Chapter Eight
Brooks
It”s been about a half an hour since the delivery driver dropped off my boxes next door at Once Upon a Tattoo, which I know because I was obsessively tracking my order on my phone and peeking out the store”s front window. I may have ”accidentally” put the wrong address on my order for an excuse to see the raven-haired beauty who has been avoiding me the past few days. Desperate times call for desperate measures and all that jazz.
Still standing at the front window like a total creeper, I”ve been waiting to see if one of the women will come tell me my delivery was sent to them by mistake. Of course, I”m hoping Wren is the one who comes over, but with the way she”s been dodging me when I”ve popped into the shop, I”m not holding my breath.
Since I decided to get to know Wren better and change her opinions about me, I”ve been going out of my way to do thoughtful things for her and her friends. The crew that”s been fixing up the bookstore has made a ton of progress and my skill set to help has surpassed, so that”s left a lot of down time on my hands while I wait for things to be finished up here.
I seem to have a knack for disrupting Wren”s breakfast, so I figured that would be a good place to start. I lucked out running into Meadow and was able to surprise Wren with breakfast. Telling Meadow about my plan to smooth things over with Wren, I ended up getting an ally in her. We exchanged numbers, and over the next few days, I picked her brain about thoughtful gifts or gestures I could do for Wren. Of course, I couldn”t make it obvious, so I always included Daphne and Meadow too.
From the information Meadow gave me, I learned that caffeine was Wren”s life blood, so I made sure to keep her stocked every day. Sometimes, I sent drinks over in the morning, while other days, I waited until the afternoon. But no matter when I sent the drinks, I always made sure Wren knew they were from me, even if I couldn”t personally deliver them.
The personalized sketch pads might have been my favorite idea so far. Meadow told me that Wren will get an idea and draw on whatever is close to her so she doesn”t forget it, whether it”s a napkin or actual paper. I did some research and found a small business specializing in high-end art supplies with the possibility of personalization. They completed a rush order for me, and I was able to deliver the sketch pads to the ladies in only a few days” time.
To keep up the ruse, I told Meadow to let Daphne and Wren know I was thinking about sticking a variety of products—such as sketch pads, markers, pencils, and other supplies—at the store and needed their honest opinion on the products. I never would”ve dreamed Meadow would sneak a picture of Wren leaning over her desk and diligently working away in the sketch pad. I”ve never seen her look more stunning than she did as she concentrated on her art.
I probably shouldn”t admit how many times I”ve looked at that picture. I swear I”m not a stalker, but Wren drives me absolutely fucking insane. I came to Sparrow Falls with the intention of bringing my grandpa”s store back to life, but I never thought I”d be hit so hard with the desire to completely consume a woman, especially one like Wren.
It doesn”t help that Carson has been texting me, asking how his girl is doing. I know he”s just being a little shit and trying to get a rise out of me, but I”m ready to kick my brother”s ass if he doesn”t knock it off. The only good thing about his incessant taunting is that he and Cam are heading back this weekend to see all of the improvements on the store. Being here on my own has been a lot lonelier than I anticipated, and I”m really looking forward to hanging out with the twins.
It will also be great to have them help me set up the shelves and get some of my inventory stocked. Along with the books I had delivered next door, I have about twenty others jam-packed boxes waiting to be inventoried and staged. I found a user-friendly point-of-sale system to use a barcode scanner with and upload all of the inventory into the system as I stage the books. The best part is that I was able to order extra scanners that were cheap, so multiple people can work on it at the same time. Instead of having a computer at the counter, everything is linked to a couple of iPads. This will make it easier to check people out if we”re busy.
I”m super excited to support a ton of indie authors, and I”m forever grateful for Meadow sharing not only Wren”s Bookstagram account but her and Daphne”s as well. Those girls have a pretty huge following combined and quite a diverse reading backlist. All of the books delivered next door were ordered based on my neighbors’ reviews or their Tbrs.
When one of them comes over to let me know they got my shipment by mistake, I figured I can open one of the boxes to check which delivery it is and hopefully snag Wren”s attention. If she”s anything like me, she won”t be able to resist taking a closer look.
I”m passing the front window of the store for the hundredth time when I finally see Wren standing outside my shop. It takes everything in me not to rush to the door and yank it open, so desperate to be face to face with her again. Instead, I watch from the shadows as she takes a deep breath, releases it, and then squares her shoulders, pulling herself up to her full height. Without hesitation, she takes a few quick, determined steps to the front door and swiftly pulls it open.
My breath catches in my throat, my heart skips a beat, and my dick lengthens in my jeans. She”s fucking perfection in what I can only describe as a naughty schoolgirl outfit. She isn”t showing a whole lot of skin, but I want to trace with my tongue what is visible. The skirt is short; if she were to bend over, I would see the bottoms of her ass cheeks, but the thigh-high socks make it almost tasteful. My fingers are dying to caress the strip of skin exposing her trim waist and see if it”s as silky smooth as it looks.
I”m so busy taking in all her beauty that I don”t say anything for fear of what might come out of my mouth. The desire to drop to my knees and beg her to give me the time of day only makes my cock strain harder. I”m not usually submissive, but something about Wren makes me want to give in to her every desire and let her take the lead.
My eyes make it to hers, and I”m met with a sexy-as-fuck smirk. My girl knows she looks hot as fuck right now and looks as if she enjoys me taking my fill.
Fuck. What the hell is this ”my girl” shit? I mean, I”d love to have her in every possible way, but she is not and may never be my girl.
”Hey, McSexy. How are you?”
She means to tease, but her eyes can”t help dipping down my body and taking their fill. I”m in a pair of old worn jeans, boots, and a gray t-shirt that hugs my chest and arms. I haven”t shaved in a couple of days, leaving a nice scruff that would feel like fucking heaven on her thighs as I devoured her sweet pussy.
Fucking hell. I need to stop thinking with my dick, or the issue in my jeans is going to be very fucking apparent in about two seconds.
”Hey, yourself. I”m doing pretty well. How are you?”
”Fan-fucking-tastic.”
”To what do I owe the pleasure of you making your way to my store on this fine day?” Okay, maybe I”m laying it on too thick, but I feel like I have to try and stay on my toes with Wren, and banter is the best way to do that.
”Hmm, maybe I just wanted to be neighborly, and stop in and say hi.”
”I don”t think so. If I was a betting man, I”d say you”ve been avoiding me lately.”
She smiles as she steps past me further into the store and walks slowly to the newly finished front counter, running her fingers over the top. It”s antique and original to my grandpa”s store. Cash was able to restore it, and I couldn”t be more pleased. It fits perfectly with the aesthetic of the place, and it makes me insanely happy to have a piece of my grandpa”s dream in the new store.
”This is gorgeous.”
”Thanks. It was original to the store. Cash restored it for me. I think my gramps would be happy that it found a home here.”
”I”m sure he would be. It fits perfectly.”
”It does. So, neighbor, how have you been?”
”Really good, actually. How about yourself?”
”Not too bad. Been busy trying to get everything ready for the store to open. I”m starting to get inventory in, and I can”t wait for the guys to be done so I can start setting everything up.”
”That”s really exciting. Speaking of inventory, we got one of your deliveries sent to our shop. That”s actually why I came over. Three of your huge boxes are sitting inside our front door.”
”Damn, I knew I had a shipment coming, but I wasn”t sure when exactly it would get here. I wonder why they delivered it to you guys.” Probably because that”s where you had it shipped to, jackass. At least Wren doesn”t know that.
”We”ve got it. You want to come grab them? I can hold the doors, but I”m not too sure I”ll be able to carry them—short arms, and those are some pretty big boxes.” She lifts her arms out in front of her, making me laugh.
”That”s fine, babe. I can manage.”
I didn”t mean to call her ”babe”. It just slipped out.
Wren lifts an eyebrow at me then spins on her heel and heads towards the front door. I try to not be a total perv, but my eyes land on her ass and I have to swallow down a groan as I watch her hips sway back and forth.
”Let”s go, big guy.” She looks over her shoulder and crooks her finger at me.
I”m so fucked when it comes to her. Obediently, I follow the temptress as I try to keep what little cool I have left.
Inside the shop, I check if Meadow and Daphne are around, but I don”t see them. I can hear the hum of a tattoo machine going, though, so I know at least one of them is here.
I notice one of the boxes in the stack is open. ”What happened here? Feeling a little nosy?” I tease.
Wren crosses her arms and rolls her eyes at me. ”No. Well, not initially. I accidentally knocked that box over. When it fell, the tape did not hold and books spilled out everywhere. Then, I was nosy and I snooped through the books. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised to see your selection of books by some of my favorite indie authors. I debated borrowing two or three before I returned them.”
I can”t help but laugh as she makes air quotes when she says ”borrowing”. I can”t not ask which books had her debating giving herself a five-finger discount.
”Thank you. I”ve been doing research on the latest trends, and I love the idea of supporting indie authors. Just curious, which books had you questioning whether or not you should commit a misdemeanor?”
”Hey, I said ”borrow”!”
”Fine, borrow.”
”Come on. Grab a box, and I”ll tell you on the way to your store.”
Wanting to flex a little, I bend down, snag two of the boxes, and make my way to the door. I catch Wren”s eyes scanning my arms, and I can”t help but smirk. This whole scenario couldn”t have worked out any better. I wanted to use the boxes to start a conversation about the books, but due to her snooping, I”ve got an even better in than I could have imagined.
”You still didn”t tell me which books caught your eye.”
We”re back in front of my shop. Wren quickly lets us in.
Back in the storeroom, I place the boxes on the floor. Wren snags three books off the top—two by authors I had never heard of before my Bookstagram dive, but I”ve been following the third one for some time. Jacob Chance is a male indie author writing romances in a female-dominated world and kicking ass.
”I really enjoyed that series by Jacob Chance.” I point to the book she has clutched to her chest. ”One of my students suggested it to me, and I devoured the whole book and instantly bought the next two in the series.”
”You”ve read this series?” she asks giddily. ”I”ve read all of Jacob”s books, but this series is my favorite. I”m kind of obsessed with this cover. I didn”t even know it existed.”
”Me neither. It was a special edition that I found and couldn”t pass up.” I rub the back of my neck, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment. ”I actually ordered that one for my personal collection.”
Wren clutches the book tighter to her chest and narrows her eyes. ”Please tell me there”s another copy.”
”There might be, but what are you willing to do for it?” I wag my eyebrows at her suggestively, making her narrow hers at me. I can”t contain my laughter as she crosses her arms, keeping the book tightly tucked to her chest.
”Come on. Let”s go get that last box, and I”ll think about whether or not I want to give you the other copy of that book.”
I don”t give her a chance to respond. I head out of the storeroom and to the front of the shop. It takes everything in me to not look back at her, but it”s not long before I hear her footsteps behind me.
I hold the front door for her to exit first but check if she still has the book in her hands. I”m a little disappointed when she doesn”t—I was looking forward to seeing if she was ballsy enough to bring it back to her shop with us.
We make quick work of snagging the other box and getting it over to my place. I stash it back in the storeroom and find Wren wandering around the room.
”This place is looking great. I love the exposed brick over here, and the lighting is perfect to be able to see without feeling like it”s blinding you.”
”Thanks. That was the goal. I want it to feel cozy in here since I plan on having a sitting area where I can host different types of book clubs. I want to do several ones so that there”s something for everyone.”
”Oh, I love that. Daph, Meadow, and I have our own little book club, but Chayse and Landon were saying they wanted to join us.”
”That sounds awesome. How would you feel about running it here and opening it up to the community?”
”You want me to run it?”
I nod.
”Why? Why not just run it yourself?”
”I”d love to be a part of it, but how many women do you think will be open to discussing smutty romance books with a male leading the group?”
”Hmm, you”ve got a point. Me and the girls would be fine, but I”m sure not everyone would feel that way.”
”Exactly. I want everyone to feel welcome to openly discuss without fear of judgment, be it a romance novel or manga. I”m a literature professor, and my happy place is seeing other people excited to talk about books.”
”Damn,” Wren mutters as she fans her face.
My passion for books has gotten the better of me, and I”m totally geeking out right now. Thankfully, Wren seems to think it”s hot.
Needing to get back on track, I slowly smile at her. ”So, what do you say? Wanna be my first book club and host it so that other people will show up?”
”Fuck yeah, I do. I”ll ask the girls and see what they think we should read. How are you planning on getting the club out?”
”I made socials for the bookstore. In the next day or two, I have a big window decal with our info to put on the front window. I plan on passing flyers around to all of the local businesses. I just needed to find someone willing to host it first.”
”Well, I”m down. I”ll post it on my Bookstagram account and on the shop’s. Maybe it will drum up some interest.”
”That would be great. Thanks, Wren.”
”No problem. As much as I want to stay and dig through that box of goodies, I should probably head out. I told Meadow I would go to a yoga class with her tonight.”
I try to stop my brain from conjuring images of Wren doing downward-facing dog in tight yoga clothes, but it”s fucking impossible. My cock thickens again, and I try to think of anything to keep it from growing to full mast.
”Hey, thanks for all of the caffeine deliveries and the gifts. It”s really sweet of you to think of us that way. I”m kind of obsessed with my sketch pad.” She grabs my arm. It sends electricity zipping up from where her fingers graze me.
”It was my pleasure. We didn”t really get off on the right foot, and I wanted to make a better impression than what I originally left you with. I”m glad you love the sketch book. I obviously can”t stick the personalized type in the store, but the regular ones will most definitely have a space here.”
Wren smiles almost sweetly, and it takes everything in me to not lean down and seal my lips to hers. I stop myself by taking a slow step back and pulling my arm from her hand.
By doing so, I break Wren out of the trance we were both in, making her stumble back. As if in slow motion, Wren trips over a board left from the construction crew and starts to go down.
Lunging into action, I dive forward, wrapping my arms around her and twisting so that I land on my back. We hit the ground hard, and I can”t hold in the grunt of pain.
I blow out a breath as I get my bearings.
”Fuuuck.”
”Oh shit! Brooks, are you okay?”
Wren”s front is flushed to mine, making my brain and body take in her warmth that’s seeping into me. She flutters her hands over me to check if I”m alright, crushing her breasts into my chin as she leans forward to feel my head.
I grasp her hips and give her a squeeze to stop her frantic search. She leans back to look at me, which lines up her core with my throbbing dick. Wren gasps as my eyes heat at her rounded lips that turn into a devilish smirk.
My little vixen rolls her hips, which rips a growl from my throat. She does it again, and I can”t help but thrust up into her, making her moan. She leans her head into the crook of my neck as I nip and lick her exposed flesh.
”Little minx, you need to stop while I still have some semblance of control.”
”Now, where the hell is the fun in that?”
I”m not sure who moves first, but the next moment, my hands are in her hair and my tongue is begging for entrance into her mouth. She willingly opens as I force inside of her and claim her sweet lips.
We fight for dominance, but I use my size to slip her to her back and thrust into her. Wren”s skirt flips up, and I can feel the heat of her core through my jeans. I thrust again, and she lifts her hips to meet mine. My hands slide up her stomach and under her crop top to squeeze her breasts. I can feel bars through her bra, and before I can”t stop myself, I”m lifting her shirt and pulling her cups down.
I lean down and latch onto her pebbled nipple. The bar is cold on my tongue as I suck her deep into my mouth.
Wren moans as she fits my hair and holds me in place. ”Holy fuck, Brooks. I”m so damn close. Don”t you dare fucking stop.”
I pull off to smirk down at her. ”Wouldn”t dream of it, little minx.” I lean over to her other nipple and bite it.
Wren moans as her legs twitch and her hands pull my hair.
Before I realize it, my orgasm tears through me, releasing in my pants. I can”t help but chuckle at coming in my jeans like a teenager.
”What”s so funny, McSexy?” Wren questions almost like she”s annoyed.
”Take your pick.”
”What do you mean?”
”Well, I”m a little in disbelief that you let me touch you, let alone make you come in my bookstore. But not only do I not see this happening, I also haven”t blown my load in my jeans since I was an awkward, horny teenager.”
Her eyes get comically wide before her sexy smirk comes back. ”Well, big guy, I”m not surprised at all. I”m not like any other woman you”ve ever met.”
”That”s for damn sure.”
I”m about to lean down and steal another kiss when the front door opens.
”Wren, are you still in here? We need to leave soon for yoga.”
Wren and I quickly jump to our feet as we try to straighten ourselves out. I”ve got a visible mark of our sexy times on my jeans and no idea how to cover it. Wren steps in front of me and blocks most of me from Meadow”s view as she makes her way to us.
”Hey. Sorry. We got talking about books, and I lost track of time. Give me a minute, and I can run up to my apartment and change so we can be on our way.”
”Sounds good. I forgot my water, so I”m gonna go grab one out of our break room. Meet me back down there?”
”Sure,” Wren agrees but doesn”t make any effort to move until Meadow is almost to the front door.
”Bye, Brooks!”
”Later, Meadow!”
Wren finally steps away and turns to face me.
”I better go before she comes back. Besides, you need to go take care of that.” Wren gestures to my pants.
Before she can step away, I snag her hand, pull her back to me, and claim her mouth.
”Have fun at yoga, little minx.”
She smiles, a little dazed, as she spins around. Unable to resist, I smack her ass, which makes her jump.
”Watch it, McSexy. I bite.” With that retort and a quick wink, Wren sashays towards the front door.
”See you soon.”
”You can bet on it, big guy.”
If there was any doubt in my mind before, there isn”t anymore. I”m totally fucked where my little minx is concerned.