He shook his head. “Read that one in high school. It wasn’t for me.”
She placed the book on the shelf and turned to him, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “To find the perfect romance, I’ll need to know a little bit more about you.”
Was she hitting on him? It had been so long since he’d played that game, he wasn’t sure of his next move.
Tired of sitting on the sidelines waiting for his life to restart, he decided to take a chance. What was the worst thing that could happen? She’d walk away leaving him with a hard-on he wasn’t sure he was ready to act on? At least he’d have felt something other than loneliness and grief.
“Not much to tell. I’m home on leave.”
“You’re a soldier?” Her smile widened. “Let me guess. Special Forces.”
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He couldn’t tell from her reaction if she was one of those women who jumped into bed with a man because he wore a uniform or ran in the other direction. Part of him hoped it was the former. “Army ranger.”
“No kidding?” Laughing, she scanned the shelves before selecting another paperback. “This one should be just right for you.”
She handed him the book. The cover showed a man’s naked chest with dog tags hanging around his neck.
“He’s a soldier, a SEAL, and she’s a nurse,” she said. “They have hot sex, overcome a few challenges and fall in love.”
“The hot sex part sounds good.” He set the book back on the shelf. “But I’m not looking for a fairy-tale ending.”
She handed him back the first book. “Then maybe you should stick with erotica.”
Her fingers brushed his, sending shock waves through his body. He let her hand linger a moment, not wanting to let the feeling go. Logan glanced up at her and saw the heat in her eyes. He knew he’d made the right call. Whatever was happening here wasn’t one-sided.
He shook his head. “I’m not into whips.”
“So just hot sex?” She turned back to the bookshelf and he instantly missed the physical connection. He wanted her hands on him and it didn’t matter where.
He watched her index finger tap her lips as she scanned the books. His gaze zeroed in on her mouth and for a second all he could think about was what she would taste like.
“Just sex,” he managed.
“I’m sure we can do better than ‘just sex.’ Don’t you want to leave yourself open to new experiences? We can find something wild that doesn’t include whips.”
“Don’t think I’m ready for that,” he said truthfully. He was in uncharted territory—flirting with a mysterious stranger. He should probably walk away now before it went any further.
But his feet refused to move. Excitement and anticipation pumped through him for the first time since he’d set foot in Mount Pleasant. If he couldn’t ship out with his team, maybe this was the next-best thing.
“But plain old hot sex I can handle,” he added, praying that wasn’t a lie.
She hesitated for the first time since he’d entered the store. Had he said the wrong thing? Gone too far?
“Are you going to walk away without telling me your name because I’m not into whips?” he asked, hoping to spark the laughter he’d seen in her eyes just moments ago.
“What if I told you I could convince you to give it a try?” The uncertainty disappeared, but hell if her expression wasn’t serious.
“Are you really into—”
“No, I was teasing. Whips aren’t my thing,” she said smiling. “And I’m Sadie.”
“Logan.” He ran a hand up and down the back of his neck. “But now I’m kind of curious how you’d convince me.”
Sadie laughed. The sound was like a drug. It drew him in and left him wanting more.
“I’d start by reading to you.” She took the book from his hands and opened to the middle.
“‘That’s right, baby,’” she read. “‘Harder. Please.’”
He didn’t think it was possible for him to get more turned on, but the combination of her husky voice and bright, laughing expression took him up a notch. Given that her eyes were fixed on the book, he didn’t think she’d noticed.
But that hadn’t stopped him from picking up on her response. His gaze swept over her, settling on her breasts. Either she was freezing in the unair-conditioned store or her nipples were begging for attention.
“‘I want you to drive your hard...’”
She looked up at him, catching him with his gaze locked on her chest. Shit. He quickly looked away.
“Too much for a morning reading at Main Street Books?”
“No,” he said with a dry laugh, running a hand through his hair. “It is just that I haven’t done this in a while. Flirting.”
She nodded, closing the book. “Just got out of a relationship?”
“Something like that. I’m a—”
He couldn’t say the word. For the first time in months someone had looked at him with something other than pity. If he said the word widower the laughter would vanish. And then she’d leave. He might not be sure where this was going, but he didn’t want her to disappear.
It had been over a year since he’d lost his wife to cancer. Before she’d slipped away, she’d been sick. For eighteen long months, his world had revolved around illness, pain, loss and pity—even from his teammates. Not a hint of laughter.
He wanted to move forward. After his last mission, he didn’t have a choice. His grief had distracted him at the worst possible moment. He needed to add some lightness back into his life.
“It’s a long story,” he added.
She turned her head to one side, studying him. “One that explains why you’re hiding from a group of women?”
He blinked. “How did you know?”
“I saw your covert entrance and the group of ladies across the street. Pretty sneaky. Although next time you might want to choose the nonfiction section.” Her tone was friendly, but no longer teasing. “Why are they after you?”
“I’ll tell you,” he said, determined to hear her laugh again. “But first, I need your word you won’t join forces with them.”
She lowered her voice as if they were discussing a top-secret mission. “I promise.”
“They’re trying to raffle me off to the highest bidder.”
Sadie let out a bark of laughter, raising her hand to her mouth. “And you’re not for sale?”
“No, ma’am.” He shook his head. “But those women? Man, they’re relentless. If my team found out? I’d never be able to live that one down.”
The bell over the door rang. Sadie stepped back and peered around the last bookshelf in the section. From there, he suspected she could see the front door.
“They’re in the store.” She returned to the romance/erotica section and scooped up her purse. “We need to get you out of here. We can’t have a tough soldier like you become the laughingstock of your team.”
She took his hand and pulled him along behind her. “Come with me. I’m parked out back.”
Hand in hand, Logan followed her through the bookshelf maze. He knew they weren’t in any real danger, but his heart raced. What would this wild, sexy woman do next?
Sadie