The Sex Test. Patty Salier

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ

      She felt a sudden closeness to him that she hadn’t felt with a man in a very long time.

      Zane led her through a long Mexican-tiled hallway. She heard his footsteps echo beside hers as though they strolled through a huge cathedral.

      “Do you live here all alone?” she heard herself ask. That question was not a requirement on her study list. “I mean—this place is so huge.”

      “It’s just me,” he replied. “What about you? Do you live by yourself, Rachel?”

      Hearing his deep-toned masculine voice utter her first name sent a warmth of intimacy through her. Suddenly he stopped walking and leaned against the hallway wall, watching her with greater interest than that of an ordinary interviewee. Was he thinking of asking her out? She caught herself secretly hoping he was.

      She immediately straightened her spine and tightened her grip on her briefcase. What was she thinking? She was a professor on an interview. She couldn’t let herself get personal with him.

      “Actually, my non-professional life is irrelevant to the study,” she told him.

      His eyes held hers. “Maybe to the study, but not to me.”

      She nervously bit her bottom lip. At that moment, she yearned to share with him whatever he wanted to know about her, things she’d never told anyone else. Somehow, she felt that maybe he’d understand. But she knew her job didn’t permit it.

      She cleared her throat. “I don’t see how my living condition affects this research study.”

      “It’s very simple,” he explained. “You want me to get relaxed enough to reveal myself to you, right?”

      “Yes,” she hesitantly replied, wondering what he was leading up to.

      “How can I?” He leaned a little closer to her. “I need to get to know you better, don’t I?”

      She swallowed. “I see your point.” She was trying very hard to act cool and professional, but deep inside, oh, how she wanted him to get to know her better. “I live alone just like you.”

      “Ah-ha,” he mused aloud. “A single woman interviewing the sex life of a single man. Could hold a lot of intriguing possibilities. Like, what if—”

      “The tour?” she reminded him, to get his mind off that train of thought fast.

      “Of course, the tour, Professor,” he said, very mannerly but obviously getting a kick out of all this.

      But no matter how much she tried, Rachel could barely concentrate on his house. In his spacious hi-tech kitchen, sunlit breakfast area, elegant dining room, floor-to-ceiling library of books, and movie screening room, she saw only Zane.

      Because Zane Farrell didn’t seem like a man she’d just met. She felt as if she’d known him for aeons.

      “What do you think of the gym?” Zane asked, breaking into her reverie.

      The shiny hardwood-floor gym had blue floor mats, weight machines, treadmills, StairMasters, rowing machines, barbells, and stationary bicycles. Small red dumbbells were carelessly strewn on the floor, and she had to sidestep a couple to avoid tripping.

      “This place is bigger than my local health club,” she commented.

      “It’s unreal, isn’t it?” he agreed.

      “You sound like an amazed visitor rather than the owner of this place,” she noted.

      “Can’t I appreciate the exquisite sight in front of me?” He was gazing straight at her, as if she was the only sight he was aware of.

      She nervously clutched her briefcase and stared down at the gym equipment. For a second, she fantasized Zane, halfnaked, working up a heated sweat with his muscles bulging as he lifted the heavy weights.

      “Professor, I suppose you’re viewing this gym in a sexual way,” he said.

      “N-not exactly.” Her cheeks flamed, thinking he had lasered into her fantasies.

      “Really?” he went on. “I thought you experts say exercise increases sexual endurance.” The roguish glint in his eye made her realize that he was still having fun with her interview. He wasn’t treating it seriously at all.

      “Is the need for sexual endurance the reason you pump iron?” she asked, her chin up for battle.

      For a split second, she thought she saw him wince at her insinuation. She wished the words hadn’t come out of her mouth so fast.

      He tilted his head to one side. “Professor, my pumping is not restricted to bars of metal.” He kiddingly winked at her for emphasis.

      Suddenly furious that he was ridiculing her sex research, she quickly stepped back to exit the gym when her foot stumbled over a dumbbell.

      “Ohhhhh!” she screamed as she felt herself go flying.

      “Rachel!” Zane called out.

      Just then, his powerful hands circled her waist and lifted her. With her feet off the ground, she clutched his strapping upper arms to steady herself, feeling the forceful, protective strength of him.

      Zane’s firm broad fingers were gripping her body just below her breasts. His large thumbs were pressed up againsteach swell. Suddenly her nipples ached to be squeezed and fondled by him.

      Zane’s face was so near she could smell his warm minty breath. His marine eyes focused on her lips.

      Her heart jolted, and her pulse pounded. More than anything, she wanted him to kiss her.

      She could feel his breath quickening. The muscles of his arms tensed under her palms as he pulled her closer to his hard body. His mouth edged toward hers, and her lips impulsively moved to his.

      But as his lips grazed hers, she abruptly became conscious of her unethical behavior. What was she doing? She was a representative of the university, but she was acting like a foolish woman mesmerized by a very sexy man.

      Rachel immediately freed herself from Zane’s sturdy grasp and set both feet back on the floor. Maybe she shouldn’t have allowed two years to go by without being with a man. Maybe all her pent-up sexual energy was suddenly letting loose on the very masculine Zane Farrell.

      She avoided his confused eyes, feeling embarrassed and ashamed. She grabbed her fallen briefcase and smoothed down her dress, which had risen to her bare thighs.

      “This entire interview has been a big joke to you, hasn’t it, Mr. Farrell?” she blurted.

      His jaw muscles tensed, momentarily stung by her words. “Is that what you think?”

      “Darn right!”

      “Am I supposed to act like Joe Serious while you’re questioning my virility?” he shot back. “You’ve been peering at me like I’m some guinea pig for sexual dissection.”

      Her eyes widened in red fury. “Then why did you volunteer СКАЧАТЬ