His Slave

34. Surprise!

I let out a little scream, shaking his arm in excitement, causing the car to swerve to the left a little.

James just smirks, pulling his arm from my grasp. "Easy, Erin. You don't want us to crash, do you?" he asks as he steers the car back into the proper lane.

I shake my head, trying to calm myself down. "I'm sorry. I'm just a little excited," I say, feeling a little embarrassed for freaking out.

"I can see that," James observes, pulling his sleek sports car into one of the parking spots.

I get out of the car, forcing myself to wait for him before entering. He takes my hand in his and we walk in togrther. As soon as I step inside I'm struck with awe. The Book Palace is at least five stories tall and every corner of the store is filled with books. It's bigger than the Harrington's library. I wasn't sure such a thing was possible.

"Holy fucking shit," I breathe out, making James laugh. "It's huge. Where do I even start?" I ask absently.

"Wherever you want," James says casually, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket.

I start down one of the aisles, overwhelmed by the scent of paper and ink. After a moment, I turn towards James, meeting his gaze.

"Um...," I start, before trailing off, unsure of how to ask.

"My darling little slave can have whatever she wants," James replies, somehow knowing that I was going to ask about how much I could spend. He presses a kiss to the top of my head, causing a warm tingling sensation to fill me up inside.

I smile up at him. "Thank you, Master," I whisper softly before continuing through the maze of bookshelves. I tell myself I won't take advantage of James' kindness, that I'll only pick out a couple books but I end up with a stack of at least twenty.

It's nearly two o'clock by the time I've decided that I'm finished, and I didn't even get to see the whole store. I guess a place like the Book Palace requires multiple trips just to see everything.

I stick the four bags of books in the trunk of his car before getting in the passenger's seat, shutting the door. James gets in a moment later, backing out of the parking spot.

"Sorry if I kind of went overboard," I say, feeling a little guilty. Books are expensive. They didn't used to be so costly, but with the environmental crisis, it became more difficult to print books, and their prices soared.

Now, a single book costs nearly eight times what it would have cost one hundred and fifty years ago. Now, books are a status symbol. A show of a particular family's immense wealth and social standing.

Those who can't afford physical books have to read digital copies on tablets, and even then, not everybody can afford to own a tablet. Even public libraries have become an oddity because it became too expensive to maintain them.

I've been fortunate that both the Dalton's and James have allowed me to read their books. Now, I have books of my own.

James shakes his head. "Nonsense, Erin. I said you could have whatever you wanted, and I meant it. Besides, I honestly thought you would have picked out more," he tells me, smiling sidelong at me as he turns onto the highway.

I smile softly. "Thank you again," I add.

James laughs. "For the one millionth time, you're welcome," he replies.

The music cuts out and I glance at the screen on the dashboard of his car to see that he's receiving a call from someone by the name of Charles Underly.

James groans in frustration, rolling his eyes. "End call, do not allow for voice-mail," he commands and the Persona operating system in his car ends the call immediately.