Banshee Seduction (Montgomery's Sin Book 1) (6 page)

From the grip she had on his T-shirt, she might just yank his hair out by the roots. A nice warmth spread from his chest down past his belly. He bet she was a hair-puller. Wickedly, his mind rolled around the possibilities. And a screamer. He had no objection to a screamer; he prided himself on being able to convert a scream to a purr.

He puffed out another breath and stared at her foot. The beast in him awakened and unfurled, desire shooting hot and fast through his system. She had the neatest little ankles, so slender. He could almost feel the slide of his tongue along her instep, picture his hands cupping her ankles so he could pull her legs wide, inhale her soft scent as he licked his way…

The job required a change of tactic because he needed to get away from her. Fast.

He slipped her dainty foot from the glitzy shoe, resting it against his thigh so she didn’t need to put it on the dirty sidewalk. The gentle pressure of her foot, so near yet so far, made his eyes roll to the back of his head at the instant throb from his rising desire. Shit, he wasn’t sure he was going to survive contact with the little inferno. She was burning him up with the expanding warmth from her tantalizing foot.

Forcing himself to blow out a long, cooling breath while he ignored his inner dragon, he leaned down, gave a gentle twist of the shoe, and unimpeded, the heel slid free. Triumphant, he wrapped his fingers around her calf and whipped his head up expectantly. As he moved, his cheek grazed the inside of her knee. The harsh rasp of his unshaven face against her satin flesh sounded loud in the hush of the alleyway. Ripples from the contact pulsed out over his skin in a hot rush of awareness.

He raised his gaze to meet her glowing azure eyes.

Her leg quivered in his hand, and he swore he felt it heat up. He licked his lips and seriously considered following the path of his earlier thoughts. He could start with his tongue dabbing delicate little…

Whooff!

The ball of flame almost blinded him with its brilliance in the pitch-black of the alley. Empty-handed, he stared at the space she had occupied. She was gone in a flash. Several blinks later, he could still see the imprint of her on the back of his retinas.

He dipped his head and waited a moment to focus on the dainty crystal-encrusted high-heeled shoe in his left hand and the black soot smeared across the fingers of his right one. That answered one question. He’d known she couldn’t be all human, but he’d wondered what the hell she was.

With a furtive glance up and down the deserted alley, he looked back at his hands, lowered his head, and allowed his nostrils to flare and inhale. The distinct aroma of brimstone filled his nose, and as he popped open his lips and dabbled his tongue on the roof of his mouth, her scent flooded him. His mouth twisted into a wide grin, and without conscious thought, smoke streamed from between his lips and out of his nostrils.

Just to be sure, he took a second sniff, threw back his head, and let out a delirious laugh accompanied by a torrent of fire. He didn’t know exactly what she was, but the one thing he knew for certain—she was his mate.

He came to his feet, cradling the tiny shoe in his hand.

Now he just needed to track her down and convince her she was his.

She had to stop chewing her lips; they were starting to fray at the seams. The one day she would have rather worked in the back office than on the front desk in the library, two staff members had called in sick. Saturday morning—of course they were sick. They’d probably spent all of Friday night drinking and getting sick so they didn’t have to come into work on a Saturday morning. At least it was only until lunchtime. She glanced up at the clock. They closed at lunch on a Saturday, but one o’clock seemed so far away.

She blew a breath out between her worn lips and scanned the busy library. What did they say about being careful what you wish for? She’d wished to be back in the library instead of in front of a computer, but all she wanted was peace and quiet. Why couldn’t they all go home so she could think of the gorgeous hunk she’d met and dream of what could have been—if only he hadn’t been a complete ass.

“Ma’am? Hello? Hello?” The bespectacled man in front of her gave an impatient rap of his knuckles on the wooden counter, as though he didn’t consider his nasal voice enough to grab her attention.

Ginny’s normally sweet, patient humor faded in the light of his discourteous manner, and women’s voices jangled a warning in her head. She tried to control her feelings. After all, it wasn’t the little guy’s fault she’d had a bad experience the night before. She’d barely slept because thoughts of a sexy, hot giant had filled her mind and coiled through her dreams.

She plastered on her most gracious smile, the one she reserved for impolite visitors. “Yes, sir. How may I help you?”

“I need a book.” He gave an irritating snuffle.

“Indeed.” Fuckwit. Where on earth did that thought come from? Shocked at her own bad temper and the appalling language coming from within, she smiled even wider. She hoped the invasive voices in her mind would be quashed as she waited for the man to continue.

“Well?”

The aggressive man placed his hands on the counter and stared with piggy eyes through the thick lenses of his glasses, his eyebrows raised in keen expectation.

Concerned she’d missed something, she leaned closer to the counter and pushed her glasses farther up the bridge of her nose to squint at him through her own thick lenses. “I’m sorry, sir, I thought you said you needed a book.”

His sour breath made her move back again. “I do.” He reeled in his face so his chin almost touched his neck, except for the saggy folds of skin in between. “Where is it?”

Confusion beset her. With absolutely no idea of what he wanted, she squinted even harder at him. “Where is what?”

“My book.” He looked so offended.

“Your book?” None the wiser, she blinked at him in the hope he would supply her with something more informative, such as the missing information.

“Yes. I had a text to say my book was ready to pick up. So here I am.”

“Ah.” Enlightenment dawned. She pulled in a deep, calming breath. The little man simply didn’t understand. “Perhaps if you tell me your name?”

“Don’t you know it? You just sent me a text.”

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in…

“No, sir, I’m afraid I don’t know your name. Texts are automated. They’re sent out from the computerized system as the book comes in.” She tried to be patient, she really did, but it had been a bad night and a long morning, and her tolerance was wearing thin. Not helped by the tight-mouthed fool blinking myopically at her as though he waited for her to finish her explanation. She really was done with it, but he obviously expected more.

“There were probably around three hundred texts sent out this morning, sir.”

“He’s a dick.”

“He’s a moron.”

“He’s a moronic dick.”

She slapped herself on the forehead to stop the unwanted voices making rude comments. Really, it wasn’t like her at all to react to someone with such viciousness. Awkward customers were not unusual. She was careful to keep her emotions under control. Normally her inner bitches kept quiet unless really riled, but she was still overwrought from the events of the previous evening, and the man in front of her seemed determined to rub her the wrong way. She just hoped her spiritual sisters didn’t express themselves through her mouth. She tightened her lips to ensure nothing bad escaped them as she waited for his reply.

His pursed mouth barely moved. “Well, there’s no need to be rude.”

Surprise widened her eyes, and she hoped he hadn’t been privy to her thoughts. “I apologize.”

The voices in her head wailed, desperate to escape and show their support, but she battened them down as he gave her a penetrating glower, as though he expected something more from her. Uncomfortable with the intensity in his eyes, Ginny tried to avoid his glare.

He tapped his fingers and pinned her with a direct stare, his thick black brows pulled down over his slitted eyes. “What are you waiting for?”

His unbelievable impoliteness startled her. She clenched her teeth and tried to smile at the same time. It wasn’t going to be a good look, but she was hardly in a beauty competition. She was just trying to keep the raging hags inside under control before they spit obscenities at him. As mildly as she could, she addressed him while women screeched in her brain. “Your name, sir.”

“Ah. Henri D’mon.”

With a sigh of relief, she turned, located his book on the hold shelf, and placed it on the counter, convinced the small polite smile on her face would melt his mean heart.

Wrong. He leaned forward, snatched the book from the counter, and without a backward glance, strode out of the electronic doors, virtually knocking over an elderly lady in the process.

Ginny groaned and glanced at the clock.

It had been a long day already. She blew out another weary sigh. No chance of grabbing a coffee anytime soon, and the lunchtime closure seemed a million hours away.

“Miss?” Oh God. The perky young voice filled her with dread.

“Yes?” She turned, but no one was there. Ginny glanced both ways—no one.

“Miss?” Tiny fingers held onto the edge of the counter, and Ginny cautiously peered over. A small girl stared up at her with huge brown eyes full of soft appeal, and Ginny’s banshee heart melted—a little.

“I want a book.” The cheerful young voice raised her spirits. The day was not yet lost.

“Lovely. What book would you like, sweetie?”

“A book with a kitty on it.”

“Aaaw, kitties.”

“We love kitties.”

“Show the sweet girl the kitties.”

What was wrong with them? One poor night’s sleep, and the spirits couldn’t keep their opinions to themselves.

“A kitty.” She forced a smile, pleased the tiny sweetheart responded with her own gap-toothed grin. She could help the polite darling. She could find her a book with a kitty. Despite the terrible night and the awful start to the day, she could do this. It could only get better.

Happier, Ginny came from behind her counter, held out her hand, delighted as the trusting child slipped her small hand into Ginny’s, and they wandered along to the children’s section.

To bring herself in line with the low-level shelves of children’s books, Ginny squatted and brought her face almost to the height of the child’s. Genuine amusement lifted all of Ginny’s spirits as the girl hunkered down in an imitation of her while she pondered with great seriousness the choice before her. Ginny reached out and selected a book. “This one?”

Owl-like eyes blinked with innocent confusion. “I don’t think so, but can we read a bit of it?”

Her banshee heart swelled with affection for the darling little girl. “Of course.”

She moved over to the short desk and risked getting her plump backside stuck in the bright green plastic seat. She shuffled as the child settled with ease into the vibrant red chair next to her. Delighted with the upward turn of her day, Ginny flicked through the pages of Sweet Little Kittycat while the child traced the pictures with her delicate forefinger. Pleasure came in the most unexpected packages.

A few pages in, the girl surprised Ginny as she closed the book, stood, and wandered away. She studied the shelves once more, picked up another book, and brought it over.

“Maybe this one?”

Her sweet smile and huge brown eyes tugged at Ginny’s heartstrings. They flicked through another book, and then another, until a neat stack balanced on the edge of the table.

Ginny glanced at the clock. Twenty-five minutes they’d been looking for a kitty book, and still they’d not found the right one. As she turned back, a lady peered over the top of the short bookcase display, her big round eyes a familiar brown.

“Sonia. It’s time to go now. Say thank-you to the nice lady for looking after you.”

Momentarily stunned, Ginny blinked at the other woman. “I wasn’t, I was just…”

As Sonia ran to her mother, whose arms were laden with volumes of erotic romance, Ginny realized she’d been had. Babysitter, while mommy sought out peace and quiet. It had been a while since she’d fallen for that one. It wasn’t the first time; it probably wouldn’t be the last. It came in all different guises.

She sniffed and raised her eyes heavenward as she watched the pair disappear around the corner of the bookshelves. Her brain hummed with sympathy and then slid nicely into a screech when she stood, the green chair adding insult to injury by adhering to her backside. Bent at the waist with her bottom sticking out, she cast a furtive glance around. Tiptoeing with tiny footsteps in a full circle to make sure she wasn’t being watched, she ducked under the level of the short bookcases and hoped no one saw her bent over with a garish plastic chair stuck to her butt.

She grasped the arm of the chair and tried to heave it off, huffing out desperate breaths. She paused and raised her head above the parapets for a quick scan of the area to check she was still alone. The heat of tortured embarrassment flooded her. The one time being a fireball would have been useful, and she couldn’t do it.

Assured she was still alone, she ran around in a tight circle, trying to grab the chair leg to give her more leverage. Sweet heavenly chiming bells, she must look so stupid, like a dog chasing its own tail. If anyone saw her…

She tried to sit back down, but the flimsy front legs of the chair buckled under her weight, and she was unable to get the right angle to plonk it on all four legs together. If she wasn’t careful, she would end up with an embarrassing injury. Heat flushed through her as she peered over the fixtures once more; her rounded rump fixed firmly in the seat felt like it might just be swelling.

Mortified, she covered her face with her hands for a moment to try and center herself, but all she could see were the headlines of the newspaper article that would be written about her. She remembered the one about the man getting stuck on his toilet seat. Firefighters had been sent in to rescue him. At least her butt was covered, but she’d never live down the humiliation.

At the end of her patience, she reached around with both hands. With the strength of a thousand banshees, she managed to pluck the seat off her backside and slap it back on the floor.