“I’m sure Dr. Shay would appreciate you saying so. I’m convinced she works on her scary factor in front of the mirror at night.”
“So, what’s this thesis on?”
“The use of nanotechnology in pharmaceuticals.” Which was something that fascinated and delighted her, but usually caused glazed eyes and yawns in other people.
“I didn’t think we were there yet.”
“We’re closer than a lot of people realize.”
“You and Spazz would have fun talking this technical shit.”
“You mean Lieutenant Kennedy?”
“That’s the one.”
“He’s really . . . um . . . hyper.”
“On coffee? He’s all sorts of scary.”
“So, the nickname, Spazz?”
“Yes.”
“What do they call you?”
“Luke.”
“Luke?” What kind of nickname was that? Then she thought for a second. Unable to believe she hadn’t gotten it right away, she asked, “Like in Luke Cage, the superhero, super strong, with skin impervious to almost any weapon?”
“Yep.”
She looked him up and down, making no effort to hide her perusal, but doubting it had the same effect on him as his in the hall had had on her. “I can see it, but why not call you ‘Power Man’?”
“You know your superheroes.”
She felt a blush climb her cheeks. “I like comic books.”
“You’ve got to more than like them to know the details of Luke Cage.”
“Born Carl Lucas, came by his powers in a military experiment gone wrong and first appeared in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire. One of only a handful of black superheroes in either the Marvel or DC comic universes.”
Max was grinning by the time she was done reciting the basic facts of one of her favorite superheroes. “Like I said, sexy, professor. Very sexy.”Not only was his nickname from Power Man, but he thought her closet superhero obsession was sexy? Oh, this man was perfect for her. Now she just had to convince him of that fact.
Not that she had a clue how to go about doing that. Her dat
ing record was sketchy at best. She’d had blind date disasters instigated by her family and Rebekah, but that wasn’t the same as participating in the mating dance with a man that she had the hots for.
But Danusia had never even kissed a man she was attracted to. Oh, she’d been kissed. She’d even had sex. Disasters didn’t get that designation lightly, after all.
But this was different. When she’d met Max at the wedding, Danusia had been sure he was way out of her league. That a geek like her wouldn’t even register on his radar. Now he was telling her that she wasn’t just a blip, but she was a sexy one.
Oh, wow. Oh, wow. Oh, wow.
Would fainting prompt him to give her the kiss of life and would that start something she’d only be too happy to finish ?
“What are you thinking about?” he asked suspiciously. “You’ve got a strange look in your eye and your brother warned me about you.”
That was the second time he’d admitted to talking to her brother about her. That had to mean something, right? That he was at least interested enough to mention her in passing to Roman.