Page 16 of Hot Girls Read Book Club

At eight-thirty, a gentle rap against the front window snags my attention. I look up from the stack of papers on my desk to see Jax grinning and wiggling a cup of coffee like a bribe, as if he needs something else to tempt me into opening the door for him.

I abandon my paperwork and cross the library in record time. Instead of unlocking the door, I stop in front of it and rise onto my toes until we’re closer to eye-level through the glass.

Jax grins wider, crouching to meet my gaze.

“What’s the password?” I ask.

Jax immediately holds up the coffee.

“This should be the password.”

“Wrong,” I tease.

He makes a show of tapping a finger to his lips, thinking hard about what the password could be.

“Come on, Lil. I’m gonna be late.”

I pretend to consider it. “Still wrong,” I say with a casual shrug, before pretending to walk away.

A heavy palm thuds against the glass.

“Please, baby.” Jax’s voice rumbles through the glass as he bends down to set the coffee cup on the concrete beside the door. “Don’t make me go to work without kissing you good morning. Without touching you. I need it.”

I freeze on the spot. A pleading Jax is apparently my kryptonite. Without any further teasing or hesitation, I turn and unlock the door, pushing it open in one rapid motion. It doesn’t even have a chance to swing back fully on its hinges before Jax is inside, wrapping a rough hand around my waist and cradling the back of my head with the other, tilting my face toward his.

“You like it when I beg, huh?”

With my eyes closed, I nod enthusiastically.

“Good,” he whispers before his mouth finds mine.

Jax kisses me like a man starved, and I eagerly match the rhythm he sets, equally hungry for whatever it is that’s building between us. My hands trace the strong muscles of his biceps, reveling in the way he flexes beneath my fingers.

My heart races in my chest, and suddenly the library feels like a very inconvenient place to be having these feelings. It’s hard not to wonder what this would be like if we weren’t standing in the middle of a public library. Jax has been nothing but a gentleman—allowing me to set the pace, never pushing me beyond what I’m comfortable with. But the way this man kisses me makes me crave everything else he has to give.

Jax slows the kiss, reluctantly pulling away.

“Book club tonight,” he says, lingering inches away from my face, brushing his nose up the length of mine and kissing me on the forehead.

“You mean our date disguised as book club?”

I’m rewarded with another one of his rich, booming laughs before he turns to leave. He tosses a quick wink over his shoulder, then pushes through the door, sauntering across the parking lot.

I don’t even try to avoid checking him out as he goes.

Thursdays at the library are usually slow. My shift slips by without anything notable, which is perfect because I can’t seem to focus on anything except the fact that I get to see Jax tonight.

Around six-thirty, I step outside for a breath of fresh air after setting up for book club. Much to my surprise, the Facebook event for this week’s meeting has two RSVPs.

Two.

As in, more people than just me and Jax will be attending the meeting tonight.

Which means the Hot Girls Read Book Club sign and little notebooks have to come out of retirement for the night. It also means Jax and I might actually have to discuss the book instead of flirting through most of the meeting.

“Hi, are you Lily?” A bubbly, energetic voice sounds from behind me, breaking the mental checklist I was running through in my head.

I turn to find a pair of women, who look to be around my age, walking up the sidewalk toward the library. Smiling, I raise a hand in a greeting.