Laboratory Love Read online

  It couldn't be that difficult. Simon had certainly never noticed me before now. Why would he start now?

  I dashed into my closet and scrambled into a quick ensemble. I certainly wasn't winning any fashion awards today, but it would do for the lab. I stepped into a pair of sensible lab shoes and made my way to the kitchen. I grabbed my travel mug, already pre-filled with pre-brewed coffee, and headed out the front door.

  It wasn't until I was nearly to my car that I noticed the problem with my lips. And it was a big problem. A problem that made me pause before getting into my car, despite my already running late.

  My lips were sensually sensitive. Very sensitive. Erogenous-zone sensitive.

  I ran my tongue along my upper lip and shuddered, accidentally dropping my coffee and spilling it onto the parking lot. A moan escaped my lips. My nipples hardened against my bra and my sex lubricated instantly.

  This was crazy! What the hell was happening?!

  I fanned my cheeks with my hands. I had to pull myself together. I was in a public parking lot and I was tempted to satisfy myself on the spot.

  Slowly, carefully, I got my breathing under control. My heart rate dropped to a more normal cadence. I unlocked my car and slid behind the wheel.

  I exhaled, hands gripping the steering wheel. Then I ran a finger over my lips, shuddering as a wave of heat swept over me. The intensity was crazy. What the hell was in my lipstick to cause this kind of reaction?

  I had no answers yet. But it was time to get to work. Ignoring my wet, overheated sex, I put my car in gear and left for the lab.

  And tried not to orgasm.

  *****

  Somehow I made it to work without crashing.

  At least today was Friday. If I could just make it to the end of the day without Simon or anyone else asking questions about my illicit experimentation, I’d have all weekend to get rid of the evidence and get this stuff off my lips. In fact, it would probably wear off on its own by then. So I just needed to get through the next couple hours without having a screaming orgasm in the lab and I was home free.

  I entered the lab and walked straight toward my workstation. Simon was already at his workplace.

  "Good morning," I said, mumbling as I passed him.

  "Good morning," he said, not looking up from his work.

  So far, so good.

  I made it to my workstation. My panties were soaked. It was time to get this lipstick off.

  I threw open my spiral notebook. There had to be a clue in there somewhere. What the hell did I add besides chrystalmic that could be causing these sensations? I was-

  "Corine?"

  I jumped. Simon was standing right in front of me, holding two cups of coffee. I hadn't even noticed his approach.

  "Yes?" I said, focusing on my notebook, acting casual. Meeting Simon's gaze while in this aroused state was likely a bad idea, so I made a show of looking over my notes as I waited for him to speak.

  "You look like you could use some coffee," he said. "We need to- whoa. Are you feeling all right?"

  I heard the catch in his voice and I looked up. "Am I feeling all right? What do you mean?"

  "You look a little...flushed. And your lips are swollen," he said. Then he looked closer. "Isn't that the same lipstick you had on last night? Your practice pigment?"

  Dammit. He remembered. I needed a distraction. Fast.

  “Coffee! Thank goodness!" I said. "Gimme that!” I grabbed one of the coffees and took a deep swallow. The sensations of the Styrofoam cup pressing against my lips made me shudder. I nearly moaned into his coffee.

  "Feeling better?" said Simon, watching me with amusement.

  I tried not to wriggle. My belly muscles were fluttering. My panties were soaked. Just drinking this coffee, pressing my lips against the rim of cup, was enough to bring me dangerously close to orgasm.

  Through the haze of sensuous caffeination, I finally realized Simon was waiting for an answer.

  "Oh!" I said. "Ummm, yes. Thank you. You should drink some of this coffee too. It's excellent."

  "Well, I would," he said, "except I can't."

  "Why not?"

  "Because you just drank mine."

  I blushed, suddenly realizing the cup I had grabbed and drank from had actually been partially emptied. Whoops.

  "Ummm...sorry," I said.

  He shrugged. "Not a big deal," he said. He peered at me again. "Are you sure you're okay...?"

  "Yes!" I said, louder than I had intended. "I'm fine! Quit asking!"

  Simon took a step back, hands raised defensively. "Of course," he said. "Sorry. My bad."

  He set the other cup of coffee on my side table. Then he turned and walked toward the break room.

  I sighed, mentally kicking myself. Nice job, Corine.

  I was going to have to be less abrasive with Simon. Alienating my co-workers wasn't going to do me any good. And he was trying to help, even if he didn't know what the problem was.

  I finished the coffee in one swallow and tossed the empty cup in the trash. Then I walked to the break room. Simon was there, pouring himself another cup of java.

  “Sorry about that,” I said. “I’m just a little cranky.”

  “It’s fine,” he said. “I'm sure you’re stressed.”

  "Yeah," I said, squirming. "Stressed."

  I pressed my knees together, breathing deep.

  "I know I keep asking," he said, "but are you all right?"

  "Yes," I said, nodding, trying not to press against him. “Sorry I drank your coffee.”

  Simon shrugged. “Not a big deal,” he said. Then he went back to his workstation. And it took everything I had not to follow him, because suddenly I could smell him.

  I could smell him.

  It was a heady, masculine scent, and it filled my lungs. His smell was doing something crazy to me. My mouth was lubricating like crazy. I wanted to taste him. I wanted his cock in my mouth, his sperm in my belly. Something was wrong with me. With my mouth.

  With my lips.

  I suddenly turned and stalked my way to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror. And now that I was staring at my reflection, I realized I had another issue. Simon had pointed it out, but I was so distracted that I had missed the significance of his observation.

  My lips were swelling. Really swelling. It wasn’t painful- in fact, it was in the opposite spectrum of sensation from pain- but my lips were thickening. And thick, plump lips with a color as striking as this was going to attract far more attention than was good for me right now.

  That and the fact that I was so fucking aroused, I wanted to cry.

  Simon was a brilliant chemist. Part of what made him so good was his ability to focus on what was in front of him to the exclusion of everything else in the vicinity. But even Simon couldn’t miss his overheated lab partner running around with swollen red lips. I needed to get out of here before he started asking questions. I'd come back tonight after everybody left. Maybe I'd get lucky and the issue would already be resolved by then. But either way, I needed to get out of sight.

  I made my way back out to the lab and found Simon at his workstation. As usual.

  “Hey, Simon,” I said. “You're right. I’m not feeling very well. I’m going to leave a little early today, okay?”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” he said, his face showing concern. “Are you okay? Do you need anything?”

  “No, I’m fine,” I said, shaking my head. “Just feeling a little touch of something, that’s all.”

  “Okay,” he said. “I hope you feel better. See you on Monday.”

  Home free.

  “Doctor Banford shouldn’t be here long anyway, so once he’s gone, you can slip right out.”

  I stiffened. “Dr. Banford? He’s here?! What’s he doing here?”

  Simon looked at me oddly. Again. “He’s the lab supervisor. He can come by here any time he wants.”

  Whoops. “I mean, why is he here now? Is he looking for something?”

  “Jus
t a quick, informal end-of-week check on our progress,” said Simon. “It shouldn’t take long. In fact, he’s right outside the lab in the meeting room.”

  “Right,” I said, heart pounding again. “Of course he is. I’ll, ah, I’ll join you in a minute. Let me…let me freshen up first.”

  Simon’s eyebrows shot straight up. “Did you just say you need to freshen up…?”

  Dammit. Way to be subtle, Corine. “I have to pee, alright? Do I need to get a hall pass?”

  Simon backed up, hands raised defensively again. “No, not at all. Sorry. I’ll just gather our notes for the week and see you in the meeting room.”

  I sighed as he walked away. Twice in the same morning. Way to go, Corine. But that that scent. His scent.

  I turned and walked back toward the bathroom. I really did have to pee, but that wasn’t why I was going to the bathroom. I was going for two other reasons. One reason was I was stalling for time. I needed to pull myself together before talking to Dr. Carl Banford, our supervisor. The other reason was I wanted to try some quick-fix ideas to stop- and hopefully decrease- my lip swelling.

  I reached the bathroom and locked the door behind me. I did some quick breathing exercises to get my anxiety under control, as to possibly help me quit thinking about how fucking aroused I was. I fervently wished I had a spare pair of underwear with me. My panties were positively soaked, but there wasn’t anything I could do about that right now.

  I reached into my lab coat pocket and took out a small jar of aloe vera. I spread it evenly over my lips and then gave it a minute to work. I doubted this would reduce the swelling in time, but perhaps it would stop the swelling from continuing. It would also hopefully coat my lips enough to have a brief conversation with my supervisor without my collapsing into orgasm in front of him.

  I took a deep breath, then exhaled. I had done everything I could for the moment.

  It was time to talk to my boss.

  *****

  “Hello, Corine,” said Dr. Banford. He was an older man, a good scientist, an even better project coordinator. He could play the office politics game and run a lab at the same time.

  “Good afternoon, sir,” I said, trying not to mumble as I sat down at the table with Simon and Dr. Banford. The aloe hadn’t decreased the sensitivity of my lips at all.

  “Simon tells me you two are hard at work on the spring line.”

  “Yes, sir,” I said, squirming. Impossibly, my panties were even wetter.

  “Say, Corine,” said Dr. Banford, leaning forward and peering at me, “I don’t believe I’m familiar with that shade of lipstick you’re wearing. Is that a Blonde Concepts product?”

  Great. Less than thirty seconds into the meeting and we were already discussing my lip color. “Umm…no, sir. This is just…just an experimental shade, sir.”

  Dr. Banford stared at my lips for another ten seconds before speaking. When he spoke, he was speaking to both Simon and myself.

  “So what are you two waiting for? That’s exactly the kind of thing we’re shooting for in our spring line.”

  My eyes widened in horror. “Uhh…sir…this is just an experimental shade. More a personal experiment, if you will. I mean, I’m not even sure I remember what pigments I used...”

  Dr. Banford gave me a steady look. “Are you saying you were conducting personal experiments with company supplies on company time, Miss Strait?”

  My formal name. Not good. I was dead.

  Simon cut in smoothly. “No, sir. She just meant that the pigment blend was an afterthought because the focus at the time was the consistency of the product and making sure the chemical bonds were holding as tightly as we were hoping.”

  Dr. Banford nodded and I had a horrible feeling he wasn’t fooled one bit.

  “Well, regardless of your motivations, that color is magnificent. Please write it up and make it available for our spring line. Understood?”

  Oh, geez. This was not good.

  Simon said, “Understood, sir.”

  Dr. Banford looked at me over his glasses. “Understood, Miss Strait?”

  “Yes, sir,” I said, biting my lower lip nervously...inadvertently causing my hips to wriggle. “It’ll take a little while to reproduce, though. I wasn’t keeping formal notes about this, ah, particular shade…”

  Dr. Banford raised a hand. “Spare me, please, Corine. Just have it ready for production this time next week, okay? Do a good job and I won’t ask any questions regarding how you got there.”

  I opened my mouth, then changed my mind and just nodded.

  “Good,” said Dr. Banford, standing. “I’ll see you next week, then. Keep up the good work.”

  Dr. Banford exited the room. I fell back into my chair with an exhale of breath.

  Simon turned to me. “Ah, Corine…you can reproduce that color…right…?”

  Oh, geez. With Banford gone, my adrenaline was finally slowing down. Between that and being suddenly flooded by Simon's scent again, I was struck with a realization of just how aroused I was. It took everything I had not to giggle like a hormone-laden sorority girl.

  “Simon,” I said, breathing shallowly, “thank you for the save back there. And…yesss…I think I can reproduce this color. But please…no questions right now, okay?”

  I closed my eyes and sat back, hips wriggling. If he didn’t leave now, I was going to do something that would ensure I’d never have a shred of dignity left ever again.

  “Good enough,” he said. “Review your notes, I guess, and we’ll…get to it on Monday?”

  I nodded, my eyes still closed, just breathing in and out.

  “All right, then,” he said, heading back toward the lab. “Feel better, okay? I’ll see you on Monday.”

  I was coming back tonight after everybody left. I had to. My job now depended on me not only fixing my lips, but reproducing it in a form that available for public consumption. And I had just one weekend to do it.

  But more than that, I had to fix my lipstick and arousal problems. I had to. But I didn't know what to do. I was so horny, I wanted to cry. It was Simon’s fault. Somehow, someway, it was Simon’s fault! It had to be. I could tell by his scent. That scent.

  He was finally gone, thank goodness. I stood, my panties so wet I left a mark on the chair, and made a beeline for the exit.

  Straight to my car. I drove directly to my apartment.

  I was mentally exhausted and badly needed a nap, but I had to take care of something first. After stripping off my clothing, I took a quick, hot shower, towel-dried my hair and brushed my teeth. Then, still naked, I lay down in bed and took out my vibrator.

  ToC

  Chapter 3

  I turned on my toy and pressed it to my clit. I could feel the stimulation against my button, but the sensations were oddly muted. Frustrated, I adjusted impatiently, using various angles and adjusting the pressure. Same muted sensations. A pleasant buzz over my nethers, but nothing more. In desperation, I slid the vibrating toy completely inside my slick channel and pistoned it back and forth inside me.

  Nothing.

  I clenched my teeth. This wasn’t happening. THIS WASN’T HAPPENING!

  Jaw locked, breath hissing, I worked my pussy relentlessly. Still nothing. Distressed, ready to scream, I bit my lower lip in frustration.

  My hips bucked involuntarily.

  I gasped, having a sudden epiphany. I moved my hand to my mouth and slid my thumb between my lips.

  Lights flashed behind my closed eyes and I knew I was on the right track. I wrapped my swollen lips around my thumb and worked my mouth on that thumb the best I could.

  Almost instantly I was rewarded with a breath-taking jumping of my belly muscles as my pussy clenched and lubricated in response to the crazy sensations coming from my over-stimulated lips. Then my hips started bucking uncontrollably as my breath hissed around my thumb.

  Except I still couldn’t finish.

  I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I desperately worked my thumb back-and-forth in
my mouth, but I couldn’t break through.

  I couldn’t break through.

  Jaw sore, muscles cramped and aching, I finally gave up. Frustrated, miserable, desperately aroused, I rolled over and screamed into my pillow until I dropped into an exhausted slumber.

  *****

  I woke up several hours later and instantly knew something wasn’t right. It only took a moment to figure out.

  My lips, of course.

  I made my way to the bathroom. I didn’t need a mirror to know they were inflated, but I did need to assess my condition. And that condition was even more intense than I had expected.

  My lips were swollen, bee-stung pillows. My pout was now so pronounced, it was changing the shape of my profile. My jaw line was softer, less sharp. My face was taking on a sex-kitten visage.

  And the color of my lips remained unchanged. That bright, lustrous red, immediately drawing attention to my mouth. My lips were soft, swollen, begging to be kissed.

  And they were more sensitive than before. My near-coma had done almost nothing to decrease my arousal. I was horribly, achingly horny.

  I sighed. Looking at the clock, I saw it was nearly ten. At this time of night, particularly on a Friday, the lab would be empty. It was time for me to get to work.

  I put on jeans and a button-up blouse. Then I drank a quick cup of coffee, got in my car and made my way to the Blonde Concepts research and development lab.

  *****

  The security guard nodded to me as I walked by. It wasn’t my normal work time, but scientists are a strange bunch and finding one working in the R&D lab in the middle of the night isn’t that unusual.

  I walked through the doors and made my way toward my workstation. Then I stopped abruptly as I realized the lights were on. That meant someone was here already.

  “Corine?”

  Dammit. It was Simon. And his...scent.

  He walked toward me, a take-out travel mug of coffee in his hand. Great. Just great. So much for doing this on the down-low.

  Simon took a swallow of his coffee. “Funny running into you here. I was going to go to your apartment to check on you, but it was kind of late, so I came here instead to get a head-start on that new color you apparently created.” His tone made it apparent he wasn’t happy about getting stuck in the cover story.