Get a grip, Teddy. You have a book to focus on.
But getting laid might lube things up…so to speak.
As if! I don’t even know the guy.
You couldgetto know him.
“Pretty warm, huh?” Oscar said as she came out from under the waterfall. He eased into the pool with his own sigh of pleasure, leaving his tools and gear untouched on a nearby rock. “Your face is really flushed.”
I’ll bet it is.“So is yours.”
“Even though it’s pretty warm already, it feels good in the water.” He leaned against the side of the pool, and the water surged and bubbled against the rocky rim. The waterfall splashed down between them, sending little sprays of cool droplets against her skin.
“So you really don’t like my RBS idea?” Teddy asked, pulling her attention from his freckled shoulders and the patch of blond-red hair on his chest. It was either that, or talk about what had happened up on top of the lighthouse last night, andthatshe wasn’t ready for.
“No.”
She sighed and sank deeper into the water, despite the heat. Rivulets of sweat and water ran down her cheeks and throat. But maybe if it was a sacred, special pool, it would take a while to do its work. So she had to soak in it for a bit. “Well, I’ve got to get my hero out of a difficult situation regardless.”
“That’s right. He’s got to save the world.” Oscar eased lower in the water too. His hair, now damp from the humidity, had begun to curl up into tiny, dark waves around his temples and neck. “You know what always gets me about books and movies like that is how complicated they get. Why does villainy have to be so complicated? Why can’t it be a simpler situation than a plot to infect the entire city of New York with a virus—which is ridiculous anyway—or…or mechanized robots that are going to pilot a bunch of planes and crash them into the ocean with important people on them?”
Teddy sat up, and the water surged away from her. “Hey, that’s not a bad idea. Mechanized pilots…they could be flying Air Force One, maybe.”
“No, no, no,” he said, waving his hand and sending droplets of water flying. “Too complicated. Couldn’t you just write a computer hacker who sends out a false news report—sort of likeWar of the Worlds, but done purposely—that causes the stock market to crash or even the Internet to go down because of too much traffic and not enough bandwidth? Then he could take over communication and cause all sorts of chaos.”
She stared at him. “Yes.I like it. Hmm. That might work. Let me think on that…” She settled back and stared at the waterfall, working through the details.
“So you said your hero’s caught? Well, what about a trapdoor? Or what about a skylight? Put in a trapdoor or a skylight and he somehow—”
“Yes!” Teddy shouted, erupting from the pool with a violent splash. Her brain exploded with ideas and images andanswers. “That’s it! That’s it! That’s perfect!” Exhilaration and relief burst over her, and she was filled with joy.That was it.
Before she realized what she was doing, she surged toward Oscar and threw herself into his arms. She hugged him, then pulled back and smacked a kiss onto his warm, damp lips. “Thank you! You’re amazing! You’re—”
He pulled her back to him and kissed her again…this time much more thoroughly. His lips were warm and full and he tasted faintly of salt and sulfur. His torso was warm and wet against hers. And firm. When she pulled away, she saw droplets of water clinging to his eyelashes and that his pupils had widened.
But her brain…it was on fire. It was furious—unleashed, undammed, and finally, aftermonths, the ideas were flowing and spilling free. The energy pulsed through her like the roar of pool churning around her.
She had to go.
She had towrite.
Seven
One minute,Oscar was easing into a long, deep, wholly unexpected andhotkiss…and the next, he was sitting in the pool alone. The water surged and splashed even more violently than before now that she’d sloshed out of it.
“Thanks again!” Teddy called as she shoved her feet into her shoes. She looked as if she’d just been awarded a million dollars: her eyes were bright, droplets of water sprayed from her hair, and her movements were quick and energetic. “You’re absolutelybrilliant, Dr. London! I’m going to dedicate this book to you!”
And with that, she charged off into the bushes in the direction of the lighthouse.
What did I say?
Oscar stared after her, figuring he owed himself at least a good look at her rear end. Which, as it happened, was barely covered by the blue swimsuit. And it was, as he’d noted previously, quite a fine rear end.
He let out a long breath and slid under the water to his shoulders. That had been an unexpected but extremely pleasant moment, a fact that his long-neglected hormones were still reminding him. He wasn’t certain what he’d done or said to induce such a reaction from her, but he wasn’t complaining.
In fact, it took him a few minutes to put his scattered brains back together.
But now that the writer and her distracting conversation were gone, Oscar had the opportunity to get back to work uninterrupted. He heaved out of the pool and got his equipment, then, methodical as always, went to work.
