Message From Viola Mari (8 page)

“Well, you have to admit her writing has improved dramatically,” said Jennifer. “I didn’t even…I mean, it reads so professionally, you know?”

I covered my mouth to suppress a giggle.

“Yes, it is very well written, isn’t it?” Justin looked in my direction and smiled. “It seems your week in Prague did you some good.”

“Indeed. Sometimes all you need is a change of scenery to purge toxins that block your potential.” I wasn’t sure why I threw out something so hostile after he’d sent those lovely roses and a message that must have been difficult to write. Maybe it was because I no longer felt tall, like stone statues on buildings, but like a petite, vulnerable woman walking alone on a cobblestone street in the dead of night.

Justin pulled off his reading glasses and gazed at the floor. He paced the room, one hand planted under his chin. “Sometimes situations really aren’t what they seem, and other people interpret them the wrong way because of past experiences.”

“No past experience has been as ugly as a certain recent one.”

“Okay, speaking of that subtext we were discussing last hour, I seem to be missing something,” said Steve.

“Isn’t it obvious? Teach and Marissa have a thang going on.” Mark brushed his seemingly glued-together bangs from his eyes. “If we can convince them to kiss and make up, maybe we can get back on task.”

A burst of laughter ensued. The two older women sent me disapproving stares.

Justin blushed and wrung his hands. “We’re just having an intellectual dispute, that’s all.”

“Oh, sure,” said Mark. “You never look me up and down when you discuss my manuscript. Why don’t you just give her a wet one?” Then he looked at me. “Or you could go first.”

“Are you kidding me?” I wrinkled my nose. “If I kiss him, he’ll probably turn back into the toad that he is.”
I am such a jerk.
No. I’m an innately calm and sedate individual. Prozac? Never touch the stuff. When I start punching people or breaking things it’s because a man nearby is making me crazy. In this case it’s Justin. There is something about his testosterone combined with the way the muscles in his cheeks ripple when he speaks and the way his eyes seem to strip my clothing off when he looks at me that sends me over the edge.

Justin shook his head and locked eyes with me. “I understand you’re upset about the comments I made about your work. Let’s take a break and step outside like civilized people and talk about it.”

He’d asked me politely to be reasonable, but once I fell into the role of madwoman, there was no turning back. “Upset about your comments? Ha! I don’t think so. What I’d really like to know about is Chloe.”

Heads jerked from my face to Justin’s and back again like they were watching a tennis match.

“Let’s take a ten minute break.” Justin stepped toward the door. “Marissa—will you please follow me before these people get whiplash?”

Everyone’s eyes were riveted on me. After a minute, I rose from my chair and followed him outside to a grassy area shaded by a tall sycamore tree. Heads peered around the corner of the building.

“I really did think she’d given me all of her keys,” said Justin.

“But since she showed up and I ran out, you thought you might as well go ahead and have one last quickie.” I thrust my hands on my hips and jutted my chin out.

Justin’s green eyes blazed and his face flushed a sailor-take-warning sunrise red. “You’re starting to make me very angry. I don’t owe you an explanation, even though I’ve repeatedly been trying to offer one. Hell, we’ve only been on one date.”

“So you did have sex with her.” I pouted, crossed my arms and leaned back against a tree trunk.

“No, I did not.” Justin waved his arms in despair. “I pushed her butt out the door almost right after you left, and got my keys back, too. I even changed the locks.”

“Did you really?” I sounded more excited than I wanted to. I uncrossed my arms and dropped them to my sides.

“If I wanted her, why would I have sent you roses in Prague?”

“I don’t know.” My heart wanted to give in, but I somehow couldn’t get my lips to agree to that plan.

“You shouldn’t have thrown that water bottle at me. That was totally inappropriate.”

“I know. But you made me so mad, I couldn’t stop myself. If you didn’t want me to leave your house, why didn’t you come after me? Don’t you know a fleeing woman always wants to be pursued?”

“I wasn’t sure I could pull it off without suffering mortal injury.”

“Very funny.” I attempted to suppress a laugh. Necks craned out further. “I hope today’s agenda doesn’t get back to the Board of Regents.”

“Yeah, you’re not the only one. Affairs with students are a big no-no. But I’ve never had a student like you before.”

“I bet you say that to all the girls.” I pulled my back from the tree and stepped toward him.

“No, actually, I don’t. I usually follow all the rules and live a simple life. I met you and it was a like an earthquake struck. And every day since has been a string of aftershocks.” His gesturing hands dropped to his sides when he finished.

I couldn’t have said that better myself.
I hadn’t needed men before. Life was scientific, methodical, structured, and predictable…until Justin. “There you go again, with your scientific similes.”

His lips curled up in a smile and the familiar twinkle crept back into his eyes. “I missed you when you were in Prague and I can’t imagine not seeing you for another week. What do you say we give this seismic love affair another try?”

I shrugged and angled my head in his direction to indicate I was open to suggestions

“If you’re free this afternoon, we could meet at the Cove for a swim.”

“You can swim?” I teased.

“Not very well, actually, but if I get in trouble, you’ll cross chest carry me to shore, right? Give me a little mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?” He placed his hands on my shoulders and brushed his lips against my cheek.

I’d missed the thrilling tingles his touch incited.
This is so much more fun than fighting.
“Don’t count on it.” I grasped his muscular upper arms and pushed him back. Electricity raced up my arm. “And keep your lips to yourself. We’ve got a captive audience.”

“How about four o’clock?”

“Fine.”

When we returned to the classroom, a round of applause erupted.

“Aren’t you going to kiss her?” asked Steve.

“Certainly not.” As Justin wrinkled his brow, his glasses slid crookedly down the bridge of his nose. I looked at Jennifer and muffled a laugh. “Now that Marissa is clear on the context of my comments, we’ll move on to Jane’s manuscript.”

After Jennifer drove me home, I stopped by the office to run the NRG rock samples through the spectrometer again. I’d carefully recorded each transition in chemical composition. Peering at a slice of rock beneath the microscope again, I could see the structures had changed even before the analysis was complete. The data indicated the composition now matched the readings I’d gotten on the rocks when the topography of the craters had been visible on radar. I knew people from another galaxy were trying to tell me something.
But what?
If only I could grasp the significance. I clicked off the light on the microscope and packed up my things. I had another problem to deal with at the moment—a muscular, hairy, blond-headed problem oozing mind-altering testosterone.

Chapter Eight

I slipped on a swirly purple swimsuit and covered up with my favorite gray soft-and-fuzzy sweats. My walk to the ocean passed quickly with wind at my back and soon I descended the cement steps to the La Jolla Cove, a small crescent of sand and chunky black rock. An enormous wave crashed on the beach, awakening dozing harbor seals.

Justin sat on a towel on a flat rock, his knees bent, his untidy curls twisting in the ocean breeze. Absorbed in thought, he gazed toward the horizon where sea met sky. I recalled the statues I’d seen in Prague—the stone men wielding swords or wearing crowns were all gifted with perfectly contoured pectoral muscles, rippled abdominal muscles, and calves that pulled the skin taut, nearly bursting with muscle.
Justin’s a gorgeous statue that’s come to life.
His hair gleamed metallic in the same afternoon sun that shadowed parts of his trunk and thighs, further emphasizing his musculature.
If it was just lust, I wouldn’t see him that way
.
As if not a single feature about him could be improved.
I don’t just want him because he’s gorgeous—I want him because something about him tugs at my heart as well as all my erogenous zones.

I ached to make love to him, over and over again. Wetness pooled between my thighs as I imagined him thrusting deeper and deeper inside of me, and my cheeks warmed at the thought of holding him in my arms all night. I wanted to awaken in the morning to the aroma of his masculinity, to the safety of his firm, strong arms--to trace my fingertips up and over every feature of his face.

“Don’t you just look like Rodin today?” I dropped my bag in the sand beside him and peeled off my sweat suit.

He blinked a few times, as if awakening from a trance. Ignited by the afternoon sun, his long blond eyelashes glowed around his warm green eyes, making them appear even larger. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you coming.” He stood and approached me, standing so close his breath tickled my cheek.

We faced each other, staring at one another for a long time. He clasped my forearms. “I’m really sorry I hurt you the other day.”

“I know. I’m ready to let it go.” My gaze tumbled into the mesmerizing abyss of his green eyes.

“I don’t want anyone distracting me from you again.” He slid one of his hands up my arm and tickled my collarbone before it rested on the side of my face. His touch sent shivers of excitement up my spine. He traced my lips with a fingertip.

“I don’t know if I can go through with this. That’s why I reacted like I did.” The tears that burst from my eyes surprised me. “Now is not a good time for me to be in a relationship.”

Justin wiped tears from the corner of my eyes with his thumbs before placing his hands on my shoulders and looking deeply into my eyes. “I understand you better than you think. I don’t usually lie awake half the night thinking about someone like I have with you. This scares me, actually.” He pulled me into his arms and I laid my head on the tickly warm refuge of his hairy chest. He brushed his hand over the back of my head. “I think the question we have to ask ourselves is whether we trust each other enough to let go and let what we have just take us?”

“Oh, Justin, I don’t know. I’ve got so much going on at work. I’m going to have to spend a lot of hours in the lab the next several months, sometimes even on weekends.”

“The next time I take you home, there won’t be any interruptions. Don’t you want to find out what that will be like?” He pushed me back so he could meet my eyes—his penetrating gaze revealed his plan.
Peel off my clothes and carry me off to the bedroom, or even a chair or sofa if it was closer, so we could satiate this raging desire to feast ourselves on each other’s bodies.
“As far as your work goes, whatever schedule you keep won’t bother me.”

I gazed at him, amazed at the depth of feeling I saw in his sparking green eyes. “Are you sure about this? I’m unpredictable, obsessed with my work…the list goes on and on.”

“Well I have to admit I’ve asked myself is this really what I need, but still…As much as I’ve fought it, I can’t say no to what I’m feeling.”

“And what are you feeling?” I offered a smile and a flirtatious bat of the eyelashes.

A broad smile dimpled his cheek. “Like I could swim the English Channel or run a whole marathon without getting the least bit tired--like I no longer need coffee or sleep.”

I giggled, feeling girlish, and leaned into him, my lips brushing against his sun-warmed biceps. Warm desire ignited my insides. I tugged flirtatiously on one of his thick curls. Whenever we hadn’t been screaming at each other, I’d felt what he’d described. Adrenaline rush excitement and heightened perception of every sight, smell, taste, sound, and touch. “Well, maybe tomorrow we can swim to Hawaii. But for now, let’s see how we do at swimming the Cove.” I dashed into the water, running until the resistance of the water made me fall. I floated on my back and watched as Justin dove in. He splashed me in the face and I splashed him back, laughing, and then plunged like a dolphin under an oncoming wave.

We swam side-by-side to the quarter-mile buoy and then stroked our way along parallel to the coast. Justin wasn’t a fast swimmer, and one arm came up too straight on the recovery, rather than in a neat, efficient arc. I slowed my pace and when I spotted my favorite cave, I motioned for him to swim with me toward shore. As I sliced through the water, my body rose and fell in the undulating waves. We neared the rocky shoreline and a large wave carried us into the dark limestone cave. Our voices echoed inside the hollow chamber.

“Uh oh,” said Justin. “I have this feeling you’re taking me somewhere where you can take advantage of me.”

“Don’t you just wish?” I splashed water into his face.

He ducked his head under and then surfaced, his cheeks bulging, to spray me with a mouthful of water.

I wrinkled my nose at him. “Yuck. I can’t believe you put that water in your mouth.”

He mashed his lips together and wrinkled his nose as if he’d just tasted bad wine. “It does taste vaguely of pelican poop.”

“That’s disgusting!”

We waded through shallow water onto a pad of sand, while waves lapped against the rocks all around us. I shivered. Without the sun’s warmth, goose pimples popped out along my arms.

“Well if you’re not going to make the first move, I’m going to,” said Justin. “Otherwise, you might end up with hypothermia.”

He grabbed my hand and pulled me in close, the fiery warmth of his flesh melted my icy flesh. His wet lips met mine and our kiss lit a fire inside of me that burned from my lips down to my toes. He pressed my lips apart with his tongue. Our tongues jousted as he slipped off one swimsuit strap and then the other with ease over my shoulders, peeling it hurriedly downward. His lips and tongue brushed over my neck and shoulder blades and then he took one of my nipples into his mouth. He circled his tongue around the top of one breast and then flicked his tongue over the nipple, teasing it into a taut peak. My back arched in pleasure and I moaned and grasped the back of his head, pulling him in tighter until his pelvis crushed into my hips. He yanked my swimsuit down below my thighs and I kicked it free from my ankles. Our bodies warm but damp and peppered with sand, the path of least resistance seemed clear. I felt his hardness against me as I tugged at his shorts and he helped, working himself free until his erect penis brushed up against my thigh.