Exposed: A British Bad Boy Romance (18 page)

Chapter 5

SARAH

“H
appy Hump Day!” Janine called cheerfully the moment Sarah walked through the automatic doors.

She grunted a response. Not brave enough to show her face at the local coffee shop again, she was in desperate need of caffeine.

Janine helpfully offered her own travel mug, the beautiful aroma of a fresh-brewed Pacific blend triggering the pleasure centers of Sarah brain as she inhaled with a contented sigh.

“Mmm,” she finished three big swigs of coffee before returning the drink to its owner, “I’m almost human again,” she joked.

“You know what would wake you up even better than coffee? Breakfast in bed.
Sausage
in bed,” she waggled her precisely groomed eyebrows and Sarah rolled her eyes.

“I get it, it’s Wednesday, har dee har. You’re awfully oversexed for an old married woman,” she teased back, hoping to divert Janine’s attention from her sex life.

Not that she had a sex life.

Her magic made sure of that. Sex was the most powerful fuel for her — or any witches’ — powers. The life energy shared between lovers had the same effect as recharging a battery. That was the
last
thing Sarah needed.
More
uncontrollable magic ruining her life and appliances. No, thank you.

“Do you think I’d stay married for twenty-seven years to a man that couldn’t make my toes curl? I think a little, uh-uh,” she grunted while moving her hips in a crude gesture, “would relieve a lot of that stress you pretend you’re not carrying in your shoulders.”

Sarah had to laugh. Her co-worker knew her far too well. But she was wrong about this.

“That’s quite all right, I’ll leave the… er…
that
to you and Mr. Buchanan,” she laughed.

Sex complicated things in general. Her life even more so. The one and
only
time she’d ever even come close to sex was… well, a disaster. She’d been in High School, young and foolish. She thought she could handle it but things spun out of control quickly.

That was when she realized her magic could hurt others unintentionally. When she vowed to shove it way deep down inside of her, never to see the light of day again — much to her mother’s dismay.

The memory was too painful to recall. Just thinking about that time in her life was enough to make her cringe. No, sex was not what she needed.

“Suit yourself,” Janine sighed with defeat, turning her attention back to the crossword puzzle on her computer screen.

And there it was. The guilt. Life would be so much easier if she could banter and tease about things like sex. It was kind of an important part of life and she had to miss out completely because of her irritating witchy powers.

But in another time… Another life… Sarah could see herself happy with someone. A kiss every morning, his arms wrapped around her, his warmth, seeping into her bones…

Her magic crackled to life, seeking the source of her arousal, a non-existent breeze rattled through the blinds.

Did Janine notice?

She was still glued to her crossword. Sarah released the breath she held. How many close calls had there been? How many times had her co-workers attributed her destruction to clumsiness and carelessness? Accidents seemed to follow her. Did they think it was just bad luck?    

“Sarah? Helloooo? Earth to Sarah?” Janine waved a hand in Sarah’s face to get her attention.

Sarah blinked, and struggled to remember what Janine had just said, a flush of warmth creeping up her neck, “Um, eight letter word for legal protector… try ‘guardian’?”

Janine’s look of annoyance was enough to tell Sarah that she’d guessed the topic of conversation wrong.

“Sorry, Janine I was just—”

“Daydreaming. I know. Jerry just called us in for a meeting.”

What now?

Janine’s expression didn’t reveal much if she had any idea what the meeting was about. Sarah took one last long glance around the empty library — one day, someone was going to need her help… one day — before she squared her shoulders, prepared for the worst, and left the reference counter for the tiny back office.

In another time, the office they now crowded into was a storage closet. The rise of the internet and the death of card catalogs caused the library to undergo extensive renovations. Their old office — spacious and organized — was sacrificed for a new computer lab and all of the administrative, archival and research work now happened in the cramped former-closet, or at Sarah’s home without Jerry’s knowledge.

It wasn’t much of an employee meeting if she wasn’t there. She dreaded to think about the possible reasons to have them all gathered. He’d already shut down her event, what more could he do?

“What’s this about?” Sarah asked, pressing herself into a pile of boxes that stretched to the ceiling. One day she’d get around to cataloging everything. She shuffled on her feet, trying to disappear into the clutter; already self-conscious about her size, she didn’t need the reminder of tight spaces and she tried to avoid the tiny office when she could. She turned the charm bracelet around her wrist, avoiding meeting Jerry’s gaze. If he told her the library was getting shut down… she might be sick. She wouldn’t know what to do without this place. Finding another job in a library would be nigh impossible; theirs was a dying breed and many people didn’t see the usefulness of having a walking encyclopedia when they already had Google in their pocket. Not to mention the affinity she had for the Kerris, specifically.

Seconds dragged on for eternity as she waited for an answer, her nerves tightly coiled, her stomach poised to drop to the center of the Earth at the right words. Or rather, the wrong ones.

“Well,” Jerry sighed, he bowed his head to the desk and the overhead light reflected off the top of his shiny bald head.

“Good news and bad news,” he said.

Janine shifted in her seat — she didn’t like to entertain the same worries that Sarah did about their uncertain future, but even she couldn’t put a spin on ‘bad news’.

“The good news is, I’m retiring,” he said, his wrinkled face never giving away his true feelings on the matter. Was this a decision of his own choosing? Sarah hated to think of some faceless board somewhere forcing Jerry into retirement.

“What’s the bad news?” Janine asked, her arms folded across her chest.

Jerry sighed.

“There’s no room in the budget to replace me.”

“So? No offense Jer, but Sarah could do your job in a heartbeat,” Janine said, flashing a smile over her shoulder.

Sarah appreciated the loyalty, but she wasn’t sure she
wanted
to be in charge of the entire place. The Kerris meant more to her than anything in the world, but putting anything in Sarah’s hands was a surefire way to destroy it.  

“I know that. Unfortunately, there isn’t room in the budget for this position at all,” Jerry continued, seemingly unbothered by the affront to his usefulness.

“What are you getting at?” Sarah asked, suddenly impatient with his tip-toeing around the subject. If her whole world was going to come crashing down, the least he could do was get on with it.

Suddenly, a shadow darkened the room. Sarah’s head swiveled to tell whoever it was that this was a private meeting. Instead, she froze in place.

The man darkening their doorway was tall — his short crop of black hair, dusted with the faintest hint of grey, nearly tickled the molding — with broad shoulders and the silent confidence to fill the entire room without drawing any attention to himself. Sarah’s objections fled and she stared at him tongue-tied. She recognized him.

He took another step into the room and Janine finally felt his overbearing presence. His well-tailored suit oozed authority, but the lack of a tie gave Sarah a glimpse of something else — maybe he didn’t take himself too seriously.

“I’m going to be your new Director,” he said simply. Her heart clamored up her throat, damming up the flood of comments Sarah couldn’t force out.

Sarah’s gaze hovered over the man she’d met at the coffee shop to Jerry. When Jerry didn’t object, she turned her attention back to the stranger.

“How is that possible? If there’s no money in the budget…” she finally found her voice to protest, her magic already bubbling to the surface, seeking him like a lightning rod.

“I’ve agreed to accept the position without compensation. In addition to a healthy contribution from my trust.”

He seemed bored with the details, but his eyes — those impossibly green eyes — never left Sarah’s. The longer he stared at her, the more the lump in her throat grew. His trust? He must be worth a fortune. That explained the suits, at least.

She twisted her bracelet around her wrist, unable to break eye contact no matter how uncomfortable his piercing gaze made her. No matter how much she wanted to squirm and hide from his perusal. A moment too late, she felt the surge of energy leave her fingers and she let out a startled squeak as the pile of boxes behind her tumbled all around, burying her under a mountain of cardboard and stray papers.

“Sarah!” Janine shrieked, leaping to her feet to help free her friend from the rubble.

“I'm okay!” Sarah cried, muffled through layers of debris. She was glad that no one could see how her cheeks burned red or how close she was to tears. How could she work with a man if she couldn’t even stand near him without causing an avalanche?

That definitely wasn't the first impression she wanted to make on the new director.

A strong hand shot through the pile of boxes while Jerry stood impotently to the side. Sarah felt him searching for her and managed to grab onto him.

Instant electricity arced through her fingers and as he yanked her from the pile, boxes flew across the room with unnatural velocity. She only hoped no one noticed.

She regained her footing and he still held her hand. Finally, she brushed herself off and let her eyes fall to their joined hands, wanting to snatch hers away like it was on hot coals. She tried to maintain her composure, though she was certain she saw him smirk at the way she fidgeted.

“Nice to meet you, Sarah,” he said, amusement sparkling behind verdant eyes, "I'm Sloan, your new director."

Chapter 6

SLOAN

H
e noticed her the moment he stepped into the sad excuse for an office and had to catch his breath. She wasn’t the last person he expected to see, but damn close to it.

It was hard not to notice her — auburn hair pulled into a tight bun, stylish glasses and curves for days — she was the hot librarian fantasy personified, and much less disheveled than the previous day. Sloan expected all of the librarians to be old biddies with nothing better to do than watch dust collect on the shelves.

He didn't expect a sexy-as-hell employee to come with the deal. Maybe that was his reward for doing the Elder’s bidding without complaint. Probably not, but he could dream.

Her tongue darted out and licked her lips without her realizing; his eyes were glued to those lips. The things she could do with that mouth... She eyed his hand, still grasping hers. He saw a breath hitch in her chest, a flush color her cheeks; did her mind take the same detour his did? A detour that saw them together, naked skin on naked skin, their bodies joined, those plump lips screaming his name.

He shook his head. Work was not the time or place for dalliances, no matter how tempting. He had a job to do. Two, really, if he was going to be the library’s director
and
do the research the Elder required. He definitely didn’t have time for a sexy librarian in a tight little sweater.

"Nice to meet you, Sloan," she said on an exhale, her voice breathy and unsure.

The beast inside of Sloan roared to life, eager to get to know the curvy librarian a little more intimately. The tiger’s sex drive would be the death of him. He shoved it down, forcing his expression to remain placid.

Not to be ignored, the older woman jumped in between them, breaking the spell that held him temporarily transfixed by the delectable creature he so wanted to sink his teeth — or other parts of his anatomy — into. His tiger balked at the intrusion. The overpowering scent of her perfume masked Sarah’s natural citrusy fragrance. The cat wanted nothing more than to carry the object of his affections off and claim her body over and over. Damn him. Sloan dragged his eyes away from Sarah, doing his best to appear nonplussed.

"I'm Janine," she said cheerfully, "Glad to have you on board."

Sloan shook her hand and nodded an acknowledgement of her introduction, but his eyes drifted back to Sarah. She looked startled. Her pulse was visible at the base of her neck and the predator inside of him couldn’t look away. He wanted to savagely pounce on her and tenderly sweep her into his arms to comfort her with equal measure. What the hell was wrong with him?

"Well, on that note," Jerry enthused, breaking the palpable tension in the air, "It's been a pleasure to work with you lovely ladies for all these years. I leave you and the Kerris in very capable hands."

Sloan watched Sarah's gaze travel to his hands, her tongue licking her lips once more. The dirty side of his mind immediately wondered if she was imagining all the things those hands were
capable
of the same way he couldn’t stop thinking of her mouth.

How long had it been since he'd been with a woman? Four months? More? He’d stopped tracking it after a certain point. There was no denying that his body and his tiger wanted it, but he didn’t see the point anymore. Countless women all blurred together. He couldn’t remember names or faces anymore. It was just an endless sea of meaningless joinings that left him unsatisfied.

Sleeping with an employee — especially
this
employee — wasn't an option, though. No matter how undoubtedly delectable she was. He shook his head again, trying desperately to rein in the inappropriate thoughts that plagued him.

              Janine was smart enough to read the room and left, with an excuse about a crossword puzzle calling her name, right after Jerry, while Sarah busied herself cleaning up the mess she’d made.

"Sarah," Sloan said from behind her.

She squeaked with surprise finding him mere inches behind her. The stack of papers in her hands went flying again. Sloan snatched a few papers from the air as they fluttered to the ground and Sarah sighed.

"I'm sorry," he said gently, bending to help with the cleanup.

"Don't be. I told you, I'm a giant klutz," she said with a lopsided grin. He liked the easy smile much more than the bewildered deer-in-headlights look.

"I have a favor to ask you," he said, brushing his hand over hers as he reached for another pile of skewed documents.

He heard her heart thump in her chest. The sound of her labored breathing, coupled with the rapid race of her heart made it nearly impossible to shove aside the predator in him. She watched him with unabashed interest. He rebelled against thoughts of his body pressed against her, his tongue invading her, plundering her, leaving her breathless and wanting more.

Pull it together, Sloan. He shook his head, hoping to clear those thoughts again. What was wrong with him? He never got so worked up around a woman —
any
woman. Why was this becoming such a pressing issue now? He couldn't fight his nature forever and she called to him. How could he resist the call?

"What do you need?" she asked.

Sloan painted a look of disinterest on his features, resisting the images of
explicit
favors he might desire. Strictly business.

He helped her pack away the spilled contents of the boxes before he stacked them back up to the ceiling, taking care to keep the pile even and sturdy to prevent any future mishaps.

"Well, I'm hoping you can help me figure out all of this. I've never been a library director before—”

"You don't say," she replied with a hint of sarcasm. She quickly realized her mistake, clapping a hand over her mouth in embarrassment.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. That was really inappropriate." Her face turned crimson and she looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole.

He laughed, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he did. The rich flowing sound was foreign to Sloan’s ears — he hadn’t laughed like that in a long time. The tension erased from Sarah's shoulders and she let a hesitant smile stretch her lips. Much better.

"No, you're right. You have every right to think I don't belong here. I'm sure you've put years into learning your craft and then I just come in with my checkbook and I'm in charge of the place."

Sarah frowned. Maybe she hadn't jumped to all of those conclusions yet, but he knew given enough time she would have. She was a smart girl. Perhaps his candidness would earn her favor. It was hard to resent him for buying his way into the Directorship when he readily acknowledged it, right?

"So, why did you really save Kerris?"

Ah. There it was. The steel in her light blue eyes that told him how much she cared about the library. He should have expected her to be protective. She didn’t trust him. She shouldn’t.

Sloan shifted under her gaze, uncomfortable with how much she seemed to see.

"I have a goal of preserving our local history. I'm hoping through targeted acquisitions we can become a valuable resource for the community," he lied, feeding her the line he’d rehearsed.

Sarah's expression was skeptical, but she nodded her agreement, satisfied for the moment.

"Okay, I can help you. I already did the majority of Jerry's job for him, anyway. The Kerris is really a very special place. I think you’ll like it here."

Sloan's face slipped into an effortless smile. Her naiveté was going to make this too easy. It was the sway of those damned hips that was going to make it difficult.