Shard Knight (Echoes Across Time Book 1) by Matthew Ballard

thousands of books filled every wall inside the room. An inviting fire burned in a wide hearth on the library’s far wall.
    Ronan hurried past the library and yanked open the second door on the right.
    Sheets, pillows, and extra blankets lined the shelves of a tiny linen closet big enough for a single person.
    “There’s not enough room for both of us. You go,” Ronan said.
    “We’ll make it work. Come on.” Rika pulled him in behind her and shut the door.
    Dim light filtered through a transom leaving the room layered in gray shadow.
    Rika’s body heat sent flutters rolling through Ronan’s stomach leaving his knees weak and rubbery. As they fumbled in the small space, their bodies intertwined, and her thigh slipped between Ronan’s legs making his head spin.
    She worked the buttons of her ministry jacket and stripped it off revealing a black strapless ball gown underneath. Her tight uniform had forced the dress to slip down just enough to display her deep ample cleavage smashed against Ronan’s chest.
    Rika had remained modest during their years together, and Ronan had never seen her expose herself so freely. He tore his eyes away before the distraction overwhelmed him.
    Rika pulled off her hat and let her dark hair tumble over her shoulders. Her familiar fragrance of lavender and cinnamon filled the closet’s trapped air, and she gave the front of her gown a tug covering a fraction of her large bosom.
    Ronan’s head spun, and his knees slackened. He leaned against the wall for support and began unbuttoning his own jacket.
    “Hurry up Ronan. They’ll be here any second.”
    He pulled off his hat and jacket and wadded them into a ball.
    Rika ran her fingers through her hair doing her best to undo her hat’s damage. The action only accentuated her devastating curves. “Do I look passable?”
    How could she understand his feelings? He’d never broken his promise to her, even though he wanted her more with every moment they spent together. “I don’t think anyone would ever mistake you for a ministry officer.”
    A smile lit her face. “Thank you. You’re not bad to look at either.” She straightened his bow tie and smoothed out the creases in his white cotton shirt. “Ready?” She pushed the door open and light flooded the closet.
    Ronan gathered her uniform and added it to his own before stashing them both on the linen closet’s highest shelf. He straightened his jacket one last time and shut the closet door behind him.
    Near the hall’s end, the foyer door swung open toward them.
    Ronan’s stomach lurched as he prepared for the unavoidable confrontation.
    Rika pulled Ronan through the double doors and stopped before the library’s hearth. She leaned in close, and her lips brushed his ears. “Kiss me.”
    Her warm breath tickled his ear before curling behind his neck. His heart rate doubled, and his toes curled. A strange expression of longing he’d never seen crossed Rika’s face.
    Rika wrapped her arms around his neck, closed her eyes, and pulled his mouth onto hers.
    Her lips, soft and full, found his, and she tasted every bit as good as he’d dreamed. He halfway parted his mouth, and her tongue brushed his lips before intertwining with his. A jolt of longing lurched through his body, and he moved his hand to the small of Rika’s back pressing her harder into him. He devoured her moist full lips, and the kiss deepened growing more urgent and hungry with every passing second.
    “Excuse me please,” an unpleasant nasally voice said.
    Ronan’s head buzzed, but he forced himself to pull away. Rika’s eyes never left his and suggested a look of hunger that left him speechless.
    Her face flushed as she turned toward the voice.
    Ronan’s legs wobbled, and he fought the urge to collapse in the nearby armchair. Her performance had convinced him. He hoped they’d convinced the culture secretary as well.
    A short heavyset man with wisps of gray atop his balding head waited at the library