side of the table, her body responded to his firm but gentle touch. Finally she lifted her head and met his eyes.

“Okay?” he asked in that whiskey-smooth voice.

She gave a jerky nod. He didn’t move back to his seat.

“What triggered that?” he asked quietly.

“Nothing.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Okay. So. We were talking about Maeve.” He kept his gaze fastened on her. “You’re worried she might have Alzheimer’s.”

She swallowed. “Do you think…?”

“I don’t know.”

“How can she run a business if she can’t remember things? What if she forgets to pay her bills? Order stock?”

Shane’s eyes shadowed. “I know. That’s what I’m worried about. I can’t be here all the time. Lord knows I have my own family to worry about.”

She studied him. “What do you mean? Are your parents not okay, Shane?”

She’d met them a few times that summer. Shane’s parents were so much fun—they made every dinner a party, every get-together full of food and drink, music and talk, laughter and love.

His mouth firmed. “Da had a stroke a couple of years ago.”

“Oh no. I’m so sorry…is he okay?”

“He’s alive.” Shane shrugged. “Actually he’s doing very well. But it’s been a long rehab. It’s been pretty hard on both of them.”

“I’m sure it has.” Her heart squeezed. “I didn’t know about that.”

“Why would you? Anyway, now you’ve finally deigned to visit…”

Anger flared inside her and she straightened her spine. “Deigned? Jesus Christ, you really think you’re just perfect, don’t you? I’m sorry I can’t live up to your high standards of perfection, but I have a life and…”

“Shut up.”

She gaped at him.

To her utter shock, he laughed. Laughed! “I shouldn’t have said that but I’d rather see you mad than defeated.”

“What!”

“I know you’re busy. I was about to say, you being here now is good, you can keep an eye on her and see how bad things are.”

“But—” She stopped. She wanted to scream. He could not just push her buttons with those self-righteous, judgmental little comments, and then not let her defend herself. Aaaaargh! She drew in a long, slow breath. “I’ll keep an eye on her. Excuse me.” She lifted her chin in a request for him to move so she could stand and he did. “I’d offer to pay for coffee but I left without my purse.”

“It’s fine. I got it.” He shoved his hand into his front pocket. The gesture was so masculine and sexy it made her stomach flutter. He pulled out a few bills and tossed them on the table. “Let’s go.”

He left her at the door of the shop with a scowl and a muttered “See ya later”. Keara pushed into the store, still seething.

Deep breath, she reminded herself. Luckily Maeve was talking to a customer and she had a few minutes to stand behind the counter, breathing, forcing herself to be rational. This was one of the things Dr. Cogan had mentioned—being irritable, getting angry over little things. Dammit. Even though she knew about it, she just couldn’t seem to help it. And Shane seemed to know just how to push her buttons.

He probably wasn’t doing it on purpose. She repeated that thought over and over. It was just her, overreacting. Guilty conscience, shredded nerves, paranoia…that was her lately. She inhaled another long pull of air, forced a smile as Maeve and the customer approached the counter.

After the customer had left, Maeve turned to Keara, curiosity sparkling in her eyes. “So…how was your coffee with Shane?”

Oh lord. Keara swallowed her sigh. “He’s very annoying,” she muttered.

Maeve lifted a brow. “Hmmm.”

“Hmm what?” Annoyance at Maeve’s tone snapped inside her and she fought to push it down.

“There are sparks between you two,” Maeve observed.

“Ha! Sparks! Yeah, right.”

Maeve’s mouth curved into a wicked smile. “Definitely sparks.”

Thankfully another customer entered the store and they weren’t able to continue that ridiculous conversation.

The man who walked in glanced at them, then quickly away. The hood of his black sweatshirt covered his head and he kept his chin tucked inside the neckline. The sight reminded her of gang members, and a shiver ran through her. Then she rolled her eyes at her own paranoid fear. Someone coming into a sex shop who didn’t want to be recognized was nothing out of the ordinary.

Maeve approached him to ask if he needed any help, but he shook his head and, without meeting her eyes, turned away to inspect the shelves of books.

Maeve winked at Keara when she returned to the counter, now standing in front of it. “We’ll just let him look,” she whispered. “He seems embarrassed.” In a louder tone, she said, “I’ll be in my office for a few minutes if you can handle things here.”

“Sure.”

Keara kept an eye on the kid, who looked to be only about twenty years old, while she did some tidying behind the counter. He appeared to watch Maeve leave through the Staff Only door, then moved from one display to another in the store, keeping his face averted from Keara. Then without a purchase or even another word, he left the store.

Amused, she wondered what he’d been looking for and then lost his nerve.

More customers came in after him and she was grateful for the distraction that took her mind off both Shane and his annoyingly hostile attitude toward her, and disturbing thoughts about Maeve’s memory.

“I need a vibrator.”

Keara turned to the woman at the counter. “Of course. They’re right over here.”

“It has to be quiet,” the woman added, following Keara. “Very quiet. I have three teenage sons. They cannot hear it.”

Oookay. Keara had no idea which vibrator was the quietest and they spent an interesting ten minutes testing each one to find out. The woman finally made her selection, then left.

Maeve returned to help with a little rush of business and then they closed the shop for the day. “Tuesday night is my bridge night,” Maeve told her. “Would you like to come? Tonight is at Fiona’s home.”

Shane’s mom.

“Uh, no. That’s okay. I don’t play bridge.”

“You could just come for the company.” Maeve eyed her.

“I’ll be fine here,” Keara said with a smile. “You go and have fun.”

“Well. If you’re sure…”

“I’m fine, Maeve.” Unfortunately, Maeve now seemed protective and worried about her. Just like her friends. “Really.”

So after a quick dinner, Maeve disappeared with a wave, leaving Keara alone in the apartment. It was the first time she’d been alone—meaning the entire building was empty, not just alone in the apartment with Maeve downstairs—and Keara was acutely aware of it. Knowing there was an alarm system protecting the shop helped. She locked the door at the top of the stairs behind Maeve and turned to the small living room.

She’d lived alone for many years and it had never bothered her.

The television provided welcome background noise and she flicked through the channels until she found an episode of Sex and the City. With a smile, she recalled Shane’s comment about her life in LA. She shook her head. Maeve may think her niece was living a sexually liberated single-girl lifestyle like that, but that was wishful thinking on her part.

Maeve. She sighed, her attention diverted from the show she’d seen before by worry about Maeve. Lots of older people had problems with memory. Was it considered a natural part of aging?

Keara’s parents had died the year she’d graduated from college, in a car crash on the freeway. She still missed them, although the pain of their tragic death had faded, but at this moment she longed for another family member to share this burden with. Her friends were great, but they couldn’t help her with this. Alone, responsibility for Maeve weighed heavily on her. Even someone to talk to, to ask questions of, would help.

Maeve had always been there for her, in the background, and although Keara hadn’t seen her much, they talked on the telephone occasionally, emailed and sent cards. Now Keara was going through a personal crisis, she’d turned to Maeve, only to find that Maeve had problems of her own.

Maybe. She still didn’t know how serious it was. But if Shane was worried too, enough to talk to her about it, it was more than just a vague uneasiness at a couple of forgotten conversations. And Keara had no idea what to do about it.

She hadn’t anticipated something like this when she’d decided to come stay with Maeve. Selfishly, she’d only been thinking about herself and her own problems and trying to get better, hoping that staying with someone would ease her twitchy nerves, and instead she just had one more burden, one more thing to worry about and…dammit, one more thing to feel guilty about.

Chapter Six

Dragging herself out of bed the next morning proved very difficult. Keara had just fallen asleep last night when Maeve got home, and although Maeve had been quiet, Keara’s paranoid ears picked up every little sound. She’d had to get out of bed to assure herself it was Maeve, and then she’d lain there staring at the ceiling for an hour, wide awake. She’d finally gotten up and read a book for a while, but when the alarm clock went off at eight she was dead to the world and awoke groggy and disoriented.

And eight o’clock wasn’t even early! Usually she was up at six thirty to get ready for work and drive the commute on the busy freeway to her bank branch.

She forced herself to have a shower even though it seemed like way too much bother, and for what? Nobody cared if her hair was greasy or her legs were furry. Then she poured herself a cup of coffee and went down to the shop where Maeve was already at work even though the store didn’t open until ten o’clock.

“Good morning!” Maeve greeted her with a sunny smile, which faded when she took in Keara’s appearance. “My goodness, you look terrible.” She stood up from behind the desk in her office and moved toward Keara, studying her face. “Didn’t you sleep last night?”

Keara shook her head. “No. I couldn’t get back to sleep after you got home.”

“Oh no! I’m so sorry, muirnín!” She clasped her hands together in front of her face.

“It’s not your fault.”

“But I feel terrible! I woke you and then you couldn’t sleep…”

“It’s okay, Maeve. That’s the way it is for me. You can’t change your whole routine for me.”

“Oh.” Her eyes gleamed with distress. “Well. What else could we do about it?”

“The doctor gave me a prescription for some antianxiety medication or antidepressants or something, but I don’t want to take them if I don’t have to.”

Maeve’s brows dipped. “No, I understand that. I agree it’s better not to take drugs if you don’t have to…but you must get some sleep, muirnín.”

“I know.” Keara sighed and sipped her coffee. “It’s so frustrating. The more I tell myself I have to get to sleep, the wider awake I feel. My mind just won’t stop going around in circles, remembering stuff, thinking how…”

“What?”

Keara waved a hand. “Nothing. Never mind. Maybe I should just take the pills.”

“You don’t need pills. What you need is sex.” Maeve returned to her seat behind her desk.

Keara choked on her coffee.

“Sex is the best cure for depression and insomnia,” Maeve continued. “Now don’t give me that look. I’m not pulling your leg. Sex releases endorphins into the bloodstream, producing a sense of euphoria and a feeling of well-being. An orgasm releases oxytocin, which helps with sleep. It’s the safest tranquilizer in the world. It also relieves headaches by releasing the tension that restricts blood vessels in the brain.”

Keara rubbed the back of her neck. She did have a headache.

“Well, I’m sure that’s true,” she said. “But I don’t have a partner handy at the moment, so…”

“Well, you don’t necessarily need a partner. There is self-gratification, too. Let’s go look at the vibrators out front…”

“No!”

“Why not? Keara, I’m serious. It could help you.”

“I’m just…” Wildly uncomfortable having this conversation with her great-aunt? “I’m not interested in sex right now. That’s the last thing I feel like doing. I’m…tired.”

“You won’t be so tired after sex,” Maeve insisted. “Even a couple of good self-induced orgasms will make you feel better. The more sex you have, the more you want, because of the hormones your body releases.”

“But…I don’t have anyone to have sex with. I don’t think getting myself all…uh…worked up and then being frustrated is going to help me feel better.”

“Hmmm.” Maeve sat back in her chair. “You may have a point there. But there’s no need for you to be alone. You’re a beautiful girl, smart and sweet…we’ll find you a date.”

“No!” Once again Keara coughed on her coffee. “That’s okay, Maeve. I didn’t come here for that.”

“Well I’m not going to forget it.” Maeve set her mouth stubbornly. She tipped her head. “If I think of someone for you, I’m going to introduce you. And in the meantime, please consider the vibrator offer. And don’t just brush it off. There’s solid scientific evidence that what I’m saying is true.”

“I’m sure there is,” Keara said with a gulp.

“Why do you think I’m still so lively at my age?” Maeve’s eyes twinkled. “Sex produces other hormones, too, like DHEA. It boosts your immune system, repairs tissue, and keeps your skin healthy. Maybe even gives you a longer life.”

Dear God. Her aunt was certainly persistent. But truly, sex was nowhere on Keara’s radar at that moment. All she wanted was to feel better, to shake off the heavy blanket of depression that weighed her down, to not have that tight feeling of anxiety knotting her stomach all the time, and to just be able to sleep. Somehow she knew if she could just sleep better, everything would improve. She sighed as she went out to the storefront to open the store.

“Fiona’s invited us for dinner on Friday night,” Maeve said, following her into the store. “Isn’t that nice of her? You remember her and Declan, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course.” Keara paused. “Shane mentioned that Declan had a stroke a couple of years ago.”

“Yes.” Maeve sighed. “That was terrible. He seemed so young for that. But he has made an amazing recovery. He still has some weakness on the right side of his body and his speech is just a bit slurred, but his mind is sharp as ever, thankfully. He gets tired easily.”

“So he’s retired, then?”

“Yes. He didn’t go back to work. Fiona was happy about that, she wanted him to retire years ago, but he loved his job.”

“Did he sell the business?” Keara remembered that Shane’s dad had been a contractor, building high-priced homes all over the area.

“Yes. He was pretty devastated about that.”

“They still live in their house?”

“Oh, yes. Shane was determined they would stay there. His da spent months in the hospital of course, so Shane looked after his mother and the house, and he still helps them. They do love living in their house. Declan was always such a gardener, and though he can’t do as much as he used to, he enjoys planting things and puttering around in the yard.”

“That’s nice. I hope dinner isn’t too much trouble for them.”

“Fiona is still quite able,” Maeve replied, preparing the till with a float for the day’s business. “She wouldn’t invite us if it was too much for her. We’ll bring some wine of course and I said we’d bring dessert.”

“Maybe I can make something.”

Maeve eyed her. “That would be lovely, muirnín. I didn’t know you liked to cook.”

“I don’t.” Keara gave her a faint grin. “I pretty much heat up frozen dinners or eat out. But I’m sure I could put together some kind of dessert.”

“Well. If you feel up to it. That would be very nice.”

Much as she’d enjoyed Shane’s parents as a teenager, the idea of a big, noisy family dinner with the Dunstans just made her feel even more tired. Conversation seemed too much effort. Paying attention and thinking about what to say seemed exhausting.

Oh God. She was a sad, sad case. Really, she had to snap out of this. Maybe she and Shane were worried about Maeve for nothing. She seemed fine this morning. And if she could still play bridge, she couldn’t be that bad. Right?

As customers entered the store, Keara pasted on a smile and shoved away her worries.

Would Shane be there for dinner? That would just be great. The animosity he felt for her now wouldn’t make for a very enjoyable evening. Maybe she’d find out, and if he was going to be there she’d make some excuse not to go.

Maeve’s talk about sex and then thinking about Shane naturally led to thoughts of sex with Shane. Keara leaned on the counter, lost in memories. She’d been seventeen, Shane nineteen, home for the summer after his first year of college. They hadn’t had a lot of places to go to be alone, but they’d driven to the coast, found a private spot on the beach sheltered by large rocks, where they’d had many picnic lunches and…sex.

Hot, horny, teenage sex, exploring each other’s bodies, trying every new thing their innocent minds could think of. Keara closed her eyes, remembering long, sexy kisses, the first time Shane had touched her breasts and the wild passion his hands had ignited in her, the first thrilling time he’d slipped his hand into her panties, and the first time she’d seen his erection, bigger and harder than anything she could ever have imagined in her virginal fantasies.

“Excuse me?”

Keara jumped and turned startled eyes to the customer wanting to pay for some flavored massage oil.

“I’m sorry.” She rang up the sale, aching low in her belly, sure that her panties were wet. Just from remembering. Oh lord. Maybe she did need sex.

* * *

It had only been a few days, but Shane couldn’t stop himself from dropping in at the Irish Sex Fairy Shop again on his way home from work. Despite Keara’s declaration that she was fine, she clearly wasn’t. The little meltdown the other day hadn’t been nothing and she was thin, pale and jumpy. And he’d thought she was going to look after Maeve? Christ, she could barely look after herself from the looks of her.

And Maeve’s memory problems disturbed him too. Keara had already seen signs of it and she’d only been there a few days. It made him nervous. Just last month, an elderly lady living alone on the south side of town had set her house on fire with a candle she’d forgotten she’d lit. He did not want something like that to happen to Maeve.

As he walked up to the door of the store, something rose up inside him like…excitement. He stopped with a hand on the door handle. What was he excited about? And then he realized what he felt was an eager anticipation at seeing Keara again. What the hell was that about? Was he having some kind of regression to that summer they’d spent together? Because that had been a helluva long time ago. They were two different people now.

He yanked open the door with a scowl and stepped inside.

Maeve was nowhere to be seen, but Keara stood behind the counter reading what appeared to be a catalogue. A few other customers browsed—a couple looking at lingerie, two young men studying movies.

“Hi.” He approached the counter. Sparkly emerald green eyes shot up to his and the glossy catalogue in her hands jerked so hard it almost ripped. Christ, she was a jumpy female.

“Oh! Shane.”

“Yup. How’s it going?”

“Fine. Good. Great.”

He studied her still pale face. As a teenager she’d had cute sun-dusted freckles across her little nose, but now she didn’t seem to have seen the sun on her skin for quite some time. Dark circles still gave her a haunted look and if possible, she seemed even thinner. But damn, she was still gorgeous, that bright red-gold hair falling on her shoulders, her mouth soft and pretty until she’d straightened her shoulders and tightened her lips.

“Sure,” he said, not believing her. He lowered his voice. “How’s Maeve?”

One slender shoulder rose and fell. “She seems okay. I haven’t noticed any memory episodes at all for the last few days.”

“Did you talk to her about it?”

“No, I—”

“Shane! What brings you here again so soon?” Maeve swished toward him and enveloped him in a Shalimar-scented hug.

“Uh…” Shit. He glanced wildly around and his eyes fell on the display beside the till. “Just needed more…of these.” He grabbed another box of condoms.

Maeve arched a brow, one corner of her scarlet mouth kicking up. “Well. You’ve been a busy boy lately, haven’t you? Are you sure you aren’t getting serious about that girl?”

“No.” His mind leaped. “It’s not the same girl.”

“Ah.” She nodded, lips pursed. “I see. Well. Are you coming to your parents’ for dinner tomorrow night? They’ve invited Keara and me.”

Shane flicked a glance at Keara. “Uh…yeah. They invited me. I’m not sure…”

He could tell she was listening to his response. In fact, he could sense the tension that seized her as she awaited it.

“Will you bring your new girlfriend?” Maeve asked.

Jesus. What had he gotten himself into? “No. No, I won’t. I may not be able to make it.”

“Oh.” Maeve’s bottom lip pouted. “That’s too bad. But you do need to be having a social life.”

“I may have to work.”

“Oh.”

He sought out Keara again with his eyes. They might have a chance to talk more at his parents’ place. Maybe he should go. He couldn’t invite Keara for coffee again or Maeve would really get the wrong idea.

The three stood there for a long, slightly awkward moment. Shane didn’t know what to say, wished Maeve would leave them alone, but she didn’t budge. He sighed.

Keara reached for the condoms. “I’ll ring these up for you,” she said, her voice sounding choked. A few moments later he walked out of the store clutching another bag of prophylactics. Damn, he was spending a fortune on rubbers.