She glanced at it dubiously. "It'll make me want to take a nap."
"That's allowed. In fact, with the sun at its hottest, it's a very smart plan."
Damn tempting too. Lucas pushed away the image of lying down next to her on the narrow cot in his bedroom. He was trying not to think about the fact that he'd have to carry her down the ladder, but his body was already reacting to the possibility.
"Plan. Yes, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." She took a quick sip from the bottle, and when some beer dripped onto her wrist, she touched her tongue to it.
Lucas felt the hot lick of desire and took a long swallow of his own beer. "Sophie said you had a problem."
"That's because she didn't approve of my plan."
"She wants me to handle it."
"Exactly." Holding the bottle tightly in two hands, she kept her eyes on the sea. "I should begin by giving you some background. I want a family someday. For me that means kids and marriage. Not in that order, of course." She shot him a sideways glance. "I'm not one of those women who wants to raise children in a single-parent household. I know from experience that it can make for an unhappy childhood, so I want to avoid it at all costs. That's why I want to be prepared. A good plan is everything in the lab." She glanced at him briefly. "It must be the same way in a business deal."
"Yes," Lucas said. "But I'm not sure I'm following you."
Mac took another swallow of beer. "What are your feelings about divorce?"
Lucas's eyes narrowed. "I want to avoid it at all costs. That's why I'll never marry."
She nodded, then drank more beer. Lucas watched her lick the moisture from her lips as she lowered the bottle and turned to face him. "I want to avoid it too. We just differ in our approaches to the problem. I want to get married and my research is designed to make sure my marriage lasts forever."
Bells began to ring in Lucas's head – the ones that always warned him about women who were thinking about weddings. "I don't intend to get married. Ever."
"Of course you don't. You already have a family. I only had one until I was five. That's when my father's eye started to wander." She took another long swallow of beer, then glanced at the bottle. "You know, you were right about this. It is relaxing me."
"Maybe too much," Lucas muttered. "Have you had anything to eat today, Doc?"
"No. I never eat before I fly." She tipped the bottle up again and drank thirstily. "It's been ages since I've had beer. I didn't think I liked it, but I do."
"You were talking about wandering eyes." His own sure weren't wandering. They were glued to MacKenzie Lloyd's mouth as she licked the last trace of beer from her lips.
"First it's the eyes, and then it's the whole body. Did you know that infidelity is the number-one cause of divorce? And the number-one reason for one of the partners to stray is that monogamy usually leads to monotony? Hopefully, my plan will prevent that."
"How?"
"By making sure that my husband never gets bored in bed." Pausing, she rubbed the bottle against her cheek. "It's getting really warm up here."
"Tell me about it."
"I'm trying. I've done all this research on how to please a man in bed. Most of the data I've compiled is on male sexual fantasies. Did you know that the number-one fantasy of men is to make love with two women at once?"
"I think I read that somewhere."
When she turned to study him, he had the fleeting sensation of being put on a slide.
"Is that your favorite?" she finally asked.
"Not at the present moment."
"I haven't figured out exactly how to create that one, but I have a lot of other ones I'd like to try out. Are you going to finish your beer?"
Before he could reply, she plucked his bottle from his hand and replaced it with her empty one. Then she took a long swallow.
"Maybe you'd better spell out exactly how it is that I can help you."
As she turned to face him, she slid a little toward the end of the roof.
He gripped her arm. "Careful."
"There's a time in every research project when you have to put your theories to the test in the lab. I'm at that point right now. I feel like I'm bursting with research, and if I don't put some of it to use, I just might explode. Do you ever get that feeling?"
"Yeah."
"I feel that way in the lab too – and it's so exciting. That's why I need a man right now. I have to have someone to practice on. And Sophie suggested you."
Lucas's mouth went dry as dust. "You…" He cleared his throat. "You can't be serious."
"But I am. I tried to explain to Sophie. This is the exact procedure I follow in the lab. Theories always have to be tested. But you shouldn't feel pressured. I can certainly find someone else to test my research on. I have a friend in Paris who has several volunteers lined up. But Sophie insisted that I ask you first."
Lucas stared at her. It had to be the beer. He removed his bottle from her hand. "Let me make sure I have this straight. You're asking me to become your lover so that you can field-test your research on me?"
"Exactly. And it won't go any further than that. I promise that I'm not out to trap you into marriage. Sophie said you would be worried about that. This is strictly a no-strings arrangement. I've been on the Pill for three months, and I've always practiced safe sex, not that I've had to worry about it lately. What about you?"
Lucas stared at her, incredulous.
"Is there anything in your sexual history I should be concerned about," she asked.
"No, I'm a very careful man."
Mac nodded. "Of course, you could still use a condom as an extra precaution…"
"Of course. And if I agree to the arrangement…?"
"There are some particular male sexual fantasies that I want to try out. If you're willing." She took his bottle back and emptied it.
As her proposition swam around in his mind, Lucas watched a thin trickle of beer run down her throat. He imagined the bitter taste it would have, along with the sweeter, warmer flavor of her skin. But if he gave in to the temptation of leaning forward and following the path of the beer with his tongue, he wouldn't stop there. He would have to kiss her. And if he did, he wouldn't stop there either.
He felt as if he was fighting against a riptide that was carrying him farther and farther from shore, from his sanity. Even as the battle went on in his mind, he was leaning forward. Then the shingles moved beneath him.
"You're slipping." Mac grabbed his arm, and then she was sliding too.
In the instant it took him to realize that they were both going over the edge, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. If he'd been alone, he would have simply tucked his arms in and rolled. As it was, the moment his feet hit the ground, he twisted and fell backward to take the brunt of the impact. It took his breath away.
As soon as he could, he loosened his grip on her. "Are you all right?"
She raised her head and looked down at him. "Fine. What about you?"
For a moment he didn't respond. All he could focus on was the way sunlight brought out the fiery glints in her hair and the way the amber flecks had brightened in her eyes. The way her body had softened until it fit perfectly against his.
He couldn't recall ever wanting a woman this much.
"About your plan…"
"Oh," she said, her eyes suddenly narrowing. "Do you want to…? That would be great. If you'd like to get started…" She pushed against him. "I'll get the questionnaire."
"Questionnaire?"
"So I can tell which fantasies are your favorites."
He was thinking of carrying her down the beach to the small inlet where the palms touched overhead. There, he could make love to her until she couldn't think of anything, of anyone but him.
And the doc was thinking of paperwork!
"It won't take long. Once I know exactly what you like to fantasize about, I can run them through this program I created on my laptop."
"Wait a minute." When she tried to rise, he grabbed her wrist and sat up with her. The frantic skipping of her pulse against his thumb told him she wasn't anywhere near as cool as her voice had sounded.
Oh, she was excited all right. But was it about making love with him, or was it because she was thinking of her questionnaires and programs? "I stopped indulging in fantasies when I was twelve. I much prefer reality."
"Oh … are you saying you don't want to? I told Sophie that you don't think of me that way."
"I think of you that way." He couldn't stop himself from thinking of her that way.
"Then…" She moistened her lips. "You'll do it?"
The strength of his desire to agree had him releasing her wrist carefully. He had to think, to weigh the possible outcomes. And he couldn't think at all when she was sitting on his lap, her mouth only a breath away. "I never make snap decisions in business. I'm sure you never do in the lab."
"No, of course not."
"Then I suggest we take twenty-four hours to think it over before either of us jumps into anything. Agreed?"
"Agreed."
He saw something flicker in her eyes, but he wasn't sure whether it was relief or disappointment. Then to his complete astonishment, she settled her head on his shoulder and yawned.