Aeromancist The Beginning (Second Edition) - Charmaine Pauls Page 0,28
read what she’d typed on her laptop. When he was done, he wheeled a ladder to a shelf in the middle section, locked it in place, and climbed to the top level. He didn’t have to look for what he needed. He carefully removed a book. Kat watched his lean form as he carried the book to her and placed it on the desk.
“That’ll help,” he said.
She glanced at the title and looked up at him in awe. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” He smiled, and went to his desk.
The break she wanted to take was forgotten. She was too excited to go through the book he’d selected, which proved as helpful as he’d promised.
They worked until Alfonso came to tell them lunch was served on the pool deck. Martina and the rest of the staff ate at the big table in the kitchen. Kat enjoyed the grilled chicken breast and butternut salad, having found her appetite again. They didn’t linger over lunch, and she was grateful. She wanted to get back to her task.
She was bent over her laptop, her lip caught between her teeth, when she became aware of Lann’s stare. She stopped typing and looked up. He stood at the light table, and when their eyes met, he smiled.
Her heart did a backflip. That smile was so damn disarming. He looked sinfully hot, especially with those glasses. “What are you working on?”
“Restoration.” He motioned at the books. “I’m going through them, assessing what needs to be done to either maintain or repair them.”
Her interest was piqued. “How come you know so much about this?”
“It’s a passion. This collection was falling to pieces. It was a shame to let it go to waste because of a lack of government funding.”
“Is that why you bought it?”
“Yes, and I wanted to make it accessible to the public. These works belong to everyone, not only to theology students and monks.”
“You’re right,” she said, admiring his obvious dedication. She got up and walked to him. “So what are you looking for when you pour over these books?”
“Come here.” He moved aside, making space for her next to him. “I’m looking at the binding, and the ink and paper quality. See there?” He pointed at a colored border. “Fading. This needs a touch-up. Everything is noted, and then Martina draws up a report on each book, after which she makes the necessary arrangements to get the needed work done.”
Placing her palms on the desk, she lowered her head for a better look.
“See there?” Lann pointed at a section. “There’s a difference in the hue of the color.” As he spoke, he cupped his hand over hers, his broad, warm palm burying her smaller one.
She loved the subtle show of affection. Her heart gave a start. No. She shouldn’t start craving affection outside of the physical that was taking place in the bedroom. Yet her defenses didn’t stand a chance when he released her hand to drag his fingers up her arm and down her spine. She craved more, and she couldn’t help it.
With his other hand, he swept her hair over her shoulder and whispered in her ear, “I can’t stop thinking about you being naked under this dress.”
She looked up quickly, wondering if Martina had overheard him. The librarian was staring at them, but when Kat met her eyes, she looked away. Kat’s cheeks turned hot. She pulled away from Lann, not because Martina had been looking but because of the disconcerting realization that she liked the idea of Lann’s tender touches going beyond sexual, and took her place by her desk again.
His smile was amused, but his golden eyes heated when he rested his gaze in the general direction of her knees. Smirking at him, she shut his face from her line of vision with the angle of her laptop screen.
They worked until five and, when her brain was tired from thinking, she put on a T-shirt and yoga pants, and told Lann she was going for a run.
To her surprise, the driver from yesterday followed her in the Jaguar. The man riding shotgun was someone she recognized from Lann’s security detail.
Back at the monastery, she changed into her bikini and went for a dip in the pool. She lounged in the sun for half an hour, took a shower, and dressed for dinner in an off-shoulder blouse and a pair of jeans. Lann had been locked up in his office since she’d left, but he joined her for a dinner of lobster