Tekgrrl

  And if I wanted to be honest with myself, it started in the exact moment when he’d said he stood up for me against Simon and all of the government. He had defended me. And that delicious kiss afterward had just further cemented it.

  Oh, yeah. I had definite feelings for Paul. And it seemed he did for me too.

  “The thing is,” I said softly, getting up and walking over. “When he said that, it didn’t affect me at all. I am well and truly over Luke, and not just pretending anymore.”

  Paul looked up, almost seeming shy. “Really?”

  “Really,” I said, swinging his chair around so that I could straddle his lap, facing him.

  Paul eyed me. “I never thought you two suited. Would you really have wanted to spend hours talking about fight coordination and differing workouts and meditations?”

  I shook my head, stretching my arms out over his shoulders. “Absolutely not. Who cares?”

  Paul settled his hands around my waist. “I never understood what had you so over the moon.”

  I shrugged. “He’s pretty.”

  Paul snorted. “Well, yeah.”

  I leaned forward so my forehead was barely resting against his. “But you’re pretty, too.”

  He gave me a disbelieving look. “Yeah, right.”

  “And a lot more fun.”

  “I think that telepath is messing with your brain again.” He was looking at me a bit warily, but with amusement. It was obvious he thought I was teasing.

  “God, Paul, take the compliment already,” I said, and brought my lips to his.

  I might have taken him by surprise, but his male instinct clicked in quickly and he shifted, pulling my hips in tighter, causing my already short skirt to ride up to indecent levels. My mouth opened and he deepened our kiss, teasing my tongue with his. But this was all territory we’d explored before. In all of our stolen kisses in this room and darkened alleyways, it seemed by unspoken mutual agreement we wouldn’t deny our strange attraction, but we wouldn’t move it further. I was ready for that to change. I dropped my hands from his shoulders down his chest, and began to unbutton his shirt.

  He clasped my hands in his to stop me, and pulled back. With a teasing grin he said, “This is a new twist to the game.”

  I wrenched my hands free, leaping to my feet and standing in front of him in one lightning-quick motion, feeling as if he had slapped me. “God, Paul, is that all this is to you? Some sort of game?” I felt betrayed and even stupider than usual. I had misjudged him. This was only what it had started out as: a distraction. I was a way he was choosing to distract himself from the pain of losing Kate. And why shouldn’t he behave that way? He probably thought it was the same for me. I had never been exactly nice to him over the years, so now I was using him as a distraction from never being able to get Luke. How was he to know that he was wrong, so wrong? Something had changed in me, though it wasn’t easy to define.

  Tears brimmed in my eyes, and I whirled and started to move toward the door so he wouldn’t see me cry. At the last second he reached out and caught my arm.

  “Mindy.”

  Something about his tone caught me, and I glanced back to see an expression on his face I had never seen before.

  I took a step back, and he came forward, taking me by the waist for a kiss that stole my breath away. It was soft and sweet and passionate and gentle all at the same time. I was crushed against his chest, felt the quickened rise and fall of his breath and the awareness of his arousal, as mine began to seep through my body like liquid fire.

  I began unfastening his shirt again, and this time he didn’t stop me. A tingle ran through my body as I undid every button. We were really going to do this. And what’s more, if we didn’t soon, I was going to explode. I’d stop to ponder the strangeness of it all later; for now, I was going to enjoy myself.

  I drew off his shirt, hands exploring his broad shoulders as I did, mentally cursing him for having to wear an undershirt underneath and maintaining another layer of clothing I’d have to take off. And then I noticed his right shoulder.

  “Oh my God, you have a tattoo?”

  He looked embarrassed. “Yes, I have a tattoo.”

  “You? Seriously?” I ran a finger over it. It was a white shield with a sun on it, and a sword overlapping. Some words were written below it in Latin. I translated. “Protect and defend.”

  “Yeah, well, I was young and thought it would be cool.” He looked really awkward.

  “It is cool.” I was impressed. “Definitely not the stuffy scientist you appear.” With a mischievous grin, I leaned forward and ran my tongue over that patch of skin.

  “I…Jesus.” He shuddered as I delicately nipped him. He pulled me back up to reclaim my mouth in a devouring kiss. His hands lightly skimmed the skin where my tank shirt met my skirt, and then he moved up under my shirt, to my breasts. My breathing quickened.

  His hands moved away as he grasped the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head, tossing it somewhere to the side and then reaching for the zipper of my skirt, finding it and letting my skirt fall into a pool around my feet. Not to be outdone, I yanked his undershirt up, and he helped me by pulling it off the rest of the way and tossing it off with my shirt.

  I was met with a very pleasant surprise: Paul was built like he worked out constantly, something I didn’t realize. With a grin, I moved my hands along his flat stomach, defined chest and arms, as if to assure myself I wasn’t imagining this. Why had he been hiding such a killer body behind all of those terrible clothes? I guess because it wasn’t so important to him.

  “Very nice,” I said, trailing a hand down his stomach.

  “I was thinking the same thing,” he said, looking at me, his voice rough with desire.

  With a wicked grin, I stepped back and away, toward his bed, and reached behind to unhook my black lace bra. Enjoying seeing the heat burn through in his eyes I slowly drew it off, then held it by one strap and tossed it onto the pile on the floor. I gave him a daring smile as I did.

  I was just reaching for my black lace panties when he started unbuckling his pants. I drew one leg out and then the other, tossing the garment off to the side; then I slid onto his bed, him following me with every bit of his warm, bare skin covering mine as he moved atop me.

  “Tattoos and a wicked sense of humor, not to mention a hot body you’ve been hiding for some unknown reason. There is definitely a wild streak hiding behind White Heat’s serious exterior,” I said against his mouth. “Just you wait, babe,” he said. “I’ll show you how much fun I can really be.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  I woke up to someone kissing my neck. I stretched with a smile, my mind flashing back to the events of the previous night. All of them. I giggled as a male hand slid down my stomach and I said, “Good morning to you, too,” still not turning over and keeping my eyes closed.

  Warm breath rustled near my ear. “You’re a terrible overnight guest.” Paul’s deep voice was a purr, sending hot shivers of pleasure through me. “You slept late. How’s a guy supposed to make the grand romantic gesture of breakfast in bed when you sleep the whole time?”

  “Get me some when I wake up,” I suggested with a sleepy smile, snuggling against him without opening my eyes. “You can serve me lunch in bed if you want.”

  “Your boss is going to be really mad at you for being late for work,” he warned. But even with my eyes closed I could tell he was smiling.

  “Oh, is he?” I rolled over and opened my eyes. He was lying next to me, his head propped on his arm, dark blue eyes twinkling with amusement and something else. Heat and desire, yes, and something even more. Something that gave me a bit of a chill.

  I pushed away my fears and smiled at him. “I better get to work then. My boss is really strict. He once yelled at my friend, Lainey, for being late to this boring meeting because she was in bed with her boyfriend that she hadn’t seen in months.”

  “Sounds like a real ballbuster.”

  “Oh, he is,” I agre
ed, with an impish grin.

  “You’d better think of a way to distract him from your being late, then.”

  I bit my lip. “Well, there are a few things I could think of. But I’m afraid I’d be charged with sexual harassment if I did any.”

  “I think you should call in sick, then.”

  “Oh, really?” I raised an eyebrow. “You think I should just skip work today?”

  “Yeah, I mean, if your boss is going to be mad you’re late, you might as well just call off.” He ran a hand over my hip. “Stay in bed all day.”

  I smiled. “How very irresponsible of you, Paul.”

  He leaned forward and kissed me, stealing my breath with his sweetness. Getting out of bed today was looking less and less likely.

  A knock sounded on the door and we froze.

  “Oops,” Paul said in a whisper. Then, louder: “Hang on.”

  We both scrambled up, throwing on clothes in a hurry. I was rocking a major case of bed head, my makeup was a mess, my tank top was inside out and I still couldn’t locate my underwear. Paul had just thrown on jeans and a polo shirt and was opening the door when I spotted my underwear on the other side of the bed. I dove for them, hiding them and myself effectively out of view as I heard Wesley say, “There you are. Are you all right?”

  “Sorry. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night,” Paul said, and I had to cover my mouth to keep from giggling. Gee, I wonder why? “I was contemplating going back to bed. What’s up?”

  “I know I said that Lainey and I’d take patrol tonight, but is there any way you can go instead?”

  “Sure,” Paul said. “Why, where are you going to be?”

  “I’m taking Fantazia with me to do a little investigating about Simon’s people and the Dragon. We’re going to see what information we can scare up through the magic community. I’d like to believe that it’s just a sting operation, but my gut says otherwise.”

  “I know what you mean,” Paul replied. “We’ll keep our ears open when we’re out on the streets too. Don’t worry about patrol; I’ll take care of it. I’ll see if Mindy wants to tag along and test her Shocker. Maybe even test her powers.”

  “Take Toby too,” Wesley said. “Just in case she has another episode.”

  I bristled.

  “She’s doing a lot better,” Paul said, coming to my defense. My hero!

  “Better safe than sorry. Where is she, anyway? Has she shown up yet to work on your projects?”

  She’s currently crouching behind the bed in yesterday’s clothes, I thought.

  “She hasn’t shown up for work yet,” Paul said. “She’s probably slept in or something. She can be a bit lazy at times.”

  I could hear the teasing in his voice, but he was going to pay for that.

  “Well, tell her you’re all going on patrol tonight when you see her,” Wesley said. “I’ll talk to you again before Fantazia and I leave. Maybe we can try to sneak into our headquarters when we’re out. I’m sure Simon’s got the place under heavy surveillance, but if we go in with an invisibility spell for a quick jaunt, I doubt we’ll be detected. I’ll try to grab a few of yours and Mindy’s inventions while we’re there. If there’s anything left that wasn’t incinerated.”

  “Unlikely, but it wouldn’t hurt to check,” Paul said. “Thanks.”

  I waited until I heard the door close again before I got up, stuffing my underwear in the pocket of my skirt. “Lazy, huh?”

  “Oh, Mindy, there you are. Wesley says we’re going on patrol tonight,” Paul said with a smile. “So glad you decided to show up for work, finally.”

  “Yeah, this really hot tattooed guy I know? He suggested I call off today.”

  “He sounds like a bad influence.”

  “He’s the worst,” I agreed.

  “Well, now that you’re finally here, how about we go to breakfast? Or lunch? Whichever one we’re closer to.”

  “Sure. Give me a minute to go change my clothes and get into some semblance of order,” I said.

  “Yeah, I know what you mean,” he remarked, gesturing to his clothes, which were barely rumpled. “I’d like to get cleaned up before going out in public again too.”

  “Hey, on that subject, can I ask you something personal?” I said.

  He shook his head. “Absolutely not. Nothing personal whatsoever. I don’t think we’re on that level.” He rolled his eyes. “Yes, Mindy, you can ask me whatever you want.”

  “You obviously work out. You’ve got a really nice body hiding behind those layers of dress shirts and undershirts and jackets. So, why do you hide it?”

  He ran a hand over his hair. “Ugh. I have to work out to not make an embarrassment of myself in our uniforms, but that doesn’t mean I want to flaunt it the rest of the time.”

  “Well, why not? ‘If you’ve got it, flaunt it,’ as they say.”

  “Yeah, well, I didn’t exactly have it when I was thirteen, and I think the ghost of that fat kid has followed me around for the rest of my life, all right? I was the typical science geek: chubby, thick glasses, bad acne, the works. And God, that’s probably something I shouldn’t be admitting to you right now.”

  “Oh, come on, Paul, everyone’s hideous when they’re thirteen. You saw me then, remember?”

  “Trust me, you weren’t hideous. And please, let’s not go bringing up the fact that I knew you then. I was twenty-five at the time. That creeps me out.”

  I put my arms around his waist. “Paul Christian is a terrible, evil cradle robber.”

  He grinned. “Shut up.”

  “Make me.”

  He kissed me hard, and I responded in kind.

  “Do me a favor,” I said when we broke apart. “Wear something a little more casual to breakfast. Preferably something that shows off the tat.”

  “I’d have to buy a new wardrobe,” he complained.

  “Don’t tempt me.” I winked at him. “I’ll see you in a few.”

  “Don’t take too long, babe,” he said, watching as I walked out the door.

  Once in the hallway, I looked around. Ugh. Time to do the walk of shame. Please God, don’t let anyone come back this way, I prayed, and hurried as fast as I could without drawing attention to myself to my room.

  I had my hand on the door handle, ready to open it when it opened on its own and Kate stepped out, almost bumping into me.

  “Gods, Mindy, I’m sorry,” she said.

  “It’s okay,” I replied, starting to bolt around her.

  Her viselike grip caught my arm and I looked up, alarmed. She was staring at me as if seeing me anew. Or like she was looking right through me.

  “Kate?” I said, a bit spooked.

  “Oh, my,” she breathed. She looked like I had punched her in the stomach. “I knew you two were having a bit of fun, but I didn’t know…”

  I blanched. “Um, Kate? Can we talk about this inside? And can you let go of my arm?”

  She looked down at her hand, as if for the first time noticing she had it in her grasp. “Sorry. Go ahead.” She stepped aside so I could pass.

  I stripped off my clothes and threw on a fresh tank top and hip-hugging jeans. I wasn’t wearing those killer boots anymore, and I stuffed my feet into the sneakers. Since I didn’t feel like messing with the magic showerhead, I pulled back my hair into a ponytail and noticed Kate watching me in the reflection of the mirror. I sighed. “It just happened, okay?”

  “I know,” she said, her voice soft. Was it my imagination, or did she sound like she was in pain? “I didn’t see it on you until now.”

  “It’s no big deal,” I said, even though it was. I made a halfhearted attempt to repair my makeup in a hurry.

  “I’m happy for you two—really,” Kate said. “I’m glad he finally has someone that deserves him. Someone who loves him like I never could.”

  I paused, lipstick poised in front of my mouth. “Pardon me?”

  She gave me a sad smile. “Oh, Mindy. Don’t try to deny it. Remember who I am. I can see w
hen love has blossomed, okay? You two are in love, I can see it. And I really am happy you’re able to give him what I never could.”

  I stared at her in shock. Don’t get me wrong, I really liked Paul. That much was clear now. And I knew he really liked me, too. And last night had been the most incredible night of my life. I half wanted to ask Kate why she had been crazy enough to cheat on him and toss him aside. Because, wow. But love?

  “I, uh, gotta go,” I said to Kate, throwing the tube of lipstick down. “Paul’s waiting for me.”

  She nodded. “Of course.”

  “And don’t say anything to anyone yet.”

  She nodded again. “I understand. You want to tell them yourselves.”

  “Something like that, yeah.” I headed for the door. “I’ll, uh, see you later.” I closed the door behind me, my stomach flipping. It was way too early in our relationship, and there was way too much insanity going on right now for that kind of intensity.

  I stepped into the common room, and Paul was standing there talking to Luke. He was wearing jeans and a polo shirt, looking somewhat casual. When he saw me, he absently scratched his arm, pushing up his sleeve to reveal the tattoo. He shot me a grin and then said something else to Luke before heading in my direction.

  I shook my head at him, sharing a small smile. Now was not the time to be falling in love. Not with anyone. We were outlaws, and I had crazy people talking in my head.

  So why did I get a giddy feeling in the pit of my stomach just from Paul smiling at me?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  “I feel like a ninja dressed like this,” I complained.

  “Ninjas are silent assassins,” Toby reminded me over the headset as we patrolled. “You couldn’t be silent if your life depended on it, Min.”

  “Hardy-har-har,” I responded, brushing my hair back as I pressed the button that allowed us to talk completely undetected on any frequency.

  “Toby’s right, let’s cut the unnecessary chatter,” a stern voice said over my headset. And then over my shoulder in a low voice, “Ninjas don’t wear bright red lipstick when they’re working, either.”