She Blinded Me With Science by Michelle L. Levigne Page A

hundreds of pages of text appeared on the monitor.
Jennifer made CD backups of everything. Then she gave copies of the disks to a weasel-faced
older man Sophie identified as Dr. Putney, Jennifer's advisor.
    "Looks like it's on her home computer, plus Dr. P's office, plus Jennifer's office at the
university," Sophie said after Gubur finished his visual report, they thanked him, and the
communications globe vanished. She sounded calm now, but Kevyn suspected it was the calm of
exhaustion, not because she accepted defeat.
    Defeat was a long way away, and it would be all on Jennifer's part, if he had anything to
do with it.
    "At least Dr. Hermann was left out of the loop," she added.
    "That's a good thing?"
    "That means he wasn't on their side in all this. If anything, he just got sick and tired of
Dr. P whining, and all the politicking from other faculty who fell for her I'm so smart and
innocent and I deserve every break in the world because I'm cute routine." Sophie snarled,
sank down onto the end of her bed and rested her head in her hands. "Well, I'm glad you're free
to go."
    "Why?"
    "Because you have to get out of here. Like now. If not sooner. Before Jennifer shows
up."
    "She won't capture me."
    "That's what you think."
    "You have a lot more magic at your disposal than she ever will if she studies for a
thousand years. And I already told you, none of the magic you wove imprisoned me. I stayed
because I wanted to."
    "Because you needed a hideout." Her voice wavered and she turned her head away from
him.
    Following gut instinct, Kevyn cupped her chin in his hand and turned her to face him
again. Sure enough, tears glimmered in her eyes.
    "Guess again." The throaty, hungry growl in his voice startled him.
    "Kevyn, you don't--" Sophie broke off with a squeak as he wrapped his arms tight
around her, crushed her up against him and caught her mouth under his.
    She wriggled and pushed at his chest, trying to break free. He snapped a magic barrier
around them that effectively glued them together but left him room for maneuvering. Sophie
whimpered as he lifted her onto his lap and changed the angle of his mouth against hers.
    Then the whimpers turned to a moan and a sigh and she stopped pushing. Her hands slid
up his chest to curve around his neck and she hung on for dear life. Kevyn muffled a growl of
pure triumph as she slowly went limp and her lips parted under his insistent pressure.
    Sophie tasted like chocolate and wine and cherry cola and she took his breath away.
How long he let himself drown in the softness and taste and warmth of her, he couldn't
remember later.
    It was the breathless feeling that squeezed his lungs and the alarm bells ringing in his
head that prompted him to finally release her, before their mouths melted into one unit,
permanently bonded together.
    Which, come to think of it, wasn't a bad way to go at all.
    Sophie lay limp in his arms, pale but for two spots of bright color in her cheeks and the
bruised, ripe look of her mouth. She sighed, a soft sound, then suddenly inhaled as if she had just
discovered air.
    Kevyn gloated over the fact that he had indeed managed to kiss her senseless. He hoped
she liked it, because he certainly did and that was one experience he would never grow tired
of.
    "Are you ready to listen now?" he murmured, and brushed his lips across her cheek.
Sophie purred and her eyes fluttered open. "I stayed because I wanted to, okay? You get
that?"
    "Wanted to," she sighed. Awareness seeped into her eyes. Kevyn waited until her eyes
went wide open and she sat very still and stared at him. Not that he wanted to break the mood,
but this had to be taken care of. Gut instinct and a healthy dollop of guardian magic told him they
weren't out of the woods yet.
    "Just think for a second. If you can," he added, muffling a snicker.
    Sophie blushed but she grinned instead of getting angry.
    "Think of all the magic I did for you, for your tapes. Do you think I could have done any
of it if all those