Not that he had an urge for me. I highly doubted it. Not when he had his choice of any girl in Seattle and beyond. Sure, he said I was beautiful, but how many girls fit that description for him?
A slight moan slipped from Nathan’s lips, and I realized I’d scraped his scalp one extra pass than necessary. I quickly took a step back, keeping my eyes trained on my iPad where I was inputting his information.
“All good here,” I finally said, cracking the silence as I set my iPad down.
Nathan slowly lifted his lids like he’d been relaxed enough to fall asleep. Those brandy-colored eyes locked with mine, a casual, comforting look that churned something deep in my core. “I can put my shirt back on?” He reached for it, and I chewed on my lip for half a second, contemplating.
He smirked, and I laughed. “I suppose if you must.” I waved him on, surprised at the teasing in my voice. Usually, I was an awkward rambling mess with no filter. Not that he hadn’t seen me like that before, but with each time we saw each other, it got easier. More comfortable.
The lines in his abs contracted as he tugged the shirt on and it was an effort not to stomp my foot. I mean who the hell looks like that?
“I think I figured out a way for you to have full access to the live data,” he said as I measured his helmet and carefully, meticulously placed the tiny sensors on the interior.
I didn’t spare him a glance, not when the placement was crucial. This had to be exact so the data wouldn’t be compromised. “When?” I asked, continuing to work. “While you were sitting there?”
A laugh. “Yeah,” he said. “I don’t sit still often enough I guess.”
“Sitting still is overrated.” I placed the final sensor in his helmet. “Enlighten me.”
“You come on the road with us,” he said.
“Would I be allowed?” I asked, knowing there had to be regulations in place with away games and travel. I double checked each sensor, happy with their perfect placement.
“Sure, it’d be fine. But you’d have to pretend to be my girlfriend.”
That was enough to snap my eyes to his. “What?”
He shrugged. “In the name of science?”
I laughed again, leaning against the table. “You seriously want me on the road with you? As a pretend girlfriend?”
“If it helps you get the data you need,” he said, standing to look down at me. “We’re both risking everything. Might as well do it right.”
A grin shaped my lips. “You truly are…”
“What?” He was so at ease standing there, so close I could reach up and touch that hard chest if I wanted to.
“Something.”
He laughed, his warm breath hitting my cheeks. “Something?”
I nodded.
“The girl who can define, solve, or crack anything says I’m something.”
I shoved my hands into my lab coat pockets in an attempt to prevent them from reaching out to that damn chest, that strong jawline, the soft strands of his hair.
I needed to start wearing a nose plug around him. If I couldn’t smell him, I wouldn’t want him. Basic chemistry. Damn pheromones.
“You’re one puzzle I’ve had a hard time cracking,” I admitted when he seemed content to wait.
“Good.” A proud little smirk shaped his lips. “Everything shouldn’t be easy for you.”
“Easy?” I gaped at him, motioning to the lab behind me. “Does this look like easy work to you?”
“For me?” He shook his head. “Nah. You? Absolutely.”
I chewed on my lip.
“So,” he said. “What do you say we make it even easier on you, huh? Get you all the numbers that brain of yours needs to revolutionize the protection standard on athletic helmets.”
I swallowed hard, hating and loving that he understood how important this was to me. To both of us. That shared connection only adding to the infuriating reaction my body kept having to his presence.
“Be my fake girlfriend?”
“A chore,” I teased. “But, for science, it’ll be my burden to bear.”
He laughed again, reached between us, and took my hand, shaking it firmly. “It’s a deal.” He dropped my hand and eyed the helmet. “This good to go?”
“Yes,” I said, my fingers still tingling from his brief touch.
He carefully packed it in his bag and slipped the strap over his shoulder. “See you soon,” he said, walking out of my lab.
“You too,” I muttered as the door closed.
Breathless.
The man, with a simple touch, a simple plan, had left me breathless.
I was in so much trouble.
Chapter 5
Noble
“And you’re sure you’re fine?” Harper asked as she connected the helmet to her laptop through Bluetooth. She’d been fully engrossed in the electronics for the past twenty minutes while I’d gotten dressed in our bathroom.
Sharing a hotel room with Harper—with anyone—was definitely a change of pace from what I was used to. Not that I was against the myriad of lotions and creams that now littered the bathroom counter, but I’d grown up with brothers, so it was all a bunch of pink stuff to me.