Lancelot (The Theriot Family 3)

He glanced from me to the box in my hand then to my car. “Where’s the monkey?”

“Tony is spending the morning with my brother.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Bringing you beignets.”

“I told you no food was allowed in the library.”

“Surely you have a break room or someplace where you eat lunch. “

“I… um…”

I loved how flustered he was, the color in his cheeks, the way he kept looking at me then away. He wasn’t as hot as I remembered; he was way hotter. If my arms had been free, I’m not sure I could have resisted pushing him up against the door and kissing the hell out of him.

6

Julian

I stared 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?”