“For the record, if you tried to make me wait for oral sex, I’d be tempted to kill someone.”
“Then it’s a good thing you got yours.”
Her pout turned to a mischievous grin. “You’re just waiting to get head at work, aren’t you?”
The vision of lying back on the couch in my office while Elle knelt above me and took my cock deep in her throat sounded like a damn good plan. My dick jumped to salute the idea.
I turned into the parking lot of the condo complex where the appointment was set, and thought about something else so I didn’t meet a potential seller with a raging hard-on.
“You want to come up or wait in the car?”
Elle’s eyes cut to mine. “After your cryptic comments about what this guy has? You think I’m really going to sit here and wonder what you’re looking at?”
“Then come on.” I pushed open my door and climbed out. I grabbed Elle’s hand when she shut her door and led her up the exterior stairs to 3A. I knocked on the door and we waited for a minute or so until Barry Schmidt answered.
“Good. Good. Glad you’re here. Did you have any trouble finding the place?” the rotund man with a shiny bald head asked.
“I’m pretty sure there’s not a place in this town I couldn’t find.”
“Good. Good. Come in. Let’s have you get a look at my collection.”
“Lead the way.”
Elle glanced at me before we headed inside. What the hell is it? she mouthed.
Curious little cat would just have to wait.
“I bought the entire lot when the museum was going under, and I always intended to do something with them, but never got around to it.” Barry led the way to a large library and waved his arm at the ten-foot high shelves lining the walls. “So here it is.”
Elle’s brow wrinkled in confusion. That didn’t surprise me. It wouldn’t be immediately apparent that she was standing in what Barry claimed was the world’s largest collection of antique books on sex.
Several of the bookshelves were fronted by glass, and spotlights lit the covers of dozens of different versions of the Kama Sutra. Barry also claimed that many of them were first editions worth thousands. Which probably put the collection out of my reach at the moment. He’d have to be willing to cut me a hell of a deal. Even then, I didn’t think I’d be able to sell the books at Chains, but I had a couple private collectors in mind. My shop might’ve been located in a shitty part of town, but we were known for quality and unique pieces. At least one of my regulars would snap some of these up.
Barry’s phone rang. “I need to get that. I’ve been waiting for my lawyer to call,” he said. “I swear I talk to him more than I ever talked to my soon-to-be ex-wife.”
And there it was. That was why the collection was going. Or maybe the collection was the reason for the divorce. Who the hell knew? He left the room, and Elle crossed to one of the lit and glass-fronted shelves.
“What is this?” she asked.
“Supposed to be the world’s largest antique collection of books on sex.”
She laid a hand on the wood paneling separating the panes of glass. “No freaking way.”
“I can’t make this shit up.”
“So not only are you holding out on me, but now you’re bombarding me with books on sex? You’re a complete sadist. I’m sure there’s a book in here that would back me up on that.”
“You’ll live. Now, do you know anything about antique books?”
Elle slowly circled the room, staring at the spines of the books.
“Not nearly enough to give you an idea of what these would sell for.”
“Guess we’ll have to see what he wants for them, and then go back and do our research.”
We both surveyed the contents, and the more I looked, the more I grew apprehensive at laying out cold, hard cash for these. The spines of the majority looked tattered, and several shelves of books looked like they were on the verge of crumbling.
“I don’t know. They seem to be in a lot rougher shape than you’d want.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m getting, too. This might’ve been a wasted trip.”
Barry finally rejoined us in the library. “So, whatdaya think? You want to make me an offer?”
Elle hit him with rapid-fire questions. “Have these been properly stored and cared for? They look like they’re falling apart. And the cases with the lights and the books on stands—that seems like a poor way to showcase your most valuable pieces.” She never ceased to amaze me, and watching her take the lead was sexy as hell.
Barry’s mouth dropped open, and he began to sputter. “I don’t know who you think you are, you little—”
“Whoa. Whatever you’re about to say, you can stop right the fuck there. We’re done here,” I said, cutting him off.
“But—”
“No thank you, sir. We’ll be moving along. Good luck with the divorce and the collection.”
“All over this little bitch?” Barry snapped, his face contorting with rage.
I crossed the room and towered over Barry. “I said we’re done here. I’d advise you to keep any further thoughts to yourself until we’re gone.”
I held out a hand to Elle, and her fingers closed around mine. We left a sputtering Barry alone in the library with his books as we let ourselves out of the condo.
Neither of us spoke until we were down the stairs, and I was pulling open the door to the ’Cuda for Elle. “Seriously, there is no mystery why that guy is getting divorced.”