The Not So Secret Baby Read online

  “Leave Inis Daire,” Sharon snapped at Izzy.

  “Or what?” Izzy’s finger touched the hilt of one knife.

  “Just leave before you find out.”

  ****

  Katie appeared as Sharon left. Neither of them spoke. They just glared at each other. “She’s a hard woman, that one.”

  “You heard everything?” That surprised Izzy. Wasn’t Sharon the woman Old Katie declared had tried to poison her? The seer seemed to be taking it all quite casually.

  “Aye.”

  “Why didn’t you say something or come into the kitchen?”

  Old Katie shrugged. “Because she wasn’t going to try and kill you just now.”

  Now? That was comforting. Not. “Riiiight…”

  “Nor will she ever.”

  “Good to know,” Izzy murmured, more confused that ever.

  Old Katie came to stand before her, peering into her eyes. “Despite your fear and confusion, you feel it don’t you, Isadora.”

  “What?”

  “That Sinyn and Inis Daire are your home.”

  Izzy considered that for a moment. If I left Sinyn and Inis Daire tomorrow, how would I feel? Could I go back to my old life? Do I want to? She gazed into the knowing eyes of Old Katie. She knew the answer as well as Izzy did. Sinyn was her home. “But what about the people who want to kill me?” That made it a little less homey.

  “Years from now when you’re surrounded by your children, none of this will matter,” Old Katie declared.

  “Children?” One seemed like a big enough event.

  “Aye, you and the prince have quite the sex life.”

  Izzy blushed. “Katie, try to see less, will you?”

  “I enjoyed the odd threesome in the past myself. And Connor? If I was ten years younger…”

  “Way too much information, old woman.”

  Chapter Ten

  “Anthony denies all knowledge.”

  Izzy looked up from the old, delicate book she was scanning. She would have read it but for the fact it was in Gaelic. That didn’t dim her enjoyment. It was touching something so ancient that appealed to Izzy. “You have a nasty bruise on your cheek.” That Sinyn had gotten into a fight with his cousin didn’t surprise her. She closed the book and stood up. “Does it hurt?”

  “No.” Sinyn walked towards her. “Anthony broke two of his fingers. He always was a lousy boxer.” He took the book from her hands. “I don’t like that Sharon came here. Are you okay?” Sinyn reached out his hand and cupped her face.

  The look in his eyes held a level of caring and love Izzy had never experienced before “She didn’t scare me.”

  ****

  Sinyn nodded. “No, you’re made of sterner stuff.” That’s what he liked about Izzy. She could be sweet and vulnerable but also strong in her opinions and actions. He sat down beside her. “Come here.” He patted his lap. Sinyn wanted to feel her body against his. He found great comfort in her arms.

  Izzy stood up and sat down on his lap facing him. “Are you trying to make me so dependent on sex I’ll never leave?”

  That had been his initial plan. Now Sinyn wanted more. He was looking at binding this woman to his side by good, old-fashioned love. “Did I indicate we were going to have sex?” Aye, she was smart. He knew he held her in sexual thrall as she did him. That moment with Connor? It was like using a sex toy to thrill her. In the end it would always be the two of them despite who may be invited around to play. He didn’t need Old Katie to tell him that.

  She placed her hand on his zipper. “No but you want it and I’m ready for you so…” Izzy unzipped his trousers and drew out his dick.

  Sinyn growled as she ran her hand along the shaft in a gentle milking motion. He pulled at her skirt to gain access to her pussy. His hand touched the wet flesh between her legs and his dick jerked in excitement. That first thrust inside a warm, inviting vagina was always a thrill.

  Izzy lifted up to accommodate him. The head of his dick was just pushing inside her when his bailiff Tom knocked at the door. She pushed down on him regardless.

  Yes?” Sinyn yelled, none too please at the interruption. He wanted to fuck his women. Business could wait.

  “Sorry to interrupt, but they’ve found Anthony’s car in the lake.”

  Sinyn jerked up in surprise. He caught Izzy against him as she started to fall backwards. “Where is he?”

  “Not sure but they think he may have drowned,” Tom reported.

  “Fuck!” Izzy was agog.

  “Not this time, sweetheart, but hold that thought.”

  * * * *

  “Anthony is gone,” said Old Katie as he walked into her cottage.

  Sinyn had left Izzy to talk with Connor and gone to see what the old seer knew. He had relied on Katie’s knowledge since he was a boy. He’d never had cause to doubt it. Sinyn needed Izzy safe and close to him. She was more precious to him than anything Inis Daire could offer.

  “Who did it?”

  Sinyn didn’t want to believe it was suicide. It was the first thought he had on hearing Anthony’s car had gone into the lake. He didn’t hate his cousin nor did he wish death upon him. Anthony had been weak and greedy. The complete opposite of Sinyn. Blood ties didn’t always unite kin. After their respective parents died, it had been sad to think that grief and history hadn’t brought them together. He thought of Izzy and his child. They were the family he craved.

  “Sharon got rid of her husband in a fit of madness,” Old Katie told him. “It was why she was never destined to have babies. There is too much madness in her blood. She poisoned Anthony because she despised his weakness and then pushed the car with her husband in it into the lake.

  Sinyn wanted to say he was surprised and shocked, but knowing Sharon as he did, nothing surprised him. “I don’t understand. If he’s dead she gets nothing, so why do it?”

  “The mad need little reason.”

  “Where is she?” Sinyn wanted Sharon locked up and away from Izzy.

  “She will return but it won’t be what she hoped for.”

  Sinyn had many more questions to ask, but he knew from past experience Old Katie only said what suited her. With his thoughts on the woman he loved, he went to find Izzy.

  * * * *

  Izzy was half asleep in his bed with the television on.

  Sinyn smiled and walked over to turn it off.

  She opened one eyes and looked at him. “I was watching that.”

  “The TV was watching you.” Sinyn went to the bed and sat down. “Why are you in my bed?”

  Because it felt right and I wanted to be with you. That’s what Izzy wanted to say. She had been working herself up all day to say it, but admitting need wasn’t something she was used to do. “Your bed is bigger. Have you got a problem with sharing?”

  “Nope, not at all.” Sinyn pulled one of his shoes off. “Anthony is dead.” He threw it across the room.

  “Dead?” Izzy was agog. Typical man. A woman would have rushed in straight away and told everyone the news.

  “Yes.” The other followed the same path.

  Izzy watched as Sinyn pulled off his shirt. He seemed to be taking the news very calmly. She wondered what he was thinking. “How do you feel about it? Anthony was kin, after all.”

  “He was a stranger to me.”

  Yeah, that’s what happened in some families. Her own was no different. He mother had been so dependent on drugs that in the end Izzy doubted if she remembered she had a child. But that was the past. She’d moved on. The future and what Sinyn was feeling mattered to her now.

  “I’m sorry. What can I do?”

  “You being here with me is just what I need.”

  He said the sweetest thing. Simple words like that made her feel like she made a difference to his life. “Sinyn…”

  “Yes?” He unbuckled his trousers.

  “If I stay…” She watched as he pushed the fabric down his muscular legs. Oh yeah, I’m staying.

  “If?” He kicke
d the trousers free from his ankles and pulled back the bedding ready to climb in beside her.

  Izzy smiled at the now naked man. This is going to be my life. I like it. A lot. “I’ll need to go back home to Australia several times a year. It’s hard to explain, but as at home as I am with you, I also know I need to visit Australia. It’s in my blood.”

  Sinyn stood and looked at her. “You’re at home with me?”

  “Yes.” Her gaze moved down his body to his jumping dick. Yum.

  “You love me?”

  Her gaze went back to his. “I know it’s probably all too soon but being with you has made me realize that being without you would be much worse. So yeah, it appears I love you.” The smile he gave her made Izzy feel more alive than she had in years.

  “My love, you can go any time you like, as long as you come back to me.”

  “I promise.” She held out her hand to him. “Now, come to bed with me. I need someone to snuggle with, and you’re the best snuggler I know, prince.”

  Sinyn laughed. “You’re sweet.” He watched as Izzy sat up and pulled the nightdress over her head. His gaze rested on her bare breasts. “And sexy.” He climbed onto the bed bedside her.

  She reached out and wrapped her hand around his penis. “May I please suck your dick, your highness?”

  “And sinful.”

  “All that and so much more, my prince.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Izzy wasn’t supposed to leave the house alone. The threat of Sharon and what she might do still hung in the air. She was supposed to wait until Sinyn or Connor could be with her, but waiting was never one of Izzy’s strong points. She needed to get out into the fresh air and go for a walk. Being cooped up in the house and waiting for someone to watch over her wasn’t Izzy’s style. Besides, a week had passed since Anthony’s death. Neither his body had been found nor was there a trace of Sharon. Izzy suspected Sharon had a good sense of self preservation and had taken off to avoid the police.

  Izzy smiled as the sun touched her face. It was different to the harsh UV of home. While she missed the deep blue of Australian skies, the simple beauty of Inis Daire appealed to her. She passed by locals who waved or chatted about the baby or Sinyn. It felt good to be alive. That was until she rounded a corner and ran smack bang into Sharon.

  “Shit,” Izzy swore and backed away several paces.

  “Think I was gone, did you?” Sharon sneered.

  “Well a smart person would have left after killing her husband.” Izzy looked at the other woman. She was filthy and bedraggled. Izzy guessed she had been sleeping rough.

  “Are you saying I’m not smart?”

  Correct. “What do you want, Sharon?”

  “I want money.”

  Of course you do. “I have none.” As a guest of the prince, there seemed no need for it on Inis Daire.

  “The prince does,” Sharon pointed out.

  “You think he’d pay you to get off the island?” Although he and Anthony had not got on together, Sinyn wanted justice to be done and Sharon charged for his murder.

  Sharon looked pretty confident. “I think he’d pay me to leave you unhurt. I’m surprised you have no minders with you. Usually they’re trailing along. Yes, I’ve been watching you all week just waiting to meet up with you for a little chat.”

  “Gee, not grieving over your husband’s death?” Izzy’s voice was full of sarcasm.

  “He was weak. I was tired of dragging him along.” Sharon dismissed Anthony with a wave of her hand. “Now I want money—a lot, or you and that baby are in big trouble.

  “Come to the house with me and we’ll ask Sinyn for some spare cash.”

  Sharon snorted angrily. “You think I’m that stupid?”

  “Yeah, the greedy are usually pretty dumb. You know, I may be preggers but I’m not taking any shit from you.”

  “I could quite easily kill you for that.” Sharon made a move toward Izzy.

  “It doesn’t look like you’ve eaten in a week. You look like a mess and you smell. The only threat you are to me is as a pollutant.”

  “I’m going to enjoy killing you and your bastard child.”

  “As I’m going to enjoy killing you, dear wife,” Anthony interjected appearing beside them.

  “What the fuck?” This was the last thing Izzy expected. “You’re supposed to be dead.”

  “Surprise,” he said, his eyes narrowed and locked on his wife.

  Sharon backed away from him. “Anthony, I—er—”

  “That’s right. I’m not dead, you bitch.” He rounded on her. “That poison knocked me out and made me groggy but as soon as the car hit the water I woke up.”

  “I can explain…” Sharon began.

  “I doubt it.” Anthony punched his wife in the face. She hit the ground, smashing her head against a rock.

  Up until that moment, Izzy had been paralyzed with surprise “Bloody hell!” She looked down at Sharon. There was no movement from her. “I think you killed her.”

  Anthony yelled down at the body on the ground. “See I can do something right.” He straightened up and turned to Izzy. “Now for you. I’m not going to kill you yet. You’re a bargaining chip. My cousin loves you. I’ve been watching you together. He’s besotted. Then there’s the kid. You’re too useful to kill yet.”

  Talk about good news and bad news. There was a threat, but also the hope a miracle would happen and she could get free of Anthony.

  “What do you plan to do?” Izzy was more worried about what he would do to an unsuspecting Sinyn than herself.

  “There’s an old cave up in the mountains I used to visit as a boy. I’m going to stick you up there for a while and make my cousin crazy with worry trying to find you. He’ll think Sharon is to blame. Then, when he can’t take it anymore, I’ll drop by as a surprise for Sinyn and ask for so much ransom money it will bankrupt the island.”

  “Don’t you care about the people? I thought it was your heritage.”

  Anthony glared at Izzy. “Inis Daire never cared for me. It was always Sinyn they loved.” He grabbed her arm. “Now, come with me willingly or I’ll make you regret pushing me.”

  * * * *

  Izzy had once heard that St Patrick had driven all the snakes out of Ireland. “I just hope they didn’t set up home on Inis Daire,” she muttered to herself as she looked around the cave Anthony had dumped her in. She was tied to a large bolder and sitting on hard, damp ground. As caves went, it was what Izzy imagined. Dark, dank, and with strange noises she choose not to think about. She had been sitting there for what seemed like hours since Anthony left. Her ass ached and her wrists were bloody and sore from trying to free herself. She expected Sinyn would be frantic. Would Old Katie know where she was? Did her vision extend to seeing through rock? Izzy concentrated all her thoughts on Sinyn, willing him to come to her.

  * * * *

  “She’s in a cave,” Old Katie told Sinyn back at the house.

  He paced madly, a million plans and worries running through his head. I need to find Izzy. Nothing else mattered. “There are hundreds of caves in those hills.” The ancient ones had first set up home in them when they left the mainland of Ireland. He knew the location of a lot of them but not all. “Are you sure it was Anthony? I thought you said he was dead.”

  “I said he was gone.”

  “Right.” That was the thing about Old Katie. She said what she saw. Sinyn had jumped to the conclusion about his cousin’s death.

  “Isadora will be fine. She is tough and smart.”

  Yes she is. It was the one thing he held on to. “It’s going to get cold soon.”

  “She and the babe will survive, Prince.”

  Sinyn believed that. Their beginning had been too serendipitous to end badly.

  “Yes, they will as long as you do what I say.” Anthony walked into the room.

  Sinyn looked at his cousin. He was a mess. Anthony was covered in bruises, cuts, and filth. “If you have hurt Izzy—”

 
“No, only Sharon. She’s dead. I expect you’ll find her body soon enough. As for your Australian slut? She’s fine and will remain that way as long as I get what I want.”

  “Money.” There was no question in Sinyn’s mind what Anthony wanted. He was as easy to read as a cheap novel.

  Anthony nodded. “That and you leave Inis Daire never to return.”

  Old Katie shook her head. “That can never be.”

  “Shut up, old woman.” Anthony raised his hand to her.

  Sinyn smacked it away. “Hurt her and I’ll hurt you worse.”

  “What’s it to be, cousin? Love or money?”

  “There’s no question of what I plan to do.” Sinyn knew there was no point bargaining with a blackmailer. He launched himself at Anthony, tackling him in one move and slamming him onto the floor. From there they staggered to their feet and began punching each other. They fought fueled with years of pent-up anger and aggression. It was hard and bloody and only ended when Sinyn slammed his cousin back into the floor, twisted one arm behind him, and sat astride his back so he couldn’t move. It wasn’t a fair fight due to Anthony’s condition. But Sinyn didn’t care about fair. He wanted Izzy back.