Free Blown Away by Stephanie Julian Page B

making a mint working for one of the private R&D companies.”
    “I considered it.” And was still considering it. “I’m not sure I’d work well with others. And I don’t take direction well.”
    “Ah. You have Tony Stark syndrome.”
    She said it with such a straight face, he thought maybe he hadn’t heard her correctly.
    And when she started to grin, he swore his cock got so hard, he could hammer nails.
    “So you’re a closet comic book geek,” he said. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
    “Probably because it’s such a cliché. You know, the geek who hordes comic books and action figures. The problem is, I’m not really into comic books. But I do love superhero movies. Some guys look pretty freaking hot in tights.”
    Damn, he really liked this girl.
    “Guess I’ll have to pull out my Superman underwear.”
    Her eyes widened and he saw something flash through those cat-green depths. Something that looked an awful lot like desire.
    Then she blinked and looked away. And he saw the corners of her mouth tilt up before she met his gaze again.
    “Will you model them for me if I show you my Wonder Woman costume?”
    His mouth almost fell open. Damn. She was deliberately flirting with him. And he was totally falling for it.
    “So you’ll show me yours if I show you mine?”
    That blush suffused her cheeks again and made him want to see if other parts of her body were the same pretty pink.
    He thought he’d finally managed to scare her off. She didn’t answer and he was a split second away from trying to change the subject and ease some of that embarrassment when she smiled.
    And she didn’t have to force it. Her grin looked completely natural.
    He realized that flush might not have been embarrassment.
    Could have been excitement. Or arousal.
    “Absolutely. But I never took you for a Superman fan.”
    “They were a gift.”
    Her eyebrows raised. “Oh really?”
    “From Janey.”
    Now she laughed, a straight-up belly laugh, and he fell so hard, he would’ve broken his ass if he’d actually hit the floor.
    Mal was gonna kill him when he found out he’d touched her. Janey would have his balls. And his mom would give him that disapproving look that made him feel like the biggest ass in the world.
    But Merri had made herself perfectly clear and under no undue influence.
    She wanted to seduce him. And he wanted her.
    So why the hell couldn’t they have some fun while they had the time? It wasn’t like it could go anywhere. She lived in Washington. He lived in Philly. They both had all-consuming jobs they had no intention of giving up.
    She needed a distraction, she was wound so damn tight. Jimmy could be pretty freaking distracting.
    “I think you’re making a pretty good start on your education.”
    Now her smile made him think of rushing through the preliminary stages of flirting and getting right to the part where she was naked and under him.
    “I think I need more hands-on training.”
    Hands-on. Yeah. He could get into hands-on training.
    First, though, he had to take her into the office. His mom was waiting for her.
    But tonight…
    All bets were off.
    “So, Janey wants us to go out to eat with her and Mal tonight. You up for that?”
    She paused and he thought she was going to decline. “Sure, if it’s okay with you. I mean, if you have plans, I don’t want you to change them for me.”
    Considering he probably would’ve spent the night working, he told her the truth. “I don’t have anything planned.”
    Then it occurred to him that maybe there’d been more to her question. He wasn’t seeing anyone, but how would she know that unless she’d asked one of his family members or Mal?—and he just couldn’t see that happening.
    So did he just come out and tell her?
    And when the hell had he turned into a teenage girl?
    Jesus, he needed to get to his lab and clear his head.
    * * * * *
    “Merri, it is so good to see you. I’m so glad you decided to stay with us for a while.”
    Janey