Page 87 of Gwen's Delta

He’d stepped through the door, expecting to go straight to the counter, pay for his manual and leave.

For some reason, the bookstore was busier than it had been when he’d come in with Merlin the first time. Gwen was busy behind the counter with a couple of customers. Not wanting to cut in, Duff wandered around the store, reading titles of what appeared to be old books, wondering who would want to buy something that smelled of mold and would probably fall apart the first time they opened it.

He’d gone to the back of the store and had rounded the end of a row when he saw her.

The woman had dark red hair. She wore a long, flowing skirt that wrapped around her ankles and a peasant-style blouse that fell off her shoulders. The swells of her breasts seemed to be the only thing keeping the blouse from falling down around her waist.

Balancing precariously on the top of the stepladder, she hummed softly, a smile on her face as she carefully placed old tomes onto the shelf, her long, delicate fingers holding the old books like delicate china. He was captivated by those fingers, the color of her hair, the swell of her breasts. Everything about a woman he didn’t know.

She was beautiful.

In that single moment, the hard shell around his heart cracked. He found himself wanting something he hadn’t wanted in a long time. The touch of a woman’s hand. Not the kind that lasted only a night. The kind that lasted every night.

He shook his head.

No. He didn’t deserve that kind of relationship. Hadn’t he proven that the first time he’d tried? The familiar sadness and guilt rose up to envelop him in memories that never seemed to fade.

He turned to walk away when he heard a high-pitched squeal.

Duff spun.

The woman on the stepladder teetered on one heel, tried to regain her balance and failed.

His heart stopped for a second, then Duff rushed forward, reaching out. He caught the beauty in his arms.

The moment she hit his chest, he knew something important had just happened. He stared down into her eyes, his breath catching and holding in his chest.

She stared back, her green eyes widening, a smile replacing the shock of her fall. The fiery-haired woman wrapped her arms around his neck and brushed her lips across his.

The electricity that shot through him could not have been more shocking. He felt it all the way to the center of his being, pushing through the new crack in that wall around his heart.

He bent to claim more of her mouth, tasting her essence, pushing past her teeth to caress her tongue.

The kiss could have gone on much longer, but an elderly customer appeared at the end of the row and cleared her throat. “I just had a quick question for the lady,” she said and gave them a crooked smile. “I could come back.”

Across the store, Gwen’s voice sounded out loud. “Duff? Did I see you come in?”

He set the redhead on her feet.

She looked up into his eyes. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For saving me.” With a wink, she turned to help the woman.

“Duff?” Gwen called out again.

Duff left the ladies talking and joined Gwen at the counter where he paid for his manual. When he went back to the aisle where he’d seen the redhead, she was gone. He searched the rest of the aisles and couldn’t find her. He would have asked Gwen about her, but another customer claimed her attention.

As he left the little bookstore, he wondered if he’d just walked away from what could have been…what? A different ending to the story of his life?

Had he succumbed to the magic of old books and antiquities?

Duff shrugged. Maybe it was time he got back into the dating scene. His teammates had been after him to let them set him up with one of their girls’ friends.

If he met someone like the redhead in the bookstore, it might be worth the hassle.

What the hell. He’d let them give it a shot.

After all, his Delta Force teammates had his six. They wouldn’t steer him wrong.

They were his brothers.

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