Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Emerson
" S o," Liam said, his presence distracting me from the EEG calibration, "are we officially the hottest couple in science or what?"
I fought back a smile, keeping my eyes fixed on the monitor. God, he was impossible when he got playful like this.
"Keep dreaming, Professor Distraction," I shot back, though my usually precise fingers were suddenly performing an interpretive dance across the keyboard. The neural patterns on screen swam together like an abstract art piece titled "Scientists In Heat."
Then he leaned in, his breath warm against my neck, and my whole body lit up like a circuit board. "Face it, Doc. We've definitely got a massive chemical reaction going on here."
The absolute menace. Even his voice was a distraction, low and rich with that hint of challenge that made heat pool in my belly.
"We need to focus," I whispered, but the words came out embarrassingly breathy. My hands trembled slightly as memories of last night flashed through my mind—his hands gripping my hips, my name rough on his lips.
He shifted closer, his arm barely brushing mine, but even that slight contact sent electricity skittering across my skin. The sterile lab air felt dense, charged with possibility. Every inch of me was hyper-aware of his presence, like my body had developed its own Liam-detection system.
"Come on, Doc," he murmured, his voice dropping to that devastating register that made my knees weak. "You have to admit we're making some serious progress—the data doesn't lie. Not to mention some serious progress in our own little experiment too."
I rolled my eyes, but heat flooded my cheeks. Because he wasn't wrong—these past weeks had been a blur of breakthrough days in the lab and endless nights tangled in the sheets.
Just the memory of his mouth on my skin, the way he'd discovered exactly how to make me fall apart... Focus, Emerson. Thoughts like that had no place in a professional environment.
But with him standing so close, smelling so good, wearing that smirk that made me want to either slap him or climb on top of him—ooh, maybe both at the same time—professional thoughts were getting harder to maintain by the second.
Liam had a way of making me feel desired, his eyes full of hunger that made my pulse race and my body ache.
But it wasn’t just about the mind-blowing sex.
Yeah, the orgasms were earth-shattering, but it was also the way his eyes lit up when I rambled about enzyme kinetics. Or how he’d leave stupid science memes on Post-its all over my workstation. The way he made me feel like I was the most fascinating creature to ever don a lab coat.
After we wore each other out each night, we’d lie together and talk for hours. We’d debate things like time travel and share our biggest dreams and fears. Liam listened like I was the most important person in the world, his eyes never leaving mine, making every word feel special.
So, yeah, we were making serious progress. Not just with our research but with whatever this thing between us was.
The scientist in me was scared we should keep things more professional, but the woman in me… well, she couldn’t get enough.
“Okay, okay,” I conceded, turning to face him fully. “But don’t get cocky. We still have a lot of work to do.”
My attempt to steer the conversation back to our research was half-hearted at best, and I knew it. Liam opened his mouth to say something else, probably something witty and infuriating, but the beeping ringtone of my phone cut through the air, interrupting our little moment.
I glanced at the caller ID, my stomach twisting into a knot. Jasper Nielsen. Of course.
With a sigh, I mouthed an apology to Liam and stepped away to take the call.
“Emerson,” Jasper’s voice buzzed through the phone, each syllable sharp with impatience. “Update me. The team is getting antsy.”
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Jasper, we’re making progress. But this isn’t something we can rush.”
“Progress?” He scoffed. “Time’s a luxury we can’t afford. If you can’t deliver results, I’m going to have to find someone who can.”
I steadied my breathing before speaking again. “Jasper, we’re dealing with human emotions and neurochemistry here. It’s not exactly a straightforward process.”
“I get that,” he said, “but we need to move faster. This app is going to revolutionize how people find love, but there are a lot of competitors in the field. We can’t let this opportunity slip through our fingers.”
“I know what’s at stake,” I said, my hand trembling slightly as I gripped the phone. “But every test subject brings their own unique variables—past experiences, personal biases. It’s like solving a Rubik’s Cube that changes colors every time you blink.”
Jasper’s sigh was audible, but it wasn’t a sigh of understanding. “I just need to know we’re on the right track.”
I glanced at the screens around the room, at the endless data points representing brain activity, hormone levels, and emotional responses.
“We are, but we need time to ensure the data is solid. Rushing this could backfire spectacularly.”
“I don’t have time for excuses, Emerson.”
“Jasper, this isn’t just about launching an app. It’s about getting it right. Imagine the fallout if you release a flawed product. It could destroy everyone’s credibility, not to mention hurt people.”
“Just figure it out,” he said, his voice colder than ever. “I’ll be back in town at the end of the month. I expect a substantial update or I’ll be forced to make some changes.”
The line went dead before I could say anything else. I slipped the phone back into my pocket, the weight of Jasper’s ultimatum pressing heavily on me. The man’s vision was clear, but the path to it was anything but simple.
Liam, sensing my distress in that uncanny way that both comforted and unnerved me, approached quietly. His brow furrowed and he reached out, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder.
"Everything okay?" Liam's voice was soft, concerned—exactly what I couldn't handle right now.
I flinched away from his touch. "It's fine." The lie tasted bitter on my tongue. My eyes fixed on the monitor, seeing nothing. "Let's just focus on the work, okay?"
I felt him hovering, wanting to push, to understand. The weight of his worry pressed against my skin like a massive bout of claustrophobia. But after a long moment, he moved back to his workstation.
The sound of his chair against the floor might as well have been nails on a chalkboard.
The easy warmth from before had crystallized into something sharp and uncomfortable. I tried to lose myself in the data, in the familiar comfort of numbers and graphs, but my mind kept circling back to the weight in my chest, the fear I couldn't shake.
Then—Jesus Christ—a moan ripped through the lab, the kind that belonged in a porn soundtrack, not a scientific study. Heat crawled up my neck as the sound went on and on, echoing from the testing room where one of our couples was clearly having better luck with the intimacy exercises than I was having with anything right now.
My eyes traitorously flicked to Liam. He met my gaze, and for a horrible moment, we were both thinking about our own intimacy exercises, about tangled sheets and breathless moments and—no. Stop.
"Well," Liam's voice cut through my spiral, that familiar hint of mischief creeping in, "at least someone's getting results."
Something snapped inside me. The forced lightness in his voice, that damn smirk playing at his lips—it was too much.
“Is this all a game to you?” I asked, my voice rising with each word. “We have deadlines, Liam. Expectations. We can’t afford to get distracted by... by whatever this is between us.”
Liam recoiled as if I had slapped him, hurt flashing across his face before it hardened into resolve.
His jaw tightened, and his eyes, usually warm and mischievous, turned steely.
“I’m not treating this like a game, Emerson. But I also refuse to ignore what’s happening here. We have something special, and denying it won’t make it go away.”
I opened my mouth, ready to deploy my usual defense mechanism of smartass comments, but nothing came out. Because here's the thing—he wasn't wrong. Deep down, I knew he was right. The connection between us was undeniable, no matter how much I tried to rationalize it away.
The truth was, Liam had wormed his way into my thoughts, my dreams, and even my morning coffee rituals.
There was no escaping the magnetic pull between us, and it scared the shit out of me. Because feelings? Not exactly my strong suit. The last time I let someone see the real me, complete with my collection of emotional baggage, it went about as well as trying to teach quantum physics to a goldfish.
Another moan punctuated the tense silence, louder and more enthusiastic than the last. The sound was almost comical given the gravity of our conversation. Our research subjects were certainly enjoying their part of the experiment, oblivious to the emotional minefield Liam and I were navigating.
Liam sighed, running a hand through his hair in that way he did when he was frustrated but trying to keep it together. That fucking hair, tousled and messy, made him look like he had just rolled out of bed, effortlessly sexy. Damn him.
“Look, Doc, I’m sorry if I overstepped. I know you value your boundaries, and I respect that. I just... I care about you, and I don’t want to lose what we have.”
His normally confident voice wavered slightly, and for a moment, I saw a crack in his armor. That unguardedness was like a mirror to my own fears, and it made my heart ache.
He reached out, his fingers grazing my arm in a gentle, conciliatory gesture that made my skin tingle. His touch was like a spark, igniting something deep inside me that I had tried so hard to smother.
I stiffened, my heart pounding as he leaned in, his lips brushing against my neck in a feather-light kiss. The sensation was electric, sending a jolt of warmth through my entire body.
For a moment, I was tempted to melt into his touch, to let go of all the walls I had built around myself.
But then I straightened.
“Liam, we had an agreement—keep our professional and personal lives separate.”
I pulled away, my walls slamming back into place like a fortress. “Is this going to be a problem?” I asked, my voice colder than I intended.
A flash of confusion and regret crossed his face. He took a step back, his expression shifting.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cross the line,” he said softly, raking a hand through his hair. “I just... sometimes, it’s hard to remember why we set that boundary in the first place.”
I exhaled slowly, hoping to steady the whirlwind of emotions inside me.
“We can’t afford to let our feelings interfere with our work. This is too important. Maybe everything outside the work… maybe it’s all been a mistake.”
His eyes darkened, and for a moment, I thought he might lash out. He opened his mouth to respond, but another loud moan echoed through the lab, leaving us in awkward silence. The tension was palpable, a storm ready to break.
I turned away, my eyes stinging with unshed tears. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t let myself fall for him, no matter how much I wanted to. Love was a chemical reaction, nothing more.
I refused to be a slave to my emotions.
“Let’s just get back to work,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “We have a lot to do.”
Liam sighed, but he nodded. “Yeah, sure. Work.” The word sounded like he was trying to swallow a bitter pill, and as he went back to his desk, the distance between us felt more like a chasm than a few feet.
I stared at the data in front of me, the numbers blurring as my mind replayed the conversation on a loop. But I did what I did best—I buried my feelings under a mountain of work, hoping that science would provide the answers my heart couldn’t.