Luck of the Irish by Sara Humphreys

mirror for like two centuries.” She tossed the towel on the counter. “Not to be rude, but she’ll be really old if she’s even still alive. Have you thought about that?”
    “You’re thinkin’ like a mortal.”
    “I am a mortal. That’s the only way I know how to think.”
    “I disagree.” He grabbed his sword, which was leaning against the doorjamb, and quickly slipped the harness back over his chest. “Ya did let me out of a magical prison, did ya not?”
    “Touché.”
    Maggie rolled her eyes and tried not to stare at him while he adjusted the sword’s position. Even with that loose shirt she could see the muscles working beneath. Sweet Mary. Focus, Maggie. Jeez.
    “Do fairies or witches, or whatever, not age like mortals? I mean, I know you’re old, but you were trapped in a prison. So... ”
    “In my prison it was like being frozen in that moment. No hunger. No passion. No life or magic. In the fae dimension time passes far slower. A hundred years here is only about a year in the fae dimension. So my girl will only be two or three years.” His mouth set in a firm line. “ If she was taken there as I requested, but if she remained in this realm... I fear she may no longer live. Witches and fae are cousins of sorts. Witches live in the human realm. Though most of them live far longer than humans, they are not immortal. The fae remain in their dimension and hardly age at all. My girl, she was born of a leprechaun fae and a witch, and if no one was there to show her the ways of magic or how to use her amulet... ”
    The pained expression etched into Declan’s features tugged at Maggie’s heart. She knew what torture it was to lose everyone she ever loved. She knew raw, soul searing grief. In that moment, her desire to go with Declan was no longer driven by a need for adventure. It was about helping him avoid that same wretched sense of loneliness she suffered on a daily basis.
    Before she thought about what she was doing Maggie grabbed his hand and tangled her fingers in his. The warmth of his flesh surrounded hers with comforting ease, and as his eyes searched hers Maggie’s stomach summersaulted.
    “I’m sure she’s fine,” Maggie whispered. “And I’ll help you find her. You don’t have to do this alone... okay?”
    She went to pull her hand from his, but Declan held on tightly. He opened his fingers tangling hers deeply in his as though sealing their connection. Maggie swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and fought to keep her breathing steady. Her heart pounded against her ribcage as he inched his towering frame closer blocking out everything else around them. In that instant, Maggie could have been standing on Mars and she wouldn’t have noticed.
    “Maggie O’Malley,” he murmured. Declan tugged her closer still and brushed a lock of hair from her forehead gently, almost reverently, before running his thumb along the curve of her jaw. “I’ve been alone so long I can hardly recall anythin’ else.”
    “Me, too,” she whispered shakily.
    “Are ya sure ya want to go with me, lass?” Declan cupped her cheek as he pulled their tangled hands between them and cradled them against his chest. “Ya have no reservations?”
    Maggie shook her head unable to utter a single word. Her body hummed with anticipation. She noted every delicious spot where their flesh connected. She fit against him perfectly as though her body had been made only for his, but that was crazy wasn’t it?
    Almost as crazy as the fact that he was going to kiss her.
    It happened so fast that Maggie couldn’t stop it. Not that she wanted to.
    Declan’s mouth, firm and warm, covered hers on a groan as he cradled her face. Maggie sighed and opened to him, his tongue demanding entrance. His beard scruff rasped around her mouth in a surprisingly erotic way. The roughness of it only served to heighten her desire and the frenzy between them.
    She tilted her head and tugged her hand from his, linking her arms around his