A Fine Cauldron Of Fish (2 page)

Margaid turned her gaze to her humble
abode wondering how it would compare to his own house. She glanced
at the ceiling and the two favorite features of her cozy cave.
First, the cluster of long rock-sickles dangling above her dining
area. A burning beeswax candle mounted on each stalactite
transformed it into a grand yet natural chandelier. The second one
was above her living room, a round glass pane which looked out on
the blue-violet sea, where rainbow-hued fish swam by, shimmering
with light from their glossy scales.

She noticed Andrew’s gaze swept over
the rock walls of the cavern and settled on the ancient tapestry of
white embroidery on a maroon background, depicting a flat boat,
full of men. A border of Celtic knot work surrounded the
ship.

He crossed the sand-packed
floor to an antique wooden sofa and plopped down on the thin, green
cushion.

“
Not
bad.” Andrew’s gaze lingered the longest on an ivory-hued
stalagmite,
which resembled a spiral
mountain with a forest of cone trees sprouting up its side. “Did
you steal this one from a museum?”

“
Oh, you mean it looks like
modern art.” Margaid sat down on the sofa beside him.

“
I’m glad you like it.” She
pointed to the ceiling. “The sea made it over time, drip by drip.”
Why do I care what he thinks after all I have to kill him. By the
sword of Mannan beg mac y Leir, I’m not ready for this.

As he laughed, he leaned his body
toward her.

She inhaled Andrew’s briny
scent of the sea mixed with a rich, musky aroma.
The energy and heat rolling off him struck her
like a heavy wind. She wet her lips as she gazed at his full lips,
hungering for a kiss. She tilted her head until their mouths
touched and she
pressed hers hard against
his, still wet and salty from the sea. When his lips parted she
thrust her tongue into his mouth, swirling it around the roof. A
stream of fire coursed through her. Andrew released a low
moan.

His mouth tasted of a
fresh, mint flavor. His palms were warm on her flesh as he cupped
her shoulders and pulled her closer. He tangled his tongue with
hers. Hardly able to breathe, she was light headed, woozy from his
kiss.

As he dragged his lips off
hers, he peered into her eyes. Though he squinted. “I wish I could
get a better look at you.”

“
You see me, right?” Her
beauty alone should seduce him, that’s what Mannan had told her.
Though more kissing sounded like a good idea.

“
What I can see, I
like.”

“
Good.” She licked her
lips, which still burned from his kiss. “I like what I see
too.”

She wrapped her arms around
the warm, firm flesh of his broad shoulders and tilted her neck
until her lips hovered over his. Her inner abdomen muscles drew
tight and she was so hot with need. Margaid flicked her tongue out
and ran it along his soft lips, tracing them. Andrew grasped her
waist with his hands bracing her as his lips crushed
hers.

Her heart pounded from the
tight pressure between her thighs and the taste of salt and mint
from his mouth. She eased her lips from his and tried to gather her
thoughts as she took in a deep breath.

His mouth spread into a wide,
flirtatious smile. Just when she’d caught her breath he pointed at
the red cauldron. “What’s that in the middle of the floor?” Andrew
squinted again. “It looks like a large pot.”

“
It’s
a
lhiannan shee
cauldron, you know, it’s fey.”

“
Fey?” He stood and walked
over to it. “It’s huge, as large as a table.”

“
It’s not
for mortals.” She shrugged. “Well it is, partly.” She rubbed her
upper teeth over her lower lip. “You know what a
lhiannan shee
is
right?”

“
No.” He flashed a broad
toothy grin.

Her stomach and lower
muscles clinched tight at his smile. She licked her lips, hungry
for another kiss. “It’s because you’re from America.” She swept her
wet hair back behind her ear. “
Lhiannan
shee
only live on the Isle of
Man.”

“
Never
heard of them.”
One golden eyebrow
arched.
“Are they like the illuminati or
skull and bones?”

“
No, they’re...oh, it
doesn’t matter.” Her gaze fixed on his gleaming eyes, at least he
wasn’t squinting. “You said your mother’s searching for her family
roots in Man.”

“
Yes, the
Quayles.”

“
I know that name.
Seafarers from ancient times. They use to honor Mannan beg mac y
Leir each Midsummer’s Eve. They’d carry meadow grass to the top of
Barule Mountain for the god and ask him to bless the boats and give
them a good catch for the year.”

“
Yeah, people believed all
that stuff long ago, but now days everyone knows none of it’s
real.”

She gasped. “Mannan is quite
real.”

“
You believe in this sea
god, do you?”

“
He’s part of my life. You
could say he’s my father.”

The contagious sound of Andrew’s
laughter rippled through the underwater cavern.

She chuckled with him.

Then she gave him her most seductive
look by parting her lips slightly and fluttering her lashes. “Let’s
talk about something more interesting than an old god.” She grasped
the scooped neckline of her chiton and slid it down to expose the
top of her breasts.

After gaping at her bosom for some
time, his eyes were reddened and his squint more severe. “Man, I
need my contacts.”

“
Contacts?” She touched the
side of his face. The slight stubble tickled her fingers as she
slid them down his cheek then curled them under his chin. “No, it’s
me you need.” Grasping his firm chin, she pulled his faced closer
to hers.

His cheeks flushed red.
“Yes.”

She gazed deep into his blue eyes as
she slid her fingers off his chin and stood. She faced him in her
wet, chiton, which clung to her body. She cupped her breasts with
both hands, squeezing and stroking them. Her entire body
tingled.

She slid her hands to her shoulders.
Fumbling with the broaches pinning the fabric, she managed to
unfasten them. The draped cloth fell free, baring her breasts to
his gaze. She set the brooches on the old sea chest in front of the
sofa.

“
Beautiful.” His whiskey
tone and the hungry look in his eyes sent a jolt of heat through
her.

She slipped her fingers through the
braided hemp belt tied at her waist and swayed her hips from side
to side. She had to seduce him or she’d never be able to kill
him.

This was not what she
wanted. Still, she didn’t want to be a water horse either. She
managed to slide her fingers up to the knot and work it loose.
Margaid pulled the belt free and the fabric that clothed her but a
moment ago fell into a puddle of cloth at her feet. She stepped out
of it and kicked it aside toward an ancient
clay pot stuffed with bright, cheery coral. This was it.
There was no turning back now. He was hers.

S
he stood fully nude before him grasping the braided rope belt
in her hands. No reason why she couldn’t have a little fun with him
before the whole drain his blood into the cauldron
thing.

As he squinted at her breasts, she
twisted the hemp belt into a handcuff tie. “Stand up.”

He did so.

She peered deep into his eyes, as blue
as the summer sky above the Irish Sea when it was mild and calm.
She held the rope out. “Slip your hands in here.”

Without hesitation he did so. She drew
the knot tight, binding his hands.

“
Hey, what?”

“
You’re mine.” She grasped
his jeans at the waist, undid the button, and slid the zipper down.
“I can touch you, but you can’t touch me.”

Andrew swallowed hard and rasped,
“Hey, whatever you say.”

She knelt before him and slid his
jeans down his muscular legs to pool at his ankles. With his hands
tied and his feet caught loosely in his pants, he was at her mercy
and she loved it. Of course he had no idea of the danger she truly
held for him. Andrew was much more of a captive than he
knew.

She tilted her head and
with the bright light of the burning candles
in the stalactite chandelier and
in
the iron sconces mounted on the cave walls, she explored his body
with her eyes.
Her gaze settled on the
bulge of manly flesh bobbing before her.

Margaid reached out and ran her finger
down his long cock. She wrapped her hand around the base and slid
her tongue over the big head, then licked the smooth, hot skin up
and down. The taste of salt from his skin lingered on her tongue.
Andrew moaned. She opened her mouth and wrapped it around his thick
cock, drawing him deep into her throat, inch by inch. She released
her hold on his shaft to grasp his hips with both her hands to
brace herself.

He arched his hips forward then rocked
back. His cock glided in and out of her mouth. With each of his
thrusts, she sucked deeper. As her mouth stretched around his
girth, he grew harder and larger.

“
Your mouth is so hot,”
Andrew moaned.

She milked him with her mouth sliding
his cock in and out. His cream shot into her throat as he groaned.
The seduction was going well so far.

Margaid pulled her mouth off him. She
pushed to her feet and untied his hands. Still once she drained his
blood, she’d never be able to have fun with him like this
again.

He stepped out of the pants puddled at
his feet and kicked them aside. “You’re wonderful.”

She winced then forced herself to
smile at him as if nothing was wrong. “Are you having fun?” She
didn’t want to kill the delectable human. Still, she had
to.

As she held the rope belt loosely in
one hand, Andrew swooped her into his arms and captured her lips in
his. He twisted his wet lips against hers.

A path of fire blazed through her
veins. Her pulse pounded. Isn’t it supposed to be the other way
around? He’s supposed to lose his control so I can drain his
blood.

Torrid heat spread through her hands
as they roamed the plane of his broad back.

Each time she stepped forward, he took
a step back, as if she led him in a dance. Until she shoved him
back against the cauldron, which stood waist-level to
him.

With a hot, tingling sensation in her
fingers, her nails extend into talons. She took a deep breath. All
she had to do was claw his bare back and shed his blood. Margaid
turned her head. She couldn’t look at him while she killed
him.

Her gaze fell onto the wall
behind the cauldron, onto a tapestry
bursting with hand-stitched trees and flowers, except for the
center, where a trio of men in tunics and trouser hose were
depicted with their greyhounds. She wondered again, what it would
be like to live on land with bright red, yellow and purple
blossoms, towering green leafed trees and the mix of sweet and
invigorating scents. Maybe she could live there with Andrew. If
only there was a way. With those gentle, dreamy thoughts her talons
transformed back into fingernails.

She felt the rope belt slide out of
her hand. She glanced down. He held it now. Before she could step
back, he grabbed her arms, pressed them together, and wound the
rope around her wrists.

He pulled the hemp rope into a tight
knot.

“
What are you doing?” She
had to have her hands free for her nails to extend into talons
again so she could draw his blood.

“
The safe word is red if
you want to stop.” Andrew scooped her into his arms, and cradling
her, he carried her to the wall.

He set her on her feet, grabbed her
tied wrists, raised them above her head and held them against the
wall. With his other hand he flicked the nipple on one breast and
bent his head down taking an erect peak in his mouth. Then he slid
his hand between her thighs and slipped his fingers through the
folds. She gasped and mewed. All thoughts fled her mind as a fiery
sensation filled her.

He slipped a finger inside her.
“You’re so wet, so tight.”

Her shallow breath fell into a heavy
pant. He pulled his finger out and spread her legs apart with his
hand.

“
I want you so bad.” He
guided his cock into her. He thrust, filling her
completely.

She gasped with his sudden, powerful
entry. He drew almost all the way out then sunk into her, pounding
her hard.

Her mind felt foggy. She drew in short
breaths. “So good.”

“
I wish I could see you
better.” He slid his mouth down to her breast and clamped his lips
onto her nipple.

Fire surged in her veins. Margaid’s
heart hammered. His mouth felt hot upon her skin as he suckled her
breast.

He hammered her, thrusting higher and
deeper. “You like that?”

“
Yes, oh yes.” I can’t kill
him. Not when he makes me feel like this. “I’m so glad I decided to
seduce you.”