5

GOOD GOD.

That was the only thing that Jackson could think as Hope walked toward him. Sweat glowed along her taut skin, and her chest rose and fell in an entirely enchanting way. A few tendrils of her hair had fallen from the ponytail she wore, and the running shorts did a damn good job of showing off her lean hips and flat thighs.

“What are you doing here?’

Her question didn’t exactly read as welcoming, but it was not hostile either. He’d take it. He said, “I had an idea I thought you might like to hear.”

Hope dragged the toe of one running shoe across the pavement, her white teeth biting into her bottom lip in a gesture so sexy he had to shift a bit so that the rapidly growing bulge in his jeans would be less noticeable.

She asked, “An idea?”

He nodded. “Yeah, it was something that you said at the party.”

Her face held a cautious expression. “Maybe you had better explain that sentence.”

He chuckled. “You said you needed a new program that could sift through the results faster so that you could get your staff actually working. They could be doing research if they were not sifting through results, right? So why not give them something that will do that work for them while they work on more important stuff?”

“I did say all of that and it is true, but I was just sort of brainstorming an idea.”

“But why not make that idea into a reality? I know it would have to be encrypted and so on. It would be sensitive info after all. It could be securely encrypted, and the results could be drawn into several channels, and algorithms could be created that could forecast what those results could or might mean, like a predictor of what will happen if, say, X happens here or Y happens there. The board would likely love that.”

Her face took an excited look, but that excitement was short-lived. “That would be great, but I have no idea how to do that, nor do I have the funds to commission it.”

“Well the good thing is I’m between things to work on, and I have both time and money. I am at your service.” He offered her a little bow. She laughed, and he straightened and grinned at her.

She said, “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“I am.” He was. “I’d like to, in fact. It might be harder than it sounds, and I can’t promise it will be perfect right out of the gate, but I could create the program and get the algorithms created, too. It would be a crude thing, and it would need work, but just the start up program could be enough to sway your grant board, especially if they know it cost you nothing.”

“Yes, but to create a better version…I mean how long would that take, and how much would it cost?”

“Again, I am happy do that for free.”

Her eyes swept along his body. “Nothing is free. Ever. You know that, too.’

Jackson did know that. He said, “No, but I could always write it off as a tax deduction.”

She gave a reluctant smile. “You’re just using me for a tax break?”

“Yup.”

“Wow.”

He laughed. “I know, right? Also, I am bored as hell. I mean it. I am so bored I’d just about offer to do anything just to have something to do.”

She bounced on her toes a little. “I see.”

“You probably don’t. I have a feeling if you ever finish your research and get that cure, you will be right on to the next thing with no waiting.”

Hope looked around. “Hey, instead of standing around out here, you want to come up?”

“If you don’t mind.” His dick throbbed again, painfully that time, as she moved past him, and he caught a glimpse of the way the tight little running shorts gripped her firm and high ass.

He followed her up the stairs, eyes still locked on her bottom. Her ass moved in an enticing way, and his prick stiffened yet again. At the rate he was going, he would come before she ever managed to open the door of her place.

Thankfully, she did open the door and they stepped into a small and neat apartment. She said, “I know it’s tiny. Even the furniture’s kind of small and uncomfortable, but take a seat if you like.”

He managed to lever himself and his hard dick onto the sofa – not an easy feat. She said, “You want soda or a bottled water?”

“Bottled water would be great.” Especially if it was cold. He could always dump it over his head if nothing else.

She fetched him a bottle of water and said, “Let me just change, okay?”

“Sure.”

She headed through the narrow hallway, and he heard a door open then close and then the unmistakable sound of running water. He grabbed his dick and gave it a hard squeeze, hoping to keep himself from popping an even larger erection as he realized that she was in the shower and probably under a spray of steamy, hot water and rich lather that would cling to her satiny skin like a lover’s greedy touch.

“Argh!”

He stood and fast paced, trying to fill his mind with images of mathematical equations and programming code.

No dice.

The water ran on, and he was ready to take himself into hand if things did not get any better and soon. The forceful shaking seemed to have finally put his libido in check, thank God. By the time she finally emerged about ten minutes later, dressed in worn jeans and a loose shirt, he was back in control of himself.

She said, “So tell me about this program and what all you will need for it.”

She sat down on the sofa, and he could smell the good, clean aroma of soap and shampoo on her skin and hair. He cleared his throat. “Well, I would need some test data to feed through it just to make sure it would actually work.”

“I couldn’t give you anything that would be considered …well, you know.”

He said, “Yes, I know. I just need some data, but it can’t be something you just make up, or it will mess up the program later.”

“I think I can do that.” She turned toward him a little. “I really appreciate this. I would even offer to buy you dinner, but I ate lunch about an hour ago, and–”

“Then how about I take you to dinner? Say tomorrow night?” he said, interrupting her.

He could see she was hesitant. Finally, she nodded, then said, “That sounds great.”

“Good. It’s a date.” He relaxed a little. “What is the best time for you?”

She chewed at her bottom lip. “Seven?”

It would not be soon enough. The temptation to kiss her was nearly overwhelming. The flames of passion between them were undeniable and he knew it, but he did not want to offer something as big as he had offered and then kiss her. She might take that to mean he was just doing it so she would sleep with him. “That works for me.”

She said, “Me, too. I have to get to the lab here pretty soon anyway. I could get some of the old data, the stuff we have already gone through and all that and burn it all into a file for you when you need it.”

“That would be great. I came up with an idea of how it would work best, but the data would give me a better idea of what all the program needs to do. You would have to explain to me what the data means and so forth, and then you would have to go through the first part of the program with me just to make sure that the program is reading it properly.”

“I can do that.” She paused. “You have no idea how helpful this really is. I have a great staff, and having to have so many people tied up checking through all that stuff instead of working on other things has always been a problem.”

He was glad she was willing to take his help, and he was hoping the program he had decided to write for her really would help her research.

Not just because he wanted to sleep with her – though God knew that he damn sure wanted her – but because he wanted to impress her, too.

Hope was not easily impressed. She did not care about his having money or about his car, and if she saw his house she would not bat an eye since she had already grown up out in the neighborhoods he had just moved into.

What would impress her was helping others. It was what she wanted to do with her life. Jackson had to admit that it sounded good to him, too. He had been lucky enough to land on his feet, and in a pile of money to boot, so giving back – even if it was just to impress Hope –couldn’t be a bad thing.

He said, “Okay, so I will pick you up at seven.”

Now that that was settled, he felt awkward, like a teen boy asking out the prom queen. That was weird, usually he was confident and smooth. They both stood up and stared at each other.

He moved forward. He wanted to kiss her. Long and hard and deep kissing – kisses that would leave her wriggling and gasping and ready for whatever would come next.

Instead, he landed a gentle graze on her lips and backed away. “I’ll let you get to the lab then.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Her voice was husky with promise. He left quickly before his erection could give him away.