Libby wanted to comfort him. He looked so completely shocked, almost horrified by the dawning knowledge. Ty looked like a man who'd taken a body blow.

He shook his head, standing up. "I can't think about what you've done, or how it affects you. Not right now. It's too much. Believe me, I was impressed enough with the cookies." He lifted his head to study her, his gaze dark with sudden intrigue, emotions fading to the background where Tyson was most comfortable with them.

Libby could actually see the change take place. The scientist was back and he was looking at her with a quizzical contemplation. She backed away from him. "Whatever you're thinking, just stop now before you get yourself in more trouble. You aren't conducting a study on us."

"Just think about it logically, Libby. If it was turned around, wouldn't you want to figure out how it's done? There has to be a high level of activity in the brain and we have instruments to measure and map it out."

"I'm not a freaking study of yours, Ty." Libby tried to pull away from him so he wouldn't see the tears swimming in her eyes.

"Of course you're not. d.a.m.n it, Libby, don't you cry. I wouldn't have the least idea what to do and I've already said and done enough idiotic things today. I'm a little out of my element." His heart was still pounding with the realization of his discovery. He was desperately trying to lock away the knowledge that she could heal and that she was risking her own health in doing so. He needed to be alone to think about that one. Now she was going to cry. He was beginning to sweat.

"You've just admitted you're an intelligent man. Am I supposed to believe you can't figure out how to talk decently to a woman? Figure it out, Ty, because I'm not waiting around while you do."

In desperation, he framed her face with both hands and bent his head down to hers, his mouth taking possession. If he couldn't find the right words to say, he was determined to show her exactly how he felt. Libby held herself stiff at first, although her lips were soft and she opened her mouth to his when he tugged on her lower lip. Heat blossomed and spread, from him to her. Electricity arced, small sizzling licks along his veins, from her to him. Her body softened, melted into his so he could feel her imprinted on his skin. h.e.l.l, maybe all the way to his bones.

Her mouth was hot and exciting, and so responsive Tyson forgot he was in her house with her sisters close by. One hand tangled in the silk of her hair and the other slid down the curve of her spine. He swore the earth spun on its axis.

"Libby!" The protest came from a distance.

Tyson caught Libby's soft sigh and drew it into his lungs. His arms tightened, his body reluctant to step away from hers. He rested his forehead against hers, breathing deep. "I'm coming back for you tomorrow."

"Okay."

"I'll be on the motorcycle so dress warm."

"Okay."

He lifted her chin and brushed her mouth with his. "I'll wait a day or two before I creep in and take everyone's blood."

She flashed him a small grin. "Good of you. My sisters will appreciate it."

Joley raised her voice. "Your sisters would appreciate a little break from the hormone rush."

"I'm going now," Tyson announced and forced his body away from Libby.

Chapter Ten.

"YOU can't go with him on a motorcycle and that's all there is to it," Sarah said. "What are you thinking, Libby? Have you lost your mind?"

"I've been on a motorcycle," Joley pointed out. "In fact I've been the driver."

"You aren't helping, Joley." Sarah flashed her rebel sister a stern look meant to repress. "Motorcycles are dangerous."

"So are airplanes and cars and mountain climbing. Walking across the street can be dangerous," Joley said, clearly not impressed by Sarah's reprimand. "Heck, going out on a stage to sing can be dangerous."

Sarah swung her attention instantly from Libby to Joley. "What does that mean?"

"It means life can be dangerous, Sarah, but we don't go through it sitting in a closet because we're afraid of every little thing."

"Tyson Derrick is a crazy man. Do you really want Libby racing around on the back of his motorcycle? That's nuts."

Libby drew up her knees and glanced at the clock. The argument was moot as far as she was concerned anyway. The man had kissed her senseless and somehow she'd agreed to try a small slow run on his motorcycle to "really see the beauty of the coast." She sighed. It sounded like something a bad girl might do. Her own small rebellion against always doing the perfect and right thing. The responsible thing. Now, what did it matter?

She could feel tears burning close. The man made her cry twice now. Wouldn't it be really horrible if he was right? If she was completely emotional? He was over an hour late and all of her sisters were acutely aware of her misery. It was making them edgy. Both Sarah and Joley were trying to protect her, each in their own way. But she didn't need it. She could protect herself from the idiot with the brilliant brain. How dare he stand her up?

"I'm certain Ty would be very careful with Libby," Joley said. "He obviously cares about her." She glared at Sarah, willing her to back off. Libby looked so miserable that if Tyson didn't show his face in the next five minutes, Joley was personally going to see to it he didn't date anyone for a very long time.

Libby stood up abruptly. "I'm going over to his house. He's already over an hour late. I'm not sitting here waiting for him. I'm going to tell him what a jerk he is and not to ever call me or come by again."

"Just call him," Sarah advised. "Why put yourself through seeing him in person? Just stay away from him and save yourself the heartache." She wanted to gather her younger sister into her arms and hold her until that look of rejection and hurt was gone forever.

"No, I have to do this in person, Sarah," Libby said. "He's different. I know you have a hard time with him, and at times like this I can't tell you why I've always been drawn to him, but I have. I like talking to him and I understand him even when he's not saying things right, which is most of the time. We mesh when we're together."

"He needs you," Elle said in a soft voice. "And you need him. I'm sorry he hurt you, Libby. I know it can't be intentional. I wouldn't have let him near you if he wasn't sincere in his feelings. He has the most a.n.a.lytical brain I've ever come across and he computes at a very rapid rate of speed. It must drive him crazy sometimes. But not with you. He wasn't being a.n.a.lytical no matter how hard he tried. You tap into the human side of him and he's very aware of it and aware of how much he needs you."

"Then why is he trying to change her?" Sarah asked.

"He's uncomfortable with emotion, Sarah," Elle said.

Elle sounded tired and Libby put her arm around her youngest sister. At once a soothing warmth flowed from one to the other. Elle rested her head briefly on Libby's shoulder.

"Well, he'd better get comfortable with it a little faster," Sarah bit out between her teeth. "Damon was uncomfortable with emotion but he didn't stand me up or dislike my family because they were a little different."

"A little?" Joley echoed. "We're freakin' weird and you know it. You can't blame the man for not believing we do what we do. Face it, Sarah, he had every reason to think we're a family of con artists and yet he still wanted to see Libby. That should tell you something about the way the man feels about her. It has to be genuine."

Libby caught up her purse. "We don't argue and fight with one another as a rule. I'm not letting Tyson Derrick ruin the way we are with one another."

"Libby, honey." Sarah hurried to throw her arms around her sister. "No one could change how close we are. If Tyson Derrick is your choice, I'll not only accept him, but I'll come to love him. You have to know that. I'm just worried about you and how he makes you feel about yourself. I'm overprotective, that's all. You're not only beautiful on the outside, but on the inside as well. You don't see it in yourself but you light up a room just by walking into it. If he doesn't see that, he doesn't deserve you."

Libby hugged her back and stepped away. "I know I at least deserve more than a man who stands me up on a date."

Libby could feel her sisters watching her as she slid into her car and closed the door with controlled violence. She did have a temper that flared up as strong and as pa.s.sionate as her sisters, she just couldn't sustain it for any length of time. She always made excuses for everyone. She thought of herself as strong. When it was necessary she could stand up to anyone for her patients or her family. Even for herself. She just always was able to see other people's point of view. But that didn't make her a doormat and if Ty thought she could be walked on simply because he had a brain and was the hottest kisser in town, he was sadly mistaken.

She drove straight to the house Ida Chapman had bequeathed to her son and her nephew. It was a huge home on a beautiful piece of property, high on a bluff so the residents could see the rolling ocean from the long bank of windows in the front. She parked at the entrance to the double garage and stalked up to the front door. Leaning heavily on the doorbell didn't do her much good.

Libby walked around to the garage entrance to see if Tyson's car was parked in the building. The door was slightly ajar and she slipped inside. The lighting was dim and she took two steps before her eyes adjusted and she became aware of two men at the far end of the garage near Tyson's car. Both straightened up and turned to face her. Neither man was familiar to her and the way they turned suggested stealth or guilt.

Libby's heart fluttered wildly. She took two cautious steps backward. She could never get into her car and drive away before they could stop her so she whirled and ran back up the steps to Tyson's house, praying the front door was unlocked. She heard the pounding of footsteps behind her as she yanked open the door, slamming it behind her, trying to lock it quickly.

"Wait!" Libby heard the hoa.r.s.e cry behind her. Visions of Jonas's body lying on the side of the road and the threat of Edward Martinelli were enough to keep her self preservation alarm shrieking.

"Tyson! Sam! Help!" She screamed the names at the top of her lungs. "Call nine-one-one. Tyson!" The doork.n.o.b twisted before she could engage the lock and she sprang away from the door, running through the living room toward what she hoped was the kitchen. She had no idea of the layout of the house, but nearly everyone had a phone in the kitchen.

She found a door, tore it open, hearing the men running through the house just behind her. A lighted staircase led to the bas.e.m.e.nt below. Tyson's laboratory. Libby ducked inside and closed the door, running down the stairs just as Tyson came rushing toward her. He caught her in his arms and held her tight. "What is it? What are you doing here? Tell me what's happened."

The door at the top of the stairs opened and the two men began to descend cautiously. Tyson thrust Libby behind him, his body shielding hers. Sam stepped into view, trailing behind the two men. "I heard Libby scream and ran downstairs to find these two in our house, Ty."

"Harry Jenkins and Joe Fields." Ty identified them, his voice low and furious. "What the h.e.l.l are you doing in my house? And what did you do to Libby?" He took a step forward, his fingers curling tightly into two hard fists.

Harry and Joe exchanged a long nervous look. Harry took a slight step toward Tyson, one hand coming up in a conciliatory manner. "We didn't mean to scare her. She startled us, Ty. We were having a look around and she walked in on us."

"What do you mean 'having a look around?'" Sam demanded. "You just thought you could walk into our house unannounced? Who are these two idiots, Ty? Should I call the sheriff?"

"There's no need for that," Joe said. "We wanted a word with Ty and we inadvertently frightened the lady. It was unintentional."

"And we weren't in the house," Harry added. "We were in the garage."

"So you were skulking around my garage?" Tyson asked. "And then you chase Libby into my house? What the h.e.l.l is going on?"

"We knocked for half an hour, Ty," Harry said, running a finger around the collar of his shirt. "No one came to the door, so I checked inside the garage to see if your vehicles were there, but I couldn't find a light switch. I could see the car but not your motorcycle so we went all the way in. We drove all this way to talk to you in person and we didn't want to just turn around and go back. You told me a year or so ago that you had a laboratory in your home. You're deaf in your lab so I just figured if you didn't answer you might still be here."

"So you chased Libby?"

"Come on, Ty," Harry burst out, exasperated. "You know I'm not some psycho killer. I was trying to rea.s.sure her we weren't stealing anything." He paced down one of the three long aisles between the rows of worktables, eyeing the various pieces of equipment. "I said I was sorry, what more do you want?"

"I want you to apologize to Libby for scaring the h.e.l.l out of her. And I want you to acknowledge to me that you understand I will beat you to a b.l.o.o.d.y pulp if you ever come near her again."

Libby's fingers twisted in the back of Ty's shirt. He was a man of science, certainly not a violent man, but his tone made her shiver. He sounded cold and mean and downright dangerous.

Ty must have felt the small shudder that went through her because he turned to sweep her under the protection of his shoulder. His eyes glittered with menace and Libby realized that there was another side to Tyson Derrick that she didn't know.

"I'm not kidding about the apology, Harry. I'd better hear one from both of you or Sam's calling the sheriff and I'm pressing charges for breaking and entering."

Harry glared at him from two worktables down. "I'm sorry-what is your name?"

"Her name is Dr. Drake."

The steel in Ty's voice made her wince again.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Drake," Harry said. "I certainly didn't mean to frighten you. I'm Harry Jenkins and I work with Ty at BioLab. This is my colleague, Joe Fields. I'm a biochemist and Joe is in marketing."

"I second the apology sincerely," Joe said. "I tried to call out to you, but you were already out the door before we could get around the cars."

Before Libby could respond, Sam interrupted. "You've been calling night and day, Jenkins. What the h.e.l.l is so important that you had to break into our house?"

"You must be Sam, Ty's cousin." Harry wandered around the laboratory restlessly, bending once to put his eye to the microscope. "You've got some great equipment here, Ty."

"Let's have it, Harry," Ty said. "What's so important?"

Harry scowled at him. "You know what's important, Ty. I received a little visit from the director. He questioned my reports. He questioned me, you son of a b.i.t.c.h, just like he always does when you step in to play the heroic savior of all the projects in the lab. His shining star. I want you to back off on this. This is my baby. I put my sweat and blood into this drug and you aren't going to take it away from me."

"Your reports aren't accurate, Harry," Ty said, ignoring the other man's rising tone. "I went to you first and tried to tell you, but you refused to listen. Look at all the data, not just the part that supports your theories."

"We stand to lose millions, possibly billions, if you keep interfering," Joe said. "BioLab is one hundred percent behind this drug. It's going to save thousands of lives and you know it."

"I know it's going to kill people."

Harry slapped his hand down on the table, rocking some of the gla.s.s. "This is so like you, Derrick. You always have to be in the spotlight. You know I have a winner here and you just can't stand it."

Tyson wrapped his arm around Libby's waist. He knew what was coming, he'd been through it many times before with other biochemists when he refused to compromise. He laced his fingers through hers, hoping she would understand. He shrugged. "Harry, why do we always have to go through the same arguments? You and I both know you took a shortcut. You used my research as a platform."

"Which is perfectly legitimate. You don't own that research, Derrick. I knew this was about your ego." Harry snarled. "You don't want anyone to touch the research and possibly improve on what you did."

"I want any place I work to be known for good solid research, Harry. And solid researchers don't overlook obvious flaws simply because they don't want to take the time to fix it." Tyson glared at him as the man peered at the data on the screen of one of the computers. "Get the h.e.l.l away from there."

"You're working on my drug right here. Who gave you access to my files? I knew it. You have a spy on my team."

"Don't be ridiculous, Harry. I don't need a spy to figure out what you did. What I'm trying to do is figure out what you didn't do."

"I'm getting a court order to insist you leave my work alone," Harry said.

Tyson gave a snort of derision. "You do that, Harry."

Joe held up his hand. "Let's all calm down."

"I'm perfectly calm," Ty said. "Considering the two of you have trespa.s.sed on private property and Harry here is threatening me."

Joe forced a small smile. "Harry needs to calm down. No one wants to get a court order, Ty. We're reasonable men. You've been working long enough for BioLab to know the company would never put out an unsafe drug. The studies are amazing. This drug can really save lives and we're all excited about it."

"What about the deaths, Fielding? Are you excited about them, too?"

Joe waved his hand. "Only a very small percentage of the test subjects have died Ty, and in each case, the patient took his own life. You know as well as I do suicide is not uncommon among chronically ill people. That's a sad fact of life, but BioLab can't be held responsible for patients who decide to end their life during trials."

"Don't you even want to investigate the possibility that not only is something wrong with the drug the way it is, but that it can be fixed?" Tyson asked. "If Harry wants to be named as founder of a drug that saves millions of lives, hold him accountable. Don't let him turn in second-rate work."

"Second-rate work!" Harry thundered. "You son of a b.i.t.c.h." He rushed Tyson, attempting to tackle him.

Ty stepped to the side, avoiding the charging man with ease, his movement unexpectedly graceful. Harry landed heavily on the floor at his feet.

"Surely you weren't thinking of attacking me, Harry?" Ty asked, amus.e.m.e.nt plain in his voice. "You're a grown man. Have a little dignity."

Libby backed away farther as Harry glowered up at Tyson. There had been a definite taunt in Tyson's voice.

Harry scrambled to his feet, fists clenched. "You think you're so superior, Derrick. You always have. You think your money makes you better than everyone else?"

"Money?" Tyson echoed. He clearly hadn't considered the money. "Work ethics, Harry, the love of science. Try sheer brains."

Harry went berserk again, swinging wildly at Tyson who deflected several punches and tapped Harry's cheek lightly twice. That only seemed to enrage Harry more.

Joe Fields stepped in, catching Harry and dragging him away. "He obviously could beat you to a b.l.o.o.d.y pulp if he wanted, Harry. This isn't helping. We came here to talk this out reasonably."

"How can anyone be reasonable with that smug b.a.s.t.a.r.d?" Harry asked. His gaze flicked to Libby. "The only reason anyone would want to be around him is for his money. Nothing else could possibly make him bearable."