“Talk!”
“All right, then. To be blunt, the thing you don’t seem to be able to grasp is the fact that you’re not my type. You just don’t turn me on.” Liar, Liar, pants on fire.
He dropped his hand. “I don’t turn you on?”
“Now I’ve made you angry, haven’t I?”
“Angry? Why the hell should I be angry?”
“You look angry.”
“Well, that just goes to show that you’re not as perceptive as you think.”
“Good. Besides, I’m sure my lack of response to you is simply a problem with my perception. It probably doesn’t have anything to do with you.”
“Damn right.”
A little shrug. “I’ve just always preferred a different type of man.”
“What type is that?”
“Oh, men who aren’t quite as large. Not quite as loud. Gentle men. Scholarly men.”
“Like Dr. Craig Elkhart?” He spit out the name.
“What do you know about Craig?”
“I know he dumped you for a twenty-year-old secretary.”
“She wasn’t a secretary. She was a data-entry clerk. And he didn’t dump me.”
“That’s not the way I heard it. The guy dumped you like a load of wet cement.”
“He most certainly did not. We parted by mutual agreement.”
“Mutual, my ass.”
“You’re just throwing up a smoke screen because I wounded your pride when I said I wasn’t attracted to you.”
“I’ve met a lot of women who were liars, but you take the cake. Admit it, Professor. I turn you on so much you can hardly stand it. If I put my mind to it, I could have you naked and begging in thirty seconds flat.”
“There’s nothing more pathetic than an aging man boasting of his flagging sexual prowess.”
“Flagging!”
She watched a slow flush spread across his cheekbones and knew she’d really done it. She’d pushed him past his limit, and now she absolutely had to shut up. “Don’t worry, Cal. Somewhere there’s a woman who’ll care enough to take her time with you.”
The flush spread to his ears.
She patted his chest. “And if that doesn’t work, I’ve heard they’re doing wonders with implants.”
Those pale eyes widened, almost as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“I think there are also some nonsurgical devices based on air pressure and vacuum. I could probably even design something for you, if it came to that.”
“That’s it!” The flush receded, and before she knew what was happening, he’d dropped his shoulder, pushed it not ungently against her stomach, and upended her.
“Upsey-daisy, sweetheart.”
She found herself staring at the seat of his jeans. Faded denim stretched tight over slim, hard-muscled hips. She began to feel dizzy and wasn’t certain she could entirely blame it on the blood rushing to her head. “Cal?”
“Uh-huh?”
“Please put me down.”
“In a minute.” He headed out into the foyer, moving carefully in deference to her pregnancy. He’d hooked one of his arms behind her knees to hold her in place, and he patted the back of one bare thigh as he mounted the stairs. “Just stay real still, now, and everything’ll be fine.”
“Where are we going?”
“We’re paying the Evil Queen a visit.”
“Evil queen? What are you talking about? Put me down!”
They reached the top of the stairs. “Quiet, now. I have to concentrate real hard so I don’t turn too fast and slam that head of yours right into the wall, givin’ you a nasty concussion that would lower your IQ to somewhere in the vicinity of human and make you behave like a reasonable human being.”
“My bedroom’s over there.”
“The Evil Queen’s this way.” He marched toward his own bedroom.
“What evil queen? What are you talking about? And put me down right this minute or I’ll scream bloody murder, then do the job for real!”
“I already hid all the electrical appliances, and I’m not taking a shower without locking you in the closet first.” He dropped his shoulder, and she found herself being lowered onto something soft. She looked up into her own reflection.
Her hair was tousled, her nightshirt twisted around her thighs, and her skin rosy. Cal stood next to the bed. He leaned forward and gazed up at the mirror mounted above the bed.
“Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s gonna be the most naked lady of all?”
The Evil Queen! She snatched a pillow and threw it at him. “Oh, no, you don’t.” She vaulted toward the other side of the bed, only to have him grab her nightshirt and pull her back down.