by Day Leclaire
For a verbal slap, it was a gentle one. He suspected he’d gotten off easy. “What you mean is, it was more than I had. More than I’d allow, if truth be told.” He turned a skeptical gaze on her. “But you can’t tell me they taught you not to trust.”
“Not exactly,” she conceded. “The number one rule my uncles drummed into me was to question and analyze all the various elements in my world. Don’t ever assume. Don’t take anything for granted. Doubt everything until you’ve had a chance to weigh the evidence for yourself.”
“It doesn’t sound like you did a very good job questioning and analyzing Mick.”
The jab hit home. She winced, but didn’t back away from the comment. “Yes, well... As a result of that particular incident, I’ve become more careful. Probably more reserved, too. It also brought home my uncles’ rule in a rather painful object lesson. Ever since then I’ve questioned everything.”
He began to understand. “That doesn’t mean—”
“Everything.” She gestured toward the equipment surrounding them. “Do you know I can take a sample of your kiss and analyze its specific molecular structure?”
His eyebrows shot up. “Sort of takes the fun out of it, don’t you think?”
“See that machine over there next to the hood?”
“The one that looks like a computer with a smokestack?”
“Yes. That one. It’s a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer. GCMS. I can analyze the precise mixture of molecules with that baby. And that one, there?” She pointed. “By my computer? It’s a UV-vis. It’ll measure the visible color of a solution. Want to identify a compound? I can do it. Need an explosion-proof refrigerator? Got that, too.”
He shot her a wary look. “Do I need an explosion-proof fridge?” Hanging around her, he just might.
She shook her head in exasperation. “Don’t you understand? Whenever I’m puzzling through a problem I try and break it down into its particular components and figure out the solution. It’s how I was trained.”
“And that’s good, right?”
A smile flirted with her mouth, a smile of such rich promise, he almost dumped her on top of one of her worktables to finish what they’d begun in her office. “It’s supposed to be, but I’m not totally convinced. I’ve recently discovered there’s something I’ve overlooked.”
“And what’s that?”
Her eyes had taken on a faraway expression. “I’m beginning to suspect there are some things in this world that can’t be analyzed in a lab.”
“You’re only finding that out now? Sort of late in the day, isn’t it?”
She shrugged. “I guess I’ve been asleep all these years.”
“And now it’s time to wake up?” Prince Charming to the rescue.
“Past time, don’t you think?”
He pulled back and gave her a once-over. “Now that I look at you, I guess you are getting a bit long in the tooth.”
Her laugh had a rough quality to it. “What can I say? I’m a slow learner.” Her amusement faded. “Which leaves me in a bit of a quandary.”
This was leading somewhere, but he was damned if he could figure out where. “What’s your quandary?”
“I don’t trust anything I can’t analyze. It’s not...safe. And yet, if I’m to see and enjoy what’s beyond my lab, I’ll have to take certain things on faith.”
Hell, he knew the hazards of that sort of attitude. “I’m not sure what I’m about to tell you will make you feel any better.”
She shrugged. “It can’t make it any worse.”
“Yes, it can.” He moved in on her, plunging his hands into her hair. Damn, she felt good. Soft and sweet and utterly feminine, despite her attempt to disguise that fact. “You might not trust anything outside of your lab. But I’ve taken it a step further. I don’t trust anything, period.” He nodded toward her equipment. “Whether it’s in here or out in the big, bad world, it’s all suspect as far as I’m concerned.”
She lowered her head to the curve of his shoulder. “We make quite a pair, don’t we? Suspicious. Distrustful. I don’t believe in anything I can’t analyze in my lab and you don’t believe in anything at all.”
He needed the reminder. “This is a bad idea, Jane.”
“What is?”
“Us. Touching.”
“Ah.” She closed her eyes as though rejecting his words. “You’re right, of course.”
“We should end this now. Before you get hurt again.”
He could feel her smile through his shirt. “What about you? Or don’t you get hurt?”
“I don’t have a heart to risk.”
“Lost it long ago, did you?”
“It was carved right out of me as a child.”
She looked up at him. He’d never known compassion was colored green. But he learned it in that moment, witnessing the emotion in the darkening depths of her eyes. If it had been any other woman, he’d have found a few pithy words to wipe it away. But looking down at Jane, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything that might hurt her. She meant well. She just didn’t understand what sort of man he was. With any luck at all, she’d never find out.
She lifted a finger to his face, tracing the lines bracketing his mouth. “I guess we’d better come to an agreement.”
Uh-oh. “What sort of agreement?” he asked warily.
Her fingers wandered lower, finding the vee of his shirt. “Since neither of us is very good at trusting—”
“I think it’s safe to say we stink at trust.” Her touch was driving him insane and he briefly considered asking her to stop. She traced the vee again, this time in the other direction, and he shook his head. Screw it. Let her play. He didn’t need his sanity.
Her finger drifted lower still, plucking at his shirt buttons. “And since we’re both determined to keep our relationship casual, than maybe we could—”
He knew where this was heading and he needed to stop her before she got there. “Try for nonexistent, instead of casual? Good idea.”
She stilled. “Nonexistent?”
“Sure. You know...” Man, he hated being honorable. It was fast becoming a royal pain in the ass. “No touching. No kissing.” No desktop bus stops. “We don’t want to compromise your experiment, right?”
She struggled to summon a smile. “Just what I was about to suggest. We keep our relationship safe. We keep it strictly business.” To his disappointment, her hand dropped from his chest and she peered up at him, searching his expression. “Right?”
“Are you hoping I’ll talk you out of it?”
“Yes.”
He released his breath in a long sigh. “I’m not going to. It wouldn’t be...appropriate.”
“Got it.” She straightened her wrinkled lab coat. Or tried to. Not that it did much good, he noticed in amused disgust. He’d done a thorough job of creasing it for her. “You analyze our security needs and I’ll conduct my experiments.”
“And we’ll both avoid your desk?”
Her laugh sounded almost natural. “And the front lawn, my porch steps, the foyer, my living room—”
He caught the tiny catch in her voice, saw the gleam of tears and something inside broke. “And your lab,” he muttered.
Her nose wrinkled. It made her look like a bewildered rabbit. A helpless, infinitely kissable, little rabbit. “My lab? Why should we avoid my lab?”
“To make sure we don’t ever do this again.”
He plowed his hands in her hair again and tipped her face to his. His mouth found hers with unerring accuracy. With one kiss, he plunged straight into lust. It felt as though he’d slammed down the accelerator on a car capable of hitting a hundred in under three seconds. The bottom dropped out of his world and he fell in a long, endless tumble. He scoured her mouth, his kisses harder than they should have been, more desperate, starving. He was a man who’d gone too long without true sustenance. And now that he’d found it, he wasn’t about to give it up.
Their embrace would soon get out of hand, but
he didn’t give a damn. She felt like fire in his arms, burning him, filling him with a desperation to complete what should have been completed long ago. He’d been a fool to turn Jane down when the path of least resistance led to the one place he most wanted to be...her bed.
He plucked at the buttons of her lab coat. “What do you say, sweetheart? Here and now. We can initiate your lab and really make it feel like home.”
She clung to him, her face desperate with desire. “We’re not supposed to do this,” she gasped.
The reminder cut. “Then stop me.” As a plea, it came off halfhearted at best.
“Don’t you think I’ve tried?” She lowered her head to his chest and sucked air into her lungs. “You know I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because. You said...” Her hand fluttered helplessly through the air, filling in where words failed her. “And I agreed.”
“Will it screw up your experiment, if we...indulge?” He fought the image of Paulie’s fist hooking toward his cheek. This wasn’t the same as that other time, Flynn tried to tell himself. It was different with Jane. “Just a little?”
“Yes. No. I’m not sure.” She moistened her lips. “I’m wearing the perfume. Maybe that’s why—”
“Fine. Blame this on the perfume if it makes you feel better. If it won’t mess up your results, then shut up and kiss me.”
“What happens if it gets out of control?”
“Then we make love until neither one of us can move.” His laugh held a rough edge. “You can blame our lapse on the pheromones. I’ll blame it on resorting to the lowest common masculine denominator.”
She stared at him in shock. “Is that what you really believe? That it’s nothing more than lust? That you’re...” She thrust wayward ringlets from her eyes. “That you’re lowering yourself?”
Aw, hell. Now he felt like a total heel. “No. No, I don’t mean it like that. But—” Someone needed to stop them before they took this any further. Looked like he’d be the one, after all. He took a deep breath. And then another. Dredging up every ounce of self-control he possessed, he nudged his voice from desperate to reasonable. “But how many times do I have to tell you, honey? I’m trouble. More trouble than you can handle.”
It was the truth. He’d worked so hard to change, fighting to grow from the man he’d once been to a man that didn’t make him heartsick every time he looked in a mirror. And all it took was a pair of pretty green eyes, a sexy mouth perfectly shaped for kissing and the most incredible body ever hidden beneath a lab coat, and all his good intentions evaporated. Since he couldn’t seem to stay in control of the situation, maybe he could encourage her to do it for them both.
If their relationship went any further, he’d end up hurting her when he left, which meant he had to convince her to hold him at a safe distance. Only one problem. She needed to test perfumes that had the delightful effect of making mincemeat of his good intentions. Now, how the hell was he supposed to keep his hands off her when she specialized in sex perfumes?
“Jane, we have a choice to make.”
She regarded him warily. “What choice?”
“We can continue with what we started last night or we can fulfill our original agreement. It’s your choice. I’ll finish installing your security system, show you what we can do for your lab. And you can continue testing your perfumes. But if we end up in bed together, our work relationship ends.”
“You don’t think we can deal with both?”
He didn’t pull his punches. “You know full well that sleeping with me will ruin the experiment. As for me... I can’t work around you. I lose focus and make mistakes. Your uncles are paying me a lot of money and I won’t screw them over just because I can’t keep my hands off you. So which is more important to you? A few nights of pleasure, or your experiments?”
She did just as he’d hoped. She withdrew, masking her vulnerability beneath the facade of a cool, remote scientist, a look she’d no doubt patented at age five, as well. “That’s it? One or the other?”
He was protecting her, he tried to convince himself, not hurting her. “Those are your choices.”
Slowly, she pulled free of his arms. “I think we were right earlier. We’ll keep our relationship strictly business.”
He’d never doubted what her answer would be, so why did it hurt? He’d never been hurt by a woman before. Hell, he’d never gotten close enough to allow a woman to hurt him. “You got it.”
He turned his back on her before he did something incredibly stupid. Like kiss her again. This was for the best, he reminded himself. It would keep them both out of trouble in the long run, whether she knew it yet, or not.
So, why did it feel so wrong?
* * *
“WELL?” MICK DEMANDED. “Have you reached a decision? Are you going to help me?”
Flynn lounged back in his chair, hiding his annoyance at Barstow’s latest intrusion beneath a bored expression. “Yes. I’m going to help.”
“Excellent.” He grinned in triumph. “And what have you discovered so far?”
“Nothing.”
“What do you mean, ‘nothing’?”
“You’re a smart man, Mick. I’m sure you know what it means.” Seeing that his careless words had only exacerbated the situation, Flynn sighed. “I mean that I haven’t had the opportunity to go through her computer. She didn’t want any help with her security system until just recently. It took me a while to convince her she needed my services. It’ll take a while longer before I can find what you’re looking for.”
“You don’t understand. I need those notes!”
“And you’ll get them. Until then, stay off her property.”
“Why should I? Last time I was here, you threw me out. You said you weren’t going to help me. Now you are?” Barstow’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What changed your mind?”
Flynn tilted his chair onto two legs. “I had time to consider your request, okay? I’ll look into it. But I’m no thief.”
“Anymore.”
The legs hit the floor with a bang and Flynn unwound his frame from the comfort of his chair, annoyed at having to make the effort when he was so bone-weary. “You don’t want to start something with me, Mick. You truly don’t.”
“Oh, yeah?”
Cocky little bastard. Flynn approached. “Want me to explain why not?”
Apparently, Mick’s bravery only went so far. He backed away from Flynn, talking fast. “I know things about you, things that can cause you some serious damage. I’ll use them if I have to. The truth has a way of coming out, you know.”
“You’re right. It does.”
He didn’t take the hint. “I need those notes and I need them soon.”
“Stay away from Jane Dearly.”
Mick stilled, only his eyelids moving as he blinked rapidly. “You can’t be attracted to her,” he finally said, amazement clear in his voice. “She’s not even close to your sort.”
“And what, exactly, is my sort?”
“Not Jane. She’s a nice girl.”
Anger roiled through Flynn, knotting in his gut. “Get out of here, Mick. If you’re really as smart as all those fancy college degrees claim, you’ll stay away from me for a while. And if you want to avoid serious hurt, you’ll stay away from Jane, too.”
Mick must have sensed he’d pushed his luck as far as it could be pushed. With surprising dignity, he paced to the door and yanked it open. Then he looked over his shoulder at Flynn. “Time’s running out for me, Morgan. I’m boxed in a corner with only one way to turn. And that way is those notes. Either you get them or I will. If I have to do it, it won’t be pretty and it won’t be with the sort of finesse you’re capable of. But it will get done.”
Flynn thought fast. “You’ll have them. But not until the night before I leave. I’ll get them for you then. It’s safer that way.”
“You better, Morgan. Fail me and I promise...you will regret it.”
That said, he left, leaving Fly
nn wondering what the hell was in those notes.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE THE LAB. I’m working, in case it escaped your notice.”
“Oh, I noticed. I’ve noticed that you’ve been holed up in here for the past four days. You promised to look at a security setup for your lab. Instead, every time I’ve come in here you’ve drenched yourself in perfume, planted your hands on those curvy little hips of yours and dared me to act like a randy teenager.”
She pulled her nose out of her computer screen long enough to glare at him. “I notice you haven’t reacted!”
“Maybe because I don’t take well to threats.”
“Threats?”
“What else would you call it?”
“I’d call it an experiment.”
“Bull. It doesn’t matter what I do. I can’t win, can I?”
Wariness winked behind her rainbow-colored glasses. “What do you mean?”
He ran his hand through his hair and grimaced. The past few days had been the most difficult he’d endured in a long time. Hell, he’d even welcome Paulie with open arms right about now. He could use a good dose of realism, which just went to show how truly desperate he felt. “I mean that if I kiss the hell out of you, I’m in trouble. And if I don’t kiss the hell out of you, I’m in even more trouble.”
“All I want is a little honesty. If the perfume causes a reaction, tell me. Is that too much to expect?”
“From a guy like me?” She winced at his sarcasm. “Absolutely.”
She closed her eyes and sighed, exhaustion settling across her features. “This isn’t working, Flynn.”
Enough was enough. “You’re right. It’s not. And I know just what to do about it.” He caught her hand in his and began towing her from the lab. “Come on. We’re leaving.”
“I can’t, Flynn. I’m right in the middle of—”
“You’re always right in the middle of something.” He turned a warning glare on her. “Dig in your heels and I swear I’ll toss you over my shoulder.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Try me.” Once outside the lab, he pointed to a coatrack he’d installed beside the glass door. “See that? It’s for you.”
