Kellan

by Kate Hoffmann

  Kellan nodded. “You were cold. I had to get you warm.”

  “I don’t remember that.” She reached out and took his hand and placed it on her bare shoulder. “Maybe you should show me how that happened.”

  Kellan stared at the spot where he touched her, then slowly drew his hand away. “You-you should rest,” he murmured. “You’ve had a long day.”

  “What time is it?”

  “Nearly five,” he replied. “Do you have a place to go? Someone who might be waiting for you?”

  Gelsey shook her head. “No,” she said. “No one is waiting for me.” In truth, the only person who’d wonder where she was might be Caroline, the housekeeper at Winterhill. She’d call the first chance she got, but Caroline knew not to worry. Gelsey often disappeared for days at a time.

  As for her parents, they’d given up worrying a long time ago. No. No one really cared at all. The only one who’d ever truly cared had been her grandmother and she’d been gone for years now.

  “You can stay here until you’re feeling better,” he said.

  “I wouldn’t want to put you out,” she said.

  “You wouldn’t be.”

  “You know what I’d really like? A hot bath. I’ve got sand in places I didn’t even know I had. It feels like I slept in it.”

  “You did,” Kellan said. “I found you on the beach.” He stood. “We have a shower. The bathroom is just through the kitchen. Or we have an old tub that I can bring in and fill if you’re set on a bath.”

  “I think a shower would do nicely,” Gelsey said. “And I could use some clothes. Do you have my dress?”

  “I’ll find you something better to wear.”

  She slowly stood, wrapping the quilt more tightly around her naked body. “Thank you,” she said. “For saving me.” She paused. “You’re a nice man, Kellan. I haven’t known too many nice men in my life.”

  “I’m not all that nice,” he replied.

  “You can’t fool me,” she said, pushing up on her toes and placing a kiss on his cheek. Then Gelsey slowly walked toward the bathroom.

  As she closed the bathroom door behind her, Gelsey leaned back against it and drew a deep breath. Had he been any other man in her life, she would have seduced him on the spot. She’d never been one to play coy when it came to satisfying her desires. And she’d never met a man who’d refused her.

  But that was precisely how she’d gotten into trouble in the past. She’d led with her heart, not her head. Her argument with Antonio last night had been a prime example. She should have been nicer, considering his word would go a long way toward making the assault case disappear. Instead, all the anger and resentment over their breakup had come bubbling to the surface, and after a long predawn phone argument, she’d grabbed a bottle of champagne as the sun came up and wandered along the cliffs to the cove.

  Her heart had told her to kiss Kellan that day in the meadow. And her heart had told her to do the same thing when he found her on the beach. And both times, it had felt so right and so real, not wicked or manipulative. Just…perfect.

  She didn’t have to live her life in brilliant swaths of color and chaos. She could be just like everyone else if she wanted to be-normal. From now on, she’d try to become the kind of woman who didn’t indulge her every whim, a woman who controlled her desires and considered her actions.

  “Except for kissing,” she murmured. After all, what harm could it do to enjoy the lips of a man as handsome and sexy as Kellan Quinn? It was only a matter of time before he found out about her past, about the life she wanted to leave behind. And men like Kellan were not the type to put up with the kind of baggage she carried with her.

  Gelsey turned on the shower, then let the quilt drop to the floor. She was warm now, and happy. It was time to take a breath and see life the way everyone else in the world did-without the endless drama and rollercoaster emotions.

  2

  KELLAN SET THE PILE of clothes down next to the bathroom. Though he was trying to keep his mind on other things, it wasn’t difficult to imagine what was going on beyond the door. She was naked, obviously. And he’d seen her body when he’d undressed her, so there was no use trying to forget the sweet curves and soft flesh that had been hidden by the quilt.

  She’d kissed him not once, but twice. She’d made it quite apparent that she’d welcome more. But Kellan wasn’t one to play games when it came to sex and he knew damn well she was hiding something.

  She’d refused to provide her last name, which made him suspect she might be running from something or someone-the authorities…or a jealous husband or boyfriend. That was more likely. She didn’t seem like the criminal sort. And chances were that a woman as beautiful as Gelsey would have a man in her life. She possessed the kind of beauty that could make any male mad with jealousy.

  Kellan cleared his throat, then rapped on the door. “I’m going to run down to the pub and get some supper for us,” he called. “I’ll be back in about twenty minutes.”

  “I’m really not very hungry,” she replied.

  “I am,” Kellan said. “Don’t make your shower too long. You’ll run out of hot water. There are clothes on the floor outside the door.”

  The bathroom door opened and she poked her head out and smiled. Water droplets clung to her lashes and ran down her cheeks. “Thanks,” she said. She bent down and grabbed the clothes and he caught sight of her naked body.

  A current of desire raced through him as his gaze settled on a sleek leg, setting his nerves on edge. Kellan couldn’t help but look. “Are these yours?” she asked, nodding at the clothes.

  “Yes. They won’t fit, but they’ll keep you warm. For now. I’ll see if Nan or Jordan might have something you can borrow.”

  “Who are Nan and Jordan?”

  “Nan is my brother Riley’s fiancée and Jordan is my brother Danny’s girlfriend.”

  “I don’t mind wearing your clothes,” she said.

  “But I do.” With that, Kellan turned and strode to the door. If she wasn’t going to walk around the cottage naked, then at least he’d make sure she had clothes that enhanced her beautiful body.

  When he got outside, Kellan took a long deep breath of the cold evening air. The day had begun like any ordinary day, but suddenly, he’d found himself in possession of a beautiful woman, one who planned to spend the night.

  A brisk walk into the village should clear his mind of any thoughts of seduction. But he couldn’t seem to put Gelsey out of his head. There was something about her, something he found incredibly intriguing.

  Kellan made a mental list of all her qualities-the long blond hair, perfectly balanced features, a body that was made to be touched and skin so flawless it made her seem unattainable. But it wasn’t just the physical that he found attractive. It was what he didn’t know about her that was even more tantalizing.

  There was a certain appeal to the idea of a mystery woman, a complete stranger with a secret past. Though he was usually quite rational and fantasies weren’t a regular indulgence, Gelsey seemed to bring out the devil in him. What would it be like to have her in his bed, to lose himself inside such a lovely creature?

  The pub was busy when he walked in the front door. But the conversation softened to a low murmur the instant everyone saw him enter. He glanced around, then found Danny smiling at him from behind the bar. “There he is!” Danny shouted. “The hero of the day. So what did you do with your mermaid, Kell? Did ya toss her back? Or have you decided to keep her?”

  Kellan cursed beneath his breath. No doubt everyone in town was aware of the situation unfolding at the cottage. Maybe that was for the best. Someone in town must know who she was or where she came from. “She’s not a mermaid,” he shouted, crossing the room to the bar.

  “Doc Finnerty says she is.”

  “Doc Finnerty should limit himself to one pint of the dark stuff.” Kellan turned to Riley and Nan sitting at the end of the bar. Jordan was with them, the remains of their dinner littering the surface i
n front of them. “She is not a mermaid. She’s just some girl who got drunk and ended up on the beach.”

  “Doc Finnerty says she doesn’t look like a normal girl,” Riley said.

  “She was half frozen to death. Almost blue from the cold,” Kellan explained. “Now I need some dinner.” He glanced over at Danny. “Pack up some stew and some shepherd’s pie. And soup. Lots of soup.”

  “You sure she wouldn’t want a bucket of herring?” Danny teased.

  “Just get my dinner,” Kellan said.

  Though he usually enjoyed his brothers’ good-natured ribbing, he didn’t want to turn this whole episode into something more than it was. He’d done a good deed and rescued a damsel in distress. And tomorrow, she’d find her way home and his life would get back to normal.

  Danny poured him a Guinness before he went back into the kitchen to place Kellan’s dinner order. A few moments later, Jordan and Nan sidled up to him, sitting down on stools on either side of him.

  “Don’t even ask,” he growled.

  “You told me you’d do the programs for our wedding ceremony,” Nan said.

  “Get Danny to do it,” Kellan said. “He’s a far better artist than I am.”

  “He hates using a computer. And he and Jordan are helping with the decorations.” She reached over the bar to retrieve a box. “Please?”

  Kellan smiled. “Of course I’ll do them.”

  Nan clapped, her expression brightening. “There’s plenty of paper. You’ll have to print it all on one page and then fold the page in half and then punch it at the top and string the ribbon through. And then glue a tiny little red jewel on the end of each ribbon. But be careful not to get a lot of glue on it. And let it dry before you fold it again.” She paused, forcing a smile. “It’s easy. Really.”

  “Where’s she from?” Jordan asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

  Kellan shrugged. “No clue.”

  “She must be from close by,” Jordan commented. “She knew how to get down to the cove. Danny says you three are the only ones who know where the path is.”

  Kellan took a sip of his beer, then slowly set it down in front of him. He did know of one other person who’d discovered the path. It had been so long ago, fifteen years, more or less. The girl he’d chased across the meadow. His first kiss. He’d seen her that day and then never again. And though his memory was a bit muddled, there was something about Gelsey that was oddly familiar.

  “She could use some clothes,” Kellan said. “I was hoping one of you might have something to lend her.”

  “Is she naked up there?” Jordan asked, her eyes wide.

  “No, I gave her some of my clothes. But they’ll be far too large for her.”

  “I can run home right now,” Nan offered.

  “I’m sure I can find something for her,” Jordan said.

  “Tomorrow morning will be fine,” Kellan said. “I don’t think she’s going anywhere tonight.”

  Nan leaned closer, lowering her voice. “Was she wearing a red cap? Or a cloak? You can tell us. We won’t say anything.”

  “I wouldn’t have expected you to fall for all that mermaid rubbish,” Kellan said. “She was wearing a green silk dress with nothing underneath.”

  “Hmm,” Nan said, her brow furrowed. “The Irish legends about merrows say that they wear a red cap or a cloak and if the human steals either one, the merrow will forget her life in the sea and live on land with the human.”

  “If you want to keep her, maybe you should start looking for that cloak or hat,” Jordan teased. “I’d definitely hide the green silk dress for safe measure.”

  “Yeah, I’ll get right on that,” Kellan said with a chuckle. “Because the best way to form a perfect relationship is to trap someone into staying with me. Especially some magical sea creature that isn’t human in the first place.”

  Nan and Jordan giggled. “So she’s probably not a real merrow,” Nan said. “But if she’s pretty and you like her, maybe you should ask her to stay a little longer. You need a date to our engagement party, don’t you?”

  He smiled. “I really don’t think she’ll hang around that long.”

  By the time he finished his beer, Danny had packed up his supper order in a paper sack and encouraged him to bring the “merrow” down to the pub for lunch the following day. Kellan put up with the last bit of teasing before making his escape.

  As he walked back to the cottage, the wind nipped at his face. The thought that Gelsey might have died on the beach sent a shiver running through him. How long had she been there? Was there no one who’d missed her? Wouldn’t her absence cause at least one person to wonder where she was sleeping for the night?

  The cottage was dark and quiet when he stepped inside. The peat fire on the hearth had cooled and Kellan set the bag of food and box of paper on the table and slipped out of his jacket. When he saw Gelsey on the sofa, sound asleep, he kicked off his shoes and crossed to the hearth.

  He silently tossed another brick of peat on the fire, then turned and looked at her. The light from the flame played across her beautiful face and he studied her for a long moment. Was she the girl he remembered from so long ago? If it was her, where had she been all this time? Why hadn’t he seen her in the last fifteen years?

  A sudden thought occurred to him and he walked into the bedroom and bent down at a spot beneath the window. The floorboard was still loose. He took his keys out of his pocket and pried the end up, peering into the dark space between the joists.

  There it was. Where he’d hidden it all those years ago. Kellan reached down and pulled out the old biscuit tin, wiping the dust away with his palm. Did it belong to her? Is that why she’d come back to him? Or was he just fooling himself that there was something special about her?

  Kellan sat down on the bed and pried off the lid, silently inventorying the contents and looking for a clue about the previous owner. When he found nothing, he tucked the tin into the bottom drawer of the bedside table, then walked to the kitchen and grabbed a cold beer.

  Stretching out in the overstuffed chair across from the sofa, he watched her, thinking about what it would be like to have her in his bed. The heat from the hearth relaxed him and he sensed that whatever happened between them would be incredibly pleasurable.

  This wasn’t a woman who hid her passions. Whatever had sent her to that beach last night, dressed in almost nothing, and vulnerable to the wind and cold, had overwhelmed all common sense. Who or what had driven her to nearly kill herself?

  He silently catalogued what he knew about her. She was familiar enough with the area to know how to get down to the cove. He’d already ruled out the possibility that she’d washed ashore from the water. She wasn’t wearing any underwear with her dress, so she probably hadn’t been out in public before visiting the beach. She wasn’t a local. Her accent was an odd mix of British and American and something else. Something more exotic.

  She seemed well educated, maybe even coming from a posh background, though he wasn’t sure what brought him to that conclusion. Maybe it was in the way she moved, with such self-assured grace and perfect posture. And in the way she ate, quietly sipping her soup from the spoon as if dining in some fancy restaurant.

  Kellan sat in front of the fire for a long time, thinking about the women who’d populated his past. He’d always carefully chosen those he invited into his bed. Vulnerability wasn’t a quality he sought. But looking at Gelsey, he felt a strange urge to protect her, to keep her from harm.

  When he finished his beer, he got up and took the empty to the kitchen, then wandered back to the bedroom. He thought about waking her, but she seemed quite comfortable on the sofa.

  He stripped off his clothes in the dark, then flopped down on the bed, dressed only in his boxers. He closed his eyes, but images of Gelsey plagued his thoughts. His fingers twitched as he remembered the feel of her naked body beneath his palms, recalled the soft swell of her breasts, the sweet curve of her backside. Just the thought of touching her
brought an unwelcome reaction and Kellan groaned and rolled over on his stomach.

  Unless he wanted to put up with this kind of torment for the rest of his stay in Ballykirk, he’d have to return Gelsey to where she belonged. He pulled the pillow over his head and quietly sang a familiar pub song that went on and on.

  Like counting sheep, the song gradually relaxed him and he found himself drifting closer and closer to sleep. The image in his head slowly morphed into a dream as sleep overcame him.

  THE WIND RATTLED the windows and Gelsey sat up and ran her hands through her tangled hair. Where was she? She squinted to see in the low light from the hearth. This wasn’t her room at Winterhill. Or her room at her mother’s apartment on Park Avenue. She didn’t recognize anything.

  She swung her feet off the sofa and stood, fighting a wave of dizziness. Running her hands over her clothes, she remembered that she was in Kellan Quinn’s house. What time was it? How long had she slept? And where was Kellan?

  The room was chilly and she rubbed her arms, then grabbed up the quilt and wrapped it around her body. She was normally a restless sleeper, preferring to nap during the day and stay awake during the darkest hours. Rain hissed at the windows and she crossed the room to the fireplace.

  There was no more peat to feed the fire and the room would only get colder. She raked her hands through her hair again, then wandered over to the bedroom, her bare feet silent on the rough wooden floor.

  She found Kellan asleep in the bed, his form faintly visible in the dark. His long legs were twisted around the bedclothes and his arm was thrown over his head, his naked chest bare to the chilly room. Gelsey stood over him, deciding whether she ought to wake him, or just crawl into bed beside him.

  She tossed the quilt over the bed, then stretched out along the length of his body. As she slipped under the covers, he jerked, then pushed up on his elbow, squinting into the dark.

  “The fire went out,” she whispered. “It’s cold out there.”

  He cleared his throat. “I-I can fetch more peat,” he said. “And there’s a portable heater in the kitchen.”