by Leanne Banks
Her gaze swerved from his, flitting around until she saw the new clock radio on the counter. There was a rose on top of the clock. Her heart squeezed and she picked up the flower. “Eli, it’s beautiful. You shouldn’t have.” She meant it. Roses and relationships and romance went together, and Andie wasn’t sure she was ready to take on the three R’s with Eli. “And the new radio sounds wonderful. But you really didn’t have to get it for me.”
There was a long pause before she heard him make a sound somewhere between a growl and a cough. Andie turned around and glanced at him curiously. He was rubbing his forehead. “Eli?”
He sighed and stared to the left of her. “Yeah, I should have. My son wrecked your clock and you needed a new one. But I didn’t get it because I should have. I got it because I wanted to—” Breaking off, he swore in masculine frustration. “Andie, next time you decide to wear a dress that doesn’t have a back, I’d appreciate a warning.”
She had forgotten about the sheer insert in the back of the dress as soon as she’d put it on. “Well, it has one,” she said. “It’s just covered in—”
“Something as substantial as hydrogen.”
“Nylon with little golden threads,” she corrected, unable to tell if he liked it or not. “It’s just my back.”
Eli’s jaw was so set it could have been chiseled from stone. He stepped closer. “Where’s your cover-up?”
Indignation threatened inside her like a storm warning. “There is none,” she told him. “And if there were, I wouldn’t wear it in eighty-degree weather in June. Besides, it’s not as if I’m baring my—” When Eli’s gaze drifted down to her pendant, Andie suddenly changed her mind about bringing up the subject of her breasts. “Well, I’m not baring anything I shouldn’t. Aren’t you being a little stuffy?”
Eli blinked and his green eyes glinted dangerously. “Stuffy,” he repeated, grinding his teeth. “You think I’m being stuffy when I’m trying to keep my colleagues’ teeth marks out of your back.”
The image was so ludicrous she exhaled in disgust. “Oh, now you’re exaggerating.” She stiffened her spine and looked up at him. “I’m sorry if you don’t like this dress, but I do.”
Eli’s gaze meshed silently with hers for a long, heated moment, then he stepped closer and lifted his hand to cup her chin. “I didn’t say I didn’t like it. As a matter of fact, I like it so much I want to remove it,” he said in a low intimate voice that turned her to butter as he dipped his head toward hers. “I’d just as soon stay here and find out what’s underneath.”
His mouth brushed hers and excitement raced through her. Skimming back and forth with just enough pressure to make her want more, it was the most tantalizing kiss she’d ever experienced. “Stay?” he asked against her lips.
Heaven help her, she was tempted. She knew, however, that Eli should make this appearance for the sake of his career. And she still wasn’t sure she should get more deeply involved with him. Andie muffled a moan. Her body and heart warred with her better judgment. She thought about giving him what he wanted, giving herself what she wanted, but she still feared for her heart—the little organ wasn’t quite healed from a bad bruise.
“No, we need to go,” she said, thinking he would never know how much they needed to go. Avoiding his gaze, she forced her feet to move in the direction of her side door and walked outside. The hot, humid night offered little respite from her simmering, turbulent emotions.
Within seconds, Eli joined her and opened the car’s passenger door for her. Resting his hand on the door, he looked down at her as she slid in. “I don’t think you understand the scientific mind. Every man in my lab will look at your dress and dedicate himself to solving the logistical question of what kind of bra you’re wearing.”
Bemused, Andie stared at him. She shook her head. “The salesclerk told me I didn’t really—” She quickly shut her mouth before she spouted the rest of the salesclerk’s wisdom.
“Didn’t really what?”
Uncomfortable, Andie glanced away. “Well, she said I wouldn’t need—” Feeling her cheeks flood with heat, she broke off again. Torn between embarrassment and irritation, she wondered what it was about the way he asked a question that compelled her to answer. “Must we discuss this?”
“Okay,” he relented in a low voice. “As long as you understand that every man in my lab includes me.”
Her heart pounded in an unfamiliar, heady rhythm. She looked at him and fought the excitement and the faintest trickle of secret guilt. It hadn’t been her goal to drive Eli crazy, but she had to admit the idea was decadent and exhilarating.
He narrowed his eyes in comprehension. As if he could read her like a book, his gaze dropped to her breasts. “You’re not wearing one at all,” he said and swore under his breath. “Next, you’ll be putting bamboo sticks under my fingernails,” he muttered, and slammed her car door closed.
* * *
They drove to the cocktail party in silence. All that internal masculine energy Eli kept restrained seemed ready to burst forth any minute. He exuded so much of it Andie wondered how the car contained it all; she had never been so aware of being a mere mortal woman of average intelligence and energy. She felt distinctly out of her league.
They entered the elegantly appointed and spacious home of Dr. Berylman, the director of the research center, and they were immediately surrounded. Nearly tripping over his tongue with praise, the director patted Eli on the back and introduced him to a studious-looking group of men. Heads turned, people whispered and nodded. Andie noticed several others jockeying for position to meet Eli. Within five minutes, Andie learned something about Eli.
He was obviously the king of this jungle.
He was also having to work at maintaining a polite facade of interest. With all the shifting and introductions, Andie soon got separated from Eli. She took advantage of the opportunity to get something cool to drink.
A thin dark-haired young woman stood beside her and nodded. “The Chablis is nice,” she said.
Andie shook her head and patted her evening purse. “My beeper’s in here. I’m on call at the hospital tonight, so I have to stick with ginger ale. Andie Reynolds,” she said, extending her hand.
“Dr. Rachel Cudahey,” the woman said, shaking Andie’s hand. “I notice you arrived with Dr. Masters. I work with him in the lab.”
It took a moment for that to compute. “Oh, Eli,” Andie said, amused at her momentary inability to connect Dr. Masters with Eli.
Rachel regarded her curiously. “You know him well?”
Not as well as she’d like to. She tripped over the unchecked thought. “We’re neighbors,” she told Rachel.
“Hey, Rachel, looks like our golden boy is setting them on their ears tonight,” a man said in a dry voice as he approached.
Irritation flickered across Rachel’s features. “Dr. Sampson, meet Andie Reynolds, Dr. Masters’s guest for the evening. She’s his neighbor.”
In his early thirties with a receding hairline, Dr. Sampson looked abashed for all of one moment. “Pardon me, and please call me Bill.” He stared at Andie. “I didn’t expect Dr. Masters to bring someone with him, particularly such an attractive woman.”
Rachel rolled her eyes. “Forgive him. He has the social manners of a cow.”
Undaunted, Bill went on. “Rachel’s as curious as I am. She’s just too uptight to admit it.” He leaned forward in a confiding manner. “So tell me what do you and the great Masters talk about?”
Taken aback, Andie’s mind went blank. She hesitated. “Well...”
Bill lifted an eyebrow and gave her a considering look. “Or maybe you don’t do much talking.”
Rachel tossed Bill a withering glance. “You’re such an idiot. Andie is a doctor at the hospital.”
“She is?”
“No, I’m not. I’m a nurse,” Andie told them.
While the uncomfortable silence hung for a moment, she let that information sink in. She realized his co-workers were bursting
with curiosity about Eli. Otherwise she could have been offended. “Eli and I have discussed his son, his brothers, my dog, my work, automobile maintenance and the Three Stooges,” she added on a wry note. “That’s not a complete list, but since I’ve answered your question, I’d like you to answer one of mine.”
“Of course,” Rachel said. “Brothers? I didn’t know he had brothers.”
“Younger,” Andie told her. “Caleb and Ash.”
Bill chuckled. “The Three Stooges,” he said absently, confirming Andie’s theory about the widespread appeal of the Stooges among men.
“So, what kind of woman did you expect Eli to bring tonight?”
“None,” Rachel said.
“A brain-surgeon type,” Bill said at the same time.
“He doesn’t even notice women at the lab,” Rachel argued, and Andie thought she detected a bit of feminine pique.
“I didn’t expect a looker, more of a cerebral type. Definitely someone in Mensa and...”
Bill was still talking, but Andie’s mind hung on two words, looker and Mensa. She didn’t know whether to be flattered or offended. She’d never been called a looker, and she’d never been overly concerned about her average intelligence. Until now.
Feeling a hand on her back, in the middle of the nylon cutout, she turned around to face a tall blond man.
He smiled. “Hello there, I’m Dr. Tim Wollking. I’m sure we haven’t met.”
“Andie Reynolds,” she said, stepping slightly away. Unfortunately Dr. Wollking’s hand followed.
“Lovely dress,” he murmured, gazing at her black chemise as if he’d like to take it apart. Eli’s comment floated back to her.
“Thank—”
“Andie.” She heard Eli’s voice and felt his hand on her arm. The strangest relief ran through her.
“Rachel, Bill.” Eli nodded, then fixed his gaze on the man whose hand had rested on Andie’s back. Eli wasn’t prone to violence, but he’d nearly snapped his wineglass when he’d seen Wollking moving in on Andie. “Dr. Wollking. You’ve met my—” he paused, stifling a primitive urge to say my woman “—date.”
Wollking nodded, but still eyed the back of Andie’s dress.
Bill cleared his throat nervously. It seemed to Eli that Bill was always nervous. “Yes, Dr. Masters, she mentioned that she’s your neighbor.”
“Yes.” My neighbor, my date, my lover, if he had anything to do with it. Feeling Andie’s curious gaze on him, Eli reined himself under control. “Dr. Berylman missed meeting her. You’ll have to excuse us. Enjoy your evening. Good to see you, Rachel,” he managed to say, thinking his limited supply of social small talk was nearly depleted. He led Andie away.
“Interesting people,” she murmured. “Are all of them in your lab?”
“Wollking’s at the same center, but not in my lab. He’s very competitive.”
“Didn’t you say that about Caleb?”
“Caleb’s different.” He waved to an approaching colleague, but kept moving. “He wouldn’t stab you in the back. He’d just run himself into the ground to win a race with a different research group.”
“And Wollking would,” she mused. “He seemed a little—”
“Lecherous,” Eli supplied grimly as he turned the corner away from the bulk of the party guests. “I saw his hand on your back. He was trying to look down the front of your dress.”
“Is this where you say I told you so?” Andie asked.
Eli drew in a deep breath and stopped in the hallway. He looked at her, and despite her testiness, he felt the same strange combination of relief and excitement he always felt when he was with her. He shook his head, wondering why. “Saying I told you so would be redundant.”
She held his gaze for a moment as if she couldn’t decide whether to remain irritated with him or not, then she glanced away. “You know Bill and Rachel are dying of curiosity about you.”
Eli did a mental double take. “You must be mistaken. They know my qualifications, degrees and—”
Andie shook her head. “But what do they know about you personally?”
Eli drew back. “Nothing. I make a point of separating my professional life from my personal life.”
Andie nodded slowly with a considering expression on her face. “What do you know about Bill?”
Eli called up the stats in his memory. “He graduated at the top of his class in chemistry. He’s published several articles in assorted professional journals, won an award for a paper he wrote when he was working on his doctorate.”
Andie shrugged. “And personally?”
Eli thought of the one way he could characterize Bill. “He’s nervous.”
“Around you. This sounds like a wonderful work environment.”
Determined not to take offense, he watched her. “You’re being sarcastic.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Yes. Is the reason you don’t develop some sort of relationship with one another because the competition is so fierce?”
Eli thought about that. “No. But researchers do their share of moving around.”
“Don’t you think the group might work together more cohesively if you knew one another a little better?”
“You’re suggesting some sort of bonding activity,” he said, unable to hide his distaste. “Perhaps a communication retreat.”
“No.” Andie sighed. “Nothing that formal or time-consuming. Just a backyard barbe—”
He groaned. “Save me.”
Andie’s chin lifted. “Say what you want, Dr. Masters, but your two colleagues were pumping me for every bit of information I would give. They don’t really know you at all. Bill pictured you with a brain surgeon, Mensa type of woman. Not a looker, he said.” Andie shook her head as if she still couldn’t comprehend it. “He doesn’t get out much, does he?”
Eli was trying to sift through her various comments. He chuckled. “It’s good to know Bill has such good taste.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s not the point. The point is if they want to know, why don’t they ask you?”
Eli shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe they’re intimidated. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t affect their work.” He found her concern both heartwarming and exasperating. “You don’t understand research labs. We operate from a scientific point of view. You operate from a more nurturing...” Eli’s words faded as he saw from Andie’s facial expression that he’d offended her.
Her eyes flashed and she let out her breath in a little huff. “What you’re saying is that since I’m not in Mensa, my poor little brain couldn’t begin to comprehend your complex world.” She pointed to her chest. “Surely I couldn’t offer any helpful advice....”
Andie was just starting to wind up when Eli heard the voices of approaching guests. He swore under his breath. Refusing to go back into that crowd, he glanced around and spotted a door. He jerked it open and pulled her into a large closet.
She gave a muffled squeak of surprise. “What—”
Eli covered her mouth with his hand. “Shh.” Through the cracks around the door, light from the hall filtered into the small cubicle. He looked down into Andie’s wide-eyed gaze of astonishment and kept his hand over her mouth even when the guests had passed. Lord, he’d never been this frustrated in his life, sexually, mentally, emotionally. Her self-deprecating little speech had nearly driven him nuts.
Taking a deep breath to get a grip, he shook his head. “You think you’re not a looker,” he said in disbelief.
Her eyes widened.
He backed her toward the wall. “You actually think I don’t consider you a damn intelligent woman.”
She made a muffled sound that vibrated against his hand.
“Miss Reynolds, you have underestimated yourself.” He chuckled grimly and lifted his other hand to her hip. “I believe it’s time I showed you just how much you’ve underestimated yourself. Time I showed you exactly what I think of you.”
Chapter Nine
Andie stared into Eli’s eyes
and nearly fainted with shock. He removed his hand from her mouth and she sucked in a quick, shallow breath. “You’re going to show me in a closet!”
Unfazed by the shrill note in her voice, he kept his gaze on her with singular intent. “If necessary.” He dropped his lips to her neck, making her heart race.
A wicked, wicked thrill raced through her. “Oh, Eli, we—we—” His mouth swallowed her protest. His tongue slid deliciously past her lips and every cell in her body responded.
Eli tugged the skirt of her dress upward and skimmed his hand down to the top of her thigh. He stopped when he connected with bare flesh. Dragging his mouth from hers, he heaved a broken breath. His green eyes latched onto hers with laserlike intensity. “I can feel your skin,” he said in husky amazement and gently squeezed her bare thigh. “What are you wearing?”
His touch was an intimate hug. Andie bit her lip. “Thigh-high stockings,” she managed breathlessly. “They stay up with—”
Eli groaned. “God help me, I’m imagining what you look like in your stockings, heels and nothing else.”
Another wild, decadent thrill shot through her, weakening her knees. “Eli, we can’t do this,” she whispered as she clung to him. “We’re in your director’s home,” she said, grasping for some shred of sanity even as he nuzzled her neck again. “This can’t be happening. This kind of thing doesn’t happen to me. Men don’t act crazy around me.” When he nudged her dress past one shoulder, she moaned. He was so warm, so solid, so aroused. “I’m the sister type, the girl next door, faithful friend—”
Eli gave a growl of frustration, and gently but firmly shoved her dress down her arms baring her breasts. He sucked in a deep breath and his eyes filled with desire. “Oh, Andie, you might be a faithful friend, and you might live next door, but you are definitely not my sister.” He lifted his hands to cup her breasts. “You’re so beautiful.”
Her breath stopped. She couldn’t speak, wasn’t sure she could think, could only feel. His thumbs brushed her nipples and she closed her eyes in pleasure.