Santa Reads Romance by Dara Joy

in here, now we're going to keep you. Right, lads?” He addressed the class at large.
    The class heartily concurred. Not that Zanita expected them to do anything else. It was obvious that the sun rose and set on this man as far as they were concerned.
    Stan turned in his seat, grinning up at her. “You're stuck with us, Zanita.”
    She turned to look up at Tyber, who stood over her shoulder. He knew very well he had cornered her.
    He winked! Who was he to …
    She suddenly remembered where she had heard his name before.
    Tyberius Augustus Evans was a brilliant, renowned eccentric, who held thousands of patents on various devices and was sought out by heads of state, scientists, business corporations, research facilities— in short, by anyone who thought they could get something from him. His explorations, which he conducted in the privacy of his walled estate, took him down various paths of endeavor. From what she remembered, some were sublime; some seemed to her sort of silly. But who was she to judge? The general consensus was that everything he produced displayed the rare genius he was known for.
    What else could she recall? Ah, yes. He worked strictly by himself; in other words, he did not owe his soul to the company store. He guarded his privacy, and he never, never , gave an interview.
    She smiled slowly at him. Random element, indeed.
    The information she needed on psychic healing she could pick up elsewhere. She still fully intended to investigate Xavier LaLeche, but a class on psychic healing wasn't anywhere near as important as the possibility of gaining an interview with this man.
    In a lightning display of deductive reasoning that would have fascinated Tyber had he been aware of it, Zanita calculated her chances. There was no real decision to make.
    “I'll stay.” The class applauded, but she barely noticed. Her sights were on Tyberius Augustus Evans.
    Tyber narrowed his eyes slightly as he studied the woman in front of him. She had the look of his cat. Yes, when the cat was about to do something very cunning.
    Tyber smiled to himself. He always loved a mystery.
    He knew exactly what to do next.
    The first step was to test the water. As she was taking her seat, he decided to shake her up a bit. Just to get it rolling.
    “I'm going to follow up on that idea of yours.”
    She looked up at him in horror. Had he seen through her already? “What idea?” Her voice wavered.
    “Vibration.” He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Energy.” His warm breath tickled the side of her neck. “Resonance …”
    She swallowed nervously, refusing to look at him. It was uncomfortably obvious to Zanita that for whatever reason, the man had taken up the challenge.
    It was also obvious that he intended to enjoy it.
    She sighed as her earlier conversation with Mills passed through her mind. Here was the perfect justification for her convictions. Damn, but he had a mischievous look on his handsome face.
    Nothing was ever simple when a man was involved.
    Boil them in oil.

Chapter Two
     
     
    “That is why, in later years, Newton was responsible for send-ing several men to their death on the gallows. We physicists don't get mad; we get even.”
    The class laughed appreciatively at what Zanita suspected was in-house humor.
    “Those of you who know me,” Tyber went on, “know that I'm not much for a structured academic environment. What say we meet tomorrow night at Mickey D's on Route Nine?”
    “The playground?” someone yelled out from the back of the room, making everyone laugh.
    Tyber grinned. “Not a bad idea, but I'd hate to have to defend my place in line at the slide— some of those kids are meaner than I am. I think inside should be acceptable. How many of you can make it?” Almost the whole class raised their hands. Zanita was a noticeable exception.
    “That many. I don't think we should have too much of a problem, as it's after the dinner hour. Okay, so tomorrow night— same time, different location.”