She Blinded Me With Science (7 page)

He stifled laughter as he realized he had been unconsciously planning to seduce her
while she made her preparations. He would study her and train her, while she thought she was
studying him.

Maybe he could even convince her to trash her research and set him free.

"I don't want you to be uncomfortable." Sophie flinched and looked around the room.
"At least, as much as I can manage."

"Sweetheart, there's no turning back now. If you're waiting for me to beg..." Again, she
flinched. Kevyn felt sorry for her. Mostly because he enjoyed this a little too much.

"If I thought I could get you to cooperate--forget it. Like you said, there's no turning
back." She jumped up off the bed and stomped to the door. "Don't bother trying to make me
hallucinate or give me bad dreams or do anything to influence my mind." Sophie tugged on the
collar of her shirt and revealed an ornate silver beaded choker with onyx, alabaster and amethyst
beads in between. She laughed when Kevyn flinched at the recognizable pattern. "I'm prepared
for you. Guess Great-aunt Serena wasn't as crazy as everyone thought."

She slammed the door as she left. Kevyn was amused to note that she didn't lock it.
Because she didn't think he could break through the wall of magic she had woven, or because
there was no lock? What had she used this room for, anyway? A pantry? A guest room that never
materialized?

Great-aunt Serena had believed in her Fae blood and gathered information to pass to the
next generation. Somehow, the old lady learned the sequence of those beads. They were real
magic. Protective. Dispelling strong illusions that could influence the mind. Kevyn wondered if
Sophie wore that necklace all the time, and that was how she had seen through his invisibility
magic at the convention.

That arrangement of beads and the inherent magical power of those particular
semi-precious stones also did more to put a damper on magic than anything else Sophie had done to
this room. Kevyn sat down on the bed, propped his chin in his bound hands and settled down for
some serious thinking. What if he got her to take that necklace off? Would Sophie's inborn
magical potential break free and fly?

The door creaked open before he could get any further than that thought. Blushing,
Sophie stepped into the room, holding out the key for the chains that bound his hands. Kevyn
grinned, and she blushed more. He wisely said nothing as she unlocked his wrists and neck.

"You have to believe, I wouldn't do this if I wasn't so desperate," she whispered, and
brushed her fingertips over his neck.

He flinched when her fingertips brushed the rash on his skin where the silver chain had
touched. Then a tingle of soothing magic seeped from her gentle touch. Involuntary magic. On
Sophie's part.

What could she do if she didn't wear that necklace, effectively blinding and binding
herself? Kevyn knew there was far more to Sophie Hunter the Halfling than she could ever
guess.

"You have no idea what desperation really means, sweetheart," he murmured.

"I won't hurt you. I promise. I know we'll never be friends now, but--" She shrugged and
stepped backwards for the door.

"We can be friends. Just ask me to stay, instead of making me." He stayed seated on the
bed.

Sophie said nothing, just reached behind herself for the doorknob.

"No? Well, maybe next time."

"Is there anything you're allergic to?" she asked, when she should have stepped out the
door and closed it. "I mean...when I make dinner."

"You're not going to starve me? How nice." He settled back on the bed and crossed his
arms under his head.

"Kevyn." She sighed and visibly fought down a flash of anger. He was glad to see that
anger. She wasn't going to let guilt and fear and whatever other problems she had keep her
prisoner. "What did you mean, about desperation?"

"This little room is no prison at all, compared to the life my family wants me to lead."
He crossed his ankles. "You probably won't believe me, but you're doing me a favor, keeping me
here."

"No, I don't believe you. Why would you try to make me feel better?" She stomped out
of the room and slammed the door.

"Maybe because you're in a nastier prison than I am," Kevyn whispered. "And because I
like you."

* * * *

Dinner burned, because Sophie was so busy catching up on her email and a week's
worth of voicemail messages. Jennifer Montcrief first offered help with her research, then
suggested they combine their projects.

Sophie didn't store the emails on her computer. Jennifer was just nasty enough, and had
enough computer whiz connections at the university, she probably attached a computer virus or
spy programs to her emails. Sophie logged off and sat back, wondering what her number one
nemesis could be plotting now, until the smoke detector went off.

"I could really use some magic," she muttered, as she tried to salvage something from
the sticky black mess that used to be lasagna.

She considered bringing Kevyn up to the kitchen and asking him if he could turn back
time or do something with the burned mess. It wasn't like she kept a lot of groceries in her house.
She didn't want to think about running out to the store tonight to stock up.

"Yeah, you're a really good planner. And what happens when he needs to use the
bathroom or the shower? Keep him in chains all the time?"

Sophie's face burned as she imagined standing in the bathroom, holding onto a length of
silver chain attached to Kevyn's neck, with the shower curtain separating them.

Problem: her shower curtain was sheer blue plastic with lots of fish and seahorses
scattered across it, but not nearly enough to preserve Kevyn's modesty. Problem number two: not
enough silver chain to let her stand
outside
the bathroom.

Sophie sighed as she realized she was effectively making herself a prisoner in her own
house. Or... Maybe the solution was to make the whole house a prison?

"I hope you like junk food," she said an hour later, as she carried a loaded tray into
Kevyn's room.

"So, when are you going to bring it in?" He sat up and tossed aside the novel he had
been reading.

Sophie was strangely glad to see he had chosen a thick book instead of the entertainment
magazines she had bought during a gas stop. She caught the coffee table leg with her right foot,
tugged it out into the center of the room and set down the tray.

Barbecue chips. Four kinds of olives--all right, those didn't count as junk food, they
were probably very healthy. Dark chocolate mints. Chocolate ice cream with peanuts, chocolate
sauce and whipped cream. Chocolate donuts. Cheese-in-a-can. Wheat crackers--also not junk
food, per se, but high in sodium and fat. Deviled ham in a can. Beans and franks.

In effect, she had cleaned out her cupboard. She doubted Kevyn would appreciate the
fact she had sacrificed her stash of favorite foods, comfort foods, to feed him.

"This is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship." Kevyn settled down crosslegged
on the other side of the table. He rubbed his hands together. "Where to begin, where to
begin?"

"You're kidding me." Sophie looked down at the tray. "Don't tell me this is healthy for
you."

"All right. I won't." He tipped his head sideways and looked up at her. "I hope you're
going to join me, Doc."

"I'm not a doctor."
Not yet, anyway
, she silently added. She went down to her
knees and barely kept herself from reaching for the chocolate, first.

Life is too dang short,
Great-aunt Serena always said.
Start with dessert.
Especially if it's chocolate.

Great-aunt Serena was smarter and saner than anyone had ever given her credit for.

* * * *

Sophie's Fae blood gave her more than pointed ears. Kevyn watched her as she plowed
through the feast she had brought down to his prison and noted how much chocolate she ate. She
was getting wired, pumped up and energized by it. Just like an average Fae woman. He
wondered if maybe several Halfling ancestors had intermarried without realizing it, increasing
the percentage of Fae in her bloodline instead of diluting it. Studying her ancestry would be an
interesting diversion. Maybe he should just tell her the truth. It was an even bet that she would
help him do the genealogy to prove she wasn't Fae, as much as to find out if she was.

Great-aunt Serena was a safe topic. Once he got Sophie talking about the old gal, he
basically sat back and let her go. Of course she wanted to verify the things the old woman had
taught her when she was a little girl, and to fill all those gaps in information. Kevyn had to think
fast, to avoid destroying the misinformation that let him be a guest while she assumed he was a
prisoner.

"What did people use to-- Strike that." Sophie settled back against the opposite wall,
slouched against the floor pillows that provided most of the furniture in the room. "How did Fae
get drunk before diet cherry cola came along?"

"What?" Kevyn burst out laughing.

"Wine doesn't do it. Brandy, whiskey, all that other stuff--"

"That you know of. Maybe Human alcohol just tastes bad, so we don't drink it. If we
don't drink it, you can't knock us off our pins."

"So, what does taste good?" Sophie had long ago given up taking notes on her steno
pad.

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her about the healing, energizing, euphoric qualities
of chocolate. He didn't want her even suspecting she was Fae until the timing was right for
him.

"Everything. Especially pretty, young girls." He waggled his eyebrows
suggestively.

Sophie turned red--he loved to see her blush--then she giggled. "Are you trying to scare
me?"

"Me?" He fluttered his eyelashes in an exaggerated pose of innocence.

"Making me think Fae eat children."

"Not children, sweetheart. And not eating. Seducing. There's magic in youth and purity.
Human children and young women seeking romance are full of magic. It's hard to resist. Give
them a little magic, feed their belief, power just flows out of them. It's like an addiction." He
noted how her breathing slowed. Any moment now, her incredibly deft mind would start to make
a connection. Kevyn flashed her a cocky grin. "That's why we love Hollywood so much. Even
though so much of the trash out there destroys innocence, it feeds belief and magic, too. As long
as that belief remains, it evens out. And Fae need magic."

"So you're an actor to feed your need for Human magic?" Sophie's eyes narrowed.
"Basically, you're a psychic vampire."

"Look who's talking, sweetheart."

That made her sit up straight and she went pale, then flushed bright red. Not
embarrassment but anger. That was exactly what he wanted. Distraction.

If he wasn't careful, Sophie was going to learn everything there was to know about the
Fae, about the foundational truths of magic, everything false that had been taught her, and maybe
everything in his heart and soul.

He wasn't ready for that deep revelation. Not yet. Mostly because Kevyn suspected he
had no depth at all.

You're a pathetic sap,
he scolded himself.
You want her to like you. Admire
you. Heck, you want her to fall in love with you. Ain't gonna happen.

The next week fell into a pattern that almost grew comfortable. Sophie went to the
university early in the morning to work on her reports, update Dr. Hermann and catch up on her
teaching assistant work. It was a relief to know she wouldn't have to go to any more conventions
for the next few months. Teaching during the week, researching at night and hitting the
convention circuit on the weekends had grown exhausting. She actually liked coming home to
Kevyn every night.

She always left him sleeping, with the mini fridge in his room stocked with chocolate
milk, diet cherry cola and other beverages, whatever he revealed he liked, and boxes of donuts
and cereal and fresh fruit to feed him when he woke up. It had taken her hours, and buying her
supplies had earned her quite a few odd looks, but by the second night she had treated her entire
house, magic-proofing it as she had the basement room. That gave Kevyn free run of the house,
except for her bedroom.

She hid the phone and computer in her room and triple-warded the door to keep him
from even trying to look inside. Visions of returning home to find the police waiting for her, to
haul her away on kidnapping charges, haunted her despite her precautions. After all, it wasn't
like Kevyn was a visitor from another planet. He was a Fae who was perfectly comfortable in the
modern, Human world. If he could call for help, he would.

She usually finished up her academic chores around noon, then went shopping. It was
amazing the quantities of food Kevyn could go through. And it amazed her more that he liked to
cook. She certainly ate better these last few days than she had in months.

It was nice coming home to someone, and she looked forward to long evenings of talk.
Sometimes they worked on a huge picture puzzle and chatted about anything and everything.
Sometimes she turned on the video camera and interviewed him, taking him through the
questions she had thought of during the day. Sometimes they watched one of the fantasy movies
she had in her expansive library and Kevyn pointed out all the false assumptions about magic
that Hollywood and novelists made, and which amused him to no end.

And sometimes, Kevyn worked magic for her. Small bits of magic. Things like lighting
candles, turning on the oven, setting the table with dishes that flew through the air with no
visible means of support. Small things that didn't impinge on the magical barriers she had set up
and reinforced every morning before she left the house.

One week grew to two. Then three. Kevyn dominated the conversations more and more,
telling her stories about Fae who lived in the Human world. She got a hungry pain when he told
her stories of Fae adventurers who brought home Human women as their brides, or Fae who
went to live permanently in the Human world so they could stay with their Human lovers. They
went through fairy tale books and he pointed out what were distorted tales of true events and
what were pure conjecture. She told him everything she could remember about Great-aunt
Serena.