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I nod.
“You realize they’re all bullshit, right? Those relationships with the run-of-the-mill girl they meet at the”—she does air quotes—“‘insert unexpected meeting place.’ It would never work in real life.”
I start to argue, but she cuts me off.
“They come from different worlds and they have nothing in common. So, I’m making this easy for you and saying thank you for a…” Jane presses her hand against my chest, inhales a deep breath and then exhales the words, “A Wow! time. But this is goodbye.”
“Jane, do the billionaires in those books always get what they want?”
“Of course. But they’re fictional.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Then you know a lot of billionaires who aren’t fictional?”
She shakes her head.
“Well, I am a billionaire. And right now, and tomorrow, and I’m starting to think for the rest of my reading life, I want you.” I act like one of the bookish heroes I know she loves and step closer to her. “And I’m going to get what I want…”
Jane inhales sharply. I know I have the same effect on her as she does on me. But then she takes a step back.
“I wasn’t always a billionaire, you know,” I admit. I have to find a way to make her see how right this thing between us is. “My mom was a teacher and my dad worked in IT. If you’d met me ten years ago, you’d have met a man very much from your world.”
“And now your parents are retired and on a year-long cruise around the world,” Jane says, then flushes pink. “I must have seen that in the news.”
“Of course.” I nod, though I’m secretly pleased that she’s paid this much attention to me. It means that this thing between us stands a chance. “Let me get to know you, and you get to know me, beyond the memes and the media stories. I’ll drive you back to work and pick you up when the library closes. We’ll have dinner together. I’ll cook—and my robots will clean. I’m working on a cooking bot, but the last prototype… never mind.” I cup her face and lean in. “After we eat, you’ll spend the night. In my bed, not on my library couch, because as much fun as that was, tonight is going to be even better.”
She exhales sharply, and I cover her lips with mine. Kissing Jane is better than reading—better than figuring out that bit of code that transforms a regular robot into a masterpiece. Her hair is back up in that sexy bun of hers, and I reach up to free it, but she stops me and pulls away.
“You know, for a minute, when I saw how much you love books, I thought, maybe, just maybe, you and I did have enough in common to… I don’t know… have interesting conversations? But you don’t get to order me around just because you gave me the most explosive orgasm I’ve ever had.”
My chest expands a few inches. “The most explosive orgasm you’ve ever had, huh?”
“But”—she raises a finger to her lips, shushing me, and I swear it’s the hottest sight I’ve ever seen—“I credit the location as much as your cock for that orgasm because I got wet just walking into your library. So why don’t you get over yourself and appreciate that tonight I’ll be trying to figure out how to pay my mortgage when your robot takes over my job.”
“I could help?—”
“No.” She raises her hand to stop me. “I’m not taking some handout. Today was amazing. Aside from the fact that we met because of the whole robot job stealing thing. That notwithstanding, I won’t be forgetting this last hour, probably ever. But now I have to go back to my reality, so would you please open the door and let me go?”
No woman has ever turned me down with so much confidence. I’m not sure how I feel about it, but I’m leaning toward being impressed. “At least let me drive you.”
“Thank you, but I’ll walk.” She points to the camera. “Please, Bryan.”
I let her turn me so I’m facing it, and the lock clicks. Jane grabs the brass bar and pulls open the door, bumping me with her elbow. I grab it, spin her back to face me, and press my lips to hers. She melts into the kiss again. Her words may be telling me to back off, but her body is not in agreement, which means I still stand a chance.
I release her before she can pull away, desperate to leave her wanting more. I wait until she’s at the bottom of the stairs, then call, “Don’t make plans for dinner. We can discuss the rest of what happens tonight over wine.”
When she turns to face me, I can see the shimmer of tears in her eyes. Fuck. I made her cry. And I have six hours to come up with a way to make it up to her and fix things.
The simple solution: get her library assistant job back.
I watch her walk away, unable to tear my gaze away from her swaying hips. The moment she’s out of hearing range, I call the president of the Library Board.
“Joëlle, it’s Bryan Brooks.”
“Bryan, what can I do for you?”
“I was just informed that you’ve laid off your library assistant and replaced her with my robot. You know that was never my intention. I’m calling because I’d like to give you a reason to keep Jane.” Since I know Joëlle is not the brightest page in the book, I add, “Funding.”
“Oh, Bryan, you know we’d do anything, absolutely anything, for you,” she purrs.
