John’s eyes appeared to be taking her in as well. Her face burned as his gaze wandered downward at an achingly slow pace, before making their way back to her face. This momentary standoff of staring made her uncomfortable. She only hoped that she didn’t appear dumbstruck by his beauty. Victoria pursed her lips just to make sure her tongue wasn’t in danger of wagging. An easy smile stretched across his face as he sauntered towards her. “You got my book, Dr. Reese?”

Victoria was once again startled by his ability to switch topics at a moment’s notice. She did hear him correctly. And you can have him... She knew innuendo when she heard it. Though it had been awhile. “No, I don’t, Mr. Donovan.”

He sidled up to the counter, close to her, and said in a soft voice, “One way or another, I will come a-collectin’, Dr. Reese.”

She glanced over her shoulder at the old woman, who had returned to her book. Not even the deaf woman could save her. “I won’t have anything to give you,” she said in a low voice.

“Is that a fact?”

She drew a shaky breath and nodded her head.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” John said, dropping his gaze down to her shoes. “Are you going to be comfortable in those?”

Now we are going to talk about shoes? Again, the sudden shift. The more he gazed at her body; the more naked Victoria felt. It was as if he was discarding one article of clothing at a time before settling on her shoes. “They’ll do just fine.”

“I hope so, because your students will spend a lot of time on their feet,” John said, straightening away from the counter, away from her. “You might want to remember that for next time.”

“Next time?”

“You didn’t think I only needed one night with you, did you?”

There! There it is again! Her brain was actually shouting at her. The way his voice dipped to a dark rumble, the way his lips lifted at the corner in a cocky half grin. He’s definitely flirting with you!

Victoria ignored her brain and gaped, “Yes, I did actually.”

John rubbed the side of his bearded face and frowned. “Oh no, Dr. Reese. We’ve got a couple more nights together before you understand the nature of the job.”

All of this could have been put in an email. “Fine...”

“Great,” he said with a clap of his hands. “Let’s get started.” John walked towards the offices behind the counter, beckoning her to follow.

“I’ve always wondered what was behind the counter,” she said, taking note of the carts of books and computers.