He didn’t care.
Like every other Saturday he went to the library, going straight to the back to grab a book off the shelves. He loved his peace and quiet, but at the library he got to see people while he was doing it. Grabbing a book from the shelf, he sat down and flipped open the page.
“You’re here again?” Rose Slater asked.
He looked up to see the girl who stocked the shelves. Rose was a beautiful woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. He’d seen her around town and the library many times. She was nineteen and hadn’t been allowed to go to college. Her family wouldn’t let her leave Cape Falls.
Yes, Rose Slater was his only piece of heaven away from the club and all his troubles.
“I thought you’d be used to me by now?” he asked.
“I’m used to you. I just thought you’d have something more exciting to do on a Saturday.” She smiled at him, and Peter couldn’t help but be struck by how it lit up her whole face.
“No, nothing interesting.” He smiled, thinking about his morning trip to the cemetery.
“Well, I’ll see you at lunch.” She turned to leave, and he took the time to admire the curves of her ass.
She’s got her whole life ahead of her. Leave her alone.
Staring down at his book, Peter couldn’t help but wish his life had been different. If he’d not fallen for Laura he might have had a chance to experience love with Rose.
****
Rose watched the clock ticking. She was counting down to the time when she got to sit with Peter outside of the library and have lunch. He was so handsome, and she knew a lot about him. She remembered him from when she was younger and shouldn’t have developed a crush on him.
Letting out a sigh, she passed the doorway, carrying some books, and watched as he turned a page of the current book he was reading. In the last ten years Peter had changed. Gazing through the window she had seen how his boy-next-door good looks had advanced into the masculine strength of a confident man. He looked nothing like the boys whom she used to go to school with. There was a maturity in his depths where there was once a nonchalance about life. Peter had changed. His hair had darkened over the years and was no longer a sandy blond.
I shouldn’t be thinking about his hair or his muscular body.
Licking her lips she dropped her gaze to the book in her hand. The title meant nothing to her. She placed the book on the shelf then went around the counter to serve a young girl. The mother glanced in Peter’s direction and clucked her tongue.
She knew who he was and who his friends were. They were the social outcasts of their small town. Rose knew the only reason they put up with them was because of the Steer brothers and the fact Gabriel was an amazing sheriff.
Rose saw the mother clucking her tongue, but she noticed the hand the woman pressed to her breast. For as much as she despised Peter’s presence, the woman was also affected by him. The town knew he was a Dom. He worked at Control, and his reputation for being a fair man with women had circulated.
The mother and daughter scurried out of the library leaving Rose alone with her thoughts and a few of the other staff. She continued to stock the shelves, all the time aware of the man in another room.
Her body hummed to life whenever he was around. She was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. If her family was to ever find out about her association with him they’d find some way to stop it. The best part of her day was his visits to the library. It was lame of her, but she really loved seeing him.
When he didn’t visit her the days always went by slowly.
I’m going to get caught.
Dropping her gaze to the computer, she started checking the system and typing in the reserves that had been delivered. Her family shared the old-fashioned views of the town. She’d gotten good grades and should have gone to college. Her family didn’t believe in college. They wouldn’t help her get in, so she was stuck in Cape Falls working at the library. She loved books but wished there was something else to keep her going. What didn’t help her situation was the fact she knew they were planning something. She feared it was a marriage to one of the men they’d picked out.
Putting the books on the shelf she glanced through the window and watched as Peter kept reading. How had he escaped everything?
There were times she felt like she was drowning in the open air. Her family pushed her all the time. They wanted her to be the perfect girl who would marry the man they chose. She didn’t want to end up like that.
A couple of times she’d passed Control. The only thing her parents allowed her to do was walk. She took long walks and ended up looking at the front gates of Control, wondering if her future could be inside there.
Her thoughts were ridiculous. No one would want to help her. Shaking her head, she finished working and was shocked as the clock struck noon Peter was waiting for her. He stood by the front doors smiling.
Grabbing her bag, she walked toward him, and together they headed out onto the grassed area. It was open, and she knew it was only a matter of time before she got caught with him. For now, she loved spending time with him.
“Did your mother make your packed lunch?” Peter asked.
She watched him pull a salad out of his inner pocket. It was warm in the late October day, but Peter still wore a long jacket.
“Yeah, she always does. Who packed your lunch?” She pointed at the fish salad he started eating. Rose made her own lunch. She hated it when her mother interfered with her food. Also, she wasn’t about to tell Peter that her mother had banned foods. The cupboards were locked, and all she was allowed was two meals a day.
Her parents were strict, and they hated her fuller figure. No matter how much she dieted or exercised there was no dropping the extra pounds. Banning food and putting chains on the cupboard was her parents’ next radical move. She was scared of what would happen in six months when she didn’t lose weight.
Shaking her head, she pushed the bad memories aside and smiled at Peter.
“Daisy made this for me today. She’s determined to be a good mother, but that has extended into everything. Everyone at the club feels like they’re being mothered.”
Rose smiled. Daisy sounded nice.
“How is it at the club?” Rose asked.
“You’re way too young to be told about a BDSM club, Rose. Maybe when you’re older I’ll consider it,” he said, taking a bite of what looked like a grape.
“I’m nineteen. I’m grown up.”
He stared at her for several seconds. “Have you lost your virginity yet? Been with a guy, multiple guys?”