THE LIBRARIAN PRINCIPLE by Helena Hunting
Want a little look at THE LIBRARIAN PRINCIPLE?
Excerpt below
“You have no idea how much trouble
you're in.” His tone held none of the subversive humor that typically colored
their private exchanges.
She swallowed thickly as he stopped
in front of her. Even at his most relaxed, she found his presence intimidating,
but the way he loomed over her now made her weak in the knees. The notion their
relationship could be anything more than professional should never have entered
her mind, no matter the temptation.
“I can explain.” Her eyes darted
around the room in search of an escape she knew didn't exist.
“Your office. Now,” he ordered,
grabbing her laptop in one hand and her wrist with the other.
Even though she was horrified, his warm
fingers wrapped around her wrist thrilled her. The pull she fought ignited,
flashing across her skin like fire. And then she remembered this might be the
end of her career. He propelled her into the library office and dropped the
laptop on her desk. He released her wrist and shut the door, turning the lock.
“Do you have any idea—” His eyes
blazed, the words cut short as he tugged at his tie. Liese watched nervously as
he paced the room, his head down, fingers gripping the back of his neck, jaw
working as he ground his teeth together. She couldn't begin to imagine what he
would do if he saw some of the other images she’d saved.
He gestured to the laptop. “What the
hell was that?”
Liese jumped, a squeaky sound came
out of her, and she clapped a hand over her mouth. Ryder rarely raised his
voice.
It would be in her best interest not
to reveal that her best friend had created a series of photoshopped pictures of
the two of them in compromising positions. She also thought it wise not to say
anything about the folder she’d created to store them, or how they fed her
unhealthy infatuation with him. Or how they functioned as her primary source of
masturbatory material.
“It was mostly a joke,” she mumbled.
“Do you think this is funny?” He looked incredulous as he
towered over her, but his voice was smooth silk. Livid though he was, the
tension between them pulsed like shock waves through the air.
“Not particularly, no,” Liese
replied, refusing to look away for fear of appearing weak, or guilty. If she
could maintain a facade of self-righteous indignation, maybe he wouldn't touch
her laptop again. In her peripheral vision, Liese noted the way his hands
continued to clench and unclench at his sides.
“Where did that picture come from?
Are there more?”
Much to her dismay, his palm settled
on the laptop.
“I really wouldn't—”
Ryder ignored her half-made request
and flipped it open. It only took a few seconds for the screen to flicker to
life and the advertisement to pop up. The gif played in a loop, the vigorous
pumping continuing endlessly.
Liese sighed. “I don't think there's
a way to explain this without it sounding incredibly bad.”
She buried her face in her hands and
wished she could disappear as Ryder began to inspect the advertisement. Liese
peeked through her fingers to watch him lean forward, hands splayed on either
side of the laptop. Ryder squinted at the image, and then looked her over. His
eyes moved down her body and back up, tracking her with an expression that
bordered on predatory. Satisfied fascination knotted Liese’s stomach as the
change took place: the undeniable draw she’d kept in check all this time echoed
in his eyes. Some invisible line had been crossed, and Liese doubted she’d be
able to return to the safety of the other side—the side where she pretended the
attraction was all in her head.
“Please tell me that's not you.” A
note of aggression lent a sharp and bitter tang to the words. His fingers
flexed against the desk, the tips turning white with pressure.
“It's not my body,” Liese whispered,
shaking her head.
“You're quite sure about that?”
“It's photoshopped.”
“Is that so?” He quirked an eyebrow,
relief relaxed the tense line of his jaw. Ryder inspected the scene, apparently
no longer fazed by the naked, gyrating bodies now that he knew she hadn't made
a porno and pasted his head on her previous partner. Ryder minimized the
picture, allowing a series of folders to pop up on the screen.
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1x3k9VH
iTunes: http://bit.ly/1x3kasU
B&N/Nook: http://bit.ly/13DPxR5
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1tZekUE
Comments
Post a Comment