Dangerous Designs Read online

CHAPTER SIX

  Storey wanted to look back on this moment and be proud that she'd acted like this kiss hadn't just blown every other kiss out the water. In fact, she now knew she hadn't been kissed before. At least not properly.

  Yeah, Eric knew how to kiss.

  Come on, Storey, you can do this. Act natural and, for heaven's sake, close your mouth and quit gawking. She forced a smile, gave him a slight nod and lifted her face to the sky. Surely he couldn't know about the tumultuous action of her heart or stomach. Surely, the shudders wracking her spine were on the inside and not something he could see. She stole a glance his way, grateful he was checking out the entrance to Bankhead Mine and grateful she was outside and not still locked inside. She took several gulps of fresh air and closed her eyes, waiting for her senses to return to normal.

  Why had he kissed her? And why like that? Or had the second part been a surprise for him, too? God, she hoped so. To think that had been one-sided would be one of life's nastiest jokes.

  Sensing his gaze, she opened her eyes. His blue eyes studied her. With a nonchalance she didn't feel, she said, "I didn't realize how wonderful fresh air smells and how warming, how healing, the sun is."

  Pursing his lips, he gave her an understanding nod. "After being locked in a mine twice, that's understandable. The real question is – was the experience bad enough to stop you from repeating it?" He waggled his eyebrows and hooked his arm through hers. "Come on. I have to get home."

  "Oh?" She shrugged. Trying to put more distance between her and that dynamite kiss she added, "I thought I'd stay and explore some more."

  He grunted. "Damn good thing I closed the door then, isn't it? Does the law matter at all to you? How about the slightly consequential aspect of breaking the law?" His voice rose in exasperation.

  He grabbed her shoulders, spinning her around until she couldn't miss the sign in front of them. "Can you read that? No Trespassing." He snorted at her. "Is that simple enough? This is private property. You can't just wander around here. It's dangerous."

  She stood toe-to-toe and glared at him.

  "I got it. Except I'm not a kid anymore and I can make my own decisions. Something weird is going on and I'm going to sort it out. You don't like it. Fine. You don't have to get involved." That he was right had nothing to do with this. She had to sort this out. She could hardly forget any of this ever happened, could she? "Thanks for helping me. Go on and enjoy your don't-rock-the-boat existence."

  She stepped back and took a look around. "I wish you'd tell me how to open the damn door." At his look, she added, "Not going to happen, huh? Fine." She threw her backpack over her shoulder. "Thanks. I can manage on my own."

  She strode off in the direction of home, her head and heart a mess. Then she came to a sudden stop. Spinning back around, she asked, "Where were you earlier? When you texted to say you had the door open and where was I?"

  He shrugged, a sheepish look on his face. "I wasn't here yet. I thought the scare might stop you from playing these dangerous games."

  She gasped. "That's so mean." She strode off, almost running to get away from him. How could he have done something like that? And then there was that damn kiss.

  Why did he mess with her feelings so badly? Whatever. She didn’t intend to spend time with him anyway.

  The sun shone bright and warm, helping to chase away the last of the uneasiness lingering in her mind. The panic had subsided and the anger had burned through the rest of her nervousness. She took a deep breath and sighed.

  Strong arms grabbed from behind.

  Eric spun her around until she stood facing him. A very pissed off Eric. So why the hell did she have to notice how his ire lit the deep blue lights in his eyes and that temper had hollowed out his face, highlighting the strength of his jaw bones. She did so love the dimple in his chin.

  "Are you always so disagreeable?"

  She raised one eyebrow and refused to back down.

  "I guess that means yes, huh?" His jaw clenched as he glared down at her.

  Odd how nice it was to look up to at a guy. "That's not fair. You don't know everything that's gone on. You're judging me without having all the information."

  "Then talk. Explain it to me." He stepped back and crossed his arms, waiting.

  She snorted then shifted to look up at the sky. She shouldn't have brought it up. What to tell him? How much would he believe? No one would believe everything. "I don't know how much to tell you."

  "Everything." There it was again, that dominant, implacable wall.

  She sighed and tucked her hair behind her ear. "You won't believe me."

  "Try me."

  There just wasn't any give in him. "This might take some time."

  "I have all the time we need.

  "Really?" she challenged. "I thought you had to go home."

  "I'll make my excuses later."

  She grimaced. Of course he would. "Fine. But I want to sit down somewhere first."

  "Over there."

  Turning, she checked out where he pointed. Several large rocks sat under the boughs of a blue spruce. "Okay. Don't blame me if this all sounds a little farfetched," she warned.

  He sat down, crossing those long legs of his and waited.

  She frowned. "I don't know where to start."

  "At the beginning."

  Well, duh. She sat back and took a deep breath. "Several days ago, well maybe a week by now. I don't know. The days have whipped by so fast." She didn't understand how that had happened.

  "And," he prompted.

  "I found a pencil. That weird one you asked about."

  "Where?"

  He said it so abruptly she paused, thrown off track. It took her a moment. "On the way home from school, I walked through the park and saw it by a rock at the side of the creek. Just lying there."

  There'd been a sense that she'd been destined to find it. Not that she was going to tell him that. "Anyways, I've always done artwork of some kind, only... after getting that pencil, it's like I've been obsessed." She slid a sidelong glance his way. "I mean really obsessed. I don't notice when I'm drawing, but it's like I go into a trance or something. I cover every available space on any page. Sometimes, it's just doodles and other times it's really cool stuff. One of the drawings was a door."

  Eric leaned closer, his eyes narrowing at her words. "What kind of door?"

  She shrugged. "It was scrunched up, so I redrew it on a clean sheet."

  She paused.

  "And?" Impatience prodded him up off the rocks to pace around before coming back to crouch down in front of her. "What happened next?"

  Storey puzzled over his attitude. She'd started so she might as well carry on. "I got mad one day because the drawings wouldn't leave me alone. They wanted me to draw, draw and draw some more. I felt like I was losing it. Or that they were controlling me." She took a deep breath. "I threw the book down on the floor in my room. I had been on my bed and I was so distraught, angry...I don't know... anyways I stomped on it...and that's when things got even weirder."

  "Weirder?" His gaze caught hers and held on. She couldn't break the link, it was so intense. "How?"

  She took a deep breath. "When I jumped onto my book, I went through my bedroom floor. One simple jump off my bed and I ended up inside Bankhead Mine."