Entangled: A Novel of Romantic Fantasy (Wanderlust Academy Book 1)

by Lori Wilde

  I couldn’t help but recall my own thoughts on those subjects when Kenzie first mentioned them to me. That skepticism was long gone now. “What does dreamwalking mean exactly?”

  “It’s where other people find themselves entering your dreams. Some are strangers, some you may have been entangled with from other lifetimes. But with the right emotional circumstances, almost all cases include people who can invade other’s dreams and interact with them physically. It can go further than that, where people you dream about, actually step out of your dreams and into your walking life.”

  Troy watched me shudder, and he gave me an encouraging nod. “The lore on dreamwalking is vast. It’s complicated, messy, and inconsistent. Which is why Grace is so devoted to understanding it here at the academy. And to finding ways to help anyone living through it.”

  “I guess it’s comforting to know I’m not the first. Sort of.” I pulled a book from the shelf titled Psychic Dreamwalking, and I flipped it over to skim the back cover.

  “Lots of documented cases and lots written on the subject.”

  I dropped the book on his desk. “Yes, I noticed the bookcase. So, why doesn’t everyone have these experiences with their dreams?”

  He looked at me for a stretch, and I could tell he was working out how much to respond. “There’s a theory, that dreamwalking is triggered by deep trauma. Something the subconscious mind needs to escape from, and because of it, one soul seeks the solace of another…sometimes strangers, sometimes from past lifetimes.”

  “Okay, and now you’ve lost me again.” I shook my head, not wanting to put too much more thought into all of it. Scholars hadn’t figured it out for centuries; there was little chance I’d be able to comprehend it in just a few minutes.

  Water rippled around my shins as I moved my feet back and forth in the pool. I thought about the school and how some of the people here were selected. It was upsetting to know that the camp had so many children who might be suffering from past traumas. Kenzie’s assessment, as usual, couldn’t have been further from the truth. They weren’t spoiled children living a pampered life at a posh art camp. They were amazingly gifted children who desperately needed saving.

  Suddenly my job had importance. That part Kenzie had gotten right. I did have a purpose. I understood what they were going through. And while I didn’t remember much of my own trauma, I could relate to them a whole lot more because of it.

  Climbing out of the pool, I returned to my chair, sliding it next to his. “It’s funny. You don’t look the nerdy geek type, and yet here you are in your office talking nuclear physics on your day off.”

  “Quantum physics.”

  “Whatever.” I shrugged. I stretched my bare legs across his thighs. “I do find it incredibly sexy when you get all left-brain sciency on me. Even if I don’t understand most of what you’re saying.”

  “Really.” He let his finger stroll up my leg, raising a million little chills in its wake. “Well, there’s a lot more I could show you about quantum entanglement.”

  “Mm-hmm, I have a request.”

  He licked his lips, his eyes warming. “Anything.”

  I scooted onto his lap. “Shut up and kiss me.”

  “Like I said...” He leaned in. “Anything.”

  His lips pressed to mine, and in seconds we were lost in each other, drowning in desire.

  “You know, if you keep distracting me, I’ll never finish,” he said, easing back.

  I hopped off his lap and wandered around the atrium with the patience of a kid on sugar at Christmas. I spied a bag of super soakers in the corner, ready for the next waterplay day, and pulled out the one with the biggest tank. “This is way too much temptation,” I mumbled.

  “That’s what I think every time I look at you,” he said without looking up.

  I circled his desk restlessly. “You know talk like that is gonna make me fall in love with you, Troy Bellisaro,” I said in my best southern accent.

  Still, he ignored me.

  “How much longer?”

  “Relax, I’m almost done—annnnd there.” He shut the laptop. “Course change added and approved.”

  I beamed. “You’ll see. Polymer is a killer medium.”

  “If you’re teaching it, I’m sure that will be true.” He rose but bent down to make notes in his agenda.

  I shouldered the water gun, sheriff-style, and picked up a hand-painted plaque on his desk. “Be yourself. Wow. Pithy,” I mocked. “If I were being me, I’d show you the business end of this super soaker.”

  “You being you is the sexiest thing imaginable,” he said.

  “You sure about that?” I slid the gun off my back; it was fully loaded with water and heavy.

  His smile dimmed. “Don’t do it, Nora. Put down the weapon and nobody gets hurt.”

  “Not a chance, puppet boy.”

  “You need to stop calling me that,” he warned, stepping toward me.

  I aimed the gun, flashing a defiant smirk. “Make me.”

  He took another step closer. “You know, I could just put you in the pond; you know that right.”

  He could totally throw me in, with just one arm even, so I preempted his strike.

  “Let’s see what you’ve got, puppet boy.” I jumped into the pond and then drilled him with my water gun.

  By the time I was on empty, his shirt, hair, and agenda were soaked.

  “Whoops.” I shrugged. “Sorry. The book wasn’t supposed to be a casualty.”

  “Oh, you’re so going to pay for that one.” He dove into the water, drenching me as his tidal wave crashed over my head.

  “Hey,” I sputtered. “That was just mean.”

  “All’s fair in love and war, babe.” He tackled me, pulling me under the water with him. We were entwined, arms, legs, and before long lips, until we came up for air.

  “This is something I’ve wanted forever. A water gun fight with a worthy opponent. Especially one that looks this good wet,” he said with a suggestive grin.

  He reached for me, but I jumped up and pushed his head under the water.

  When he resurfaced, he lifted me into the air, my clothes and hair plastered to my skin. He slid me down the length of his torso, his smile fading as my face lined up with his.

  “God, you’re beautiful,” he said.

  Before I could answer, his hand cradled the back of my head, drawing my mouth to his.

  When we pulled apart, I wanted to whine in protest. Instead, I splashed him and then waded to the other side of the pond.

  He stepped toward me. “You really need to get out of those wet clothes,” he said, prowling forward.

  My tummy clenched. “You first,” I challenged.

  Eyes trained on me, he reached behind his head and gathered a fistful of wet shirt. In one tug he pulled it over his head and tossed it onto the ground with a smack.

  My eyes skimmed over his chest and washboard abs. Holy hotness. How many sit ups did one have to do to get abs like that? An invisible place tightened in my center. His chest seemed more flawless now than I remembered, with all those hard planes…the dips of his stomach… I devoured every chiseled muscle and the way his dark jeans hung low on his hips, revealing the black waistband of his underwear. I swallowed hard.

  “Your turn,” he said, giving me a provocative grin.

  I resisted the overpowering urge I had to move in and trail my fingers over his tattoo, which snaked from his shoulder down to his elbow. There was something written along the top, a script I hadn’t noticed. I squinted, wanting to read it without drooling all over him. ’Cause while the concept seemed hot, actual drool just wasn’t.

  “Are you going to stay all the way over there?” he asked.

  We were only a few feet apart, but it felt like miles. I scratched my forehead and inched a few steps toward him. His lips curled up in the corner, and he crooked his finger. “That’s it. A little closer.”

  I took another few tentative steps. How could I be ready to bolt and want to
launch into his abs all at the same time?

  “Not gonna bite you, Nora. Unless you want me to.”

  Another sexy grin.

  Oh man, did I want him to. I think I hurried the rest of the way over to him, to keep from passing out from the lack of oxygen in my brain. It was being diffused to other places at the moment. The overwhelming sensations put me a little on edge, and I stiffened in his arms. A nervous laugh escaped my lips.

  Troy dipped his head. “Is this scaring you, Nora?” he said quietly. “You and me?”

  “No,” I croaked. I cleared my throat. “Not anymore. I’m only…afraid of what I want.”

  “And what do you want?”

  You. More than I want water or oxygen or blood in my veins. My throat tightened. I couldn’t say the words, so I pushed myself closer against him and reached down to the hem of my tank top.

  He nodded, his smile slightly fading. He inched back—lifted his eyes to mine and held them.

  I was still struggling to get my shirt off.

  “Here, let me help you.” One thin strap of my tank top fell silently off my shoulder as his fingers gently coaxed the wet fabric away from my skin. A shiver raced through me despite the warmth of him and the waist-deep water. Tiny thrill bumps broke out over my skin, and everything tightened inside me.

  Another whisper-touch of his fingers against the curve of my shoulder. More shivers as the other strap fell. Then with a quick tug, he pulled the pink fabric up over my head and tossed it on the ground next to his.

  His gazed roamed over me appreciatively as his hands settled around my rib cage. “See, this is good.” he rasped. “Not so scary.”

  Oh so good. And oh so scary.

  Standing there in my wet bra and shorts, I felt completely naked. More naked than I felt when I’d actually been naked with him. Because this time I felt emotionally bare.

  The first time it was spontaneous. A frenetic rush of passion and we gave in to temptation. Almost. This time was different. We both knew exactly what was about to happen—what came after we exchanged those long, intense looks. This time, I was ready.

  His fingers skimmed across my stomach, and I sucked in a breath. The sensitive skin quivered under his warm touch. The ache in my chest tightened, the longer I held my breath, but I couldn’t make my lungs function. The coordination of drawing in air was temporarily lost as his palms rested on my sides, below the edge of my bra. A million tiny tingles raced across my skin.

  His mouth found mine again, and we were lost in a tangled fusion of lips and tongues that I prayed would never end. Hands knotted in my hair and I arched into him, needing to be impossibly closer.

  We were still kissing half naked in the pool—when Grace came in.

  She cleared her throat, and immediately, we pulled apart.

  Crap. So much for discretion. I darted behind Troy.

  “A little late for that, Ms. Dultry,” she said in her usual haughty tone.

  I poked my head out.

  “Hi, Grace.”

  “Something I can help you with?” Troy waded to the edge of the pool and hopped out.

  “That situation you asked me to monitor has escalated,” she said. Her gaze shifted briefly to me as I tried unsuccessfully to climb out while partially shielding myself with one arm. Troy offered me his hand and pulled me to dry land, where I proceeded to stand like an idiot, dripping a puddle on the tiles around me.

  “Thanks, Grace. I’ll look into it,” he said.

  I caught her judgmental stare once more as I was wringing out the ends of my hair. She made a face, then turned on her heel and left.

  “Well, that was awkward,” I said.

  “Don’t worry about her. She’s harmless.”

  “Yeah, that’s what every male praying mantis says right before the female bites off his head. True story by the way. Apparently, she does that before they consummate. Something about him being a better lover without his brain?” I shrugged. “National Geographic.”

  Troy stared. “Not sure if I’m turned on or deeply disturbed by you right now.”

  He tossed me a towel from a cabinet along the wall, and I had to laugh.

  “Spend a lot of time tossing girls into your pond?”

  “First off, you jumped in,” he said, “and second, I’ve told you before. There are no other girls. Only you.”

  Mmmm. I would never get tired of hearing that even if I knew it was only partly true. I wasn’t born yesterday; he had to have had other girls in his life. Celeste for one. But the fact that he made me feel like he hadn’t meant a lot.

  “So, what was all that anyway?” I angled my head toward the door as I rubbed my hair. “What was Grace on about, or is that classified? The kind of info that if you told me, you’d have to kill me?”

  He chuckled and handed me a dry t-shirt. It was warm from the sun and smelled like him. I slung it over my shoulder and continued toweling my hair.

  “Actually, it has something to do with you.”

  “Me?” I lowered the towel. “What about me?”

  “Not you exactly.” He tugged a dry t-shirt down over his head—sexy as hell—and tossed his towel on the floor. For a moment, I lost all concentration on what he was saying.

  “It’s Kenzie.”

  “Kenzie?” Concentration snapped back. I walked over to him, my feet squeaking with every step. Not so sexy. “Don’t tell me you guys want her fired after all this time?”

  He shook his head. “We try to let some infractions slide when they’re not hurting anyone. But she’s dating someone who might not be good for her.”

  I digested that for a moment. Since when was he concerned who my best friend was dating? “You mean the guy from drama club...Steve? What’s wrong with him?” He seemed harmless enough.

  “He’s dangerous.”

  “So is she,” I laughed.

  “I’m serious, Nora.”

  “So am I. You haven’t seen the remains of the guys she goes out with who crossed her. I’m pretty sure she can take care of herself.”

  He hesitated a little. “Just the same, I want to check this guy out. He’s someone I used to know, who may be looking for a way to get back at me.”

  “Through Kenzie?” I frowned. “That makes no sense.”

  “Let’s just say we had a difference of opinion about a class he was doing...or more to the point, a student he was doing.”

  “Ah. He had actionable relations with one of his students?”

  “He was fired, and he launched a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal since the girl was over eighteen. They struck a deal and let him back in, mostly to avoid a scandal. Boards hate that kind of thing.”

  “Talk about hypocritical. You broke that rule ages ago,” I teased, ruffling his still wet hair.

  “Yeah, well, those lips bring out the risk-taker in me.” He looped his arm around my waist and pulled me in for a brief kiss. “You are not my student, Nora, and last year was different.”

  “Because?”

  “Because we weren’t here.”

  “Circular logic, but whatever. So what do you want me to do?”

  “Double date.”

  “Double date?” I pushed my still damp hair out of my face. “With who?”

  “I was thinking with us.”

  “Us. You want to go public that way? On a double date with Kenzie and Steve. But...won’t that get us both into trouble?”

  He rubbed a hand over his hair, trying to dry it. “We’ll go as friends. It’s a staff appreciation thing anyway.”

  I stared at him, my eyes narrowing. “And all of this is just to protect Kenzie from Steve? Nothing more?”

  He didn’t answer me directly, but instead smiled, distracting me with those dimples. “You up for it?”

  I frowned, giving a half-hearted shrug. “A fake double date to spy on my best friend’s boyfriend? Who wouldn’t be up for that?” There was more to this than he was telling me; I knew it. But I also knew he was an impenetrable vault when he wanted to b
e. Like now.

  “Good,” he said. “Now your job is to convince Kenzie.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  I’d never been into the whole double dating thing. Probably because I’d never been into the whole dating thing. But here, so far from school grounds, sitting in a booth next to Troy, with no prying eyes…it was bliss.

  He ran his finger lightly over my arm. “Are you spending the night at my place Friday?” he said in a low voice. “I have something special in mind.”

  Chills broke out all over my arm, and I knew my face was flushed from the way-too-inappropriate thoughts he’d just put into my head.

  “Does something special translate into something sinful?”

  “Something sinful?” Kenzie parroted loudly as she arrived at the table. She beamed at us, her eyes lit with mischief. “Do I want to know what that is about?” She circled her index finger in front of my blushing face as she sat down across from us. “You’ve got that harlot flush going on. Tell me about the something sinful.”

  “Kenzie,” I warned.

  “Ooh, remember that guy I met at the church picnic?”

  “She doesn’t actually go to church,” I whispered to Troy, “she just crashed a picnic.”

  “Hey, the sign said everyone welcome. We can’t all be virginal altar girls like you, Nora, can we? Confessional booth, now that was sinful. Possibly illegal if we’d been in Vatican City.” She shrugged, then flagged down the waitress.

  Troy and I exchanged a look.

  “You two are so cute together. Like you’ve known each other for-evah.” She snapped her bubblegum. “You know what’s weird? I feel like that with Steve,” she said.

  Normally I would think twice about a comment like that. But here, in the middle of everything that was happening, it got my attention. “What do you mean?” I inched forward, sitting literally on the edge of my seat. “Like, as in you met him somewhere...or somewhen before?”

  Kenzie looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “Somewhen? What’s that even mean?”

  I felt Troy stiffen next to me. Clearly, I was onto something. I nibbled my lower lip. This wasn’t the best time to try explaining the dreamwalking theories. Troy had said Steve was bad for her, but he never said how or why. Maybe I was overreacting, but if this Steve guy was somehow linked to Kenzie from her dreams…or his...and if he was violent as Darcy had been...that was info she needed to know.