“Would you like to see more?” he asked, his voice softer now.
I looked up at him, at the horns and the solemn face and the eyes that had become far too easy to lose myself in.
“Yes,” I said. “Show me everything.”
As he led me back inside, I tried to remind myself that I was here for the architecture, not to develop an impossible crush on a minotaur.
But as I watched him move gracefully through the space he’d created, I wasn’t sure my heart had received that particular memo.
CHAPTER TEN
The library clock struck nine, its gentle chime echoing through the empty stacks. I flipped the last light switch in the children’s section and made my way back to the mythology display that had been the bane of my existence for the past week. The stepladder from hell stood mockingly before me, its rickety frame practically sneering at my previous attempts to wrestle heavy books onto the top shelf.
My phone buzzed with a text.
I’m outside. Rear entrance?
I smiled at Rion’s characteristically terse message. In the two days since I’d visited his labyrinthine home, our texts had taken on a different quality—less formal and more frequent, though his economy of words remained intact.
Door’s unlocked. Coast is clear. Come on in!I replied, adding a book emoji and a bull emoji before I could overthink it.
A minute later, I heard the soft click of the back door opening. Despite knowing who to expect, my breath still caught when Rion’s huge body appeared at the end of the aisle.He wore a black button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled to expose his forearms and black jeans that somehow managed to accommodate his powerful legs. A wide-brimmed hat partially obscured his horns, though he removed it once inside.
“Hi,” I said, suddenly feeling awkward. The last time we’d seen each other had been in his home, in that moment of… whatever it was between us. My cheeks warmed at the memory.
“Clara.” He nodded, his deep voice somehow making my name sound important.
“Thanks for coming,” I gestured towards the display. “As you can see, my ladder situation remains dire.”
He came closer, studying the tall bookcase with a critical eye. “This is the display?”
“Yes. ‘Mythological Creatures: Fact versus Fiction.’” I grimaced. “Ironic, given recent developments in my understanding of mythology.”
A fleeting smile crossed his serious face. “Indeed.”
“The issue is getting these reference books up to the top shelf,” I explained, pointing to a stack of oversized, leather-bound volumes on a nearby cart. “They’re the visual centerpieces, but they’re incredibly heavy, and this ladder…”
“Is inadequate,” he finished, giving the stepladder a dismissive glance. He approached the cart and lifted one of the books, weighing it in his hand as though it were no heavier than a paperback novel. “Where do you want them?”
“Arranged in a fan pattern on the top shelf, with the Greek mythology volume as the centerpiece.” I pointed up to the shelf that had been tormenting me all week.
Rion nodded and, without ceremony, picked up all five massive volumes at once. The books that had made me sweat and struggle and nearly fall to my death were cradled in his arms like a stack of magazines. He didn’t even need the ladder; reaching up, he easily placed the first volume in position on the far left of the shelf.
I stood transfixed, watching as he carefully arranged each book. His rolled sleeves revealed powerful forearms covered in short, dark fur that caught the library’s soft lighting. As he stretched to position the centerpiece volume, his shirt pulled taut across his broad back, revealing the play of muscles beneath.
Oh my.I swallowed hard, feeling a flutter in my stomach that had nothing to do with bibliographic organization.
When all five volumes were perfectly positioned, he stepped back and turned to me. “Is this arrangement satisfactory?”
I blinked, forcing my thoughts back to the display. “It’s perfect. You just saved me hours of precarious ladder-climbing and potential injury.”
“The ladder is unsafe,” he stated flatly. “It should be replaced.”
“Tell that to the library budget committee,” I sighed. “We’re lucky to get new pencils, let alone proper equipment.”
He frowned, the furrow between his brows deepening. “I could design something more suitable.”
The offer warmed me. “That’s incredibly kind, but I couldn’t ask you to?—”
