A total stranger walked into my library next. I didn’t just have a problem with the pretty men. This guy was my type too. He was massive, tattooed, and dressed in leather. I was dying to know if there were other piercings on his body I couldn’t see besides the rings in his eyebrow and lip. I definitely would have noticed him if he was here before; and I definitely would have flirted.
“Hey, beautiful. Bram Knotley. How does one go about getting a library card here?”
“Hey, cutie. You cut your finger into that bowl, and magic tells me if you’re worthy of a card. It’ll also tell me which sections you’re approved to look at.”
“Just like that, huh? So, I guess there’s no way of cheating your way into the Library of the Profane.”
Unless you’re Dorian Gray.
“Nope. Care to give it a go?”
Most people just pricked their finger. The test only needed a drop of blood. Bram dragged the athame across his entire palm and held his hand over the bowl. The blue text instantly floated up. What the fuck? Bram was a Hellhound. We didn’t get a lot of those here. They mostly stayed in Hell unless they were on a job. What would a Hellhound want with my library?
The magical system here was foolproof and didn’t lie. It only approved people who wouldn’t abuse the contents. I think the only reason Dorian got approved was that he couldn’t technically use any of the books in here because he had no magic.
The system approved Bram with access to all areas. That was almost unheard of. Almost everyone had a place that was off-limits to them. It wasn’t just that there were sections with things they couldn’t access because of their species. Some areas had weaknesses that weren’t common knowledge that could be used if a magical species war broke out. Why was a Hellhound given all access?
“Well, that’s certainly unusual,” I said, leaning back in my chair.
“Going to share it with the class?”
“We don’t get a lot of Hellhounds in here.”
“Well, that’s just racist.”
“That’s not what I meant, and I wasn’t finished! You’re the first Hellhound I’ve ever seen in here. Not only are you approved, but you have access to all sections. You aren’t intending on causing trouble in my library, are you Bram?”
“With such a pretty librarian? I wouldn’t dream of it. I know you librarians like to shush people and hate messes. I’ll be clean and as quiet as a mouse.”
This Hellhound was precisely the kind of flirt that always got me in trouble. The sex was always excellent, and they never called the next day if you wanted a repeat. After Dorian, I just did not need a palate cleanser that bad. I had a trusty Hitachi Wand for that. Officially not going there, no matter how sexy he was and how much he flirted.
“I’ll be watching you, Bram.”
“Do I get my card now that it’s official?”
I tapped the bowl with my pen, and it made a singing noise.
“Your blood is your official card.”
Bram just chuckled.
“That’s savage. Only a witch would design a system like that.”
“Watch it, buddy. I’m a witch, and I can make your life very difficult.”
Bram held up his hands.
“Man, I totally don’t fuck with witches. I had to collect payment on one, and she did something to my cock before I got her. It took ages to reverse it.”
“How’s your cock now?” I purred.
Damnit, Ripley, we said we weren’t doing this. Felix jumped on my desk and glared at Bram with his bright green eyes.
“You certainly have a type, Ripley. One day, you’re going to get fired for sexually objectifying the wrong patron. This one won’t complain for sure but knock it off.”
Bram just winked at me.
“Pierced and totally ready for action.”
Why wasn’t I going there again? Oh, yeah. Because shit would get awkward in the library when he ghosted me afterward. I changed the subject.
“Is there a section you needed help finding?”
“Primordial gods.”
Why the fuck was everyone into that recently?
I gave him my spiel about the basement and copy machine and sent him on his way. When he was out of earshot, I turned to Felix.
“Follow him and find out why everyone is so interested in that recently.”
“I’ll follow him, but perhaps you need to be reading up on them yourself. Trouble is brewing. I can feel it in my whiskers.”
I guess I was spending my night in the library basement instead of with my Hitachi wand. Fuck.
Chapter 3
Ripley
O
kay, the basement was a hot mess, but Felix assured me that was all Dorian and not Bram. Dorian yanked all the books down and couldn’t be bothered to put them back. Bram was pouring through the same books Dorian was. Bram could have put the books back. Asshole. I didn’t even have to guess who dog-eared pages of ancient tomes to come back and read them later.
Every culture in the world had its own versions of the primordial gods, and there was a lot of overlap. As far as I knew, no one really worshipped them or paid tribute to them anymore. There were so many different religions between humans and the supernatural. Dorian was a human who liked to mingle with the supernatural. Why was he so interested in his?
Bram had to be here on a job. Hell never let their Hellhounds leave unless it was work-related. Demons knew things about everything. If anyone had insight on the primordial gods, it would be a demon. Sometimes, I wondered if Hell had this massive library like where I worked. If Bram needed information, he could easily get it from a demon instead of mucking around my basement.
That still wasn’t an excuse not to put the books back. I’ll bet if Hell had a library, they were much meaner than I was about messes. And dog-earing books! Show some respect.
“Are you going to have a librarian meltdown, Ripley?” Felix asked.
“Do you see this shit? I could forgive not putting them back since Dorian has been here everyday reading, but defiling the book by folding the page to mark his place? What kind of savage does that?”
“Can you ban him over that?”
“Only if his name wasn’t Dorian Gray. Half the board is female, and Silvaria loves that book about him. Clearly, he didn’t fuck any of them, or they wouldn’t still be kissing his ass.”
“Some people wouldn’t know good sex if it had a nine-inch cock that vibrated. It’s like they haven’t experienced it with someone who knows what they are doing. That witch who helped make him immortal went back for seconds, and I just feel sorry for her if it’s as bad as you constantly complain about.”
“What do you know about good sex? You’re a cat, and your penis has barbs on it.”
“I haven’t always been a cat, Ripley. I had a perfectly nice penis I knew how to use before I died and was reborn as your familiar.”
Well, that answered the question about his British accent. Totally real and totally hot. I was glad Felix appeared to me because I didn’t just like hearing him speak. He was pretty fucking amazing and snarky as fuck.
“I hope your life isn’t shitty being attached to me.”
“You keep things interesting, even if you have horrible taste in men. Look at you. One man you fucked and the other you wanted to fuck made a mess in this basement and assaulted your books.”