tongue, pressing her naked body against his. 'Go on,' she said when she finished.
'Duana, like the other merrows, dressed in a cloak made of sealskin, and when she wrapped herself in her cloak, she could swim in the deepest, coldest water, just like a seal. But to walk on land, she had to leave her cloak at the edge of the water. This was dangerous. If a mortal found a merrow's cloak, then he had power over her and she couldn't return to the sea. This is what happened with Duana. One day, Kelan Quinn, a poor fisherman, found her cloak and took it, thinking that it might keep him warm in the damp winters of Ireland. He knew that it was a valuable cloak and so he hid it well in the thatched roof of his cottage for safekeeping until winter came.'
'If a merrow doesn't go back to the sea, will she die?'
Sean frowned. 'I don't think so. Conor would probably know. I think they just long for the sea because it's their home. Many farmers and fishermen wanted to trap a merrow because merrows are very rich. They have chests of gold and silver and jewels that they've taken from shipwrecks. But Kelan didn't know that he'd taken the cloak of a merrow. And when a beautiful woman appeared at his door the next day, he let her inside.
'Merrows are part of the fairy world and so they don't really care about mortals, except to use them as lovers now and then. But mortals can fall in love with merrows and this happened to Kelan. Duana was so beautiful that he wanted her for his wife. But Duana told him that she couldn't marry him until he gave her a gift. Kelan was a poor fisherman and could think of nothing that Duana might appreciate. He had a few pence in his pocket, but that was all. He was desperate to find something to convince Duana of his love. And then he thought of the sealskin cloak. He retrieved it from his roof and Duana slipped it on. With a laugh, she ran down to the sea and jumped in, disappearing beneath the waves.'
'What happened to Kelan?' Laurel asked.
'He was devastated. He thought he'd fallen in love with a madwoman, so he dove into the sea and began to search for her, hoping to save Duana from drowning. But the sea was cold and he couldn't stay in the water long. Again and again, he went back to shore and as soon as he could, he swam back out to the sea. Exhausted, he dove one last time and as the water overwhelmed him he came face to face with Duana, her long hair swirling around her head. She took his hand and pulled him deeper and deeper. And only then did Kelan realize who and what she really was. He tore her cloak from her body and swam hard for the surface, wrapping himself in the sealskin.'
'What happened to Duana?'
'She died. And Kelan, clever Quinn that he was, used her cloak to swim in the sea and retrieved the treasure Duana had collected. The poor fisherman became the richest man in his village because he'd outsmarted a merrow.'
Sean didn't realize until he'd finished the story how many parallels there were between him and Laurel and the poor fisherman and his beautiful merrow. Like the merrow, Laurel had seduced him, and though she was wealthy, the treasure of her body was what Sean really coveted. Would she pull him under like Duana had? And if she did, would he be able to escape?
'The end,' Sean added. 'I told you I wasn't good with the stories.'
'No,' Laurel said. 'You told it very well. It just doesn't have a very happy ending. And it's not very romantic.'
'But to my father, the story taught a valuable lesson.'
'Don't steal coats from the beach?' Laurel asked.
Sean chuckled. 'No. Beware of beautiful women.'
'And what about me?' Laurel asked. 'Are you supposed to beware of me?'
Grabbing her waist, he rolled her over and pinned her beneath him. Staring down at her exquisite features, Sean still couldn't believe the luck that had brought him into her life. 'You? I have to be very careful around you. I think you could break my heart if you wanted to.'
Laurel reached up and ran her hand over his cheek. 'Why would I break your heart?' Her hand moved to his chest. 'Your heart is what I love most about you.'
Sean's breath stilled in his throat as the impact of her words hit him full force. Had she just said she loved him? He should have felt a wild sense of exhilaration, and he did, for one brief moment. But then, an uneasy fear set in. He wanted to believe her words, but she'd said them so casually, tossed them out there as if they really didn't mean a thing.
He kissed her, losing himself in the sweet taste of her mouth, hoping to soothe his doubts with the pleasures her body offered. Would he be like Kelan Quinn, lured into love and then tricked out of it? Or could he chart his own course, putting all those stories about his Quinn ancestors behind him?
For now, he'd keep his feelings locked safely away. And someday, maybe, he'd be brave… or clever… or strong enough to hand Laurel the key.
'I think you'll need to replace all these windows.'
Laurel stood beside Sean, a clipboard clutched in her hand. 'How much do you think windows cost? Maybe we should just try to replace the broken glass. That would be cheaper, wouldn't it?'
Sean slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. They'd come to Dorchester to evaluate the building, but it was clear that neither of them had a clue as to what needed to be done to make it habitable. In truth, he'd have rather stayed at home, in bed with Laurel, the way they had for the past three days.
It had been a honeymoon of sorts that began after Alistair called to say that he and Sinclair would be staying in New York for a few extra days. Night had turned into day and then back to night again and they'd been unaware of the world outside the house. They'd slept when they were tired and made love beside the pool in the middle of the night. Food varied from pizza to Chinese, whatever could be delivered. Sean had always thought of a honeymoon as a silly excuse to take a trip. But now he knew just what purpose it served. He felt as if he and Laurel had become one person, two sides of the same coin, completely in sync with each other's bodies and thoughts, needs and desires.
He glanced down at her, noticing the tiny lines of stress around her mouth. The urge to wipe them away with a kiss was strong, but he decided against it. 'We'll need screens so we can open the windows,' she murmured, scribbling on her pad.
'I think you're going to want to air-condition this place,' Sean said. 'You'll have to run duct work since this is all radiant heat. But you've got high ceilings and they can leave it exposed.'
'What's radiant heat?' Laurel asked.
'Those radiators over there have hot water in them and they radiate heat instead of forced air which-' Sean sighed. 'We're not going to be able to do this. Give me your cell phone.' As she rummaged through her purse, Sean grabbed his wallet and found the business card he'd saved. He took the phone from Laurel and punched in a number.
'Who are you calling? Do you know an air-conditioning guy?'
The receptionist at Kencor answered after one ring. 'Rafe Kendrick, please. Tell him it's his brother-in-law, Sean Quinn.'
A few moments later Rafe came on the line. 'Sean. Hi. What's up? Is everything all right?'
The surprise of hearing from Sean was apparent in Rafe's voice. Sean wasn't sure he'd ever carried on a conversation with his brother-in-law. He had held Rafe's arms to help out when the other Quinn men had been all set to pummel him, but that had been the extent of their contact. Rafe hadn't exactly been welcomed into the Quinn family, though the brothers had called a truce since he and Keely had married. 'I need a favor,' Sean said.
'Anything. What can I do for you?'
'I have a friend who wants to renovate a building in Dorchester. It's in pretty rough shape and she needs to get an estimate of the costs.'
'Does she have an architectural plan?' Rafe asked.
'No, I don't think so.'
'Well, she'll need that first.'
'She doesn't have a lot of money for this project,' Sean said. 'She wants to turn the building into a community center for children.'
'Ah, this is the woman Amy met. Keely talked to Amy and she mentioned that you had a…' His voice faded.
