One-Click Buy: September 2010 Harlequin Blaze

by Lori Wilde

  She looked into the face of the sexiest man she’d ever wished to spend forever with and sighed. He was here, despite the fears she was probably imagining him to have. Was she going to use her own fears, her own feelings of inferiority, as an excuse to chicken out on this relationship?

  A possibility that both terrified her and held unspeakable allure. With Alex, Dru knew, she had a chance to explore what a real relationship was. To open her heart, to take emotional chances. And to prove to herself, once and for all, that while she was her father’s daughter when it came to science, she was nothing like him when it came to being able to make the right choices and be there for someone else.

  She was smart enough to realize she was talking herself into giving this a chance. She was also smart enough to know that not only was it unlikely to go anywhere, but that she’d probably end up hurt one way or another if she gave in to her desire to be with Alex.

  What was she going to do? Before she could figure it out, there was a call from above.

  “Drucilla?”

  Oh, shit.

  “Just a minute, Mom,” she yelled up the stairs.

  “Is there someone here?” And then she heard the only thing that could have made the situation any worse. Her mother’s footsteps heading downstairs.

  Dru closed her eyes against the amused query on Alex’s face and bit her lip. Well, at least now she wouldn’t have to worry about how she’d keep from giving in to Alex’s overtures. After this, she’d have to chase him down and beg for him to acknowledge her.

  Her mom had that kind of personality.

  “Who is it?” Olympia asked, holding her robe closed tight as she peered over the banister.

  “It’s a coworker, Mom. He stopped by with a question.”

  Alex arched a brow, then tried to look past her. Dru shifted to block his view.

  “Is he staying for dinner?”

  Horrified, Dru started to yell “No!” But as usual, Alex was quicker. A triumphant sort of glee filled his voice as he said loudly, “I’d love to stay for dinner.”

  HE KNEW she was irritated, but Alex couldn’t help grinning at Drucilla. This was just so perfect.

  “What’s for eats?” he asked quietly as Drucilla’s mother yelled down something about showering before the meal.

  “Pig entrails laced with hemlock,” Dru deadpanned, still standing in the center of the doorway.

  “Yum.”

  Despite her glare, her lips twitched.

  “Drucilla,” her mother called again. “Be sure to use the good plates.”

  Her glare turned into a sigh of defeat.

  “You really, really don’t have to stay,” she muttered, finally moving aside. Crossing the threshold, Alex made sure to step close enough that he could breathe in her scent, deliciously layered with rich chocolate.

  “Of course I do,” he insisted. “I can’t disappoint your mother. And besides, the stubborn look on your face gives me the feeling you’re going to be hard to pin down again anytime soon.”

  He loved the way her chin lifted and she gave him a look of frustration.

  “Okay, fine. Whatever,” she said with a jerky shrug. She eyed the staircase her mother had disappeared up before Alex could see her, then headed toward the back of the house. “It’s not like you’re going to stick around for long, anyway.”

  Alex winced. He hadn’t thought she’d care if he left for a few days. Despite their encounter in the car, he’d have thought she’d be just as glad to see him gone. The way she’d acted when she’d seen him in the doorway had made him think he was right.

  But her eyes told him different. He saw the pain she was trying to hide. That he’d hurt her made him feel about a half an inch tall and a little slimy.

  “I had to step in and help an old colleague,” he explained, his words rushed and tumbling over themselves. “He called that night, you know, after you dropped me off? He had the swine flu and a huge presentation due Wednesday that related back to a black hole project we’d worked on together.”

  “You don’t have to explain yourself.” Her words came out like a statement with a sigh tacked on the end. Alex frowned, not sure if that meant she was impressed, irritated or resigned.

  “My hypothesis was key to his breakthrough and subsequent funding for this project,” he said, as if he was making an excuse. He wanted to smack himself in the head. He should have called her. Sure, he might have a Y chromosome, but that didn’t mean he was clueless about how women thought.

  Hell, he wasn’t stupid.

  He was just surprisingly slow when it came to thinking of anything other than his own needs.

  That realization didn’t make him feel any less tiny or slimy.

  Nor did the slightly hurt, considering look Drucilla gave him.

  “What?” he asked, his tone more defensive than he’d intended.

  “Nothing. Just wondering if you’ll drop everything, or everyone, to hurry back and help me with some future aspect of the string project someday.”

  “Of course,” he started to say. Then he sighed and grabbed her arm before she could leave the foyer. “Drucilla, I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “For being inconsiderate and hurting your feelings.”

  “Did I say my feelings were hurt?”

  He arched his brow.

  Giving him a frustrated look, she finally rolled her eyes and shrugged, then led him into the kitchen.

  Alex didn’t know what he’d done that had pushed the magic button. But whatever it was, he thought as he settled into a white ladder-back chair to watch her wash the chocolate off her hands, he was grateful.

  For a second, he fixated on the way the water sluiced over her skin, watching her fingers rub sensually against one another.

  That simple act turned him on. Lecturing himself not to come across as a sex-crazed jerk, he vowed then and there that tonight, no sex. This visit was all about getting to know Drucilla, not getting to do her.

  He finally tore his eyes off her and looked around the house curiously.

  “Does your mom live with you?” he asked, eyeing the lush display of potted plants and greenery through the window over her shoulder.

  “This is my mom’s house,” she told him. “I’m not usually here, but she didn’t feel well so I came by to make her dinner and stock her freezer.”

  His heart warmed and he smiled so big, she turned pink.

  “Aren’t you the good daughter,” he teased softly. From her shocked look, that wasn’t something she heard too often.

  Alex wondered about her relationship with her mother. Close, if she’d drop her Saturday plans so easily. But then he remembered Drucilla’s discomfort when she’d mentioned her mother before.

  “So you and your mom are tight?” he asked.

  She gave him a long, silent look as if she was trying to decipher the answer to that question in his eyes. Then she shrugged.

  “I need to finish this,” she said, gesturing to the bowls of chocolate and whipped cream and chunks of brownie, clearly wanting to change the subject. “Would you like some coffee while we wait for dinner?”

  He eyed the chocolate concoction and remembered the taste of the brownie on her fingers. “Can I have a bite of that instead?”

  She glanced at the dessert, then gave him one of those looks. He recognized that look. It was usually preceded by naked moaning and tongues dancing over heated flesh.

  He liked that look.

  He liked even more when she scooped up a fingerful of the pudding, then dabbed on a bit of whipped cream. He eyed the finger she held out, then the bare skin of her shoulders, highlighted by her sleeveless purple blouse.

  She stepped over, stopping between his legs, and lifted her finger. Holding her wrist, Alex brought the finger to his mouth and first licked, then sucked the entire chocolate-covered digit between his lips.

  “Delicious,” he said.

  “Is it?” Her smile was the sweetest thing, a little giddy and nervous,
but so sexy.

  “You should taste it, too.”

  She raised a brow, then ran her tongue over her bottom lip. He almost groaned. She lifted her still-chocolate-covered finger and smoothed it over his mouth. This time, he did groan.

  She giggled, then planted a hand on either side of him on the table. She leaned over, her blouse gaping. Then her laughing eyes still locked on his, she ran her tongue over the chocolate, sipping it gently before nipping erotically.

  He felt that tiny bite as if she’d nipped her way through his jeans. Desire mingled with that delicious sensation of just-this-side-of-pain passion.

  To hell with gentlemanly vows and getting to know each other and all that crap. He stood so fast, she almost fell backward. Grabbing her hips, Alex dived into the wild kiss, pouring all his pent-up sexual frustration into that erotic dance between their mouths.

  Alex groaned when Drucilla pulled her lips away from his. She sucked in a deep breath that pressed the soft cushion of her breasts against his chest, making him want to groan again.

  “We can’t do this,” she said breathlessly.

  “Sure we can.”

  “No. We can’t,” she insisted, sounding more like herself as she slid out of his arms. “The shower’s off. My mother will be down in a few minutes.”

  Having to respect that, Alex started reciting the weight of Jupiter’s moons to regain control.

  “This isn’t quite the way I’d hoped to have dinner with you,” he confessed with a half laugh.

  She bit her lip, then offered a small smile and said, “Maybe tomorrow instead?”

  His relief was so huge, it overwhelmed him. Alex’s smile damn near split his face and he nodded quickly. A date. They had a date.

  Then he heard his own thoughts and shook his head. What the hell was going on? He never got this worked up over a woman. His upbringing had pounded home the fact that all things in life were transient, including relationships.

  Especially relationships. Maybe it was his job, that he was never in one place longer than a few months. Or his obsession with science, falling one hundred percent into projects. Probably it was genetic, since no Maddow male had ever had a lasting, healthy relationship. But Alex had learned young that he’d better count on going solo.

  Sure, he’d forgotten, temporarily, on the beach with Drucilla when he’d thought he was falling for her. But he’d learned his lesson, hadn’t he? This was just about sex. About wanting to taste her a few more times before he moved on.

  Which meant he shouldn’t be getting excited and hoping for more than just dinner. Alex tried to come to terms with the emotions battering his system.

  As if sensing his turmoil, Drucilla eyed him as she spooned chocolaty pudding over a layer of broken brownies.

  “Why’d you come by, again?” she asked.

  “I thought maybe we could spend the evening together. You know, just hang out.”

  She made a cute little O with her mouth.

  “I was hoping we could get to know each other. The real each other, better,” he added when she kept staring.

  She tilted her head, started to say something, then stopped.

  “The real each other?”

  “Yeah. You know, beyond the vacation and work personas.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

  He could actually see it. The razor-sharp dive off an emotional cliff, no safe landing in sight. Just a morass of commitment nightmares and painful circumstances.

  A dozen blithe excuses fumbled through his mind. Easy outs that would let him step back from the cliff without shame.

  “I have feelings for you, Drucilla. I don’t know what they are or where they’re going. I just know I want a chance to find out,” he confessed, despite the voice in his head screaming a warning.

  He didn’t care about warnings, though. He wanted to go to her, grab her and kiss her senseless. A few kisses and getting rid of that blouse and he was pretty sure he could convince her of anything.

  “Let’s start with dinner,” he finally suggested.

  Relief mingled with a giddy sort of happiness that left him feeling a little dorky. Alex grinned. Then Dru did something that made him feel even better. She changed the subject and started talking everyday stuff. He leaned back in the chair, letting the simple joy of just chatting wash away the dorkiness.

  Ten minutes later, she’d finished dessert, taken lasagna from the oven and they’d shared first-science-fair stories.

  She grimaced when she heard steps overhead.

  “Why do you look so unexcited?” he asked with a grin. “Are you worried about what your mom will think? Maybe you’re afraid she’ll start planning our future?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Hardly. I know she’ll hate you. I’m more worried about how you’ll feel about me after meeting her.”

  “Hate me?” His voice rose in shock.

  She arched a brow as if to say, Focus.

  “Feel about you?” he corrected quickly, even though his brain was still stuck on the hating thing. Parents never hated him.

  “My mother is…difficult.”

  “You mentioned that your parents moved a lot.” He glanced out the window at the postcard-size lawn and many pots of lush flowers. “And I can see what you meant about your mother’s green thumb. How does that translate to difficult?”

  She followed his glance as if looking for a description in the yard, then shrugged and faced him again. “Just promise me one thing.”

  “Anything.”

  “After dinner, you have to come back to my apartment for hot, wild sex.” She leaned over to kiss his slightly gaping mouth. “Promise.”

  Before he could do more than nod dumbly, she turned to greet her mother. Alex winced a little as he shifted in his chair, using the table to hide his driftwood-size hard-on. Not rising to greet the woman who looked like an older, unhappy version of Drucilla was rude. But greeting her while sporting a predinner woody was probably even ruder.

  Five minutes later, he was both presentable and a whole lot clearer on what Drucilla had meant. Her mother was…grumpy was the only word that came to mind. It was like having dinner with a little black rain cloud. But a sparkling smile peeked out every once in a while through the gloom.

  Beneath the negative attitude, though, it was crystal clear the woman loved her daughter. Pride lurked behind every critical reminder. Joy sparked when she took Alex through to see the display of science awards.

  He couldn’t wait to tell Drucilla she’d been wrong. He did like her mom. And he was pretty sure that while liking would be pushing the envelope, she at least didn’t hate him.

  But, damn, he was looking forward to their after-dinner treat anyway.

  12

  DRU WEAVED HER WAY through the upscale early crowd at the legendary Palace Hotel, unable to stop smiling. Life was good. Since that painfully awkward dinner at her mother’s house, and then the awesomely delicious “dessert” at her apartment, she’d spent every one of the last six nights with Alex.

  The project was going great, as well. Even Dr. Shelby said so. Her team was moving through the calculations faster than they’d anticipated, which boded well for funding. If they did, in fact, try to push this to the next level the way Alex wanted.

  She was having awesome sex regularly. Her mom had actually asked that she bring Alex back for dinner again and had even offered to cook. And, best of all, Dru had woken that morning to a gorgeous, hard-bodied man with his face between her thighs.

  Oh, yeah, life was pretty damn good.

  She giggled and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, worrying for just a second about leaving it down instead of confining it in a braid.

  Alex liked it loose.

  Dru reached the romantic gilt-and-crystal entrance of the Garden Court restaurant, sighing at the curved-glass ceilings and stunning chandeliers before stepping up to the maître d’ station. She tugged at her tan linen blazer and quickly dusted her fingers over her taupe slacks.
/>   Alex liked colors on her, too.

  Much like their sex life, he didn’t always get what he wanted. Her smile, perpetually on the surface these days, flashed again. Sometimes she was the one calling the shots.

  Her heels clipped across the marble floor as she made her way past the velvet settees to the linen-covered tables. She stepped onto the thick Oriental carpet, scanning the room carefully. Her gaze finally landed on the elegant brunette she recognized from the portfolio photo. It looked as if Dru wasn’t the only one who liked to arrive early. “Ms. Pownter?”

  The potential patron’s smile was chilly enough to make Dru want to take notes. Her ice princess act was nothing on this gal’s. Dru slid into the chair opposite the woman and smiled, ready to learn a thing or two.

  In the next half hour she’d gone beyond impressed to blown away. Charlene Pownter was not only financially savvy, she had more than a basic understanding of the cosmic string project and a firm grasp of the telescope’s potential. She was also in total control of the discussion, despite the fact that Dru was the supposed expert at the table.

  “I’ve read your project hypothesis and the suggested means of research. Based on your reputation, and Dr. Maddow’s, of course, I think there’s a great deal of potential here. I have to ask, do you really believe you need to go to these lengths to prove the cosmic strings’ gravitational influence on hydrogen gas in space?”

  Dru sipped the orange juice the waiter had just poured, and thanked him before smiling at Charlene.

  “I’ll be perfectly honest,” she said, leaning forward, “to date, we’re seeing a great deal of success in producing the mathematical model that should prove the theory quite viable. But as well as that’s going, I really do believe we stand to make a huge scientific impact by expanding the project and proving the hypothesis instead of simply substantiating it mathematically.”

  “And Dr. Maddow?”

  Dru didn’t figure she was asking about Alex’s huge impact.

  “What about him?”

  “Is he as integral to the project as our telephone conference indicated or was that his ego speaking?”