She nods and looks away as her cheeks turn pink. “I’d say most of them. Some I’ve got on my list of what to read next so I will eventually. Besides, how could I tell people my favorites if I don’t know anything about them?”
“Which one is your favorite?”
She gasps and covers her mouth like I’ve spoken some kind of sacrilege. “I could never pick a favorite. That would be like picking my favorite child.”
“Do you have children?”
“Well, no, but it’s what I imagine it would be like.” She laughs when I raise an eyebrow at her and then grab a basket.
“Why don’t you help me fill this list and you can tell me what you like about them?” I hold the paper out to her, and when she reaches for the basket I hold on to it. “I can carry this, you lead the way.”
It’s also a shameless reason for me to look at her rounded ass as she moves in front of me. When she walks towards a row of books, my eyes move down her shoulders and to her nipped-in waist, then to the flare of her hips. The rest of her shape is hidden by the skirt, but I have the urge to run my hands under it and discover it for myself.
“Shaw, right?” she says, and I look up to see her smiling at me.
I clear my throat because I’m pretty sure she just caught me ogling her ass. “Yeah, that’s right. And you’re Barbie?”
“Yeah, well, Barbara actually, but people call me Barbie. I think maybe because it seems less old-fashioned.”
“Which do you prefer?” We come to a stop at the end of the bookshelf and she begins to run her finger down the spines of the ones in front of her.
“I don’t think anyone’s ever asked me that.” She smiles up at me as she retrieves the first book. “I think people just assume I don’t want to be a Barbara, but honestly it’s the reason I own this place.”
“How so?” I take the book from her and when I do, my fingers brush against hers. She’s so warm and soft and I have the urge to slide my hand up her arm. I don’t want the feeling of her skin against mine to stop.
All week I’ve been anxious and on edge thinking about her. I wanted to come back to the bookstore, but between the few jobs that I’d taken around town and things my mom wanted help with, I’ve been distracted enough to force myself to chill out.
I knew if I came back earlier I would come on too strong. It’s a problem I’ve had my whole life, just never with women. When I see something I want, I go a hundred miles an hour until I get it. Laying eyes on Barbie was way beyond anything I’d felt before and I knew going in full throttle would be a bad idea.
“I lost my parents when I was young and was raised by my mom's sister who never wanted children. As soon as I was able to, I moved out on my own and was getting by for a couple of years. Then one day I got a call from an attorney saying that I had a grandmother I’d never met or even knew of that died and left everything to me. I found out that I was named after her, but only so my father wouldn’t be cut off.” She shrugs as we walk to another stack of books. “She left me a letter and from what it said, my father used me as a weapon, rationing out my visits in exchange for what she could give him. Then after they died and I went to my aunt, she refused to let me see her because of the lies her sister had told her.”
“That’s awful.” I take another book she hands me, and this time when our fingers touch they linger for a moment longer. “Did she not reach out to you after you left your aunt’s house?”
She shakes her head. “She died a long time ago, but her attorney was instructed to wait until I was eighteen and had left my aunt’s before giving me the money. She didn’t want her to try and take it from me or say it was owed to her.”
“It sounds like she loved you very much.”
She looks up at me with her dark brown eyes rimmed with thick black lashes. “I think so.”
“And that’s why you like the name Barbara?”
“Yeah, I think now because it means so much to me.”
I step closer to her and smile as I cock my head to the side. “I think it suits you.”
Her cheeks redden and I want to touch her so badly I can’t make myself stop. My hand comes up and I graze just the knuckle of my finger along her chin.
“Take me now,” she says softly, and hunger hits me hot and low in my cock.
“Right here?” I ask, my voice rough and deep.
She clears her throat and steps away as she shakes her head. “That’s the next book on the list. Take Me Now. It’s over in erotica.”
She blinks a few times as she turns away and walks quickly to another stack in the store.
Jesus Christ, I’m not going to make it. Was I really about to take her up against a shelf of dirty books? Yes. All she had to do was say the word. I’ve never been this nuts over a woman before and suddenly I’m completely consumed with everything about her.
“Here it is.” She grabs the book and opens it up and shows it to me. “You’re in luck! This one is signed.”
“Do you have a lot that are signed?” I notice that this time when she holds out the book she places her hand so I’m sure to touch it again.
“A few.” She begins to talk more animatedly about the books she gets from authors she’s reached out to and how much she loves her community of readers online.
“And that’s why you wanted an all-romance book store?”
“We need more of them.”
“Considering the number of books my mother goes through, I’d say you’re right.”
“Oh, this is one of my favorites.” She takes a book off the shelf and flips through a few pages. “Based on what your mom is asking for, I’d say this is one she’d love. The hero plans this perfect picnic date and then it’s one disaster after another, but it’s still the cutest thing ever.” She closes the book and holds it to her chest. “I swooned the whole time.”
How do I make her do that for me? How do I give her that feeling she’s having right now? I don’t want to plan a night of disasters, but I want swooning.
I place the basket on the ground and when she holds out the book I gently take her wrist and pull her closer to me.
“What would it take for me to be a book hero?” I rub my thumb along her wrist and use my other hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
She swallows hard before her lips part and her tongue darts out to wet them. “I, um, think you’re getting there.”
“Will you let me know if I’m close?” I move in a little more and I feel her breasts against my chest.
“Close?” She sounds confused as she looks at my mouth and back up to me.
“If you want me to stop, now is the time to say so.”
My hand moves from her wrist to her waist as I settle it on the curve of her hip.
“Definitely don’t stop.”
As the last word leaves her lips I swoop down and lock mine with hers. With one touch it’s like an explosion in a fireworks factory. I’ve never felt so hot, so fast, and she’s matching my heat.
“Fuck,” I grunt when I feel nails dig into my chest as she pulls me closer to her.
Both my hands grab her ass as I lift her up and grind her against my body. She moans into my mouth, rolling her hips forward, and I nearly fall to my knees from how damn good it feels.