Sadly, it was difficult enough being this close to him. Feeling his heat, smelling his musky masculine scent, remembering the intimacies they had shared last night. Damn him.
She swallowed around the lump in her throat, and patted the armrest. “Put your arms here.”
He slowly obeyed but snatched back his arm when she slipped a scarf around it. “What’s that for?”
“I thought it would be easier on your wrists than the leather strap.”
His gaze darted from the scarf in her hand, to her face and then to the machine. “Why do I need to be tied down?”
“So you won’t jerk when I use the electric shock on you.”
He sat up.
She gave his chest a none-too-gentle shove to make him recline again. “I’m kidding. Where’s your sense of humor?”
He gave her a funny look that told her she needed to cool it or she’d blow everything.
“I’m going to tie these scarves very loosely around your wrists so that while you’re in a dream state you won’t—”
His bark of laughter cut her off. “I hate to rain on your parade but there is no way I’ll be able to fall asleep here.”
“When Brenda first suggested you as a subject, she said you’re able to sleep anywhere.”
“That’s generally true, but—”
“Let’s give it a try. This is an important part of my research.”
He sighed, eyed the scarf again. “Is that really necessary?”
She gave him a seductive smile. “And here I thought the idea might excite you.”
His entire expression changed. He went from hesitant to interested in half a heartbeat, the corners of his mouth already curving. “I’m all yours.”
Men were so easy. Steer their mind in the direction of sex and they were putty—silly putty, in her opinion. She smiled as sweetly as she could and tied the first scarf, careful not to bind him too tightly and spook him. Although now that he was thinking with his other head, she probably could get away with quite a bit.
The second scarf she tied more securely, which didn’t seem to faze him. He was still watching her with that stupid grin on his face. Okay, so it wasn’t stupid. It was still sexy but that didn’t mean she’d let it get to her.
She went around to the first arm and yanked the scarf tighter. He did react then, jerking and sending her a suspicious look, but it was too late. He wasn’t going to get up until she let him up.
“Ready?” she asked brightly.
His response was more of a grunt than a yes.
“Okay.” She took her time, returning to her desk to get her notebook and pencil, before sitting on the chair beside him. “Comfortable?”
He narrowed his gaze, but then it went to her mouth and his face relaxed. His gaze lingered, making her a little edgy. “Just fine.”
She wanted to scoot her chair back. She didn’t like being this close even if he was tied down. But she’d be damned if she’d show a single sign of weakness.
“Now, before I try to induce sleep, I’ll explain—”
“Back up.” He tensed. “Induce sleep?”
She nodded, presenting a picture of innocence.
“You’re gonna swing a ball in front of my face, or something?”
“Or something.”
His frown deepened. “Like hypnosis?”
She gave a noncommittal shrug, but didn’t even try to sound convincing. “I wouldn’t call it that.”
“You’d better tell me what you call it because I know that a subject has to be willing for hypnosis to work.”
“Don’t worry.” She smiled. “Anyway, as I was saying—”
He started rotating his left wrist as if he were trying to work it free.
“Is it too tight?”
“Yeah, a little.”
“I’m sorry.” She leaned across him and yanked it tighter.
When the expected protest didn’t come she sat back and eyed him with suspicion.
She realized immediately what had distracted him. Her blouse had puckered open and the top of her red satin uniform was showing. What little there was of it. He was getting a bird’s-eye view of the tops of her breasts.
Amazingly her face didn’t turn several shades of pink. Even when she settled back and noticed the bulge forming beneath his fly, perversely she decided not to straighten her blouse. Let him suffer.
Unfortunately, the new development did little for her concentration. She took a sip of water and recalled the predicament she was in because of him, the humiliation she felt over having believed his stupid stories. That helped get her back on track.
“Okay, we’re going to be doing something a little different today.”
He met her understatement with an incredulous look. “Wait. Before we get started, I have a question.”
“Sure.”
“What are you wearing under that shirt?”
She blinked in surprise. She was really getting this innocent act down pat. “What?” She glanced down, and opened her shirt a little more. “This? It’s my uniform.”
“Uniform?” The startled confusion on his face was almost comical.
“You know I work as a waitress, right?”
“Yeah, but—”
He stopped abruptly when she undid the top two buttons and exposed more of the red satin, and her mounding breasts. “I still haven’t decided if I like it yet. The color and material are fine, but it’s…well…the style is rather skimpy for my taste.”
He noisily cleared his throat. “It is a good color on you.”
That nearly sent her into a fit of laughter. Nick Ryder at a loss for words and looking as helpless as a baby. Imagine.
“Thanks. So let’s get started.” She cocked her head to the side. “Nick?”
His gaze hadn’t made it to her face yet. “Can I see the rest of it?”
“Do you always have such a one-track mind?”
“Absolutely. Which is why we should get the unveiling out of the way.” He gave her that grin.
This time it did nothing for her. “Sorry, business comes first.”
His eyes lit with hope. Did he think that after their session they’d continue where they left off last night? Was he ever in for a surprise.
“So that you understand what we’re doing here today, I’m going to tell you about one of my dreams,” she said with a perfectly straight face as he studied her with a sudden fascinated curiosity. “And then I’ll explain what I think it means so you can get the idea of where we’re going with all this.”
He looked relieved and definitely interested as he relaxed back with a smile.
Just to shake things up a bit, she played with the front of her shirt, finally undoing another button. “Is it hot in here, or is it me?”
15
NICK WATCHED HER fan herself, blow air down the front of her shirt. It wasn’t hot in the least, but he’d be damned if he’d admit it.
What the hell was up with her today? This wasn’t Emma. Even when she was trying to be Doc she’d fallen short. She was edgy one minute, shy and tentative, but with a glint of determination in her eye the next. Was she paying him back for last night? That was all right. He could handle this kind of torture.
Twisting his wrists, he tested the strength of the scarves. He wasn’t going anywhere. The hardness beneath his fly was another matter. The sucker was headed for the stars. And lying here like this, there was no hiding it.
“Nick, would you mind if I took—” She shook her head. “Never mind. That wouldn’t be professional.”
He laughed, choked. “I swear I wouldn’t mind.”
“Really?”
“Positive.”
“Thanks. I’ll only be two minutes.” She smiled, and then walked over to her desk and picked up the phone.
He craned his neck to see her. “What are you doing?”
“Making a call. You said you didn’t mind if I took a quick break.”
“I thought you were—” He stopped himself. She knew
damn well what he’d thought. No way would he give her the satisfaction of confirming it. He laid his head back down and waited for her to check her answering machine.
When she returned to the seat beside him, he asked, “You have a hot date tonight?”
In answer, she gave him an enigmatic smile that could go either way. He’d been joking, not expecting any kind of affirmative answer. The idea that she could have a date hit him like a heavyweight’s punch.
That reaction was enough to make him crazy. Tiffany, Pamela, Kelly, all the women he dated went out with other guys. Not only did Nick not give a rat’s ass, he encouraged them. But the thought of Emma with someone else, laughing and whispering, touching, kissing, made Nick want to break something. Anything.
“Okay, here goes.” She curled one of her legs under her. “In my dream I met this guy. He had dark hair, dark eyes, was extremely intelligent, had a great sense of humor, a good job, a family he respected and who respected him, an all-around charming guy. The type most girls actually daydream about. Unfortunately, he knew it.”
Unease crawled up his spine. He stared into her eyes but she gave nothing away. “Question.”
“Yes?”
“Did you know this guy?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Let’s say I had a vague sense of who he was.”
Man, did he want to ask the obvious question. But she probably would have told him if he was the one in her dream, wouldn’t she? No way he’d ask. He didn’t need to be retrained to hear her dream. She was playing some sort of game and expected him to rise to the bait. Instead, he waited silently for her to continue.
She leaned back in her chair and toyed with her second button, allowing him brief glances of red satin and creamy skin. “Let’s see…oh, yes…this guy asked me to meet with him one day, and I agreed. I wasn’t sure about him at first. He was too charming, too sure of himself, and others did warn me about him.
“But I was pretty sure of myself, too, and couldn’t imagine he would mean trouble for me. I was too sensible, too focused on where I wanted to go and how to get there.”
She stopped. “I’m sorry. You’re probably dying of thirst. I’ll get your water.”
“No, go on.”
Ignoring him, she went to get the Evian still sitting on her desk. When she took too long, he twisted as far as he could to see what she was doing. Her back was to him, but it looked as though she was just standing there.
“Emma?”
She straightened, and he thought he heard a sniffle. “Coming.”
Dread and guilt tangled in his gut. He strained against his bindings. They wouldn’t give.
She came around the chair, smiling, and looking perfectly normal. “This is going to be a little tricky. We don’t want your shirt drenched.”
Was he going crazy? Or was guilt doing a number on him? Making him see things that weren’t there. “I’m okay. Let’s get back to the dream.”
She frowned, as though trying to solve a problem. “Here, bring your head up.”
“You could untie me while I listen to your dream.” He glanced at his bound wrist. “This hardly seems necessary for now.”
“True.” She thought for a moment. “I should have waited but this won’t take long.”
He was about to protest again, but she cupped the back of his neck with her soft hand and got so close he could smell her almond shampoo. Half sitting as he was, her breasts pressed lightly against his arm as she tipped the bottle up for him to take a drink.
When she drew back, he caught another glimpse of red satin and lots of cleavage. He lifted his gaze to her face and she smiled, a bit brazenly, which wasn’t Emma’s style.
“Had enough?” she asked, so sweetly, so innocently, he didn’t know what to think anymore.
He nodded, and then watched as she returned to her chair and curled her legs up in an almost protective position.
“Okay.” She frowned in thought, her gaze wandering out the window. “Do you remember where I left off?”
Her voice was casual. The way she suddenly looked pointedly at him was not.
“You met this guy who you were warned about, but you didn’t take the warnings seriously because you thought you were immune.”
“Ah, yes.” The sudden flash of anger in her eyes was not his imagination. In the next second, she looked perfectly calm again. “But I underestimated him and this illusive appeal he was supposed to have. Not only was he extremely charming but he was sly. He made me believe he wanted to help me.” Her voice faltered. She blinked a couple of times, and then moistened her lips. “He made me think I just might be special.”
He opened his mouth for the second time…not a damned thing came out.
“I could handle that…um…miscommunication. Not that I wasn’t hurt by it. Of course I was hurt and angry. But he’d also led me to believe that I could count on him. But he lied, and left me hanging out to dry.” Her gaze pierced his, her eyes stark with misery and contempt. “And that hurt most of all.”
“Emma, please untie me. I can explain.”
“What’s the matter, Nick? It’s just a dream. A sketchy part of reality…almost a fantasy. Can’t you tell the difference?”
“Please, Emma.” He jerked his wrists but the scarves didn’t loosen. “Let me explain.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “Go ahead.”
“Untie me.”
“You can explain from right there.”
Nick inhaled deeply. His throat was tight. How the hell had she found out? “I was going to tell you last night.” Her eyebrows rose. “I swear. I know I was a jerk, but I didn’t really know you a week ago.”
“Let me make sure I understand this.” She cocked her head to the side with nonchalance. But he’d already seen the pain and anger in her eyes, so dark and deep he could drown in it. “Because you don’t know someone, it’s okay to screw with their career? To sabotage a project they’d worked on for over a year?”
“That’s not what I’m saying.” He jerked his wrist and got nowhere. “I didn’t want to do the study. Brenda coerced me—” He sighed with disgust. “That’s not true. She had something I wanted and we made a deal. If I reneged, I lost. If you threw me out of the study, that would be different….”
She let silence lapse. “That’s an explanation?”
He closed his eyes, no longer able to face the sadness in hers.
“It’s an excuse, Nick, not an explanation,” she said, her voice so soft, he barely heard her.
“Emma, it seemed harmless at the time. I didn’t think.” God, he hated feeling this helpless. “I’m really sorry.” A thought struck him. “You saw the magazines last night.”
She didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. Fresh pain entered her bleak stare.
He wanted to wrap his arms around her, promise her everything would be all right. Dammit, he’d make it all right. “Will you please untie me?”
She slowly shook her head. “Want to hear the end of the dream?” When he didn’t answer, she said, “I think you get the picture.”
With a heartbreakingly sad face, she turned and headed for her desk.
An expression he’d remember for one hell of a long time. “What are you doing now?”
Ignoring him, she cleared off her desk, locked it and then walked past him into the back room.
“Emma, you can’t leave me here like this.” Shit! What he did was wrong, but how mature was she being? “Emma!”
She appeared again after several minutes, her purse in hand. Although she seemed fairly composed, her eyes were red.
“I know you’re angry. I don’t blame you. But we need to talk about this.”
Indecision and resentment warred in her face as she stood staring at him, her keys already dangling from her fingers.
“Emma,” he said in a soothing voice, “be rational.”
She blinked in surprise. And then glared in outrage. “You don’t think I’m being rational?”
“Hey, it’
s me. I don’t think, remember?” He didn’t even get a ghost of a smile out of her. “I didn’t mean anything. I’m just trying to get some dialogue going so we can fix this thing.”
“Yeah, you’re real good with dialogue,” she mumbled, her expression tight and unyielding.
He didn’t say a word, just watched with relief as she loosened one of his hands. Not all the way, but he’d be able to work his way out of the silk noose.
“Thanks, Em, I knew you’d be reasonable,” he said as she walked around to the other side. Except she didn’t stop. She kept on walking. “You forgot to untie my other hand.”
She got to the door and turned for a second and said, “You’re resourceful, figure it out.”
“Wait…there’s more.”
The door slammed behind her.
Nick let out a string of curses that would make a sailor blush.
BY THE TIME SHE GOT TO her car, Emma’s hands were shaking so badly that she couldn’t get the key in the lock. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm down. She had to get out of here before he freed himself. They had nothing more to say to each other.
Too bad her plan had fallen apart. But halfway through her act, she couldn’t think about anything but getting the hell out of there and away from him. It didn’t matter. She’d gotten the point across. And without blubbering like an idiot. That was something.
She sniffed, dabbed at her watery eyes and then attacked the lock. This time the key slid in and she hurriedly got behind the wheel. The ignition was a little trickier placed below the steering wheel as it was, but she managed to work the key in and get the engine started while shooting glances toward the entrance.
It was probably stupid and arrogant of her to think he’d even try to follow. More likely she’d never see him again. He had enough women waiting in the wings. Ones who didn’t care that he was a low-down, conniving snake. Better he stay out of her life. God only knew she had enough problems ahead of her trying to salvage her thesis.
She realized she’d been sitting at the edge of the street, waiting for a chance to pull out, except there was no traffic.
She cursed to herself and glanced in the rearview mirror. No sign of him.
Why should that surprise her? He probably couldn’t even see how wrong he’d been to pass off those disgusting stories as his dreams. He was probably too busy patting himself on the back for being so clever. What a jerk!
Extra Innings and In His Wildest Dreams Page 36
