Okay, time to get a grip, McInty. Tearing free, I held her away from me. “Don’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because…” Think, man. “Because the coast is clear.”

She went still. Her eyes slid to the door to the dining room. “Gotcha. The coast is clear. After all, why else would we kiss?”

“Rach-”

“No, I understand.”

I pointed at the wall. “What’s going on in there?”

She was very quiet as she turned to face the wall. She put her hands on it, standing very still as she concentrated.

“What do you see?” I tried not to let my gaze fall down her body, to the unintentionally submissive pose she presented, legs slightly spread, hands up to the wall, leaning in slightly to listen.

I could shift behind her right now, came the unbidden thought. I could pull down her jeans and-

“They’re coming,” she whispered, and whirled around to face me as the door opened.

“Axel’s going to take Serena and William on a hike today,” Marilee said as she emerged.

“A hike,” Rach repeated, in a tone that said hiking was pretty much the last thing on Earth she’d voluntarily do.

“We’ll join you,” I said.

“We…will?” Rach shot me a death look, which served to shrivel my erection nicely.

“Yes.”

“A hike.” She sighed. “Sounds…lovely.”

“Sorry.” Marilee gave an apologetic shake of her head. “This is a prebooked hike. Just Serena and William.”

Axel appeared in the hall. “Ready for the hikers.”

“I could book you for later perhaps,” Marilee said to us. “If there’s room in the schedule.”

“If there’s room?” I said. “The B &B isn’t even full. How could there not be room in the schedule?”

“Oh.” Not easily flustered, Marilee kept her composure and smiled. “It’s best to see the area in small groups. You know, individual attention and all.” With that, she hustled Serena and William out.

Axel stayed back a moment. “I’ll be right there,” he called to Marilee with an easy smile, which faded when she was gone. “Look,” he said to us-specifically, to me. “Yeah, okay, so I lied about you getting your answers. But trust me, you don’t want to know. You need to just relax and-”

“No,” Rach said with a shake of her head. “Not relaxing.”

Axel sighed. “Dudette.”

“You tell us what’s going on,” I said, “or I’ll get Marilee to talk.”

“You’ll get Marilee to talk?” Axel repeated slowly.

Even Rach looked as if she didn’t like the sound of that, and they both gave me a long, measuring look.

“She’s mine, you know,” Axel said.

“Okay, wait a minute.” Rach laughed a little harshly. “I must have just gone back in time to the dark ages. To before women’s rights. Getting women to talk, owning women…”

Axel flushed. “I meant, I want her to be mine.”

“What does this have to do with us getting our answers?” I asked. “Nothing.”

“You want her,” Axel said. “Marilee.”

“Kel wants Marilee?” Rach looking at me. “Really?”

“No.”

“Yes, he does,” Axel said.

“No, I don’t,” I said.

“Great, because she’s mine,” Axel repeated, not looking so slackerish at all at the moment.

“I’m telling you, I’m not interested.”

“What, she’s not hot enough for you?” Axel asked.

“No, she is, but-” But I zipped my mouth because Rachel was eyeballing me with that ball-shriveling expression.

“So, you do think she’s hot,” Axel said.

I sighed, caught between a rock and a hard place. Was it possible for a head to just blow right off its shoulders? Because it felt like maybe mine was going to.

“Look, all I want is information. Can we stick with the subject? Please?”

“Kel, that’s not very sensitive of you.” Rach touched Axel’s arm. “Have you told Marilee you’re crazy about her?”

“Not yet.” Axel looked miserable. “Working on it.”

“How?” Rachel asked.

I couldn’t see how this was relative, and opened my mouth to say so, but Rach glared at me.

Axel scratched his head. “Oh, you know. A bit of this and that. By telling her how to cook.”

“A woman doesn’t want to hear that she sucks at something,” Rachel said. “You have to compliment her. Show her you’re interested.”

“Hey, I’ve shown her lots of interest,” Axel claimed.

“Have you told her she’s pretty?”

“She already knows that she’s pretty.”

“Then tell her you like to be with her,” Rach suggested. “Tell her you want to date her. Then, you know…take it from there.”

“You mean…in physical ways?”

“Sure.”

Axel looked hopeful. “Yeah. Thanks, dudette. I owe ya.” With a quick grin, he leaned in and gave her one smacking kiss right on the lips.

Then he was gone.

Yeah, definitely, my brain matter was boiling. “The next time you play good Samaritan,” I said with remarkable calm, given I was so not, “maybe you can make a bargain for, oh, I don’t know…answers?”

“I did,” she said. “Now he’s going to try to romance her tonight.” Her eyes sharpened. “While we snoop.”

Okay, maybe she was sharper than I’d guessed. “Just promise me you’re never going to turn your powers against me.”

She smiled. “How about on you?”

My poor body went from at-rest to ready-to-party again in five point five seconds flat. “Stop.”

“Okay, but only because I have another plan.”

I was almost afraid to ask.

“Come on,” she said, and tugged me along to follow Axel into the kitchen, leaving me to wonder what exactly the plan was and if it involved her seducing me.

I’d like to say I hoped not, but in spite of myself, hell yes I hoped the plan included some seduction.

And a naked Rach.

Chapter 13

Still Kellan’s view…

When we entered the kitchen, Rach right behind me, Axel whipped around from where he’d been standing in front of the open fridge.

“I’m just checking the temperature-” he began, and when he saw it was just us, he sagged. “Whew. Close one. She hates it when I dip into the food in between meals.”

“Where are you taking Serena and William?” Rachel asked.

“Told ya. On a hike.”

“Where to?” I asked.

Axel scratched his head and shifted his big feet. “Oh, here and there.”

“Can you be more specific?”

“Winging it, to tell you the truth.”

Marilee poked her head in the kitchen doorway right behind us, took in the scene with one glance-including Axel in the refrigerator-and sighed. “You hated breakfast.”

“No,” Axel promised. “I just…”

“Truth. You hated it.”

Axel glanced at Rachel, then back at Marilee. “You look really beautiful today.”

She raised one brow and crossed her arms.

And he folded like a cheap suitcase. “Ah hell, Mari, don’t make me tell you how bad it sucked.”

In a rare unguarded gesture, Marilee’s mouth fell open. “Sucked? It was that bad that it…sucked?”

“Damn.” Axel shot another glance at Rachel. “Have I mentioned I’m, uh, crazy about you?”

Marilee looked at him as if he’d grown horns. “You been smoking again?”

“Not once all year, since you asked me to stop.”

“We were talking about my cooking,” she said. “I followed your directions for that casserole to the last letter.”

Axel shook his head. “The eggs tasted like you drowned them in salt and pepper. No way did you use half a pinch of each.”

“Half a pinch?”

“I wrote it out for you.”

“I thought it said half a pint. Which is a cup. I looked it up.”

“Who in their right mind would use a cup of salt or pepper in one casserole dish?” he asked.

Marilee’s face froze. “Apparently only an idiot.”

Axel scrubbed a hand down over his face. “I didn’t mean-”

“Go ahead and say it,” she said stiffly. “I am an idiot. Might as well let it all hang out, and also mention that I don’t belong in the kitchen.”

“I like you in the kitchen.”

“I noticed you didn’t say I wasn’t an idiot.”

Axel slid yet another desperate glance at Rachel, who waved him closer to Marilee.

“This is one of those no-win situations for me,” Axel said, touching Marilee’s shoulder, “so I’m going to do one last thing.”

Marilee looked wary. “What’s that?”

“This. Hold on tight, Mari.” And he hauled her up to her toes and kissed her.

She let out a squeak, her hands straight out at her sides, but Axel didn’t let go, and after a few seconds, Marilee let out another sound, not a squeak this time, but more of a…moan. Then she wrapped her arms weakly around Axel’s neck.

Rach looked at me and arched a brow.

Finally Axel stepped back and cleared his throat. “Yeah. Um…” He tripped over his own two feet. “So. It’s time to take Serena and William out.”

Marilee nodded faintly. “Right.”

He nodded, and turned away.

“Take the map I left for you on the foyer table,” Marilee said, her voice softer than it’d been since we’d met her.

“Thanks.” Axel glanced back at her. “And for what it’s worth, you are a pretty idiot. You’re the prettiest idiot I’ve ever known.”

Marilee startled all of us by laughing. It was a nice sound, actually, I thought, as she threw her oven mitt at Axel.

“A pint,” Marilee said on a sigh when he’d left. “Can you imagine?” She tapped her own forehead. “I’m so doing the wrong job.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, then blinked when both women glared at me.

What had I done but agree with them? Weren’t you supposed to agree with them?

“So why don’t you want us to spend any time with Serena and William?” Rachel asked Marilee without preamble. She put her hands on her hips for emphasis, looking extremely serious. And gorgeous.

And sexy…

How could she ever have thought I wanted Marilee after I’d had her? I was fairly certain I’d never want another woman again.