Nerds Are From Mars (22 page)

He longed to see her in his home, in his bed, in his life. He thought she would fit there, would be happy there, but he’d never know until they’d tested it. So much was still in the experimental stage.

When he thought of his collection of
Star Trek
episodes, he smiled and wondered if she would really watch them with him. It wasn’t a deal breaker, but he’d love to have her cuddle with him on the couch for every stinkin’ one of them. Oh, my God, he’d just thought of the biggest selling point of all. He had an awesome telescope.

She might be impressed by his fast car and his sexy shades, but she would go ape-shit over his telescope. The city view, the complete library of
Star Trek
in both big and small screen format, the relative peace and quiet of his house nestled in the wooded hills – none of that had as much Darcie-appeal as that telescope. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought to mention it to her.

He kept glancing in his rearview mirror to make sure she was still there. Once he had a moment of panic when he thought he’d lost her, but then she popped out from behind a big truck and he sighed in relief. The drive seemed endless, and he was a nervous wreck by the time they finally pulled up in front of his house.

He hit the button that activated the garage door and then powered down his window. “Drive on in. I’ll leave mine out since we’re taking it, but you might as well park in there.”

Watching her maneuver the little hybrid into his double garage, he couldn’t help thinking how natural it looked there, as if it belonged, as if it would become a regular part of the garage scenery. He wondered if that was a premonition.

At one time he would have been horrified at the idea that he could have a premonition. Now he was excited, because Darcie would be exited. Maybe his newfound intuitive powers and this recent premonition were a product of wishful thinking. He didn’t care. Darcie’s car was in his garage, and all was right with his world.

After popping the trunk, he got out and unloaded his car while he wondered how she’d see his place. Soon after moving in he’d had the exterior covered with cedar shingles and they’d weathered until the siding blended in with the surrounding trees. A narrow deck spanned the front, which had the best view of the lights, and a large deck squared off the back of the L-shaped house.

She walked out of the garage and came over to help him take things inside. “This is lovely, Nolan.”

“Thanks. I have plenty of projects waiting to be done, like refinishing the deck and replacing the front door, but it all takes time.”

“Of course it does, and you’re busy building a rocket ship to Mars.” She took her laptop and hooked the strap over her shoulder. “Lead the way.”

Just like that, she’d made him feel like a million bucks. The sorry state of his deck became a badge of honor because he had better things to do than refinish it. He was building a rocket ship to Mars.

Taking a deep breath, he carried her suitcase up the steps and unlocked the front door. Fortunately he didn’t have to apologize for the condition of the house. He was reasonably neat, and a cleaning lady came in once a week.

Consequently the house greeted them with the aroma of pine-scented furniture polish and the cinnamon candle she liked to burn. She’d come on Friday after he’d left for the conference.

Little had he known how much he’d appreciate a clean house this afternoon. He never would have imagined he’d be bringing his dream lover into it. Stepping back, he let her be the first one through the front door.

It led right into the living room, and an open floor plan encompassed both a kitchen on the left and a small dining area by the front window on the right. A guest room off the living room doubled as his office, and the master bedroom and bath were located down a hallway that gave access to the back of the house. A stone fireplace anchored the far wall of the living room, with a state-of-the-art flat screen and all the toys that went with it in the corner.

Nolan had chosen his furniture for comfort more than style. He’d grouped it around the fireplace but also in view of the flat screen. He usually ate at a small table at the end of his galley-style kitchen, but when he had company he used the dining table. He’d owned the house for less than three years, but he’d fallen completely in love with it.

Darcie stood just inside the door and took it all in. He held his breath. The only girlfriend he’d spent time with in this house hadn’t seemed to fit the place, even after long weekends hanging out with him here.

But Darcie had been in his living room for less than two minutes and he already thought she looked right at home. That was just his opinion, though. She might not feel the same way.

She turned to him with a thoughtful expression. “This might sound a little crazy, but your house seems familiar to me.”

“In a good way or a bad way?”

“A good way. It’s as if I’ve been here before, but I don’t think I could have been.”

“It’s about ten years old. Could you have visited someone here in the past ten years?”

She shook her head. “No. That’s not it.” She continued to glance around. “When did you buy this place?”

“Three years ago.”

“What made you buy it?”

Gut instinct. He realized that, now that she’d pointed out to him how often he unknowingly acted on it. “I walked in and knew it was where I wanted to be.”

“But I suppose before that you’d checked everything out. Neighborhood, taxes, resale value.”

“No.” That was totally unlike his usual behavior with big purchases, too. “After I saw the house I investigated those things and had a home inspection, but that was all a formality. I knew this was it.”

“So intuition told you to buy it.”

“Guess so. I must have rationalized what was essentially a gut decision by saying that I knew what I liked when I saw it. I told myself I would have walked away from the house if there had been issues. But there was a plumbing problem, and I didn’t walk away. The sellers refused to fix it, so I did.”

“Nolan, this was supposed to be your house.”

He nodded. “Yes, it was.” And he thought it was supposed to be her house, too, but suggesting it would be jumping to a conclusion they weren’t ready for.

She was quiet for a moment. “I like your house.”

“Good. Me, too.”
I like having you in it
. There was so much they were not saying, but that was okay. They needed time. “Let’s get the rest of our stuff in and head to the lab.”

She smiled. “Ready to leave so soon?”

Right on schedule, his groin tightened. “Better not tease me, Darcie Ingram. You know how I get.”

“Sorry.” She didn’t look sorry.

Heat coursed through him, and he took a step closer. “Would you rather forget about the lab? Because it wouldn’t take much for me to change my mind and haul you back to my bedroom. You’d like the bedroom, too, I’ll bet.”

Her flushed cheeks told him all he needed to know.

His pulse kicked up. “Never mind the lab.” He took her hand and started toward the hallway.

“Wait.” She planted her feet. “You know I want to have sex with you.”

“Yep. I can see it in your baby blues. And I want to have sex with you, which makes it a mutual decision. And a good one, I might add. Let’s go.” He tugged on her hand.

“But if we get naked now, we won’t tour the lab.”

“Probably not. Who cares?”

“I do. That’s where the magic happens.”

He laughed. “Not much these days. We can make a lot more magic happen in my bedroom.”

“We’ll do that later. Let’s go to the lab.”

He gazed at her in frustration. “Darcie . . . damn it.”

“I know. My bad for teasing you and getting us started down this road. I apologize. Let’s take the rest of the things out of your car and then head off. Really, I want to. It’s important.”

“All right, but after that, we’re spending the rest of the time totally naked. Well, except for when we go outside and fool around with my professional grade telescope.” He couldn’t resist throwing that in.

“You have a telescope? Cool!”

“There’s no telescope at the lab. Just sayin’.”

“That’s okay. I still want to see where you work. I want to see first-hand all the fascinating gizmos and gadgets. I want to be able to imagine you there as you use that equipment to design a rocket ship that will probe the vastness of space.”

“You realize how phallic that sounds, right?” Or maybe it was just his current state of mind. A moment ago he’d been anticipating probing her warm body with his own personal rocket. He hadn’t switched gears.

“I guess it does.” She glanced at his crotch. “Are you in pain? Because if I’m causing you pain, then we can go back to the bedroom for a quickie.”

He didn’t want a quickie. He wanted a long, slow, intimate session. “I’m not in pain . . . yet. If we go straight out to the car and finish unloading it without any more sexy talk, and just pile everything in the living room until we get back, I’ll be fine.”

“Then we’ll do that.”

They worked silently for a few minutes and were done quickly. Nolan locked up and they headed for his car. They wouldn’t be having sex for awhile, but at least he’d get to take her for a little cruise in his most excellent ride. That would be fun.

“This really is quite a vehicle, Nolan.” She walked down the steps and he hurried to open the door for her.

“I’ll never be an astronaut who pilots my own spacecraft. So this is the next best thing.” Once she was in, he closed the door and walked around the sleek front of the car. His house was cozy. His mode of transportation was not.

Getting behind the wheel of this muscle car gave him a charge every time. Sex with Darcie would always be his first choice for an adrenaline rush, but if she wanted to postpone that, he’d make do with the thrill of driving his car. He put on his shades.

The smell of the leather seats and the array of instruments on the dash welcomed him like an old friend, but a friend who partied hearty. When he turned the key, the engine growled. He couldn’t have the Starship Enterprise, but he could have a red Firebird.

“Did you want to be an astronaut?”

He pulled out of the driveway. “You better believe it. But my eyes kept me from becoming a pilot, let alone an astronaut. Besides, by the time I could have gotten into it, the program was on its last legs. That’s why people like Fagan Harcourt are so important. He’s ready to pick up where NASA left off.”

“I like Fagan. I can hardly wait to do his chart. I suppose he mainly asked because he knew I wanted to, which was nice of him, but I think he’ll get a kick out of it, anyway.”

“No doubt about it.” He started down the winding road that would take them to the freeway. On a Sunday, it was deserted. Perfect. “The guy savors every experience life brings him. And speaking of that, hang on. And watch for cops. They usually don’t come up here much, but I’d rather not get a ticket.”

“Are you going to do something that would get you a –” She gasped as Nolan floored it. “Nolan!”

He laughed with pure delight as the tires screeched around the first turn. The squeal of those tires, the faint smell of burning rubber, and the deep-throated voice of the powerful engine put a grin on his face that would stay there until they reached the bottom of the hill. He’d done this so many times he was really good at it.

Darcie gripped the armrest and screamed, but a quick glance at her face told him she was having almost as much fun as he was. A passenger couldn’t get quite the same rush, but she laughed and shouted as if they were on a rollercoaster.

“Like it?” he called over the roar of the engine.

“Love it!”

The tires squealed around another turn, and another, as the scenery flashed by. Finally, although it was always too soon for him, he approached the light at the intersection, which seemed to be red every time he came down this hill. He stood on the brake pedal and laid some rubber. He didn’t do that often, but today was special.

Then he turned to her. “So you –” He didn’t get to finish because she was on him, knocking his glasses askew as she kissed him like there was no tomorrow. If there hadn’t been a console between them, he was convinced she would have climbed in his lap. If she had, she would have discovered that his cock now resembled the gearshift.

A horn beeped behind them. Breathing hard and laughing breathlessly, she bounced back into her seat and refastened her seat belt. “Light’s green. Better fix your glasses.”

“And adjust myself.” He cleared the lust from his voice as he repositioned his glasses and pulled into the intersection. “I guess you liked the ride.”

“
Yeah
.”

“Want to turn around and go back to my house, now? I’m up for it.”

She glanced across the console. “So you are, and it’s my fault, again. Sorry.”

“So, what’ll it be? Want a tour of my equipment or the lab’s?”

“The lab’s first, please. I got carried away with the ride and watching you driving this sexy car really fast, and your shades. I’ll control myself from now on.”

“Don’t do that on my account. I like it when you attack me.”

“Yes, but if I’m not ready to follow through, that’s not so nice of me.”

“Then just promise that the next time you attack me, you’ll make sure you can follow through.”

She glanced over at him with a grin. “I promise.”

“I look forward to it.” So maybe he had to postpone having lusty sex with her, but the news wasn’t all bad.

He’d inspired Darcie Ingram to forget herself and kiss the daylights out of him at a public intersection. He wouldn’t be forgetting that for a long time. And she’d promised to attack him again. With a reward like that hovering on the horizon, he could be patient.

Chapter Nineteen

The more time Darcie spent with Nolan, the sexier he seemed to get. Twice now she’d been sorely tempted to cancel this trip to the lab in favor of getting it on with the bodacious Dr. Bradbury. But something was pushing her to make the effort to see his lab, and so she’d listened to the voice inside of her that urged her not to abandon the plan.

The sign for the turn-off was small and discreet, and no buildings were visible from the road. It wound through the grass-covered hills L.A. was known for. Around a curve, the compound came into view. Utilitarian buildings were surrounded by a high metal fence. The gatehouse wasn’t manned, but Nolan had to swipe a plastic card before the large gate swung open.