Beauty & the Geek: Hidden Depths Read online

  Mr. Cheshire Cat sidled up against her, coming into her personal space, which she didn’t like at all.

  Apparently he wasn’t getting the message that she wasn’t interested, and that pissed her off even more. If she wasn’t at a work event, she would juke him in the throat for having the audacity to get this close to her without permission.

  “Well, I’m waiting on my boyfriend, so I would advise you to leave. He doesn’t like it when men approach me and he’s not around.”

  “Your boyfriend? In this group? No, baby, I don’t think you are.” The overconfidence in his voice grated on her nerves. “We’re surrounded by geeks and nerds who wouldn’t know what to do with a beautiful woman if she walked up and bit him on the ass. No, I think you’re waiting on a real man and I’m just the person to fill that role.”

  Oh good Lord, did he really just say that? Save me from men who have egos the size of the Hoover Dam. She couldn’t help the thought that went through her mind at his words.

  She noticed Lana laughing her ass off next to her and gave her a look that meant for her to shut the hell up. Somehow, her soon to be ex-best friend didn’t get the message and kept laughing like a damn hyena at a comedy show.

  Plotting all sorts of revenge, Roxanne pictured various ways to get back at Lana and make her pay for taking joy in her dilemma. I’m gonna kick her ass when I get out of these heels. Then I’m gonna tell her momma.

  “Excuse me, but I think you’re in my spot.” Another voice entered the conversation, jarring Roxanne from giving Lana the evil eye. There was something about the sound that caused goose bumps to rise on her skin.

  Turning to the newcomer, Mr. Cheshire Cat became even more egotistical in his response. “Your spot? No, I don’t think so. Plus, I’m just buying the lady a drink.”

  “I think she’s already told you she was waiting for someone. I’m that someone. You can leave now.” The man was damn good looking, and his voice was like perfectly aged whiskey. Towering over the other man, their new visitor had to be at least a few inches over six feet. Broad shoulders were encased in a dark blazer, and she could tell that his body was something she would like to explore a little closer.

  Roxanne looked at the newcomer a little closer, and a memory was triggered. The color of his eyes, the hair, and that dimple in his right cheek were all familiar to her, but she couldn’t place where she knew him from.

  No one outside of work knew that she was going to be at this event. But for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out where she knew him from. She was jarred out of her musings by the shocked voice of the guy who bought her the drink.

  “This is your boyfriend? Well, I guess you were telling the truth. Sorry to bother you.” With a backwards glance at Roxanne and the guy claiming to be her man, he shook his head and walked away to another part of the reception area.

  “Hey, thanks for coming over here and helping out. I really do hate to be rude, and since I’m at a work function, I didn’t want to make a scene.”

  Lana’s shocked voice carried across the table. “You hate to be rude?”

  “Shut up, Lana!” Thankful she was wearing sharp, pointy shoes, she tried her best to connect with Lana’s shin. Too bad she missed.

  “No problem, Roxie. I saw you needed a hand, and being the neighborly guy that I am, I wanted to help.”

  Surprised by the use of her high-school nickname, she gave a wide-eyed glance at her knight in shining armor. “Do I know you? How did you know my name?”

  “Don’t you recognize me?” A glimpse of strong white teeth accompanied his crooked smile. “Yeah, I guess it has been a long time—you probably forgot all about me.” He ran a hand through his auburn hair again, and something else pulled at her memory. A very pleasant something. “Plus, I’ve changed quite a bit.” He held out his hand to shake hers. “Adam Marshall. Nice to see you again, Roxanne. It’s been a long time.”

  Chapter Three

  Roxanne looked at the man sitting with her and couldn’t help but be amazed. Adam Marshall was sitting next to her, and she was actually having an educated and fun conversation without somehow embarrassing herself.

  As soon as Adam introduced himself, Lana had made her excuses and left to join Jake for dinner. She made Roxanne promise to call her once she got home so they could coordinate their schedules for the next day.

  Roxanne knew Lana just wanted details about Adam Marshall and how the two of them knew each other.

  Looking at him now, she was surprised that she had not recognized him right away. The years had been extremely good to him. His body was leaner than in high school, but he had also grown a few inches. So it seemed everything balanced out.

  They’d ordered fresh drinks from the bar, and she had asked him why he was here at the event. When he explained that he was one of the featured speakers, she told him he must be at the wrong conference.

  Their featured speaker for tomorrow was some bigwig from TechDyne who was the new IT superstar in the industry. It was a last-minute change, but she would have remembered seeing his name. Turns out they never gave her the name of the speaker due to the sensitivity around the topic of his speech, and he actually was the person she was expecting.

  As she listened to him talk about his day-to-day work, she quickly realized that none of what he was saying made any sense to her. She couldn’t understand half of the things he talked about and could admit that it was starting to sound like a foreign language.

  No wonder this was a specialized area—no one could understand it.

  Wireless networking and security, IDS implementation, incident response, forensic investigations, security/network architecture, blah, blah, blah, what the hell was that? She needed a dictionary and a translation manual just to keep up.

  But Roxanne wasn’t one to pass up an opportunity. Now that she had her chance, she was going to sit here and listen even if her ears started bleeding. Which suddenly seemed like a real possibility the longer she sat here with him. It felt like her brain was swelling from all the information he was giving her.

  Damn, he was smart. Who would have known?

  “Roxie, do you understand anything I’m saying?” The smirk on his face told her she’d been caught red-handed.

  “Not really. But, um, it’s really good to see you so passionate about this type of work. I had no idea back in high school that you were even into computers.”

  “I know. Not many people did. My parents encouraged me to have broad experience and not limit myself before I decided what I wanted to be when I grew up. As a result, I played sports for a while. Did the whole jock thing in high school and even played a bit while in college.” His long fingers gripped the glass in front of him as he spoke. Unbidden, thoughts of his hands gripping her thighs as he rode her body went through her mind.

  “Deep down, I’ve always loved computers and understanding how they worked, and that remained my passion. So, when I graduated, I went to the University of Maryland and got my undergraduate and graduate degrees in Computer Science and Information Security. Once I finished school, I hit the ground running and never looked back.”

  The pink blossoming on his cheeks gave away his own embarrassment at talking about himself in such detail.

  She smiled at him, glad to be on the other side for a change. “You don’t like talking about yourself, do you?”

  “Not really. I’m in front of people all the time, giving speeches and talking about information security and cyber defense. All those people staring at me, gobbling up my every word. Sometimes I just like to be in the background and not be the center of attention.” He took a sip of beer.

  She watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down and found it incredibly sexy. When he continued speaking, she had to force her gaze back to his mouth. “I know. It’s probably hard for someone like you to understand.” She watched his lips form the words and she licked her lips, wanting to press her mouth to his.

  Oh damn, now I’m sitting here fantasizing about the guy’
s mouth. Roxanne, you are so bad.

  It took her a few seconds to process his words. Not quite understanding what he meant, her voice held a note of confusion as she asked, “Why wouldn’t I understand? If you can believe it, I’m still just as clumsy as I was in high school.” She looked at him from under her lashes. “Um, did you happen to be in the opening session this morning?”

  “Part of it. Why do you ask?”

  “Let’s just say it wasn’t one of my better moments.” She saw his smile and that dimple peeking through, and realized she’d been had. Again.

  “Adam, that is not cute! If you saw me fall, you didn’t have to make me relive it. You have a bit of cruel streak in you.”

  His laughter was deep, but not mocking. “No, I don’t really. I just wanted to see if you would actually tell me what happened. Sorry to make you relive such painful memories.”

  “Well, not so much that it was painful, just embarrassing. So, enough about me, let’s talk more about you.”

  With some visible reluctance, he continued telling her about where life had taken him after high school. “Not much to tell. TechDyne hired me as the Chief Information Security Officer almost three years ago. Because of my expertise in cyber security, I spend quite a bit of time on the speaker circuit. Many of our clients ask that I consult for them on projects with the federal government, mainly the three-letter agencies that I can’t talk about in open space.”

  He paused, took a deep sigh and ran his fingers through his thick locks. For a brief moment, she saw a glimpse of the boy she had fallen in love with all those years ago, and it warmed her heart.

  As he continued speaking, she could hear the love of what he did reflected in his voice. “It’s just a part of who I am. I’m damn lucky that I have the opportunity to do what I love every single day. Let’s just say there’s no other feeling like it in the world. Using my brain to help the good guys put the bad guys in prison—it doesn’t get any better than that.”

  Her phone buzzed with a text message from Lana, and Roxanne realized they had been talking for more than two hours. It was late, and she was about to turn into a pumpkin.

  The only thing was—she didn’t want this night to end. There had to be a way to not lose track of him again.

  “So, would you think me too forward if I asked you to dinner tomorrow night?” Not meaning to, she held her breath as she awaited his response.

  “Um…well…I’m not sure. I guess we could. I mean, yes, I’m sure we can.”

  His stammered response didn’t really tell her if he was excited about dinner or if he was dreading the prospect of spending more time with her.

  “Since we both have to be here tomorrow, and we’re local to the area, I thought tomorrow would be better than tonight. Considering how late it is and you have to speak…” At his continued silence, she trailed off. Now she was a bit nervous that maybe she had read the signs all wrong.

  Nervously, she began to backtrack and retract her invitation. “If you have other plans, I would understand. I just wanted the chance to spend more time with an old friend from school.” She could have smacked her forehead at that lame response.

  If it was simply a dinner with an old friend, why did her heart drop into her stomach at the thought of Adam not wanting to have dinner with her? That wasn’t a good sign, because there was no way she wanted to fall for the hot guy and be rejected. There was no way she wanted to go through that pain again.

  Chapter Four

  Taking hold of the opportunity that had presented itself, Adam was done wasting time. If she was offended by his words, then so be it. Life was too short, and there was no time like the present to make his intentions known. Sitting here with her, it took everything he had not to reach across the table and drag her close to him.

  Come hell or high water, he was determined to make this woman his once and for all. No longer was he a green, young kid, still wet behind the ears.

  Sitting up in his seat, he leaned across the table and grabbed onto her hands. Her indrawn breath and dilated pupils gave him all the evidence he needed. His touch affected her. That was exactly what he’d hoped for.

  “No, it’s not that at all. I guess I have a confession to make first. I’ve been waiting all day for my moment to come and talk with you.”

  “You have?” He watched as she leaned closer to him and responded to his statement.

  “Yes. I saw you this morning and knew I had to have some time alone with you.” Thumb rubbing the back of her hand, he couldn’t help but notice how smooth her skin was. Her hands were so small compared to his. Something inside him shifted, and a feeling of possessiveness came over him.

  His senses picked up on her unique scent, and his body responded to her nearness. Never before had a woman affected him so quickly. Then again, this was no regular woman. Every woman he had dated since their first encounter all those years ago had been compared to Roxanne.

  Knowing he had to be completely honest if they were going to have a real chance, he admitted, “You should know that I recognized you immediately. I’m glad we spent this time talking, but I’m not the same person from all those years ago. I’m no longer the jock or football star. This is the real me.”

  Her voice was low and smooth when she responded, “I like the person you are now.”

  He leaned back in his chair, his smile holding a hint of surprise and pleasure. However, he didn’t break contact with her. Continuing to hold her hands within his larger ones, he knew this was one connection he wasn’t going to lose.

  “You realize that reading an article about software reverse engineering to identify malicious code or writing a white paper on computer forensics and digital media analysis is my idea of a fun hobby?”

  Roxanne leaned forward as she gave him a very wicked smile that was filled with the promise of things to come. “In all honesty, I find it kind of sexy.”

  ****

  Her internal Diva screamed, Go Roxie!!! There was no way she would have normally said these things to a guy, no matter how interested she was. Then again, this was Adam.

  He had the right combination of sex appeal and techno-geek. Those two things may seem at odds to someone else, but for her, it was a dynamic and very enticing mix of what appealed to her the most.

  Tonight was her night, and she would be damned if this opportunity would pass her by.

  Taking the bull by the horns, she continued speaking, “It was never your skill with a football that attracted me. There was always something special about you that I simply connected to.”

  Being a risk taker was never her strength, especially not in her personal life, but if she was going to do this, she was going all in. “Adam, I find you very attractive. I don’t want another sixteen years to go by before seeing you again.”

  His answer warmed her from the inside out. “Then yes, I would love to have dinner with you tomorrow. Yes, I think I would enjoy that very much.”

  ****

  Dinner the next evening was amazing. It was everything she had hoped for but was too afraid to dream would ever come true. Since they both lived in the Washington, DC area, once the symposium was completed on that second day, Roxanne rushed home to change.

  When her doorbell rang at seven o’clock that evening, the rush of anticipation almost made her stumble. Fumbling with the clasp of her bracelet, she called out a greeting to let him know she was coming.

  After one last peek in the hallway mirror, she opened the door and looked at the man standing on the porch waiting for her. Her vagina yelled at her, Don’t you fuck this up for me! I want him and I aim to get him.

  His hair was styled and he was dressed in dark blue jeans, an olive green button up, and a dark blazer. Oh boy, did he look yummy. Suddenly, she wasn’t hungry for food any longer.

  His voice was strong and sure as his eyes raked her from head to toe. “Hi beautiful. You look amazing.” He took a step that brought his body closer to hers and dipped his head down low. Pausing for just a second,
as if asking for permission, his lips remained only inches away from hers. After a few seconds, he must have seen something in her eyes that gave him the green light.

  His lips met hers in a soft kiss that caused her core to become a raging inferno. Damn if she didn’t want to drag him in the house and rip his clothes off. Ride his body like a bucking bronco as if she were going for the grand prize at the state rodeo.

  Lifting his head, he briefly broke their kiss. He stepped over the threshold, forcing her to step back, and closed the door behind him, never putting more than an inch or two of space between them. Before she knew it, Roxanne quickly found her body turned and pushed up against the door.

  “Do you want me to stop?” He trailed light kisses on her neck and shoulder as he asked the question. Mind whirling and foggy with desire, there was no way in hell she wanted him to stop. On the other hand, if she didn’t put a halt to his special greeting, they would never get out of here.

  “No, I don’t. But we should.” When he stopped kissing her neck and lifted his gaze to hers, she wished she wasn’t so damn responsible. “I want nothing more than to spend all night getting acquainted with the intimate details of your body, but we should eat first.”

  A look of contrition came over his face. “I’m sorry, Roxie. I didn’t mean to overstep. You just look so beautiful. I just needed a taste.” His arms were still wrapped around her, so he wasn’t completely offended by her calling a halt to things.

  “No, don’t apologize. I’m glad this attraction between us isn’t all one- sided.” Lifting her hand, she traced his strong jaw, marveling that the man in front of her wanted her as much as she wanted him. “How about we make it a quick dinner?”

  ****

  Her stomach hurt from laughing so hard. Adam was a comedian with the mind of a genius. From the time they left her house all the way through dinner, he entertained her with anecdotes and stories about his life and career. Nothing was off-limits, and he could make a joke out of almost anything.