LEARNING CURVES

by Joanne Rock

  But he would keep that knowledge to himself until he figured out just who Madeline had hoped to go home with tonight.

  Edging his way through the crowd, Cal searched for Maddy, a new resolve—and more than a little libido—fueling his steps.

  * * *

  Variations on the line "Your place or mine?" ran rampant outside Coyotes. Madeline copied down the words she heard as couples left the bar, smiling to herself at the common theme.

  The night air blew cold over her bare shoulders, but she hardly noticed with her indignation to keep her warm. She had taken a seat behind the doorman, safe in the man's burly shadow, but close enough to the exiting couples to observe mating rituals in action.

  Her half-hearted research provided some distraction, but mostly she thought about the big scene she'd had with Cal. What had happened to her easygoing friend of two weeks ago? He'd turned from mild-mannered mechanic to uptight chaperone ever since she'd propositioned him. And that was the last thing she needed.

  Instead of helping her reach her goal to turn around her reputation, Cal seemed to be trying his best to thwart her efforts.

  If she'd had any sense, she would have flirted with Mr. All-America to see what could happen with a man who didn't smother her with protectiveness. But, of course, she didn't have any sense because she had been smitten with Cal for four years and counting.

  She blew a big bubble with the piece of gum the doorman had given her and then snapped it with her tongue. Bubble gum was a hidden pleasure—a habit she'd indulged in often since moving out of her father's house. The professor despised gum chewing of any kind.

  Madeline looked up when the bar doors swung open again, ready to watch the next couple either say their good-nights or decide who would go with whom.

  But the newcomer wasn't part of a lip-locked couple. Cal Turner stood framed in the doorway, his broad shoulders silhouetted in the dim light from the bar.

  She said nothing, even when his gaze finally landed on her, hidden behind the doorman. She blew another bubble and then sucked it back into her mouth with a satisfying pop.

  "Maddy." He said her name with a warmth that had been absent last time they'd talked. He looked calm now, his hazel eyes relaxed and intent upon her. "I've been looking for you."

  He stepped toward her with slow deliberation, the lazy confidence of his stride making her feel a little off balance.

  "You found me." She crossed her legs and shifted her notes in her lap, unwilling to pay him any mind.

  By some unspoken male agreement, the traitorous doorman vacated his seat and took a walk along the front of the building. Cal pulled the empty folding chair next to Maddy and sat beside her.

  "So I did."

  She tried to concentrate on her notes, but the words on the paper in front of her didn't exactly take her mind off Cal.

  Want to come back to my place?

  The line belonged to the most recently departed couple, but Maddy couldn't help but wish it was the kind of thing Cal would say to her.

  He withdrew something from his pocket. "I wanted to bring you your paper." He laid her crumpled notes from inside the bar across her lap.

  She smoothed the sheets with her hand, thinking maybe she could forgive him. "Thanks."

  "And I wanted to apologize."

  That caught her attention. She forgot all about the paper and stared into his eyes.

  He tilted her chin with the cradle of his hand. "I'm sorry about tonight."

  Mesmerized by his tender regard, his gentle touch, Madeline wished she knew what to say to make that small caress last. "It's okay."

  He shook his head. "I had no right to embarrass you like that." He paused. "Did you like that guy you were talking to?"

  She wanted to close her eyes and burrow deeper into his touch like a contented cat, but she made an effort to focus on Cal's words. "What guy?"

  Cal laughed, making the whole world seem right He rose to his feet and pulled her up beside him. "Come on, I'm taking you home."

  She blinked, wondering if he really meant it. "With you?"

  He rolled the palms of his hands over her shoulders, producing a chain of sensual shivers down her spine. "Not tonight."

  The heat of his touch held her so spellbound, she almost didn't hear his words. When they registered, the sting of disappointment caused her to pull away.

  He pulled her right back to him. "But soon," he whispered. "Come on." He tugged on her arm and started toward the car. "Unless you want me to carry you?"

  She started walking. "You can't afford to make a big public scene," she reminded him, even though he'd seemed to enjoy causing them with her tonight. Had he really meant he would take her home one day soon?

  "Hop in."

  She slid into the car, slipping off her shoes with a sigh of relief. They said little on the short drive to her house, but the quiet comforted her after the sensory overload of the bar.

  Cal pulled into her driveway and walked her to the door of her simple two-bedroom ranch house. She felt more shy with him here, on her own front doorstep, than she had all evening.

  They stood in darkness since she'd forgotten to leave the light on. A half moon and a faraway street lamp allowed her to see him. Tossing her shoes onto the front porch swing, she wondered what to say.

  "Thanks for coming along willingly," Cal said.

  She couldn't imagine what accounted for his change of mood since he had railed at her in the bar, but she wasn't about to complain.

  "I don't mind following you when you're being reasonable." In fact, she rather liked it. She never tired of the back view of Cal.

  He flashed her a slow, lazy smile as he stalked closer. "Then you're going to like what I've got in store for you."

  She found herself backed up against the door. Cal leaned against the wooden frame, bracketing her with his arms.

  "Is it reasonable?" The cool aluminum of the screened door grazed her thighs on one side, the heat of Cal loomed on the other.

  "It's so logical, even you will approve." Maddy straightened her glasses, wondering if he might do anything to fog them over again. She definitely hoped so. "I'm listening."

  "It seems to me that you're looking for two things to help you get your dissertation approved." He took up all her vision, blocking her view of anything but him.

  "Two things?" She found it difficult to concentrate, especially since her dissertation was the last thing on her mind at this particular moment.

  "You need to change your reputation, which I can't help you with."

  She clutched her notes more tightly to her chest, hating the surge of disappointment his words evoked.

  "Right. Because of your sister's custody hearing."

  "But you also genuinely want to acquire some experience in the art of seduction, so you'll feel more acclimated when you start to compile your research."

  "I do?"

  He brushed his lips over her bare shoulder, igniting a chain reaction of tingling flesh that tripped all the way to her toes.

  And then the implication of his words hit home, bringing with it a dawning delight. "Oh, I do. I need love lessons."

  When he stiffened, Madeline feared she'd misinterpreted his meaning. Didn't he want this as much as she did?

  Their eyes met, held.

  And slowly, Cal nodded. "You're going to need some experience if you're going to become a mating ritual expert."

  For a moment his hazel gaze lost the sparkle of humor. The teasing edge he'd adopted since he'd exited the bar vanished. His intent stare pierced her, frightened her, thrilled her.

  She could barely squeeze a word past her throat. "Yes."

  "And I have an idea where you can procure that experience, Maddy."

  She prayed she did, too. She definitely liked the idea Cal's proximity brought to mind.

  Her eyes drifted closed just before his lips met hers.

  But this was no exploratory kiss like the one he'd given her before they'd entered the bar. This was a culminat
ion of a week of denial—all fire and heat.

  She opened to him, eager for the lessons he'd offered, more needy for him now than she had been in four years of secret longing.

  He touched her with no part of his body save his lips, yet the coupling of their mouths was a hungry mating in itself, a fevered acknowledgment of the joining they both wanted.

  At the moment she could stand no more, when she thought she would die if he didn't touch her, he pulled away.

  His chest rose and fell as if he'd run a sprint. His eyes glittered with a predatory gleam that promised fulfillment of their bargain.

  "What was that for?" She ran an idle finger over her lips, surprised they didn't feel hot to the touch. She couldn't shake the sensation that he'd left a mark upon her in some way.

  He intercepted her hand and brought it to his own lips. "Consider it a first date kiss, Maddy." He kissed her palm and then released it. "I think you're ready for your first lesson in the rules of courtship."

  "'Courtship'?" Her brain seemed to backfire when he kissed her like that.

  He grinned. "Some people like to engage in a courtship before the actual mating. It's definitely part of the rituals you want to study."

  "And you're willing to … teach me?"

  "Hands-on lessons, Maddy. Just for you." He backed down her step. "You'll be my one and only student."

  * * *

  Chapter 6

  « ^ »

  Screened door slamming behind him, Cal padded across his kitchen floor an hour after dropping off Madeline. He'd taken the winding back roads along the Ohio River, hoping to clear his head as he made his way home to the sprawling farmhouse just outside of town. No such luck.

  No matter how many times he'd rolled down the window to let the scent of autumn leaves and swampy river wash over him, tension still damped his temples in a death grip.

  Even though he wanted the Lady Scholar more than ever, he wondered if he was just a selfish bastard for cajoling his way into her bed. Had he made a mistake by offering to tutor her in the fine art of seduction?

  Tossing his car keys on the table, he told himself a real relationship between them was out of the question. Cal had no desire to marry again, not after the disaster of his first marriage. Katie had soured him on matrimony, had proven to him in no uncertain terms that love didn't transcend social class.

  Sure, he was moving up in the world. But he'd never shake his roots.

  His lifestyle suited him just fine, but he couldn't imagine the Lady Scholar would like his riverside house on stilts. Too plebeian for her. Maddy lived among the artsy academic types, and would one day graduate to a fancy house amid the rest of Louisville's professorial elite.

  She would never see the appeal of Cal's car collection housed in the converted barn and two garages at the side of his property. She might acknowledge the beauty of a classic Chevy, but women never seemed to appreciate the aesthetics of garages.

  Cal switched on the light over the kitchen stove and vowed to quit thinking about her. It was bad enough she'd show up in his dreams the moment he closed his eyes. He couldn't torture himself by thinking about her every waking moment, too.

  And he definitely wasn't thinking about the black lace panties she'd chosen at the lingerie store.

  Reaching for the beer he'd denied himself at the bar, Cal caught a hint of movement in the living room from the reflected light of the refrigerator.

  "Allison?"

  A sniffle was his only answer.

  He slammed the fridge and left the beer on the table, closing the distance between the living room and kitchen in a few strides. "Al? You okay?"

  Trying not to worry, Cal flipped on the living room light and spotted his sister huddled on one end of the couch. Tears streaked her face, and she dabbed at her eyes with a wad of tissue. His black lab, Duchess, stood guard beside her.

  "Honey, what's wrong?"

  He took in the makeup on her face—more than usual—and the floral dress with perfectly matched handbag in her lap.

  Didn't Allison usually walk around the house in jeans and a T-shirt?

  He encircled her in his arms, and she fell against him, sobbing. Duchess lay at his feet and sighed as if she was glad to be relieved of guard duty.

  That's when the key ring fell to the floor.

  "I'm so sorry, Cal!"

  Cal reached for the keys, thinking he must have caught her red-handed, sneaking back into the house after spending the evening with her friends.

  "It's okay hon—" Then he noticed his Thunderbird emblem on the key ring. They weren't house keys, but car keys. His car keys.

  Duchess glanced up at him, sensing something was wrong.

  "It's just a little dent, Cal, and I didn't mean to—"

  Cal tried to quell the panic as he inspected every inch of his baby sister and didn't find a mark He sank into the sofa, thanking God Allison had arrived home safely.

  Then it hit him.

  "You took my…" He almost couldn't bear to ask and have his fears confirmed. "You took the Thunderbird?"

  Allison wiped her tears and nodded.

  Cal wanted to fall on the floor and cry, too, but he thought it might be more important to console Allison. She looked scared to death.

  "You're not hurt?"

  She shook her head, covering her mouth to quiet her own crying. Without much success.

  "And you didn't hurt anybody else, right?"

  Again, she shook her head, making her dangling daisy earrings jingle.

  He squeezed her shoulders and willed the words from his mouth. "It's only a car, honey."

  Shock seemed to dry the tears. Allison grew still, lifting her head from his shoulder to stare up at him. "Do you mean it?"

  Duchess wagged her tail.

  "Of course I mean it." He wiped a tear from her cheek, smearing the makeup she rarely wore. "Don't get me wrong, you're still in trouble." He offered her a brotherly grin to lessen the sting of his words. "But not because you hurt the T-bird. You're in trouble for breaking the house rules and putting yourself in a dangerous situation. Not to mention the havoc this could have wreaked on my suit for guardianship."

  Allison nodded, wiping the tears from her cheeks with the back of one hand.

  "You realize the hearing is just two weeks away, don't you? Why don't we say no more mall visits or anything else after school until then, Al. I think that's an appropriate penalty."

  She fluffed her hair and pouted. "Fine. But it is Friday night, Cal. Everyone goes out on Friday night. Even you."

  "Don't you need to study on the weekends?" He wanted her to succeed in school. Moving from high school to college was a big step, especially for someone as young as Allison.

  "Well, duh, that's the advantage of a high IQ." She flashed him a mischievous smile he hadn't seen since before their dad died. "Even we academic types need a little fun in our lives. Take Madeline Watson, for instance."

  Guilt pounced him, making him feel like a kid caught with a girlie magazine. The last person he wanted to discuss with his sixteen-year-old sister was Maddy. Cal stood. "Maybe we better get to bed, Al. You must be exhausted."

  Allison jumped to her feet, knocking her purse to the floor and scaring Duchess to the other side of the room. "I'm not exhausted, and it's not okay for you to change subjects midstream. If I'm going to get in trouble for breaking the rules, then I think I deserve a conversation about what happened and why I broke them." She folded her slender arms over her floral dress, a feisty contrast to her delicate clothes.

  She took a deep breath and continued to rail, leaving Cal barely enough time to brace himself.

  "I feel terrible about your car, but I'll pay you back, eventually. What I don't feel terrible about is breaking the stay-home-and-study rule on Friday night. I don't need to study, and you're robbing me of social growth opportunities."

  This sounded a little too much like a conversation he'd had with a spunky sociology professor. If he didn't squelch it—fast—his little siste
r could be hitting the bars in spiked heels before he could say "teen rebellion."

  Damn, parenting was proving as difficult as shaking his bad reputation.

  "'Social growth'?" This was the drawback of having a genius for a sister. She always sounded as if she knew what she was talking about. "What kind of 'social growth' do you experience when you're running the roads at midnight in a pirated car?"

  She stamped her foot. "I wouldn't have to pilfer a car if you'd help me buy a used one. Just because you choose to have no life since Katie left—"

  "Wait a minute, sport—"

  "It's true! You never go anywhere since she walked out. And even worse, you seem to think any woman you meet is going to be as unfeeling as Katie was."

  "Don't you think you're getting a little bit off the subject here?" Cal took deep, calming breaths, reminding himself to not debate this subject with a teenager. Allison didn't know about all the women he'd dated since his ex-wife had fallen out of love with him as fast as she'd supposedly fallen into it. And he had no intention of her finding out how he'd earned his reputation on campus.

  Allison's expression softened. "Sorry, Cal. I just think it needs saying. Just because she was too concerned with moving in the right social circles to see what a great guy you are doesn't mean the right woman isn't out there."

  He would have snarled at anyone else who dared to spout marriage counselor wisdom at him, but he merely squeezed his sister's hand to let her know he'd heard the message.

  And changed the subject before she could tell him anything else he didn't want to hear.

  "Al, is it so much to ask you to put a little effort in your studies? Your education is your future." This was a safer topic—and one that was more important than she realized. Didn't she know how much an education could change her life? "You don't want to end up working as a mechanic, do you?"

  She rolled her eyes with the drama only a sixteen year old can muster. "As if. And don't pretend you don't love fooling around under your cars. You could be the CEO of a national repair chain and you'd still find something to do in the grease pit every weekend."

  He couldn't argue that point. But it didn't change the fact that his success had bought him a respect he never would have won if he'd stayed a simple mechanic. Too bad Katie hadn't stuck around long enough to see that he could do more than change tires.