Uncovering Annabelle (4 page)

Her lips were lush. There was no other way
to put it. They were made for kissing and giving pleasure. Having
finally tasted them, he knew he wanted more. Much more. As much as
she would give him. He could easily imagine those lips working
their way down his body and tasting him.
Everywhere.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts.
Walking across the parking lot in full view of the town was not the
place to have a hard-on. He was just glad he had pulled on a work
shirt over his tank top. The tails of the shirt helped to cover the
large ridge at the front of his jeans. It was Annabelle’s fault for
being so damn sexy.

His fingers itched to strip her out of her
prim little librarian’s outfit and carry her to bed. She was built
like a pinup model from the forties and fifties, lush and full. Her
breasts were large, her hips and butt would be a handful. He
grinned at the thought. Good thing he had big hands. She was built
for him.

She hid her curves under unstructured
dresses and long skirts with tunic tops. Which was fine by him. He
didn’t want any other man getting the idea to try to entice
Annabelle. In his mind, she was already his, and he aimed to have
her. He couldn’t wait until she was in his bed and he could spend
hours examining and sating himself with her luscious body.

He’d been trying to figure out the best way
to ask her out. Harold’s misfortune had turned into Mike’s
opportunity to spend more time with her. They were going to have
dinner this evening.

But first things first. He pulled his
toolbox out of the back of his truck and strode back toward the
library. He whistled as he walked, feeling better than he had in a
long time. He’d made his move. Now Annabelle knew he was
interested. The trick would be to coax her out of her shell. He was
looking forward to the challenge. Annabelle was a woman made for
loving—his loving.

Chapter
Two

Annabelle placed a sandwich and a bottle of
water on the counter. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, she ate lunch
at the library. She had two part-time employees, but budgetary
restrictions meant she was alone until one o’clock on these three
days. It was usually quiet in the mornings, but a lot of people
liked to run into the library on their lunch hours, and she wanted
it to be open for them. She didn’t mind eating at the front
counter, and the library patrons didn’t mind either. In fact, some
of her regulars had started bringing her treats for lunch. She
loved Mrs. Casey’s apple muffins, and Mr. Johnson’s wife made the
best scones, and always sent along fresh homemade strawberry jam to
have with them.

Today was different. She just couldn’t seem
to settle in at the front desk. It was all Mike’s fault. It was
just her luck that he’d caught her when she’d snuck back to her
office to grab some papers and plug in the fan. She was just
thankful none of the library regulars had come looking for her.
That would have been embarrassing and would have led to all kinds
of gossip and speculation.

She could hear the noise from the back as he
worked—the sound of metal on metal as he tinkered with the
air-conditioning unit, followed by the muttering of his voice. Even
when he was swearing he sounded sexy.

It all came back to
the kiss
. If
she’d been aware of him before, now she was hypersensitive. She
touched her fingers to her lips. She could still feel the softness
of Mike’s mouth against hers, taste him. Until this morning, it had
only been a dream. A fantasy. Now she felt hot and achy and knew it
was due to more than the lack of air-conditioning. There was only
one cure for what ailed her. Sex—sex with Mike.

Annabelle recognized that she’d never really
had the opportunity or inclination to discover her sexuality. She’d
been an only child, born to an older couple. To say that she’d been
a surprise to them was an understatement. They’d loved her, she’d
never doubted that, but they’d been strict and set in their ways
and she hadn’t been the kind of child who challenged their
authority.

She’d gone away to college to study and get
her degree. Suddenly free to do as she chose, Annabelle had finally
had her first boyfriend and lover. But when her father had died
suddenly of a heart attack she’d moved back home. She’d taken a job
in the local library and cared for her mother, who’d never really
recovered from her husband’s death. When her mother passed away a
year ago, Annabelle had been sad, but determined to finally start
living her own life.

The advertisement for a librarian in
Summersville had been a godsend. When she’d secured the position,
she’d sold her childhood home and moved. She’d wanted a fresh start
in a place where no one knew her.

The one problem she hadn’t anticipated,
which she really should have, was that nothing had changed. Sure,
she could move to a new place, but she was the same old Annabelle.
Wearing clothing her parents would approve of and not bringing any
unnecessary attention to herself. Well, that wasn’t quite true.
She’d drawn quite a bit of attention to herself. None of it
wanted.

It had started the first time she’d seen
Mike. He’d been going into city hall when she’d been coming out.
She’d been excited at signing her contract with the town and had
run straight into him as she’d hurried out the front door. He’d
caught her easily before she had a chance to fall, and when she’d
looked up to thank him, she’d been struck dumb. She’d never
experienced such instant attraction to a man. Her whole body had
gone on alert, and she’d tried to absorb everything about him.
Unfortunately for her, he’d thought she’d been hurt or was ill and
had called out to Dr. James, who had just happened to be walking
by.

After all these months, she could still feel
the embarrassment. Annabelle had quickly assured them she was fine,
thanked them for their concern, and hurried back to her apartment.
She’d replayed the scene over and over in her head in a
never-ending loop. She wished she were one of those women who could
have laughed off the situation with a witty or funny comment. The
scene had haunted her waking hours for weeks.

From then on it had only gotten worse. She’d
spilled her coffee on Mike at a town meeting when he’d stopped to
speak to her. Then there was the time she tripped walking up the
stairs at city hall because she’d been too busy looking at him to
pay attention to where she was going.

The incidents were endless.

Mike probably assumed she was clumsy, and
she certainly hadn’t done anything to change that assumption this
morning. Her head was still tender where she’d smacked it on the
edge of her desk. But better that than him suspecting the truth.
She’d never live it down if he found out she’d been ogling him for
months.

Now, for some unexplained reason, he was
attracted to her. He wanted her. And there was no denying she
wanted him. She picked up her peanut butter sandwich and nibbled on
a corner. If there were some way to keep their affair a secret,
maybe it would work. They were both single adults. It was nobody’s
business but theirs if they slept together. And if no one else
knew, well then, she wouldn’t have to be embarrassed when it
ended.

This was the opportunity she’d been waiting
for. A chance to experience everything she’d always been curious
about. To try things she’d always wondered about. Dreamed
about.

Somehow, she knew that Mike could make her
feel things she’d never had before. And she wanted to feel them.
Had waited long enough to experience them. This was her time. And
better still, she would get full, uninhibited access to Mike’s
body. There were things she’d always wanted to do. Fantasies she
wanted to fulfill. Just the thought made her nipples tighten. To
cool her thoughts down she reached for the water bottle and took a
long sip.

The light brush of something on her neck
made her jerk forward. She tried to swallow the mouthful of water
that she’d just taken, but ended up choking instead. She coughed
and sputtered, trying to regain her breath. A large hand tapped her
gently on the back, and she knew who it was without even having to
look. Why did Mike always seem to see her at her worst?

She turned and glared up at him through
watery eyes. He didn’t look the least bit contrite. He looked
. . . amused. She jumped to her feet. “What do you think
you’re doing, sneaking up on me like that?” She placed her hands on
her hips and waited for him to explain himself. Her defiant pose
was ruined when she coughed once more, and then had to swipe at the
tears in her eyes.

“I had to taste that little space at the
back of your neck.” He reached out and wrapped his hand around her
nape, his fingers caressing the small area left vulnerable between
her blouse and hairline. “It looked so tempting with you leaning
forward that I couldn’t help myself.”

Annabelle was stunned. She’d never
considered her neck to be an erogenous zone before. It was, after
all, just a neck. But now she could feel his fingers moving slowly
back and forth across her skin. The caress made her feel tingly all
over. Almost against her will, she found herself moving closer to
him. Her neck arched to one side. She wanted him to kiss her there
again. Lick her. Bite her.

Oh, Lord. The man was making her crazy. They
had to come to some agreement before she spontaneously combusted.
He had started this, but she would darn well finish it. Reaching
out, she tentatively ran her index finger up his chest. His muscles
were hard, and his shirt was slightly damp with sweat. His hand
stilled at the back of her neck and his breathing deepened.

“What are you doing, Annabelle?” His voice
was deep and husky.

She gave him what she hoped was a seductive
look. “You started something I want to explore further
. . .”

Before she could say anything more, his arms
encircled her and his lips covered hers. There was no tentative
seeking this time. This was as carnal as it could get. He swept
inside her mouth, laying claim to it. His tongue, hot and moist,
dueled with hers in a most primal way.

Again and again, he plunged his tongue into
her mouth, mating with hers. The heat and sensual sensations
threatened to overwhelm her. Annabelle closed her eyes and gave
herself up to the moment. She was consumed by the maelstrom of
desires coursing through her.

His hands moved from around her waist and
slid down to cover her behind. She gasped and then moaned when he
pulled her close. He was aroused, his thick erection pressing
against her stomach. It was difficult for her to believe she was
the cause of his arousal.

Then she couldn’t think at all.

With his hands on her bottom, he rocked her
hips against his erection in a seductive motion. It wasn’t long
before she was moving on her own. Closer, she needed to get closer.
Their breathing was labored and hard.

The front door slammed shut and Mike jerked
back as if someone had yanked him away. Annabelle started to sway,
her balance unstable after that mind-numbing kiss. Gasping for air,
she tried to catch her breath. Her head was spinning. Mike reached
out with one hand to steady her. They could hear voices closing in
on them. Annabelle stared at him in horror.

She couldn’t let the library patrons see her
like this. Anyone with half a brain would be able to tell what
they’d been doing. She’d be the subject of local gossip. Worse, it
might affect her job.

He pushed her toward the ladies’ room in the
back. “Go. Hurry and pull yourself together and I’ll stall them.”
Grateful, she fled.

She pushed into the bathroom and shut the
door firmly behind her. That was too close for comfort. She’d lost
all semblance of common sense. What had she been thinking to kiss
Mike like that, and while she was working? Obviously, she hadn’t
been thinking straight at all. And it wasn’t entirely her fault. No
woman could be expected to keep her equilibrium when Mike Sloan was
kissing her.

Annabelle leaned her hands on the cool
porcelain sink. She took a deep breath, raised her head and looked
at her reflection in the mirror, almost afraid of what she would
see. The woman staring back at her was not the one she was familiar
with. This was the one from her dreams, the one not afraid to
embrace her sexuality and go after the man she wanted.

The woman in the mirror was flushed, her
eyes bright, almost feverish, and her lips red and swollen. Her
breathing was shallow, causing her breasts to push against her
blouse. She looked hot. She wanted more. Some of her hair had come
loose from her bun and made her look almost wanton. She ached and
throbbed in intimate places. This was a woman ready for the
bedroom, not the library.

But she wasn’t home. She was at work.

Annabelle turned on the cold water tap and
dampened a paper towel. She ran it over her face and neck, doing
her best to cool her heated skin. As drops of water trickled down
her neck, she remembered the feel of Mike’s hand and moaned. This
wouldn’t do. She tossed the paper towel away.

She removed her glasses and set them on the
side of the sink. Cupping the water in her hands, she splashed it
over her face until the warm flush on her skin subsided.

She quickly dried her face and gave herself
a critical stare in the mirror, squinting to get a better picture.
She looked more like herself. With years of practice behind her,
she quickly took down her hair and twisted it back into its
habitual style. She jammed the clip back in to hold it in place.
Annabelle tucked her blouse back into her skirt, donned her glasses
and gave herself one last glance. Satisfied she no longer looked
like a woman who’d been engaged in a sensual activity, she took a
fortifying breath and left the bathroom.

As she approached the desk, she heard
ladies’ voices followed by Mike’s deep rumble. She plastered a
smile on her face as she addressed the woman wearing the
wide-brimmed straw hat and the long, flowered dress. “Mrs. Casey,
how are you today?” Annabelle took her position behind her desk.
She didn’t glance at Mike, but she could feel his presence. She
tried to ignore it.