Page 8 of Unconventional Love

“You know, I’m in Irene’s discord and most of her readers are actually dark romance readers. She’s more of a palate cleanser for dark romance.” Jules is rambling on about Irene Bahrd, meanwhile my heart has descended to the pit of my stomach. I feel a sense of jealousy creeping in as he offers a model-worthy smile in a picture with the girls he’s currently wrapped around.

My best friend turns and traces my line of sight straight to the man looking directly at me; his dark eyes paralyzing me from across the room. His shirt fits perfectly today, hugging his biceps. My mouth waters at the memory of what’s beneath.

“Good lord, Liv. Pick your jaw up.” She lightly nudges me, and my mouth snaps shut.

How the hell is he here?

I turn my attention back to her, breaking eye contact with him and desperately attempting to compose myself. She chuckles and leans in, “That’s Graham Mitchell.” I nod, as if his name means anything. I had his cock in my mouth… “Hot, right? He’s on at least three covers on my kindle right now.Oof,the abs on that one. Can’t say I blame you for ogling.” Jules pulls out her phone, scrolling to her ebook app to further provide evidence. She doesn’t need to show me, I saweveryinch of that man last night. The ridges of said abs committed to memory.

“Why have I never seen him before?” I feign ignorance as if his dick wasn’t hitting the back of my throat last night while I rode the barista’s face.

Jesus, Liv.I mentally berate my own vulgarity.

I’m never drinking a lemon drop again.

“I guess he’s not really on the cover of the books you read.” She pockets her phone and continues on. “I normally see him on the covers of sweet, and spicy romance books. I figure Kelsey Woods will use him for a series someday.” She stops and points to the other man at the table. “That’s Nick Shaw, you may actually know him. He tends to be on the darker ones. We can go see them after I meet Irene.”

There are still at least seven people queued in front of us, so I spare a glance at Graham behind us. I can’t stop myself; the way I’m drawn to him is insane. He’s currently flashing another panty-melting smile at the camera while his arm is draped over the shoulder of yet another girl. Seeing his arms around her brings out an envy in me I’m not used to. I didn’t have to worry last night; he never touched Sky. To be honest, he barely even spared her a glance. Even still, I’ve shared men before, this should be no different. A possessive nature isn’t normal for me, there’s just something about him…

The line to Jules’ beloved romcom author seems to now be moving at a snail's pace—or maybe I’m just anxious to see ‘Graham.’ The closer we get the more I can feel my best friend buzzing with excitement. I can’t blame her, if Kitty King or J.L. Quick were here I’d feel the same way. As much as I’d love to see my favorite authors, right now, I can’t help wanting to get to the line for the cover models.

After an agonizingly slow fifteen minutes, I finish snapping the picture proof that Jules got her novel signed, and we are rushing off. I know this event is important to her, so I take a deep breath and try to enjoy her infectious excitement. A few weeks after Jules moved to Coal’s Lake and met Samuel. Unfortunately, he managed to ruin some of her books. My bet is some kinky sex, no matter how much she denies it. One of the destroyed books was a signed copy ofNot Her Villain. So, like any ridiculously hot, golden retriever boyfriend would do, he bought her tickets to Irene’s next convention. He even paid for both of our flights and rooms so that I could come keep Jules company, since he had to attend Tristan and Myle’s wedding.

Lord, I’ve seen what you’ve done for others.

When we reach the line to the cover models, Jules pulls the book Irene just signed from her bag and gushes as she opens it. “Did you see what she signed on it?” I glance down at the page and bark a laugh.Holy shit.

Enjoy your butt stuff in the epilogue!

xoxo, Irene Bahrd

Romcoms… who knew?

The entirety of our wait in the next line is spent with Jules explaining how that is a signature for Irene Bahrd books. That and the way the men in her books are hungrier than the barista last night. Luckily, the convention is almost over, so the line to meet the cover models is short and it doesn’t take long for us to get to the front. I feel bad because I can tell how excited she is, but my mind is focused on one thing, and one thing only right now.

Who sends scones with no number?

Yes, Liv. Because scones clearly take precedence over blow jobs.

Once we are next, instead of meeting Graham first, I side step and introduce myself to Nick. He’s not quite as tall as Graham, but has the same delicious build. I have no idea who the hell he is as far as romance book covers go, but I’ll be making a point that if Graham wanted to see me again, he could’ve had the decency to leave his number.

“Hi, I’msucha big fan.” I turn on my doe eyes when Nick swipes a hand through his dirty blonde hair and chuckles down at me.

“Well in that case, it’s nice to meet you, sweetheart.” There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s laying the charm on thick, and I’m going to play into every second of it. “You want a picture or an autograph?”

I bite my lip, and respond loud enough for Graham to hear, “I was actually wondering if you could sign here.” I hook my finger in the neckline of my shirt and begin pulling to the side to reveal the start of the waves leading down to the siren tattoo sleeve that trails from my shoulder down my arm. The bite mark Graham left last night isn’t visible through my ink, but I have a feeling he will know exactly what his friend is signing. I planned on adding more bookish features to it anyway so now seems like a good time to make mystery man squirm.

“And what would you like?” Nick asks with a smile that reaches his honey colored eyes.

“Just put ‘Lemon Drop’.It’s from one of my favorite books.” Okay, so maybe more of a signature out of spite and not a bookish feature. But, I’m not really going to tattoo this on my body.

Nick looks confused but doesn’t question me further as he retrieves a marker from the table. I glance back where Jules is standing with her face in her hands while Graham is tense with fury, fists clenched in his free hand, with his other arm around another reader.

Next time leave your number.

CHAPTEREIGHT

graham

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