Fighting for Keeps

by Grace Brennan

  “Why don’t you go sit down?”

  “I’m leaving after my help gets here. Just a few more minutes.”

  “Doesn’t Kelsey work here?”

  “Oh, yes, but we don’t unleash her on the customers just yet,” Ellie replied with a laugh.

  “Are you very far along? I mean, of course you are, obviously, but—what I’m trying to ask is, when are you due?” Amelia asked, cheeks heating in a blush over her stammering through the question.

  Ellie smiled, looking amused. “I’m eight months pregnant. I have about three weeks left, but I feel like she’s going to come early.”

  “You’re having a girl?” she asked with a smile.

  “Yep. Which means my house is going to be crazy in about twelve years, give or take,” she said with a laugh. “My husband and I live in a big old ranch house with my brother and sister-in-law. They have twin girls who are two, so we’re going to have a house full of teenage girls. Hormone city when they get older.”

  Amelia smiled wistfully. “Oh, but what fun for the girls. I was an only child, and well… it was a bit lonely at times,” she said, admitting it to herself for the first time.

  “I never thought of it that way,” Ellie said softly. “I’m an only child as well, and you’re absolutely right. This baby will be blessed,” she said, caressing her belly as she looked down with a smile that had pure, unadulterated love shining through.

  Yearning swept through Amelia’s body, stealing her breath. But it wasn’t longing for a sibling when she was growing up. It was the sudden desire to have what Ellie had. A husband who loved her, extended family nearby, and a baby on the way. And the husband in her mind’s eye was Seth.

  She didn’t know where the hell that came from. She’d never, not once, given thought to marrying. When other girls were daydreaming about their weddings and future families, she was thinking about schoolwork or dreaming about running her own lab one day. And sure, she occasionally thought how nice it would be to have relatives close by, but she never wasted much energy on it, because it was pointless and a waste of time to wish for something she’d never have. And she never did anything if it was a waste of time.

  But the truly mind boggling part of the longing she felt was the yearning to be pregnant, to have children. She never thought of kids in terms of having them herself, unless it was to think she had no desire, time, or room in her life for a child. Where was all this coming from, and why did she want that life with Seth, even more than she wanted to go back to England and work in her lab?

  Thoroughly unsettled, she gave Ellie a shaky smile and held up the book. “Do you know if this one is any good?”

  “Eh, that one is so-so. I can recommend better. How many were you looking to get? Because today is my last day until well after the baby’s born. Jake gets more nervous the longer I work. Becky, my soon to be full time employee is good with recommendations, but she’s not much of a romance reader.”

  “Load me up,” Amelia replied.

  By the time they were finished and Ellie was ringing her up, Amelia had fifteen romance novels picked out. She went through three in as many days, but these should last her a good bit, and if they didn’t, she’d know which authors to look out for. She could always order more on the internet.

  “Do you have a Kindle?” Ellie asked as she handed her the bag, a hesitant look on her face Amelia hadn’t seen before.

  “No, but I have my laptop, and I can get the app. Why?”

  “I thought of some others you could read. These are paranormal, so you might not be interested. They’re shifter romances.”

  “Shifter romances?” she asked, puzzled and intrigued.

  “Yeah, the characters can shift into animals. Kind of like werewolves, without the crazies. There are all types out there. Wolves, bears, even dragons.”

  “Oh, yes please,” Amelia said, trying not to appear too eager.

  Watching as Ellie wrote author names down on a slip of paper, Amelia cautioned herself to not get too excited. They were just fictional stories. Still, weren’t most legends and fiction based on something real, to an extent? Except maybe Harry Potter. She didn’t think. Could witches and wizards really exist? If there were people out there who could turn into animals, then it couldn’t be too much of a stretch for witches to exist, as well.

  Ellie handed her the paper, interrupting her crazy line of thought. “Here you go. Those are a few of my favorite authors.”

  “Thanks, Ellie. Congrats in advance, and good luck. I hope everything goes well.”

  “Thank you. And I hope things continue to go well with the seduction,” she said with a wink.

  Laughing, Amelia waved and headed outside, eager to get home and check out those shifter novels. Despite the lecture she gave herself, she was ridiculously excited to read one, and see if anything matched up with her own observations.

  Amelia peered at her makeup in the mirror, finally giving a satisfied nod as she put her glasses on. She hadn’t tried anything ambitious, not wanting a repeat of the first time she applied makeup, but she paid attention last night when Cammie did it. Cammie blended the foundation really well, added a touch of powder, also well blended, and she moved the mascara wand up and down in the tube, clearing the excess mascara off. Amelia had felt certain she could emulate it, and she was pleasantly surprised with how well it turned out.

  Seth called about a half an hour ago to see if he could stop by for dinner, right as she was finishing up the shifter novel on her laptop. The book Werepanther’s Baby was so good, she hadn’t been able to stop reading it. The problem was, out of all the shifter novels she found online, the one she just had to read was a book about a pregnancy and a baby.

  Maybe she was going to start her monthly early, and she was just hormonal. She’d heard some women get a little crazy during that time of the month. She never had, but surely that’s what this was, because this sudden interest in marriage and babies was absolutely crazy.

  What was even crazier was so many of the details in the book matching up with her own observations. It made what her uncle said about the Rocky River fighters feel so much more real. Of course, just because she read it in a fictional novel didn’t mean it was true. But she couldn’t help hoping it was. And it wasn’t even because of her research, or the scientist in her needing the answer to the question of what Seth was. It was because there was something about the thought of shifters, something about the thought of Seth shifting forms to an animal, that was incredibly hot. It woke some primal urge and need inside her, something she never imagined she’d feel.

  Rolling her eyes at her thoughts, she gave her outfit a once over to make sure there were no wrinkles or stains, and went to the kitchen to finish dinner. Earlier this afternoon she put together a pan of lasagna using her mother’s recipe. She was glad she’d taken the time, since Seth was coming to dinner. Taking it out of the fridge, she popped it in the oven. It was a delicious recipe, and it made her feel a little closer to her mother, like she knew her a small bit. So she made it fairly often, and had it perfected now.

  She wished she knew more about her mother, but she died when Amelia was small. She had nothing of her, knew nothing of who her mother had been. All she had was this lone recipe, and as silly as it sounded, she made it when she wanted to feel like she had her in her life.

  Looking down, she contemplated changing into something sexier than capris and the clingy pale pink top, and then shook her head, exasperated. She wasn’t yet sure about whether she wanted to go there with Seth, since doing so would risk her heart, and here she was, worried about looking sexy. Enough of this.

  The doorbell rang and she took a deep breath as she wiped her suddenly sweaty palms on her pants. She walked to the door and opened it, finding Seth on the porch, a bouquet of wildflowers in his hand. Heart warming as he handed them to her, she lifted them to her nose and inhaled shakily, her pulse racing at the sight of his smile.

  “Oh Seth, they’re beautiful,” she said, standing
back so he could come in.

  “They’re just some flowers I picked on the side of the road, nothing special,” he replied as he shut the door, never taking his eyes off her. “I’m glad you like them.”

  “They’re special to me. I love them,” she said, impulsively reaching up and kissing him on the cheek in gratitude. She’d never received flowers before.

  Eyes instantly filled with heat, he hooked an arm around her waist before she could pull away, and drew her in closer. “You look amazing,” he said, voice deepening, eyes dropping to her lips.

  She reflexively wet them, watching as his gaze followed the path her tongue took. “Thank you,” she whispered breathlessly. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

  What a colossal understatement. He was nothing short of mouthwatering. His chocolate brown hair was gleaming in the light, and he’d trimmed his beard enough that it looked more like designer stubble. His chiseled lips stood out even more without a full beard around them, and she watched as he swiped his tongue across his full lower lip, leaving it glistening. She longed to feel his mouth against hers, and even as she had the thought, he slowly lowered his head, clearly giving her time to pull away. As if. She needed to kiss him like she needed her next breath.

  The breath left her lungs in a whoosh as his lips touched hers, brushing back and forth. Her body already felt like it was lighting up from the soft caress, and her eyes slid closed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, flowers still clutched in her hand. Applying more pressure, he parted his lips, and she did the same, pressing her body against his as he gave her open-mouthed kisses.

  Her free hand delved into his hair at the same time his hands gripped her hips, and she gasped as he pulled her in tighter, his erection pushing into her stomach. She wasn’t a very accomplished kisser, or much else when it came with sex, but despite her lack of experience, a heady thrill shot through her body as he responded to her.

  He passed his tongue across her lips, and she felt the tingles from that touch down to her toes as she parted her lips wider, granting him access. When his tongue swept inside, she moaned, blood boiling in her veins. Sparing one last thought for her inexperience, feeling a flash of worry and praying she didn’t do something like slobber on him, she shut her thoughts down and let herself get lost in his kiss.

  Feeling bold, she rubbed her tongue against his, basking in his flavor. Mint, and a taste that was all his own, he was delicious, and she reveled in the fact that she now knew what he tasted like. Groaning, he tightened his grip on her hips, his kiss becoming wilder and more out of control. Their tongues tangled together, and one of his hands left her hip, trailing up her side, stopping just below her breast. Blood inflamed, she arched her back, rubbing her body against his in encouragement.

  She thought she was ready for it, thought she was prepared to feel him touch her. But then the unthinkable happened. He brushed his thumb across the underside of her breast, and despite expecting his touch, she jerked in surprise, mouth automatically closing.

  Her mouth closed while his tongue was still inside her mouth.

  Body jerking at the feel of her teeth biting his tongue, Seth pulled away with a curse. Turning beet red with mortification, she dropped the flowers, and her hands hovered in the air like they wanted to touch him, fluttering madly. This was so much worse than slobbering on him.

  “Oh God, Seth, I am so sorry! I didn’t mean—it was an accident—bloody hell, I’m a wee idgit. I’m really so sorry—”

  “Hey, Amelia, slow down, honey,” he said, stepping close while avoiding the flowers, and taking her hands. “Stop apologizing. You didn’t hurt me. Actually, your teeth barely grazed me. It just took me by surprise, is all. Honest, it’s totally fine.”

  Searching his eyes while her cheeks burned, she found nothing but honesty. Her eyes slid closed, and she pulled her hands away from his to cover up her face. “I’m so mortified. I don’t have all that much experience with kissing, but I imagine not even many kissing virgins bite their partner’s tongue.”

  “You don’t have much experience, really? You could have fooled me. That kiss was absolutely amazing,” he said, his voice ringing with sincerity.

  Peeking out from between her fingers, she said tentatively, “Seriously? I thought my inexperience would be glaringly obvious.”

  He reached up and gently tugged her hands away. “It really wasn’t. And it’s probably a good thing it happened, because that kiss was quickly leading to more, and we’re not ready to go there yet. So, really, good job with cooling us off.”

  His lopsided grin was endearing and full of warmth, and she found herself smiling in return. “There were probably better ways of slowing us down, but I take your point.” With a gusty exhale, she looked down, taking in her scattered flowers. “I better get these into water.”

  “I’ll help you pick them up,” he said, bending down at the same time she did.

  Their foreheads cracked together, and Amelia put a hand to her head, cursing at the flash of pain. “Balls! That hurt. What in the fecking world did I do to deserve this comedy of errors? Somewhere, someone is laughing their arse off at the mishaps their curse is causing.”

  Cheeks on fire, she kept her eyes on the flowers, waiting on Seth to lambast her for such a crummy evening, or even to just give up and walk out. Instead, he began chuckling, and before long, his rich laughter was echoing through the room.

  Removing her hand from her head, she watched with an open mouth as he laughed long and hard, his head thrown back, white, even teeth gleaming. He had an arm wrapped around his waist, and his shoulders shook with the force of his amusement. Despite everything, her lips curled up as well, and she couldn’t help laughing softly along with him.

  His laughter finally winding down, he said, “This has been the most amazing start to a date I’ve ever had in my life. And I mean amazing in the best possible sense. It’s definitely not one I’ll ever forget, and Amelia, honey, I gotta tell you, the sound of those curse words in that English accent is sexy as hell.”

  Shaking her head, she smiled with a roll of her eyes. “I’m glad you’re enjoying this. I thought for a minute you’d for sure be walking out after that. I promise, no more bodily harm tonight. How’s your head?”

  “Perfectly fine,” he assured her. “Now, I’m going to pick these flowers up by myself so you can put them in some water.”

  She nodded, smiling as he bent down to pick them up, incredibly grateful that he had such a great sense of humor. She watched as he gently picked each flower up, and the care he used on the delicate blooms made her heart melt a little more. He handed them to her, and she brought them to her nose one more time before she turned for the kitchen, gesturing for him to follow.

  “It smells amazing in here,” he said as he walked in.

  “Thank you,” she replied as she checked the timer on the oven. Still fifteen minutes left. “It’s lasagna, my favorite, and a recipe I’ve made a thousand times. I hope you like it.”

  “I’m sure I will,” he said, leaning a hip against the counter, watching as she tried to find a vase.

  She tried all the cabinets and came up empty before shrugging and taking down a mason jar. It had been a long shot that her uncle would have a vase, but the jar would do. After she filled it with lukewarm water, she put the flowers in, arranging them just so, and sat them on the table, standing back to admire them. Actually, the mason jar was kind of perfect for the wildflowers, and she was glad she hadn’t found a vase.

  “Do you want something to drink?” she asked Seth. “I bought some beer, if you’d like some.”

  “You did? Yeah, I’ll take one. Are you going to give it another go?” he asked with a smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

  “Haha. No, I’ll pass. I have some wine breathing over there,” she replied with a gesture to the counter as she went to the fridge and pulled out a beer.

  “Will wine get you drunk too fast, like you were last night?” he asked with a smile as he accepted t
he cold bottle, watching as she poured herself a glass of wine.

  “You got jokes tonight, don’t you?” she said with a wry smile and a laugh. “No, I can have two glasses without getting drunk. I think the alcohol content in that drink last night must have been sky high. Want to go sit in the living room?”

  “Sure,” he said with a twinkle in his eye, leaving her unsure whether he was agreeing to go to the living room, or answering her comment about the drink sarcastically.

  Lips quirking, she led him to the living room and took a seat on the large sofa, sipping the red wine before putting it on the coffee table and curling up in the corner. He took a seat on the opposite end, and turned to face her.

  “You said the lasagna is a recipe you’ve made a lot, but you don’t look very old. And I imagine with your job, you don’t have a lot of spare time.”

  “I don’t, not really. I’m twenty-five. And I’ve only been working in a lab in a real career for about a year, but I was in school for years before that, going to university. First undergraduate school, and then getting my PhD.”

  An intense expression passed quickly in his eyes, gone before she could truly analyze what it was. He hesitated, taking a long pull of his beer before saying, “You have a PhD? And you’re only twenty-five? You must be a genius.”

  “No, not quite genius level, but I did finish what you call high school pretty young, and got my undergraduate degree in less than three years. But really, it was more due to hard work, and enjoying what I was studying, than being truly smart that got me my degrees early.” Uncomfortable with the subject, she shrugged. “Anyway, the lasagna was my mother’s recipe. I’ve been making it since I was old enough to cook.”

  “Was?” he asked softly, his chocolate brown eyes gentle.

  She gave a single nod. “She passed away when I was very little. I was only two. I guess making the lasagna makes me feel close to her in a way. It’s really the only time when I do. I don’t remember her at all.”

  “I’m so sorry, Amelia.”

  She shrugged. “They say you can’t miss what you never knew, but I do. Maybe it would have been different if I had other reminders of her, or even pictures, but I don’t. My father was devastated after she passed. He accepted a position at Oxford about six months after, and got rid of all her things before he packed us up and moved us to England. He wanted no reminders of her anywhere around. I found the recipe for the lasagna shoved in an old cookbook in a box in the attic when I was twelve. I’m sure he didn’t know it was there, or he never would have left it for me to find.”