Tekgrrl (27 page)

My head was spinning, and I felt like I was going to pass out. I stared at him in horror.

Luke looked worried. “And I’m freaking you out now, aren’t I?”

The truth was I was more than freaked out, and not just by the utter shock of Luke’s words. What was most freaky was my reaction to them. A few weeks back those words would have put me on cloud nine. I would have felt like I’d won the lottery or finally gotten my heart’s desire. Luke Harmon wanted to be with me!

But now I couldn’t help but wonder: If he had discovered he had feelings for me after the Dragon incident, why had he never made a move on me in all of those months before I finally decided enough was enough? Why had he never shown any interest when I was still hanging around him like a groupie? I couldn’t help but wonder if he was simply missing my attention and wanted me fawning over him full-time again.

“I’m no more freaked out than you were when I had a crush on you,” I said softly. “I’m flattered, Luke, really. But you’re with Selena now.”

“I know,” he said. “And Selena’s great. She really is. She’s a really great person.”

“She’s better suited for you,” I reminded him. “Better than me.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know about that. She’s great, but I don’t see myself with her for the rest of my life.”

Ouch.
Poor Selena! Was our team turning into a soap opera?

“Look, I know I’m making a fool out of myself here, but I wanted to clear the air. Kind of like you did the night of the reception. So it’s all out in the open and there are no hidden secrets between us.”

I nodded. “I understand. And I do value your friendship, Luke. I told you that before.”

He smiled. “It must be some sort of weird karma that we never had feelings for each other at the same time.”

I gave him a sad smile. “I think it’s the universe trying to tell us something: That we wouldn’t work out and we’re better suited as friends.”

“You’re probably right,” he said.

I stood up. I had to get out of the room. “Look, I really should probably go help Paul with the new Shocker. I made him promise to test it, and if I’m not there to help him…”

“He’s going to get upset.” Luke nodded in understanding. “Let me know if I can help you any more with the meditation thing, Mindy. You just need to try to remember to focus your thoughts on what you want and block out the rest.”

There were all sorts of thoughts flooding my head, and none of them could focus. “Thanks, Luke.” I turned and left the room, shutting the door behind me.

Paul looked up as I walked in. “Do you feel more centered now?” he asked. He wore a semisarcastic grin.

I made a face at him. “Ha-ha. So funny.” I picked up my Shocker. “How did it do?”

“Good. I tested it on Cyrus.”

I looked up. “Did you really?”

“He volunteered.” At seeing the look of absolute shock on my face, he broke out into a grin.

I threw his pillow at him. “You’ve turned into such a smart-ass.”

“As opposed to a dumb one.” He tossed the pillow back to me and I plopped it back on his bed, eyeing him. Never had I been more aware that we were in a bedroom than at that moment. “So, how’d the training go?”

I shrugged, watching him. “Blah, blah, blah, centered chakras, blah, blah, blah, go to your happy place. You know. All the usual stuff.”

“Doesn’t sound like you were too impressed.” Paul went back to work.

“Yeah, well.” I sat down on the edge of the bed. I had to see him to see how he reacted. “But some rather enlightening things came into play.”

“How’s that?” Paul kept his head down.

“Luke told me he’s jealous that I’m spending more time with you now than him.”

Paul’s eyes flashed up to meet mine, and I saw shock. And was that pain in there too?

“What?” he asked.

I nodded. “And that he misses me hanging around him all the time. That he’s had feelings for me since the Dragon fight when I was injured, but just never said anything. And he pretty much said he’d dump Selena for me.”

Paul had his head down again, but I noticed his hands shook as he picked up a tool. “Well,” he said after a long moment, and his voice sounded heavy and dead to my ears. “You must be in seventh heaven. You’ve finally gotten what you’ve always wanted, the love and devotion of Luke Harmon. Congratulations.”

I could tell it all in that moment. He was sad. He was jealous. He was hurt.

In contrast, I might not be able to identify how I felt about Paul. Or it might just be that I wasn’t
ready
to identify how I felt about Paul, considering how quickly the feelings had overtaken me. But they were there and real; I was sure of that. It was nothing like what I’d felt for Luke, but something more and much stronger.

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.”

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 agreed, 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?”