Page 24 of Librarian & the Rockstar

I swallow hard, suddenly intensely grateful for her. My gaze tangles with hers, a swell of gratitude lodged in my throat. "I will," I whisper. "Thanks, Lilah."

She stares at me for another long moment, then shrugs, waves, and strides toward the doors.

I droop against the counter as soon as she's gone, my heart hammering. I'm not good at this, at sneaking around and pretending everything is normal. It's not normal.

"What am I doing?" I groan, burying my face in my hands. I'm not entirely sure I have an answer…but I do know I don't want to stop whatever is going on with Ash. The thought alone feels a little like it's crushing the breath from my lungs.

"Excuse me, ma'am," a scratchy voice says from the opposite side of the counter.

I drop my hands, glancing up. And then I snort, trying to contain laughter. Ash is standing in front of the counter in a baseball cap, oversized sunglasses, and a leather jacket, clearly trying to remain incognito. He sticks out like a sore thumb.

"Do you have time to help me find the most private part of the library?" he asks in that same scratchy falsetto, one brow arching above his sunglasses. The wicked smile on his face makes my stomach dip and spin.

"That'd be the basement."

"Yes, the basement."

I hesitate, glancing around. There are a few patrons scattered around, browsing shelves or working at the computer station. The part-time librarian, Mena, is shelving books in the nonfiction section.

"Yeah," I decide, grabbing the sign alerting patrons that I've stepped away and plunking it down on the counter. "I can help you."

Ash grins as I grab the stack of books Lilah brought in and then hurry around the counter, motioning for him to follow me. He takes the stack from me before falling into step behind me, his hand brushing my hip.

I fight a groan, trying to act casual, like he's just any other patron. I'm not sure if I succeed or not, but we make it to the elevator with only a few curious glances.

As soon as the doors close behind us, Ash is on me, pressing me back against the wall. "Fuck, I missed you," he growls, his lips brushing mine in a hard kiss. His beard feels like heaven against my skin. "I couldn't wait until tonight to see you."

"Ash," I moan, my hands fisting in the sides of his jacket to anchor him to me. The edge of a book digs into my ribcage, but I don't even care. His mouth is on mine, his scent swirls around me. I'm right where I want to be.

He grunts, biting my bottom lip.

The elevator shudders to a stop in the basement. For a long moment, neither of us moves. We just keep kissing, too caught up in one another to care. And then he pulls away with a groan, his sunglasses knocked askew on his face.

"You ever fucked in a library, beautiful?" he asks, his voice a deep, deadly rumble.

"What?"

"You ever fucked in a library?" he asks again.

"N-no."

"Good." He taps my hip, tugging me away from the wall of the elevator. His lips brush the side of my throat. "Then I'll be the first."

My entire body ignites, my knees trembling. I stumble off the elevator after him, only to run into his back when he comes to a dead stop just beyond the elevator doors.

"What the fuck?" he rumbles, glancing around. "This is part of the library?"

"It's where books go to die," I say softly, trying to see it through his eyes. I've been down here so often, the chaos is normal to me. But I guess it probably does look a little wild to anyone who has never seen it before. There aren't really any shelves. There are just long tables and heaps of battered books stacked everywhere. A few broken shelves litter one corner, with old computer equipment stacked in another. "We use it to store books donated by the community for our semi-annual basement sale."

"Ah," he says. "Where do these go?"

"That table," I say, pointing to the long table that houses the romance section.

He stalks that way, carefully depositing the stack on top before turning toward me. I watch, my stomach fluttering when he rakes the sunglasses from his face and then crooks a finger at me.

I don't even realize I'm moving until I'm standing in front of him, so close, I see the way his nostrils flare when he looks at me.

He hooks an arm around my waist, pulling me flush against his body. "Been thinking about you all day today, Loralei."