“I could tell you or I could show you.”
“So you’re saying you want my help with book research.”
His eyes gleamed with sadistic arousal. “Book research. Uh huh.”
“Purely scientific.”
“You bet.”
“I’m not eating actual dog food.”
“Fair. That hadn’t even crossed my mind, to be honest.”
The scuff of a boot caught my attention.
“Two voracious readers are at a bookstore and neither of them are looking at books. Must be love,” Vandal said dryly. He was holding four books and his gaze took in the fact that we didn’t have any. “You’ve already read everything in the place, or are you plotting?”
“We’re talking book research,” Zero said, casually pushing away from me. I could still feel the imprint of where his cock had been pressed against me.
“There’s nothing you want?” Vandal asked me.
“I don’t have money for books.”
“Pick something fast. I’m done here, but it doesn’t seem fair to Ash that you’ve been making out at the back of his store like a couple of horny teenagers and you’re not even buying.”
Ugh. He had a point. Had the owner seen us?
Quickly, I browsed through the shelves, somehow finding myself in the sci-fi/fantasy section and picking out a couple of promising looking old-school capture fantasies. They weren’t exactly the genre I was writing in, but some of the emotions had to be the same.
We met up with Vandal up front, and I handed him my books when he gestured for them. He raised his brows when he read the titles, but paid without comment.
Ash made a point of telling me it was nice to make my acquaintance, his smile genuine. I’d have to remember where this place was.
Rather than going directly home after that, Vandal bought us some artisanal cupcakes at the brand-new bakery that shared the building with Ash’s book shop. I window shopped through the glass displays of baked treats and dodged the steady stream of people that kept coming in. The commotion in the gorgeous little shop felt almost jarring after the quiet dignity of the book shop. Several teenage girls were working, as well as a woman in her twenties who was sort of intense, neat as a pin, and everywhere at once. The owner, I presumed. I couldn’t imagine her getting along well with big, quiet, biker-looking Ash next door.
We ate cupcakes on the riverside boardwalk across from the shops and restaurants, watching kids playing on the nearby swings and the birds hopping around hoping for crumbs.
A flash caught my attention as I was mid-bite, and I glanced over at Zero to find him aiming his phone at me.
“What are you doing?” I asked, suspicious.
“You look cute in a sundress, eating a pink cupcake at the park.”
Vandal made a gagging sound. “You two are nauseating. Just go fuck already and get it out of your system.”
“Like she’s out of your system?” Zero asked archly.
“I don’t even like this little monster.”
“I can tell by where your eyes keep straying.”
“She’s wearing a fucking sundress. I can’t be blamed for looking.”
“Mmmhmm.”
Vandal flipped open one of the hardcover books he’d chosen and started to read rather than defend himself, but his jaw was flexing with irritation.
“I have to hit the restroom before we leave,” I admitted, gesturing at the cinderblock building down the way and getting to my feet as I licked icing off my fingers.
“Not by yourself, you’re not.” Vandal snapped the book closed and put it on the bench beside Zero.
The man dogged my steps all the way to the building.
“You can’t come in.”
He strolled inside. “It’s empty. Go ahead.”
I entered behind him. Oh well, he was the one who’d get arrested for being a pervert.
Annoyed, I chose a stall and felt him follow me to it.
“You can’t come into the stall with me, creep.”
“Can’t I?”
“No. Hard limit.”
“This isn’t about kink.”
“Yeah, actually…I think it is.”
He glared down at me.
“There’s literally no other reason for you to be in here other than to be controlling. Unless you have a piss fetish?”
“You might meet up with someone in here and make a deal.”
I raised my brows at him. “I’m starting to suspect this isn’t paranoia about me betraying you.”
“What is it then?”
“I think you’re secretly obsessed with me.” It was an asinine lie, but I was hoping it would have the desired effect and make him stalk off so I could pee in relative privacy.
Faster than I could react, he grabbed the neckline of my sundress and jerked me closer.
“Why the fuck would I be obsessed with a girl like you?” he growled. “You’re not my type. I prefer my women tall and elegant. Classy.”
“Oh, and what am I?”
“A pain in my ass.”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure you’re the pain in my ass, if I’m remembering correctly.”
“You’re such a fucking whiner.”
“You seemed to like making me whine.”
He huffed. It was hard to tell if it was a laugh or a sound of disgust. Maybe it was both.
“You have your uses, but I’m already getting bored. We don’t have room for a permanent third in our relationship and if we did, it wouldn’t be you.”
Oh, wow. “You’re jealous.”
“Jealous of what? I just finished saying you’re not my type. I know you have trouble listening, but now you’re being deliberately obtuse.”
“You’re jealous because Zero likes me,” I snapped.
“Zero is mine, understand? As soon as my book releases you’re gone. Neither of us will even think about you after that.”
“If you thought that was the case, why bother to warn me off like this? Do you think Zero is really falling in love with me?”
“Of course not,” he said coldly. His eyes were ferocious. “I’m warning you, as your temporary mentor. Don’t get attached because you’re not staying.”
“Oh, so this is you worrying I’ll have my heart broken? So kind of you to look out for me.”
He dragged me closer, and I could smell vanilla icing on his breath and couldn’t help but wonder how it tasted. His gaze dipped to my mouth.
“You’re not the kind of girl either of us would bring home to our families,” he said, almost absently. His lips were almost touching mine.
Instead of feeling shocked or angry, I was confused. What an odd thing for him to say. “Why is that?”
“You’re not perfect enough for my family, and not high class enough for Zero’s family.”
“And you are?”
“No one knows about us except you.”
I studied his expression. “Zero doesn’t know you’re in love with him.”
His mouth crashed down on mine, probably more to shut me up than to express how he felt about me. He kissed me until I was breathless—and I found myself working my hand up the front of his shirt so I could feel the muscle there, stealing his warmth in the cool dampness of the old building. The hand that was already half-buried in my cleavage groped painfully at my breast and made me dizzy with lust. I gasped into his mouth, feeling like my brain wasn’t getting enough air, the hot vanilla from his mouth on my tongue.