“I broke one of your rules?”
“You sound happy about it.”
“I’m totally happy about it. If I’d known you had that rule I would have been even more determined.”
“You were pretty damned determined.” He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’m happy to help you break a few rules.”
“I can tell you are. Spending time with you has been an education.”
“Is that good or bad?”
He straightened and gazed at her. “Good, definitely good.” He reached over and cupped her check. “This wasn’t how I imagined things going, but as you said to me while we were playing Twister, I’ll make it up to you.”
Her pulse leaped. “I look forward to it. Want to go in, now?” She reached for the door handle.
“More than ever. But stay there. I want to get your door.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“I think it is. You told me earlier that some big girls like to be treated like a princess.”
She was touched that he remembered that offhand remark. “I was kidding.”
“Really?”
“Actually, no. I don’t require that a guy treats me like a princess, but it doesn’t hurt.”
“Then allow me to get your door.”
The evening was turning out to be a resounding success and it wasn’t over yet. Excitement twirled in her stomach as they walked hand-in-hand up to her apartment door. Then she remembered something important. Until that moment she’d been so awash in lust that she’d forgotten about Hercules.
Her orange tabby, a Garfield look-alike, didn’t like sharing her with anyone. She hadn’t brought a guy home since adopting Hercules last year. He wasn’t keen on visitors in general but he grudgingly tolerated them if she held him and petted him while they were there. That wouldn’t be happening tonight. She’d be holding and petting Frazer, instead.
Before she opened the door, she paused. “I apologize. I should have mentioned this before, but I have a cat. I hope you’re not allergic.”
“I’m not. We had one when I was a kid. Copernicus.”
She decided not to mention the possessive part. Maybe Hercules would surprise her and accept Frazer. “Okay, then.” She opened the door and Hercules ran to meet her until he noticed she’d brought an intruder. He backed away and hissed.
“Hey, Hercules,” she crooned. “He’s a friend.”
“Hercules? Not Yoda or Chewbacca?”
“He was two when I adopted him and was used to his name so I kept it.” And he was still hissing, but that was normal when someone new arrived.
Frazer crouched to cat height and held out his hand. “Don’t worry, buddy, I won’t hurt you.”
Hercules arched his back and hissed some more.
“I don’t think he’s worried about you hurting him. More likely he’s afraid you’ll claim my attention.”
“He’s not wrong.” Frazer stood and reached for her, drawing her close enough to feel the hard ridge of his cock. “Consider your attention claimed.”
When Dulcie wound her arms around his neck and snuggled closer, Hercules let out a piercing yowl of protest.
She groaned. “That’s not a good sign.”
“Let me guess. He’s jealous.”
“Right. He doesn’t think I should be doing this.”
“Does he get a vote?”
“No.” But she winced as the cat tuned up again. “It’s late, though, and I have neighbors who are no doubt trying to sleep.”
“I wish them luck with that. He could double as a police siren.”
She wiggled out of Frazer’s embrace. “Let me see if I can calm him down.” Sure enough, once she scooped up Hercules and cuddled him, he settled in and began to purr.
“Now I’m the one who’s jealous.”
She glanced at Frazer. Seeing the heat in his blue eyes made her quiver with longing, but she had a hunch if she put Hercules down he’d just start yowling again. “What a dumb situation. I don’t know what to do.”
“This hasn’t happened before?”
“I’ve only had him six months. I adopted him right after I took the job at BMUS. When anyone comes over, he’s okay if I love on him like this.”
“I see.” A smile tilted the corners of his mouth. “Could get a little awkward later on.”
“Yeah.” She was glad he saw the humor in the situation.
“I could offer to leave but that doesn’t work for me.”
She held his gaze. “Not for me, either.”
“Or we could both leave and head over to my place.”
“Maybe we should.” She blew out a breath. “When I invited you here I forgot about Hercules. I should have remembered he was a potential glitch.”
“You know what, we shouldn’t go to my place. That’s only a temporary solution. We need to solve this.”
The implications of his statement took her by surprise. “We do?”
His gaze grew gentle. “You took me to your family birthday party so I could meet your peeps. Then you introduced me to Gopher Hole Golf, one of your favorite places. After that you invited me to come home with you, something you haven’t done with any guy since you started working at BMUS. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that doesn’t sound as if you’re looking for a one-night stand.”
Chapter Five
Frazer decided to be philosophical about this development. When the evening had begun, he’d never dreamed he’d be standing in Dulcie’s apartment and she’d be looking at him as if she wanted to lick him all over. Judging from her expression, she agreed with his little speech. She was looking for more than a few nights of hot sex.
But the cat she obviously loved was giving him a green-eyed stare that communicated extreme loathing. That would need to change, but cats were complicated creatures. Living with Copernicus years ago and observing several others had taught Frazer a few things.
Sure, most of them liked being snuggled against a warm human, but unlike dogs they didn’t crave that contact twenty-four/seven. Eventually they’d tire of the bonding ritual and seek out their own space. Hercules might be sticking like glue right now, but that wouldn’t last forever.
Frazer decided to wait him out. “Got a deck of cards?”
“Yes.” Dulcie looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Why?”
“Here’s my plan. We play cards while you hold Hercules and I totally ignore him. I predict he’ll either get bored and go off to do his own thing or get used to me.”
“He might, but it could take awhile.”
“I’ve got time. But if you’re tired, then I can just –”
“Not tired. Fascinated. Most people who visit knock themselves out trying to make friends with him.”
“That might work with some cats, but I’ve never met one. All the cats I’ve ever known wanted to be friends on their terms. I kinda like that about them.”
“Me, too.” She smiled and hoisted Hercules to her shoulder. “There’s a deck of cards in the left-hand drawer of my desk if you wouldn’t mind getting them.”
“Sure thing.” He finally took the time to glance around her living room. Until now he’d been focused on sex and the cat preventing them from having it. The room looked like her – bright primary colors and furniture with soft rounded lines. Even her desk was kidney-shaped with curved edges.
He wondered what she’d make of the contrast between his place and hers. He’d stuck to neutrals because it was harder to make a mistake and his furniture had a lot of crisp angles. He’d told himself that it looked manly, but compared to her living room his now seemed a little cold.
After rummaging a bit he found the cards behind a DVD about the study of exoplanets. He pulled that out, too. “Have you watched this?”
“Oh, so that’s where I stuck it! My DVD cabinet is stuffed full and I just bought that one. I was tidying up, shoved it in a drawer and then forgot where I put it. Thank you for findi
ng it for me!”
“My mom was a consultant on this one.”
“No kidding! What a small world.”
“You’re interested in space?”
“Well, duh. I fell in love with Yoda at a young age, remember?”
“Sure, but lots of people love Yoda who don’t care about actual space exploration.”
“I do. I also love everything Star Trek – the movies, the TV shows, the works.”
“That’s not real, either.”
“I know, Frazer. But it will be, some day. We’ll find life on other planets. I hope I’m around when that happens.”
“I hope I am, too.” He suddenly pictured a future in which they were together when that discovery was made and how exciting it would be to share that moment with her. Wow, that sure was jumping the gun. He hadn’t even made friends with her cat.
“We can play cards on the kitchen table.” She led the way into her kitchen. “Oh, man, I just remembered I promised to give you something to eat. I’ll bet you’re starving to death.”
“Nope.” He pulled out a chair for her and Hercules glared at him from the shelter of her arms as she sat down.
“But your stomach was growling at the golf course.”
“To be honest, it wasn’t.” He took a chair opposite her and unwound the rubber band from around the well-worn cards.
“But you said –”
“That was a moan of sexual delight.” He began shuffling the cards.
“On the golf course?”
“Sexy place, that golf course.” He noticed Hercules was watching him shuffle.
“No, it’s not.”
“Depends on your perspective. When I happened to be standing a few feet behind you when you leaned over to tee up your ball, it was a damned sexy golf course.”
Her cheeks turned pink. “You moaned when I leaned over? That’s what I heard?”
“Yep.” He started dealing the cards. “That little butt wiggle you do before you draw back your club is nice, too. Gets me hot.”
“I had no idea. I thought you were hungry.”
He held her gaze as he continued to deal. “I am.”
Her breath caught. “No fair. I’m holding a cat.”
“Like I said, I can wait. Patience is one of my long suits.”
“Not mine.”
“You could try hugging and squeezing him. They usually hate that.”
“Not this one. He loves it.” She glanced at the pile of cards in front of her. “What on earth are we playing? You dealt out all the cards.”
“War.”
“War?” She blinked. “The self-proclaimed mathematical genius decides to play the easiest game on the planet? What’s up with that?”
“I figure it’ll bore the cat and he’ll leave.”
She chuckled. “Yeah, right. He hates the game of War. Refuses to play it with me because it’s so lame.”
“Actually, I can’t handle anything more challenging.” He turned over his first card.
“See? You really are tired. You’re just not willing to admit it.” She took his card with a higher one.
“Definitely not tired, but desperate to get naked with you.”
“Ditto.” She claimed his next card, too, and the one after that.
“You’re good at this game.”
“I’m using the Force.”
He laughed loud enough to startle the cat. “Sorry. That was funny.”
“You don’t believe me?”
“Listen, Dulcie, if you’re that strong in the Force, how about using it to convince Hercules he needs a nice long nap on the sofa?” He won his first card and started his own pile.
“You know, you might be a genius after all. I didn’t think of that. I’ll try it.”
“Can’t hurt.” His luck changed then and he began collecting more cards. She’d probably say it was because she was focusing her powers on the cat. Although that was unscientific as hell, he decided not to talk for a while and see what happened.
After about ten minutes of silence except for the slap of the cards on the table, damned if Hercules didn’t hop down and wander out of the kitchen.
Frazer glanced across at her. “He left.”
“I noticed.”
“Think he’s headed for the sofa?”
“Either that or my bed.”
“You didn’t specify the sofa?”
Laughing softly, she put down her cards. “I thought you didn’t believe in any of this?”
“I didn’t. I don’t. But being here with you tonight is pretty unbelievable, too, so maybe I’ve entered some alternate universe, after all.”
“Let’s go with that. Game’s over.” She leaned across the table and scooped his pile of cards into hers. “You won.” Stacking the cards, she picked up the rubber band and fastened it around the deck.
“Because you were focused on Hercules instead of the cards, right?”
“Right.”
“Thanks for taking the fall.” Heart pounding, he started to get up.
“Better stay there while I go find out where he landed.”
He sat down and mentally crossed his fingers that Hercules was sound asleep on the sofa. But when she didn’t come back right away, he had a bad feeling the cat was curled up smack dab in the middle of her bed. As the minutes dragged by, he pictured her returning with Hercules nestled in her arms again, ready to sit through another game of War.
Then he erased that mental image. He didn’t believe he could make something happen by thinking about it, but to be on the safe side, might as well not think about what he didn’t want to happen and concentrate on what he wanted. Or rather, who he wanted.
And because he wanted her, he would need to remove all her bothersome clothing that would only be in the way. Maybe he should start by taking off her TGIF shoes, although pulling her fuzzy red sweater over her head had a lot of appeal, too. But he couldn’t peel off her sexy slacks that fit so nicely over her sweet tush until the shoes were gone.
If he had to make a guess, he’d say her underwear would be lacy. Anyone who wore shoes like that every Friday would own some fancy panties and bras. In interesting colors, too.
The sound of her footsteps jacked up his heart rate. But when she walked into the kitchen another part of him jacked up immediately. He was out of his chair before he realized it.
She didn’t have a cat in her arms but she did have a blanket. “He’s asleep on the bed, so we’ll have to improvise.”
“We can . . . we can do that.” He could barely breathe, let alone speak. He could see why she’d been gone so long. Except for a filmy gown that hid absolutely nothing, she was naked.
She put the blanket on the table and spread out her arms. “Too over the top?”
“No. Never.” His hungry gaze took in a glimpse of her full breasts and her erect nipples. He grabbed the blanket. “Did you close the bedroom door?”
“Of course.”
“Did you bring any –”
“Right here.” Three condoms rested in her palm. “Is that too many?”
“The way I’m feeling right now, it might not be enough. Where do you want the blanket?”
“I think the floor. We could fall off the sofa.”
“Agreed.” He followed her out of the kitchen and noticed she’d also dimmed the lights.
“I’ll spread out the blanket. You need to get undressed.”
“Trust me, that won’t take long.” As he toed off his shoes and wrenched off his shirt, he wondered what had happened to the guy who used to pride himself on being in control in situations like this. Gone, apparently, because he couldn’t get out of his clothes fast enough.
Usually he didn’t mind ditching his glasses, but in this case he hated to. He wanted to be able to see . . . everything. But loving her the way he had in mind wouldn’t work with glasses.
She took some throw pillows from the sofa and laid them across the top of the blanket. Then she stretched out on her back on the blanket, a
pillow under her head. “How’re you doing up there?”
“Trying not to fall down while I get out of my pants.” Those words had never come out of his mouth. He’d been so suave, so James Bond. He finally divested himself of the last bit, including his socks, and dropped to his knees on the blanket, panting. “I have never wanted someone so much in my entire life.”
“That makes two of us.” She handed him a condom. “You might want to put this on.”
“Right.”
“Unless you want me to?”
Now there was a concept. But he’d save it for another time. “Thanks. I’ll do it.” He’d always been in charge of that because it kept him in control. He’d never trusted someone else . . . but on some deep, visceral level he knew he could trust her. That was a revelation in itself.
Once he’d rolled on the condom, he evaluated the gauzy thing she’d put on. The image had been stunning, but now he wanted it gone. He picked up a fold of the material. “Do we need this?”
“Not really.” She smiled up at him. “It was for effect.”
“I loved the effect. It brought me to my knees.”
“You mean like you almost fell down taking off your pants?”
“Yeah, like that.” He found a couple of ties that held the gown together and undid them. “But I want to feel your body against mine with nothing between us.”
“I want that, too.” She helped him slide the robe out from under her.
Once he tossed it away, he braced himself on his forearms and gazed down at her. Thank God for being nearsighted, because at least up close he could see the sparkle in her gray eyes and the eagerness, too.
She cupped his face in both hands. “Hi, there, Frazer.”
“Hi, there, Dulcie.” The heat coursing through his veins and the rapid beat of his heart urged him to take this woman and bring them both glorious orgasms, but he hesitated, charmed by the sweetness in her gaze.
“You were so understanding about my cat. I’ll never forget that.”
He smiled. “I won’t let you. I’m claiming full credit for how this worked out.”
“You’re going to brag about how you dealt with Hercules?”
“Yep.”
“Even though you know full well I’m the one who convinced him to leave us alone so we could do this?”
It's All Geek to Me (Nerds & Geeks Book 3) Page 4