Sex in the Stacks Read Free Page A

she begged.
    Instead of untying her hands, he yanked up his boxers and pants. “Stay calm. It’ll be okay.”
    “I have it on good authority. There are certain places he likes for his liaisons. And certain things he likes to do,” a familiar male voice answered. Her colleague, Kevin.
    “Like what?” the woman asked. When Kevin didn’t answer, she said, “Should I get my camera ready?”  
    The footsteps advanced quickly in their direction. Her heart started to pound. She pressed her legs together to keep her panties from sliding below the hem of her skirt.
    “Shh,” Simon urged. His teeth flashed again in the dark, another smile. The devil was actually enjoying this, the risk of being caught. Maybe he even hoped he would be. After all, he was now fully clothed, while she was the one undone and bound, face wet and sticky. Quite a picture that would make.
    “Please,” she begged, turning her hands to him. There was no thrill in this adventure for her, not anymore.
    “Don’t let them catch you. Run!” Violet’s voice urged from the shadows.
    Melanie didn’t know whether Simon would have untied her if she’d given him another second. She was no longer willing to trust him and take the risk.  
    “Run,” Violet warned again.  
    Hands still tied behind her, she dashed awkwardly down the row as her panties slipped and tangled at her knees. She ran away from the voices, away from Simon. She didn’t spare a glance back over her shoulder for him.
    Her tears flowed fast and free. Running along the opposite wall of the basement from where she’d heard the voices, she doubled back to the elevator. She jabbed the button with her elbow.
    As the doors opened, Violet pushed her inside. She took a shuddering breath, not quite of relief, as the doors slid closed. The elevator began to rise, and Violet hit the stop button.
    “I should let you get to the main floor like this,” her twin said. “What do you think people will say when you stumble out of the elevator looking like a sex club escapee? How will you talk yourself out of this scrape, Miss Goodie-Two-Shoes?”
    “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”  
    “Me? Why would I want that? I tried to warn you.” Violet threw her hands in the air in an exaggerated gesture of exasperation.  
    Melanie started to cry in earnest. She had made a mess of everything, and now her years of hard work were going to be nothing, to mean nothing.  
    “Stop it,” Violet ordered. “Don’t be such a victim.” Violet tugged on the belt and untied here. “Here.” Violet   pressed the belt into her hands. “Pull yourself together. You weren’t caught and you’re going to walk out of here, head held high, as if nothing happened.”  
    She nodded mutely. With trembling fingers, she pulled up her panties, reclasped her bra, and buttoned her blouse. She smoothed her hair but her ponytail was gone, and so was her sweater. She looked more like her twin than she cared to admit, the difference between them less prominent, and also less favorable than it had been only a few hours ago, when she’d been the one with a real career and a clear direction, when she’d been the sensible one and not the slutty one.
    “He called me Josie,” she said.
    Violet snorted. “What did you expect? Hearts and flowers? Don’t tell me you were pretending he loved you while you played your little bondage game.” Violet sighed heavily. “You did, didn’t you? I can see it in your face. Make sure you learn this lesson, and learn it well. This wasn’t about you or even Josie. It was all about him. About him thumbing his nose at the rules and conventions with a hot, young thing. He was probably hoping to get caught, just to test his own invincibility.”
    The words rang true, and she admitted to herself that Violet had recently come through with more than one accurate and keen insight into her life, no matter how unwelcome. Her face heated with shame. The sympathy in Violet’s eyes only deepened