Free Combustion by Elia Winters Page A

would any woman want one of these?” He peered closer, then pulled a pair of wire-framed spectacles from his vest pocket and slipped them on, the gesture so sexy she was momentarily speechless.
    When she regained her composure, she considered his question. “Who would want one of these? You’re kidding, I assume? The woman who doesn’t have a man in her life, perhaps? Or perhaps a couple who are feeling adventurous. A man who wants to watch?”
    â€œOr a woman who wants to be watched?” Eli looked right at her, and the room became much warmer all of a sudden. God, she didn’t want to blush right then. Fortunately, he looked back down at the design. “All right, I see. So it’s some sort of chair, and she sits over it, I suppose.” He traced the lines with his finger. “Like a saddle. And this here—” he tapped the illustration of the shaft, then paused, his own face coloring, “—this part moves?”
    â€œUp and down.”
    Eli remained silent for a few minutes, staring at the blueprints while rubbing his chin in thought, before exploding into speech. “My back massager! You got this idea from my back massager, didn’t you?”
    Astrid had to smile at his shock. “Yes. A perfect model of automated pleasure.”
    â€œYou were looking for inspiration in my shop?”
    She might as well admit it. “Yes. So what do you think of it?”
    â€œWell, the design itself will need some tweaks, I’m sure.” He mused on the paper.
    â€œOf course. It’s just a preliminary model.”
    â€œBut the idea…the idea is fascinating.” He grew serious again, turning to her. “This is going to scandalize everyone in the World’s Fair. Are you sure this is legal? If this is illegal, I can’t be part of it. I have standards to uphold.”
    â€œOf course it’s legal. I told you, this is my business.” Exasperated, she rolled up the blueprint and put it on her desk. The man probably never took a business risk in his life.
    Eli folded up his spectacles and tucked them back into his vest pocket as she sat down next to him again. He shrugged, resigned. “I suppose I’m in this until the end, then. You have my signature on those forms.”
    Astrid studied his profile, curious. She couldn’t figure him out. On one hand, he seemed totally comfortable with her felicitation devices, curious about the machinery. On the other hand, when it came to business, he was stodgy and uptight. The more he clung to his propriety, the more she wanted to make him lose it. What would make him loosen up?
    Before she could stop herself, she reached out and traced her fingertips along his arm. “Working with me might not be that bad. You might even enjoy it.”
    Eli met her eyes, and his gaze was wide and vulnerable, unsettled. Astrid suddenly wanted to kiss him, wanted to draw those lips to hers, grip his firm shoulders and pull him against her, but her advances would probably be unwelcome. Besides, she reminded herself, she shouldn’t go too far. The flirting was fine, the touches borderline but still safe. To go beyond that would likely distract her from the work they needed to accomplish. Her business needed to be her focus right now. She had no time for dalliances, even if a dalliance might help her dig into the series of strange contradictions that was Eli Rutledge.
    â€œWe’ll have to work on this when I’m not at my shop.” Eli sat back, the moment passing. “I assume you have your own responsibilities during the week.”
    She felt a mixture of relief and disappointment when he broke the tension. “I do. And we’ll need a space to design and build. You said you would take care of that?”
    â€œThe workshop beneath my store is in use, and I have employees who sometimes go down there. We need someplace more private. I’ll rent us some space.” He tapped those