Page 36 of Pumpkin
Pumpkinhad just walked into her store.
Pumpkin heldthe door open for the couple as they departed. He was wearing a black shirt, his cut, jeans, and boots. He had the same cane as the night before, but he wasn’t using it. Just holding it.
Dosia’s entire body felt like it was set aflame as his eyes landed on her behind the counter and that devilish smile appeared on his face. Her heart went into overdrive as he approached. He seemed steady onhis feet, which was good. She was glad his bolting across the restaurant the night before hadn’t hurt him any.
Then her eyes landed on his cut, the leather of the vest stretched over his wide shoulder muscles. The heat on her face went from arousal to embarrassment as she realized she had his jacket over the back of the chair she was sitting on. Sheknewshe shouldn’t have worn it to work that morning. She justknewit. But it had been right there, and it smelled so good, like him, and before she’d known what she was doing, Dosia had been putting the jacket on and rushing out of the house before anyone in her family could see her.
Calliope either hadn’t seen it—too distracted by seaweed—or had ignored it.
But Pumpkin would definitely see it and know it for what it was if she stood up. What was she supposed to say? It wasn’t like she’d known he’d be stopping by and the reason she had it with her was to give it back to him!
Well, it was official. She just was not standing up. The entire time he was here, her ass would be planted in this seat. She wasn’t moving an inch.
Pumpkin whistled as he took a slow spin, eyeing her bookstore. “I haven’t been in here in a while, but this place looks amazing. Did you do all this?”
Dosia shook her head. “I only took over last week. My aunt did most of it after she took it over from my grandparents.”
“It really does look amazing,” he repeated.
“I… What are you… I mean, I can’t believe you’re here.”
“What? In a bookstore?” He raised an eyebrow. “Did you think I was just some dumb grunt? I read.”
At this rate, Dosia’s embarrassment would never die down. “No, I meant… I’m just surprised. I hadn’t told you where I worked.”
“I wanted to see you.” He said it like it was so simple, as easy as one-two-three. He wanted to see her and so here he was. Simple, uncomplicated, and yet Dosia knew he had to have done some work to track her down. He didn’t have her full name. Only her address. Maybe he knew her grandparents?
As Dosia stared at him, wordless, Pumpkin walked over to the Classics bin. Most were second-hand, but all were in pristine condition. Dosia’s heart raced even faster when his large hand picked up a copy ofBeowulf: Verse and Translation.
She shouldn’t care what he thought of her bookstore. She really shouldn’t. But his approval made her spine straighten and her cheeks flush. Despite that she’d given birth to a child with half his DNA, Dosia had only spent a handful of hours in this man’s presence. Less than a day when added up.
Yet he had some invisible hold over her that felt stronger than spider webbing.
Putting the book down, he wandered to the left, away from where Dosia sat behind the counter. They were alone in the store, yet she felt like the space between them was only getting smaller. Her legs twitched as if to go to him, but her ass remained firmly planted in her chair.
He stopped in front of the Romance section. “Ah, the shirtless man books.” He picked one up with a nearly naked Highlander on the front cover. Dosia recognized it immediately, even from her distance. “Personally, I’ve never understood the appeal of reading romance.” His smile was utterly wicked as he said, “Why read about doing such naughty things when you can actually be doing it?”
Dosia’s nipples tightened and wetness grew between her legs at the promise of such naughty things in his voice. She suddenly had a vision of him holding her up against the stacks while he thrust inside her…
Pumpkin’s smile widened and Dosia had to cover her cheeks or risk lighting the store on fire with her embarrassment.
“Um, some of us don’t have that option.”
Pumpkin put the book back and approached her. Putting his hands on the counter, he leaned in, and that heady scent of man, mint, and leather came wafting towards her. Dosia’s pussy literally pulsed as if trying to gain his attention.
“Except you’re no longer one of them.”
Dosia blinked, trying to remember what she’d said to him to figureout what he meant by that statement. Her brain simply wasn’t computing. “What…?”
“You said ‘us’.” There was a twitch of his lips that hinted he was having fun and was entirely aware of the effect he was having on her. “Meaning that you’re included in your assertion that some people don’t have the option to do such naughty things with a partner and their only option is to read about them.”
Dosia shook her head, because that was not what she had meant at all. There were a lot of people who read romance for all sorts of reasons, not just single women. She’d been stating one of the reasons whysheread romance.
He kept speaking, his voice a low tenor. Like liquid sex. “My point is that you never have to worry about that again. Read all the books you want, but consider them research, not fantasy.” His dark eyes loomed over her as if he was mentally undressing her. “I will happily be your puppet, and together, we can do every naughty, depraved, wicked act you’ve ever dreamed of.”
It was official. Dosia was going to Hell, becausedamn, that sounded like an amazing idea. The question of “right now” was stopped from coming out of her mouth when the cowbell over the door rang again. Both Dosia and Pumpkin turned at the sound, and for the second time in less than ten minutes, Dosia froze as Calliope and JJ walked into the store.
At first,Pumpkin didn’t think much of the mother and daughter who entered the bookstore. He was more disappointed at the interruption than anything. Not that his body was in any condition to actually follow through with his offer to let her reenact her darkest fantasies with him. His dick, though, wasn’t caring, and Pumpkin was well aware that his lower brain had been in charge of him since the moment he’d entered Dosia’s store.
