LITMIR.BIZ

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was all she could do not to drop her face into her hands. With an almost silent hiss of protest, Dru glared at Nikki.

      “Don’t worry about it, Dr. Shelby. I know we’re too busy right now. Nikki knows it, too.”

      Nikki didn’t even have the grace to give Dru an apologetic look before shoving her off the cliff.

      “Glenn, you know Dru is leading the cosmic string project that kicks off next month. It’s vital that we make a good showing for Trifecta, isn’t it?” Nikki didn’t wait for his answer, or act as if she saw the glare Dru was trying to melt her with, she just plowed ahead. “But here’s the thing. I don’t think she’s had a vacation in, oh, forever. Weren’t you just saying last week that a rested mind is an alert mind?”

      The director shot Dru a measuring look through the bifocals he’d perched on his egg-shaped head. From the frown that washed over his face, his X-ray vision found her health deteriorating at a rapid pace.

      “Yes, yes, good point. We want everyone in top form next month. All the departments have major projects launching, but yours is the most vital, Robichoux. After all, it’s not every year we get such a distinguished guest as A. A. Maddow as a project leader.”

      Assistant leader, Dru wanted to protest. For the first time, she was project leader. But the road to success wasn’t lined with divas, either, so she sucked it up and shot Nikki an icy glare instead. Nikki grinned.

      “I highly recommend Los Cabos if you’re looking for a beach setting,” Dr. Shelby said, taking his Healthy Choice lunch from the microwave and heading for the door. “A.A. himself suggested it to me when we agreed to his contract. He was right, as usual. Los Cabos was both relaxing and rejuvenating. You’ll enjoy it.”

      Then he was gone, the door swinging closed with a loud swoosh.

      And that was that. Dru briefly considered chasing him down and voicing her objections over his low-cal chicken à l’orange, but she knew it was pointless. After all, A. A. Maddow was the rock star of the science world. A Wolf Award nominee and brilliant physicist, he was going to be working alongside Drucilla for the next three months. His input was apparently vital, in Glenn’s mind, to both clarify her theory and convince the grant committee that a small lab like Trifecta was worthy of huge sums of money.

      The director wouldn’t want to risk anyone on his staff being less than sparkling for the grand appearance.

      “I can’t believe you did that,” Dru said, gathering her lunch wrappers in tight, efficient moves.

      “You can thank me with a nice souvenir,” Nikki told her as she sauntered back to the table, her teeth flashing white as she grinned.

      “Thank you? I want to beat you with your own corn-chip bag,” Dru snapped before she could control herself. She sucked in a deep breath, then said in her most reasonable tone, “I have responsibilities and commitments, Nikki. I don’t have time to sip margaritas and hit the beach.”

      “That’s not all I want you to hit,” Nikki said with a stern frown. Dru figured that must be the look the woman used to keep her hunky new husband in line.

      But Drucilla Antoinette was made of stronger stuff than that. So she just leaned back in her chair and raised a brow.

      “You need a man.”

      “Isn’t that where this conversation started?”

      “My point exactly. You need a hot man. A hunky, yummy, no-discussion-needed, orgasm-at-first-sight man.”

      Dru’s breath caught somewhere between her chest and her throat at that image.

      “No, I’m only looking to relax,” she protested. Not willing to consider something as clichéd as a vacation fling, she got up to cross the room and toss her garbage away. As if she wanted to get rid of the tempting image Nikki had put in her head.

      “What’s more relaxing than an uninhibited sexual escapade?” her friend asked behind her.

      And where better to have a sexual escapade than far away from her day-to-day world, on vacation from work and distanced from the rules she surrounded her life with?

      Dru stepped over to the sink to wash her hands. The water rushed over her, cooling flesh that suddenly felt as if it was on fire. She watched the clear liquid flow, her mind filled with pImages** of hot beach sex with a well-muscled beach bum.

      “I can’t deliberately set out to have a fling,” she murmured.

      “Why on earth not? You need to let go of this thing you have for only doing brainiacs, Dru. No intelligence litmus test. Just pure, sexual attraction. You find a guy who turns you on and have a week’s worth of wild monkey sex.”

      “To what purpose?” Dru asked as she dried her hands, considering the ramifications of giving in to the ultimate temptation. If she did it away from the lab, nobody would see her choice. Nobody would judge her for picking a hot guy whose only purpose was to satisfy her every lusting need. She wouldn’t be deemed a sex-crazed idiot who made bad choices in the name of screaming orgasms. Her breath shuddered. God, what did a screaming orgasm actually feel like?

      Dru saw the smirk on Nikki’s face and clarified, “What’s the purpose, besides sex?”

      “Does there have to be another purpose? For once, go after a guy who turns you on. Not one you have to convince yourself is sexy.” Nikki gave her a wicked grin, her dimples flashing as she came over to rinse her lunch dishes. “Find a guy with the stamina to go all night. A hunky horndog who’ll worship your body.”

      The image flashed, erotic and intense. A faceless young stud, his muscles oiled and gleaming in the moonlight, poised over her body as he acted out her every kinky fantasy. She swallowed and shifted, glad her lab coat covered her aching nipples. Panicked, Dru scanned the room, even though she knew nobody else was there to overhear.

      This was a crazy idea. Completely insane.

      So what did that say about her for even considering it?

      As if she sensed Dru was weakening, Nikki laid her hand on Dru’s arm and offered a wicked smile. “Girlfriend, it’s time to find yourself a playmate.”

      TWO WEEKS LATER Dru paid the taxi driver and waited while the bellboy loaded her suitcases onto a cart. She used the time to look around.

      Los Cabos, Mexico. Oceanfront luxury with the charm of old-world Mexico. White sandy beaches, the Sea of Cortez, ocean breezes and beautiful tropical foliage.

      Tension she hadn’t even realized she’d hoarded in her shoulders drained away. Far from the San Francisco breeze, Dru felt freer than she’d ever been. Here, nobody knew her. She didn’t have to worry about projecting the right image, about climbing the ladder or about the anchoring weight of family responsibilities that kept her pushing for success.

      She was here to take a break.

      Dr. Shelby had raved about both the relaxing atmosphere and the beautiful views.

      And he’d been right.

      When she found herself checking out the bellboy’s ass, Dru rolled her eyes. That probably wasn’t the kind of view her boss had meant.

      Forcing her gaze to stay on the guy’s shoulders, broad and muscular as they were, she followed him and her luggage into the hotel to the reservations desk.

      Thirty minutes later, she’d changed out of her practical travel clothes—a button-down shirt and khaki pants—and into an eye-wateringly bright floral sundress and had defiantly unbraided her long hair. The practical voice in her head argued that it’d just get tangled on the beach. She didn’t care. She figured freedom came with a few tangles.

      Dru stepped out the back door of her bungalow and gasped. There, spread before her, was the most gorgeous beach she’d ever seen. Sand, soft and inviting, swept from as far as the eye could see. Beyond it the ocean, dark blue in the early-evening light, beat frothy white waves against the dull gold of

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