Gentlemen Prefer Nerds (15 page)

“Now you’re talking.” Maddie took the vial and tucked it in her beaded satin evening bag. “Shall we go?”

Fabian glanced at his watch. “We’ve got a few minutes. First I want to see you walk.”

Maddie stared at him. “You’ve seen me walk before.”

“Not in high heels and a tight dress.” He made an upside down scissoring motion with his fingers. “Go on, walk.”

“I know how to walk.” She didn’t want to stumble, not in front of Fabian. It was a distinct possibility in heels this high.

“A sexy swaying walk that will attract Roland’s eye?” Fabian asked. “Plenty of beautiful women will be there tonight. You need to stand out from the crowd so he’ll choose you.”

“I’m choosing him,” Maddie huffed. “I’ll go up to him and say, ‘Hey, sailor, want to buy a girl a drink?’”

“That line might turn you a trick on the Melbourne docks but it’s not going to work here on Hamilton Island. Roland is a high-class thief who’s used to high-class women.” Fabian held his hand out to her. “Let me give you a lesson in seduction.”

“Give me a break,” she blustered. “Do you really think I don’t know how to seduce a man?”

“Show me how you’d do it then.” Fabian sat on the arm of a chair. “Go on. No wisecracks.”

“Okay.” Maddie’s chin went up and she sashayed toward Fabian—slowly—because she needed all her concentration to walk steadily on five-inch heels. She lowered her eyelids, hitting him with her best sultry expression. His hot dark gaze got tangled up in hers. Her heart started beating faster. She couldn’t tear her eyes from him.

“Look away,” he ordered sharply. “Don’t let him know you want him. Make him come after you.”

Maddie flicked a curling lock of red hair over her bare shoulder and glanced haughtily away. Fabian probably thought she wanted
him,
the egotistical— Her heel caught on a snag in the carpet. She stumbled, tried to correct and couldn’t, then literally fell into his lap.

He caught her before she could slide off. Amused, he asked, “Is this how you play hard to get?”

“Very funny. It was an accident.” Maddie struggled to get back on her feet.

Fabian’s arms tightened around her and pulled her farther onto his lap. “Since you’re here, we might as well practice your kissing.”

“You already know how I kiss.”

“I was distracted by a broom poking the back of my neck. Refresh my memory.”

“I’m not going to kiss Roland. Not after he tricked me and stole the Rose.” More to the point, she wasn’t going to kiss Fabian again. He was way too much man for her. With strong arms surrounding her and muscular thighs beneath hers, she was burning up from his body heat.

“You might have to kiss him to get the diamond back. Or simply to get his attention. You don’t want to get into a situation like this—” Fabian indicated her on his lap, “—and not know what to do next, do you?”

“I’m not a complete innocent.” Although she had to admit that so far her sex life had been mostly unsatisfactory. She refused to believe she was frigid, but she wasn’t altogether certain she’d ever had an orgasm. With Bryce, the volcanologist, there’d been some sort of eruption but nothing like the molten couplings she’d seen in French movies, or prime-time TV for that matter.

“Even if you’re not a virgin you’re probably not far off.” He spoke gently, kindly even.

“Nerds don’t sleep around.” She meant to sound proud and scornful but somehow it came out sad and wistful.

“You’re a woman of principle who doesn’t sell herself cheaply,” Fabian informed her sternly. “A woman whose high standards are rarely met, who’s waiting for the right combination of strength and intellect in a man but is starting to wonder if such a paragon exists.”

Good grief. Had he looked inside her head and taken notes?

“Occasionally someone comes along who appears to be close to your ideal,” he went on. “Like the pseudo Dr. Hauzenegger, for example. You try to convince yourself he’s the right man.”

Maddie winced, recalling how she’d weighed up Rolf’s pluses and minuses.

“Then he disappoints—”

“No, he makes me want to strangle him.”

“And you wonder if it’s time you settled for ‘nice.’”

“Ugh. I will never settle.”

“Or if you should resign yourself to being single all your life—”

“It’s not the worst option.”

“—and be known as the crazy cat lady.”

“I will not be a crazy cat lady!” Maddie thumped him on the chest.

“That’s better. Anger is empowering.” Fabian took her wrists, his thumbs pressing lightly on her pulse points, and slid her arms around his neck. “Make me want you.”

Maddie glared at him, struggling to maintain her outrage when his slightest touch was kick-starting her heart rate. He clearly thought he was God’s gift to crazy cat ladies. Well, it was time the teacher was taught a lesson.

She wriggled closer, trying to recall the tactics used by the seductress in the subtitled movie she’d seen last month. Preliminaries had involved a lot of wet kisses and ear-nibbling interspersed with the couple occasionally pulling back to lock eyeballs and breathe deeply.

“Don’t think about it too much,” Fabian said when she hadn’t progressed. “Just do what comes naturally.”

“If you were a gentleman, as you claim, you wouldn’t make me do all the heavy lifting.”

“You’re supposed to pretend I’m Roland. Roland may be superficially a gentleman but he’s not in any way that counts.”

“Stop talking, I’m trying to work here.” Maddie kissed him behind the ear, adding a tiny lick at the last second. It wasn’t hard to feel romantic, what with the soft tropical evening air wafting through their bungalow and the distant crash of the waves on the beach. Not to mention the hard muscles beneath her palms, the warm scent of his skin filling her nostrils, his thighs like steel girders beneath her tush.

“That’s nice,” Fabian murmured, settling his arms around her waist. “Not too much saliva, it dampens the ardor.”

“Will you please be quiet? I’m trying to concentrate.” Maddie trailed tiny kisses down his jaw. His skin was smooth shaven but with the rough hint of bristles beneath the surface. He had a new aftershave that smelled of coconut and lime. Delicious.

“A kiss in the angle of the jaw produces more of the desired effect than one on the chin.”

“It’s hard to seduce someone when you’re being evaluated on every little thing.” But she moved her lips back to the warmth below his jaw. She could feel his artery pumping beneath her lips.

“That’s good.” Fabian’s voice had taken on a ragged edge. “Now try licking your bottom lip while you look into my eyes.”

Maddie held his gaze and very slowly ran the tip of her tongue across her lip. His nostrils flared. In a husky voice she asked, “Is this doing anything for you?”

Fabian cleared his throat and shifted her on his lap. “If I were Roland, yes, I’d be responding to that.”

“Good.” With both arms raised, she lifted her hair off her neck and arched her back, thrusting forward the firm curving tops of her breasts. It must be the red hair. As a brunette she would never be this bold. “You’re right, wearing a different mask can be liberating.”

“You don’t want to go overboard.” Fabian’s eyes flicked to her cleavage. He dragged his gaze away then it returned as if of its own volition. “You’re not a…lap dancer.”

“Of course not. Lap dancers don’t kiss their clients.” She paused, uncertain. “Do they?”

“I really have no idea.” His gaze drifted back to the curve of her breast. He seemed to be having trouble concentrating on the lesson.

His lips were slightly parted, as if he needed extra oxygen. Her own breath was shallow and fast. Leaning in, she brushed her mouth across his, this time running her tongue tip over his bottom lip. Her arms twined around his neck again and she pulled him closer, pressing against him. The contact was electric, sending a jolt straight through her. With a soft moan, she opened her mouth and deepened the kiss, angling her head as his tongue surged inside her mouth, bringing heat and pressure.

His hand molded her breast and, aching, she strained to get closer. With a groan he rose and began to carry her to his bedroom, still locked in a kiss. When his knees bumped the bed, he let her slide down his body, letting her feel how hard he was. He reached around to the back of her dress to undo her zipper.

The sudden influx of cool air on her back brought her back to her senses. She pushed him away. “What are you doing?”

“I’m taking you to bed.”

“Says who?” She tried for defiant but her voice cracked.

Intense black eyes bored into hers. “You were seducing me. Isn’t this what you wanted?”

His strength and urgency, which a moment ago had seemed so wonderful, was now frightening. She could turn him on, yes, but no one had shown her the off switch. Worse still, the driving need within herself scared her. “No! We were just practicing kissing. This isn’t what I want.”

Fabian’s jaw tightened as he straightened away from her. He breathed deeply, flexing his hands and relaxing them. Inch by inch, he regained physical control of himself.

“You’re a remarkably quick study. But that’s enough practice,” he said in a detached voice as he adjusted his shirtsleeves, straightened his pants. “Next time, don’t play with fire.”

“I don’t understand you,” she said angrily. “I was only doing what you wanted me to.”

“I never said you were to have sex with Roland,” he snapped. “Which is where you were headed, acting like that. You have to know how far to go and when to cool things off.”

“You’re just jealous. And annoyed because you lost control for a moment there.”

“I’m not jealous. Or annoyed. Or out of control,” Fabian said tightly. “I was merely making a point. You are not to make love with Roland. That’s an order.”

Maddie was tired of being told what to do. Fabian’s attitude was completely unfair. And she suspected he wasn’t being entirely truthful.

“Okay, so you’re immune to me. Who cares? I’m going to do whatever it takes to get the Rose back. I’ll fuck Roland till I’m blue in the face if I have to.”

She bit her lip, shocked into silence by her own words. Fabian’s face went rigid and for once he was speechless. Maddie slowly walked past him, putting an extra sway in her hips, a defiant wiggle in her walk. The red-haired tigress had been unleashed, and there was no putting her back in her cage.

Fabian went through the lobby doors first to survey the manicured lawns and pathways for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing. Good. Then Maddie caught up, vibrating with nervous energy in her low-cut black dress and shiny fuck-me heels. God help him, he wanted to drag her straight back to their villa and do just that.

“Keep still,” he whispered. “You don’t want to attract attention yet. Don’t be nervous.”

“I’m not nervous.” She flicked her flame-colored curls out of her eyes. “I’m excited.”

Fabian continued his scan of the area for potential problems. There were the usual swimsuit-clad tourists returning late from the beach with their towels and bags, couples in evening dress, obviously bound for the Gala, kids running around, buggies arriving and leaving—

A white-and-blue Queensland police car pulled in off the road. Bloody hell.

Fabian grabbed Maddie around the waist and pushed her behind him, out of sight of the police car. The silky curve of her hip beneath his fingers brought a swift injection of heat to his groin. The thought of Roland getting his hands on her made him involuntarily squeeze.

“Hey,” Maddie said, startled.

He let go, murmuring, “Police. Don’t look. Keep your face down.”

Sam, at his desk in the outer lobby, held out an envelope. “Your tickets to the Gala, Mr. Montgomery.”

“Thank you, Sam. Good work.” Fabian tucked a folded banknote in the concierge’s palm. “A buggy. Right away, please.”

“Coming right up, sir.” Sam clicked his fingers and the uniformed attendant waiting by the row of golf buggies leaped into action.

The attendant pulled up under the portico with their buggy. The police car drove in behind him. Keeping Maddie on his offside, Fabian handed her into the buggy and strode swiftly around to the driver’s side.

He pulled away just as a pair of uniformed officers got out of the squad car and walked over to Sam. Fabian kept his gaze on the rearview mirror as he putted down the circular drive at an excruciatingly slow pace.

Maddie swiveled in her seat and glanced back. “They’re showing Sam a photograph! Do you think it’s of me?”

“Turn around.” He checked the mirror again. Sam studied the photo then shrugged and shook his head. Fabian breathed out in relief. “That was a close call. Good thing Sam never got a good look at you before the makeover.”

“Hurry,” Maddie urged. “If Sam thinks about it too long, he might recognize me in that photo.”

“I’m going as fast as this contraption will travel.” Fabian pulled out of the resort drive and onto the road. “I’d hoped we’d have another twenty-four hours before they tracked us down. How the devil did the police get on to us so quickly?”

Maddie adjusted her skirt, smoothing the fabric. She checked her face in the tiny mirror on the sun visor. She flicked through a tourist brochure left in the side pocket. Anything, it seemed, but respond to his question.

Something about her silence made him glance at her sharply. “Do you have a theory on that, Maddie?”

“Not really.” Her fingers worked the folds of her dress.

“If you’ve done something, you’d better tell me.” Fabian gripped the wheel in frustration. What he wouldn’t give for the Spyder’s massive horsepower right now.

“Um, well…you know when you couldn’t find your phone today?”

He stepped harder on the accelerator, pushing the buggy to a punishing ten kilometers an hour. “I knew it. You took it and made a call after I warned you not to.”

“It was important.”

Fabian’s eyes shut briefly. “I told you—never lie to me, always follow my instructions. Did you not hear me?”

“I heard you.” Maddie crossed her arms petulantly.

Another buggy came toward them. The middle-aged couple wearing matching Hawaiian shirts waved happily. Fabian forced himself to wave back. Bloody tourists. Once the other buggy had gone past, he glared at Maddie. “Who did you call?”

“My father.”

“Of all people! The police will have tapped his phone and traced the call to here. Don’t you realize how serious this is for you? You could still go to jail.”

“I thought you’re only interested in the Rose,” she shot back. “You don’t care about what happens to me.”

“Is that what this is about, a bid for attention?” He spoke with cool disdain, ignoring the twinge of his conscience. If she ever figured out she was in danger because she’d fallen in with his scheme, he’d lose her. Lose her cooperation, that is. He didn’t care about her. She was only a tool he was using to bring in the Chameleon. Nothing more. “Your foolish move could jeopardize our whole plan.”

Scowling, Maddie gazed out of her side window. “I told you, Al has a heart condition.” Her voice quavered on the last words. Clearing her throat, she went on. “He went into the hospital for tests yesterday. I had to find out the results. The Rose is important but this is my father.”

The wobble in her voice, which she was fiercely trying to control, plucked at Fabian’s reluctant heartstrings. Damn it, he could not afford to feel sorry for her. Nor could he afford to lust after her. He couldn’t afford any feelings of any kind like some softhearted, softheaded dope. He was a professional and this was an operation like any other. He’d better not forget it.

Like he had for a few moments tonight. And the night before.

Fabian consciously relaxed his grip on the wheel and his knuckles lost their whitish tinge. He wouldn’t get anywhere by frightening her or getting her back up. “You could have asked me. I would have called him for you from a pay phone on the mainland when I got the necklace and your contact lenses.”

“He wouldn’t have told you the truth. Al Maloney can bamboozle anyone, even you.” Maddie blinked and looked down at her tightly clasped hands. “He doesn’t take proper care of himself.”

Despite his good intentions, Fabian found himself placing his hand over hers. “What’s the diagnosis?”

“Valve replacement,” she said miserably.

“That’s not so bad. At least it can be treated.”

“Only if he gets the operation! He doesn’t think the doctors know anything.”

“You’re father is going to be okay. Your brothers will take care of him.”

“I hope so.” Maddie shot him a quick glance and added stiffly, “I’m sorry. I appreciate all you’re doing for me. I didn’t mean to put our plan at risk.”

“Never mind.” Fabian again quelled his scruples. Telling her the truth about his motives at this late date could ruin everything. Success was all that mattered. “Now more than ever it’s imperative we get the Rose before the police get to us.”

“We will,” Maddie said confidently but her manicured fingers curled into fists in her lap.

The road ended in a parking lot outside the Convention Centre where the Gala was being held. Through the open doors, couples in evening dress drifted inside while brassy salsa music flowed out into the sultry evening.

Fabian pulled the buggy into a shadowed corner of the parking lot. He came around to the passenger side just as Maddie was gathering up her skirt and tentatively extending a high-heeled foot. He held out his hand to help her.

“I can manage.”

Fabian stood there with his hand at the ready. “I know you’re nervous. If I could have thought of a way that didn’t involve you interacting with Roland, believe me, I would have.”

“I’ll be fine. Maddie Maloney isn’t a coward.” She stepped out of the buggy, planted a foot. And turned over her ankle.

Instantly, he grabbed her hand and his other arm went around her waist, taking her weight. “I never thought you were.”

He swung her clear of the buggy and she slid to the ground, her breasts brushing his chest. Her gaze met his, quick and hot, then she struggled out of his arms and was walking away from him, her curvaceous hips swaying enticingly. For a moment he was rooted to the spot.

As if sensing he wasn’t following, Maddie turned. Her chin lifted imperiously. “Come.”

Fabian’s mouth curved in a reluctant grin. She was both the weak link and the linchpin, the perk of the job and the exasperating distraction. Part of him wished this whole caper was over. Another part wished it would never end.

* * *

While Fabian exchanged a few words with the woman taking tickets, Maddie slipped inside. Staying close to the wall, she scanned the crowd for Roland. How were they going to find him among the hundreds of people thronging the hall? The white-draped tables were filling fast and a crowd was building around the cash bar. Canned Latin music continued to play from the speakers. Onstage, musicians were setting up drums, amps and mikes for later in the evening.

Fabian came to her side and spoke in her ear. “You’re acting like a wallflower. Don’t forget you’re a glamorous sexpot.”

He was right. Her mind still hadn’t caught up with her appearance. Maddie pushed away from the wall and planted a manicured hand on her cocked hip. “How’s that?”

“Getting there. You’ll need to be more vivacious to attract attention.”

Oh God. She’d spent a lifetime trying
not
to attract attention to herself. “We practiced kissing when I should have been practicing vivaciousness,” she grumbled.

“Think of Julia Roberts in
Pretty Woman.
”

“You want me to be a hooker?”

“Just try it.”

Maddie closed her eyes briefly and channeled the redheaded actress. Then, her eyes wide and sparkly, she brayed out a laugh. Around them, people turned to stare. Maddie shrunk back to the wall. “I can’t do this.”

“Just be yourself,” Fabian advised.

“If I was being myself I’d be curled up at home with a book and Jinx.”

“Not necessarily. You showed another side of yourself at the villa earlier, a bolder, more audacious Maddie.” Fabian’s deliberate gaze drifted down her body. “If you could be that woman then, you can turn it on now. All you need to do is believe.”

When she’d tried to bring Fabian to his knees she’d ended up more seduced than seducer. But he was right; to pull this off she had to believe in a different version of herself. Fake it till she made it. No one knew her here. She could be anyone she wanted, including a Glamazon with a capital
G.

Maddie dropped her shoulders, took in a breath and let it out. Loosened her hips. “Okay, I’m ready to try again. Watch this.”

She sauntered a few steps and winked at a heavyset man of about fifty seated at a table. He bobbed to his feet like a marker buoy until his glaring wife grabbed his hand and yanked him back down.

Maddie scurried back to Fabian. “Wow! Did you see that?”

“Easy prey,” Fabian muttered.

“I have the power.” Maddie glanced around for another victim to wield it upon. She strolled past a hot young guy standing in a circle with his friends and simpered over her shoulder at him. The would-be stud swiveled right around to watch her pass. “Did you see?” she said gleefully when she returned to Fabian. “This is kind of cool.”

“Very impressive.”

Her hips twitching to the Latin music, she resumed her scan of the room. “We need to find a place to sit.”

“Roland’s not going to make a move while I’m with you. You keep circulating. I’ll make myself scarce.”

“What? Wait…”

Fabian started to move away, leaving Maddie rudderless. Let him go, she told herself. Glamazons didn’t have just one man, they had any man who caught their eye.

“Brittany! Fabian! Over here. Come sit with us.”

Amanda. Maddie’s heart sank. The beautician was at a nearby table with another couple. And two empty chairs.

“We can’t,” Fabian said.

“I’ve got to sit somewhere. Come with me, just for a minute.” Maddie smiled and waved. She tugged on his hand, led him to the table and made him sit. Too late she wondered how on earth she could flirt with Roland when Amanda thought she was a newlywed.

Amanda introduced her partner, Bill, a deeply tanned man with sun-streaked brown hair who was a diving instructor for the resort. Lynne and Doug Holmes were a plump brunette and her balding husband, both in their mid-forties. Lynne was a restaurant chef and Doug, Amanda informed them, was the harbormaster down at the marina. Maddie almost choked but Fabian simply smiled calmly and shook hands as if he’d never broken into the man’s office in the middle of the night.

“Will you look at this gorgeous woman?” Amanda crowed to her friends. “When Maddie came into the spa she was like a little brown mouse. We did a complete makeover.” The beautician shook her head. “If I hadn’t seen you leave looking like a million bucks I’d never have recognized you tonight. Until you spoke, that is.”

Maddie was taken aback. “Oh? Is my voice so distinctive?”

“It’s clear and musical,” Amanda said. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you that before?”

“No.” Maddie glanced at Fabian in alarm. If Amanda could identify her by her voice, Roland was sure to as well. She needed to catch an instant cold. Or develop a Polish accent. Or something.

“It’s what first attracted me to you, darling,” Fabian said smoothly.

“That’s so sweet.” Amanda beamed at Fabian then leaned across the table to speak to Lynne and Doug. “These two had a whirlwind romance and I mean, whirlwind. They got married after knowing each other for just four days. Imagine!”

“This is the one you were telling me about.” Lynne clapped a hand bedecked with rings to her round cheek. “How exciting.”

Maddie had seen Lynne ogling Fabian. She had a feeling the ‘one’ Amanda had told her friend about was the handsome English lord, not her.

“Maddie’s an exciting woman. I snapped her up.” Fabian slid a hand onto her upper thigh and kissed her behind the ear.

“What are you doing?” she whispered as his roaming hand sent a tingle down her spine.

“Playing my part as a new groom.” His long fingers squeezed gently. “These people will expect us to be all over each other.”

“Keep focused,” Maddie hissed. Fanning herself with the menu she leaned away from her “husband” to speak to the group. “Goodness, it’s warm in here. Do servers come around and take drink orders?”

“You have to go to the bar,” Doug explained.

Fabian rose. “What would you like?”

“Champagne would be lovely. Thank you, sweetheart.” She smiled up at him. This wasn’t so bad. She could get used to having a handsome attentive groom bringing her champagne.