Nerds Like It Hot (Nerds, #6)(11)
Author: Vicki Lewis Thompson

Now he was sitting beside her—thighs touching—on a bed, for God’s sake. If they lay back and scooted sideways, they’d be in business for a little horizontal tango. Instead he had to force himself to concentrate on the list of shipboard activities Cora was reading as she sat on the other bed next to Dante.

The room was so small that all four sets of knees were bumping each other. That alone should have kept Lex from thinking about sex with Gillian, but it had no noticeable effect. The warmth of her thigh against his was the only thing that seemed to register in his fevered brain.

"We have the captain’s cocktail reception tonight," Cora said. "We all need to go to that so we can survey the passengers and pick out any suspicious-looking characters."

"If they all look like us, that’s gonna be tough." Dante started to laugh. "Lex, could you please take off those clip-ons instead of leaving them flipped up like that? I can’t concentrate with you sitting there looking like a dweeb."

Lex took off the glasses, clip-ons and all. He wasn’t about to admit that he admired the design of those clip-ons. If he wore glasses he’d be sorely tempted to go the clip-on route instead of buying prescription sunglasses, or worse yet, the ones that went dark in the sun but never quite looked right in the shade, either.

"I think clip-ons look cute turned up, like miniature awnings," Gillian said. "And when you stop to think about it, don’t you agree they’re ingenious?"

Lex blew out a breath. Did she have to be sexy and kind? What was a guy supposed to do?

"Obviously, Lex doesn’t agree, which is as it should be." Dante leaned toward Gillian. "The Lexter and I will be surrounded by geeks on this cruise. We have to fit in, but there’s a small danger that in the process we’ll become infected with geekiness if we’re not careful. It probably won’t be as much of a problem for me, because I was born cool, but for Lex, it’s a concern. So let’s not be telling him he looks cute with his clip-ons flipped up, okay?"

Lex was about to tell Dante what he could do with his pair of clip-ons, but Gillian beat him to the punch.

She leaned forward with deliberate purpose. "I wouldn’t say Lex is the only one we have to worry about getting infected. You were the person all excited about the walkie-talkies and assigning us each code names."

Lex could have kissed her. Well, he was always on the verge of wanting to kiss her, but after that comment, the urge was overpowering.

"The … the walkie-talkies don’t count!" Red crept up from the collar of Dante’s shirt. "That’s part of security. I didn’t say I liked the walkie-talkies."

Gillian smiled. "You didn’t have to."

"No, you sure didn’t." Lex knew he was piling on, but he didn’t care. Dante was too damned sure of himself and his cool factor. "The minute we got here, you were all about the walkie-talkies, and code names and stuff."

Dante flushed. "No, really. They’re a tool. I’m not into them at all. It might have seemed that way, but I’m—"

"Children!" Cora rattled the paper she held in her hand. "Enough of your hang-ups. Let me finish reading the schedule. I want plenty of time to get dressed before the cocktail party."

"Right." Dante shifted his weight on the bed. "Let’s concentrate, people."

Lex glanced at Gillian and caught her smiling at him. He couldn’t help smiling back. The shared moment left him feeling even more turned on than he had been before. They needed to finish this strategy session, if only to let him get out of this cozy situation with Gillian before he lost it.

"After the cocktail party we have the first seating for dinner," Cora said. "Those who are in the second seating, which would be the four of us, are invited to the lounge for karaoke."

"That rocks," Dante said. "I’m great at that."

‘Which misses the point of going," Cora said. "We need to scout out every possible venue looking for problems."

"And sometime after we sail," Gillian said, "I want to make a ship-to-shore call to the LAPD."

Cora gave her a sharp glance. "You want to tip off the police?"

"Yes. I can’t let Neil get away with this. And I need to make the call soon, in case…"

Lex’s blood ran cold at her implication. "In case you forget," he said quickly. "Because nothing is going to happen to you. Nothing at all. Right, gang?"

"Absolutely not." Cora gazed at Gillian. "I appreciate your impulse to do this, but be sure and take Lex with you when you go into that room. The calls are so expensive that the place is usually deserted."

"That’s good." Gillian sat up straighter, as if gathering her courage. "I wouldn’t want anybody to hear me make the call. Or even suspect I was about to make it"

Lex could kick himself for suggesting the call in the first place, but it had been the only way he could think of to keep her from going to the police before they sailed. Now he searched frantically for alternatives. "What about e-mail? That might be less suspicious. Everybody likes to check their e-mail."

"No e-mail on board," Dante said.

"You’re kidding!" Lex couldn’t believe it. "This is a nerd cruise! How can they not provide Internet access?"

"According to the person I asked, that’s exactly why," Dante said. "They want the nerds to pair up. If they gave them Internet access, they’d all be glued to the computers and wouldn’t take part in any of the activities."

"Okay, then." Lex turned to Gillian. "Looks like the phone is your only option, but I wouldn’t rush into it. You have plenty of time. In fact, I have a great idea. Let one of us make the call on the way back, after you’re safely off the ship."

"No." She was trying to seem brave, but she began to tremble. "I should do it. And the longer I wait, the more chance Neil has to get away."

"You can let it go until tomorrow, I think,” Cora said. "That gives us all time to get our sea legs and scope out the situation."

Gillian visibly relaxed. "Okay. But tomorrow, for sure."

"Right," Cora said. "Now then, I believe we were talking about karaoke! And the person from our group who should sing is Gillian."

Gillian choked. "Me? I don’t do karaoke."

"Norma Jean would," Cora said. "You don’t want to look like a scared mouse running from the Mob because you saw someone murdered. You want to look as if you don’t have a care in the world. That way, if anyone has followed you on board—"

"The guy in the black sedan tailed them on the freeway," Dante said. "But Lex lost him in traffic."

Cora’s gaze fastened on Lex. "Are you sure you lost him?"

"I lost him, all right." Lex knew that wasn’t the whole story, though. "But if Adamo’s guys have my car identified, which it looks as if they have, then someone else could have come along later. I didn’t see anyone follow us into the parking lot, but they might have been cagier this time."

"True." Cora took a deep breath. "At this point we don’t know what to expect. The secret is for one of us to stay with Gillian at all times, and Gillian, you should keep to the well-populated areas, which is another reason to go to the karaoke bar before dinner, and forget about this ship-to-shore business for now."

"She’s right," Lex said. "But if you don’t like to sing, then—"

"I like to sing. But I confine it to the shower." Dante grinned. "Then pretend you’re in the shower. But keep your clothes on."

Now Lex had to deal with a new image—Gillian wet and nak*d while she sang in the shower. He was in so much trouble it wasn’t funny.

"Then it’s settled," Cora said. "Gillian, you can do this. Be Norma Jean."

"I’ll try."

"That’s the spirit." Cora consulted her schedule. "After karaoke is dinner, and we’ll be seated at a table for eight, so we can find out something about the others assigned to that table."

"And I shouldn’t have to mention that we all have to be careful what we say about ourselves." Lex directed his comment mostly at Dante.

"Hey, I can be discreet. I went to PI school, you know."

"Dante won’t let us down, will you, Dante?" Cora peered over at him.

"Nope."

"Good. Now, back to the schedule. After dinner is a starlight trivia contest up on deck, with guest lecturer Dr. Benjamin Lawrence, retired professor of astronomy at UCLA. Here’s what the brochure says about him." Her voice softened. "A distinguished scholar, Dr. Lawrence received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stanford and his doctorate from UCLA. Prior to his retirement, he headed up a special research unit in Chile and has published several books in his field, including—"

"Uh, Cora?" Dante tapped her on the shoulder.

"What?"

"We don’t really need to know all of that stuff."

"You most certainly do! I want your opinion about him. Does he sound like a good candidate?"

Lex tried not to laugh and only managed to sound emotionally choked up. "Why would you want our opinion?"

"Aw, Lex, you’re such a darling. I’m touched that you’re touched. And I want your opinion because I have no family to consult, and I don’t want to make a bad decision because I get carried away by hormones."

Lex didn’t trust himself to speak for fear he’d blow it and start grinning at the concept of Cora getting carried away by hormones. Not that he didn’t think it was possible, but it made him smile, and she might not appreciate that.

Fortunately, Gillian was on the job. "You think that might happen?" she asked, her tone properly serious.

"I most certainly do. There was a picture of him in the cruise brochure, and he’s a hunk. I’ve been dreaming about him for weeks, and I’ve already worked up a serious case of lust. The man is a god, but he could also be hell on women. I’m trying to decide if all those degrees mean anything."

"They mean he went to school a lot," Dante said. "I don’t think they’re any guarantee of faithfulness." He put his arm around Cora. "Don’t worry, babe. We’ve got your back. We won’t let you fall for a scoundrel. I’ll ask him what his intentions are."

Cora laughed. "Don’t you dare! But I wouldn’t mind you having a man-to-man talk with him sometime and find out if he’s worth the time and trouble for me to beat off all the others who will be going after him."

"I’ll do that," Dante said, nodding solemnly.

"I have no doubt I can get him," Cora said. "I just want to know my chances of keeping him."

NANCY ROTH BREEZED THROUGH CHECK-IN, BUT THEN Neil knew she would. Her passport was perfect. Pulling Nancy’s Louis Vuitton rolling bag behind him and wearing the adorable shoes he’d found on sale at Nordstrom today, he located the elevator and rode the short distance to D Deck. That put him too close to the waterline for comfort, but his roommate was obviously strapped for cash and had taken the cheapest thing she could get

With a sense of foreboding, he made his way to the cabin at the far end of the long corridor. He was heading astern, which meant the room had to be almost on top of the ship’s engines. Only the crew had it worse than this. Thank God these substandard accommodations were only temporary. Nancy loathed deprivation.

As he inserted the key card in the slot the door swung open.

A very thin girl with extremely thick glasses stood mere smiling shyly. She wore khaki shorts, a plaid blouse, and her hair was long, straight and plain brown. Her face was totally devoid of makeup.

Neil tried not to stare, but in his world, nerds were a rarity. This was a cruise, for God’s sake! Where were this girl’s party clothes? And letting her hair do that dopey dangle thing was criminal. Neil’s fingers itched for a blow-dryer and styling gel.

"You must be Nancy," she said.

"Yes, I most certainly am!" Neil flashed Nancy’s best smile outlined in Manhunter Mauve, Nancy’s favorite lipstick. "And you must be Bernice."

"Call me Bernie." The girl held out her hand.

Neil took note of fingernails filed short and an absence of jewelry. What a hopeless case. But he needed to bond with this creature who was so completely different from Nancy’s flamboyant persona. He’d never shortened Nancy’s name, but now seemed like the time. "Call me Nance," he said.

"Great, Nance!" Bernie’s handshake was firm. "I’m glad you’re here. It makes the cruise more affordable." Then she blinked, as if realizing that might sound rude. "And the company will be wonderful, too, of course."

"I know! Too much fun. It’s like a slumber party!" Careful not to roll his eyes, Neil pulled Nancy’s suitcase into the itty-bitty room.

Bernie backed up, edging her way through the narrow space between the end of the twin beds and the dresser. Then she sat on her bed and smiled at him.

Just his luck, he was rooming with a nice girl. It was enough to make a person barf. She’d probably never met a cross-dresser in her life. If he’d been lucky enough to draw a swinger, he might have considered revealing his secret. But Bernie looked like the kind of person who would run screaming down the hall, which was not what he was going for.

Neil had taken Nancy on a few cruises, but he hadn’t realized they made cabins this small. Or maybe it was the gigantic basket of fruit, cheese, and wine sitting on the minuscule dresser that made the room seem even tinier. "Did this come with the room?" he asked. If so, he would rather have a larger cabin and a smaller basket.

"It’s for you. You must have a secret admirer."

Neil’s professionally waxed eyebrows lifted. "For moi! This is a surprise." Resting the rolling bag on end, he opened the small envelope tied with ribbon to the basket handle and pulled out the card inside. "Welcome to the Sea Goddess. What do you say we enjoy some of this wine together later, in my cabin? Best, Jared."

Shit. One little mention of spanking and Jared was delivering giant fruit baskets and expecting a rendezvous in his cabin ASAP. Neil tapped the card against his chin and tried to think how he could put the brakes on this runaway train. He wouldn’t mind a small dalliance, but from the size of this basket Jared hoped for something large and decadent. Neil didn’t have that kind of time.