Page 69 of Crimson Promises
“The bet?”
“Yeah, you still owe me a night without labels, no attachments. Just fun.”
“Didn’t that just happen?”
“Nope. We were interrupted. And I’m talking about an entire night.”
Was Aurora not listening to what I said? My palms began to tickle with sweat. That cop saved my ass. Otherwise, I would be balls-deep in Aurora right now. Things needed to remain strictly platonic between us from here on out, or else I’d be wingless and destitute.
“I’m just not sure that’s a great idea.”
“Ben, a bet is a bet. Does your word mean nothing?”
All I had left now was my word. My word to Jos that I would avenge him, my word to Michael that I would fulfill my bargain, and my word that I gave so long ago to another that changed the course of my existence.
“My word is everything.”
The question was, how did I honor something that conflicted with everything else?
Aurora dropped me off in front of my building, and before I could unbuckle my seatbelt and say thank you, she leaned over and gave me a peck on the cheek.
“Let’s meet at Charlotte Williams tomorrow after my shift, and we can work on the project and figure everything else out from there.”
She couldn’t quite look me in the eye when she said that. Odd, but tonight had been all shades of weird. At least we were meeting in public tomorrow on neutral ground. It would force me to reign in my out-of-control testosterone. Time to get my head in the game. I owed Jos that much.
ChapterSeven
Aurora
Igripped the ladder with everything I had. I was working on cataloging a new shipment of collectible texts that had arrived last night. Jean wanted them inspected, archived, and summarized in our log records. The new collection was about “The Great War”—a term I had never heard of used to refer to the war between Lucifer and God.
I stood about six feet off the ground, reaching as far as my fingers would allow me to get the book into its allotted spot. Everything at Canmore belonged in a specific place. Jean made sure of that. I put the book away, and as I moved my hand back towards the ladder, my foot slipped. Now, one side of my body was hanging off the ladder while the other was flailing about like a fish plucked from the water. My palms were slick with sweat, which certainly wasn’t helping matters. The right side of my body clung to the ladder with all the strength I could muster.On the plus side, if I fall, while it might hurt,chances are pretty strong that my body will heal itself.
I wrapped my leg like a vine around the ladder to anchor myself. Then, I used the spines of the books as anchors to inch my body back. Jean would have my neck if she knew I was using the books like this. I did the same with my foot until my limbs were back on the ladder. I stood there hugging the ladder for several moments, willing my shaking legs to stop. Who knew working at a library could be so hazardous?
I just about kissed the floor when I got down. It may have been the world's slowest descent down a ladder, but I was alive. Luckily, that was the last book I had to put away for today’s shift. I gathered all the papers I had strewn about on a long cherrywood table. Before I headed back to the crates where I still had to unpack the rest of the collection, I took a minute to inhale the must that only came from old books—one of the most comforting scents.
Walking back to the shipping area in the back of the library, I ran through what else I could get done before meeting Ben. Butterflies clawed their way up my esophagus at the thought of him. My neck felt hot at the memory of how I behaved, at how forward I was. He challenged me, and I wasn’t afraid to call him out. I had never been one for confrontation, but even arguing with him fueled the flames of desire.
I reasoned that it was nothing except rare chemistry, and after that one night, I would get him out of my system. He wasn’t the guy to fall for or have a future with. It was why I agreed to go out again with Riley, although I had been pushing to commit to a date until this thing blew over with Ben.
As I headed towards the back, something sent me flying forward, landing hard in a tabletop position on my hands and knees, the papers I was carrying in my arms rained down all around me. I crawled forward to collect everything when I heard a snickering behind me.
Peering over my shoulder was a familiar white-blonde with her hair slicked back in a bun. It must cut off the oxygen circulation to her brain. Her crony Delilah had already turned down the hallway. Chelsea was right on her heels. But I’ve had it. I’ve been working here for weeks, and I wasn’t going to put up with it anymore. Throughout that entire time, she had been nothing but rude and inconsiderate.
I stood so quickly that white spots appeared at the edge of my vision and planted both hands on my hips. “What is your problem, Chelsea?”
That caught her attention.
She rotated around and looked at all the paper littering the floor. “Were you talking to me?”
“Considering I said your name and you shoved me to the ground, I think it would have been clear I was referring to you.”
Her eyes widened, and her mouth formed a perfectly shaped ‘O’ in an expertly innocent expression. “Why would I push you?”
“My point exactly.” I tried to manage my best withering stare.
“Well, I didn’t knock you over. You probably just tripped over your feet or something. You seem like the klutzy type.”
