Yearnings: A Paranormal Romance Box Set Read Free Page A

crossed his arms, jutted his hip. “Bite your tongue, girl,” he mouthed. “Our boy may be bad , but not criminal!”
    Sadie managed to laugh, pulling her favorite, limp-free cart out. “You met Cher and she’s leaving her wigs to you?”
    “ I wish.” Ben rolled his eyes but grinned.
    “ I give up. I have absolutely no idea.”
    Ben leaned in. “Okay. But I’m warning you. Do not try to kiss me. Promise?”
    Sadie nodded, adrenaline sparking in her veins.
    “ Are you ready?” His eyes glinted, his fingers twittering in the air. “I have his name.” He covered his loud gasp.
    “ His name? What is it?” Her heart hiccupped into triple time. Her cheeks flushed hot. She would die if anyone else witnessed how much this affected her. Ben binged on her reaction, prolonging the moment.
    Before she went to strangle the name from Ben’s writhing body, he spoke. “Elijah. Stokes.”
    Elijah? His sculpted features, his mahogany eyes, the shadow of stubble along his angular jaw. The quiet, serpentine way he moved.
    She blinked hard, suppressing the urge to clap and squeal in delight. “Elijah Stokes?” Her tone sounded impressively even considering the riot in her belly.
    A name shouldn’t mean so much. Yet it did.
    Sadie sagged into a chair, struggling to compose herself. She bit her inner cheek. “Elijah, huh?” she said, forcing herself to sound casual.
    Those mahogany eyes staring into the ether, his mind snared by some observation within the books he scoured week in and out, strong hands toying with whatever hung from the long gold chain around his neck.
    Ben pressed his lips together, nodding, triumphant. “You’re welcome.”
    “ Elijah Stokes,” Ben affirmed, framing an air name plaque. “It suits him, don’t you think?”
    “ Definitely.” Now, for the more important question. “Why did you say he won’t be back?”
    “ Yeah, so, he came in yesterday and I made it my mission. I mean how long can you go on thinking of someone as ‘Angel Eyes’ or ‘Tasty Treat’, right?”
    Maybe she’d strangle Ben after all. But she knew rushing him would shut him up. Plus, the name Angel Eyes gave her pause. No wonder she’d given him wings. “He was here yesterday?” Sadie lined her cart, her palms sweating. Maybe Cynthia would add Thursdays to her schedule. If she could get the microfiche machine down.
    “ Yep. Jealous much?” Ben started on a cart, too. “So, yesterday, I figured if I lingered around him long enough, his girl would say his name.”
    His girl? Probably the honey - skinned one with runway legs. Sadie swallowed against the lump in her throat. “Oh?”
    “ Oh and she was wearing the most divine nude lace - up corset and these velvet jockey pants. Divine. I had to get a closer look. And I figured, if she didn’t say his name, I could go up and ask him, you know, compliment her, segue into an introduction. But I didn’t have to.”
    Conversation? Yeah, right. Cajones, Ben did not sport. “So she said his name?” Lovingly? Passionately? Was it too much to hope she wasn’t his girlfriend ?
    “ No. He got a phone call and answered ‘Elijah Stokes’.” Ben paged through a book before sticking it in his cart. “And then she said something about coming back one last time tomorrow, which means today. Come back for what, I couldn’t tell you , but I’ll be trying to find out , if you know what I mean.”
    Last night’s hot kisses came into sharp mental focus. Her first cart alphabetized, Sadie hurried to finish the next. Keeping her hands busy tempered her rapid heartbeat.
    “ So, you’ll never guess who the history department….”
    She tuned Ben out.
    She couldn’t lose control over her reactions. She couldn’t let him see how much the idea of never seeing Elijah again panicked her. She couldn’t reveal all those dreams. And because she wanted to keep her only sort of friend, she couldn’t pad his already extensive Sadie files.
    The books smelled fusty and good, the