“You said you had suspicions.”
“That was only because of the officers that swarmed the shop as we were leaving. I guess there had been complaints about the product being a rip-off, so they were checking out the story.” She ground her teeth. She had to persuade him to help her out. “There have been actual symptoms since then, symptoms we can’t explain.”
“Symptoms of lust.” Shane crossed his arms. “Uh-huh. I’ll bet those are hard to come by in your world.”
“I’ve seen it with my own eyes.” If she counted Kathryn and Coyote as evidence.
Shane’s jaw, already firm, clenched even more. “But you haven’t experienced the effect yourself?”
“No.”
He waved a dismissal. “Then it’s all hearsay. That doesn’t cut it for me. Or a court of law.”
“No one’s being prosecuted.” Yet, she added silently, thinking of the cruiser arriving at Jag’s shop. She made a mental note to interview Detective Arroyo about the progress of the investigation.
“Doesn’t matter,” Shane said. “The lust potion is still in police custody. There may be charges pending.”
“The case can’t be very important if you haven’t analyzed the potion yet.”
“Who says I haven’t?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Me.” She glanced around the organized yet crowded room. The tables, desks and shelves were jammed with scientific accoutrements, including computers, microscopes, scales, a centrifuge and several impressive machines that were far more advanced than her knowledge. A large industrial waste can was labeled with a biohazard sign. She was most interested in the racks of beakers and test tubes that sat near a humming industrial steel freezer. “Where is the potion? On ice? Can I see it at least?”
His eyes went straight to one of the racks. He’d be a lousy poker player. “You’ve already seen it, so how would that help?”
She strolled past the central lab table. “Never mind. I can look for it myself. I’m sure it’s labeled.”
Shane moved with a swift athleticism she hadn’t expected out of him but should have, considering how often he went bicycling. If she’d looked past the dorky helmet and knee pads, she’d have noticed the muscles in his long legs and tight butt.
“Keep away,” he said. “Don’t touch. I have a chain of evidence to protect.”
He put his hands on her shoulders. She instantly froze. The warmth and strength of his grip was also surprising. A soft, gloppy weakness dropped through her, buckling her knees before she caught herself and snapped back to her center of balance.
“I won’t touch,” she promised, sounding less certain than she intended because she’d gone slightly breathless. She gestured at a vial at random. “Is that it? Have you smelled it?”
“I’ve already freeze-dried the samples. I used the chemical fume hood, although I was told the substance has no scent.” Reaching past her, he picked up a labeled beaker and pried off the top. “This is the excess of the second sample, the one that you claim was yours before your reporter friend turned it in.”
Zoe barely withheld her shiver. For a brief moment, Shane’s chest had pressed against the back of her shoulders. Not a particularly erogenous zone of hers—until now. She was accustomed to men brushing against her, trying to get familiar, even copping a feel. This was the first time an inadvertent touch had cut through her nervous system like the screech of feedback from a microphone.
“I shouldn’t do this, but…” He took a whiff. “Nothing. No smell.”
“May I?”
He held the beaker before her face. The liquid inside appeared clear at first glance, but there was a very faint pink shimmer, almost a sparkle, when she tilted her nose toward it. She sniffed.
And smelled nothing, as Shane had said.
“Wait.” She placed her hand over his when he attempted to withdraw the beaker. She tried again, inhaling long and deep. Even with no actual scent, the potion was indefinably alluring.
Her eyes closed. There seemed to be a significance, but the substance of it remained frustratingly out of reach, like a distant mist in the jungle.
Her nostrils tingled. Her lips became soft, full, as if awaiting a kiss. The longing for contact throbbed at her pulse points, and she tightened her hold on Shane’s hand, drawing him into herself.
“Zoe.” His voice was deliciously rough in her ear as he pressed against her to set down the beaker. “Tell me about these symptoms of lust.”
Her eyes widened. He didn’t feel it!
How could he not feel it?
His fingers moved against her bare shoulder. Almost stroking. The gust of his healthy exhale stirred her hair.
Perhaps he did feel it.
She licked her lips. “My friend Kathryn tried the potion. She said it gave her an actual physical reaction.”
Shane’s fingertips grazed her shoulder blades, creating a trail of sizzling sensation that danced across her skin before his hands fell away. “Which was?”
“Warmth, escalating to intense heat. Tingling. She said her brain got kind of foggy. She lost her reason.”
“Not unusual feelings.” He adjusted his glasses. “In an intimate situation.”
Her lips curled into a teasing grin as she turned to face him. “Especially when you’re with the right person.”
Or with an entirely unexpected person.
Neither moved. Heat radiated between them. A blush colored the jut of Shane’s cheekbones. Very faintly, but an honest-to-goodness blush, which didn’t go with his severe man-of-science persona but did fit the geeky boyishness she’d glimpsed when he’d taken off his glasses.
“I think Kath even tasted the potion,” Zoe heard herself saying. “She didn’t give me the more carnal details, but apparently the effect was astounding. And immediate.” She considered. “Maybe I’ll volunteer to be your guinea pig. Just a tiny taste, do you think? I’m sure nothing too alarming will happen. You can observe me. In a detached, scientific way, of course.”
Speaking all those words had limbered her numb tongue. She curled it against the back of her teeth, barely able to resist the desire to flick it across Shane’s firm lips. Would he be surprised if she kissed him?
Once, perhaps. No more. You’d have to be made of stone not to feel what was going on here. Granted, she had accused him of just that. But she’d been wrong. Shane was human. Very human. As prone to temptation as a fat man with a cupcake, judging by the devouring hunger of his stare.
Her body temperature kicked up another degree. The air was so tense she expected it to crackle when she stroked a palm over his pinstriped shirtfront. Alas, he fell short of true nerd-dom. There weren’t even any pockets for protectors.
She poked at his chest. “No protection.”
“Pardon?” The look on his face said that he was thinking condom while she was thinking Revenge of the Nerds.
She bit her lip, stopping the silly giggle that tickled her throat.
What was wrong with her? She reveled in silly giggles. Could it be that, despite the lust potion, she wanted him to be impressed by her smarts instead of dazzled by her body?
“Zoe.” Shane’s face showed the struggle to stay detached. “Experimenting without, um, safeguards is not a good idea.”
“What’s the fun in that? Don’t you ever try something that