Hearing the strain in her voice, Shane threw her a sharp glance, seeing a mass of emotions flicker across her face.  Fear, desperation, pain, but overlaying it all, a huge need—unquenched desire.

“You see,” Maeve explained.  “The sidhe (pronounced shee), or faeries if you will, only glow for each other in the throes of passion.  I however, have been exiled from faerie for over a century.  My husband has long been unable to help me slake my thirst for sidhe flesh due to a long term illness.  As we speak, he is at the hospital, getting a checkup for the latest round of chemotherapy.  When I spoke of you to him, he urged me to ask you for your assistance tonight…” Tears ran freely down her cheeks, glistening as they caught the light.

Shane was first startled, then confused, but finally she understood.  “You’re absolutely sure you want this?  You’re husband’s cool with it?” she asked as she wiped at Maeve’s tears, igniting more sparks and light which this time she ignored.

Maeve nodded, adding, “He loves me too well to see me suffer, thus.”

“Why me, though?  You could ask anyone…that beefy bodyguard, or a friend.  You hardly know me.  Why me?” Shane asked.

“I sense something about you.  There is a great goodness about you despite the dark clouds that hang over you.  Your past, if I am not mistaken, has hurt you, but not destroyed that inner light from within.  I’ve never been a lover of women, but for some reason, I am drawn to you.” She added with a smile, “Also, my husband is a very modern man despite his age.  He would much prefer to think of me in the arms of another woman rather than another man. But most importantly, you are the first person that has sparked light from within me in over a hundred years.”

Maeve gazed imploringly at her, and Shane did the only thing she knew.  She bent down and pulled the faerie in for a gentle kiss that quickly escalated until they were both panting for air and the quicksilver flashes of light flickered across their faces.

“Mmhmm…” Shane murmured.  “It’s totally different, kissing a faerie.  My lips feel tingly, almost numb.”