by Chloe Cole
“Tucker, oh God, yeah.”
He groaned in response, his leg muscles quivering as the pressure built, sensation overloading his brain. He worked himself harder, blood roaring in his ears as his balls tightened, ready to launch.
The climax hit him like a wrecking ball, smashing through his fantasy, splintering it into pure, incoherent pleasure. He came hard, hot liquid pumping out in spurts as shudders ripped through him.
Gasping for air, he put a steadying hand on the slippery tile and waited for his heart to stop pounding.
He stayed like that until the water cooled, drawing him back to reality.
Damn.
This wasn’t the first time he’d come while thinking about Cricket Malloy. Shit, it wasn’t even the tenth. But it had never seemed so real before.
Maybe because, for the first time ever, the things he’d imagined were actually possible.
Tuck groaned as his just-sated cock pulsed back to life. If just thinking about her made him feel like this, what would it be like having sex with her? He didn’t know if he’d live through it.
And worse? He didn’t know if he cared.
***
When their scheduled meeting time finally arrived, Tuck had made up his mind. In the end, it was a no brainer. He wanted the luscious Doctor Malloy and he was going to pull out all the stops to get her. If she didn’t want him just as bad then he’d probably embarrass himself in the process, but them’s the breaks.
And if she did want him just as bad and he lost himself in her? Well, he thought grimly, he’d cross that bridge when he came to it.
The only question now was how to get her to see him for what he truly was without making her suspicious. He had to transition from nerdy colleague to potential lover and that transition needed to be smooth enough that it didn’t make her think too hard about it.
Today would be casual. No hard sell. They’d do the experiments and he’d try to feel her out a little. He had something set up on the back burner that would test the boundaries, but he’d see how things played out before he committed to it totally. All the bases were covered and he was feeling pretty good about the afternoon ahead.
When the day came to an end, he’d see if maybe she wanted to get a drink that night.
Yup, playing it cool was the way to go.
A sharp rap on the frosted glass interrupted his thoughts.
Happy he’d at least mapped out some sort of plan, he swung the door open then nearly swallowed his tongue.
Cricket stood in the doorway dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a white tank top. Thin sandals capped off firm, lightly tanned legs. Her toes were painted red and in that instant, he became a foot-man. Her hair was in a loose knot on the top of her head and the desire to release it almost brought him low.
She cleared her throat and he realized he was gaping at her, hadn’t said hello and was blocking her path to get into the lab.
He stood back, waving her in with a sheepish smile. “I’m so sorry. I just never saw you dressed like that before. You look like young enough to go to school here. How old are you, anyway?”
Oh, yeah. Real smooth. Maybe ask her weight next.
She chuckled at the obvious faux pas. “I’m thirty-two. I’ll take that as a compliment. Since I have to dress for work during the week, I like to keep it loose and casual on the weekends if I can help it.”
He was still so pole-axed by her appearance, he couldn’t respond. Great. Just when he’d decided to let her see how cool he was, all his cool melted in the face of her ridiculous hotness.
She stepped in and he closed the door behind her, biting back a groan as he got a full-length shot of the back view. The faded denim clung to her curvy hips, the worn material cupping her round ass like…well, like he wanted to do.
He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to will away the erection that was rising, but it only made him more aware of the light, citrusy scent she wore.
“Are you okay? You look like you’re in pain.”
His eyes snapped open. Get your head in the game, jackass.
“No. Nope, just a little bit of a headache. Would you like a bottled water? I’d offer you some coffee or soda, but I don’t want caffeine to skew any results.”
“Water will be fine, thanks.”
He led her into the tiny office behind the lab and tried not to look at her as he got their drinks from the small fridge.
It was going to be a long day.
He led them back into the large lab area then picked up the two spreadsheets that lay on the long table and handed her one.
“Okay, so here’s a list of the different foods we’ll be trying. Then I thought we’d try aural stimuli. Last, some visuals. I had hoped to do scents as well, but we don’t have the equipment we need to diffuse the scents enough to test more than one in this room.”
He met her gaze directly and made sure his tone conveyed his sincerity. “Anything you’re not comfortable with, just let me know and we’ll skip it.”
“Not much makes me feel uncomfortable about sexuality. It’s the most natural thing in the world. I don’t really get why people make such a stink. It’s like being embarrassed of hunger or thirst.”
Her wide, dark eyes met his and he sucked in a deep breath. He nodded. “Still, it was great of you to do this. Way better than just joining the lessons. The kids will really respond to the fact that we went the extra mile and did a project too.”
She smiled, then glanced down at her printout and began to scan the contents as he rattled off the highlights. “Okay, so we’re going to measure the results three different ways, depending on the test. Pupil dilation, heart rate and electrodermal response. I’m going to ask you to wear this galvactivator on your hand.”
“Amazing little thing, isn’t it?”
He nodded his agreement. She’d gotten it on loan from a university in Philadelphia. Tuck had been blown away when she’d told him about it. Apparently, the skin became a better conductor of electricity during arousal. The glove stretched, fitting tightly to any hand. It could measure even the slightest increase of skin conductance. This blip in the body’s normal behavior would be picked up by the sensors and the light embedded in the glove would glow. It was a painless and easily measurable way to gather data. And it was a foolproof desire detector.
He couldn’t wait to see it in action, but not because of its research potential. All he cared about was how they affected this particular subject. He tried not to think of what would happen when they switched roles.
Because if Cricket Malloy was within fifty feet of him, his glove was going to be glowing like a motherfucker.
***
It took a few seconds to adjust to the total darkness. Cricket took a steadying breath. Being blindfolded was out of the ordinary in itself, but being blindfolded and hooked up to a bunch of sensors while rocking the Michael Jackson look was downright nerve racking. She was like a turtle on its back.
Vulnerable with a capital V.
Tuck’s silence wore on her already stretched nerves and she cleared her throat, just to make some sound. “Well, if you’re going to reveal your true identity as the Westfield Slasher and serial-kill me, do it now and end the suspense.” Her voice came out sounding tinny. She tried for a laugh so he’d know she was kidding.
Mostly.
“My true identity? Nope, you get what you see. Well, you get what you hear, in this case I guess. Good old Tucker Lamb.”
He sounded nervous as well and that was strangely comforting.
“You’re going to hear a click. That’s just me turning on the video camera.”
That had been her own suggestion and it made sense. Having a record of the experiments made it possible to go back and review the material again in the event that any data was missed in real time.
“The first item is something you listed as a food you like but that isn’t considered an aphrodisiac. I just want to get a baseline response so I can differentiate between food you enjoy and foods that
elicit a sexual response.”
She nodded. The sound of foil crumpling was followed by a scrape.
“Open,” he instructed. The huskiness of his voice gave her pause, but she parted her lips a moment later.
She closed her mouth over the cool tines of a fork and encountered something cold and creamy. The fork slid from between her lips and she chewed. Crunchy too. Coconut cream pie with graham cracker crust.
“Mmm…” she mumbled, savoring the flavors. Eating with a blindfold on was liberating. She could focus all her energy on the taste. “Please, sir, I wont some more,” she said, laying on a thick Cockney accent.
He let out a crack of laughter that warmed her to the bone.
“I don’t want you full before we get through the rest of the stuff, but I’ll put it in the fridge so you can eat the rest later.”
“Brilliant. Okay, I’m ready, what’s next?”
“Open wide then bite down.”
She parted her lips and in came something sweet, no fork. She closed her teeth over the object and bit down. Cool, sweet-tart juice spurted onto her tongue and she groaned.
Chocolate covered strawberry.
She chewed slowly, letting the fine, dark chocolate melt in her mouth before she swallowed.
“Oh man, you sure know how to treat a girl.”
A few seconds went by with no response.
“Tuck?”
Had he left her alone? Suddenly nervous, she reached a hand to the blindfold.
“Sorry, I—uh, I had to record the data.” His voice was so thick her nipples tightened in response. She longed to tear the covering away from her eyes so she could see his expression. See if it was desire behind that dark, silky tone. The not-knowing was at once frustrating and thrilling.
She wondered whether the glove was lit up, then shoved the thought aside and cleared her throat. “Next.”
She opened her mouth without prompting this time and waited. Again, the feeling of being totally vulnerable overtook her, but she kept her lips parted.
The room was so quiet, she could hear his breathing. And her own. What if, instead of feeding her, he leaned forward and kissed her? What if he ran his tongue over her bottom lip, then nipped her lightly before sinking into her completely?
She sensed his body moving nearer, the heat of him tempting her to press close. His scent washed over her, sandalwood and vanilla, the minty bite of mouthwash—
The cool steel of a spoon almost made her jerk back. Instead, she closed her mouth as silky, smooth honey glided over her tongue and slid down her throat. Delicious.
She licked her lips to pick up any errant drops and the air in the room shifted. Tuck’s breathing quickened and her stomach fluttered in response.
“Again,” he murmured.
She froze, unsure of his meaning. Lick her lips again? Or?
“Open again.”
Ah, the experiment. She needed to get her head out of the gutter. Obviously Tuck was just in the zone, focused on task and distracted as he recorded the results.
She opened again and waited. And again, the forbidden thrill of being at his mercy rippled through her.
If he wanted to, he could wrap a fist in her hair and guide her waiting mouth over his thick cock, over and over.
A rush of warmth pooled between her thighs and she shifted in her chair.
“Wider.”
Her nipples grew even tighter as she obeyed his command. He ran the pad of a finger over her lips and her pulse pounded in response.
“Honey.”
She nodded but didn’t reply as she anticipated his next move. God, what if he did it? She could almost feel his smooth length butting against her lips, demanding entry. She’d tease him at first if he let her, suckling on the head of his cock before drawing him deep—
A banana.
She bit down then chewed, trying to ignore her irrational disappointment. Who in their right mind wanted a man to tell her he was going to feed her, then stick his dick in her mouth instead? She almost choked on the banana as she tried not to laugh at her own foolishness.
Tuck was a good guy. She needed to remember that.
A nice, long session with her vibrator later would surely make tomorrow’s experimenting a little easier.
Chapter Three
Blood pulsed in Tuck’s cock like a steady heartbeat. He’d jerked off less than two hours ago and he was one well-placed touch away from coming in his pants.
Feeding Cricket without touching her was the sweetest torture he could imagine. The low purrs she made deep in her throat when she liked something. The sight of her little pink tongue collecting honey from her lips. Hell, just looking at her blindfolded with her mouth open was enough to conjure up a sexy fantasy.
Then the glove had lit up. It was like a horny beacon, urging him to keep it alight. Beckoning him to rub a thumb over her nipples that had visibly peaked under the cotton shirt. Begging him to find out if her pussy was wet between those suddenly restless legs.
What would she do if he slid his hand under those tiny shorts and dipped his fingers into her heat? Would she moan like she had when he’d fed her the coconut cream pie?
His dick was like stone and he was eternally grateful that she’d left the room.
She’d gone into the office to check her email while he set up the second set of tests. Hopefully these would be a little less intense for him, because if not, he was in deep trouble.
He finished cuing up the audio then sat down to look at the results of the food experiments. The strangest thing about the readings was that, while some of the samples had elicited a visceral, sexual reaction, the responses had spiked during the time between bites.
Fascinating.
“All set?” she asked as she breezed back into the lab.
He shelved his jumbled thoughts and motioned to the chair in front of him. “Yup. Have a seat.” He handed her a pair of headphones. “Aural’s next, so you can put these over your ears.”
She giggled and he raised a questioning brow.
“Sorry, but if someone walked by and heard that, they’d definitely get the wrong idea.”
He laughed in return, trying desperately to squash a mental image of giving her oral while her thighs were wrapped around his ears.
He turned his back to her and conjured Abba the Hut again as he needlessly fiddled with the media player on his laptop.
“I’m going to be plugged into the same audio so I can monitor what you’re hearing when the readings change. If you don’t mind, I’d like to have you blindfolded for this one as well. I think it helps to shut everything else out and it’ll make you feel less self-conscious.”
“No problem. I’m comforted by the knowledge that the shoe will be on the other foot in a couple days.” She slid the blindfold on and leveled him with a lethal smile. “Do your worst, Professor.”
If she only knew.
He put on the spare pair of headphones and hit play, pencil poised over his notepad.
The first clip was music. She’d given him a list of her favorite songs and he’d chosen one to get a baseline reading.
The thumping bass of the Black Eyed Peas My Humps poured from the speakers and Tuck bit back a chuckle. Cricket’s taste in music was as fun and unpredictable as she was. From Sade to the Temptations, from Paul Simon to Duran Duran, from Tupac to Cat Stevens, she liked it all. And damn if that didn’t charm him, just like everything else about her.
He was getting in over his head.
He watched as she shimmied to the beat in her seat, snapping her fingers, unabashedly singing along. Her full breasts jiggled beneath her tank top and he swallowed a groan.
Oh yeah, he was definitely in over his head. Best thing to do was get her out of his system as fast as possible then walk away. No promises. Just get in, do the job and get out.
The music faded and he jotted down Cricket’s vitals. The next clip came on. It was the sound of a bed creaking. He didn’t take his eyes off her face as the creaking came
faster and faster and low moans echoed over the headphones.
A woman’s voice first, “Mmm…yeah.”
A low gasp, then a man’s growl.
Heavy breathing, erotic sighs. Bedsprings humming as the soft noises built up speed. Cricket’s chest rose and fell with the crescendo, the glove illuminating as she leaned forward in the chair expectantly.
He wanted nothing more than to kneel down, spread her legs and lay his mouth on her, to ease her need. To feel her hands wrapped in his hair as she pressed his face deeper.
The sound faded, but the silence was broken by the pounding of his own heart. He only hoped she couldn’t hear it too.
Cricket sat back and ran a nervous hand through her hair.
Music again, but this time R&B, slow and sexy. A male voice, smooth as the finest scotch, curled around them. Cricket swayed in time as he sang of long, hot nights and slow lovemaking.
At that moment, Tuck would have traded his left nut for a voice like that if it would make her sway like that for him.
The music faded to silence and reality hit. It was decision time. He paused with his finger over the mute button and then lowered his hand.
Fuck it.
It was a calculated risk, but he was willing to roll the dice.
He had a feasible explanation well rehearsed if she balked. After all, why spend hours on the internet trying to find a clip when he could just record one himself?
At the same time, this was the first step out of the friendly/colleague zone into the man/woman zone. It would be almost impossible to step back from here.
As his own voice poured from the headphones, he held his breath.
“I need to touch you, baby. Will you let me touch you?”
Cricket’s body tensed as if she’d been flash-frozen on the spot. Tuck cringed. Okay, she obviously had recognized his voice. Now what would she do?
“Tell me how you like it, Cricket.”
Cricket’s nipples pebbled under his gaze and the light on the glove flickered. His cock responded with a surge.
Oh, hell yeah.
But that was only the start. Dirty talk light. How she reacted to the rest remained to be seen.
