that Sean was head over heels for Mystique. And the two shared the bond of mates, an unparalleled closeness. The tabloids were treading on thin ice. Sean was ready to sue at the slightest provocation. Yet Keith couldn’t help but envy his younger sibling. Sean hadn’t been looking for love when he found Mystique. Indeed, if he’d known she was his mate, he probably would have gone running and screaming in the opposite direction.
“Of course. This is actually business related. I read your latest novel. I was wondering if you’d mind if I adapted the trilogy into a screenplay.”
Keith knew what his editor and his agent would have him say. It would propel his career to that next status level. Yet he hesitated. He wrote for himself and his fans but not necessarily for fame. He liked that he wasn’t mobbed when he went out in public. He was more likely to be mistaken for Sean than recognized as himself.
“You know I’d be respectful towards your work, Keith.”
“I know that. It’s not that.”
“The n it’s the fame? You gotta get over that.”
“Just give me some time to think it over. Listen, I didn’t call you to discuss my book. I’m, uh, kind of stagnating on the dating Imani thing.”
An impatient sigh reached his ears. “The bookkeeper? Did you ask her out yet?”
Keith didn’t bother correcting Sean about Imani’s profession. He wasn’t likely to recall. Sean had a selective memory for details that didn’t interest him. “Yes. She turned me down cold.”
“Then ask her again. Keep asking until she says yes. Trust me,” Sean said, his tone flat. “I know something about rejection. If I can marry the heir to a witch-hunting dynasty, you can marry anyone you want.”
Chapter Three
Imani suppressed an irritated sigh as Keith walked through the library doors. He’d been haunting their library every day for two weeks. For some reason, Steph was never available when he needed assistance anymore. The oddness of that had her puzzled. Steph was always willing to drop whatever she was doing to help a handsome man. Yet of late, she was perpetually otherwise occupied. And when Keith was gone, Steph seemed surprised to hear that she’d missed him. Imani began to dread his visits more than ever. For every time she helped him, he ended up asking her out to lunch or dinner. Refusing him was growing more difficult by the day. She hated seeing the hurt expression on his face, his bright blue eyes dimming somehow. It only made matters worse that in her dreams each night he got closer and closer to fucking her. She feared that if it happened in her sleep, she would be weakened enough to allow Keith to seduce her. That would be disastrous.
Pasting a smile on her face, she tried for a polite tone. “How can I help you today?”
He unfolded a sheet of paper. “It’s a book on botany.”
She took it from him, glancing at it for a brief second before leading him to where he needed to go. As often as he visited, he should know how to find any book as well , if not better, than she. He followed her closely. When they were alone, he cleared his throat. “Imani, I was wondering if you’d reconsidered my dinner invitation.”
Lack of sleep , owing to those damn wet dreams, had made her irritable. She’d been turning his offers down as gently as she could. But today she snapped at him. “Keith, trust me, I’m not the girl you want.”
“Imani, I don’t think you can even begin to fathom what I want from you.”
His words were spoken with such depth of emotion that it gave her pause. She shook it off. “You want the same thing all men want,” she replied in a dry tone. “It’s no great mystery.”
“And that would be?”
She sighed. “Sex.” She ran her fingers over the spines of several books before plucking the one he requested off the shelf. She turned to hand it to him.
Keith stepped closer, so close she had to tilt her head back to meet his bright blue gaze. “I want