Page 124 of Somebody's Watching Me
The rain cascaded in sheets behind him, blurring the world, and he debated his reply for a second. “I guess it is time for us to talk.”
Chapter 27
“I’m sorry about the rain.”
He’d apologized for the downpour at least a dozen times since they sought shelter in the bookshop. All the exterior awnings around Firewater were filled to capacity seconds after the first drop fell, forcing the rest of the party to hide in the various eateries and stores.
But those places weren’t an option for his girl, and he’d hauled Annabeth through what was nothing short of a monsoon to the only place she would feel safe.
“And I’m sorry we had to run all the way over here,” she replied, pushing herself up to sit on the edge of the counter as the power flickered and then went out totally. “Thank you for knowing I couldn’t be crowded in with other people.”
Rowan raised the wolf mask to settle on his forehead, unable to stop himself from staring at the tops of her exposed thighs. The dress, the boots, thatcome fuck megrin she’d worn all night were wreaking havoc on him. “Where did the witch hat go?”
“Lost in the rain.”
Lightning danced around the shop, the thunder rattling the windowpanes and bookshelves. “Mother Nature is on it tonight,” hesaid, going from window to window and lowering the shades. They didn’t need the wind to join in on the action and send something crashing through. “As was Jamison. What the hell was up with that dress?”
They shared a smile. Jamison wasn’t known to be subtle.
“Did Liam react when she walked into the room?”
Rowan rolled his eyes. “That’s one way to put it.”
“Some outfits are created to drive a man crazy.”
Like the one she was wearing. He didn’t dare approach her as he finished with the windows. In the dark, the shop bordered on small, and he needed some space, or else he might do something that would delay their departure even longer.
At a loss on what to do with himself, he caroused the shelves of books lining the walls. There was always the sofa in the back of the shop where he usually sat, but he didn’t want to get it wet. She was hosting a book club at the end of the week, and his soaked clothes would ruin the antique.
“What all kinds of books are over here?”
“Mainly romance. Historical, paranormal, contemporary.” She pointed at the shelves as she listed each genre. “Then we have the ones that are trending currently, like why choose, stalker, and mafia.”
“Why choose?”
“One girl, multiple guys.”
Rowan quirked an eyebrow, leaning in to look at the titles more closely. Jesus. He’d never thought of himself as sexually inexperienced, but the cover of the book on display appeared to have what very much looked like a couple of spider humanoids surrounding one woman.
“These are spiders.” He pointed to the book. “Spiders can’t have sex with human women.”
“Oh, whatever. People love it. I have an entire section on monster romance.”
“Monster romance?” Rowan tried keeping a straight face. “You’re joking.”
“Don’t kink shame!”
“That’s a kink?”
“Of course, it is. Where have you been?”
“Obviously not fucking monsters.” He grinned at how serious she was being. “Do you want to fuck a monster?”
“No,” she replied, not at all amused. “That’s not what I’m into.”
“What are you into? The whole multiple partner thing?” He searched more of the shelves, the thoughts of sharing her poking at his territorial side. “And is it one at a time or all at once?”
“You’re being judgmental again.”
