He watched her throat work as she swallowed. "I'll do whatever it takes to get the media off your back and help you complete your experiment, even if that means taking Rio's place." She gestured toward Rio and signed the words I love you.

Sam smiled as he watched the exchange. The way she'd taken to his chimp, and vice versa, surprised and pleased him. Probably a h.e.l.l of a lot more than it should have.

"The thing is, Cat. I wasn't testing the enhancer on Rio."

Her head came up with a start. "No"

"No. It's not Rio you're replacing, it's her." Jerking his thumb in the air, he pointed to Bonnie, his lab rat. "I was going to test the serum on Bonnie, but the Board of Directors halted all animal experiments until the protest died down."

Cat's eyes opened wide. "Oh"

He leaned into her and grinned. "You'll be taking the place of my lab rat. Does that change things for you "

he said, giving her a way out, hoping like h.e.l.l she didn't take it.

She drew a shaky breath, slid her tongue over her bottom lip, and swiped away a raindrop that slipped from her bangs.

She closed her hand over his, a combination of heat and desire flickering in her eyes.

"Of course not, Sam. Why would you think that" she asked, her voice darkly seductive. Suddenly, the air around them changed as s.e.xual energy arced between them.

Heat pooled in his thighs as her warm breath wafted across his face. A slow grin curled his lips. The look in her eyes spoke volumes. Her needs and desires matched his. Hot d.a.m.n! His mind began racing, plotting, and tweaking the finite details of his experiment.

"One question, Sam."

"Yeah"

She grinned. "Were you the stimuli for the rat too"

A low chuckle rumbled in his throat. "No."

Her eyes darkened. Her voice turned low, breathy. "Must be my lucky day."

He smiled. d.a.m.ned if he didn't like a woman who made no bones about what she wanted. He was quickly learning that Cat Nichols wasn't the kind of woman to play coy or hard to get, like most other women he knew. With her, there were no cat-and-mouse games. And he found that d.a.m.n refreshing.

He squeezed her hand, bringing pa.s.sion to her green eyes.

All teasing disappeared from his voice. "Not yet it isn't."

He watched the way her body trembled, despite the warm, dry clothes.

"So what do you say" Her voice sounded edgy. "Do you accept my apology and my proposition"

He opened his mouth to reply when reality hit him full force. It went completely against protocol to test the serum on humans before written approval. If his Director got wind of it, he'd kick Sam's a.s.s to the curb. But if he wanted to prove his findings to the Grant Governing Board and secure future grants, he'd have to break protocol. Who knew how much time it'd take for protestors to settle down and testing to begin again, and since time was something he didn't have... .

He scrubbed his hand over his chin and considered his options. There really was only one solution. To make sure what happened in the research room, stayed in the research room.

Could he trust Cat to abide by those rules If he wanted to complete this a.s.signment and get the little wildcat out of his system, he had no choice.

He narrowed his gaze. "This won't make it into your paper" he asked.

"Never." There was nothing in her voice to suggest otherwise.

He glanced into her seductive bedroom eyes. Heat curled a lazy path to his loins. Blonde curls had begun to

dry and spring upward to frame her honey-tanned skin.

Beautiful.

"Well ... " she inquired.

Oh yeah, he planned on taking her up on her offer alright.

He had many reasons to accept, but right now most of them had nothing to do with the experiment.

Chapter 2

Darkness had settled over the city as Sam parked his jeep outside his condo and climbed from the driver's seat. He stole a quick glance at his watch and hurried up the walkway. d.a.m.n, he hated to be late for anything, especially a s.e.xy experiment with a woman who'd been getting under his skin for the last six months.

As he pushed open his front door, his stomach grumbled, reminding him that in his quest to make the research room perfect for Cat, he'd stayed late and skipped dinner.

Kicking off his shoes, Sam made his way to his fridge and grabbed a cold piece of leftover chicken. As he bit into it, he scooped up a napkin and looked at the wall clock. With only twenty minutes to spare, he still needed to shower and shave before calling on Cat.

Cat.

Just the mere thought of her had his body reacting with urgent demands. In less than an hour he'd have her all alone in the research room and he'd finally have a chance to sample her lush body and get her out of his system. His c.o.c.k throbbed just thinking about tasting and kissing her gorgeous, plump lips.

Both sets.

He practically salivated as his mind shifted through all the mouthwatering ways he planned on devouring her.

A strange primal yearning rolled through him as he thought about moving beyond pleasant courtyard exchanges to a deeper level of intimacy while testing Cat's responses to s.e.xual stimulation.

His s.e.xual stimulation.

Something about the emotions Cat pulled from him really threw him off balance. Sam had always remained cool, confident, distant, and detached with the women he'd had s.e.x with.

s.e.x was just that. s.e.x. Nothing more, nothing less. Insert tab A into slot B. Repeat if necessary. Simple good clean fun between two emotionally unattached people. At least that was the way it had always been. Sam had always kept a modic.u.m of distance with the female gender and never let himself get too involved.

Nor did he plan to.

Tugging his shirt from his waistband, he pulled it off and tossed it into his bedroom as he rounded the corner to the bathroom.

The doorbell sounded. A muscle in Sam's jaw clenched, suddenly concerned that Cat had stopped by to tell him she'd changed her mind. Of course, this would be disastrous for his six-month hard-on, not to mention his inability to complete his a.s.signment.

He swallowed his last bite of chicken, tracked back to the door, and pulled in a fortifying breath. He eased the door open and relaxed, realizing how tense he'd felt only moments before.

His heart softened and filled with love as he came face-toface with the most beautiful girl in the world. A girl who had taken up residency in his heart one month previous.

Sam had been mistaken earlier. There was one girl he didn't keep a modic.u.m of distance with, after all. The first time their eyes had met, she'd broken through his defenses.

Composing himself, Sam reached out to her. In a protective manner, he took her little body into his embrace and planted a gentle, heartfelt kiss on her rosy cheek.

He pitched his voice low. "I wasn't expecting you," he murmured, cradling Samantha, his one-month-old G.o.ddaughter, in his arms.

Kale clapped him on the shoulders. "Hey Sam, how's it going" Kale asked, stepping into the condo after relinquishing his sleeping daughter.

Sam leaned out his door and briefly looked around. His eyes skirted the parking lot. "Where's Erin" With the b.u.t.t of his heel, he shut the door and faced Kale.

"Resting." Kale yawned and brushed a gentle finger over Samantha's cheek. He nodded his chin toward the bundle of joy in Sam's arms. "Our little girl here fussed all night so I thought I'd give mommy a break and bring her over to visit with her favorite G.o.dfather."

Sam took the baby's hand in his. Tiny fingers curled around his index. "Well, I'm glad you did." Samantha stirred and opened her big blue eyes. Sam's heart tightened.

He hugged her against his bare chest as emotions rushed through him like a runaway freight train. As he cradled her, Samantha's chubby little body molded against his. The fresh scent of baby powder reached his nostrils.

Sam dipped his head. A few sprigs of Samantha's dark hair tickled his cheek. "Hey sweetheart," he murmured, brushing his lips over her forehead. Christ, who would have thought that such a little thing like her could arouse so many foreign feelings in him Sam took a breath and met Kale on the sofa. He lowered himself and propped his feet up, carefully positioning Samantha's head in the crook of his arm, securing her against him. Angling his head, Sam read Kale's body language, taking in the tension and concerned look on his face.

Like himself, Kale was usually laid back and relaxed.

Sam detected none of those carefree qualities in his friend tonight. Something was up. "Now tell me why you're really here," Sam said.

Kale chuckled and shifted to face Sam. "You know me too well."

Sharing the same interests, Sam and Kale had become instant friends when Kale had taken a position at the lab and married Sam's friend and coworker, Erin Shay. Well, it was now Erin Alexander.

Sam's eyebrow shot up. "What's up"

Kale mimicked Sam's position, propping his feet up. Without preamble, he got right to the point. "I was concerned about your deadline. With protestors breathing down your neck and the Board of Directors temporarily shutting down your project, how are you going to test the libido enhancer and prove your finding to the Grant Governing Board on time"

"I've got it under control," Sam a.s.sured him.

Kale c.o.c.ked a brow and scrubbed his hand over his chin.

The poor guy looked like he hadn't shaved in a week.

"Yeah Care to elaborate," Kale probed.

Sam rolled one shoulder, shifted Samantha in his arms, and offered no further explanation.

Kale narrowed his gaze, scrutinizing him, his voice taking on a serious edge. "From what I understand you have no options, Sam. Our Director wants the serum perfected as much

as the rest of us, but you know bad press means big trouble and a skittish Board of Directors. You and I both know the Research Center counts on the grant money, but the Director also informed me the Board has made their decision and it's completely out of his hands. Until the bad press dies down, your project is on hold."

Sam clenched his jaw as his mind sorted through matters.

The way Sam saw it, since he was dealing with two completely different boards, he could finish his a.s.signment, present it to the Grant Governing Board, secure his grant, and the Board of Directors would be none the wiser.

"I don't have time for the protest to die down. You know what these activists are like." Sam shook his head and blew out a frustrated breath. "Greenpeace has nothing on them.

They get something in their heads and won't listen to reason. Even if Cat wrote another article clarifying things, it wouldn't matter."

"Cat" Kale asked, his voice a mixture of curiosity and concern.

"The reporter who started this," Sam offered.

"The one who moved into Erin's old condo"

Working to keep his face expressionless, Sam nodded.

The less Kale knew the better. If this plan backfired, he didn't want Kale going down with him.

"I see," Kale said, his eyes a.s.sessing Sam.

Fidgeting under his scrutinizing gaze, Sam slanted his head and glanced at the clock. Kale watched the movement.

"Am I keeping you"

"I have a date." Sam paused, wondering why the word "date" popped into his mind.

Kale rose and gathered Samantha into his arms. "A date Seems to me you haven't had one of those in awhile. Erin will be happy to hear that. She's worried that you've been working too hard."

Sam stood and crossed his arms, immediately missing Samantha's warmth, suddenly feeling very ... lonely.

He donned his professional face and met Kale's glance.

Both Erin and Kale had entrusted him with this experiment when they took extended leave to stay home with Samantha.