The Selkie Spell (Seal Island Trilogy) (24 page)

“But if it was something this serious.  Something that Tara’s life depended on—”

“I understand your concern,” Glenna interrupted.  “But I think we have an advantage—a powerful advantage—that no one’s even brought up yet.”

Caitlin lifted her head, her eyes locking with Glenna’s in disbelief.  “You cannot be serious.”

“I’m dead serious.”

“This is Tara’s
life
we’re dealing with.  Not some fairy tale!”

“What do you think she’s doing here?” Glenna demanded.  “On
this
island?  With
this
past?  You can’t just write this off as coincidence!”

Liam’s gaze settled on Tara.  “Dark hair, green eyes, a healer,” he murmured.  “How could I not have seen it before?”

“Come
on
!”  Caitlin threw up her hands.  “Listen to yourselves.  Dominic,” she glanced at him, searching for an ally.  “This is insane.”

Dominic shook his head.  “I don’t know what to think anymore.  And I can’t ignore any possible angle that could help Tara.”

“If Tara’s the selkie’s descendent,” Liam realized.  “Then she’ll have to defeat her husband to break the curse.”

“Exactly,” Glenna said.

“And if the legend is true,” Liam continued.  “Then the selkie may be able to help her.”

“If,” Glenna cut in, “she can find the selkie’s pelt.”

“Which is hidden somewhere on the island,” Liam finished, looking back at Tara.  “All we have to do is figure out where it is and we win.”

“Do you have any ideas?”  Tara asked.  “Any clues where it might be hidden?”

“I have a theory,” Caitlin cut in, shoving back from the table.  “Every single one of you has lost your minds.”

***

“Caitlin!” Liam followed her out of the pub, the door slapping shut behind them.  “Caitlin, come back!”

“No!” Caitlin shouted, whirling to face him.  Moonlight bathed the streets of the village in liquid silver.  The ocean surged, crashing against the cliffs.  “I’m not going to just sit there and listen to that madness!”

“It’s not madness!”  Liam argued, catching up with her.

“Did you even
hear
anything Tara said in there?”  Caitlin’s eyes were wild with worry.  “There’s a man coming after her and he’s going to try to kill her!”

“And we’re going to stop him.”

“By searching for a nonexistent pelt?”

 “How do you know it doesn’t exist?”

“It’s a legend, Liam!  A myth!  It’s called that because it’s make-believe!  Because the people and
things
in it don’t exist!”

“How do you know?  How do you know it’s not history instead of myth?”

“Because I
know
!”  Caitlin threw up her hands.  “Because what you’re saying—what you’re
all
saying—is crazy!  Why am I the only one who sees that?”

“I’ve been studying this legend my whole life,” Liam countered.  “Since I was a child and I first came to this island.  I can’t discount what Glenna is saying.”

“But you can question it!  You can ask yourself if it’s even possible for something like this to
be
real!”

“It is possible, Caitlin.  And frankly, I can’t believe I missed it before.”

“Missed
what
?”

“The connection.  The similarities.  Think about it, Caitlin.  The looks, the parallel histories, the fact that they’re both healers.”

“It’s a
coincidence
!”

Liam shook his head.  “You can’t write this off as a coincidence.  I’ve studied other curses, just like the one on this island, that have been broken by people—real people who had to believe in them first.  Things like this
have
happened!”

“No!” Caitlin shouted, refusing to believe.  “You only want it to happen so you can write about it!  So you can gain some kind of academic notoriety because it happened on
your
island, to
your
brother’s girlfriend!”

Liam took a step back.  “How dare you accuse me of only wanting personal gain from this?”

“Then tell me it didn’t cross your mind,” Caitlin challenged, crossing her arms over her chest.  “Tell me it didn’t even occur to you when you put two and two together.”

Liam stared at her, the silver moonlight illuminating her pale skin and wide blue eyes.  “Okay.  I admit it crossed my mind.  But this isn’t about that,” he insisted when Caitlin started to turn.  “Dominic is my brother.  My only brother.  And he is in love with the woman inside that pub.  If he thinks we can protect her by trusting in clues from a century old legend, then
that
makes it my business.”

“Don’t
you
dare accuse
me
of not supporting Dominic in this,” she bit out, spinning back around to face him.  “Dominic may be your brother, but he’s been my best friend for as long as I can remember.  And real best friends tell each other when they’re about to step off track, when they’re about to make a mistake.  I didn’t do that with Rachel.  I stayed out of it.  I kept my mouth shut.  And look how that turned out?”

“This is completely different than that,” Liam argued.

“Is it?  Is it so different than that?  Rachel was a real person, Liam.  Tara is a real person.  And there is a real psychopath coming after her.  The only way we’re going to protect her is by using tangible objects and real people, not some fairy tale creature and her
seal-skin
!”

“So what I do is fine for academia?” Liam realized.  “It’s fine for journals and books?  For capturing the culture and stories of our country?  But it’s not real?  It’s not something we can count on?  Or trust in?”

“Exactly.  It’s not
real
.”

“And in
real
life, there’s an explanation for everything?”

“Yes,” Caitlin answered, exasperated.

“Then tell me, Caitlin.”  He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around so she was facing Tara’s cottage.  “How do you explain those roses?”

After everyone left, Tara and Dominic walked quietly up the stairs.  They looked in on Kelsey and, satisfied that she was sleeping peacefully, slipped into the bedroom at the end of the hall.

“What do you think Liam said to Caitlin to make her come back?” Tara asked after he shut the door.

“I don’t know,” Dominic said, shaking his head.  “But I’m still not sure she’s convinced.”

“Neither am I,” Tara admitted, sinking to the bed and staring out the small window at the darkened village.  “Do you think it’s even possible?” she whispered.  “That what Glenna and Liam are saying is true?”

Dominic sat on the bed beside her.  “I think anything’s possible.”

Tara looked at him.  “You don’t think I’m making a mistake?”  She searched those gray eyes, looking for a sign of doubt.  “You can change your mind, you know.  I can still leave the island.  You would be safe.  Kelsey would be safe.”

“Kelsey
is
safe.  And
you
are safe.  That is what matters to me.”

Taking a deep breath, Tara gazed back out the window.  “I said something earlier, Dominic.  In Cleggan.  Something I didn’t mean to say to you.”

“What was that?”

“I said that I wasn’t young and stupid and vulnerable enough to believe that someone could fall for me in a matter of weeks anymore.”

“Ah, yes.”  Dominic sat back.  “That.”

Tara’s gaze drifted back to his face.  “You told me you loved me.”

“I did.”

“And I basically told you to shove off.”

Dominic’s lips twitched.  “Tara, it’s okay, you don’t have to explain yourself.  If I’d known what I know now, I might have waited a few weeks.”

“Even so,” Tara said.  “I think I do.”

“Okay,” he said slowly.  “Go on then.”

“It wasn’t fair of me to compare you to him.  I can’t—won’t get into the habit of doing that in the future.”

“I’m happy to hear that.”

Tara’s looked back to the window.  “When I left this morning, I thought I would never see you again.  I thought that… I would be okay with that.  That this,” she motioned between them, “was just a fling.  But a fling wouldn’t have left me feeling the way I did when I climbed onto that bus in Sheridan.  Like I’d lost a part of myself.”

She lifted her eyes to his.  “I thought it would go away.  That the ache in my chest would subside as I rode away from the town.  But it was like swallowing a stone.  It just stuck there, pressing down harder the farther north we drove.  And then… when you showed up—when you just showed up in that store in Cleggan—I knew I had fallen for you.  But I couldn’t handle it.”  She shook her head.  “Falling for you didn’t factor into the plan.”

“Understandably.”

Tara reached for his hand.  “I take it back.  What I said earlier.  I am falling in love with you, Dominic.  Whether I like it or not.”

Lifting her hand, he brushed his lips gently across the knuckles.  “And I still love you, Tara.”  He smiled.  “Whether you like it or not.”

When she tilted her face up to his, he laid his lips on hers.

“Do you think Caitlin’s onto something?” Tara asked, pulling back.  “That maybe we
have
both lost our minds?”

“Maybe,” Dominic admitted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.  “But if this is what crazy feels like, I’ll take it over normal any day.”

“Dominic,” Tara murmured, when he dipped his mouth to that soft spot just below her ear and her body started to hum in response.  “Can I ask you something?”

“Hmm,” he answered vaguely, his lips cruising down her neck.

“Do you think Liam has a thing for Caitlin?”

Dominic’s head shot up.  “What?”

“Do you think he has a thing for her?”

“I hope not.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s my little brother.  And she’s my best friend.”

“But… wouldn’t that be a good thing, if they both liked each other?”

“What are we, in high school?”  Dominic’s eyes narrowed suddenly.  “Wait.  Why are you asking me about this?  Did Caitlin say something?”

“No,” Tara said, quickly.  “I was just curious.  I thought he was… good with her tonight.  I just thought maybe there was something going on between them.”

“There’s not.”

“Okay.  I guess I was just imagining things.”

“I guess you were.”

Biting back a smile, Tara pressed her lips to his.  “I think you’re being overprotective of both of them.”

“Is that so?” he asked, pulling back and watching her lips curve.

Tara nodded, a small quiver racing through her body when he dipped his hands under the hem of her shirt, feeling his way up and along the curve of her stomach.

“I think we’ve had enough talk about Liam and Caitlin for one night,” Dominic suggested.

“Why?” Tara asked, nipping at his bottom lip playfully.  “Did you have something else you wanted to talk about?”

Sliding his hand up her back and teasing the clasp of her bra strap open, he smiled.  “Sure.  If you’re still up for more conversation.”

“I could talk,” Tara said, meeting his challenge by rising up on her knees, straddling him, and settling back down in his lap.  “If you can.”

Dominic laughed as he helped her shirt over her head, watched the bra slide away from her breasts.  “I’m going to take my time tonight, Tara” he murmured, his palms just brushing the soft swells of her flesh.  “With you.  With this.”

“I hope so,” she whispered.  “I plan to stay awake for a very long time tonight.”

“Good,” he murmured, his fingers threading into her hair and dipping his mouth to hers for a longer, deeper taste.

She let the scent of him—soap, salt, male—pull her in.  She fit her body to his, delighting in the feel of him—the hard planes of his chest, the long lean muscles of his thighs, the rough layer of stubble lining his jaw.  She let her hands roam up, sliding over those broad shoulders until her fingers curled into that rich dark hair and the world fell away outside their walls.

She whispered his name, like a sigh when his lips traced the line of her jaw, trailing a teasing path down her neck, over her collarbone.  She arched, lifting her aching breast to his mouth and he kissed her there slowly, his tongue sending shoots of liquid lust straight to that spot between her legs.

A warm wind danced in through the open window, filling the room with the drugging scent of her roses.

“Tara,” he breathed as his teeth closed over her.

Her breath caught.  She fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, dragging it over his head, desperate for the feel of his skin on hers.  And when he flipped her, pinning her on her back, she reached for him, curling her needy fingers into the waistline of his jeans.

He clucked his tongue softly against his cheek and moved his hips farther away from her.  “Not so fast,” he whispered, catching both her hands in one of his and pinning them above her head.