Nerds Like It Hot (Nerds, #6)(36)
Author: Vicki Lewis Thompson

"Doesn’t matter. You think this is all about sex, and I’m determined to prove to you that’s not true."

"It is about sex, and you know it."

"Not completely. There’s other… stuff."

She didn’t want to press him to name that stuff, because he might get into areas they shouldn’t talk about, especially knowing that he expected them to leave together tomorrow, and she knew it wouldn’t be happening.

"The food smells great." Lifting off the dome covering her plate, she discovered filet mignon, steamed veggies, and rice pilaf. "Yum."

Lex took off the cover on his identical plate. "This is risky."

"Risky?" She paused with her fork and knife in midair. "You think it could be poisoned?"

"No, I think we have no idea if the steak is how we’d order it."

"Let’s see." Gillian cut into hers. "Looks like medium to me. That would have been a safe choice. I suppose yours is the same." She glanced up when he moaned.

He was staring at her chest, and his eyes had glazed over.

She checked her nightgown, and the act of cutting her steak had partially exposed one nipple. "Sorry." She pulled the material back into place.

He cleared his throat. "When you cut your steak, everything … wiggled."

Laying down her knife and fork, she pushed back her chair. "This isn’t going to work. Either I have to put on more clothes, or we have to have sex."

"Uh-huh."

She stood, her heart pounding. "Which?"

He pushed the table aside. "I thought I’d be stronger."

"You don’t have to be strong." Stepping in front of him, she moved between his outstretched knees. "Take whatever you want."

He gazed up at her. "Ah, Gillian, forgive me." He eased the spaghetti straps down over her arms. "But I need…"

"I know." As the nightgown slipped over her h*ps and fell to the floor, she cupped her br**sts and leaned forward. "So do I."

Because he took such pleasure in her body, she could be more uninhibited than she’d ever been in her life. She could offer herself in this way, and thrill to his grateful response. His hot mouth stirred her blood and made her bold. She pushed him back onto the mattress and sat astride. Then she leaned forward and teased him with gentle shimmies that drove him wild.

Laughing, she began to undress him, stroking him with her br**sts until he was gasping for breath. Once she’d gotten rid of his clothes, she made love to his penis. This would be her gift to him, to take him all the way. He seemed willing to go along.

But just when she imagined she was in control and he was her helpless slave, he clamped both hands around her waist and rolled her to her back. "No." He struggled for air. "No."

She gazed up at him. "You were having fun." "You’d better believe it." "So why not let me?"

"Because … I want… more." Holding her down with his body, he fumbled on the nightstand and came up with a condom packet.

"More than a cli**x?"

"Yes. Stay right there."

"I’m not leaving." Yet.

"Good." He rolled away from her and put on the condom. Then he stripped off the flimsy panties she wore and moved between her thighs. "It’s more than sex." Holding her gaze, he eased slowly inside. "And you know it is."

As he slid gently home, all the while looking into her eyes, she wanted somewhere to hide. She could deal with wild, boisterous sex. She couldn’t deal with this.

"I know you’re worried about whether we’ll be good together." He began to move within her, but his breathing had steadied and the urgency was gone. "Don’t worry about that. We’ll take it one day at a time."

"It’s not only that."

"I know. You think I’m crazy to give up all I have in L.A." His stroke was gentle, and oh, so persuasive.

"Yes." She knew what was right, but it was so hard to remember when he was loving her like this.

"That’s my choice. It’s what I want to do." His blue eyes searched her expression. "And it’s what you want, too."

"It’s not… about wanting." Her resistance was crumbling. He would make her come, and then she’d agree to let him throw away his life for her.

"It’s all about wanting." He’d found that delicious spot that turned her into a quivering mass of acceptance. "Tell me you don’t want me."

"I… can’t."

"I know." He used just enough force to bring her unbelievable pleasure. "Because you do. You want me, and I want you. It’s all so simple. Now come for me, Gillian."

She did, arching her back and crying out with the joy of it. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

He kissed them away. "It’s so good. So very good." Then, with one smooth thrust, he cli**xed, his body quaking against hers.

She held him as they both quivered with the aftershocks. Tears of a different kind leaked from beneath her closed eyes. She would still leave him, but he’d just made it a thousand times harder.

* * *

LEX THOUGHT THE DINNER TASTED FINE COLD. FROM the way Gillian kept looking at him during the meal, he must have made the impression he’d been after. He wasn’t planning to tell her he loved her … yet. She might not be willing to believe it now.

But after they’d weathered the excitement of plunging into unknown territory together, after he’d proved himself a worthy traveling companion as they navigated their way down to South America, then she might be ready to accept the truth. She might even be in love with him by then.

If she’d only trust that he was capable of making this decision for himself, then they’d have days to work through their differences, whatever they might be. He didn’t think they’d be significant. They had shared values, similar intelligence levels, and incredible sex. She might want to minimize the importance of that last thing, but he didn’t, not for a minute.

She certainly didn’t object to the idea of making love again after dinner. And she didn’t seem to mind indulging again once they’d positioned the mattress in front of the door for the night. Once he’d accomplished that, he was able to finally go to sleep. The next morning they’d be docked at Vista Verde, and when she left, he’d go with her. There was really no way that she could stop him.

GILLIAN SLEPT VERY LITTLE. TOMORROW WAS THE most important day of her life. She hoped it didn’t turn out to be the last day of her life. Her tummy churned every time she thought about what she had to do.

Then she’d think about leaving the man who slept so peacefully beside her, and her heart would start to hurt. On one hand she wanted to get this over with. On the other she wished the night would go on forever, so she’d never have to leave the man she loved so desperately.

Eventually light began to trim the edges of the curtains, although the ship’s engines continued to thrum steadily. Gillian climbed out of bed and walked over to the window to peer out. The ship cruised quite close to land, and she could see volcanic outcroppings and crescents of sandy beach. Birds wheeled in the bright blue sky.

"Are we almost there?"

She turned to find Lex sitting up and watching her. "Looks like it."

"Then we’d better get ready. I think we should plan to be the first ones off the ship."

"Right." She would be, but he wouldn’t.

"I’ve been trying to decide if it would be better to hire somebody to drive us, or see if we could buy a car."

"I’m not sure." She’d decided not to lie if she absolutely didn’t have to, but she might neglect to say a few things.

"Me, either, but I’m thinking hiring someone might make the most sense. That keeps things more flexible." He stood, magnificent in his nak*dness. "So is that the plan? Skip breakfast and get off the ship ASAP?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Okay, then." He leaned down and tipped the mattress up against the closet. "Let’s get ready."

"Yes, we need to." She wasn’t sure when her opportunity would come. She only knew her timing had to be perfect.

As they shared the bathroom and got dressed, Lex talked about what he should take in his backpack. "I don’t want to make it look too bulky, because then someone might get suspicious. I can take a few things of yours, though, because I’m sure you can’t cram very much in your purse."

She couldn’t, indeed. Mostly she was counting on the money that Cora had given her, plus some essentials like a toothbrush, deodorant, and some basic makeup. A change of underwear, one extra blouse—and that was about it for her. She would love to have her passport, but that was gone. The business card for Cora’s lawyer was tucked in her purse, though, so she could get her duplicate from Cora eventually.

The ship’s engines slowed, and a series of thumps and scraping noises told her they were docking at Vista Verde.

"We’re here," Lex said. "Don’t forget your nametag. We’ll need that to disembark."

"Got it." She lifted the cord over her head and settled it around her neck.

"Are you about ready?"

"Close." Bustling around as if she had more to accomplish, she tried not to seem as if she were watching Lex, although she was aware of his every move.

"Me, too. I wonder if I should take my shaving stuff. Ah, I’ll just buy it later on. Or maybe I’ll let my beard grow. Do you like beards?"

"Sure." She picked up his walkie-talkie from the night-stand. While he was taking his razor and shaving cream out of his backpack, she was able to set her trap without him noticing a thing.

"Are you going to call Dante?" she asked. Her heart twisted as he looked at her with such an open expression of gratitude.

"Damn, I almost forgot. Thank you for reminding me.

That would be crummy, if I didn’t let him know we were leaving." He glanced around. "Have you seen my walkie-talkie? I thought I left it on the nightstand."

"Believe it or not, I think it’s in the bathroom."

"Huh. I must be really distracted if I put it in there."

She held her breath as he stepped over the sill into the tiny bathroom. How she loved him. And she would never see him again. She closed the door quickly, and as he yelled in surprise, she flopped the mattress down, blocking the bathroom door, but not her exit.

"Gillian!" He threw his weight against the door, but it held. "Gillian!"

"I love you," she whispered as she grabbed her purse, opened the door, and fled down the hall.

The crew was just lowering the gangplank as she arrived at the double doors leading off the ship.

A young crew member smiled at her. "You’re up early."

"Lots of shopping to do." She gave him her nametag to swipe.

"Have fun." He handed it back to her. "Don’t lose that. It’s your entry back on board. We sail at four-thirty this afternoon."

"Thanks." She hurried down the gangplank. By four-thirty she’d be far away from this ship … far away from Lex. Her chest hurt as she walked quickly along the wooden dock toward the tiny cluster of buildings and shacks that made up Vista Verde.

As she walked, she took her own walkie-talkie out of her purse and punched in Cora’s code.

Cora didn’t answer. Gillian remembered the morning before, when she and Lex had found Cora and Little Ben snoring away in a couple of deck chairs, oblivious to everything. That seemed like years ago.

She’d wanted to tell Cora good-bye and thank her for all her help. So much for that idea. Turning off the walkie-talkie, she took aim and threw it into the water.

So that was it, her last contact. The cruise had been a piece of cake compared to this. Now she was officially on the run. Alone.

Twenty-eight

LEX GULPED IN AIR AND GRABBED THE WALKIE-talkie. At least she’d left him that. Cora had a key to the room. But Cora wasn’t answering her walkie-talkie. Shit. Lex pictured both Cora and Little Ben dead to the world after a night of margaritas and other activities he didn’t want to think about. Starting to sweat, he punched in Dante’s code.

He should have seen this coming, should have known she’d figure out a way to keep him from following her. Damn it! Why wasn’t Dante answering?

Finally Dante responded, sounding very sleepy. "Italian Stallion, here." In the background, someone giggled.

"Dante, she trapped me in the bathroom and left! Over!"

"Yikes!" Dante sounded wide awake, now. "How’d she do that? Over."

"Who cares? Cora’s got a key, but she’s not answering her walkie-talkie! Hello? Are you there?"

"Yeah! You’re supposed to say over. Over."

"To hell with that. Do you understand? She’s gone and I’m stuck! Over, damn it!"

"Okay, okay. Calm down, buddy. I’ll get the key from Cora. I’ll be there in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. Don’t worry. We’ll find Gillian. Over and out." The walkie-talkie went dead.

Lex stared at himself in the bathroom mirror. A complete idiot stared back. He’d known Gillian was smart, had known that she was determined not to let him sacrifice himself for her cause. But it was no sacrifice. Without her, life would be one miserable day after another, filled with regrets for what might have been.

He should have told her he loved her. Whether she’d believed him or not, she might have realized how serious he was about going with her. She would have had to deal with a declaration of love. But he’d let her off the hook on that one, and now … now she was out there, alone and unprotected.

Picking up the walkie-talkie, he tried Cora again. Still no answer. With nothing else to do, he kept trying her over and over. He could easily go crazy trapped in here, knowing that Gillian was wandering around some unfamiliar village looking for the best way to escape into the countryside.

She needed someone with her. Lex wasn’t convinced he was her best bet, but he was currently available, or he had been until she’d shut him into the bathroom. He’d made it so easy for her with his mattress program. Then he’d walked right into the trap she’d laid. She’d put his walkie-talkie in here to lure him inside.

If he weren’t consumed with worry, he’d admire the way she did it. He wondered when she’d come up with the plan, but he suspected she’d had it for quite some time. She’d made love to him all night long, allowing him to believe that she’d been lulled into an agreement that had existed only in his sex-besotted brain. All along she’d meant to leave him. That had taken nerve.