Page 12 of TBR: Dead But Well Read

Loch blew me a kiss, stepped into the hall, and closed the door behind him. With him gone, I felt like I could finally take a deep breath—which was absolutely ridiculous since ghostsdidn’t need to breathe and I only continued the motions out of habit.

Not wanting to sit alone and dwell on my awkwardness, I jumped to my feet and headed toward the spot the ghosts had vanished through.

“This is exactlythe kind of distraction I was trying to avoid,” I muttered under my breath, glancing around the storage room.

“Is that why you’ve done your best to ignore me today?” An arm snaked around my waist, pulling me back against a hard chest. “Aw, boo. Are you struggling to resist me?”

“Loch!” My yelp of surprise came out more like a moan—a sound that encouraged him to double down on his flirting.

Wrapping both arms around my middle, Loch bent and nuzzled my neck. Heat rushed through me, raising my body from room temperature to almost alive. It was glorious, and a whimper tumbled from my lips.

I quickly clamped my mouth shut, but it was too late. Loch knew my willpower was wavering. Cradling my body against him, Loch brushed his lips against the bare skin of my neck.

“W-we are supposed to be looking for ghosts,” I whispered, my voice quivering.

His chest rumbled with a soft growl. “You can keep looking, but I’m already holding the ghost I wanted to find.”

Holy Headless Horseman!

Being in his arms was like being caught in quicksand. Except I didn’t want to escape from him.

Come on, Axe. Where’s your spine?

A man could be fun, but having one would make it even more impossible to get through my to-be-reads. Swallowing hard, I reluctantly wiggled from his arms. Not trusting my legs to carry me, I floated a few feet away from him.

“We can’t get side-tracked. You’re in town to figure out what’s up with the ghosts. This is our chance to get more information.” I was proud of how confident I sounded, despite my regret that I’d never know where things might have gone if I’d stayed in his arms.

Loch studied me for several long seconds before nodding. “Okay. We’ll focus on work. For now.”

Outwardly, I rolled my eyes, but an electrifying thrill zig-zagged through me.

We spent the next five minutes maneuvering our way through dust-covered boxes that had been arranged into haphazard stacks. Twice, I caught a glimpse of a ghost from the corner of my eye, but they disappeared before I could follow them.

The overhead lights hissed then whirred as they flickered to life. Blinking hard in the sudden light, we spun toward the door to find Tilly standing there with her arms folded across her chest.

“Sir? What are you doing back here?” she demanded.

“Uh-oh. You’re in trouble,” I teased, knowing she couldn’t see or hear me.

Loch shot me a sly look before smiling at Tilly. “I’m sorry, miss. I’m terrible with directions, and I got confused when I left the archive room. I guess I turned the wrong way.”

He rubbed at the back of his neck, causing the hem of his shirt to rise and giving the librarian a peek at his toned abs. Catching his bottom lip between his teeth, he looked at her with his big green eyes.

I snorted. “Come on! There is no way she’s going to fall for the innocent puppy eyes from a guy who looks like a sexy stripper!”

Tilly gave a girlish giggle and patted her hair. “Oh! It happens all the time!”

It was my turn to cross my arms over my chest. “No it doesn’t.”

Tilly couldn’t hear me, but I caught the twitch at the corner of Lochlan’s mouth.

“Well, the library is closing in a few minutes, so let’s get you back to the lobby.” She waved for him to follow her, then bustled down the hall.

Loch waited until she was far enough away so she wouldn’t overhear him speaking to me. “I’ll be back later tonight to look around.”

“Sounds good. I have plans, but I wish you success.” I grinned and headed toward the archive room.

Loch’s eyebrows rose. “You have plans?”

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