The Selkie

by Rosanna Leo

  “Okay,” she replied, still not understanding.

  “Come,” he said, holding her hand and leading her into the other room.

  Maggie sucked in a breath. After having treated her to the most stressful meet-the-family moment of her life, he was going to make her witness a stranger in labor. It didn’t seem right. She felt as if she were invading Elsie’s sacred space.

  But as she entered the room full of supposed selkies, the space didn’t feel all that sacred anymore.

  Especially as Elsie took one look at her and screamed, “A human!”

  All the selkie heads turned to stare at her, and Maggie uttered a silent prayer, wishing she could disappear.

  Chapter 11

  “Uh, hi,” Maggie said, waving like a lunatic at the red-faced Elsie. “Congrats.”

  “Bring her. To me,” Elsie panted in Angus’s direction.

  Okay, it’s about to get real.

  Angus stood and motioned to her and Calan. “Would you mind?”

  They approached the bed and Elsie grabbed for Maggie’s hand. Not knowing what else to do, and not wanting to further upset the pregnant woman, Maggie just held it, giving her hand a little squeeze. In too much pain to smile, Elsie blinked her dark eyes at her.

  Elsie then turned to Calan and forced out a few labored breaths. “Took you. Long enough. You big shit.”

  Calan exploded into a laugh. “I’m sorry, Elsie, love. How are you?”

  “I’m about to pass. A selkie watermelon. Through my ass. What do you think?”

  He smiled. Angus resumed his seat near Elsie’s head and wiped her wet brow.

  Maggie couldn’t help smiling, too. She liked this Elsie. Even though she seemed all too willing to continue the selkie charade.

  Maybe this was one of those prank shows where everyone was in on the act except her. Was it possible?

  But as she gazed upon all the earnest, concerned faces in the room, she knew deep down this could not be a charade.

  “Sing for me, Calan,” Elsie pleaded, gasping. “Please.”

  Angus gave him a frantic look that echoed the sentiment.

  “Of course, love,” Calan said softly. He turned and nodded to his other family members. Everyone vacated the room, leaving her alone with Calan, Elsie, and Angus.

  And then he began to sing. Maggie wished she knew what he was saying, but it was in some language she’d never heard before. It wasn’t even Orcadian. But it was haunting and sweet and had the same effect as a lullaby on a tired child.

  Within seconds, Elsie stopped panting and her pain seemed to subside. She just stared at Calan, rapt, her eyes drooping a little with every lovely note. Eventually, as his beautiful song reached its lilting cadence, Elsie’s eyes closed. Maggie felt the death grip on her hand subside, but she didn’t let go of Elsie, just in case.

  As the poignant song ended, as Calan breathed into his final gorgeous note, they all watched as Elsie’s head relaxed into the pillow. She seemed to be sleeping, getting some much-needed rest in a labor that was winding her, to say the least. No one said a word; they all just watched her for a moment.

  And then Maggie started when she felt Calan turn his gaze upon her and smile. The most beautiful, heart-warming smile. She smiled back, smitten. She felt her eyes tear up and blinked the tears away. It didn’t matter because the tears just filled up her eyes once more. He’d done something wonderful for Elsie. He’d taken her pain away. Like some crazy, musical anesthesiologist.

  Maggie wanted to hug him, but didn’t dare let go of Elsie’s hand.

  Wiping at her eyes with her other hand, Maggie turned to Angus. “Why don’t you take her to the hospital?”

  He reddened, clearly feeling at a loss. “I can’t, Maggie, because of what we are. When this baby arrives, well, it won’t look like other babes.”

  You’ll be able to witness the birth of a little selkie. How many humans can say that?

  Oh, God, this was way too much to absorb.

  Maggie frowned, feeling the weight of the world upon her all of a sudden. “But, it can’t be…”

  “Maggie,” Calan said quietly. “It’s time to face the truth.”

  She stared at him, the man with whom she was falling in love, and felt her eyes water even more. “I’m afraid.”

  She felt Elsie’s hand move in hers, pressing with urgency. Maggie turned to the sleeping woman, only to find her awake. At peace, but awake. “Angus. Calan. Let me have a chat with Maggie.”

  The men stood. Angus dropped a kiss onto Elsie’s brow. Calan stood before Maggie, tipped up her chin, and claimed her mouth. Then he kissed the tip of her nose. “I’ll be in the other room.”

  She watched the two men leave, and then turned to Elsie. “I don’t know what you think you can say to convince me.”

  “I don’t have to say anything,” Elsie replied, her voice tired. “Pretty soon this massive seal baby is going to claw its way out of me, and you’ll have all the proof you need. Still, I find it always helps to talk with someone who understands.”

  Maggie shook her head. “How could you understand? Aren’t you like them?”

  “No. A year ago, I was like you.” She grinned at the memories, but then her grin faded as if a blacker memory had infiltrated her mind. “I’m an archaeologist and had come to Orkney to do some work at Skara Brae.”

  “The Neolithic ruins?”

  “The very ones. I was here with a team. A team that included my husband.” She paused. “My husband who beat me.”

  Maggie suddenly didn’t know where to look, but returned Elsie’s gaze anyway, eyes wide. “I’m so sorry.”

  Elsie smiled softly at her. “It’s okay. Things were really bad for a while, and I just couldn’t seem to break free. I needed help and didn’t know where to turn. I was embarrassed, ashamed. One day, I took a few hours off from the site and went to Scapa Beach. I remember staring out at the sea and it looked so inviting. And then I remembered that old wives’ tale about crying seven tears into the sea to call a selkie man.” She laughed at her story. “I knew how stupid it sounded, and yet I just started crying at the edge of the water. I wasn’t trying to tempt fate or to prove the legend wrong. Everything just came to a head in that moment and I couldn’t stop crying.”

  “What happened?”

  “Angus happened.” She grinned. “The next day, this huge redheaded beast appeared out of nowhere, telling me this unbelievable tale about who he was. What he was. And that he was there to change my life.” She shook her head, still mystified. “Maggie, I know it sounds crazy, but I fell for him in that moment. I took one look at that gorgeous man and knew I had to run with him. I felt the urge just as strongly as I felt the urge to breathe.”

  “But your husband?”

  Elsie’s face fell. “John didn’t react well. He came after me and tried to hurt me. It

  was a very bad scene.” She swallowed. “Put it this way. Angus let John know, in no uncertain terms, that he was to forget about me, to divorce me. John may have escaped with his legs intact that day, but he won’t be so lucky next time. He knows Angus will never let any man hurt his mate. Angus saved me. And then he made me his selkie wife, and now I’m having his selkie baby.” She put a hand on her swollen stomach and smiled at the unborn child. “I’ve never been happier, despite my screams of pain. You’ve seen the Kirks. This is one big baby.”

  Maggie reached out and hugged Elsie. Poor little Elsie who looked all of five feet tall in that massive bed. “So, this is all real? You’re telling me Calan isn’t lying about being selkie?”

  “Calan, lie?” She made a face. “God, no. The Kirks may all be tremendous flirts, but they are all honorable and they protect their own. Calan would cut off his hand before he lied to you. He’s a good man.”

  “But…”

  “No buts, Maggie. It’s true.” She yawned and stretched uncomfortably under the covers. “This kid isn’t coming tonight. I can just tell. Calan’s music can be very persuasive. He must have convinced t
he baby to give me a little break. Can you tell my husband to come back in here? I miss that redheaded bastard, even if he did knock me up.”

  With another hug, Maggie got up and went to look for the others. She sent Angus in to Elsie. Upon hearing that she’d settled down for the night, the others dispersed. The parents moved into yet another room to read together. The other brothers headed outside to have a beer on the nearby beach.

  Maggie approached Calan, feeling bold, deciding she needed to act before she changed her mind.

  “Maggie, love, are you okay?” he whispered, taking her hand.

  “Yes. No.” She gazed at him, knowing nothing other than she needed to be with him. “Is there some place we can go?”

  Calan’s face changed, reflecting his desire for her. “It’s a mite crowded in here. There’s an empty stable out back where Breannan used to keep a couple of horses.”

  She fisted her hand in his shirt. “Take me to the stable, Calan. Now.”

  Without another word, he did.

  * * * *

  They practically ran into the now-dark evening, passion illuminating their way to the old stable. Calan had hold of her hand, and she moved under his guidance as fleetly as if she could see each pockmark in the ground below them. She loved how her hand just seemed to fit into his strong one. Curious, she ran the tip of her finger along the webbing between his. Clearly aroused by this intimate gesture, he turned to look at her and stifled a deep groan.

  They reached the stable and Calan threw open the creaking door. She felt rather than saw him rummage for something near the door. She heard a faint click and a flashlight lit up their surroundings. Calan turned the bright light away from her and toward the wall. He quickly found a few flannel blankets and a discarded cotton shirt. He tossed the shirt over the flashlight’s beam so the light wouldn’t be so harsh. Immediately a soft glow descended on the interior of the stable.

  Maggie watched as he finished his hasty preparations. There were a couple of old bales of hay sitting on the ground. Calan covered these with the blankets. Even while covered, she could smell the sweet perfume of hay. Somehow, the fragrance only served to arouse her to a greater degree. She’d always had a fantasy of being taken in a stable, and it appeared that fantasy was about to come true.

  Calan stopped what he was doing and looked at her. His lips slightly open, his eyes dark and hungry, he advanced on her, backing her up to one of the larger bales of hay. She could smell him now. Delicious man and leather, the sea and hay and desire. Totally scrumptious.

  He cupped her face in both his hands, while one of his legs slid between her thighs. And then he kissed her. Not asking permission, just taking what she was so ecstatic to give. Devouring her. Gliding his tongue between her lips, opening her up to him. Claiming her as effectively as Angus had claimed Elsie.

  And Maggie had never been so happy to be so vulnerable. She licked at his lips, putting her own stamp on his body, marking him in her mind. She leaned in to nibble at his full bottom lip and he pulled away, moving his mouth out of her reach. She leaned in farther, tried to kiss him again, and once more he retreated. She looked up at him in question. Calan grinned at her like a fiend.

  “You tease,” she whispered with a smile.

  “Just trying to make you want me, lass,” he murmured, his hands probing her lower back. He moved his right hand over her ass, and she felt his middle finger slide along the center seam of her jeans, between her cheeks.

  Her entire body erupted into flames.

  “You do want me, don’t you?” he whispered.

  Maggie could only nod. Her voice had escaped her the moment she felt his finger in her ass crack.

  Seeing that she was temporarily incapacitated, Calan stepped back. Her body felt so cold without his touch. Luckily, she started to warm up again when she saw him begin to strip. He took his time disrobing. He toed off his biker boots and peeled the leather jacket off his shoulders, his gaze always on her. These items he tossed onto another bale of straw. Teasing her, he slowly removed his T-shirt, lifting it casually over his head. She watched as his dark hair lifted with it, and then cascaded back down over his shoulders.

  She wished she could lie down and feel those silky strands all over her body.

  Grinning, reading her mind as well as ever, Calan unbuttoned his jeans and let them fall to his ankles. As he stepped out of them, he kept his hooded eyes trained on her. His expression redolent of sex and pulsing, screaming desire. As he threw the last articles of clothing behind him, she took in the long, lean lines of his form. The strong thighs, the perfect round behind. His mouthwatering erection.

  He turned to her, crooked a finger in her direction, and said, “Come.”

  She did. She walked over to him with no hesitation at all.

  He kissed her again, letting his nude body graze against hers, allowing her to feel the swell of his cock against her belly. He then motioned for her to lie down on the hay bale, which she did.

  Lying there, completely at his mercy, Maggie watched him approach. Watched in delight as his sexy body moved for her. Only for her.

  He stood in front of her and wedged himself between her legs. And proceeded to

  undress her.

  He yanked off her Wellies and socks, and then turned his attention to her jeans. She couldn’t wait for him to pull them off. They felt like a denim prison, one she needed to escape. He tugged at the snaps and pulled them slowly from her body, stopping only to lay a soft kiss on her exposed belly, to lick at her thigh, to nip at her calf. Once the hated jeans were off, he disposed of her shirt and bra.

  In that moment, Calan’s gaze roved over her breasts and he looked as if he wanted nothing more than to capture her nipples in his mouth. But he held back, eyeing her panties. He wasn’t done undressing her.

  Finally, he ripped the panties from her, leaving her stark naked on the bale. Calan was standing still, inspecting every last inch of her with great appreciation. She felt the goose pimples rise on her skin as his gaze traveled lower and lower on her body. She knew she should feel self-conscious.

  But she didn’t. She felt like a princess on parade. There for his viewing pleasure.

  He reached out a finger and traced her areola, bringing her nipple to a stiff point. “Now, if I’d only seen your fascination for stables before, I would have brought you here from the start.”

  He leaned over and took her nipple into his mouth, laving and gently abrading the little nub until it was bright rose in hue. Maggie held his head to her breast and let her legs open under his delicious weight. His cock felt huge and eager, thick muscle under supple skin. He ground himself against her pussy, and the friction of skin on skin only aroused her further.

  Calan reached a finger toward her slit. “Fuck, you’re so wet.”

  With that, his hands were all over her. Palming her breasts, caressing her rib cage. Torturing her pussy with eager fingers. Maggie watched, splayed open on the blanket before him, needing him to finish agonizing her and just be inside her.

  God, she needed him inside her. “Calan.”

  “I’m coming, lass,” he grunted. But, rather than sink deep inside her, he surprised her by flipping her belly down onto the bale. “As it happens, Maggie love, despite all that food at the pub, I could still eat.”

  He knelt on the floor, situating himself between her legs again, and drew her bottom toward his face. Gripping her by her ass, he thrust his face into her cleft and licked. Maggie grasped the edges of the bale, insane with pleasure, as he ate her pussy from behind. Over and over, his tongue penetrated her slit and slid through each wet fold. She’d never felt wetter and more aroused, and gasped as he drank up each last drop of her womanly essence.

  He was insatiable, and Maggie didn’t think she’d ever felt anything so decadent.

  Until his tongue moved toward her ass.

  He planted a soft kiss on each of her ass cheeks, and then he retraced his steps and nibbled the fleshy globes. Not an inch of skin there was l
eft untouched or unkissed. He ran his tongue along the seam joining her cheeks to her thighs, and then made his way leisurely toward her crack. Maggie held her breath, never dreaming anyone would caress her so intimately.

  She realized she’d always wanted to be touched this way. Once, sheepishly, she’d mentioned the idea to Matthew, who’d only grimaced and called her desires “dirty.” But there was nothing dirty about the way Calan was licking and kissing her. It made her feel

  closer to him than she’d ever felt to anyone else. He now knew her body better than anyone knew it, probably even her, and she felt completely cherished and loved in his hands.

  Loved.

  She wondered that the thought should spring so easily into her thoughts, but it felt right. Allowing Calan to love her felt right, and she wanted nothing more than to return the feeling, to hell with his possible insanity. She didn’t really care anymore. She just wanted to be with this man who managed to surprise her and make her feel secure all at once.

  And she didn’t ever want him to stop doing what he was doing with his tongue.

  Within moments, the softness of his tongue was replaced by the pricking of his teeth. He gently grazed her flesh, tugging and sucking on her cheeks, moaning the whole while. His bites grew sharper, making her catch her breath. She clutched the straw in anticipation, while he continued to nip at her ass. She gasped, and accepted him, submitting to this tender invasion of such an intimate place.

  And then, when Maggie thought he’d finished with this play, Calan slapped her bottom, making it sting. She was about to cry out, in pleasure, only in pleasure. But before she could say anything, he bit her. Hard.

  Maggie froze as she felt his teeth break the skin on her right ass cheek. Part of her wanted to reach behind and slap him. Mostly, she just wanted to lie there and have him do it again, it felt so good. So right.