The Librarian

What if...she literally fell for him the first time they met?

"Almost…there…just a little…further…"

Her hand stretched out, muscles taunt with exertion, bones pulled to the limit, brows furrowed in concentration. She leaned her body further and further away from the top rungs of the ladder, intent on reaching the bookshelf that sat mere feet away from her precarious position. The polished oak taunted her, falling just shy of her admittedly short reach.

"…c'mon…almost there…"

The petite blond stretched herself to the limit, only the ball of one foot and a few fingers gripping the ladder as she attempted to shove the last book of her inventory into the shelf across the aisle. The metal rollers connecting the ladder to the shelf she was against groaned in protest, the well-worn wood in the library creaking in harmony. She heard approaching footsteps thumping on the dusty carpet bellow but she ignored them as the edge of the hardback brushed the top panel of the shelf.

"Shit!"

Gravity struck with deadly precision. Her fingers slipped from their hold on the wooden rung and her foot lost its hold. The small female dropped from the top of the ladder, descending toward the awaiting earth with a last curse upon her lips. She squeezed her eyes shut and pulled in her failing limbs hoping that the worker's comp would pay the expense for the medical bills that were sure to come.

Just as she was positive her end was near she felt two ropy arms pull her in tight, slamming her against an equally hard torso. Her breath whooshed out and her heart beat out an erratic rhythm as she felt herself being pressed tighter into a totally unsuspected but very welcome and strong body.

"Well that was smooth."

The young librarian cracked her lids open cautiously. She found herself staring into the deepest red eyes she had ever seen. The boy who held her raised an eyebrow at her shocked expression.

"Were you trying to get yourself killed?"

Adrenaline still pumped through her veins, rendering her speechless.

"Or do you just like living dangerously?"

When she still didn't answer he tugged at one of her pigtails.

"Hello? Oi, Tiny Tits, got anything to say? Or are you just going to stare at me all day?"

So her impromptu savior was a jackass. Figured. At the insult she stirred within the cradle of his arms until she pulled her elbow free and jammed it into his sternum.

"Ow!" He wheezed and stumbled but still managed to keep hold of the squirming spitfire in his grasp. "What was that for?"

She jabbed a finger into his well sculpted chest. "First you save me, and then you insult me! Who are you anyway?"

"Oh, I don't know," he growled sarcastically, "just the guy that saved your ass."

"Well next time don't."

"I won't!"

"Good!"

"Fine."

"Fine."

The strangers glared at each other in silence, holding their own private showdown in the middle of the library. The girl suddenly realized the odd eyed jerk, who also had peculiar spiky white hair, was still holding her close in his arms. She cleared her throat as she banished the feel of washboard abs from her mind.

"You can put me down now."

"Are you sure you won't trip over your own feet as well?"

She smacked at his chest again as he plopped her down on the ground. She glowered and straightened her blouse. They stood in tense silence, only the distant sound of the front bell ringing disturbing the soft air.

"Thank you." She said grudgingly and scowled. The young man smiled at the win.

"You're welcome. What were you trying to do anyway?"

She sighed and picked up the fallen book from the ground. She dusted off the cover in defeat.

"I was trying to put this stupid book away. And I thought I could reach from the ladder. But…"

He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"You know, for a nerdy brainiac, you're not that smart."

Her mouth dropped open in outraged shock. What right did he have to be such an asshole? He didn't even know her! She officially hated this guy.

"Hey, you take that ba – EEP!"

The girl squealed as he stepped forward and grabbed her around the waist, hauling and twisting up her weight onto his right shoulder as if she weighed no more than a feather. She clutched his opposite shoulder for dear life as he stepped close to the shelve putting her up high enough to reach to vacant spot waiting for the novel in her hands. Too shocked to protest, she quickly slipped the book inside.

"See? That wasn't so hard."

"Ugh." She smacked her heel into his stomach.

The librarian squeaked again when he threw her weight off his shoulder and swung her back into his arms. She stapled her hands around his neck and stared back into his bemused eyes. This guy was such a smug prick.

Before she could protest, before she even knew what was happening he leaned down and planted his lips on top of hers, wiping away her surly scowl. She gasped against his mouth and he used the opportunity to swipe his tongue inside her open lips. She trembled in his hold as a warm sensation radiated down her body. The strange boy smiled against her mouth when her tongue accidentally brushed against his.

Coming to her senses, the bookkeeper yanked at a chunk of hair at the base of his neck and bit down hard on his lower lip. He winced and pulled back and she used his distraction to wriggle out of his arms.

She stood on shaky legs and slapped her hands over her swollen lips as she gaped at the boy who just stole her first kiss. He wiped a drop of blood off his split lip and gave her a cocky smirk. She threw a death glare at him and stepped forward, getting in his face.

"Take that back!" she hissed, poking a finger into his chest once more.

This time when he smiled she saw a row of suspiciously sharp teeth.

"If you insist."

She really should have seen that one coming.

The man closed the gap between them and sealed their lips back together. He grabbed a hold of the back of her neck to keep her in place as he kissed her in a way that helped her finally understand why heroines in cheesy romance novels turned to mush. She was sad to admit that when their tongues met again she turned to a mixture of whimpering jello-like nonresistance.

His skilled mouth made up for her burning embarrassment.

She really was not the type to make out with perfect strangers in the workplace but that boy managed to make her throw her usual sensibility out the window. And he was a really good kisser. She had no idea how she ended up backed up against the shelf but the firm palms sliding across her sides and the toned chest pressing into hers were reason enough to stop wondering. She was a good girl. Really. She just couldn't contain the groans that slipped loose as his pointed teeth plucked at the sensitive skin of her neck. It was only when a hand roamed to cup her ass that she regained some coherency and pushed him off again.

The librarian's cheeks flushed so hot that it was a wonder the books around her didn't instantly ignite. She stuttered for a moment, saw how much he was enjoying it and settled with sealing her mouth firmly together. He snickered when she licked a drop of salty blood off her lips.

In a sudden movement and with a flippant air he nodded at her and grinned devilishly.

"See you around, Brainiac. Don't fall off anymore ladders when I'm not there to catch you."

She stood frozen to the spot when he walked away. Who was that guy? The ding of the front door was the last she heard of him. He left her standing with aching lips, wobbly knees and not a clue as to what his name was.

Later that evening , when she had finished her work, rationalized their encounter and forced all thoughts of the white haired, red eyed, dangerously fit man from her head she found a note in her back pocket. It was a name and a number and the start of something the young woman was a little too curious to find out about.