Free Bad Nerd Falling by D.R. Grady Page B

She
smiled up at him, like he was the only man in the world.
    That’s when he noticed they hadn’t
proceeded any further into her apartment than the foyer. She
couldn’t move because he held her flattened against him. Tight.
Helena didn’t protest.
    “ I am too,” he whispered
and bent his head to sample her smile.
    She didn’t argue, but let him explore
her lips. When she leaned into him and moaned, he realized they
needed space between them or things he wasn’t planning on might
occur and he would be powerless to stop them. Relying on Helena to
halt things wasn’t a great plan because he would work extra hard to
convince her and she apparently had the same weakness he
did.
    Easing space between them was harder
than he imagined.
    “ I think we need to sit on
opposites ends of the sofa.” One shaky footstep away from him and
he wanted to snatch her close again, but she raised her hands to
stop him and he relented.
    “ Okay,” he agreed, even
though instinct demanded he claim his mate.
    Helena pointed to the sofa and he sank
onto it, not happy she was so far away. She strode into the
kitchen, which lay beyond a counter. He hadn’t even looked at the
place, much less assessed it for danger and weaknesses.
    That was unacceptable. The
first thing he should have done was protect Helena, and instead he
jumped headlong into those kisses and ignored his surroundings.
That had never happened before. It better
never happen again , a caustic voice stated
firmly in the back of his mind. He agreed.
    When Helena exited the kitchen he
noticed she carried two bottles. She handed him one and he saw it
was iced tea. “Thank you.” He unscrewed the cap.
    She followed suit and they both took a
sip before turning to each other. Now that he was here, he didn’t
know what to do.
    Helena leaned forward to place her
bottle on the coffee table before leaning back and staring at him.
“I’m glad you came.”
    His lips quirked up. “I think you
already said that.”
    She reached out to playfully swat him
and he grabbed her wrist and tugged. Tumbling and laughing, she
flew into his arms, exactly as he planned. “I thought we were
supposed to talk,” she said breathlessly once she settled against
him.
    Vlad wrapped both arms around her,
anchoring her to his side, in case she had ideas of escaping him.
Silly woman if so.
    “ We will. But I like you
close.”
    Throaty laughter bubbled up. “I guess
you do, since I can’t move.” She mock scowled at him.
    “ You’re fine.” He brushed
a hand over her hair, loving the springy mass. Her dark curls had
caught his eye from the beginning. She must have been about five.
He was entranced then, and had never grown out of his
fascination.
    “ How do you know I’m
fine?” Her arched brow provided another distraction.
    Vlad traced the lovely line. “You’re
beautiful.”
    “ You’re
partial.”
    “ Maybe, but there’s no
denying yours is a face men fight wars over.”
    He loved the delicate color that
flooded her cheeks. She was the most beautiful woman alive, but she
was also humble. “How did a beautiful woman like you end up in a
lab?”
    “ I love science. You know
that.”
    “ You did spend a lot of
time chasing insects and animals and collecting rocks when we were
kids.”
    “ Yeah, I haven’t changed
much.”
    “ You still collect all
those things?” He took another, more leisurely, look at her
apartment.
    She laughed. “No, I don’t collect them
now. But I still love science and adore my job.” She stroked a
delicate finger over his jaw. “It’s official as of today. Your mom,
Jorge, and I are all going to help Tia in the lab.”
    He frowned. “I thought that was
already official.”
    “ Not until
today.”
    “ So you didn’t know for
certain you were going to work with Tia?”
    “ There wasn’t much said.
We all feared we’d end up having to return to the
hospital.”
    “ You didn’t like the
hospital?”
    “ Not compared to what
we’re doing with