There were a multitude of reasons this library appealed to Heath. One was that it was open so late. He hurried up the front steps in the brisk October night, the smell of dry leaves swirling around him. He had tried to stay away but had given in to the urge. He opened the front door and stepped inside.
Another reason was the dim lighting. He walked down the center aisle between the long tables where the yellow glow of two bankers lamps lit each one. He could just make out the dark colors of the stained glass windows beyond. It had once been a church, long since de-consecrated, not that it mattered really.
The thing that appealed most to him about this library though, he thought as he rounded the end of the stacks, was there. Evelyn sat at the reference desk.
He smoothed his jacket and approached. "Good evening, Evelyn."
Evelyn looked up, clearly flustered. "Good evening, Heath."
"And how are you this brisk All Hallow's Eve?"
Evelyn smiled wryly,."I have the distinct feeling that karma is trying to kick my kiester."
He chuckled softly. "It has been my experience that karma tends to take the long view of things."
The phone rang so Heath nodded and proceeded to his table, taking up his customary seat at a table to the right. He sat down and opened his laptop.
There was something different about her tonight, Heath thought, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. She looked quite... delectable.
He felt the rush of hunger flood his body. Oh dear, this wasn't a good night for this. He hadn't eaten in days and he hadn't permitted himself the pleasure of a woman in over a century. The hunger rushing through his body was sexual as much as a need for food. The seduction that would bring her close enough for him to feed from was as much a part of his sexual desires as it was a hunt for sustenance. He craved sexual release almost unbearably. Why did he torture himself this way?
Heath closed his eyes. His right hand ached to cup the soft upward curve of her breast. She would be surprised, they always were, by the iron strength of his left arm as it encircled her waist and tightened, bringing her soft curves into contact with the taut length of his body. He would lick and suck the side of her neck, tasting the slightly salty tang of her skin. Ah, the thrill of her gasp as he tenderly bit down on her lovely neck, feasting at last.
She had the lithe body of a dancer beneath the shapeless clothes she usually wore. Take the gray fleece sweater with the cuffs rolled up she frequently wore. He could picture it so well. Her neck rose gracefully from the collar of the drab sweater. Her skin was luminous. Perhaps it was the way she pulled her white blond hair back, baring her neck to him. She was a bookish waif who didn't seem to realize what a desirable young woman she had become.
He opened his eyes and looked at her. That was what was different, her clothes. He couldn't see everything she was wearing, but she was clearly wearing some kind of dark purple silk affair with a plunging neckline. What had brought this on? Perhaps a man? Heath sighed.
She was utterly lovely, and so sweet, so kind to everyone who came to her for help. Though when she thought no one was watching, there was a strained look to her face. Money troubles? That he might be able to help her with. He had invested wisely over the years and Swiss bank accounts did not care who was depositing or withdrawing as long as they had the right information. Trouble with a boyfriend? His neck grew hotter. He could fix that easily enough, but really, he had never seen any evidence of a man in her life.
But it was all just fantasy. He could not permit himself to get that close to her. He had not fed on a human in over a century and he would not. This was just self flagellation, longing for her from a distance. He turned back to his computer screen.
Why
did he keep torturing himself this way?
*****
Evelyn tried to focus on her computer screen. She had begun to think he wasn't coming in that evening and she had worried. He had come in every evening after dark for months now. They hadn't talked much, that may have been part of why she liked him so much. He never demanded anything of her, just a polite exchange of pleasantries. At the same time, she felt an attraction to him and... something more, some kind of peculiar... affinity for him.
He was charmingly anachronistic in his tweed jacket. He seemed a trifle old fashioned for a man with his youthful visage, but it was endearing. The boyish way his brown hair flopped over his right eye made her sigh.
Evelyn tried to focus again on her computer screen. It really didn't matter. He couldn't possibly be interested in her. She had had only one boyfriend in her life, which ended so badly that she had been convinced she could not trust herself where men were concerned. She would rather be alone than saddled with one like the last. Besides, she was so painfully shy that when men did ask her out she tended to demure straight away that she was busy or working or some other excuse. She certainly would never ask a man out herself.
The anxiety attacks had been getting worse lately too. Breathing exercises and working the quieter late shift was no longer sufficient to stave them off. Evelyn had finally seen someone about them and been given a prescription. She had filled it but it sat unopened in her purse. She was miserable, there was no two ways about it. Her parents had both passed away the year before. She and her brother had never been close. The shyness and anxiety attacks made making friends a difficult task. She was alone in the world. It seemed like only her daydreams and books gave her any semblance of pleasure anymore.
Her more recent daydreams had certainly provided pleasure but also left her with a sense of longing as well. They had revolved around Heath. She glanced over. In the latest one, it was late, like tonight. There was no one else in the library and she had locked the front doors. She walked up to him, her hand on the rough tweed of his jacket startled him out of his reverie. She smiled down at him and in one fluid motion, she was straddling his lap. "We're alone," she told him. Her mouth covered his and his hands caressed her hips as she ground herself against his arousal.
Evelyn looked up, startled at the sound of a dry cough from around the corner. Apparently, they weren't quite alone in the library. Steps receded as the patron moved away. She heard the murmur of voices at the circulation desk as the patron checked out. She sighed. Might as well do a little shelving. There were a few reference books that needed to be put away.
Evelyn busied herself in the reference shelves, putting things in order as she shelved, never noticing that her favorite patron had followed her, at a distance, pretending to look at a book down the aisle. She climbed up on a stepper and reached up to put a heavy tome on an upper shelf. Overbalancing, the book went tumbling and Evelyn followed after. She didn't fall far though.
She found herself wrapped in strong arms that gently lowered her to the floor, with her body pressed against his. Shaken, Evelyn braced herself in his arms, one foot between his two, bringing her into intimate contact with his arousal. She looked up. His eyes flashed in the dim light of the stacks. Evelyn drew a breath sharply and felt the adrenaline flood her body.
Her eyelids drooped, her lips parted. She felt his breath as he ducked to claim her mouth. His hands cupped her buttocks and caressed her soft curves as he pulled her tighter against him. His tongue parted her lips and dipped inside. One hand slid between them and deftly slid under her waistband, down into her moist cleft. Then he stopped. In one swift motion, he withdrew his hand from her panties, put her firmly away from him and turned wordlessly. He was gone.
Evelyn gazed down the empty aisle. What had just happened? Had she imagined it? Had she thrown herself at him? How mortifying. She had been willing and he had been so appalled that he left without a word. Hot tears of shame rolled down her face. She felt nauseated and couldn't catch her breath.
"Evelyn! Can you close up without me?"
Evelyn heard Sherry, calling to her from the doorway.
"I've got a hot date tonight. I need to get changed into my costume and go meet him."
Evelyn took a deep breath, and struggled to sound normal. "That's fine. Go ahead."
"Thanks! Have a good night."
"You too."
