Page 7 of Link with Me

“I was told to expect someone looking for that book.” He grinned at her and she almost threw herself in his arms right then and there like a sex-starved old maid.

“Oh?” she cleared her throat. Thank god he couldn’t hear her thoughts.

Alex stopped in an aisle shrouded in half-light, the titles on the shelves bathed in a soft glow. He reached toward a high shelf, and Lena couldn’t help but notice the way his shirt stretched over his muscles, a physical echo of the tension winding inside her. Down, girl.

“This should be it,” he said, handing her the book. Their fingers brushed, and a spark of connection sizzled up Lena’s arm, setting her pulse racing. Good god.

“Oh, King,” she quipped, trying to steady her voice as she met his gaze. “Always stirring up trouble, isn’t he? First with horror, now with me trying not to embarrass myself in front of a cute guy.”

Alex’s eyebrow lifted, heat and sexual awareness in his eyes. “Is that so? Well, I assure you, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It happens often here—books have a certain... effect on people.”

The corners of Lena’s mouth twitched into a smile, a mix of embarrassment and intrigue coloring her cheeks. “Well, I guess I should be grateful it’s just a mild case of biblio-induced infatuation, then.”

Her attempt at humor seemed to bridge the gap between them, a silent acknowledgment of the tension they both felt. Alex’s smile was slow and deliberate, the kind that suggested he was both a cause and cure for the symptoms she described.

She didn’t understand why he was causing this reaction in her. She’d seen good-looking men before. None ever looked at her like she was dessert and he wanted to gobble her up. Then a thought sprung into her mind.

Name-forgetting orgasms.

She wondered if Alex could give those. She almost wanted to ask but she still had enough common sense to stop herself. She followed him back to the register and tried to get her mind out of the gutter and her brain back in working order.

“There’s no charge for the infatuation, but for the book, let’s say thirty-five dollars,” he said, his voice holding a note of warmth that felt like an invitation.

Holy moly. If the place got any hotter those books were going up in flames.

Lena laughed. Hot, funny, and possibly single. She handed over the money, and he held her fingers in his grasp. The heat from his hand sent electricity up her arm.

“You wouldn’t happen to have a signed copy would you?” she asked, breathless. “I really want it.”

His intense gaze held her immobile. Her heart thudded hard in her chest and when he licked his lip she almost melted to the floor.

“You really want it?”

God, yes!

FOUR

Alex had to fight his wolf down. His animal urged him to take Lena home, get her naked, and stamp himself all over her.

Mate.

Now.

Mine.

“I can see what I can do about getting you a signed copy for a price,” he heard himself say. The last thing on his mind was a book. Lena had paid. He had a feeling his mother had set him up, and for once, he was glad she had. Lena was his mate. And he wasn’t letting her go.

The air between them was electric, charged with an energy that spoke of more sexual tension than he’d ever experienced in his life.

As she laughed, the sound of it danced around the shop, wrapping itself around him, playful and light. The sight of her smile, the warmth in her eyes—it all hit him with the force of a new revelation, one that he realized he was powerless to ignore. She was the one. There was no fighting it. No more looking for a woman he didn’t know if he’d ever meet. She was it. Lena.

He had always prided himself on control, on keeping his primal instincts in check. But Lena, with her easy humor, sexy lips, and beautiful eyes, tempted him in ways he hadn’t anticipated. She was like a book he couldn’t put down, each moment with her compelling him to turn to the next page, to discover more.

As she began to turn away, ready to leave, Alex found the words spilling from him with an urgency he rarely allowed himself to feel.

“Wait, Lena,” he called out, and she paused, looking over her shoulder, an inquisitive arch to her brow.

“Yes?”

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