Lancelot by Silvia Violet
Julian
Istared at the fucking gorgeous man who’d starred in my fantasy the night before. My cheeks were so hot I feared they would catch fire. At this rate, I was going to be a sweaty mess before I got inside.
“I appreciate the offer, but you need to leave.”
“The beignets are from Loyola’s Patisserie. They’re the best in the city.”
I loved Loyola’s, but I’d only had their cakes and eclairs, never their beignets.
“They always sell out as fast as they’re made,” the man said as if he could read my mind.
They smelled amazing and so did the coffee. I’d run out of coffee at home and was planning to make a pot as soon as I got to work, but the break room coffee was barely drinkable.
Was I seriously considering letting this man into the library? That would be breaking so many rules—personal and professional ones—not to mention he could be a serial killer.
My stomach growled. The rice cake with peanut butter I’d eaten was pitiful compared to what I knew was in that box.
Apparently beignets ranked higher for me than this man helping with the library funding. Assuming he actually could do such a thing, which I doubted. Just because I let him into the break room didn’t mean I was going to let him into the archive.
He could murder you in there.
Hopefully he’d at least let me eat a few beignets first.
I retrieved my keys and unlocked the door. “Follow me.”
He smiled like a satisfied cat. This was so wrong. But those beignets…
He’s not bad either.
No, I’d like to eat him up as soon as I finish the pastries, but that would not be happening. I would eat, caffeinate myself properly, then I might let him use the archive during our regular hours. After that, he’d be sent on his way. That was the best way to get rid of him and not have to see him anymore.
He followed me to the break room. I studied the pastry box and coffees once he set them down. “How do I know you’re not going to poison me as revenge for denying you access yesterday?”
He smiled. “You choose your coffee cup, then add what you like.” He removed sealed containers of cream and packets of sugar from the extra sections of the drink holder.
I chose a cup and began dumping cream into it as he opened the box. “Now choose a beignet for yourself and one for me.”
He laid two napkins in front of me. My heart was pounding. This was crazy. What was I doing?
“Come on. You know you want one.”
Or six. I selected one for each of us then noticed he was pouring an obscene amount of sugar into his coffee. He glanced up and caught me watching. “What? I like sweet things.”
I picked up my beignet and took a bite. Immediately, I forgot everything about the insanity of this situation, my embarrassment, this man’s motives, everything but how incredible the fried dough and sugar tasted.
“Oh. Wow,” I said as soon as I could speak.
“Amazing, aren’t they?”
I nodded as I took another bite. When I’d finished the little bundle of yumminess, I licked the powdered sugar from my lips and reached for my coffee. I realized the man was staring at me. He hadn’t even touched his beignet. Had he been watching me the whole time?
“What?”
“You really enjoyed that, didn’t you?”
Embarrassment rushed through me as hot as it had been earlier despite the air blowing on me from the vent above my head. “I…”
“Have another one.” He picked up his and took a bite. I wanted to lick the powdered sugar from his lips the way I’d cleaned my own. The heat in my cheeks spread to other parts of my body. This was ridiculous.
“I think you should—”
“Enjoy this, Julian. I don’t think you take enough time for yourself.”
I grabbed my coffee cup and took a huge swallow. “Fuck. Hot. That’s really hot.”
The man just grinned. “Soothe it with another beignet.”
The roof of my mouth and my tongue stung, but I didn’t give into his suggestion. “This is another bribe, isn’t it? How long are you going to wait until you demand access to the materials you want to see?”
“As long as it takes.”
His predatory smile should have scared me. Instead, my cock started to swell. I was glad I was sitting down. I would die if he realized the effect he had on me.
I reached for another beignet and focused on how incredible it tasted. When I finished, I used a napkin to clean my mouth, not wanting to lick my lips again while the gorgeous man watched me like a wolf watched a rabbit.
I crumpled the napkin, stood, and forced myself to look at him. “I should get the library ready for the day. You can wait outside until we open.”
He rose too and moved closer. Too close. I worried my heart would beat right out of my chest. This was so not good.
“You know I’m not going to do that.”
“That’s not—”
He took one more step and rubbed at the corner of my lip with his thumb. “You missed a spot.”
I was frozen, my mind whirling. I couldn’t make myself speak or move. I was certain I could feel the heat of him, the energy rolling off him like he was going to spring into action any second.
“Let me get you thoroughly cleaned up.” He leaned closer. He was going to kiss me. I…
“No!” My body sprang into action then. I pushed him away. In doing so, I stepped back into the chair I’d vacated, turning it over. I started to fall backward, and he grabbed me, pulling me upright then surprising me by letting go and moving toward the door.
“You’re really hard to resist.”
He was lying. He had to be. No one had ever had that reaction to me before. “I… Please leave.” Tears burned behind my eyes. I couldn’t let him see what he did to me, the way he made me want something I couldn’t have. “Bribing me with money or flowers or food is fine, but don’t you dare pretend to be attracted to me. That’s cruel. Get out of this library and do not come back.”
“Julian, that’s not… I wasn’t…”
“Shut up and get out of here!”
He lifted his arms in surrender and backed out of the room. “I would never lie to you about how beautiful you are.”
I picked up the box of beignets and hurled it at him. He dodged them and headed for the door. I leaned into the hallway, watching until he’d exited, then I ran to make sure the door locked behind him.