Page 7

W hen the store closed that night, Waverly was more herself. Her confident online presence was shining through. She was gleeful and bubbly about the success of the Valentine's Day signing event.

We’d sold out of my books and several others throughout the day. She’d been overwhelmed but seemed to thrive in the chaos. She had immediately started a pre-order for signed copies that I could send her at a later date.

As she closed and locked the door behind the last customer she turned grinning at me, eyes sparkling, as I looked down at her with affection.

“That was the best event I’ve ever had. Thank you so much for agreeing to this.” she stepped into me, wrapping her arms around me in a hug and my body froze, finally feeling her curves pressing into me, stealing my breath for a moment.

And I’d been so proud of myself. I’d not killed anyone for touching her today.

My arms wrapped around her drawing her closer to me, pressing her tighter against me before she could back away.

“I’m glad I could help, sweetheart.” I couldn’t stop myself from murmuring the endearment.

“You probably have big plans for the evening in the city, huh?” she asked, backing up, gazing up at me with those eyes of hers.

“No, actually. I’m a pretty low-key guy. What about yourself?” I asked, trying to hide the fact that her moving away from me didn’t rock me to my core. I needed her against me again, immediately.

Her head moved as she took in the store adoringly, still basking in the success of the day.

“I’ll probably save restocking and reorganizing until tomorrow morning.” she informed me. “I may go home, reread your book, and have a glass of wine. Maybe a bubble bath.”

My body tensed. Fuck . Waverly in a bathtub. Wish I’d had access to get cameras into her apartment.

Fucking hell, Garrett . I thought to myself. That was crossing some boundaries. I may be an obsessed stalker at this point, but apparently I drew the line at observing her naked without her knowledge.

See, I was perfectly sane. This was fine.

“So…” I began, my voice lower, knowing the next steps in my plan. I was actually nervous, but it was now or never. She hadn’t been able to hide her attraction to me all day. Still oblivious to my little secret. She was about to get the second shock of the day.

I knew what this woman liked. I had inside knowledge of things she’d told me about loving and added them to the book I’d written. Some of the scenes I’d written were explicitly to get a reaction from her, seeing what she’d craved.

Waverly had admitted so many things to me. We'd discussed what she fantasized about sexually, her wildest dreams written in my books, and I’d encouraged her detailing the confessions.

Never guessing the person she was telling was a living embodiment of the men in the books she loved.

“Well, I can let you out now…” she trailed off, seeming reluctant to say goodbye. I smirked at the hesitation, thankful she was as drawn to me as I was to her. “Or I could grab my things and we could walk some of the way? If the hotel is close?”

Hotel. I lived across the street from her. My naive little muse.

“I’ll walk with you.” I answered immediately, needing to get her away from me for a few moments. “Take your time, wrap things up.”

“I do need to send a couple of emails. I’ll just be a few minutes.” Then she turned, disappearing down the small hall to her office.

It was time.