9. Paige
Paige
B y the time I re-emerge from my bedroom, wearing my favorite leggings and an oversized sweatshirt, no less—I'm pretty convinced Aries is a hypnotist. What other explanation is there for how he’s gotten so far inside my head?
I’ve known him less than twenty-four hours, and already, all I think about is him. His broad shoulders and muscled biceps. The way his hair curls over his forehead. The bright, hungry eyes that seem to see through to parts of me I don’t even recognize myself.
It’s a little terrifying how much he’s consumed me—and that’s saying a lot, coming from a girl who’s battled a literal poltergeist.
Then I reach the living room and realize, no, hypnotist is the wrong word.
Aries is a damned thirst trap. He's wearing the sweatpants I made for him, slung low, and no shirt to cover his rippled abs. On top of that, he’s found an old ball cap Hoc gave me once—except he’s turned it backward. The air leaves my lungs—and my ovaries.
“What is that?” I ask in a strangled voice.
“This is what they wore in The Baseball.”
“Right, look, I can’t... ugh.” I double back to my bedroom and grab an oversized tee from the bottom of my dresser. Then I march back out into the living room and toss it at the eye candy. “Put that on so I can look at you.”
I wait while he removes the hat and pulls the shirt over his head. When the shirt is in place—albeit tight, but at least, he’s covered—I exhale.
“Do you like it?” he asks, adjusting the hat that’s now firmly back in place.
“Do I...?” I try to swallow but it gets stuck. “Yeah,” I manage. “It works.”
“Good. You look nice too,” he says. “In our world, women don’t wear pants in public, but I must admit the look suits you.” His gaze darts to my waist, and my cheeks heat.
“Thanks.” I do my best to get my bearings. Focusing on the wall instead of his dreamy face, my scattered thoughts slowly reform. “We should get going. We need to find a book that will explain the process to us and— shit!” My eyes land on a familiar item across the room.
“What is it?”
I groan. “We need to put your book back. I can’t believe I forgot about it.”
“My book?”
I grab it off the coffee table and tuck it under my arm. “Yes. Hoc mentioned he saw a report of a near-miss last night, and that means he’ll probably ask Blossom to patrol your area with extra care tonight. If she notices a book missing, it won’t take long for them to figure out what happened.”
“But don’t we need my book in order to send me home?”
“We’ll have to double back for it once we’ve found the spell to make it all work.”
“And where will that be found?”
“If I knew, we wouldn’t have to look, would we?”
He frowns. “Sarcasm again?”
I sigh. “Come on.”
“Wait.”
His sudden urgency stops me.
“What is it?” I ask, facing him again.
He looks at me expectantly. As though I should already know just what it is he’s going to say. “I’ll require a weapon.”
“A what?”
“Should we encounter a threat, I’ll need to neutralize it. And for this, I’ll need a weapon. I came through without any of my own—”
“Whoa there, killer. No weapons tonight. Our mission is to complete the objective without any encounters. Do you understand?”
“I need to be able to protect you,” he says, and for some reason, I’m touched. It’s ridiculous because no way can I condone violence, but some part of me—lady parts, mostly—find his intention endearing.
“I appreciate that,” I say, “But the best way to protect me is to not let anyone see you. No matter what. Understand?”
He scowls.
“Tell me you understand the mission, Aries.”
Irritation burns brightly in his eyes. “I understand the mission.”
I turn for the door but not before he adds, “Unless your life is threatened, in which case, the mission will be to protect you at all costs.”
I sigh. “It’s going to be a long night.”
The hallway outside my apartment leads straight to the elevator, but I bypass it and instead opt for the stairs.
Part of me wants to take him for an elevator ride if only to introduce him to modern technology he may never experience again.
But I can’t risk us being spotted when we step off on the main floor, so stairs it is.
At the bottom, I pause, cracking open the stairwell door to peer out into the stacks.
It opens to the shifter section, which is usually pretty quiet unless it’s a full moon, which, thankfully, it’s not.
If it were, Bingo would be awake and prowling, and his nose wouldn’t miss a damned dragon, either.
Behind me, Aries presses in close to peer over my head, and I suck in a sharp breath as I feel his hip bump mine.
Heat spreads through my body before I can focus on something—anything—else. Shit, I want to bump so much more than hips with this guy. Ugh.
“Coast is clear,” I say and slip out into the dimly lit stacks.
With any luck, I’m right, and the coast is actually clear, but either way, at least I’m not about to back dat ass up. When this is over, I really need to work on self-control.
Maybe go on a non-fiction-only binge session. I think I saw a book about Manifesting your HEA in the non-fiction section. Yeah. Maybe I should give that a try. No sex books for at least a month as punishment for releasing and nearly mounting a dragon-god.
With Aries at my heels, I slip through the library, sticking to shadowed corners and remote routes. We pass an aisle producing overly loud snores from its shadows, and as we creep past, I spot Bingo curled up and sound asleep.
I move quickly past.
“What was that beast?” Aries whispers when we’re clear.
“Bingo.”
“And he’s a...?”
“Hellhound.”
Aries stops walking. I double back, impatient and terrified we’ll be spotted.
“What?” I hiss.
“Hellhounds are a myth.”
“Not here, they aren’t. Though Bingo definitely knows he’s one-of-a-kind. The little beast acts like he owns the place.”
Aries just looks at me.
“Come on.”
I lead the way, and thankfully, Aries starts moving again.
Sconces glow from the far walls, plunging the center into near darkness.
Not that it matters. Every creature in this place has supernatural senses including heightened eyesight.
Still, no one knows this place better than I do, and for once, I’m grateful for a childhood spent among the lonely stacks of the Athenaeum.
We make it through the shifter section and then straight back to the reference area.
Tables are set up in an open space to allow for the review and study of materials.
This is where guests tend to spend the most time, but with the late hour, the space is empty, and the lights are off. We skirt past with no problem.
Up ahead, the path forks. To the right, a narrow spiral staircase leads up to the alchemy section. “That’s where we’ll go next,” I whisper, pointing up at it. “First, we have to put this back,” I add, taking his book out from underneath my arm. “Ready?”
He nods.
Shit. Here goes nothing.
I take the walkway to the left which circles around the outside of the aisles, running all the way from front to back.
I know from our times patrolling together, Blossom will have kept to the inner aisles to cover more ground, so this is our best shot.
It’s also, technically, the most vulnerable option with no shelves for cover until we reach the winged creatures section.
I don’t bother mentioning that to Aries.
It’s too late for second thoughts.
Halfway down, the back of my neck prickles, and I glance back. Aries meets my eyes, his brows dipping in silent question. My gaze darts past him, drawn to the second-floor landing where the alchemy section is swathed in heavy shadows. In the near-darkness, I swear something moves.
My foot catches, and I stumble, avoiding a face plant when Aries’ strong hands pick me clear up off the ground. My head whips back around, and I meet Aries’ wide-eyed stare, my chest heaving.
He sets me back on my feet, but his warm hands remain where they are, firmly planted low on my hips. It doesn’t help my effort to breathe, but it damn sure feels delicious.
“You okay?” he asks in a low, rumbly voice I want to bottle and sell to all the ASMR lovers in the world, then retire early.
“Yeah.” My breath whooshes out on the word.
Aries looks skeptical, but he finally releases me. My hips tingle where he was just touching them. Something about his darkening expression tells me he knows exactly what his touch does to me too.
I clear my throat before remembering I’m supposed to be stealthy right now. Son of a … I suck at ninja mode. “Come on.”
We start again, thankfully reaching the winged creatures section with no more incidents.
I count the aisles until I recognize the one from last night.
The only evidence of what happened is a small coffee-colored stain that’s barely noticeable, but still, I feel like there’s some sort of neon banner blinking overhead to announce it.
At least there’s no sign of Blossom.
“Okay, your book goes at the far end there,” I whisper. “I’m going to run down and put it back.”
Aries looks at me like I’m not to be trusted. “I wonder if I should be the one to do the running?”
“I tripped one time,” I hiss then realize that’s not exactly true. “Fine, two times. And one of those times, I unleashed a dragon, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do this.”
“Of course,” he says, his tone patronizing. “I only meant to help.”
I scowl and turn around to face the aisle in question. There and back. Quick and easy. Then we can go looking for answers.
I inhale a deep breath and then, slowly, blow it out again. With the book clutched in one hand, I bend my knees and pause, listening one last time to be sure we’re alone. With only silence surrounding us, I take off.