Deep feelings.
In fact, Iwanted more than anything for Phineas to burst through the bedroom and splitmein two like one of those logs. I wanted to feel the weight of his body pressingagainst mine. To taste the salt in his sweat and the sweetness of his mouth. Iwanted him to make love to me and I wanted him tofuckme. And I did notuse that kind of language. Ever.
I hate tocomplain, but you’re making it very hard for me to concentrate on my chores.
Crap! He canhear my thoughts.
Still here.
“I hate this. Ihate my life. I hate everything.”
I can hearyou when you speak out loud, too, love.
“Ack!”
There’s freshcoffee and orange juice in the kitchen, and I’ll cook us some breakfast as soonas I’m done with this wood.
Don’t thinkof his wood. Don’t think of his wood. Don’t think—
You’rethinking of my wood.
Peaceful, restedfeeling, gone. Replaced by crippling embarrassment and biblical levels ofshame.
* * *
Phineas
I entered the cabin with a crateof freshly split firewood to find Lennox sitting, arms crossed, at the kitchentable. She didn’t look pleased.
“Good morning,” Isaid. “How’s the coffee?”
“Don’t you goodmorning me, you psychic peeping tom,” she seethed. “And you already know Ithink the coffee is great because you can read my mind.”
“Sorry, it’s notmy fault,” I said, pouring myself a cup. “It’s just how things are.”
“Foryouthat’s how things are, but not for me. Definitely not for me. Maybe all of thisis normal for you…mental telepathy, superstrength, running faster than aspeeding bullet—”
“That’sSuperman.”
“What?”
I smiled.“Faster than a speeding bullet. That one’s Superman, not Cauld Ane.”
“And that’sanother thing!” she snapped. “Stop being all charming and nice and having thatstupid impossibly handsome face.”
“You think I’mhandsome.”
“You alreadyknow I do,peeper. I also think you’re a kidnapper and a creep and thatyou probably do this to women all the time.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Okay, but it’snot fair that you know that.” She threw her hands in the air. “And it’s notfair that I’m not more freaked out than I should be.”
I dropped thewood next to the fireplace. “You seem pretty freaked out right now.”
“Oh, this isn’tme freaked out,” she rasped. “This is the opposite. This is me as calm as aclam.”
“I think it’shappyas a clam.”
