Read Brainy and the Beast for Free Online

have a hard time staying on my feet around you. First it was your dogs, and now you nearly creamed me.” Henry Travis didn’t look too annoyed. He was busy straightening his lab coat and checking his tie, though, and that sideways glance was kind of hard to read. “Where in the world is the fire?”
    “Huh?” God, his eyes were beautiful.
    The tight biceps bulged ever so much when he crossed his arms over his chest. And it was a very nice chest, by the way. “You seemed to be in a hurry.”
    I nodded, not really paying attention. I just wanted to look kind of intelligent. Not sure it was working, but whatever. With a snort, the security guard nodded at Henry and headed back to the desk.
    “And?” Henry drew out the word, and now that I was paying attention again, I could have sworn there was a tiny twinkle in his eyes. “You’re going somewhere, I take it?”
    Wake up . “Oh. Um, yeah. I have to get over to a soccer game at the high school.”
    “Are you the coach?” He actually sounded interested.
    “No. God, no. I don’t know anything about the game, no matter how much Jose tries to tell me about it.” I was pretty sure I’d suck at coaching anyway, even if I could figure out what the fuck a corner kick was. And I knew for sure Grant wouldn’t want me to be bossing him around.
    “So why are you going there?” Henry reached out one long-fingered hand and directed me to the side as two secretary-looking women slid past us into the elevator.
    Over Henry’s shoulder, I could see my buddy Jimbo watching me from the desk, a sour look on his face. “Uh, my nephew is playing at three forty-five.” I checked my watch again. “Shit.” It was just past that. I sighed. I couldn’t seem to get anything right with Grant.
    “Do you need a ride over there?”
    “What?”
    “I don’t see any of your workers around. How were you getting there from here?”
    Guh . “I, uh, I was going to hike over to the school. It’s about a mile from here.” I could do it in less than ten if I jogged it. Maybe.
    “Let me drive you there. It’s the least I can do.”
    I frowned. He’d surprised me with that.
    “Did you leave the keys with Miranda?” At my wide-eyed nod, he raised a finger. “Why don’t you wait here, and I’ll run up to get them?” He poked the elevator call button. “I’ll be just a moment.”
    The elevator doors obligingly opened, and Henry disappeared before I could say anything else.
    “Guess the boyfriend doesn’t want you around after all, does he?” That was big Jimmy Anderson again. The guy had sidled over while I stared at the doors.
    Did I have gay tattooed on my forehead? “You got a problem, Jimbo?” I bumped his chest with mine. Or, actually, I bumped my chest against his rib cage. The guy was at least six-four.
    “Not as long as you leave Dr. Travis alone, we don’t.” Jimbo didn’t back up an inch.
    Ding. A bell went off in my head. “You jealous?”
    Now the guy was right up in my face. “What are you talking about?” He was practically growling, and his cheeks were reddening.
    “Jimmy. Dude, seriously. Back the fuck up. Now. Or I’m going to have to hurt you.”
    That made him laugh. “Really?”
    Now I scowled. Okay, so at five-eleven I wasn’t the tallest guy in the room, but damn it, I could hold my own in a bar fight. “Yeah. Really.”
    Anderson’s grin seemed to be real enough. “You want to take me on?”
    “Hey, big guy. The boys in the motor pool learned the hard way not to mess with me.” Maybe that was fifteen years ago, but still.
    “Motor pool? You served? Where?”
    I straightened, standing tall. Some habits were hard to break. “Last station was at Barksdale, down in Bossier City, Louisiana.” I drawled the state name, as I’d learned to do while living among the Cajuns down there.
    “No shit. I was at Barksdale.” Now Anderson actually sounded nice. “What year?”
    A comrade in arms. “I was there for two years—’97 to