"Seventeen." He threw the number out with a proud flourish.
"Impressive! Output?"
"Brace yourself. Almost three million horsepower?' "Wow! Now that's generating capacity!" She quivered. Charlie was generating a sizable amount of electricity, himself. And that electricity was pouring through her at the point of contact. She wouldn't mind having more points of contact.
"You're not kidding, Eve. It's an incredible facility. Absolutely incredible." His voice grew husky as he drew her closer.
She went willingly, drawn into his magnetic field.
"And I want to work there," he murmured,
"I don't blame you." Her heart beat furiously and she could barely breathe.
He took off his glasses and tacked them in his pocket. "I want to walk all ten acres of floor space knowing I'm part of an operation that huge."
"That would be wonderful." She pictured him striding along, glorying in the magnificence of the plant.
His voice vibrated with excitement as he gently pushed her glasses to the top of her head. "They upgraded the plant in '93 and now they have all Francis-type vertical hydraulic turbines."
She moistened her lips. "I really love hydraulic power." Now that he'd pushed her glasses on top of her head, the only thing she could see clearly was his face, which was all she wanted to see, anyway. She was at a perfect angle to focus on his kissing equipment as she slipped her arms around his waist.
"I want to feel the power of those seventeen turbines spinning."
She sighed. "Yes." She'd always thought turbines were blatantly sexual with their shafts and rotors. There was even a small section at the very tip called an exciter. A part of her body was very much like that exciter, and currently it was yearning for some stimulation of the Charlie variety.
"Oh, Eve, you do understand." He leaned down, his mouth inches from hers. The closer he came, the better he looked-a nicely sculpted upper lip and a sensuously rounded lower lip made for the perfect combination. He cradled her head with one hand and urged her closer.
I totally get it." She closed her eyes and lifted her chin, so he would have no trouble finding her in case his eyesight was worse than hers.
"I knew you would." And he kissed her, right on target.
On a scale of one to ten, the kiss rated a fifty. If she'd known Charlie could kiss like this, she would have asked him to fix her washer several months ago. She wondered how many women he'd practiced on to achieve this level of competence.
And then she decided not to think about that, because pure feeling was coming at her like the water pouring out of Hoover Dam. When Charlie wrapped her in his arms and the kiss went from American to French, the dam gave way. She moaned. Charlie moaned. Everything got hotter and wetter. This was turning into one big-ass kiss and she had the builders of Hoover Dam to thank for it.
The longer they kissed, the tighter Charlie held her, until there was no measurable space between them and no doubt that this kiss was generating all kinds of activity besides simple oral gratification. Eve's panties grew decidedly damp, and she figured the stretch factor of Charlie's tighty-whities was being thoroughly tested.
Quickly she figured her options. The bathroom door had a lock. The bathroom vanity had condoms. No worries on any front.
With a groan, Charlie lifted his talented mouth away from hers.
She had a good idea what he might want to say, so she answered the questions for him. "Lock on the door, condoms under the sink."
His breath was warm on her face as he struggled to take in air. "We can't."
"Sure we can." She tried to pull his head back down so they could go on kissing. Kissing would lead to good things. Talking wouldn't get them anywhere.
He resisted. "I can't have this and Hoover Dam both."
This sounded like something she'd have to deal with. She opened her eyes and gazed up at him. A flood of hormones interfered with her normal thought processes, but she managed to get a reasonable question out there. "Having sex with me now will mean you won't get the job at Hoover Dam?"
"It's a step in the wrong direction, that's for sure."
"Who do you think I am, a double agent for some international spy network?"
"Worse. You're crazy about Middlesex."
Chapter Seven
Charlie knew he couldn't have screwed this up any more if he'd tried. He'd meant to give Eve a simple explanation of his fascination with Hoover Dam and his lifelong dream to work there. Then he'd planned to tell her that because he was leaving and she so obviously loved it here, they had no future.
But he'd been guilty of premature kissing, which had led to a premature erection on his part and lots of enthusiastic body movements on hers, all before the full story was out. His excitement about the dam and his sexual attraction to her had brought them to this. Chaos.
She wiggled out of his arms. "So I'm crazy about Middlesex. So what?"
He fished his glasses out of his pocket and put them on, so he could assess her expression better. "What I mean is, you're a permanent resident." And the most beautiful permanent resident I've ever seen.
"My goodness. How awful. I should be ashamed of myself." She settled her glasses on the bridge of her nose and glared at him. "Allow me to point out the obvious. So are you, kilowatt boy."
"Not really. I'm renting, not buying. I'm temporary." He tried to ignore those full, moist lips. Tried and failed.
"Temporary? You've lived here all your life!"
"So far, that's true." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "But I have other plans."
"Like Hoover Dam?"
"Exactly." He felt in tone with that dam right now. Lust was bottled up in him and the pressure continued to build.
She blew out a breath. "Look, I told you I understand about Hoover Dam, and I do. Working there sounds like your kind of fun. And pardon me if I'm getting into a sensitive area, but... why aren't you there yet?"
"Um, well, I had some dumb idea that I could initiate some changes at the ML and P before I left town, sort of a good-bye gift. About the time I figured out that was hopeless, my dad's health got bad. Then after he died, my mom was depressed, naturally. But working with her sister in the bakery seems to be the answer there, so ... I have an interview next week in Nevada."
"That's really sweet, that you've stock around for such noble reasons." Her gaze softened and her voice grew gentle. "Charlie, I was ready to have sex with you. I wasn't planning to ask for your hand in marriage."
And that was the embarrassing part. He'd handled this whole incident wrong. "I'm sure that's true, but I still think I should have said something before we ever got to this point—"
'"This point' being right before we're ready to rip each other's clothes off?"
"Pretty much." Heat shot through his veins as he imagined that scene. "Anyway, I should have found a way to explain my situation."
She crossed her arms over her chest. "So you think we shouldn't have sex because you're planning to leave town. Is that the gist of it?"
"When you put it that way, it sounds dumb." A really cool guy—a guy like Rick—would go for it. And even if the relationship turned out to be fantastic, Rick would leave the girl and take the job in Nevada. But Charlie knew himself. He could be talked into staying, and that would be bad.
"Not necessarily dumb. Noble, maybe. I'm thinking you have a noble streak a mile wide."
"I wouldn't say that." He wasn't being noble. More like cowardly, afraid he couldn't handle sex with Eve, afraid he'd trash his career plans so he could stay and have even more sex with Eve.
"I would." She uncrossed her arms. "And it's okay, Charlie."
He didn't know how to respond to that. It was an awkward moment, one Charlie didn't have all that much experience with. He'd never tried to discourage a woman from having sex with him. He must be out of his mind.
"Do you think you can fix the washer?" she asked.
"I'll need a screwdriver."
"They're out in the garage.
I'll be right back."
After she left, he scrubbed both hands through his hair and massaged his scalp as he tried to think what to do next. He'd kissed her. He'd kissed her, for God's sake. And it had been one hell of a kiss, too. He deserved a medal for pulling away from that amazing lip lock.
He also deserved a punch in the nose for getting into it in the first place. His instinct to fix anything mechanical in the vicinity had put him in the way of temptation, and he'd had so little resistance it was pathetic.
She kissed with a depth of soul that still lingered on his mouth. Man, how it lingered. He couldn't allow another kiss to happen, and yet the craving gnawed at him. Good thing he didn't believe in love at first kiss, or he'd be in serious shit.
But that kiss didn't represent an instant love connection. No, it was undoubtedly the result of not having had sex for the past few months. He hadn't realized how sex-starved he was until he'd pulled Eve into his arms.
Her footsteps on the hardwood floor of the hallway announced her return. She came through the bathroom door and gave him a handful of screwdrivers of various sizes including several of the Philhps variety. "Rick and Eunice are gone."
He blinked. "What do you mean, gone?'
"As in, not in the kitchen. Your Harley's still parked in the driveway, though."
"It better be. I have the keys."
"Hmm." Eve paused. "They must have headed over to Eunice's house."
"Or they were both transported into a spaceship for sexual experimentation." He should have figured on this, knowing his cousin.
"I think they're at Eunice's house having sex," Eve said.
Probably. The concept made him uneasy, because Rick was doing what Charlie didn't have the guts to do. "That's not a given." He picked out a screwdriver and laid the rest on top of the dryer. Rick wasn't letting geography rule his sex life. Only Charlie, the uncool one, was doing that.
"I think it's a given. I—" She was interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing in the kitchen. "Excuse me a minute."
Charlie tightened a couple of loose wires while he debated whether he was being a complete idiot. What kind of guy turned down sex with someone who looked like Eve? A dope, that's who.
Disgusted with himself, he closed the top of the washer with a clang. Might as well turn the thing on and see if it worked. Twisting the knob into position for Permanent Press, he started the water. So far, so good.
He listened to the water pouring in and took some satisfaction from this tiny victory. He might not be man enough to take advantage of a ready-made sexual situation, but it looked as if he'd managed to fix the washer.
Fixing equipment had always been his deal. It had started because his dad, the most unhandy guy in the world, had insisted on trying to repair things, anyway. Charlie had decided at an early age that if he didn't learn something about electrical appliances, his dad might burn down the house. Then, to Charlie's surprise, he'd become fascinated by the subject of electricity.
Eve walked back into the bathroom, her cordless phone in her hand. She glanced at the washing machine. "Hey, it works!" Then her eyes widened. "Did you take out the—"
A loud thumping noise answered the question. They leaped for the knob at the same time and collided, which resulted in neither of them getting the washer turned off.
"I'll get it!" Eve pushed him aside and turned off the machine. Then she lifted the lid. "That's not pretty." She clanged the lid shut again.
"I'm sorry, Eve." Charlie's sense of victory evaporated. The one thing he'd accomplished had turned out to create more problems than it solved.
"It doesn't matter."
He sighed. "It does matter. I'd better take a look." Expecting something gross, he lifted the lid. Instead he became intrigued by what he found. "Hey, the candy's floating to the top. Did you know candy floats?"
"Nope. It wasn't floating when I looked." She braced her forearms on the top of the machine and leaned down to get a better view. "What do you know? I would think it's too dense to float."
"Yeah, me, too." The chocolate bobbed around in what looked like a pool of industrial waste. He rested his arms next to hers and hunkered down so their heads were at the same level.
Her shoulder touched his in a friendly way. "I didn't want any of that stuff in the first place, so it doesn't bother me if it's trashed."
When they stood side by side, their bodies touching at several points, Charlie couldn't bring himself to care, either. Every time she shifted her weight she created a soft friction that reminded him of how good she'd felt in his arms. Friendly was evolving into something much hotter.
"I'm not surprised that the subscription postcards from the magazines are floating, but I wouldn't have guessed the chocolate." He couldn't help himself. He deliberately moved, ever so slightly, so that his arm rubbed hers.
"Cheap chocolate."
"Ah." He noticed that her Kill That Clutter! book lay on its side looking extremely soggy. Too bad she was taking this disaster so well. He would have been more than willing to comfort her if she'd been inconsolable at the loss of this junk. He'd about decided that his former decision, whether noble, cowardly, or stupid, was a mistake.
Eve gazed into the washing machine. "I keep thinking of that scene out of Titanic."
"Yeah." Charlie nodded. "I hated that scene." Agreement caused his shoulder to bump hers. He longed to run his tongue down the curve of her neck and along the line of her shoulder. Then he'd nip her very gently before following the ridge of her collarbone back to the hollow of her throat.
"I hated that scene, too."
He thought it was a good sign that they agreed on which scene they hated. "But the scene in the car, where you see her hand against the steamed-up glass ..."
"Very hot." She continued to stare down at the muck in the washing machine, but her breathing changed. "Have you ever been on a ship?"
"No."
"No matter where you are, you can still feel the vibration of the engines. I'll bet they felt it there, in the car, the whole time. Very erotic."
"Mm." Where was a cruise ship when a guy needed one?
"We should turn this machine back on and see what happens."
A working washing machine had been part of his earlier fantasy. He could back her up against it and they'd both feel that vibration running through them as they ...
Oh, hell, what was he thinking? That was the kind of sexual experience that stayed with a guy forever. One up-against-the-washing-machine moment and he'd give up on Hoover Dam to stay in Middlesex for the rest of his life. Guaranteed. He wasn't Rick, so he'd be crazy to try and act like him.
"Let's do it." Eve reached for the knob.
"Wait." Charlie had to come up with a way to derail this impulse. Fortunately, he glimpsed something in the washer. Stuck between the pages of her clutter book was a type of metal fastener he'd been needing for a repair on his mother's garbage disposal and he hadn't gotten around to picking one up yet.
He plucked it out of the glop. "Did you get this for the hovercraft?"
She paused and looked at him for a full five seconds as the sexual heat budding between them began to diffuse. "Uh, no. I thought I might need it under the dashboard, but I don't think it's quite right. I need the next size up, probably."
"Can I have it?"
"Be my guest. There's some other hardware stuff in there, too." "Really?"
"Sure. I'm always collecting pieces of hardware."
He gazed at her in wonder. "Don't tell me you're one of those people who get their kicks strolling through a hardware store."
"Maybe." She smiled at him, but it was fondness rather than lust in her blue eyes. " 'Fraid so."
She really had the most amazing mouth, and he wouldn't have to move very much to reach it. Just one kiss. A kiss wasn't the same as washing machine sex. He could handle one little kiss. A haze descended over his brain as he leaned forward, focusing on that wide, welcoming mouth...
"Oh, Charlie." She sighed and reached up to
cradle his head. The phone she was holding banged against his ear.
He reached for it. "Here, let me have that." He was thinking of dropping it into the washing machine, so it wouldn't ring any more and disturb them.
"Uh-oh!" She backed away from the machine, which meant backing away from him, too. "I almost forgot! I have to call Eunice and see if Rick's over there."
The haze began to clear from his brain. "Is someone looking for him?"
"Manny is. He said Rick wasn't answering his cell." Eve punched a number into the phone.
"Did you tell him that Rick might be over at Eunice's house?"
"No, because I didn't want Manny and Kyle running over there. Who knows what's going on?"
"Maybe nothing." Charlie couldn't convince himself of that.
"Maybe more than we care to know. Anyway, I said I'd check out what was happening with his cell. Manny and Kyle just got back from Hartford. Did you know they went to Hartford?"
"They ran an errand for the bakery." Charlie pushed the thought of the X-rated cookie cutter from his mind.
"Well, they're back."
"Did they change their minds about coming over to help with the hovercraft?" Charlie thought that might be good, to get more people into the project. Then he'd be less likely to end up alone with Eve, which was a responsibility he seemed unable to handle.
"I don't think they plan on helping. They said something about frosting cookies for Myrtle and Rose." Eve held the phone to her ear. Then she rolled her eyes. "Answering machine."
"Listen, maybe I should drain the water out while you're on the phone."
"Good idea." Eve turned back to the phone. "Eunice, if you're there, pick up. I need to talk to Rick." She tapped her foot on the bathroom tile as she waited.
Charlie listened to the water gurgle out of the washing machine. "I think they probably went to the movies."
Eve covered the mouthpiece. "You're delusional." Then she spoke into the phone. "Okay, I guess you're.. .unavailable. But Manny needs to talk to Rick, so call me back when you get this." She disconnected the phone. "Mark my words. They're doing it."
Charlie didn't want to think about it, because thinking about it only emphasized that Rick could enjoy sex for sex's sake and Charlie couldn't. He picked up the dripping clutter book. "If we take this stuff out I can run the machine through a complete cycle and make sure it's fixed. Do you have a big bucket?"
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