Talk Nerdy to Me (16 page)

"I
think I accidentally left her door open. Lie down on the rubber antigravity
mat. I'm going to blindfold you."

His
heart pounded with eagerness as he stretched out on the spongy surface. Sex
like this could almost make him forget Peterson. "How would you leave her
door open?"

"She
gave me a key so I could take delivery of FedEx packages when she wasn't
home." Eunice's generous tits bobbed above him. Then she laid a silk scarf
across his eyes. "Lift your head."

He
did, and she tightened the blindfold. Not being able to see made his heart race
even faster. That, and knowing Eunice had a key he could quietly borrow. She'd
dropped her keys in a bowl by the front door when they'd first come in the
house. He'd bet Eve's key was in that bowl, too.

"And now, Earthman,
it's space-slime time."

"Space
slime?" It sounded gooey and wonderful, something to drive the thought of
Peterson right out of his head.

"A
special formula created by Gounag, himself." Somewhere in the darkness, a
jar opened. "Gounag was well hung, much like yourself. He instructed me in
the proper application of space slime."

Rick's
breathing grew shallow. With Eunice, anything was possible. "Good,"
he said. "That's good."

"First, we must shave
the testicles."

"What?"
Rick started to sit up, but she pushed him back down.

"Quiet. Must I bind
you again?"

He
gasped for breath. "I don't think I go for the idea of a razor near my
balls. I'll bet Gonaug didn't let anybody shave his boys, either."

"Of
course he did." Her warm breath tickled his ear. Then she ran her tongue
inside, a move that was guaranteed to drive him crazy. "Earthman,"
she murmured, "do you think I would ever damage something that can give me
such incredible pleasure?"

"Oh."
All the resistance went out of him. "Guess if it's good enough for Gonaug,
it's good enough for me."

"Then lie very
still."

That turned out to be
extremely difficult. When the shaving cream hit, he yelped, and as she began
stroking him with the razor, he groaned and resisted the urge to come. Coming
could result in serious injury.

At
last she was finished. "Now for the space slime. Enjoy."

"Ahhhh!"
He trembled as she smeared the creamy, tingling stuff all over his balls. They
tightened in response, and he fought back his climax, because he had a feeling
she would ... yes, she did. Up and down his rigid cock with the space slime.
Mind-blowing. Incredible. His orgasm wouldn't be held back any longer.

But just before he came, he
reminded himself not to forget... not to forget... what? Oh, yeah. The key.

On
the way back to her house, Eve considered Eunice's reaction to her question
about the notes. "I don't think Eunice took anything."

"Some
people are really good liars," Charlie said.

"I
know. I just don't believe Eunice is one of them."

"So
you think she was abducted by Gounag from Titillium?"

"No."
Eve glanced up and discovered the clouds had drifted away, leaving the sky
brilliant with stars. She believed there were other life-forms out there, but
she didn't think Eunice had met any.

"Aha!"
Charlie sounded triumphant. "So if she'd he about that—"

"But
don't you see? She tells this outrageous story, but then she gives herself away
with all the cheesy effects."

Charlie
glanced at her. "So you're saying she might be a liar, but she's not very
good at it?"

"That's
my point."

"But
what if that whole alien abduction thing is designed to disarm people so they
won't take her seriously? What if she's deliberately outrageous to hide her
crafty side?"

Eve
laughed and shook her head. "Poor Eunice. She can't catch a break with
you, can she?"

"She
had motive and opportunity. She was the only one in the vicinity with a key.
That's all I'm saying."

"If
someone timed it right, they wouldn't have needed a key." Now that Eve was
convinced Eunice hadn't stolen the notes, she had to accept that she'd
misplaced them or that someone had taken advantage of Eunice's slipup.
"When I got home tonight the door was unlocked. I think Eunice forgot to
lock it after she let the FedEx man drop off the package."

Charlie
groaned. "Great. How long do you think it stayed open?"

"Don't
know. Could have been as much as twenty-four hours. We could check the FedEx
slip or ask Eunice." Stepping up on her front porch, she fished her keys
out of her pocket. She loved this porch, and come spring she intended to put
wicker furniture out here. She'd never had her own porch.

I
guess it doesn't matter how long it was," Charlie said. "But that
sure widens the list of suspects."

Eve
unlocked her door. Maybe in the spring she'd paint the door and the shutters
purple. "I wish you wouldn't keep using that word. It seems so—"

"Accurate?"

"Sleazy." She
walked into her cozy little house.

Charlie
followed her, closing the door and flipping the dead bolt. "You don't want
to admit that Middlesex harbors any thieves, do you?"

"No,
I don't." But she'd already lost interest in the discussion the minute
she heard the dead bolt slip into place. Charlie had just locked them in. That
meant Rick and Eunice couldn't come over unannounced. They probably wouldn't
come over at all, but if they should for some reason, they'd have to ring the
doorbell.

The
click of the dead bolt signaled that she and Charlie were truly alone, with a
locked door between them and the world. She wondered if he'd sensed the change
in atmosphere, or if she was the only one on full alert. Her fogged glasses
kept her from assessing his expression as she took off her coat and boots.

"We
haven't made any progress on the hovercraft," Charlie said.

Did
his voice sound a wee bit husky? Eve thought it might. "No, we
haven't."

"We
should at least get your new motor mounted on a stable part of the
workbench."

That
sounded incredibly sensual, somehow. "As a bare minimum. Before we quit
for the night, that is." As her glasses cleared, she glanced over at him.
He seemed to be breathing a little faster than their walk from Eunice's
demanded. Beneath the green plaid of his shirt, his chest expanded as he drew
in air. She remembered the softness of that flannel and the insistent pressure
of his mouth. He'd tasted wonderful.

"You'd
like to test another batch of fuel, wouldn't you?" His glance grew warmer
by the second.

"That
would be great." She noticed that Charlie smelled terrific, like a walk
through the woods on a summer's day.

He
cleared his throat. "I'd love to check out the undercarriage before we
get into the fuel thing."

"Be
my guest." His comment shouldn't have been suggestive, but Eve's personal
undercarriage didn't seem to understand that. It was responding as if Charlie
had begun an elaborate seduction routine.

"I'm
fascinated by your use of magnets," he said. "And you know me. I'll
have to look at every inch of your wiring."

"Of
course." He could do whatever he wanted with her wiring. She had some hot
spots that needed attention right away.

"If
I'm going to help you, I need to be thoroughly acquainted with
everything."

"Definitely."
If a man could virtually undress a woman with his gaze, then Charlie was doing
that now. She tingled under the assault of those penetrating brown eyes.
"You're welcome to go over every tiny little part." Repeatedly.
Until they were both wild with lust. "Ready to get started?"

He
took a step in her direction. "I'm not going to kiss you again, Eve."

"I
never said you were." Her chest tightened in anticipation.

"I'm
here to work on the hovercraft." He moved closer. "I understand
that."

"But
every time I think about you building that thing all by yourself..."

She
gazed up into eyes that held the special kind of softness that made her toes
curl. And here she'd been told the way to a man's heart was through his
stomach. "I'm glad you like my invention."

His
voice grew rough with emotion. "I'm crazy about your invention."

She
wanted him so much she could hardly think, which explained her next idiotic
statement. "Charlie,
I
wonder
if we should consider one little sexual episode, just for the heck of it?"
The minute she'd made the suggestion she wanted it back.

Left
to his own devices, he might have kissed her again, and who knows how that
might have turned out? But she'd had to push the issue, and now he was struggling
to bring himself under control again.

Eventually
he seemed to succeed. Backing up, he took a deep breath. "No sexual
episodes."

"I
didn't think so." She looked away. "I shouldn't have mentioned it. My
bad."

"You were only
mentioning what I was thinking."

She met his gaze.
"That makes me feel better."

"I
don't want you to be upset in the first place." He spread his arms and
gazed up at the ceiling. "Why does this have to happen now?"

"What?"

"You!"

"What about me?"

"Okay,
maybe I'm wrong in my conclusions. Say we got involved with each other. What
would you be looking to get out of that?"

She
answered as honestly as she could. "I'm still trying to figure it out,
Charlie." Now that it seemed they wouldn't kiss, after all, she had a
yearning to get to work to let off some steam. "Let's talk in the
garage." "Fair enough."

"We
can mount the engine on the workbench, like you said." And that still
sounded sexual, but she'd try to ignore her urges in that direction. Never let
it be said that she'd forced herself on a guy.

Once
they got out to the garage, Charlie helped Eve mount the engine on the
workbench, all the while aware of her scent, her warm body moving around, her
breathing, which seemed to become quicker whenever they accidentally touched.
Somehow he managed to complete the job without grabbing her.

After
that he made himself eat pizza and drink Coke because it gave him something to
do with his mouth other than kissing Eve. She told him her theories for modifying
her fuel, and he thought they sounded reasonable. At least the parts he managed
to pay attention to sounded reasonable. Mostly he kept watching her mouth and
fantasizing about kissing her.

A
project like this should have the drawing power to keep his thoughts away from
having sex with Eve. It didn't. He couldn't concentrate on the hovercraft
without thinking about getting horizontal with its inventor.

"Do
you want to put that additive in the fuel and give it a try?" he asked.

"Not
yet. Why don't you check out whatever you want to on the hovercraft. You
haven't had a chance to go over it thoroughly, the way I'm sure you want
to."

He
wondered if she had any idea what he wanted. Maybe. She kept giving him little
glances, glances that sizzled wherever they landed and made him long to unfasten
those overalls she was wearing.

But he'd inspect the
hovercraft instead. Still holding his can of Coke, he got to his knees and
peered under the belly of the craft. He found a movable flap that he hadn't
noticed before. "Rudder?"

"Yep."
She leaned against the workbench and munched on her pizza. "I've done some
calculations on my computer, but I won't know for sure if it works until the
first test flight."

"About
that." He glanced up at her and fought the urge to pull her down next to
him and kiss her until they were both breathless. "I'm going with you on
that first flight."

She shook her head.
"Nope. Can't risk it."

He
wasn't about to accept that answer, but he decided to try logic before he
resorted to coercion. "Do you have any experience with light
aircraft?"