Chapter 11

Discretely, I study the woman behind the counter. She reminds me of Nova, but I don't know why; her spirit is not as fiery. Or maybe it is. Maybe it's just hidden somewhere deep down behind the nerves and the… what is that?

It hits me like a wave when she wriggles her shoulders.

Pain.

There is something wrong with this human. She's sick. She's not whole.

A violent shudder grips my insides. I inhale slowly and force the feelings aside. Whatever is wrong with her – whatever she's going through – it is not my purpose to find out or to help. We are here for Mack.

But… but…

Something about the way she moves makes me want to hug her. Nothing else. Just hold her and tell her it's going to be okay.

And yet, none of it shows on her face. She smiles broadly, her eyes sparkling. "Are you going to tell me which books you were interested in, or would you like me to guess?"

Thornfield swallows hard. Like he doesn't quite know how to answer.

I almost laugh.

Seeing him tongue-tied is priceless.

But he soon rallies. "I believe you might be in possession of some books that once belonged to my family. They were stolen several years ago, and I've been trying to track them down. My search led me here."

Luna's eyes widen. "Stolen?" She blinks at him, worry coming off her in waves even though I'm blocking it out.

Lucien reaches for her hand again and brushes his fingers across the top of her knuckles. "Don't worry, it's not the fault of the store or the owner. I don't even really want them back. I'd just like to see them again, if possible."

"Do you have titles?" Luna asks, hesitating before taking her hand back and moving over to the ancient-looking computer in the corner. "I'll check our catalogue."

"Better than that," Lucien says, reaching for his phone. "I have pictures if that would help?"

He swipes a few buttons then shows Luna the screen. She studies the image, then nods, her cheeks flushing a little. "Yes, oh yes! I remember them." She pinches the bridge of her nose. "They were here one day when I arrived for work. Just sat on the desk. My boss said someone had sold them to him at an auction." Her excitement fades and she bites her lower lip. "I'm so sorry. That money should have been yours." She gestures to the computer. "I can email my boss. He's not very communicative, but he should get back to me within a few days. I could ask if he'll let you take them." She frowns, her forehead creasing beneath her large round glasses. "If he can even stop you. How does that work? If they're yours anyway?"

Lucien chuckles – a sound I'm not used to – and Luna blushes harder.

Holy fuck, the chemistry between these two – it's almost fiery enough to melt the leather on the big old books in the window.

And neither of them has any intention of acknowledging it.

"I would appreciate that," Lucien says, in a timbre clearly designed to make her shudder with pleasure. "Thank you, Luna."

At the sound of her name on his lips, he opens her mouth to speak but no sound comes out. She simply nods. Then gingerly slides a piece of paper toward him. "If you leave your email, I'll let you know what he says."

Lucien takes a pen from his pocket and scrawls something on the page. Perhaps something like [emailprotected]

The look he gives her when he passes back the paper, allowing his fingers to brush hers, is sinful. It's the way Kole looks at Nova – like he wants to devour her, fuck her, and save her. From the world. From himself. Like he wants every part of her, and even if he has them, they will never be enough.

Thornfield… more like ‘horn-field', I whisper inside my own head, chuckling at my joke.

"In the meantime," I say pointedly, clearing my throat and tweaking my eyebrows.

Thornfield looks at me as f he's forgotten why the hell we're here. Then his eyes twitch in recognition and he says, "Right, the books. You remember this one?" he asks, showing Luna the photo on his phone again.

She nods. "I do, but I can't remember where it is. Perhaps upstairs." She looks at the stairs hesitantly. Something shimmers in the air around her. She hurts too much. She's trying to find the energy to climb them.

Again, a pang of empathy grips my stomach.

"Do you mind if I take a look? You and Tanner take the downstairs, I'll take upstairs. Might be quicker." He checks the time on his phone. "I'm sure you'll be wanting to close up soon."

With a smile that relaxes her shoulders, Luna says, "Yes, thank you. Go on up."

She watches him leave, then casts her eyes back to me and says, "Tanner? You're friends… or…?"

Does she think we're a couple? "Colleagues," I reply, noticing the slight softening of her gaze.

"Well, Tanner, if you could hold the ladder, I'll check the top shelves back here. I'd imagine Professor Thornfield's book is one of the rare editions we keep out of the way of the main stock."

"Have you worked here long?" I ask as she ascends the ladder. She's wearing a long skirt, the kind I'd expect someone twenty years older to wear, and a pale pink sweater tucked into the hem that – almost – makes it more fashionable.

Not that I'm the king of fashion.

I look down at my slightly crumpled tee and scruffy jeans. Still, Nova likes them.

Adjusting her glasses on her nose again, Luna starts to examine the spines on the top shelf.

"Since it was taken over," she says. "I used to spend a lot of time here. Just because I loved the smell of the books. Being around old things is… comforting."

I have to stop myself making a joke about her liking Lucien.

"It was taken over?" I ask, holding the ladder steady as we hear Lucien's footsteps moving back and forth above us.

Luna nods absentmindedly, pulling out a volume that isn't the one we're looking for then tucking it back. "For years, it was home to collections of children's books and antique volumes. A few years ago, it was taken over by a new owner who was more interested in…" she hesitates, searching for the word, "occult material."

"Suits the name better, I guess," I offer.

Luna nods. "Oh, definitely."

"And that's when you started working here?"

She nods. "I've never met my boss though." She laughs a little. "The whole place was closed down, locked up tight. I walked past one day and saw a sign in the window asking for staff. Just an email underneath. We had a video interview." She shudders visibly. "I hate those things, and Mr Hyde's connection was so bad he couldn't use his camera." She laughs again. "So, I've worked for him for three years and don't even know what he looks like."

Something snags in my brain. I cast my eyes up to the ceiling, and press my lips together. "Is that right?"

"Ah ha," she says. Then again, "Ah ha!"

"You've got it?" I ask as she pulls out a dark blue leather bound volume and waves it in the air.

As she waves it she wobbles. I reach out to steady her, and before I've managed to help her down, Lucien is there. At my side. Staring daggers into the side of my face.

He takes the book from Luna's hand then helps her down while I stand aside.

"Is this the one?" she asks.

He looks down and rubs his palm over the book's cover. Magickal Colonies of the World. "It is." He looks up, then firmly says, "how much?"

Luna takes the book and moves to the till. She taps in the title, frowns, then picks up the book. She opens it, turns it over, then adjusts her glasses again. "I'm so sorry," she says. "It's not in the system at all, and there's no price."

"Must mean it's free of charge," I quip.

"That's all right." Lucien counters when Luna looks a little panicked. "Perhaps we can just take photographs of the pages we need? And you can let me know when you've spoken to your boss about the possibility of me buying it back." He taps his fingers on the cover. "This, and the others, of course."

Visibly relaxing, Luna says, "Of course, go ahead." She tilts her head. "What was it you were interested in?"

Lucien looks up at her, half way through trailing his finger down the contents page.

"I'm sorry." She blushes furiously. "That's nosy of me. It's none of my business."

"We are interested in the section on bear shifters."

I expect her to laugh or frown or look confused. Instead she says, "Ohh, I didn't even know we had books that covered shifter types." She follows Lucien's finger as he locates the right chapter, then looks up at him. "If I'd known, I'd have read it."

"You're interested in shifters?" I ask, moving to look over Lucien's other shoulder and feeling decidedly like a spare fucking wheel.

"Shifters, werewolves – technically, they're different, you know. Werewolves are a class of their own, whereas bears, tigers, lions, dogs, they're…" She stops and shakes her fingers a little, like she's trying to brush off a rush of excitement. "Sorry… this stuff gets me a little carried away. I've been obsessed since I was little. My boyfriend thinks it's strange."

"Boyfriend?" I ask, studying Lucien's face.

"He's a physics professor at the university. There's a bit of a divide between the scientists and the supernatural scholars, which personally I never understood because surely there's science in everything? If it was me, and I was clever enough, I'd want to understand how the magic works. I'd want to—" She stops herself, physically wrapping her arms around her waist like she's trying to hold the excitement inside. "I'm so sorry. I'm going to leave you to it and get packing up. You didn't come here to listen to me waffle."

Lucien's lips twitch. He definitely came here to listen to her waffle; I get the impression he'd be happy to listen to her talk for the rest of his life. Especially if she was naked.

As she turns away, he watches her. His eyes graze her hips, her ass, then move to her ankles. Ankles? Is that a thing? I guess if you're a vampire, maybe. Nostalgia for the days when women weren't allowed to show too much flesh?

Thornfield flips open the book and pulls out his phone. He takes pictures of every page in the chapter about bear shifters, then pockets it again and puts the book down on the counter.

Luna turns to him, shutting down the computer.

"Thank you for your help, Luna. I hope to hear from you soon."

She tucks her hair behind her ear again, then folds her arms in front of her stomach. The gesture makes her cardigan shift a little, and shows off the swell of her breasts. Thornfield, however, keeps his eyes trained on her lips. It's her lips he wants.

And it's so obvious I almost expect him to jump over the counter and take her right here. Right now.

"I hope so too. I mean, I hope…" She laughs, and shakes her head. "Goodbye, Lucien."

Outside, I tilt my head and chuckle. Then I punch Thornfield's upper arm and shake my head at him. "Fuck me, you're besotted. How long have you been stalking her for?"

He stops dead in his tracks. "What did you say?" he growls.

"That clearly wasn't the first time you'd seen that woman."

Turning slowly, Thornfield glowers down at me. "What if it wasn't?"

A smile curls my lips. I shouldn't torment him. I know I shouldn't. And yet… "How much are you dying to ask me what she was thinking back there? What she was feeling? If she wants you as much as you want her?"

Thornfield practically growls at me. His lip curl. His eyes flash. But instead of responding, he turns and stalks away into the darkness.

"If you'd asked nicely, I'd have told you," I call after him.

But he's already gone.