Chapter 8

Lori's logic made sense, in a really twisted, non-linear sort of way. Eric was amazed that he not only followed her goofy reasoning, he actually found himself agreeing with it. If he kept a spare sweatshirt in his office, he wouldn't have been cold tonight when he forgot his coat. Of course, with his luck he'd probably forget about the sweatshirt too. He found himself really liking the slightly scatterbrained biologist. Maybe a little too much for comfort. She had a great sense of humor and she wasn't afraid to laugh at herself. If Eric wasn't careful, he was going to make a complete idiot of himself. He pulled on the sweatshirt and got a good, solid whiff of her feminine, but not perfumey, scent on the fabric. It hit him like a lightning bolt, shooting straight to his crotch. He twisted uncomfortably in the narrow bucket seat, as his already snug jeans suddenly got a lot tighter.

Since it was fairly late in the evening, all of the parking restrictions on campus were suspended, anyone could use any space that wasn't marked for the handicapped. Lori parked in the administrative staff lot right next to Harrison Hall, the main administration building for the university. It was one of the oldest buildings on campus, three stories tall and made of dignified red brick heavily covered in climbing green ivy. Campus rumor even had it that Harrison Hall was haunted. Eric found the possibility of a ghost fascinating and sort of wished the rumors could possibly be true. He's always thought it would be cool to run into a resident spirit, but he didn't say anything to Lori. At this point, he wasn't about to mention anything that might give her an excuse for changing her mind about exploring the basement with him.

The building was mostly dark, but the hallways would still be lit until the doors were locked at ten and brighter lights still burned in one or two office windows. Eric checked his watch. They had forty-five minutes until the building would be locked up for the weekend. He mentioned this to Lori, then nodded in admiration as she pulled a small but powerful flashlight out of her glove compartment. She also slipped her cell phone from her briefcase into the breast pocket of her jacket.

"All set?" he asked, grateful for the opportunity to unfold his long legs after the cramped ride. He stood, stretching them with a sigh.

She nodded. "Think so." Then she suddenly reached into the backseat, rooted around and grabbed a slightly used zip-top plastic sandwich bag. She looked up at him and shrugged, stuffing it into another pocket. "You never know."

Eric suppressed a laugh. Here he'd thought scientists were supposed to be logical. Apparently, his impressions had been completely off, at least when it came to Lori. She wasn't neat and orderly and her mind seemed to work in great, looping circles, though after talking to her for a while, he'd realized that she was undoubtedly quite brilliant. It made for a charming combination. Taking a bag for possible "evidence" struck him as silly, but the fact that she was taking him even remotely seriously was frankly incredible, under the circumstances. If Dr. Tremain wanted to play at forensics, he certainly wasn't going to stop her.

They encountered no one on the first floor of the old building, although Eric did hear a cleaning person humming along to the radio inside the financial aid office. The stairs downward were narrow, steep and dark, but Lori wouldn't let him turn on a light.

"We don't want to let the entire word know we're coming down here, do we?" she hissed. "Use the flashlight and be quiet." Her sandals tapped on the tiled floor and she impatiently removed them, stuffing them into the back pocket of her skirt, then continued, barefoot. God, she was just adorable.

What the hell, he thought, she couldn't be any crazier than he was. He was the one who saw lizard tails in the first place. Taking the small flashlight from her unresisting fingers, he led the way down the damp and dusty service stairs. When he paused cautiously at the first landing, Lori must not have noticed, because a few seconds later, he felt her small form slam directly into his back. Tiny though she was, Lori was no featherweight. Eric staggered, but using his arms to brace himself, he managed to keep them both from tumbling down the remaining flight of stairs.

"Shit!" she whispered loudly. "That hurt!"

He turned, his arms automatically circling her shoulders to steady her. "You all right?"

"Bumped my nose on your shoulder-blade," she murmured, rubbing the offended extremity.

She had a ridiculously cute little upturned nose, Eric recalled, he wouldn't want to see it damaged. Although he couldn't see her face right now in the darkness, he had her pressed closely enough to his chest that he could tell where her nose was. It fit quite nicely in the small hollow between and beneath his pectoral muscles. He almost bent down to kiss it, but managed to stop himself in just time. Christ, Gordon, he thought with disgust, you just met the woman a couple of hours ago. Then he noticed that his hands were still resting on her shoulders and had started to rub gently, without his even being aware of it. He dropped them to his sides instantly. "Sorry."

"My own fault," she muttered. Apparently she thought he meant about the bump and not about the inappropriate fondling. Good, maybe she hadn't noticed.

He turned quickly and opened the door to the basement hallway, then peeked out. "Nobody on this level," he reported. There were no lights whatsoever in the corridor.

Lori nodded. "One more floor to go."

He turned and once again led the way downward, this time holding tightly onto Lori's hand to prevent another collision. She must have thought it was a good idea too, her fingers curled trustingly around his.