“I love your plan, Callahan.”
“Feel free to kiss me anytime you want.” He dropped his hands to my hips and grinned down at me. “How much time do you need to pick out a book for me?”
“What is the criteria? A book we love? A book we want the other to read?” I asked, almost sighing as he rubbed his thumbs over my hips, like he didn’t even know he was massaging me.
“Hm, how about one of your favorite books? Any genre, for any reason.”
“Okay. Deal.” I let go of him and took a few steps away. It was best for usnotto touch at a library because the more his hands were on me, the more I wanted to take him back to my place. “See you in ten minutes.”
He winked, and I took off toward the fiction section of the library. I loved reading and had way too many books at home and on my Kindle—all books I had bought. I never once thought about coming here to get them, and it was a brief, sharp reminder how different I was from what Christopher believed. I dragged my fingers over the backs of some spines and focused on my task. A book I wanted him to read.
I loved thrillers and romance and true crime and kid books. It was quite a range, but the most recent book I read that I still thought about wasThe Devil in the White City.It was realistic fiction based on true events and bordered on being creepy while still informative. I learned while the book freaked me out, and whenever I experienced a mixture of emotions, I knew it was a good book. I found the book and hid it behind my back, trying to search for where my date was.
His tall frame would stand out. I searched a couple of aisles in the back, hoping to surprise him. He wasn’t there. My neck tingled for a second before he appeared right before me, pushing me into the back wall as he dropped his mouth on mine. He slid his tongue right in, moving his hand to grip my head, and oh wow, he kissed me, hard. Like he could barely control himself, and it made my legs go weak.
“Christopher,” I muttered between kisses. “What are you…? We’re in public.”
He traced my lip with his tongue while he stared down at me, and the moment feltintimate.His eyes were an open book and full of lust, and I almost whimpered. “No one can see us now, and your lips drive me crazy.”
“This is a new side of you,” I said, letting go of the book I still held onto. It fell to the floor. He didn’t even glance at it. He pulled me tighter against him, and I felt every hard ridge of his chest. “What about behaving?”
“Overrated. It was a great plan until I saw you in this dress.” He bit his lip, and his chest heaved. “Where are you at right now?”
“What?”
“This matters a lot to both of us. We work together, right next to each other,” he said, his voice soft now. He pushed my hair over my ear as he gazed down, and my heart fluttered. “Our chemistry is explosive, but I need to let you set the pace. We spent a weekend together, all weekend, but what next?”
“Why?” I ran my hands over his shoulders and got a thrill when he shook a little.
“Because I know how important your job is to you, and I can’t risk ruining this and making work tough for both of us. I love teaching, but it’s a part of who you are.”
Oh my God.I closed my eyes at how much he understood me. “Christopher…what you said was perfect.”
“Yeah?” He grinned now, the cocky look coming back into his eyes. “Good. I meant it.” He wrapped his arms around me and lifted me up so we were face-to-face before he kissed me again, this time without the crazy heat. “Forgive me. I’m going to stick to my plans for the rest of the night, but I’m going to try to kiss you as often as you let me.”
“Often. Very often,” I said, earning another grin. “Now show me your book.”
He laughed and set me back on my feet. “Ah, is this your choice for me?” He bent down and picked up my book. “I’ve always wanted to read this but never had a push. You recommend it?”
“Yes, absolutely. It’s worth the read.” I smoothed down my dress and watched him study the back of the book. There was something so sexy about him holding the book, deep in thought with his lips still red from kissing me. “That author has quite a few books like this, stories woven together out of true events.”
“Okay, I’m in. I’ll read it.”
“Yes! Now what did you get for me?”
He blinked a few times before reaching onto the shelf behind me and grabbing a book. “It’s a thriller.”
“I love them,” I gushed, yanking it out of his hand and reading the back.I Am Pilgrim.“Wow, this sounds insane.”
“It’s one of the books I read two years ago, but I still think about it.” He smiled and watched me with an unreadable look in his eyes. “Did we just start a two-man book club?”
“Uh, hell yeah, I think we did,” I said, my heart growing eight times in size at how much we had in common despite our differences. “This was perfect, Christopher. Seriously. Best part one of a date, ever.”
He smirked and put his arm around my shoulder, guiding us out of the aisle and into the main foyer where we could check out. “Wait until you see part two.”
Chapter Twenty
Part two wascheap burgers and fries at one of the outside restaurants where you could eat in your car. It was ten dollars total, leaving another ten dollars for part three if we wanted to stay on his budget plan.
