Free Message From Viola Mari by Sabrina Devonshire Page A

have sent you roses in Prague?”
    “I don’t know.” My heart wanted to give in, but I somehow couldn’t get my lips to agree to that plan.
    “You shouldn’t have thrown that water bottle at me. That was totally inappropriate.”
    “I know. But you made me so mad, I couldn’t stop myself. If you didn’t want me to leave your house, why didn’t you come after me? Don’t you know a fleeing woman always wants to be pursued?”
    “I wasn’t sure I could pull it off without suffering mortal injury.”
    “Very funny.” I attempted to suppress a laugh. Necks craned out further. “I hope today’s agenda doesn’t get back to the Board of Regents.”
    “Yeah, you’re not the only one. Affairs with students are a big no-no. But I’ve never had a student like you before.”
    “I bet you say that to all the girls.” I pulled my back from the tree and stepped toward him.
    “No, actually, I don’t. I usually follow all the rules and live a simple life. I met you and it was a like an earthquake struck. And every day since has been a string of aftershocks.” His gesturing hands dropped to his sides when he finished.
    I couldn’t have said that better myself. I hadn’t needed men before. Life was scientific, methodical, structured, and predictable…until Justin. “There you go again, with your scientific similes.”
    His lips curled up in a smile and the familiar twinkle crept back into his eyes. “I missed you when you were in Prague and I can’t imagine not seeing you for another week. What do you say we give this seismic love affair another try?”
    I shrugged and angled my head in his direction to indicate I was open to suggestions
    “If you’re free this afternoon, we could meet at the Cove for a swim.”
    “You can swim?” I teased.
    “Not very well, actually, but if I get in trouble, you’ll cross chest carry me to shore, right? Give me a little mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?” He placed his hands on my shoulders and brushed his lips against my cheek.
    I’d missed the thrilling tingles his touch incited. This is so much more fun than fighting. “Don’t count on it.” I grasped his muscular upper arms and pushed him back. Electricity raced up my arm. “And keep your lips to yourself. We’ve got a captive audience.”
    “How about four o’clock?”
    “Fine.”
    When we returned to the classroom, a round of applause erupted.
    “Aren’t you going to kiss her?” asked Steve.
    “Certainly not.” As Justin wrinkled his brow, his glasses slid crookedly down the bridge of his nose. I looked at Jennifer and muffled a laugh. “Now that Marissa is clear on the context of my comments, we’ll move on to Jane’s manuscript.”
    After Jennifer drove me home, I stopped by the office to run the NRG rock samples through the spectrometer again. I’d carefully recorded each transition in chemical composition. Peering at a slice of rock beneath the microscope again, I could see the structures had changed even before the analysis was complete. The data indicated the composition now matched the readings I’d gotten on the rocks when the topography of the craters had been visible on radar. I knew people from another galaxy were trying to tell me something. But what? If only I could grasp the significance. I clicked off the light on the microscope and packed up my things. I had another problem to deal with at the moment—a muscular, hairy, blond-headed problem oozing mind-altering testosterone.

Chapter Eight
    I slipped on a swirly purple swimsuit and covered up with my favorite gray soft-and-fuzzy sweats. My walk to the ocean passed quickly with wind at my back and soon I descended the cement steps to the La Jolla Cove, a small crescent of sand and chunky black rock. An enormous wave crashed on the beach, awakening dozing harbor seals.
    Justin sat on a towel on a flat rock, his knees bent, his untidy curls twisting in the ocean breeze. Absorbed in thought, he gazed toward the horizon where sea met sky. I