Spy High Read Online Free PDF Page B

face.
I stepped away from the stove just in case, but it was likely only
wafting up from my suddenly-overheated nether regions.
    I suppressed a sigh. After four months
of peaceful cohabitation it seemed unlikely that Orion was a threat
to Moonbeam and Karma, but still. I was under orders. And there was
that niggling suspicion…
    I leaned past him to grab a bowl.
“Sorry, the power will come on in half an hour and I want to
blow-dry my hair. And I want to wash some clothes while the power’s
on, too.”
    “Well, you know where I’ll be if you
change your mind.” He gave me one last scorching look before
withdrawing from my personal space to sink into a nearby chair. “I
don’t suppose there’s enough soup in your pot for two?”
    I glanced up to see if that was some
kind of innuendo, but he was hungrily eyeing the saucepan on the
stove.
    “You’re in luck.”
    He grinned. “It’s not really the way I
was hoping to get lucky, but it’s almost as good.”
    I shrugged and ladled out soup. “You
can get as lucky as you want. Any of the women and probably half
the men would be delighted to share your shower.”
    “Not any of the women.” When I
glanced up, he was studying me intently. “You won’t.”
    I sank into a chair and directed my
attention to my soup before he could read my face. “So I’m a freak.
Nothing personal.”
    “Are you… er…” He hesitated. “Do you prefer indoor plumbing?”
    Soup shot into my sinuses and tears
streamed down my face while I choked and groped for a napkin.
    “Jesus!” I sputtered when my coughing
subsided. “Don’t do that when I’ve got a mouthful of soup! No, I
like your plumbing just fine…” My face heated. “I mean, as far as I
know,” I added hurriedly. “Not that I’ve been looking… oh shit,
shut up! Isn’t it time for you to go take a shower or
something?”
    Orion leaned back in his chair and
laughed. “Not quite.”
    Hoping to fill my mouth with food so my
foot wouldn’t fit in again, I reapplied myself to spooning soup.
Conversations from the other occupied tables rose around us,
emphasizing our little island of silence.
    Moonbeam and Karma strolled in looking
warm and dry, their arms around each other and heads together in
quiet conversation. I jerked my chin in their direction and
muttered, “I didn’t see them freezing their asses off in the
rain.”
    Orion stiffened. “Moonbeam and Karma
perform very important rituals when the Earth Spirit calls.
Sometimes those rituals can be extremely uncomfortable, so please
show some respect.”
    I clamped my teeth on my spoon so I
wouldn’t say anything I’d regret. Orion seemed like such a nice
normal guy most of the time, but he turned into a total freak over
this Earth Spirit thing.
    Well, freedom of religion. If it was
important to him and everybody else at the commune, I should
respect their beliefs even if I didn’t share them. And besides, his
defense of them was reassuring. Maybe he didn’t mean them any
harm.
    I swallowed my mouthful. “You’re right,
Orion, I’m sorry. That was rude and disrespectful of me.”
    His stiffness melted into a smile that
made me want to apologize again just to see that deliciously edible
dimple one more time. “You’re forgiven, Storm. Thank you.” He
reached across the table and squeezed my hand just as Skidmark
wandered into the kitchen.
    In deference to the
no-smoking-in-buildings rule, he wasn’t actually carrying a joint,
but the heavy cloak of marijuana scent preceded him by several
feet. His thicket of beard and moustache twitched in a smile at the
sight of Orion’s and my clasped hands, and he wove unsteadily to
our table.
    “Sweet love…” he warbled in a key
entirely of his own making. “Sweet, sweet love…” He swayed and
caught himself by gripping the edge of our table. One of his
eyelids drooped in a lascivious wink. “If you kids’re gonna get it
on, can I join in? Ol’ Skidmark knows a thing or two