Mr. Peabody's House

by Eve Langlais

  “Jealous of what? I heard you called their attempts at seduction nice.” He smirked. “I guarantee that wouldn’t happen with me.”

  “Are you daring me to kiss you?” As if I needed a challenge. Part of me wagged a mental finger and told me to stop. Playing with these three friends could drive a wedge. Did I want to cause trouble?

  Well, yes, yes I did. And it would only be a problem if they insisted I choose one, and after last night’s dream, I had a different idea in mind.

  But could I convince them of it?

  Here I was, getting ahead of myself. Planning a future with three guys when I’d yet to figure out if they’d like me past one date.

  “I would never dare you to kiss me,” Sebastian said, his hand atop mine on his leg, warm, heavy, and full of promise. “However, if you wanted to, I wouldn’t say no.”

  “Naughty, Shaggy.” Because, really, if I were Daphne, he was certainly the free-wheeling guy in this scenario. “I am supposed to be working.”

  “I know. I was watching you.”

  “You were?” I couldn’t hide the surprised lilt. “Why did you wait so long before coming over to say hi?”

  “I wasn’t sure if you’d want me to. And then there was Dale—”

  “Hold on a second.” I narrowed my gaze. “Did Dale tell you to come babysit me?”

  “Depends.”

  “On what?”

  “If I say yes, does that mean you won’t kiss me?”

  Tossing my hair, I sniffed. “Who says I want to kiss you?”

  “Your wet panties.”

  Damn these wolfmen and their keen sense of smell. “Maybe I just peed myself.”

  His lips twitched. “I can tell the difference, baby.”

  “Good for you. Despite my minor attraction to you, now is not the time,” I said primly. Which surprised me. I didn’t think I had any kind of prim and proper left in me. “We are in a library, and I’m busy.” I also wished I’d worn some fake glasses and put my hair in a bun. I would wager Sebastian would have enjoyed the librarian look.

  “I can see you’re busy. All that research. That effort. You should take a break.”

  “No rest for the wicked.” I might have licked my lips when I said it.

  His nostrils flared. A beast barely held in check.

  He tugged my hand higher up his thigh. Brazen, but exciting. His leg felt firm under my palm, the muscle in it thick and strong.

  He murmured, “Have you found anything?”

  Not yet, but if my hand kept moving, I’d bet it would find something erect.

  Tempting. I did want to touch and see. But I shouldn’t let him distract me. Things were rather complicated, and I had to tread carefully.

  I snatched my hand away. “I haven’t found anything interesting yet. Total bummer since I’ve been looking hard.”

  “And I’m feeling hard,” was his wicked reply.

  I turned to face him. “Are you going to keep making dirty jokes until I kiss you?”

  “Probably.”

  “Won’t Dale and Mike be pissed?”

  He shrugged. “Let them. We had a pact to leave you alone. They broke it first.”

  “So is this a tit-for-tat thing?”

  He leaned forward. “No, it’s an I like you kind of thing. I liked you that first time we met.”

  “Yet you never called me after.”

  “Because I was told you were off-limits. Now, though, all bets are off. Give me a chance.”

  A chance to one-up his friends? A chance to make me come? A chance for me to find out if I preferred one over the others?

  I asked him to, “Close your eyes.”

  He did, and I leaned forward, pressing my mouth lightly to his.

  No surprise, I felt the same tingle as I had with the other guys. The same burgeoning hunger and need.

  My mouth slanted over Sebastian’s, taking it more fully, sucking on his lower lip, feeling him respond.

  The simple kiss turned into something with more panting and tongue. We ended up pressed tightly together, our lips meshed, his hands roaming, tugging me onto his lap.

  Lucky me, I wore a skirt today, so when I straddled him, the core of me pressed against his jeans, a delightful friction.

  Our spot in the back of the library gave us some privacy.

  Some.

  Yet even the thought of discovery couldn’t cool my ardor. Rather, knowing someone could come across us added an element of…more. An erotic element.

  His hands slid under my skirt to cup my ass cheeks. Our mouths were firmly meshed, and I moaned against his lips as he rocked me against the bulge in his pants.

  I made a sound of disappointment when he manhandled me back into my seat.

  “Don’t worry, baby, we’re not done.” He winked before disappearing under the table.

  His hands parted my knees, and his warm breath tickled the inside of my thighs. Surely, he wouldn’t. Not here. Not…

  “Oh.” I couldn’t help but exhale, and he whispered, “Shh,” the sound vibrating against the moist crotch of my panties.

  His mouth covered me again, teasing me with the fabric in the way, the heat of him making me squirm.

  I bit my knuckle rather than cry out when he moved that scrap of fabric aside, baring me to the hot lash of his tongue.

  Searing me with the heat of his mouth as he sucked my tender lips.

  I trembled when he flicked my clit, the bud engorged and ready for more oral teasing.

  He worked me with his tongue and lips, drawing jolts of pleasure, building up my excitement.

  I leaned back in my seat, lost in the moment, so close to coming.

  A finger slid into me, then another, while his tongue continued to lash my clit. My hips thrust against him, pushing his fingers deeper, my pleasure close to bursting.

  He bit down on my swollen nub and sent me over the edge, the waves of my climax squeezing his fingers tights, the bliss of it rolling through me hard enough that my head fell back, my eyes closed, and I might have uttered a not so discreet, “Oh my God.”

  Someone took exception.

  12

  “This is not a motel!” A shrill shriek. “Fornication is not allowed.” The librarian stared down at me with stern disapproval. The best kind.

  The rude interruption couldn’t completely dispel my sexual languor. Opening my eyes slowly, as Sebastian yanked my skirt back in place, I drawled, “For the record, oral is not fucking.” But it could feel just as good.

  A snicker emerged from under the table before Sebastian did. He wore a very satisfied, smug grin. I probably wore the same one.

  The librarian sucked in a breath, ready to breathe verbal brimstone on us.

  Fun times.

  “Sexual acts are not allowed here!” Said with the uptightness that came from a life spent alone with too many cats. Or so I surmised, given the cat hair coating the librarian’s clothing.

  The next smartass remark didn’t come from me.

  I know, surprising, hunh?

  “Are you sure about the no-sex-acts thing?” Sebastian asked. “Because I’ve seen and read some of the books in your romance section. They do things in them that make even me blush. But, I should add, I’d be willing to try just about all of them.” He winked.

  The older woman, in her brown, button-up cardigan, her stern glasses, and wispy gray hair pulled tautly, pursed her thin lips. “Well, I never…”

  “Obviously,” he interjected, “or you’d have left us alone because you’d know how it feels to be so intrigued by a person that where you are doesn’t matter. Only the need to seduce.”

  Okay, that went beyond panty wetting straight into take me right now, on this table, in plain sight of the librarian if she wouldn’t leave.

  Her arm extended and pointed. “It’s time you left.”

  What a surprise, another place I got kicked out of.

  “I can’t leave yet. I wasn’t done researching.” I pointed to my pile of books. Not a single comic
book among them.

  “You are done, missy.” Said with a strange glee.

  It was then I noticed something about the old lady. Something amiss, and I didn’t mean the fact that the buttons weren’t matching up properly on her sweater or that one earring was missing, but the fact that her eyes glowed. A pinprick of red in the center of the pupils.

  I’d seen that before, and recently, too. At least I knew better than to eat any offered cookies.

  Standing up, I confronted the librarian. “Have you recently come into contact with any evil artifacts or participated in any Satanic rituals?”

  “What kind of craziness is this?” she hissed.

  “Baby, what are you doing?” muttered Sebastian.

  I waved a hand to shush him. “Did you inherit a ring or buy a mirror from an estate auction?”

  “Get out.”

  “By any chance, are you acquainted with the Peabodys?”

  Her lip curled. “Who I know is none of your business.”

  “Are you, or aren’t you?”

  “And if I am?”

  The red light in her eyes got brighter, which prompted me to say, “Are you possessed?”

  At that, Sebastian jumped from his seat and began to stack the books. “Sorry, ma’am, we’ll just be heading off now…”

  His words trailed off, probably because the librarian, much like Mr. Peabody, floated above the floor.

  “Um, baby, what’s happening.”

  “I think we found a clue!” I clapped my hands in delight, even if I didn’t know what it meant.

  “The darkness is coming,” she intoned in a deep voice that reverberated, raising the hairs on my skin. I really needed to make that appointment to wax them.

  The red light in the librarian’s eyes vanished on account that they’d rolled back in her head, leaving only the whites behind. Which, I will add, wasn’t exactly an improvement on her appearance.

  “Oh, shit,” Sebastian muttered. “This can’t be good.”

  “I knew it. She’s possessed.” And I’d found her! I was rocking this case.

  “She,” enunciated the librarian, “is hungry.”

  Now where had I heard that before? Suddenly, I was everyone’s meal of choice.

  “Sorry, but the kitchen is closed.” I crossed my arms over my chest and shook my head. I’d already fed a werewolf today. I wasn’t about to feed this woman.

  My answer didn’t go over well. The librarian’s mouth opened wide, and a whistling scream came out of it.

  Cool. It would have been cooler with wasps, though.

  Sebastian wasn’t as intrigued. He grabbed me by the hand and pulled. “We should go.”

  “Go?” I leaned against his tugging. “But we just found a clue to the Peabody case.”

  “Yeah, and she’s not happy about it.”

  The librarian spun in the air, arms outstretched, head back, the noise from her mouth not diminishing, not fading even to take a breath.

  The rapid turning caused wind to whip up, not exactly a normal occurrence inside a building. Even though we were huddled in the back, people in the library noticed.

  It didn’t take long before the first person appeared between the stacks with a smart phone raised, taking a video. Soon, there was a handful, muttering amongst themselves, unsure what to think of the librarian flipping out mid-air.

  I did hear a few comments along the lines of “someone must be filming either a movie or a prank.” The Ring had done something epic when their third installment came out. The looks on people’s faces when that girl crawled out of the televisions in that store was to die for.

  Currently, no one looked too scared. Nothing bad had happened. A bit of wind, an annoying shriek, and yet still, Sebastian tugged at my arm.

  “Baby, I really don’t think we should stick around.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re a pussy. I thought you were a wolf. Aren’t wolves super brave?”

  He sighed. “I am, but even we know when to run. This”—he indicated the spinning old lady—“is a run away moment because this involves magic, and neither of us is equipped to deal with that.”

  How could he not be equipped? He was a fucking Lycan. “Can’t you just eat her?”

  “In public, with people watching?” Sebastian gave a pointed look to the gawkers with their phones live streaming before facing me again.

  Hmm. Good point.

  Still, the idea of leaving didn’t appeal. This was the moment I’d trained for, and I felt ready to face the forces of darkness. If only I’d brought a decent weapon. “I am going to have to find a bigger purse,” I muttered as I grabbed my stuff and shoved it into my satchel.

  “A bigger purse for what?” he asked, pulling me along the outskirts, his gaze fixated on Spinerella—a name the librarian surely deserved given her long skirt flared slightly during her spins, and her hair, now unbound, floated around her head.

  “I need a bigger purse for my machete. All the movies and books agree that chopping off the head usually solves the problem.”

  That earned me a startled glance.

  “And how would you explain a decapitation to the cops?” he asked.

  Such an oddly practical question coming from him. I wrinkled my nose. “Self-defense against the dark arts.”

  “That’s not an actual thing.”

  It isn’t? Dammit, there I went mixing up my Harry Potter lore with the real world again.

  We’d almost made it to the corridor of books that would give us a straight shot out of there when Spinerella stopped screaming.

  It wasn’t as reassuring as you’d think, especially since she said, “Oh, Brenda, Mrs. Peabody says to ask how you liked her cookies.”

  I halted in my tracks and whirled long enough to say, “Tell her I prefer store-bought.”

  Wrong answer.

  Spinerella swooped and flew toward us, crazy white eyes glaring, mouth open wide, and fingers crooked into claws.

  All of a sudden, I didn’t need encouragement to run.

  Ever see the movies where the books start flying out, and the shelves topple over?

  It didn’t happen. I know, major disappointment.

  We popped out of the stacks into the reception area with the desk to check books in and out, freedom only yards away, when something grabbed me from behind.

  By grab, I meant the crazy librarian dug her nails in and lifted me while cackling.

  “Yummy, yummy in my tummy,” the crazy bitch sang.

  “Ouch,” I yelled as I thrashed my legs.

  “Hold on, baby. I’ll save you.” Sebastian didn’t ditch me to Spinerella. He wrapped his arms around my legs and tried to work as an anchor.

  Leaning back, he strained with all his weight to bring me back to the floor, but the damned possessed librarian kept lifting.

  Holy shit, she was strong. So strong that I wondered how I’d escape. Would I become the next victim? Would my picture be in the newspaper?

  Adorable Brenda Whittaker Sadly Succumbed to a Nefarious Force. Or would it be more along the lines of, Dumb Blonde Should have Run Faster.

  Our ascent abruptly halted as another body suddenly threw themselves on Sebastian. And then another grabbed on to him.

  Only with all that combined weight did Spinerella let me go, and I landed in a heap on top of three men.

  My men.

  How nice of them to provide a muscled landing. Did they have to ruin it with matching scowls?

  Before I could say anything, I found myself dumped onto the floor, face first on dirty tile.

  What happened to my pile of men?

  Rolling, I saw them standing over me, Dale, Mike and Sebastian, and holy shit, things had just gotten hot. As in fantasy come to life hot because they were taking off their shirts.

  I caught the fabric they dropped, hugging the warm material to me, smelling them on it. I just wished they’d turn around so I could see their fronts. Their muscled backs and tight asses in those jeans were fabulous, but I wanted t
o see the goods.

  But this was where the fantasy fell apart. They weren’t stripping to tease and please me. According to the hair sprouting from their backs, the way the musculature and bones in their bodies shifted, they were going into wolfman mode.

  Still rather fascinating.

  I scrambled to my feet and noted that they faced off against a hovering Spinerella, her eyes still white as snow, her lips the bright red of blood, the stain of it dripping down her chin.

  A sobbing person held a hand to his neck while another supported him screaming, “Call an ambulance.”

  It appeared I was off the menu, as a hungry Spinerella had chosen to snack on someone else.

  Oh, hell no. This was supposed to be my gig.

  Dumping the shirts, I pushed my way between furry bodies, or meant to. They kept shoving me behind them.

  “Stay still,” growled Dale. A real growl this time.

  “Don’t make me eat you,” snarled Mike.

  “Sebastian already did.” I never could keep my mouth shut.

  Two shaggy heads swiveled, and Sebastian, despite his muzzle, managed to smirk. “She was delicious.”

  Because I didn’t like the smugness in his tone or expression, I couldn’t help but add, “It was nice.”

  More conversation on that topic would have to wait. Spinerella took that moment to dive at us, and by us, I meant me.

  She still likes me best!

  She swooped over their heads, hands outstretched for yours truly.

  Wishing once again I had my machete, I had to make do. I threw a book. A big book, a Stephen King one with lots of weight that she batted aside, but it proved distraction enough for Dale to spring up and grab the librarian by the legs.

  Then Mike was in there, too, holding an arm while Sebastian grabbed the other.

  I didn’t quite know what they expected to do, pull on her until she split? Kind of gross, but hey, if it worked, I wouldn’t knock it.

  A warm breeze suddenly brushed past me, smelling of springtime flowers and green grass. A voice, deep and resonant, uttered, “Sleep.”

  One word. One disappointing word that made me yawn, and Spinerella went limp and would have collapsed except my trio of wolfmen caught her and lay her down on the floor.

  A curiosity to know who had spoken had me turning around. I glimpsed a man, tall and gray-haired, the strands pulled back into a ponytail, his features sharp, his attitude cocky judging by his smirk. He wore a slate-gray suit with a mauve shirt.