Page 108 of Will Bark for Pizza
“It needs bookshelves,” she said thoughtfully. “Built-ins across that long wall.” She motioned to the wall opposite the bathroom and kitchenette. “Some to the ceiling. Some just halfway so there’s surface space. I’d put a big, fluffy couch over there. One with an ottoman big enough for Husker to sleep on if he wanted. And a big, L-shaped desk over there with a whiteboard above it. Oh, and string lights.”
“Lights?”
“Yeah, like white Christmas lights. All along the ceiling, like a cozy border. But unlike the ones downstairs, these would actually work.”
“I can fix this space up,” I offered.
“It’s not exactly a top priority,” she said, sighing. She turned her attention to a box beside her, and opened it. “Or a priority at all. It may not be in my budget for a while.”
“At the very least, you deserve a fresh coat of paint and some updated flooring,” I said. Nana wouldlikely smack me upside the head for getting too involved, but I had no intention of making Kira pay for a single renovation or upgrade. It might be a few weeks before the sale was final, but I had liberties as the new landlord. “I’d do the same even if I were leasing to someone else.”
Kira trained her gaze on me, the look suggesting she saw right through my lie, but wasn’t calling me out for it. Good thing, too, considering I had plans that exceeded a simple facelift. If the book club could open their wallets, I could too.
“We need to talk about the store space, too.”
“Everyone has great ideas,” Kira said, referring to the gaggle of book club members who were ready and willing to invest in the bookstore. “But a lot of those ideas add up.”
“It’s a good thing you know a general contractor who won’t charge you an arm and leg.”
Kira set down the latest book she fished out of a box near the kitchenette, and looked at me. “Why are you doing this, Beck?”
“Doing what?”
“Going out of your way—” Kira froze, her eyes widening with panic. I followed her unmoving gaze over my shoulder to the stack of boxes behind me, discovering a large wolf spider perched on top.
“Guess I should add an exterminator to the to-do list.” Kira didn’t break a smile or eye contact with the critter. “Why don’t you head downstairs?”
“And leave you with Charlie?”
“You two know each other?”
“This isn’t funny.”
I didn’t bother hiding my smile as I slowly turned,shuffling away from the spider so I could make a plan to remove it without startling it back into hiding.
“It’s a little funny.”
“Stop laughing.” Kira smacked my arm with the back of her hand. “It’s not—ahhh!”
She jumped me.
One second Kira was standing beside me, her fearful gaze locked on the spider. The next, her body was wrapped around me like a pretzel.
Her arms had a death grip around my neck. Her thighs gripped my hips like a vise, awakening everything below my belt. I was too distracted by the floral scent of her shampoo to think straight. To fight the impulses taking over. Fuck, I couldn’t think about anything other than the way her body was suctioned to mine. How it might feel if we were to shed all these fucking annoying layers?—
“Is she gone?” Kira whispered against my neck.
“She?”
“Female spiders kill off their man after they mate with him. I’m pretty sure it’s a she spider.”
“You’re thinking of a praying mantis.”
“Stop laughing,” she said, gently pounding her fist into my back as I held her to me. I selfishly didn’t want to put her down. There was nothingjust friendsabout the chemistry crackling between us, or the way her body perfectly and warmly fit against mine like two perfectly shaped puzzle pieces. “And it’s true. Some female spiders actuallyeattheir mates once they’re done with them.”
“How do you know this?”
She pulled her face from the crook of my neck. Several strands of her ponytail got caught in my beard, and shepulled them free. Those fiery fingertips left a blazing trail in their gentle wake.
