Chapter 6
SIX
With copies of Sentient Sex signed and carefully put back inside our book carts, I dragged the girls to the other side of the ballroom.
“We have two minutes to spare and then we have to get in line for the first panel of the day,” Katie instructed.
“Fine by me,” I said. “I just want to see something for a sec.”
See if I was losing my mind, or if they heard it too.
We wove through a horde of readers waiting for ARC drops. My heart plunged when I spotted BookCon Carry-On. The table had been cleared away.
A sign had been left on top of the black linen.
Sorry for the inconvenience but I had to close early today. Will be back bright and early tomorrow morning.
I blinked when I saw an additional note left on the bottom corner.
For Victoria Lopez.
She knew my name. My whole-ass name.
Someone wished to stay behind for you. He’s waiting under the table.
Enjoy. ;)
“Someone is under the table?” Yazmine asked.
I didn’t answer. My heart was beating too fast in my chest, and I had no clue why. I dropped to one knee and pulled the cloth up. There, tucked away in the shadows, was the Mexica warrior.
Someone wished to stay behind for you. Huh. What had the artist said to me earlier? “It is up to them who they go to.”
I, apparently, had been chosen.
Another note waited for me near the base of his feet. I plucked it up and read it.
Now you can bring the book boyfriend of your dreams to life.
Directions: For a lover so remarkable you’d swear he was pulled right out of a fairy tale, simply give this effigy a lick.
You won’t be sorry.
I stuffed the note into my pocket. There was no way I was going to lick some toy given to me by a stranger, but I reached for him hungrily.
The second my fingers wrapped around his body, an electrifying jolt shot through me.
The sensation burrowed right into my most sensitive place.
I gasped. Completely and utterly turned on.
My thumb roamed over the effigy. It was strangely warm.
And it didn’t feel toy-like as I’d imagined.
He felt almost like my dildo. Soft and skin-like on the outside and firm on the inside.
Heat pulsed at the base of my pelvis as I drew my thumb up and down his torso.
His loincloth was made from actual fabric.
I’d been so wrong in thinking the entire thing was constructed of clay.
How strange. I thought he was one solid piece before.
I wondered what lay beneath the fabric wrapped snugly around his slender hips.
I started to lift it up when Katie’s head popped in beside me.
I jumped. My head hit the underside of the table, and I nearly dropped him.
She gasped. “Are you okay?”
“I think so.” Truth was, I had no idea if I was okay. Not because I hit my head—it wasn’t hard enough to cause any worry—but because this doll was turning me on.
“What is that?” she asked.
I showed her the figurine.
Katie’s head quirked to the side like a perplexed pup. “It’s a doll? The shop owner just gave him to you?”
“The artist must have noticed how much I liked him.”
“That was nice of her.”
“For sure,” I whispered, my thumb drawing circles over his pecs. His teeny nipples were hard as mine.
We stood, and I quickly showed Yazmine.
“He’s hot,” she said. “For a guy.”
He really was though. Cheekbones as high as a cliff’s edge. Strong brows hovering over deep-set, obsidian eyes. His jawline was cutting, and the veins running up his arms made me wet.
What the hell was wrong with me?
Yazmine placed her hand on my shoulder. “Do you need a break? You look flushed.”
“A break?” Katie screeched. “Like hell she does. We have a panel to get to.” She plucked the warrior from my grasp and gently placed him inside my book cart. “You sit there, stud.” She faced us. “Let’s go. I want a seat up front.”