Lucifer (Brimstone Heat Book 1) (4 page)

The next morning, Angie hid another yawn behind the book she picked up to inspect for damage. Like the majority of the books she had inspected so far, this one too had pages ripped out of it. She set it on top of the growing pile of damaged books. She started to pick up another book, but covered her mouth with her hand as she yawned again.

“Rough night?” asked her assistant, Teri. She picked up a pile of damaged books and moved them to the counter where she was scanning each one and removing them from the library’s inventory.

“Just too many dreams and not enough sleep because of them.” Angie picked up another book, only to find it had missing pages too. She put it into the damaged stack, and picked up another book.

“I can’t blame you. What kind of monster does something like this?” Teri gestured with the book she was holding. “Even I can see this is more than just vandalism.”

“And that’s one of the things bothering me,” said Angie. She wished that was the only thing bothering her. It wasn’t the unknown person who vandalized the library that occupied her dreams last night. That honor went to one Sheriff Lucifer Fitch.

Her dreams had started out pleasant and nonsexual, but very quickly they turned vividly erotic. They had been so real. Even after she woke up, she could still feel his hands and lips on her body. And when she laid back down and closed her eyes, the dreams started again.

For the first time in her life, Angie took a cold shower, hoping it would cool down the desires raging through her body, but the shower had given her only temporary relief. By the time she arrived at the library, not only was she tired from the lack of sleep, but her body was on fire again.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” asked Teri.

“I’m fine,” said Angie as she dropped another book onto the damaged stack. She picked up her coffee mug and brought it to her lips to take a drink, only to find the mug was empty. She growled as she frowned at the mug.

“Is it empty again?” asked Teri as she put the books she had scanned into a cardboard box.

“I don’t even remember drinking this one,” mumbled Angie. She put down the mug and covered her mouth to hide yet another yawn.

“You keep that up and I’ll start yawning too.”

“I’m not doing it on purpose.” As if on cue, Angie yawned again.

“Not funny.” Teri shook her head. Suddenly, she yawned. “See what you’ve done! I’ve caught your bug!”

Angie, despite being tired, rolled her eyes. “Yawning is not a bug you catch.”

“Tell that to the yawns that have invaded my body.” Teri dramatically waved at her whole body. “You knowingly walked into the library infected with them when you should have been quarantined for everyone’s safety. And now I’m infested with them. I hate yawning.”

Angie laughed. “If you hadn’t said anything, you wouldn’t have caught them.” She shook her head as another yawn took over. “I’m going to get another cup of coffee.”

“Just bring back the whole pot with you. It’ll save you the effort of walking back and forth every time you drain your mug.” Teri walked over and picked up another stack of damaged books and carried them over to the counter. She dropped them with a loud thump.

“I haven’t drunk that much coffee.” Angie frowned. She couldn’t remember how many cups she had drunk.

Teri raised an eyebrow. “Then why was Josh mumbling something about having to put on another pot of coffee because there wasn’t even enough left for half a mug? And that was only fifteen minutes ago.”

“I’m not drinking that much coffee.” Angie got to her feet and looked at Teri. “There’s a hole in my mug”

Teri chuckled. “Yeah. It’s the large one at the top that you used to suck the coffee out of the mug.”

“Whatever! When did Josh get here? I didn’t hear him come in.”

“If you hadn’t been staring at the wall when you drank the rest of your coffee, you might have seen him and heard him when he spoke to you.” Teri leaned against the counter.

“I wasn’t staring at the wall.” Angie shook her head in denial.

“Then you were daydreaming.” Teri’s lips turned up in a huge grin. “That must have been one hot date last night, and the sex must have been even hotter.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t have a date last night. As for the sex…no date…no sex.” Angie’s cheeks turned pink. “And if I was having sex, I wouldn’t be discussing it with you or anyone else. I’m going to get me another cup of coffee while you finish scanning the damaged books.” She spun around and almost ran into Sheriff Lucifer Fitch.

“Careful, I don’t want the coffee spilling on you. It’s hot enough to leave a nasty burn on your skin and that is not acceptable.” Lucifer held a tray of cups, with the logo of a trendy coffee shop blazed across them, away from him so Angie wouldn’t get burnt. “Looks like I brought coffee just in the nick of time.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were standing there.” Angie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She slowly let it out and looked up at Sheriff Fitch. She felt the heat creeping into her cheeks. She didn’t know how long he had been standing there, but she was absolutely sure he had heard everything.

“Are you okay?” Concern filled his green eyes.

Angie nodded. “I just had a rough night.”
And it was all your fault.
She stared at Lucifer. How could a man look that sexy in a uniform this early in the morning? “Can I help you with something?” She hoped her voice sounded at least a little normal.

“You could say yes to a dinner date tonight. Chinese take-out and a movie at my place?” Lucifer smiled.

Angie felt her heart flip flop in her chest. His deep, chocolate smooth voice and his sexy grin were a deadly combination. She wasn’t just tempted to say yes, she desperately wanted to say yes, but fear held her back. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

“I’m sorry too.” He didn’t push for a reason why, but his eyes turned dark. He blinked and it was gone, making Angie think maybe she had imagined it.

Teri cleared her throat. “Are those donuts for us?” she asked, breaking the sexual tension building between Lucifer and Angie.

“Yeah, I brought them for you.” Lucifer’s eyes never left Angie’s face. “Two of the coffees are for you and the other guy.”

Teri stood up. “I’ll take those and put them in the workroom. It’s safer in there anyway. Watch out for the yawn bug. She’s contagious.” She made a hasty exit with the donuts and two of the coffees.

“Your yawn bug?” He raised an eyebrow at Angie.

Angie felt the heat in her cheeks crank up a couple of degrees.

He grinned at her. “So you’re contagious with this yawn bug.”

“I’m not contagious with anything. I didn’t sleep very well last night, and I’ve been yawning this morning. I was just about to get another cup of coffee.” Angie bit her bottom lip. Great! Now she sounded like she had mouth diarrhea. Definitely not a good impression. Too bad she hadn’t found the sinkhole yet.

“Then I brought you just the thing you need,” said Lucifer after Teri left. He took one of the remaining cups out of the tray and held it out to her.

“You didn’t have to do that. The coffee and donuts, I mean.” Angie took the cup from Lucifer. Their fingers brushed against each other, sending a warmth through her hand. She whimpered as the feeling faded.

Lucifer stepped closer to her, knowing his presence affected her as hers affected him. “I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to do it. Just like I want to help you with this mess. I’m hoping you will see that I’m not a bad guy, and you will give us a chance, because I really want to take you home with me.”

Angie swallowed. “I never said or thought you were a bad guy.” She didn’t say anything about the other because she didn’t know how to respond to it.

“Then take a chance and go out with me. I know you feel the connection between us. We are meant to be together. We are lifemates. We are destined to be together.” Lucifer stared at her, willing her to say yes.

Angie bit her bottom lip to stop it from trembling. “I don’t think it would be a good idea,” she whispered. Her words didn’t match what her body wanted.

“Sooner or later, you will say yes to me,” said Lucifer.

“Don’t you have some tickets to write or a bad guy to chase down?” She sipped the coffee. It was strong and sweet, just the way she liked it.

“If my deputies need me, they will call.” He winked at her.

Angie blinked and rolled her eyes. “You’re not going to leave, are you?”

“Nope.” He looked from her to the books piled on the floor. “What are you doing with the books?”

She shook her head. “Stubborn man. Have it your way. But it’s not going to work. I’m on to your game.”

“But it’s a game I plan on winning, and you are my prize,” chuckled Lucifer.

“Whatever,” she said as she shrugged her shoulders. Angie gestured to the stacks of books scattered across the floor. “Do you see the gap dividing the book piles into two sections?”

“Yes.”

“The books on this side are damaged in some way. The majority of them have had pages ripped out of them. The ones on the other side still need to be sorted.”

“What about those in that box?” asked Lucifer.

“Those are the few that weren’t damaged.” Angie sighed. “It took a log of anger for someone to do this much destruction.” Her shoulders slumped.

Lucifer wanted to wrap his arms around her and comfort her, but he knew it wasn’t a good idea. She wasn’t quite ready and he was too ready. He carefully adjusted his stance to ease the pressure of his cock on the zipper of his pants. It had been a long night for him. Dreams of making love to Angie had filled his sleep. “So we need to sort books.”

“That’s about it. Open the book and look for missing pages. Some are easier to see than others. To speed up things, Teri has been scanning the damaged books and pulling them out of circulation.” Angie took another sip of the coffee Lucifer gave her. She set her empty mug on the counter and sat down on the floor. “I’ve got to get back to work. Unfortunately, these are not going to sort themselves.”

Lucifer took the last cup of coffee out of the tray and tossed the tray in a trashcan at the corner of the counter. He sat down on the floor in front of Angie and picked up a book.

“What are you doing?” asked Angie as she watched him skim through the book.

“I’m looking for any damaged books and putting them in that pile with the other damaged books.” Lucifer winked at her.

“I can see what you are doing.” Angie rolled her eyes. “Why are you doing it?”

Lucifer closed the book and laid it on a short stack of damaged books. He picked up another book and opened it. “The sooner this is done, the sooner you can get the library back into shape. Besides, it gives us a chance to spend some time together and get to know each other.”

Angie stared at him. “What’s the catch?”

Lucifer shook his head. “There’s no catch. No strings attached. Just one friend helping another friend.”

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather be chasing the bad guys? It would probably be more fun than sorting books.”

“I’m letting my deputies chase the bad guys today. It’s good for them to stay in practice.” He raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Besides, I would much rather spend the day with the beautiful woman sitting across from me.”

“Whatever.” Angie picked up a book and opened it. She shook her head and closed the book. “No need to look any further. The front pages are missing.” She started a new stack next to the stack Lucifer was putting damaged books on.

“Angie, never have any doubts about your looks. You are gorgeous,” said Lucifer.

She didn’t say anything and couldn’t look at him, but she did nod her head. She was secretly pleased that he thought she was beautiful, especially since she didn’t hear any deceit in his voice.

“What’s bothering you?” Concern filled Lucifer’s voice.

“I’m angry about the senseless destruction of so many books. I’m angry that I have to sort and dispose of them.” She looked at Lucifer. “I want whoever did this to pay.”

“And when I find them, I will make them pay,” vowed Lucifer. “Now, let’s see how many of these books we can get through.”

Angie nodded her head.

*****

A couple of hours later, Angie put the last damaged book on the stack next to her, and rolled her shoulders and back. She looked over at Lucifer. “We are finished sorting. Thank you for your help.” She smiled at him.

“You are even more beautiful when you smile.” Lucifer stood up and stepped over to Angie. He held out his hands to her. Without any hesitation she reached up and took his hands. Gently, Lucifer pulled her to her feet.

“Thank you.” Reluctantly she let go of his hands.

Lucifer gestured toward the two boxes filled with undamaged books. “Where do you want these boxes to go?”

“Don’t worry about them. I’ll move them later.” Angie picked up her empty cup and tossed it into the trash.

“Where do you want them?” Lucifer asked again.

“Anywhere on the floor behind the counter.”

“Now, was that hard?” Lucifer stacked one box on top of the other one, and picked up both boxes at once.