Garden of Pleasure

chapter 2

The wind today was fierce, filling the city streets with a chill only described as death. I kept my hands near my lap in case my skirt flew up. “Oh hell” I hissed under my breath. People constantly bumped into me as I walked opposite the crowd. Some man groaned beside me as my elbow accidentally found his stomach. “Sorry” I offered but he didn’t seem to care. I arrived at the bookstore a disheveled mess, I didn’t care. My cheeks immediately warmed once inside, the change in temperature was pure bliss. As I walked around the book store I was well familiar with I sought out a familiar face. Hans the shop keeper was back from his vacation and I desperately wanted to know how it went.

Hans, a usually paler man was flushed with color only people who visited the Bahamas could get.

 “How was vacation?” I asked

“Wonderful, the wife loved it and the kids had a blast” he offered

“Next time take me with you” I whined

“I’ll be sure to, you look a bit pale anyways” he joked

We said our goodbyes and I began to wonder just how badly I looked. I found my way to the bathroom and a mirror. Dark brunette hair and dull hazel eyes, yep defiantly me. My skin was a bit pale but nothing cover up couldn’t fix. I couldn’t help the dark circles under my eyes from reading too late. Nor could I fix the redness of my nose and ears. Oh fucking well I thought to myself and went to find the romance section. I scanned the dark mahogany book shelves with hawk eyes, trying to find something besides what I had previously read. It was a bit easier since now BDSM had its own little section due to the fifty shades series. Whilst scanning the titles I saw a pair of eyes scanning across from me as well. They were a beautiful blue, the kind you could drown happily in, without a care in the world.

I could tell it was a man from the angles of his face and his thick lashes, not to mention his sexy five clock shadow. I felt my entire body grow warm and sensitive, almost to a point of embarrassment.  His eyes met mine and something inside me clicked. The feeling, it was almost indescribable, foreign and very uncomfortable. Yet I welcomed it because it was an experience, something I had never felt before in my life.

He smirked at me and I did all but melt and tried my hardest not to show it.

“Hello” he breathed

“Hi, um I’m here quite often and haven’t seen you before” I said sounding like a dork

“You must come here at all the wrong times then” that smirk spreading across his face again

“True, I just like to get my fix of…umm romance” what I said didn’t intimidate him, as if romance was what he was used to. Oh man, I mentally face palmed myself, this gorgeous man probably has a beautiful lady and pretty little ones running around. Suddenly he disappeared from where he was standing and seconds later I felt a hand on my shoulder.  I turned and immediately looked at his left hand…hmmm no ring, as if I had a chance.

“Do you wanna continue this book talk at a nearby café?” he asked, I then noticed how plush and pink his lips were.

“Yea, I’d love to” I hoped I didn’t sound too eager

“I’ll take you to my favorite, Café Le Desir” the words seemed to just flow from his lush lips

“Is that place new or something?” something about him made me nervous to ask

“No, you just have to know the right type of people to get in” he extended his hand for me to take, and I did. The flush spread through my body like wildfire. I began to wonder what his hands would feel like against my face, on my lips, all over my body. I shook the thought away as we exited the book store. We found ourselves outside and disappeared into the busy Chicago crowd and deathly wind.

The café was beautiful, decorated like an enchanted but modern forest. He pulled out a chair for me and rolled up his sleeves, giving me a glimpse of his lightly tanned, muscled arms. My mouth watered at the scent coming from the table next to us. Peppermint mochas and vanilla lattes along with scones and the like. We ordered soon due to the fact he could tell I was hungry…and well, my stomach was growling embarrassingly. I began feeling brave due to the atmosphere of the café.

“Tell me about yourself” I jabbed placing an elbow on the table

“well, my name is Charlie Bowers and I’m a stunt man for movies, I also have very good luck in stocks” his voice a little softer now, maybe the atmosphere of the café was relaxing him as well.

“That’s interesting, so you jump of cars and stuff?’

“Yes, and stuff, much more stuff than jumping off cars.” He laughed slightly, “what about you, basic info?’

“umm well, I’m a librarian” I could see something change in his eyes as those words left my lips, his face tensed and he licked his lips. “And my names Devlin Shire”

“A lovely name for a lovely lady” he teased

“You know, my mom always told me to stay away from boys like you” I teased right back

“Boys like what?” he faked being offended

“Attractive ones who have a silver tongue and hand out compliments like candy on Halloween”

He motioned for me to come closer, his face was suddenly inches from mine. He then angled himself so that his lips were close to my ear when he whispered. “Darling, I’m the farthest from a little boy that a person can be, and the things I can do would make most men shiver” my blood suddenly ran hot, then cold. Hot because I was incredibly aroused due to his close proximity but then cold because the way he said it chilled me to the bone.

As he pulled back our waitress was at our table with one black coffee, a pumpkin soy latte and three scones. Our waitress was beautiful yet adorable, I didn’t know which word described he better. She has pixie short black hair and purple eyes, they had to be contacts.

“Hello Mr. Bowers, I see you have a friend today” the waitress politely said

“Yes, this is Devlin, my friend indeed.” The way he said it made me feel like I wouldn’t be just a girl that he grabbed coffee with but a lasting girl, I hoped.

We finished our food and made small talk which turned into an in depth conversation about everything under the sun. I began to feel like we were clicking, something about it just made sense…Suddenly I knew his middle name was Ryan and his favorite type of dog. The most shocking part was that he was intelligent, adventurous and gorgeous…those types of guys avoid me like the plague it seemed. Suddenly it was 3 hours later and a few timed I got lost in his crystal eyes, such an arresting shade of cyan.

Suddenly a hand grabbed my shoulder and I jumped a mile in my seat from fear. Charlie suddenly looked lost in thought, his pupil’s dilated. To be honest for a few seconds he looked high, but then he abruptly looked embarrassed. It didn’t take away from his sexiness, man that five o’clock shadow is just so attractive. We cleaned our plates and drinks, then stood to leave. He walked me to the door and as we exited he pulled me to a secluded place somewhere. He held me breathtakingly close and my heart dropped to my stomach.

 “This was really great, can we do it again soon?” he breathed, not effected by the cold.

“Yes, I would love that Charlie” I couldn’t help but smile. He then pulled me closer and pressed is lips to mine. I felt so many things fall into place at that moment. I had read hundreds of romance novels, but no kiss compared to this one. My body felt electric and alive and I wanted him everywhere doing things we shouldn’t do. We broke apart after I don’t know how long, breathless and flushed. His eyed dilated once again and his yummy lips a bit swollen. He slipped his number into my pocket and gave me one last lingering kiss before walking me to a cab and paying.

I waved as the cab sped away and prayed to god I would see him again. No one had ever made me feel that way, in all my life! There was no way I was going to let him get away from me. As I relived the kiss over and over in my mind the cab disappeared into the night.

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