by Viola Grace
She had to chuckle at that.
He pulled her to him for a long kiss neither wanted to end. “Tomorrow then,” he stated and touched her face before fading into a golden light.
Brigit called in sick the following morning and set about getting dressed. She changed in and out of several articles of clothing, finally deciding on a pair of new, dark blue jeans and a tan angora sweater whose neckline exposed most of her left shoulder.
“Hair up? Nah—down.” She brushed her hair vigorously until the sun picked up every shiny, golden shade. She added some mascara and a soft tint of lip-gloss. A pair of low-heeled suede boots and her suede coat completed the look.
Directions in hand, she got into her old Renault. She took the route closest to the eastern coastline, barely noticing the sparkling bay and the rolling hills in the distance. Careful not to miss a turn, she arrived at the address Justin had given her in twenty minutes. It was located in a semi-rural part of the upscale town. She stopped at the long front drive and gazed at the whitewashed cottage. Its slate roof and beautiful European windows would welcome any guest, despite the ample size. Brigit turned into the drive and parked next to a Jeep Wrangler, her heart thumping against her chest. She reached into the middle compartment and took the key Jason had given her. Slowly, she walked to the front door of the house and glanced at the doorbell. She assumed Jason wanted her to simply unlock the door and walk in. She took a deep breath and expelled slowly, hoping her heart would settle.
She walked into a high-ceiling home whose impressive architecture contrasted well with the simple yet tasteful furniture. Both the kitchen and living room boasted exposed wood beams across the angled ceiling. Justin’s presence was near tangible in the setting, although he didn’t seem to be in the house. She cleared her throat. “Justin?” Her heart still hadn’t slowed.
No answer.
Instinct guided her toward the back through a breakfast nook. She looked out the sliding glass door and let out a surprised sigh. The backyard stretched out to about an acre of green lawn, enclosed within a natural border of field maples, thick conifers and azalea. Several apple trees dotted the landscape as well, but Brigit’s eyes were drawn almost immediately to the large, glass greenhouses off to the right. There were two, standing alongside each other.
She slid the door open and stepped onto the raised deck. Walking to the front, she placed her arms on the top rail and breathed in the clean, crisp air. “This is heaven.” She was amazed that Justin lived here. Now where is that man?
Taking the short flight of steps, she ended up on a tiled path leading up to both greenhouses. The tranquil surrounding had calmed her nerves and she eagerly inspected the first greenhouse. Her gaze roamed over rows of tomato, cucumber, pepper and lettuce plants. Good idea, Brigit thought. Justin wasn’t here though. She continued along the path to the next greenhouse, just some feet away. The door was partly open.
She stepped into the humid environment and glanced at the wonderful splash of lush green foliage and bright colors that filled most of the spacious area. Glimpsing some movement near the back, her pulse picked up again. Her boots crunched on the fine gravel as she made her way to the space in the middle of the greenhouse. Tucked behind a group of tall Dracaenas was a man with thick dark hair. She licked her suddenly dry lips and walked down the path.
He stopped what he was doing and straightened, wiping his hands on slightly soiled jeans. Shifting a couple of the plants to the side, he stepped into the clearing.
Brigit’s legs froze momentarily as she stared into his dark green eyes. A shaky sigh pushed past her lips. There he was. In the flesh. Her heart skipped a few beats as she approached him.
His gaze moved over her, flooding her skin with heat. The green depths flickered with visible recognition and delight. She noted the film of perspiration that moistened his brow, the unruliness of those dark locks of hair she’d curled her fingers into. The lean, sculpted form of his body filled his gray T-shirt and worn jeans perfectly. He was the picture of masculine earthiness.
She stopped a short distance from him. “Justin.”
“Brigit,” he responded in a less than steady voice, despite his calm appearance.
The air around them was laden with emotions held in check. She shifted her eyes to the plants behind him. “Lovely dragons,” she said.
He raised a dark eyebrow and hesitated. A grin curved his beautiful mouth in understanding. “Yes, aren’t they? Brigit—”
“Justin…sorry, go ahead.”
He closed the distance between them, wiping his brow with his forearm. “You know, you’re much more beautiful in person.”
“I was going to say the same thing…I mean, much more handsome…”
He reached out with a trembling hand and touched the side of her face. For a long, silent moment, he stared at her with a look so solemn she gripped his hand in panic. Tears welled up in his eyes and her heart sank.
His other hand came around her waist and, before she could say a word, he crushed her to him, his face pressed against her hair. “Hold me…don’t let go,” he ordered in a thick voice and she tightened her arms around him.
“Justin, are you…” She swallowed the tightness in her throat.
He lifted her off her feet and swung her around, his deep laughter like a velvet song. When he lowered her feet back to the ground, he framed her face in his hands and kissed her eagerly with a series of short and long caresses. “Brigit, you’ve given me life! My love, my heart—”
He hugged her again until she began laughing and crying. She eased out of his embrace and wiped her tears. “Just tell me it worked—it’s broken, isn’t it?” she blurted.
Justin shut his eyes briefly as though he couldn’t believe it himself. “Two years…if it wasn’t for you…”
She took his hands and squeezed. “It’s over now and it’s so good to see you, touch you—” She let out a tiny cry as he scooped her up and strode out of the greenhouse.
“Do you like my garden?” he asked, looking down at her as she clung to him.
“I absolutely love it!” She gazed at the surrounding flora and gave a heavenly sigh. “It’s a dream come true,” she said softly and gazed at him in awe.
At the foot of the deck, he paused to slip off his sneakers.
“Justin, what do you do for a living?” she asked.
“I’m a chef at a Dublin restaurant.”
“That explains your interest in growing vegetables.”
He carried her into his home, straight to his bedroom. “Take off your coat…and the rest,” he said with a mischievous grin and kissed her. “Tuck yourself in bed and wait for me while I shower.”
She laughed and watched him head off, her heart nearly bursting with joy.
Justin helped Brigit remove the plant from its pot. She carefully loosened the root ball and placed it in the rich soil they had prepared at the back of the cottage.
“I’ve always wanted to grow Hydrangeas, but they don’t do well indoors. I’m so excited about this.”
“Well, lucky me you’re here to do something about this empty spot.”
She gently packed the earth around the plant and leaned back on her haunches to admire its partially bloomed, pink flowers. “These will make the perfect border here—morning light and afternoon shade.”
Justin leaned in for a kiss as he handed her the next pot. “My green-thumbed woman, all this planting and playing with dirt has turned me on,” he said huskily, his eyes dark with desire.
Since Brigit had moved into the cottage a month ago, they had been doing little else except gardening, cooking and making love. She laughed as he nuzzled her throat, tickling her with his tongue. “Justin, we’re almost done—can’t you wait?”
He grabbed her about the waist, bringing her to the ground. “No.”
The plant dangled precariously over them. He took it from her and placed it a safe distance away. Seconds later, he claimed her mouth in a hot kiss as he rolled on his back, bringin
g her with him. She returned the kiss with the same passion, glad for their private haven.
They finally stopped, if only to catch a breath. His finger brushed a spot of soil on her cheek. The depths of his eyes smiled up at her. “I love you,” he said.
Brigit’s heart did a somersault every time he said those words. “And I love you.”
Breath gushed out of her as he rolled over, pinning her under him for another sensual kiss.
THE PIRATE AND THE MERMAID
Marc Jarrod
…98, 99, 100, 101…
1800s pirate, Duncan McBeal, heard his men counting the gold coins he and his mates had stolen from a ship they raided only several hours ago. However, his mind was not set on the successful mission of the booty he obtained. Rather, he was staring at a glowing, almost phosphorous, yet clear, emerald stone about the size of a loaf of bread. Settled in his bunkroom, the stone on his desk, he rested his head at almost eyelevel to the green rock. It wasn’t so much the rock itself that enthralled him, but what was inside the rock and, what he observed, swimming inside that put him in an almost catatonic state.
Three hours earlier.
For most unsuspecting ships, the Blarney Stone served as a trading ship. The craft was sailing from England to Ireland, picking up goods and dropping off their own wares as well. This was simply a cover for a more sinister purpose.
“Okay, mates, the Goliath should be coming into view.”
The Blarney Stone was hiding behind an island where it had a small mountain to help obscure the ship’s hull. Just as the Goliath circumvented the land mass, McBeal’s ship appeared as if out of nowhere. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect as the Blarney Stone swiftly came into view, compliments of the trade winds blowing behind them. When she crossed The Goliath’s path, the other craft didn’t have time to react to the impending broadside collision.
Luckily, McBeal planned well. By gauging how many knots the other ship was sailing, he timed his ship where it would cross the other’s path, but still able to avoid the impact
That is exactly what happened. The other ship missed The Blarney by three meters before it finally came to a halt. He ordered his men to skim the boat closer to the vessel in order to embark it.
Once on board, he commanded, “Look for any chests, gold and silver wares, me mateys!”
As the raiders started ransacking the ship, most of the crew of the Goliath, which numbered about twenty with no passengers, were too afraid to interfere with the pirates as they scampered about the ship like cockroaches searching for food. One of the pirates entered a sleeping quarter. When a crewmember of the raided ship realized that it was his bunk, the pirate was ransacking, he tried to keep him from going through his personal belongings. Several pirates grabbed the intruder and presented him to McBeal. The captain in turn, seized him, escorted him to the top deck and threw him overboard.
He snickered when the man started thrashing in the water.
“I can’t bloody swim. Help me!”
“Well you should have thought of that before you jumped two of my men, matey.” He continued watching the swimmer’s futile attempt of trying to save his own life. “You know, you’re lucky. If there were sharks out there, you would be their next meal and drowning would be the least of your worries.” He laughed uproariously and waited a few more seconds before he would throw a rope to the poor victim. Captain McBeal, though a pirate, had never intended to let the man drown. He is not as ruthless or diabolical as some of his compatriot pirates are. He just wanted to teach this bloke a lesson. Nobody interferes with a raid headed by Duncan McBeal.
Suddenly, the man’s body sunk into the cold ocean. McBeal peered down in the still waters that were white with foam a few seconds ago. Wait a minute. Where did the bloke go? The pirate was actually starting to feel a sense of guilt about the man’s fate when he saw a head pop out of the water.
This head was wearing a red cap. A red cap? What in the—He didn’t remember the poor mate having a red cap. He grabbed his telescope hooked to him in a holster, spread it out and looked into the eyepiece. What he saw was definitely not a man but…a woman. Before he could get a better look, the woman dipped underneath the waters. She resurfaced seconds later and had an arm wrapped around a body.
Oh my God! Tilting his body over the deck wall, McBeal acknowledged him as the man who was in the midst of drowning. His body was limp as the woman helped him toward a ladder draping the lower deck of the ship. He saw the man grab the rail, which meant that he appeared to be conscious, but still looked groggy. Thank Goodness.
Just as he was about to climb the ladder, the red-capped woman placed her hands on each cheek of his head and kissed him on the lips. Suddenly his head jerked up and it looked like he was talking to this woman, perhaps thanking her for saving his life. Then he started scaling the ladder and eventually disappeared in the ship’s hull.
Relieved that the sailor, merchant or whatever the hell he was, survived his ordeal, McBeal now trained his telescope on the woman. She had green hair that speckled in the sun along with a greenish tint to her skin and light green lips. My God, she is beautiful. Who is she and where did she come from?
She looked at him.
That was when he noticed blue, almost deep sapphire eyes drilling a hole into him. Who in the Hell is she?
The pirate was about to find out when the woman dipped into to the ocean headfirst. Seconds later, a huge green fin followed the woman’s body.
Oh…my…God! No, it can’t be. Before he raided the Goliath, Duncan McBeal had consumed a half gallon of rum. He now shook his head violently, trying to talk himself into believing, or at least attributing the scene he beheld, was due to his drunken state. It has to be. There is no such thing as mermaids…are there?
One of McBeal’s shipmates broke his trance when he yelled out, “Hey, Cap’n, get a load of this.”
McBeal entered the room where the voice came from and sauntered over to the ruckus, his mind finally calming down on what just occurred with the mermaid. “What ya got, matey?”
The fellow pirate held up a radiant green stone about the size of a loaf of bread. Its color was bright green and…it was…glowing.
McBeal took hold of the rock and raised it to eyelevel. He noticed movement inside the rock itself. Movement? He shook his head savagely. I definitely have to stop drinking so much rum. I am hallucinating again.
“Do you see what I see, Cap’n,” the sailor asked.
When he heard his first mate make that statement, McBeal now realized it wasn’t the rum.” Yes, I see it, Michael. Oh, I see it, all right. Inside the glowing emerald were what looked like fish, perhaps minnows swimming around the parameters. He drew the rock closer to his face where his nose actually touched the stone. McBeal almost dropped the emerald due to shock when he realized these creatures weren’t just fish. They were…mermaids. No. “That is impossible,” he murmured.
His trance was broken for the second time when he heard another voice. The voice was almost frantic and had a thick Irish brogue. “Excuse me, sir, but I must have that rock.”
“You must have the rock? Who says you shall have it, mate?
“Sir, my name is Liam. I am the man you threw overboard and that rock belongs in the ocean. I found it yesterday. My ship discovered a shark washed up on the shore. When I cut it open to cook for dinner, I found that mineral. When I understood what I had found, especially what was in it, I was going to sell it on the open market. I could have made a fortune on it.”
“Damn right, people will pay a fortune this.”
Liam started reaching for the rock and at the same time said in desperation, “Sir, you must give me that rock. I must return it back to the oc—”
Duncan instinctively flung the stone to his chest with one arm and gave a stiff arm with the other hand. “Why is this so important to you besides its value? In fact, you would rather throw it in the ocean instead of selling it?”
Liam paused before speaking. “Last ni
ght, a woman appeared in my dream…at least I thought it was a dream. She asked for the rock I found in the shark. I told her in my dream she can’t have it. She said…and I still can’t believe she said this, those are the ocean’s children. Ovid’s green daughters of the sea. She said if I gave her that rock, she would marry me and bear my children. I told her I was already married. I figured this had to be a dream and ignored her wishes. Then when I woke, I knew it wasn’t a dream.”
Duncan narrowed his eyelids into slits. “What makes you think it wasn’t a dream?
“When I woke up the next morning, the floor was wet.”
“Well that’s normal, mate. You’re on the ocean. Water is going to splash on the deck.”
Without missing a beat, Liam responded, “Water on the deck is one thing, but water in my bunk room? We didn’t hit any storms last night or I would have been up with the rest of the crew trying to maintain the boat afloat. Besides, the floor next to my bed was completely dry when I went to bed last night.” He stared at McBeal. “There’s one thing you should know, mate.”
“What’s that,” Duncan asked, now staring at the emerald stone, once again fascinated with the swimming creatures. Yes, this will bring a king’s ransom on the open market, wouldn’t it?
“I don’t know if you noticed, but a woman rescued me from drowning after you threw me overboard. She was the one who appeared in my room last night. She told me again, I must return the rock. She saved me from drowning on the basis that I return her stone to the ocean. I told her, that is why we were in these waters. I am a righteous man and I was going to do as she requested. Then…she kissed me.”
“Yeah?”
“As I said, she was the one who came into my room last night. I will never forget her. She had a red-feathered cap and green hair that shined like sparkling emeralds. Her skin had a green tint, but her eyes were a deep sapphire.” After the explanation, Liam made a third, desperate lunge for the emerald stone and almost succeeded when two of McBeal’s men pushed him away.