Gone With the Nerd (Nerds, #4)(11)
Author: Vicki Lewis Thompson

"Traumatized by a vegetable. Have you gone in for eggplant therapy?"

"No, but I’ll bet there is such a thing somewhere in LA."

"I’ll bet you’re right. All my friends think I’m weird because I don’t have a personal shrink."

Flynn smiled. "Now that is weird. Don’t tell me you’re well-adjusted."

"I think I am. But then, what do I know?" She crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue.

That got a laugh out of him, which gratified her immensely. She was an entertainer at heart, had been ever since playing the part of a turkey in her preschool Thanksgiving skit. Had she been the one in the eggplant costume, she would have given the crowd a song and dance to go along with the dopey line.

She vividly remembered the moment when she’d figured out that people got paid to act. Sitting on Santa’s lap at the age of seven, she’d accidentally pulled off his beard. Discovering he wasn’t Santa really sucked, but learning that he got money for pretending to be Santa had been a turning point in her life.

From that moment on, all she’d ever wanted to do was act. She’d started with the soaps, moved to a sitcom, and finally earned her stripes on the big screen. She secretly longed to do Broadway, but she was afraid no one would take that plan seriously. Landing this role would open doors, though.

Flynn reached in his pocket and pulled out a small plastic case. "I can fix your glasses now, if you want."

"You know what? I won’t need them for the scene I found." She laid the glasses on the coffee table. "So we can deal with them later."

"What scene is that?"

"Right here." She showed Flynn the page and quickly described the setup.

He glanced over the script. "It’s in her bedroom?"

"Yes. Knowing how she’d behave in her chemistry lab is easy. But I need pointers on how she’d react when she’s been through a scare like this, when her defenses are down."

Flynn swallowed. "I don’t think I’m up to this."

"Oh, sure you are. Just use your imagination. Tony’s been roused from a deep sleep, so he’s sort of rumpled, and lots of adrenaline is flowing for both of them. You can do it."

"I’m not so sure."

"Okay, maybe you need a little help to get in character." He glanced up. "Like what?"

She studied him for a few seconds, trying to picture him as more Tony-like. "For starters, you could take off your tie."

Chapter Eight

I thought you said it didn’t matter if I’m in character?" Flynn didn’t want to be in character. Tony was high-octane, the kind of guy who would jump at any chance to take a woman to bed, especially a woman like Zoe.

As long as Flynn kept his tie on, he wouldn’t turn into Tony. Besides, most sexual encounters began when a guy loosened his tie. A loose tie led to everything becoming loose. Flynn wanted to stay tight.

"You admitted you’re not very good at this," Zoe said. "I’m trying to help. In fact, I should do the same thing." She reached for the twist ties holding her hair into a ponytail.

Flynn began to panic. That was another sexual signal, when a woman took her hair down. He reached for the eyeglass repair kit. "Let’s fix those glasses and get it out of the way. Then we know for sure it’s been done."

"I don’t want to take the time right now." She tossed the twist ties on the coffee table and shook her hair free. Glossy red strands reflected the glow from the table lamp. "Ah, that feels good. I wonder if I should put on a nightgown?"

"No! I mean, that will only take more time. Let’s read." Flynn decided if he let Zoe get any further into character she’d want to rehearse the scene in her bedroom.

"Then you’ll take off your tie?"

"Yeah. Sure." Still worried that she might reconsider the nightgown, he unknotted his tie and stripped it from under his shirt collar in record time.

"The first couple of buttons, too."

His heart pumped faster than the Civic’s four-cylinder on an uphill climb. "Okay." This was insanity. What next, his belt?

"That’s good." Zoe picked up the script. "You have the first line."

Grateful not to be going deeper into Tony-land, Flynn grabbed the script and recited his line. "Damn it all, he’s gone."

"More feeling."

He didn’t bother to remind her that his delivery wasn’t supposed to matter. "Damn it all! He’s gone!"

"Much better." Zoe cleared her throat and began to pant. "Oh, Tony. Dear God. I’ve never. .. no one’s ever tried to… do that, before."

"You mean kidnap you?" Flynn did his best to ignore the way Zoe’s br**sts rose and fell with her rapid, shallow breathing.

"Kidnap me? He was trying to rape me!" "You’re kidding."

Zoe sat up, ramrod straight and indignant. "Obviously you find the concept unbelievable." "I find it unlikely."

"Why? Because I’m not that sort of woman?"

"There is no sort of woman, Vera. Rapists aren’t turned on by lust. They want power over another human being. They don’t care much what she looks like. For what it’s worth, I don’t think he was after your body."

"He was so! He … grabbed me."

"Where?" Flynn began to sweat. He didn’t like where this was going, or rather, he liked it too much.

"Here." Zoe put down the script so she could clutch both br**sts. "And he squeezed me, hard."

Flynn stared at Zoe, unable to tear his gaze away from the sight of her cupping her br**sts. Her hair was tousled and her makeup was almost nonexistent, but there was a healthy flush on her cheeks. She looked like a woman who had recently had a good roll in the hay.

"Your line," she said, still looking at the script. Then she glanced up and caught him staring. "Okay, I know what you’re thinking."

He hoped to hell she didn’t.

"Vera is supposed to be somewhat flat-chested, which will make this part funnier. I’ll have to bind my br**sts when I’m in costume, and when they shoot the love scenes … I’ll have to hope they use really dim light."

Flynn gulped. "Um, yeah. Exactly what I was thinking." Wrong. He’d been thinking that he’d give a year’s income to see her executing this move with no costume whatsoever. Nada. The thought of her scarlet-tipped fingers wrapped around her bare br**sts was enough to give him a woody. And that was the last thing he needed right now.

It took all his willpower, but he managed to return his attention to the script. With an effort he even found his place. "I think grabbing your boobs was unintentional." Oh, dear God. These lines were killing him.

"Unintentional? Come on, Bennetti. I may not have a wild and crazy sex life, but I’ve never known a man to unintentionally grab a woman’s bazookas. It’s always intentional."

"Okay, okay. So your kidnapper wasn’t above copping a feel while he was trying to get you out the window and down to the truck. But he wanted your brains, not your body." Flynn fervently wished he could say the same.

"So you think the break-in the other day and this man grabbing me tonight are related? "

"For a genius, you aren’t very smart, baby doll."

Zoe glanced up again. "No, no, Flynn. You have to say that with more swagger."

She was lucky he could still speak the language. The vision of her holding her br**sts was still dancing in his fevered brain, teasing him with possibilities he had no business imagining. "Like how?"

"Like this." She curled her lip and cocked her head at an angle as she delivered the line, putting special emphasis on the baby doll part.

She looked so damned cute doing it that he laughed.

"C’mon, Flynn, be serious. Try it again."

"I don’t know how any guy uses that term with a straight face."

"I know it’s not your style, but—"

"Not even close." He should get back to the script and stop looking at her mouth before he landed himself in trouble. Who was he kidding? He was already in trouble. Her perfume set off reactions where he didn’t even know he had reactions. The distance between them seemed to have shrunk, but he wasn’t sure if she’d moved or he had.

Her voice softened. "For what it’s worth, I’d probably hate it if a guy called me baby doll."

"Yeah, it’s really patronizing." While he was trying to remember how to breathe, somehow his hand ended up curved around the nape of her neck and he was pulling her toward him.

"Yes."

He wasn’t clear on exactly what that yes pertained to. Her silky hair tickled the backs of his fingers as disjointed thoughts skittered through his brain. She smelled incredible. He’d never kissed a movie star before. This wasn’t in the script. To hell with the script.

She slid her hand along the side of his jaw. She wouldn’t do that if she didn’t like what was happening. He closed his eyes. Zoe Tarleton was waiting for him to kiss her. Or maybe she’d kiss him first. Either option was totally acceptable.

From his bedroom, his cell phone rang. Not only did it ring; it played the special little tune that worked on his conscience like a cattle prod. He squeezed his eyes tighter, hoping he was imagining things. He wasn’t, damn it. Opening his eyes, he gazed down at her. "Let me get that."

Her expression promised him all the joys of heaven. "You could let the message service get that."

"I, . . can’t." With a groan he pushed away from the sofa, away from a temptation he should be resisting, away from a moment that he’d forever regret losing.

He caught Kristen right before the happy little tune switched to message mode. "Hey there."

"Hey yourself." She sounded so glad to hear his voice.

Guilt sat on his shoulders with the weight of a hundred hippos. "How’s the conference going?"

"Dull. I wish I hadn’t agreed to be here. Then I could have come out there earlier."

"I wish you could have done that, too." Then his life would be in order. He could have given Zoe a legitimate -excuse, and he wouldn’t currently be sitting in a cozy little cabin in the woods with the sexiest woman on the planet, a woman who wanted him to kiss her.

"I’m still thinking of ditching part of this deal. I know you’re tied up right now, but maybe you’ll get finished early. How’s the nerd tutoring coming along?"

"Fine." Flynn definitely didn’t want to talk about that. "Would you believe we’re sitting in the Bigfoot Capital of the World?"

"Bigfoot? You mean that monster thing?"

"Yeah. Some people think it’s real." He decided not to admit that he was one of those people.

"There are kooks everywhere, Flynn. But I’m sorry you have to spend the weekend right in the middle of a townful."

"Yeah, me, too. But I have to keep the client happy." He glanced toward the doorway and discovered Zoe standing there, shamelessly eavesdropping. She didn’t look particularly happy, either. If keeping her happy was his intention, he was doing a crummy job so far.

He turned away from the doorway. "Uh, Kristen, could I call you back in a few minutes? I need to take care of something here."

"Actually, I’m heading down to the bar to have drinks with some of my colleagues. Maybe I could fly out there tomorrow night, though. How would that be?"

Uh-oh. "Um, it’s a ratty little town. I don’t think you’d like it."

"I wouldn’t be coming there to see the town. And I promise not to get in the way."

"I’m sure you wouldn’t." Flynn had no idea how he’d deal with Kristen showing up in Long Shaft. "But it’s not your kind of place. And don’t forget, nobody’s supposed to know Zoe’s here." He peeked over at Zoe, who had moved past mildly unhappy to royally pissed.

"I know," Kristen said. "It was just a thought, anyway. I’ll talk to you tomorrow."

"Good. Have fun with your friends."

"Fun is what I have with you," Kristen said. "This is strictly an obligation."

"Same here. Talk to you tomorrow." He disconnected the call. Then he turned to face the music. "I should probably explain."

"Oh, you think so?" Zoe crossed her arms over her impressive assets, which strained the top button on her ugly beige jacket.

He stood there wishing the button would give and hating himself for wishing that. He wanted to strip her nak*d and push her down on the twin bed that was so conveniently within reach. The immediacy of his lust astonished him—he’d never felt this kind of urgency with Kristen or with any other woman.

The only impediment to his lust was Zoe, who was glaring at him with a fierceness that was intimidating. Her expression was the exact opposite of the one she’d worn a few minutes ago, before Kristen’s phone call. She sure could switch directions fast. He’d have to remember that.

"Did I misunderstand, or did Kristen say she might come to Long Shaft?"

"I’m sure she won’t."

"If she gives us away, I’ll—"

"She won’t give us away." He didn’t want Zoe to know how worried he was about that.

"If you say so, but I’m not reassured. And there’s another thing we need to discuss."

"Okay." He had a pretty good idea what that was.

"What’s up with the box of condoms, Flynn? Are they part of your plan to keep the client happy? If so, you flatter yourself. I don’t need sex from you. I can get sex any time I want it. Matter of fact, there’s a waiting list, and guess what? You’re not even on it!"

‘The condoms are for Kristen."

"Kristen? How does that work? I thought you said she wouldn’t be coming here?"

"She won’t."

"In that case, I hate to break it to you, but you don’t need condoms for phone sex. They haven’t figured out a way for sperm or STDs to travel through that cable. I’m not saying it won’t ever be possible, but as of now, you—"

"I packed them when I was getting ready for the Catalina Island trip with Kristen, okay?"

She looked confused. "But that’s not until next week."

"I like being prepared." And how he cringed at being forced to reveal what an anal geek he was.