Page 30 of Booked for Theft

“I’m sure it will be, but we’ll endure. Just try to get some sleep, all right?”

“I’ll try, but I’m expecting a lot of tossing, turning, and nightmares.”

I slept far better than I expected, and Bradley lured me out of bed with sausage, bacon, and eggs. Someone had snitched on my caloric needs, as three huge plates were sacrificed to my stomach. While it took several minutes, I clued in that my wicked fiancé had somehow guided me to one of the dining rooms within the White House.

A rather amused President Castillo observed me with his wife, who grinned at my inability to handle life.

In a show of solidarity—or an attempt to redefine what it meant to be casual—we all still wore pajamas.

“Crap,” I muttered. As the damage was already done, I snagged a piece of bacon and nibbled on it.

“When Bradley had told me that you could be taken, in your sleep, just about anywhere with a plate of food, I wanted to see,” the President of the United States confessed. “I’ll confess that this is the first time I’ve ever watched someone eat breakfast in their sleep.”

“Clearly, I needed that extra five or ten minutes of sleep.” I regarded my fiancé with wide eyes. “How long were you trying to get me up?”

“I gave up after an hour, and then I asked one of the agents in the hallway where I might acquire some coffee as bait. The coffee did not work, although you drank it without spilling a drop, much to the fascination of everyone involved. At that point, someone notified President Castillo of the entertainment to be had.”

The First Lady giggled. “I’m sorry if you’re embarrassed, Janette, but it’s been a while since we’ve had such a relaxed or good morning.”

If I wanted to set myself up to be viewed as inconsequential, my food habits would help my cause. “It’s all right. You should see what I’ll do for roast beef when I’m asleep.”

“Bite,” Bradley informed them. “She absolutely will bite if the plate of roast beef is not relinquished and she wants it. She got a hold of the plate once, and I learned why her mother gives up and lets it go. Janette will bite anyone coming between her and her food. I deserved it.”

I shrugged, vanquished the bacon, and sent the final piece of peppery sausage on an adventure to the cavernous depths of my stomach. “Thank you for breakfast.”

President Castillo smiled. “You’re welcome. I’ve arranged for a car to take you anywhere you need to go today. If you’re nearby doing tourism and going to the hospital today as planned, the driver will wait for you here until she’s needed. Tomorrow, she’ll drop you off at the Library of Congress, as I expect you will stay there until the librarians are forced to kick you out.”

“I might have a reputation for not wanting to leave libraries. Where are we headed this morning, Bradley?”

“I have acquired everything you need to hunt books, and we will be going to our hunting grounds as soon as you shower and get changed.”

Fortunately for my sanity, the Castillos wished us well and excused themselves, sparing me from needing to tell them I wanted to head to the bookstore. Thus freed, I followed Bradley to the guest room, showered in record time, and got changed, chuckling at Bradley’s selection of attire, which involved a tight pair of jeans and a shirt with a plunging neckline, which offered him a view of my cleavage. “You were not joking when you said you were dressing me to your interests.”

“I have certain regrets right now, and that involves not being at home where I can pursue my interests. I was honestly expecting to drive home today. It did not work out that way. I’m planning on consoling myself with at least three new books and a trip to the toy store.”

I eyed him. “Which type of toy store?”

The last time I’d failed to ask that question, he’d taken me to an adult store with the intention of living the high life and indulging in some bedroom fantasies.

“Not the kind that I was hoping for when I selected that shirt,” he complained, and he heaved a sigh.

I laughed at him. “Now you have to wait until Saturday night at the earliest.”

“I am my own worst enemy.” Bradley grabbed my purse, checked inside, and wrinkled his nose. “I left your gun at home, and I’m thinking about taking you to a gun shop near one of the bookstores. I can bring the firearm into the White House, but it’ll be held for us by the Secret Service until we leave.”

“I do not need any additional firearms, Bradley.”

“They have a two round derringer I’d like you to have.”

That caught my attention. “And did Lenard approve this derringer?”

“He did, and he has three other guns he wants to attune to you, so it’s worth the hassle.”

Men. Give them an inch and a reason for concern, and they’d run a mile, flailing all the way. “We can indulge your anxiety while we’re hunting for books, just please warn the Secret Service agents we’ll have a firearm. We will not be acquiring ammo for the gun until we are home. I am an exsanguinator, Mr. Hampton. I am the weapon.”

“You’re about as offensive as a kitten.”

I huffed at him, lifted my chin, and went through the motions of checking my purse. The hint he wanted a good time came in the form of birth control stuffed into the zippered pouch. “We can indulge in platonic cuddling with our e-readers in the tub tonight.”