Out of This World (16 page)

Yeah, that didn't seem to matter.

“I don't bite, Kel.”

No, but I might.

“Kel?”

“I'm fine right here, thanks.”

She nodded, then looked around, trying to be cool but not quite managing to hide her apprehension. “So. This is it.” She pointed to the spot where she'd been hit. “Doesn't even have a mark.”

There were no answers here, no hint of what had happened. Nothing.

“Looks almost…pretty out here, huh?” she asked softly.

She was scared, damn it. I gritted my teeth and reminded myself: distance. That was key here. If I wanted her in my life, which I did, I wanted her to want me, the Kellan who was usually a little too thin, the Kellan who was a lot more laid back than I'd been here. The Kellan who was definitely not a badass. The
real
me.

Only I wasn't even sure who that was.

My eyes locked on the tree to which I'd pinned Rach when I'd kissed her for the first time. I got hard just looking at it.

Her gaze followed mine. “Hey, isn't that where we first kissed?”

“It was the swap,” I said. “The abilities. Not us.” I shook my head. “Jesus. I sound like I almost believe this, don't I?” I rubbed my suddenly aching temples. “Look, my point is, whatever's happened to us here, it's all temporary. Soon as this is over, we'll be back to normal. Back to friends only.” I paused at this, giving her a chance to jump in and say that she'd realized she was madly in love with me and couldn't live without me or my body, and that I had to promise to do her every day for the rest of her life.

But she didn't say anything.

Okay. Nice one for the ego. Still, it's what I'd expected.

“I don't see any answers here. Let's go back.” Turning away, I began walking.

“Kel?”

My heart leaped. “Yeah?”

“Best friends. You forgot that part. Right?”

“Rach—”

“Say it.”

“Best friends,” I repeated softly, and meant it.

She reached out a hand for mine.

I sighed, and took her fingers in mine, leading the way back to the inn.

 

We decided to split up. I was to try to get Marilee by herself and flirt my way to some serious answers. Rach was going to keep Axel occupied.

Which is how I ended up in the kitchen, up to my elbows in flour and chocolate, making cookies with Marilee.

Or, I made cookies while Marilee did her nails.

“Look,” she said, delicately blowing on a newly painted purple nail while I pounded butter into mush with my new and improved muscles. “Pretty, huh?”

High from the scent of the lacquer, I agreed. “Very nice.” I pounded more butter. “I think I have some of this figured out, by the way.”

“What's that?”

“The whole ability-swapping thing.” I watched her stiffen. “Are you the one in charge?”

“You know what? I find that music is instrumental in making good cookies.” Careful of her nails, she cranked up the radio.

I waited until Kanye West stopped rapping before turning the radio off again. “It's just that I don't see Axel being in charge.”

“Axel is a good man,” she said, surprising me by responding. “He's just not into…”

“Subterfuge? Lying?” I set aside the bowl of dough. “Manipulating?”

“Hey, there's no manipulating going on here. We just…didn't expect you, that's all.”

“Yeah, I get that part. What goes in here next?”

She blew on another nail. “Whatever you think is best.”

“What would you have put in next?”

She blew on another nail. “Oh, this and that.”

I'd bet my next breath she'd never made a successful batch of cookies in her life. “Chocolate…or pepper?”

“Either.”

“There is no pepper in chocolate chip cookies, Marilee.”

Suddenly she got very busy applying daisy decals on her thumbs.

“You're not a chef,” I said.

“You know what? Thanks for your help, but fun time's over.” Careful with her nails, she guided me to the door, then gave me a little push, nearly shutting my nose in it. “Appreciate it,” she said through the hole I'd caused earlier, “but I'll take it from here.”

Ten bucks said she'd screw up those cookies. “No pepper,” I said.

“I know.”

Uh-huh, right. Hoping Rach had fared better than I had in the getting-answers department, I went looking for her.

Only she was nowhere to be found, and I know this because I searched the entire inn, up and down and up again, a very bad feeling growing in my chest.

Axel was in the foyer with Serena and William, the three of them talking about their hike. “Have any of you seen Rach?” I asked.

“Dude, hopefully she's taken a chill pill,” Axel said.

Yeah. A chill pill. I went out the back door and stared into the woods, my concern growing by leaps and bounds.

She wouldn't have gone out there again, not alone, would she?

Then I heard it, a low humming noise, of a compressor or pump or something mechanical. I followed the sound around the corner of the house, to a side deck.

Rach stood next to a hot tub. The water bubbled enticingly from the jets, the steam rising into the air behind her like a halo.

“Look what I found,” she said. “Inviting, don't you think?”

What was inviting was her. Too bad she wasn't in the tub, all wet and flushed and…wet. But my mind could plug in the picture, no problem. Her bare skin would be gleaming and slick, her breasts just above the water, nipples hard and wet—

“Kel?”

I shook it off, barely. Extremely relieved to see her, naked and gleaming or otherwise, I nearly yanked her into my arms and kissed us both stupid, but luckily, some sort of common sense prevailed.

“Later,” she whispered, and if I wasn't mistaken, she smelled like chocolate mint.

It took me a minute to realize she probably didn't mean that later I could kiss us both stupid and maybe get to that naked-and-gleaming part of the program, but that later she'd show me whatever she'd found on her search.

“Why do you smell like chocolate?”

She tightened her lips and looked guilty, but she didn't say a word.

She didn't have to. I'd have bet every last penny that her search had yielded a cookie stash.

I leaned back against the edge of the tub, but I didn't realize she'd put all her weight against me. Strong as I was, I hadn't received any grace in the swap, so when I lost my balance, tumbling back into the water, Rachel came with me, clothes and all.

The hot water closed in over my head, engulfing me in its cocoonlike warmth, and when I broke the surface, so did an equally drenched Rach.

She tossed her hair out of her face and looked at me blandly as she swiped beneath her eyes to clean away streaked mascara. “You know, there are easier ways to get me wet.”

“I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to—”

“No?” She sighed. “Well, that's just a shame.”

With that she rose out of the water, just like in my fantasy, except in clothes, her pale shirt clinging to her like the hottest wet T-shirt I'd ever seen, her jeans also clinging to her every single curve and dip.

“Nice water temp,” she said. “Maybe we can come back here tonight, and stargaze.”

I couldn't respond because my tongue had become stuck to the roof of my mouth.

She pulled her shirt away from her skin. The material broke free with a suction noise that tugged at my groin and made me want to drop to my knees and worship her body. Then she merely walked away.

Pretty much the story of my life when it came to her.

Still Kellan's view…

M
arilee burned the bottoms of my cookies and then blamed the oven, bringing us into the kitchen to taste them anyway after we'd changed out of our wet clothes.

I knew her hospitality wasn't kindness but a way to keep us from snooping.

“Is there something that you'd like us not to find?” Rachel finally asked so politely, it took Marilee a moment to realize what she'd said.

“Of course not,” Marilee said.
“Mi casa es su casa.”
She laughed. “I'm learning Spanish on tape.”

Rachel smiled.
“¿Es usted que planea en dormir con Axel?”

Marilee looked at her blankly. “Um, I don't think I got to that chapter yet.”

“I asked if you planned on doing Axel.”

Marilee folded, then refolded, a kitchen towel. “That's something we haven't quite worked out yet.”

“But you want to,” Rachel said.

“Yes,” Marilee admitted. “But to be honest, I was hoping he'd make the first move. That boy is as slow as molasses; nothing can rush him. Drives me crazy.”

“Yeah.” Rachel sighed as if she commiserated greatly.

I looked at her. I wasn't as slow as molasses.

Was I?

But she
had
made the first move…

Fine. I still wasn't as slow as molasses, because there'd never been a first move to make before now—at least, that I knew of.

“
You
could make the first move,” Rach pointed out to Marilee, carefully not looking at me. “I know it's always preferable when
they
do it, but sometimes, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.”

Really? Had I been a “gotta do”?

“You're being awfully nice,” Marilee said, sounding just a little unsure.

“I'm not used to being at odds with someone,” Rachel said. “I hate that we got off on the wrong foot.”

The women looked at each other. Rach smiled, and then, unbelievably, so did Marilee.

Bonding right before my eyes.

“Well, this is good,” I said. “Except for the whole missing-information part.”

Marilee looked at her watch, and moved to the door. “Oops, would you look at the time? I've got to—”

“Go,” I said in unison with her. “Yeah, imagine that—” But I was talking to myself, because Marilee had vanished.

“I almost had her. Before you screwed it up,” Rach said.

“What? You had nothing.”

“She's not so bad, Kel.”

I stared at her. “Is this a girl thing?”

“Probably.”

Marilee popped her head back in. “Oh, I forgot. William and Serena want you to play a game with them in the den.”

More conspiracy. “What game?” I asked, but Marilee was already gone.

“Probably Monopoly,” Rach said. “Come on. Maybe we can wheedle something more from them.”

Not Monopoly. No, William and Serena wanted to play Sensual Truth or Dare, a game for couples, that was pretty much self-explanatory.

“Oh boy,” Rach said, and glanced at me.

“Come on,” Serena said, and patted the couch.

I stood there. “Uh…”

“Oh, don't be shy,” Serena said, and got up to pull us to some seats.

Truth or Dare.
Fine and dandy for her and William, a couple obviously at ease with their sexuality in regards to each other.

But I felt like I was sitting on a time bomb with a lit fuse.

William went first, and picked truth. “Tell a secret to the person on your right,” he read.

I was on his right. “Tell me about the swap.”

“Dare,” William decided, switching, and smoothly turned the card over for his resulting dare. “Instead of telling a secret to the person on your right, do something to them.”

“Wait!” Serena hopped up from his left and squished herself in between us so that now she was on his right.

“Go,” she said breathlessly.

William smiled at her, then slipped off her sandals and gave her a slow, languid foot massage, which had Serena melting boneless into her chair with a moan so sensual, it got to me. She lay back, eyes closed, breathing shallow, nipples hard. I glanced at Rachel, who looked as turned on as Serena.

At her turn, Serena chose truth. “Choose a secret to share.”

“I know which secret I want to hear about,” I said.

Still looking hot and bothered, Serena smiled. “I'm glad it was you two.”

I looked at Rachel, who looked back at me. “What do you mean?”

But Serena's smile became mysterious, and she shook her head. “That's my secret. That's it.”

And there was no getting her to say more.

When it was my turn, I picked truth, afraid of the dare.

Yes, afraid. I was no fool.

Rachel drew the question, read it first, then gave me a long, measuring glance.

Uh-oh.

“What's your greatest fantasy?” she asked.

Ah hell. “How about my greatest irritation, which is when people won't talk to me.”

“Fantasy,” she repeated, clearly forgetting that we were supposed to be on the same side here.

“Greatest fantasy? Uh…”
You naked
.
Me naked
.
You naked, pinned by me also naked, against my shower wall.
“Uh…”
Think, man.
“To go skydiving.”

“Sexual fantasy,” Serena said, laughing. “Unless you'd rather have the dare.”

“Dare,” I said, deciding I was less afraid of that.

“Fine.” Serena turned the card over. She read it in silence, then stood and opened the coat closet door. “Take a partner of your choice and kiss her for five minutes.”

“You are joking.”

“No.”

I looked at Rach for help.

“I thought it was seven minutes in the closet,” she said.

Some help.

“Sorry, you only get five,” Serena said. “Get moving, you two.”

Rachel smiled into my eyes, took my hand and led me to the closet.

I knew this was just a stupid game. But that didn't explain why my heart was suddenly racing, or why my palms had gone sweaty.

I didn't want to do this.

Right. I was already hard as a rock, and I hadn't touched her yet. Hell yeah, I wanted to kiss Rachel for five minutes.

I wanted to kiss her for the rest of my life.

Rachel went into the closet first, then pulled me in as well, shutting the door, leaving us in complete darkness.

Actually, it was just me in complete darkness, because she could see right through anything, including the inky black. A soft scarf brushed my cheek and the padding of a down coat pushed at my back, but all I could think about was what we could do with five minutes. I didn't know about Rach, but
I
could think of a lot.

“Rach.”

She put a finger over my lips. “Not talking. Kissing. Unless…you don't want to.”

I let out a rough laugh, and pulled her hand from my mouth, pressing it up against the vee of my jeans, loving the soft little “oh!” that escaped her at the feel of me. “Yeah, feel how much I don't want you—”

She kissed me, diving in with such unexpected fierceness that I fell backwards.

A pile of coats broke our fall as her arms entwined around my neck, pressing closer, straddling me with those glorious legs spread on either side of my hips so that she could arch against me.

I think my eyes rolled back in my head.

“Mmm,” she said when I ran my hands down her spine to hold onto her ass, pressing her closer, urging her on, as her hips rocked both back and forth, and my world.

I couldn't stop kissing her, kissing her with everything I had, hoping my five minutes would never come to an end, that I didn't ever have to let her go.

And then far too soon, a laughing voice called through the door, “Time's up!”

No.

Rachel stood, and I nearly cried. Seriously.

She reached a hand down to help me, then went to open the door.

But I held it closed, as gently as possible so as to not destroy my third door in two days. “I need a minute.”

“You do?” She outlined me through my jeans with her fingers. “Oh my,” she breathed, doing it again, making me jerk and grab her wrist.

“That's not going to help,” I said tightly.

With a soft laugh, she kissed the side of my neck.

“Neither is that.”

“I'm sorry.” But she didn't sound sorry. “What can I do to help?”

Take off all your clothes and drop to your knees.
“Wear a potato sack. Stop smiling at me.” I sighed, and attempted to make adjustments, but there was no way to get comfortable. “Stop breathing.”

“You're so cute when you're sexually frustrated.” And she kissed me again, softly, sweetly, right on the corner of my mouth.

All I could do was pull her in for a hug, and sigh.

“Better?” she murmured.

“Much,” I lied, and buried my face in her hair, still painfully hard, still painfully aware that in spite of everything, there was nowhere on Earth I'd rather be.

 

Dinner was a bit of a strained affair, mostly because Marilee ruined her chicken dish and Axel rescued her with a steak barbeque that was so successful, it made her pout and threaten to lead all his fishing and hiking expeditions.

Axel laughed, which made her madder.

“Why don't we just switch jobs, Mari?” he asked.

She stared at him. “Seriously?”

“Why not?”

“Yeah,” she said slowly, “why not?” And she began to glow with happiness as she talked about some of the expeditions she wanted to plan.

Axel glowed as well, over a mouth-watering pan of brownies he'd baked for dessert.

“So you're really swapping?” Kel asked.

“Just jobs,” Axel said. “Not…you know.”

Silence fell.

“Now see, I would know, if you'd tell us,” Kel finally said, but Serena and William quickly excused themselves to go upstairs, and Marilee did the same.

Axel sighed. “Guess it's good night.” He opened the back door for us, then ended up wandering to the guest house, too, which I thought was strange.

He plopped himself down on the couch, kicked his feet up on the coffee table and bogarted the remote.

Since we only got one channel, a fishing channel, there wasn't any reason to feel resentful, but I sank into the couch next to him and felt it anyway.

I wanted that remote.

Rach glared at Axel. “Don't you have your own room?”

“Thought you might want some company. But if you two want privacy or something, I can go.”

Privacy. My entire body leaped at the thought, especially since Rachel sent me a quick speculative glance.

But Axel kept watching the fly-fishing team on the TV.

Finally, I kicked his feet off the table and snagged the remote. “You want to stay? Fine. All you have to do is explain some things.”

Axel stood up, and sighed. “Dude, you really gotta learn to chill.”

And then he finally left.

Rachel followed him to the door (with the hole still in it), and locked it. She looked at me, and crooked her little finger to come close.

When I did, she wrapped her arms around my neck, making me moan and haul her close. “Rach—”

“I found the office,” she said in my ear.

This information took a moment to soak into my brain, but when it did, I went still. I told myself this was what I'd been waiting for, all day
not
for night to get here so she could jump my bones again. I pulled back, and tried not to feel stupid that I'd thought she'd wanted me.

“Where?”

“Soon as everyone's asleep, I'll show you.”

We waited two hours, an eternity in a small room, alone with the woman I'd been drooling after for so many years, especially since I now knew exactly how good it could be.

She changed into a camisole, sans bra, and matching pj bottoms, thin and insubstantial enough that I could see she'd gone commando beneath.

Seriously. She was going to kill me, and I was going to die with a hard-on. I could only hope they wouldn't ask my mother to identify me.