Page 1 of The Prodigy
Chapter One
Scarlett
"Ineedbooks."
"Then you came to the right place. Welcome to Gatsby Books," I say, glancing up from the stack of graphic novels and comics in my arms. Only instead of looking into the face of whoever owns that sexy growl, I find myself smiling in welcome at a black t-shirt stretched tight across a broad chest. I crane my head back…and promptly crack it against the shelf behind me.
"Ouch." I let go of the books, which scatter around me like the wreckage of some anime accident. Boom! Pow! Zap! The Marvel and DC universes intermingle with Preacher, Diabolik, Monstress, Dragon Ball Z, and The Invisibles. I think there may even be tentacle porn in the stack. Maddie, my boss, does the ordering…though I don't think she meant to order that last one.
"Shit. Are you okay?"
"Holy guacamole." I gape first at the mess of comics and graphic novels strewn across the growly customer's black boots, and then at said growly customer, the bump on my head long forgotten. We get a lot of people through here since the shop opened, but none of them look like him.
If Clark Kent and Jax Teller had a baby, it'd be this man. There's something both nerdy and wicked about him. He reminds me of those ridiculously hot actors hired to play a geek in some TV show. Only the role fits him like he was born for it. He's got muscles for days. And even though he's standing a step below me, he's a good six inches taller than me, and I'm in freaking heels.
Thick black glasses frame the prettiest green eyes I've ever seen. They're so dark, they're almost black. His eyes, I mean. A day's worth of stubble surrounds his full lips. Beautiful black tattoos run up and down his muscular arms in intricate scenes. The nosy part of me wants to pull his shirt up to see those hidden from view. The rest of me wants to pull it up to see the rest ofhim.
Heavens to Betsy, he's gorgeous.
"Jesus," he rumbles, staring at me with this expression that's all twisted up into beautiful confusion. His eyes run over my face and then skim down my body, lingering on my breasts for just a beat. Not long enough to be disrespectful, but long enough for his nostrils to flare and his irises to darken. So does his expression. "I haven't even been drinking the fucking water in this town."
I have no idea what he means by that, but when I glance down, I realize I was right about the tentacle porn. The novel on top of his right boot is spread open. There are tentacles everywhere, doing things no one should see outside of the privacy of their own homes. And the lady looks like she's in heaven.
The situation isn't even remotely funny, but I laugh anyway. I can't help it! I meet the hottest man on the planet, give myself a concussion, assault him with tentacle porn, and get myself fired all on the same day. And he's worried about the water in this town.
Of course this happens to you, Scarlett.
His gaze shoots back up to mine.
I quickly clamp a hand over my mouth, trying to stifle my laughter. "I'm sorry," I gasp. "Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry. Please don't look down."
Naturally, he looks down.
"I said don't look down!" I cry, kicking the novel—book gods, please forgive me—in a desperate attempt to hide it from his gaze. It's already too late for that though.
"Jesus H. Christ," he whispers, bending down to snatch it up. He opens it like a newspaper in front of his face, makes a choked sound, and then lowers it to look at me over the top. "He has eight cocks."
"Um, I'm pretty sure those aren't penises," I whisper, blushing beet red.
He lifts the book up in front of his face again, turns it around, examines it for a minute, and then makes another choked sound before quickly slamming it shut. "You're right," he mutters, rolling it up and shoving it into his back pocket. "Those aren't dicks. Those are definitely not dicks." The tips of his ears turn red. Oh my goodness. This gorgeous hulk of a man is actually blushing! He reaches up to rub the back of his neck, his eyes lingering on my face.
"You look like you want to flee," I whisper.
"So do you." A sheepish grin spreads across his face.
"I just assaulted you with tentacle porn." My cheeks are so red they're flaming. I press my hands to them, hoping that'll cool them down. "For the record, it isn't mine. Um, I wasn't buying it. I wasn't reading it either." I huff out a breath. "What I'm trying to say is that I work here."
Maddie and Allie recently opened the bookstore and are still learning the ins and outs of book purchasing. It's a big job! Before I moved to Silver Spoon Falls to take care of my elderly aunt, I was an elementary school librarian. Now, I help out around here. They do the heavy lifting. I keep the place tidy, help customers find what they need, and then check them out when they're done.
Okay, and read all the dirty books when no one else is looking. What's the fun of working in a bookstore if you don't read all the dirty books?Exactly.I'm a twenty-four-year-old virgin who can't even speak to men without turning the same general shade as a tomato. A girl's gotta get her thrills somewhere.
"But you know it's called tentacle porn."
"I…I…" I splutter, searching for any explanation that doesn't make me look like a crazy person, and then his deep chuckle rolls over me, and I realize he's just teasing me. "Oh, so you think you're funny," I growl, planting my hands on my hips. "I almost choked on my own tongue!"
"At least it wasn't a–"
"Don't you say it," I hiss, practically squirming in humiliation. He's way too hot to be this cute too. "I can never unsee what I just saw, and it's all your fault!"