After she’d licked all the chocolate off, she put the end of the small éclair in her mouth and began to suck.
He should turn around and leave. That’s exactly what he should do. If he stayed here and watched her perform oral sex on that éclair, he would end up in big trouble.
The party ebbed and flowed around them, but nobody stopped to comment on what Annie was doing. He could walk away and leave her sucking her éclair by herself. But his feet wouldn’t go anywhere.
‘‘Okay, Annie, that’s enough.’’ His voice sounded as if he might be coming down with a cold. ‘‘You made your point.’’
She finished sucking the cream filling from the éclair, and there was a little bit of it left in the corner of her mouth. She slowly licked it away.
He didn’t even realize he’d tilted his plate until the entire contents tumbled in a soggy mess onto the hardwood floor. The fork landed last with a soft clunk.
Annie glanced at the floor with a little smile of triumph. ‘‘Whoops.’’
That’s when Jeremy knew for sure that she’d meant to make him lose his cool. Little Annie wasn’t quite as sweet as she seemed, and she was way sexier than he’d imagined.
She also had a devilish streak, and she’d pay for it in ways that would bring them both some extra excitement tomorrow night. He had some planning to do before they went to the lake to look for the supposed lake monster. In the meantime, though, he had a mess to clean up.
Would the magic word work in a case like this? Now that everyone at the party had noticed the food dumped at his feet, it might be a good time to find out if the word was truly multipurpose. If so, he could use it as part of Annie’s payback tomorrow night.
He glanced over at Ambrose and lifted his eyebrows. Ambrose gave a slight tilt of his head, which Jeremy took as a go-ahead sign. Concentrating all his attention on the food, he held his plate perfectly level. ‘‘Abracadabra.’’
The food disappeared from the floor, leaving no trace, and reappeared on his plate. The fork followed. As everyone cheered and clapped, he took a little bow, being careful not to spill the food again. No point in pushing his luck.
‘‘Nice work,’’ Annie said with a broad smile of approval.
‘‘Glad you liked it.’’
‘‘I have no idea how you did that,’’ she said. ‘‘It was seamless.’’
‘‘Professional secret.’’ So secret that he didn’t have a clue what had just happened. He wondered if he dared eat the food. After all, it had been on the floor. Then again, it had been put through some kind of magic transformation. He took a forkful of potato salad. ‘‘Want some?’’
‘‘Okay.’’
He fed her the bite of potato salad and she played it for all it was worth, closing those perfect lips around the fork and easing the salad off the fork in a long, sensuous motion. His penis twitched in response, but he was still in control. Accomplishing the magic trick had put him back in the driver’s seat.
‘‘Hey, Jeremy,’’ Bruce said. ‘‘You’ve got her eating out of your hand.’’
‘‘Brucey, baby, why don’t you ever feed me like that?’’ Melody asked.
‘‘I will,’’ Bruce said, ‘‘once you learn to eat an éclair.’’
That’s when Jeremy knew that everyone in the room had viewed the whole performance even though they hadn’t seemed to be watching. Annie definitely had something to answer for.
He glanced at her and spoke in a low voice no one else would be able to hear. ‘‘You know those rules you set up for tomorrow night at the lake?’’
‘‘Uh-huh.’’
‘‘They’ve been officially canceled.’’
As he watched the anticipation build in her eyes, he began to think he might have the combination that would convince her to stay in Big Knob. She needed excitement. He’d see what he could do about that.
Chapter 16
Dorcas slipped out of bed early the next morning. Ambrose was still asleep and probably would be for at least another hour. He’d felt frisky after the party the night before and they’d had quite a time on the fold-down sex bench in their bedroom. The bench was Ambrose’s invention, a sturdy alternative to chair sex.
Sean Madigan had built it for them last winter, and now they no longer destroyed wooden chairs with their enthusiastic lovemaking. Even better, the bench folded up against the wall when not in use. That was a good thing, because otherwise Ambrose would turn it into a clothes rack and it would lose its charm in a hurry.
After a night of partying and sex, Ambrose always slept in. That suited Dorcas’s plans perfectly. Eventually Dee-Dee would have to get used to dealing with men, but for now she seemed comfortable talking only to women.
Dorcas dressed in a purple warm-up suit and running shoes while Sabrina pranced around her purring in anticipation. On the way downstairs, Dorcas thought about what she wanted to say to the lake monster. She’d heard that the owner of the Big Knob Dairy had claimed to have seen Dee-Dee, but fortunately nobody believed him. Still, caution was important right now.
Sabrina streaked out the back door when Dorcas opened it, but waited at the bottom of the steps. Dorcas glanced out to the lake but couldn’t see much because of the pearl-colored mist rising from the surface. The air smelled of damp pine, and the rubber soles of her shoes squeaked on the dew-soaked wood as she descended to the path that led to the lake.
All this moisture was good for her complexion. That was one thing she worried about in Sedona. She’d had to counteract the effects of the dry air with a special antiaging potion, but she hadn’t bothered with it here.
The sun hadn’t yet topped the hills to the east of town. When it did, the mist would disappear, but for now it softened the landscape, as if some giant hand had adjusted a lens and everything was slightly out of focus. The ethereal atmosphere suited Dorcas just fine.
Sedona almost never had mist. The seasons weren’t as pronounced there, either, which wasn’t a huge deal, but Dorcas had somewhat enjoyed watching a snowy winter morph into a green spring. This summer she’d try swimming in the lake, and perhaps talk Ambrose into skinny-dipping with her.
Sabrina seemed to like it here, too. This morning she bounded from one side of the path to the other, obviously hoping to flush a grasshopper or a chipmunk. Dorcas would never have been able to allow this kind of freedom in Sedona, where coyotes would make a meal of her in no time. Being a magical cat, Sabrina might be able to hold her own, but Dorcas hadn’t wanted to take the chance.
She grudgingly admitted that Big Knob had its advantages, and the area around Deep Lake was beautiful, almost as beautiful, in its own way, as the red rocks of Sedona. But she wasn’t becoming attached to the place, by any means. She might come back and visit once in a while after they left, though.
As she neared the lake, she heard waves lapping against the small beach. There was no wind, so the waves had to be caused by Dee-Dee swimming around. She might as well do it now while the mist hid her from prying eyes.
Dorcas put her hands to her mouth and was about to call for the lake monster to approach, when a familiar laugh drifted across the water. A moment later Dorcas made out the ghostly shape of Dee-Dee swimming toward her, with a familiar long-legged figure clinging to her neck. Isadora had gone for a ride.
‘‘Hi-ho, Dee-Dee, awayyyy!’’ Isadora called out and waved at Dorcas. Then she leaned to her left, and Dee-Dee veered to that side and plunged toward the center of the lake. Waves splashed higher on the beach and sprayed both Dorcas and Sabrina.
Sabrina scampered back with a hiss of distaste. She obviously loved riding perched on Dee-Dee’s head, but she always managed to avoid getting wet. She glanced up at Dorcas with a meow of protest. She didn’t seem to like sharing her newfound friend.
‘‘I’m not crazy about this, either,’’ Dorcas said. ‘‘She could attract unwanted attention with a stunt like that.’’ Dorcas also recognized another emotion digging at her. She was jealous.
She would have loved to take a ride, but she hadn’t thought it wise. Instead she’d let Sabrina go while she stood guard on shore in case anyone happened along. Isadora hadn’t worried about such things.
With another whoop of joy, Isadora reappeared through the mist, still holding tight to Dee-Dee’s neck. She gave a little squeeze and Dee-Dee floated in place about ten feet off shore. ‘‘Come on, Dorcas!’’ Isadora called. ‘‘Ride with me.’’
‘‘I think you should get off.’’ Dorcas heard how prissy that sounded. She was not prissy, or at least she hadn’t been until Isadora showed up.
‘‘Not yet.’’ Isadora was breathing hard. ‘‘I’d forgotten how fun this is. You should try it.’’
Dee-Dee, being shy, said nothing. Dorcas could imagine that Isadora made Dee-Dee even more shy than usual. The possibility of a good conversation dwindled, but there was the prospect of a ride . . .
As Dorcas debated whether she dared join Isadora, Sabrina meowed again and kneaded her paws into the sand as she stared intently at Dee-Dee. Sabrina wanted her ride. And so did Dorcas.
‘‘All right,’’ she said. ‘‘Once around the lake.’’
‘‘Hooray!’’ Isadora leaned forward. ‘‘Move up a little more, Dee-Dee, and lower your head like you did for me.’’
‘‘I knew that,’’ Dee-Dee said in her surprisingly melodious voice. ‘‘I learned to do it for Sabrina.’’
‘‘Who?’’
‘‘My cat.’’ Dorcas pulled off her shoes and socks and waded into the cold water so she could sling a leg over Dee-Dee’s neck. ‘‘Dee-Dee’s been giving her rides for days. It was Dee-Dee’s idea, in fact.’’ After a small trial run, Sabrina had been more than ready to go every morning.
‘‘And you never tried it?’’ Isadora asked. ‘‘Why the hell not?’’
‘‘I thought someone should keep watch. I’ve been very worried that someone would see her.’’ The lake monster’s skin felt like wet vinyl, and Dorcas had to be careful she didn’t slip right off as she worked herself backward.
‘‘Someone has. Taking those petitions around has netted me a ton of gossip. The dairy guy thinks he saw her.’’
‘‘I know about that.’’ Dorcas was glad she was able to say so. ‘‘Nobody believes him, though.’’ Dorcas intended to keep her information about Annie and her experience with Dee-Dee private for now.
‘‘They don’t believe him yet, but that could change,’’ Isadora said. ‘‘Okay, keep inching down. I’ll move back a little to make room. We should both fit right at the base of her neck.’’
Dorcas edged downward until she was practically in Isadora’s lap.
‘‘That’s good,’’ Isadora said. ‘‘Right there. Be sure and hold on tight. She gets going pretty fast.’’
‘‘If I can ride a broom, I can do this.’’ Dorcas was feeling a little touchy. First Isadora invaded George’s territory and now she’d taken it upon herself to ride Dee-Dee without consulting anyone about the advisability of doing that.
But having Isadora reacquaint herself with Dee-Dee was a good thing. If Isadora felt invested she was more likely to help come up with a solution. Still, Isadora had been mostly a pain in the ass. Dorcas hoped all the trouble she’d caused would be worth it.
Once Dorcas was settled, she realized that her cat was still on the beach meowing. ‘‘Don’t forget Sabrina, ’’ she called out to Dee-Dee.
‘‘I would never do that,’’ Dee-Dee said. ‘‘Sabrina is my best friend.’’ Her neck muscles flexed as she leaned down to rest her head on the sand. Sabrina hopped on.
Now that Dorcas had her arms and legs wrapped around Dee-Dee’s slippery neck, she wondered how Sabrina managed to balance on top of the lake monster’s head. ‘‘Does Sabrina dig in with her claws?’’ she asked.
‘‘No,’’ Dee-Dee said. ‘‘I make sure I keep my head level. But my neck will always move, so that’s why you have to hang on tight. I balance Sabrina like a book on top of my head.’’
Dorcas wondered where the lake monster would get an image like that, and then she remembered the back issues of
Wizardry World
she’d given her. One of the articles had to do with proper posture as an aid for improving magical skills, and the author had recommended the old trick of learning to walk with a book balanced on one’s head.
‘‘Hang on.’’ Dee-Dee pivoted in place until they were facing the center of the lake. ‘‘Here we go!’’
Dorcas gasped at the surge of power as they shot forward. She slipped to the right, and if Isadora hadn’t grabbed her by the waistband of her pants, she would have ended up in the cold lake. The prospect of that gave her added strength as she righted herself and tightened her grip.
‘‘Ride ’em, cowgirl!’’ Isadora shouted.
The wind they stirred up roared in Dorcas’s ears and brought tears to her eyes as the mist-shrouded shoreline passed in a blur. Glancing up, she watched in amazement as Sabrina sat poised on the flat part of Dee-Dee’s head. Sabrina’s ears were back and her nose thrust into the wind.
Somehow, she knew to trust her lake monster friend. That trust was obviously well-placed, because from this vantage point Dorcas could see how carefully Dee-Dee held her head so that Sabrina wouldn’t fall. It helped that the cat already had excellent balance, but any abrupt movements on Dee-Dee’s part would have sent Sabrina into the water.
About halfway around the lake, Dorcas finally relaxed enough to start having fun. This wasn’t like riding a broom, because Dee-Dee was in control. From that standpoint, Dorcas would still take a broom ride over a lake monster ride. But this was pretty darned thrilling.
As they approached the beach, Isadora called for one more round, and Dorcas agreed. She had the hang of it now, and stopping seemed silly when they were all alone out on the water. So off they went, Dorcas’s hair blowing in her face. Next time she’d use a scrunchie.
Next time?
She didn’t dare do this on a regular basis, no matter how much she enjoyed it. Summer was coming, and people would be camping on the edge of the lake. Fishermen—Donald Jenkins among them— would start coming out here early in the morning once it got warmer. The lake wasn’t crowded now, but soon it would be.