Page 11 of No Shelf Control
I hesitate for a long moment. "What do you think happened?" I finally ask, curious what she's come up.
"I think you were either touched or treated inappropriately at an event by a reader," she says. "From what I've heard, it's been happening more frequently at reader events."
"Is that what you think?"
"Yes. Am I right?"
"Not even close," I say.
"What the fuck? Seriously?" Her brows furrow. "Then what's the issue?"
"The issue is that I said no and you refuse to hear it."
"River!" The way she stomps her foot when she's frustrated does not make me want to fuck her any less, just so we're clear about that. "You have to give me something to work with here. How else am I going to change your mind?"
"Simple." I push away from the door, taking a step into her personal space. I'm so close, I feel the heat coming from her body. I feel her sharp intake of breath against my chest. My fingers hook beneath her chin, tipping her head back. "You go out with me. Then and only then will I agree to speak at your book club."
Her gaze turns wild again, panicked. It's the same expression from last time, like the thought of a date is the most terrifying thing she can think of. "You are so annoyin—"
I cut her off by pressing my lips across hers. I know damn well that I shouldn't do it, but she's spluttering and red in the face, and she's so fucking pretty. I need a taste, just one.
My tongue flicks against the seam of her lips. I don't think she means to, but her lips part. And I can't resist stealing a deeper taste. She has the sharpest tongue of anyone I've ever met, but goddamn if that mouth isn't the sweetest thing on this planet. I groan, licking into her mouth.
She kisses me back like she's dying for a taste, her hands clenching into my shirt. My dick throbs, precum spilling into my boxers when her tongue touches mine.
Fucking hell. I want to slip that little dress up her legs and slide into her right here and now.
I nip her bottom lip instead, stepping back.
"Get off my porch before I have you arrested, Jasmine," I murmur, retreating into the house. My dick is so hard, it's in danger of breaking in half at this point. "I mean it."
"You just kissed me."
"Yes, and if you don't want me to do it again, you'll leave." I pull the door closed before I do something insane, like drag her inside and never let her leave. What's one more crime in this little spree we've got going between us?
"I'm not leaving until you agree!" she shouts through the closed door, her voice muffled. "I will camp out here until the end of time, River Jamison. I mean it!"
I laugh to myself because I know damn well that she means it. But if she thinks I'm not willing to play dirty, too, she's wrong. I want her enough to shake her world on its foundations to get what I want. And I have a feeling that's precisely what it's going to take to get through to her.
Maybe that's exactly what I need to do—shake her world on its foundation.
I crack the door, just enough to see her standing there with her hands balled into tight fists and her eyes narrowed as if she's contemplating breaking down the door. "If you haven't agreed to the date or left by the time I'm finished for the day, I'm calling the police, princess. You can explain your philosophies on stalking to a judge."
"You wouldn't dare," she practically hisses at me.
"Try me."
"I'mnotleaving."
"Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you," I say, closing the door in her face again.
"Jerk!" she shouts through the heavy wood.
I just smile to myself, striding back to my office.
Chapter Five
Jasmine
