Delaney
Me: If you had a pair of X-ray glasses, what part of my body would you look at first?
He-Man: Collarbone.
Me: LIAR.
He-Man: Fine, fine, you win. I like big tits and I cannot lie. But I do like collarbones too.
Me: Ha. All guys are the same.
He-Man: Fine. What would YOU look at?
Me: I’d look at He-Man’s sword, of course.
He-Man: Trust me, it’s pretty fucking magnificent.
Me: Wanna send me a pic?
He-Man: Just to clarify, the quiet and reserved Delaney Shaw is asking me for a dick pic?
Me: It sounds bad when you put it like that…
He-Man: I’d rather show you in person, Princess Leia.
Me: Oh.
Can’t never could is what my Nana always said and I’m saying that in my head over and over as I shelve books on the third floor a few days later. I’m beat from a long day of volunteering at the cat shelter and now I’m stuck in The Dead Zone of the library, where few roam unless they’re doing serious research. At least I have last night’s texting with He-Man to think about, which had gotten very sexy before I’d finally let him go.
The next book to shelve is a huge three-inch atlas that weighs a ton. I drag the stepladder from the wall over to the metal shelves so I can reach to the top where it belongs. Once I climb up and clear the shelf, I have a clear view of most of the floor.
I’m about to turn and come down when two guys come up the stairs and onto the third floor, the echoes of their hushed voices carrying across to me. My heart leaps—damn heart—when I see Maverick walking next to Ryker, Waylon’s quarterback.
Maverick’s eyes look up and capture mine—he must have some kind of secret power that detects female attention—and takes me in, hovering above the shelf like a crazy person. He sends me a wave and I smirk.
Ryker taps him on the shoulder to pull his direction toward one of the study areas to the left, but Maverick nods his head at me and walks in my direction. Ryker follows.
Shit! They’re coming over.
My hair’s in a ponytail and my glasses askew, and I hurriedly pat down the crazy stray strands and straighten my frames. I wish I had time to grab my lipstick, but of course, it’s in my purse on the first floor.
“Hey,” Maverick says as he turns the corner. He’s holding a book and smiling, looking pleased as punch to see me, and it takes my breath a little.
I blink up at him, taking in the finely carved jawline and bitable lips.
Just. Damn.
He’s gorgeous and it pisses me off that it makes me melt into a puddle of goo.
I stuff that behind me and give him a nonchalant shrug, keeping my expression easy and not at all like I didn’t nearly break my neck getting off the ladder. “Hey.”
“You working?”
“Obviously.”
His lips twitch. “You sound excited.”
“I’m not. What are you doing here?” I ask.
“Just roaming the library.”
“Why?”
He tilts his head, studying me. “Why not?”
“It’s a bit late for mind games, Maverick.” I look down at the cart full of books I still have to shelve. “And I have work to do.”
“Maybe I was looking for you. I can help if you want?”
My eyes flare. Damn. Why does he have to be so sweet sometimes? “That’s okay.”
He gazes around at the shelving, taking in the empty tables and then focuses back on me. “This would be a great place to hook-up. Ever consider it?”
I roll my eyes. “Scoping out future make-out places? Please, for the sake of the books, leave the library out of your pound town itinerary.”
He throws up a cocky eyebrow. “I like the dim lighting and all the shelves. Good coverage in case someone comes up.”
My face colors, picturing him with some pretty co-ed.
He grins. “Would you be jealous if I hooked up with someone here?”
“No, don’t be ridiculous,” I say. Yes.
He studies me, eyes at half-mast. “Okay, fine, Delaney. I’ll never hook-up with anyone in the library…unless it’s you.”
My mouth opens and I’m about to say something really witty and smart—although I can’t think of a damn thing—when Ryker turns the corner. I guess something must have caught his eye on the way over and that’s why he lagged behind.
Obviously, Maverick has impeccable timing.
The quarterback gives me a nod. “Ah, Delaney. Surprise, surprise.”
Is he being facetious?
Because he doesn’t sound surprised. He sounds cryptic and a little pleased with himself if that makes sense. I squint at him, reminding myself to play back this conversation later.
“Hey, Ryker,” I say, giving him a nod. “We rarely get people on the third floor, so…welcome?” I hold my hands out.
Ryker looks around. “Yeah. It’s dead up here. Great place for a hook-up.”
I shake my head. “Oh my God. Is that all guys think about?”
“Yeah,” they say in unison.
“Typical,” I say with a laugh.
Almost as if he knows I’m putting up my internal defenses against him, Maverick takes a step closer and picks at a spot on the shoulder of my black shirt. Butterflies take off inside me as his index finger and thumb press together on the fabric to grab a white hair.
“What’s this?” he asks.
Swallowing, I look down at his hand and clear my throat. “Cat hair. I got in the kitten tent today at the shelter and they crawled all over me. Super adorable. I’d love to bring one home but Han would flip his lid.”
Ryker takes a full two steps back from me, his eyes wide. “You rolled around with cats?”
“Well, not literally, but yeah. It’s very therapeutic. Are you allergic?”
He nods.
“That’s awful.” I grimace.
He waves me off. “No worries. I’ll just stand over here so I don’t breathe it in. That way you guys can chat.” He finds a spot about ten feet away and pretends to look at a book. I say pretend because it’s a reference book about rivers in South America and I can’t imagine why he’d be interested, but who knows.
It’s almost as if they planned on seeing me…
I turn back to Maverick who hasn’t taken his eyes off me. “I’m completely non-allergic to cats,” he tells me.
“Why should I care?” I’m being bratty, but his cockiness brings it out in me.
He isn’t fazed and plucks another hair off me, this time around the neckline of my shirt. His fingers brush my collarbone and I inhale sharply, remembering the texting convo about collarbones with He-Man. “You’re really covered in these.” My chest rises rapidly, and he grins, leaving me convinced the man is the devil.
I’m saved just as I hear Skye talking. We’d made plans to meet after my shift and grab a drink at Buffalo Bills before we head home. She’s probably on her way up here to keep me company until I’m done.
I hear her talking to someone as she calls out my name rather tentatively, which is odd, and I’m wondering who’s with her. It sounds like a guy, but not Tyler…
Alex and Skye appear from around the corner of the shelf and I start, stiffening.
What the hell is she doing with him?
With a sheepish expression on her face, she clears her throat and waves at everyone. “Hey, y’all.”
I’m frowning as my gaze goes from her to Alex.
She nods, reading my expression. “Ah, yeah. Alex saw me on the staircase on my way up and wanted to talk…” Her voice drifts off.
Ah, I fill in the rest. She couldn’t tell him to buzz off. She’s too nice and she’d probably done her best to dissuade him.
Alex’s eyes are measuring the space between Maverick and me, which admittedly is just a few inches.
“What are you doing up here?” he asks Maverick.
Maverick straightens, his back going stiff. “It is the library. People do come here to study. What are you doing here?”
Alex taps his hand against his thighs and juts out his jaw. “Studying. Same as you.”
“I don’t see any books, kicker,” Maverick says.
A spot of red appears on Alex’s cheeks. “I left them on the first floor—since you’re so interested.”
“Huh. Maybe you should go get them.”
Alex’s face hardens. “Why? Am I interrupting anything between you and Delaney?”
Jesus take the wheel. They are both crazy.
I hold my hands up. “Hang on a minute—”
“Yeah,” Ryker says, interrupting me. He’s put down the reference book and has joined us, his brow pulled low in a scowl as he takes in the back and forth between the two. “We don’t need any trouble here, guys.”
Skye takes Alex by the arm. “Why don’t we head back downstairs?”
Alex pulls his gaze from Maverick and looks down at her, a slight softening in his face. “Sure. Sounds good.” He sends me a resigned expression. “Bye, Delaney.”
They turn to go and Skye gives me an I’m sorry look over her shoulder as they walk away.
“Dude. Not cool or subtle,” Ryker says to Maverick as soon as they are out of earshot. “Did you have to be a dick?”
Maverick’s nose flares. “He was a dick first.”
“Yeah, but you’re a leader,” Ryker tells him. “The team needs you to show everyone else how to act.”
Maverick lets out a long exhale, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck. “Yeah.”
Hang on a minute. Maverick is jealous of Alex? I’m about to remark on it, but he brushes past me, his tall frame stalking off. Part of me wants to call him back, but pride and all.
I look at Ryker and raise my hands up. “What’s going on?”
“If you can’t see what’s right in front of you…” He shrugs. “Later, babe.”
And then he’s walking off but not before turning around for one more comment. “Just do me a favor, okay? Don’t hurt him. He’s been through enough already.”
My heart drops at the thought of hurting Maverick. Of course I wouldn’t.