High Energy (10 page)

"Because he's my grandfather," she mumbled into her chest. Tyber grinned above

her bent head, quickly losing it when she looked up at him.

"Gee, that's a tough break, Zanita."

"Yeah. That's why I don't want him knowing anything about this."

Here was trouble waiting to happen, he thought. Xavier LaLeche—there was a phony

name if he'd ever heard one. Who knew what she'd uncover? Put money, greed, and

a shady con man together and the situation could get very dangerous. And with

her penchant for getting into situations…

He rubbed his chin. "You know, Zanita, I find this fascinating."

"You do?"

"Yes. There is a definite parallel here. I can understand your desire to do this

type of investigative writing. In a way it's similar to what I do."

"It is? How?"

"I consider my research to be a series of investigations." He snapped his

fingers as if something important had just occurred to him. "I bet I could help

you with this story."

She sat straight up, very interested. "Really?" She thought about it a minute.

"I bet you could! It wouldn't take you long to get the jump on him, you knowing

all that scientific stuff. Why, you'd be able to spot the fraud in a minute!"

"Well, maybe not that fast—but I probably could figure out his M.O. for you."

"This is great! I'm really excited! Will you help me, Tyber?"

There was no way in hell he was letting her go off by herself into what was sure

to be trouble. "Yes, I think I will."

"Terrific! The first thing we ought to do is—You have some fudge on the corner

of your mouth."

Tyber snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her to him. "Lick it off for me,

baby."

Zanita hesitated for a fraction of a second, still surprised by Tyber's

outrageously sensual nature. "Mmm, it tastes better on you."

"Did you know Newton said you cannot touch without being touched?" His quick

tongue flicked the little indentation above her upper lip.

"I know someone who's 'touched'."

"I'll ignore that because I understand your reluctance to learn physics. Newton

also said that if I do this…" He bent his head, capturing her nipple right

through the cotton material of her shirt…. "I should expect this." His fingers

brushed against her opposite nipple which was now equally hard.

She sucked in her breath. "Newton said that, did he?"

"Mmm-hmm. He's very popular with the students." Tyber gently laid her on the

bed, his hands going to the snaps on her shorts. "Want to know what else he

said?"

She nodded enthusiastically.

His lips brushed enticingly against her stomach as he pulled off her shorts.

Then he began dropping tiny kisses up her chest as he unbuttoned her shirt.

"In the absence of force, an object in motion will tend to stay in motion. What

do you think about that?" He tossed her shirt away and unzipped his pants.

"I can hardly wait," she said breathlessly.

Tyber cradled Zanita against his chest, thinking that if he truly were the

pirate Blooey thought him, he would lock her in his cabin and never let her go.

He nuzzled his chin against the springy curls on the top of her head.

Figuratively speaking, he had no intentions of letting her go. So, she thought

she was giving up men, did she? Well, one could always reacquire the taste. For

one man. The right man.

He would see to it personally.

Since he wasn't a pirate captain, his options weren't as clear cut. Although

tying her to his bed was appealing, he would just have to come up with a better

plan….

Chapter Five

« ^ »

Seven pairs of bulging fish eyes were staring at her.

Zanita blinked, then stared back, dumbfounded.

An aquarium. She was lying on her side facing a tank. Odd how the little guys

were lined up in a horizontal row, just watching her….

Who would put an aquarium of nosy fish next to a bed?

Tyber.

Zanita came fully awake. It all rushed back to her: the pool party that wasn't a

pool party, the elaborate dinner that ended up with take-out, the uninhibited

seduction followed by a night of monster movies, cookie-dough ice cream, and

wild, passionate lovemaking. All interspersed with physics lessons.

She knew of only one man who was capable of providing such an… unusual evening,

and he was currently tightly wrapped around her, sound asleep.

His face was burrowed into her nape.

Gentle, even breaths pulsed against the hairline at the side of her neck. His

arms clasped firmly around her middle; one long, muscular leg was thrown over

hers. If Zanita had been more fanciful in her thinking, by the way he was

holding her she would have suspected that the man was ensuring she would have to

be there to greet him in the morning.

Not that she would have skulked out in the middle of the night.

Well… perhaps she might have, if she had awoken.

As it was, she had slept soundly—and very comfortably with him cozily warm right

next to her—throughout the night. Not that she had a choice. Tyber had

deliciously worn her out.

Where did he get his energy?

She winced, making a mental note not to ask him that question. Zanita could just

imagine the show-and-tell he would require to "explain" all about the energy.

She tried to stifle a giggle. Her original assessment of him had been

correct—the man was a kook. But such an outrageously wonderful kook! She sighed,

unconsciously leaning further back into him.

What time was it, anyway? It was impossible to tell here in Tyber's private

grotto. The only lights in the darkened room came from the aquariums. She

squinted her eyes, peering closely into the Atlantis aquarium in front of her.

There was some kind of odd timepiece in there… 8:30 if she read the strange dial

correctly.

Time to get up and maybe, just maybe, skulk away. It was not that she didn't

want to see Tyber; it was just that she didn't want to face him. This had all

the earmarks of being a very embarrassing morning-after scene. They both had

been rash.

What if he regretted the evening? Wanted to forget it as soon as possible? What

if he had already forgotten it? A man could have short-term memory loss when it

suited him.

Besides, she was giving up men.

And mornings were the best time for that sort of thing.

Like starting a diet.

She took a deep breath and tentatively placed her hand on his to see if she

could gently release his hold of her. His arms tightened around her stomach.

Shoot!

She slowly tried to slide her leg out from under his. He wouldn't budge. Why did

men feel they had the right to sprawl unchecked in a bed?

Now that she realized escape was going to be impossible, Zanita fumed. You never

saw women doing that—commandeering the bed and everything in it without an ounce

of remorse. Pinning people to the bed and stopping them from leaving—it was

reprehensible!

Zanita stiffened as a deep, sleep-hoarse voice murmured next to her ear, "Mmm.

Much better than my teddy bear." His silky lips nuzzled her throat. They were

hot.

Zanita swallowed. "Tyber, I don't think we should—" Her voice ended in a squeak

as his mouth covered a spot of skin just below her ear and heartily drew on it.

"Have I explained resistance to you yet?" he whispered against her throat as his

thumbs traced the underside curves of her breasts. "No? Resistance is a—"

"Tyber, I can't believe you're talking physics now! Besides, I need to get up

and…" She never finished her sentence because he had neatly flipped her over

onto her back and was now leaning over her. She was surprised as much by his

action as by the look of him.

He was a sexy man in the morning.

His hair hung long and tousled over his shoulders. His blue eyes were

half-closed, still drowsy; they had a slumberous appeal to them. His mouth was

soft, the beautifully shaped lips still slightly swollen from her ardent kisses

of the previous night.

Zanita was momentarily struck spellbound.

Which gave Tyber the opening he was looking for.

He wedged his leg between her thighs and dropped his head.

"Do you know the best way to overcome resistance?" he mouthed against her lips

as he clasped her hands, threading his fingers through hers to pinion her to the

mattress.

"Using a greater force to get one's way?" Zanita responded in a sugary-sweet

tone, trying her best to irk him. She knew it hadn't worked when he chuckled low

against her mouth.

"That is an option." His big toe skittered teasingly down her instep. "But I

think—believe—it is always preferable to introduce another force to overcome the

resistant force." He stroked his leg against her inner thigh. Zanita sucked in

her breath.

Desire. He was using her desire to overcome her resistance.

His leg moved higher and higher as he rubbed and stroked it against the inside

of her legs. With each pass he came closer and closer to her juncture, never

quite reaching it. The tricky devil! Whoever thought she would be waylaid by a

scientific principle?

Challenging, passion-dilated eyes gazed directly into hers.

The anticipation was killing her. Would he? Won't he? Please…

Even though she bit her lip with his next teasing caress, Zanita could not stop

the moan from escaping her lips. The small, sexy sound made Tyber's glazed focus

shift to her mouth.

"Give over to me, baby," he groaned.

That was it. She was lost. Zanita raised her head slightly off the pillow,

bringing her lips a hairsbreadth from his own. "Oh, Tyber, what am I going to do

with you?"

"Any damn thing you want." His mouth crashed down on hers.

Zanita entered the kitchen, shocked to see that Blooey had prepared a huge

Sunday brunch for them. Tyber was still in the shower, having played the

gentleman by waiting for her to finish hers before taking his when she flatly

refused to share it with him. How did he expect her to give up men when he

continually made her fall off the wagon?

No. No more.

She'd be the first to admit that she had momentarily been swayed off her course

by an incredible set of pecs and a boyishly charming, pouting lower lip and

wickedly seductive eyes. But that was all over with.

The light of day had come, literally, when she opened the bathroom drapes. With

it had come reason. Sensibility. A sense of purpose.

Zanita shivered slightly in her shorts and sleeveless top. The weather had

changed. The brief Indian summer had already gone. Swirling autumn leaves flew

by the kitchen windows in a brisk breeze. Zanita wryly noted that Hambone was

curled up next to the wood stove on a small braided rug. She would bet her next

month's salary that the cat would wisely stay by the coveted spot until next

spring.

Blooey walked into the room from the pantry, not seeming at all surprised by her

appearance. She couldn't help but wonder how many other times he had witnessed a

similar occurrence. Her glance took in the appetizing brunch laid out on the

table. No, he wasn't surprised at all that she had spent the night.

Her shoulders sagged.

She supposed that anyone who looked like Tyber probably had guest brunches on a

regular basis. There probably were a lot of women out there willing to overlook

the fact that he was a physicist. She sighed.

"Good morrow, yer ladyship! Are ye hungry? I fixed a fair bit of food fer ye,

thinkin' ye might be ravenous." He winked saucily at her. Zanita blushed.

"What's this now? Don't be shy, Lady Masterson. 'Tis a well-known fact the

Captain be a vigorous man."

Zanita turned a brighter shade of red. The little pirate took some getting used

to. "Do—do you do this often, Blooey?"

"Often enough; every Sunday, Lady Masterson." He noted her crestfallen

expression. "But it's always been just me, the Captain, and that scalawag

Hambone," he hastened to add. "It be more special with a lady such as yerself

present."

"Oh. I thought…" Blooey looked at her knowingly, and for an instant Zanita saw

the sharp intelligence behind his expression.

"The Captain's somewhat fierce about his privacy."

"Thank you, Blooey." Blooey nodded before going to pour her some coffee.

Tyber entered the kitchen, hair still slightly damp from his shower. He was

carrying a red-plaid flannel bathrobe, which he held open for her.

"I thought you might be cold with those clothes. The weather's changed." She

slipped her arms through the sleeves.

Tyber turned her around, perfunctorily fastening the tie belt with a firm tug.

He kissed her nose, saying, "Sorry, baby, no more pool parties for us until the

spring."

As if he had really had a pool party! The robe was ridiculously big on her. She

felt like a child playing dress-up. Blooey handed her a cup of coffee just as

she took a chair. Caffeine was needed quickly if she was going to deal

effectively with Dr. Evans.

"Tyber, I want to thank you for a lovely…" her voice faltered slightly, "Time. I

really have to be going."

He looked over the mound of scrambled eggs he was ladling onto her plate, a hurt

expression crossing his face. "You're not going to stay for breakfast?"