Rugged Fire [Rugged Savage Valley, Colorado 4] by Edith DuBois Page B

laughed nervously. “No, really. I don’t think you’ll have the book I’m looking for.”
    “What is it?” Will asked, leaning against the railing outside of The Ninth Time.
    Biting her bottom lip, she looked back and forth between them. “I don’t think you’ll have it. In fact, I’m certain you won’t.” She definitely sounded nervous, and Seb felt his curiosity growing.
    “Lianne, spit it out. You never know unless you try.”
    She shot them a hopeless look and then shrugged. “It’s called Bound .”
    “ Bound ? Hmm, that does sound kind of familiar. Who’s the author?”
    “Her name’s Sophie Oak.”
    “Sophie Oak…Sophie Oak…I think we might have it. It sounds so familiar.”
    Lianne’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? It sounds familiar?”
    “What’s it about?”
    Shooting him a smirk, she crossed her arms over her chest and said, “It’s fantasy.”
    “We read fantasy. Right, Will? You like fantasy.”
    Will nodded.
    “My favorite book of all time is War of the Worlds ,” Seb continued. “Admittedly, that’s more on the sci-fi side of the spectrum, but still, it’s pretty close. What kind of fantasy is it?”
    “It’s very visceral, you know, really graphic stuff.” There was an odd note to her voice that Seb couldn’t quite place. “And it has Celtic mythology and goblins and stuff.”
    “Yeah? That sounds like something we might read.”
    The front door to The Ninth Time creaked open, and Jack Abbot glared out at all three of them. “No soliciting,” he grumbled.
    “Are you open?” Lianne asked, perking up.
    “I’ve unlocked the door, haven’t I?”
    “Perfect.” Lianne shoved her way in, and Seb followed her, shooting Jack a wide grin. The lion-shifter muttered something under his breath. As Seb walked by him, though, he caught a whiff of his lion scent, and the sharp, over-heady aroma all but singed his nostrils.
    “Whoa,” he said, choking on the thickness of the smell.
    “What?” Jack asked in a gruff voice.
    Seb felt his eyes watering and shared a look with his brother. “Nothing,” he said, rushing past and away from the lion-shifter. The lions were very sensitive about their musk, and Seb didn’t want to stir up trouble by mentioning its unpleasant potency. He soon realized, though, that the whole shop had an underlying aroma of lion musk, so he went over to Lianne with the intention of hurrying her up.
    “Did you find what you were looking for?”
    “Oh, yeah,” she said, delighted. “This is a treasure trove! Jack, where did you get all these?” she called out, still rummaging like a gleeful child.
    “What do you—” He cut himself off when he noticed the books she was happily pawing through. She’d found a large cardboard box tucked away in a corner in the back of the store chock-full of used romance novels. And from some of the covers he saw tumbling around as she dug her arms deeper into the books, these weren’t the fireside romances he’d seen his mom reading on occasion.
    These were erotica .
    “ This is what your book club is reading?”
    “Where on earth did the Abbots get all of these?”
    “Agnes Bird donated them.” Jack spoke from behind them, and when Seb turned to look, he had to refrain from jumping back. The lion-shifter was less than a foot away. “Are you finished?” Jack focused his menacing look on Seb, which wasn’t all that menacing in fact, but Seb grabbed Lianne under her arms and yanked her up. Lion-shifters were always uptight around the bears, but the Abbotts took it to the next level. Jack was practically breathing down his neck.
    “Come on. It’s time to check out.”
    “But hang on a sec. I haven’t picked everything out. There are still dozens of—”
    “No. You’re checking out now.” Will had already laid more than enough money on the counter at the back of the store for the three books Lianne had clutched to her chest, and Seb dragged her struggling form out the front door.
    “What the hell is