The Libby Garrett Intervention (Science Squad #2) (21 page)

I laughed. “Nothing as romantic as you’re imagining. My friend wants to start up his own tattoo parlor, and he needed practice and pictures for his portfolio. I’ve been his guinea pig on a number of occasions.”

Libby stopped at the top of the stairs and looked back at me with an evil gleam in her eyes. “Are you telling me you’re hiding more sexy body art beneath your clothes?”

There was something oddly exciting about having to look up at her from the lower step. It struck me as a random thing to get turned on over, but then, it could have been the suggestive look she was giving me that had my blood pumping. I grabbed onto the banister and pulled myself up to the top stair with her. Her eyes grew wide as my body came within inches of hers. “Are you asking me to show you?”

For a moment, the only thing that existed in the world was the electricity crackling between us. I wanted her so bad, and, right then, I was sure she wouldn’t deny me. I knew I shouldn’t. It was wrong for so many reasons. But my desire was so strong my body was screaming at me to act on it. Just as I was about to lean down and claim her lips, she let go of the breath she’d been holding and rasped, “You are dangerous, Coffee Man.”

She waited, understanding I was about to make a move and accepting it, but her admission had knocked the sense back into me. “Not as dangerous as you are,” I muttered, raking a hand through my short hair. I forced myself to take a step back. “Which way? We’re supposed to be working.”

Libby snapped out of a trance, and, after taking a deep breath, showed me to her room. It took me a minute to follow. I was literally shaking. That girl was going to be the death of me. I nearly pulled her down with me and made sweet love to her right there at the top of the stairs. I was
that
close to losing complete control.

She didn’t make it any easier, either. There was definitely something between us—an undeniable attraction that felt highly flammable. We were toying with something explosive, and it was only a matter of time before we ignited. It was inevitable. I understood that now.
We
were going to happen. The question was: how long could I hold myself back?

If it were any other girl, I’d have jumped in without hesitation, but I didn’t want to be just another fling for Libby. I didn’t want to be her next Owen. I wanted her to see
me
, not just a means to feel good. Libby needed to learn the difference between what she had with Owen and a real relationship, and I wasn’t going to be her plaything while she figured it out, no matter how tempting it was.

I followed Libby down the hall, repeating a mantra of all the least-sexy things I could think of—I had no idea how I was going to be alone with her in her bedroom and not fool around with her—but my problem was solved for me the second I stepped into her room.

“No offense, Libby, but this room is frightening.”

Her bedspread was lime green, her bookshelves were electric blue, there was a big shaggy hot-pink circle rug on the floor, and the walls were purple. There were cat figurines all over the place, and hung on the wall above her bed was a poster of Scott Stevens next to a poster of a unicorn sitting on a toilet reading a book. The caption said:
READING PROMOTES LITERACY
.

Libby’s laugh startled me out of my horror. “Avery hates that one, too.”

I shook my head, still unable to believe what I was seeing. “I’m not sure if Scott Stevens should be honored to be pinned up next to the pooping unicorn, or insulted.”

She laughed again. “Definitely honored. Unicorns have magical powers, you know. They poop rainbows. Burdock Sparkle Lord has been bringing Scott good luck for years, and Scott doesn’t even know it.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Seriously, some things truly had no words. I looked around the room again and shuddered. I couldn’t help it. But at least Libby didn’t seem offended by my reaction. “How much of this stuff is Owen stuff that we can get rid of? Please say most of it.”

That made her sigh. “Unfortunately, not much. Owen didn’t like to come here.”

“I used to fault him for that, but now…”

I shoved my hands in my pockets and tried not to grimace as I sat down on the bed. I must have made some kind of face, though, because Libby rolled her eyes. “Come on; it’s not that bad.”

Was she kidding? “It’s like Rainbow Brite and Willy Wonka had a love child with a snowboarding fetish in here.”

She gave me a look like the ones I usually gave her. “Funny, Coffee Man. Stop insulting my creative genius, and help me purge Owen from my life.”

“Right.” I pulled my eyes away from the walls and held out a hand to her. “We’ll start with the cell phone. We need to delete Owen’s contact info.”

“Ha!” Her mouth twisted into a wry smirk. “Already done. Take that, Mr. Spiritual Guide.”

Unable to hold back a laugh, I shook my head. “Way to take the initiative.”

A little of the light left her eyes. “After I dropped you off last night, I couldn’t sleep. I kept wondering if Owen found someone else to take to his fancy hotel suite.”

My gut twisted. I really didn’t want to hear the rest of this story, but as her sponsor on this journey, I had to ask about it. I forced as much calm and indifference into my voice as was physically possible. “And did you call him to find out?”

Libby met my gaze and beamed a proud smile at me. “No. I blocked his number so he couldn’t call me anymore, and then I deleted his contact info. After that, I deleted all my social media, too.”

I jerked back in surprise. I honestly thought she’d have called him and gone to him last night. Since the moment I realized she was taking this so seriously, I’d figured that’s what had happened. She said her change of heart had been because of me, but I didn’t understand how I could have had that much of an effect on her.

I’d assumed she’d contacted him last night and got her feelings hurt again. The fact that she hadn’t—that she’d resisted him, and that all of this effort really was for me—was a damn good feeling. I grinned at her. “We’ll have you cured in no time, then. You didn’t need to delete all of your social media, though. You could have just unfriended him and set your stuff to private.”

She shook her head. “I only ever created the accounts in the first place so that I could stalk him better, and he never even accepted my friend request.”

She stopped talking and made a sour face, as if swallowing back bile. I cringed on her behalf. Hindsight was brutal.

“He really is a sphincter extraordinaire, isn’t he?”

I stood and crossed the room to her, coming close for the first time since our almost-kiss on the stairs, and tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. “What was it you said to me? His loss? You can do better.”

Her gaze locked on mine as if she were incapable of looking away, and she swallowed audibly. But there wasn’t any sexual tension in the moment this time. She was struggling to keep emotions in check.

Libby had always been tough. She’d had to be, with how much she’s been teased her whole life. She didn’t like to show any vulnerability. She was doing a decent job of keeping her feelings inside now, but they were right beneath the surface. I wished I knew what she was thinking. I was confusing her, no doubt, but was I helping her? Was I having any impact on her? Was I getting through to her at all? I couldn’t tell.

I cleared my throat and went back to my safe place on her bed. I needed to stay out of arm’s reach or I was going to do something really stupid. Something Libby would let me do—want me to do—but something that she wasn’t ready for.

When I disrupted the moment, she shook herself from the daze she’d fallen into and opened her closet. She pulled a decorated shoebox off the top shelf, and I had to bite my lips to keep from laughing. I couldn’t stop the smile from creeping over my face, though, and got a glare from Libby for it. “It’s not covered in
flowers
,” she snapped.

Seeing what was plastered all over the box, a snort escaped me. “Cats. I should have known.” I couldn’t hold back any longer, and burst into laughter. She stood there, glaring at me, waiting out my laugh attack. “Sorry,” I said once I could control myself.

I still couldn’t lose the grin, and finally she cracked a smile and joined me in laughter. “So…?” I asked, once our giggles were under control.

She looked down at the box and her face went white. “I don’t have to show you what’s in here and, like, explain it, do I?”

What the hell did she have in that box? It was either really embarrassing or really kinky. My lips twitched again. I was tempted to make her show me, but I let her off the hook. “I definitely wouldn’t complain if you want to spare me that experience, but if you need to talk it out or have some kind of girly burning ritual for closure or whatever, that’s what I’m here for.”

She shook her head, her entire body sagging in relief. “Nope. I’m good with just throwing it out.”

She set the box on the bed, but when I reached for it as if I might open it, she snatched it back up. “Maybe I should just run this outside to the garbage can right now.”

She didn’t wait for a response before dashing out of the room. I laughed to myself as I waited for her to come back. Man, she was fun to be around.

Libby

Oh. My. Holy.
Hell in a handbag! I took my time throwing my Owen box in the garbage can outside because I needed a breather. Things were usually hot and lusty between Owen and me, but for all the tension we’d experienced, the intensity of that moment on the stairs with Adam was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. The chemistry between us was in a league all its own.

I was surprised it existed, that Adam could affect me so much when I was supposed to be completely hung up on Owen. But when we stood there a moment ago and his eyes fell to my mouth as if he’s never wanted to taste something more, I couldn’t think. I couldn’t keep air in my lungs, couldn’t settle down…and I hadn’t been the only one. I’m certain Adam had been seconds away from carrying me to my room and doing things to me that would make a romance novelist blush. I’d be a monkey’s uncle if I hadn’t thrilled at the prospect.

I’d all but begged him to kiss me as I waited for the chain on his restraint to snap, but he pulled himself back before anything happened, and seemed determined to keep his distance from me now. I think it had scared him. I think the moment between us hadn’t been planned, but was rather a complete loss of control on his part. Adam didn’t seem like the type of guy who ever lost control. The fact that I could make him lose his head was exhilarating, but it unsettled me at the same time.

Adam was different. I couldn’t figure out what to make of him. Whenever Owen talked dirty to me or touched me, he did it because he wanted something from me. I didn’t think that was necessarily the case with Adam. When he told me I was beautiful, called my bum luscious, or held my hand as if it belonged in his, I think it was just him being his honest-to-a-fault self. It’s like he really thought those things about me and just figured everyone else did, too.

Mind. Boggling.

When I was ready to face him again, I tied the Owen box shut in a black garbage bag lest anyone see the cute kitties and be tempted to peek inside, then dumped it in the trash can outside. Garbage day was on Wednesday. It should be safe until then, but I considered setting fire to the garbage can all the same. Only the fact that I’d left Adam alone in my room—and there was still plenty of embarrassing stuff in there I didn’t want him to see—pulled me back into the house without burning the Owen box.

When I returned to my room with another garbage bag, Adam was browsing the titles on my bookshelf. Considering some of the books I had on my shelf, I laughed. “See anything that excites you?” I teased. “You’re welcome to borrow whatever strikes your fancy.”

He held up a worn paperback and gave me his best I’m-a-sexy-coffee-man-and-you-are-slightly-nuts look.
“Sinfully Seductive?”

I grinned. “That’s a sequel. You’ll want to start with
Tantalizingly Tempting
.”

“There are pages dog-eared in this.” He opened to the marked page and read the highlighted passage, his eyes bulging.

“Tips,” I told him. “I’d read the book and wanted to try that with Owen, so I marked it to show him.”