wants the serum perfected as much as the rest of us, but you know bad press means big trouble and a skittish Board of Directors. You and I both know the Research Center counts on the grant money, but the Director also informed me the Board has made their decision and it’s completely out of his hands. Until the bad press dies down, your project is on hold.”

Sam clenched his jaw as his mind sorted through matters. The way Sam saw it, since he was dealing with two completely different boards, he could finish his assignment, present it to the Grant Governing Board, secure his grant, and the Board of Directors would be none the wiser.

“I don’t have time for the protest to die down. You know what these activists are like.” Sam shook his head and blew out a frustrated breath. “Greenpeace has nothing on them. They get something in their heads and won’t listen to reason. Even if Cat wrote another article clarifying things, it wouldn’t matter.”

“Cat?” Kale asked, his voice a mixture of curiosity and concern.

“The reporter who started this,” Sam offered.

“The one who moved into Erin’s old condo?”

Working to keep his face expressionless, Sam nodded. The less Kale knew the better. If this plan backfired, he didn’t want Kale going down with him.

“I see,” Kale said, his eyes assessing Sam.

Fidgeting under his scrutinizing gaze, Sam slanted his head and glanced at the clock. Kale watched the movement.

“Am I keeping you?”

“I have a date.” Sam paused, wondering why the word “date” popped into his mind.

Kale rose and gathered Samantha into his arms. “A date? Seems to me you haven’t had one of those in awhile. Erin will be happy to hear that. She’s worried that you’ve been working too hard.”

Sam stood and crossed his arms, immediately missing Samantha’s warmth, suddenly feeling very…lonely.

He donned his professional face and met Kale’s glance. Both Erin and Kale had entrusted him with this experiment when they took extended leave to stay home with Samantha. He wasn’t going to make them regret the decision. “I will see this project to completion, Kale, no matter what it takes.”

“Be careful, Sam. The Board halted your experiment. If you get caught doing what I think you’re doing and our Director finds out, you can kiss your job goodbye.”

Sam clapped his friend on the back. “Everything is under control, Kale,” he assured. “Now I have to go, I’m running late.”

“One more thing, Sam.”

“What?”

A bemused expression crossed his face. “You might want to distinguish the difference between a date and an experiment.”

“You’re doing what with whom?”

Cat hushed her best friend and neighbor, Jen, and rushed around her condo looking for her sexy, hot red pumps, or “fuck-me-shoes” as Jen preferred to call them.

God, it had been so long since she’d worn high heels it’d be a damn miracle if she made it through the night without tripping. With the way her luck was going she’d likely fall and break something vital to the experiment. For a brief moment she wondered if her ass was vital. Surely it had to be. If she broke her neck or her ass, then she’d never get to hold up her end of the deal, which would be horrible for Sam. Of course, Sam’s project really was her main concern. Not her overactive libido or the way it was screaming at her to answer her bodily urges with a guy who’d been a reoccurring character in her erotic dreams. No, it had nothing at all to do with that. Girl Scouts honor.

Cat popped a wedge of orange into her mouth and pressed her fingers to her lips. “Shhh…he’s going to be here any minute and I don’t want him to hear you.”

Jen dropped to her knees, peered under the sofa, and produced the missing shoes. “Cat, I can’t believe you’re going to be a damn lab rat.” She coiled the straps around her fingers and swung them like a pendulum.

Neither could Cat. It was all she’d been able to think about since suggesting it earlier that day. That and how Sam planned on using himself as stimulus.

“Since you insist on going through with this, you might need one of these. Two if you’re really lucky.” Jen grabbed a couple of small foil packages from her purse and slipped them into Cat’s handbag. “This is a condom.” She stretched out the last word. “It goes on the man’s penis—”

Cat swallowed her orange and cut Jen off with a glare. “Just because I haven’t used one in ages, doesn’t mean I forgot what it’s for. Besides, I won’t need it. Sam is testing my responses; we’re not testing his.”

“And you don’t think he’s going to get just a little turned on while he’s doing that?”

She could dream, couldn’t she?

Jen’s eyes opened wide, like she’d just won the state lottery, and she giggled like a schoolgirl. “Do you think he’s going to give you multiple orgasms? The serum is to increase the female libido. Surely he’s going to have to record your responses during a climax, or two, or maybe three if you’re really lucky.”

God, she hoped so. The truth was she had no idea what Sam had in store for her.

“I’m sure it won’t come to that.” Cat grabbed the heels and slipped into them. She stood in front of her hall mirror and glanced at her jeans and blouse. She’d agonized all evening on what to wear. A slinky dress or jeans? In the end she’d settled for jeans. After all, Sam was conducting an experiment, not taking her on a date.

Cat studied her profile a moment longer. “What do you think of the shoes? Overkill?”

“Not if you’re screaming fuck me.” A wry grin curled Jen’s mouth, one brow rising inquisitively. “Are you screaming, fuck me, Cat?”

As a fourth-year psychology student, Jen had a habit of overanalyzing any situation. Cat turned, checking the angle from the back. “Cut the analysis crap, Jen. I told you this isn’t about sex. I’m just helping Sam

Вы читаете Pleasure Exchange
Добавить отзыв
ВСЕ ОТЗЫВЫ О КНИГЕ В ИЗБРАННОЕ

0

Вы можете отметить интересные вам фрагменты текста, которые будут доступны по уникальной ссылке в адресной строке браузера.

Отметить Добавить цитату