Excerpt of What She Wants by Sheila Roberts

A MAN ON A MISSION. SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN JONATHAN TEMPLAR BEGINS HIS QUEST FOR AN EXAMPLE OF A PERFECT HERO...

Jonathan finished the last of his coffee and went to throw the cup in the nearby garbage can. He passed a table with a woman sitting alone, nursing a drink and reading a paperback. He glanced down and saw a couple on the cover, this pair dressed in contemporary Western attire. Another romance novel. The woman smiled and turned a page.

What was it about these books that had women so hooked? He reviewed the conversation he'd heard in the library. There's a hero to die for ... James Noble is the perfect man ... perfect man.

Women wrote those romance novels and they wrote about perfect men. If a guy wanted to learn what a woman wanted in a man ... Who was that author Juliet and Hildy had been talking about? Vanessa Valentine. Someone with a name like that had to know her stuff when it came to love.

Jonathan tossed his cup and then retraced his steps to the library, hoping the women hadn't cleared every romance novel off the shelves.

Most of the library patrons were gone by the time he slipped back into the musty room on the lower level, either back to their homes to wash cars or mow lawns, or off to go hiking the mountain trails. A few late arrivals browsed the health and finance sections and one woman was leafing through a cookbook.

Just his luck, the only other section that was occupied was the romance section, where two teenage girls stood, perusing the books. They were cute and skinny, probably cheerleaders. Darn. He'd hoped not to have an audience.

He hovered over by the magazines and CDs, hoping they'd quickly move on. They didn't. In fact, it looked like they were going to camp out over there all day, reading and filling their paper grocery bags, emptying the shelves.

What do you care if they see you looking through a romance? They're only high school kids, he reminded himself. Kids who'd go home and tell their moms about the dork who'd come in looking for love between the covers of a book.

"Oh, my gosh, here's a Vanessa Valentine," said one.

No, don't take that.

She handed it to her friend.

"I haven't read this one," the girl said, and dropped it into her bag.

So much for that book. So much for all of the books if he didn't make his move soon. He sauntered casually over. A forty–something woman he'd seen around town had joined them now, and he was aware of both her and the girls staring at him like he was some kind of freak as he studied the titles. He could feel himself beginning to sweat. Just grab a book and get out of here.

He snagged a book about a vampire and another with a cowboy on the cover and was about to leave when, suddenly, he saw it. What was this? Two shelves down in the corner, just past the woman's thighs ... Yes! One last Vanessa Valentine.

He bent and made a grab for it just as she leaned over. Oh, no! Boob graze.

"Excuse me," she said in a tone of voice that told him he was done here.

"Uh, sorry," he mumbled, and snatched back his hand.

She took advantage of his consternation and snagged the Vanessa Valentine. Then she scooped another half dozen novels into her shopping bag.

That left two on the shelf and one of the teens snagged them. The woman was right. He was done here. Face still flaming, he walked to the card table where the library volunteer sat taking money.

She was somewhere in her twenties and dressed all in black. Even her fingernails were black. She had piercings all over her face, a collection of earrings running up her ears, and wore enough eye makeup to give her a head start on Halloween. Not that Jonathan was an expert on eye makeup, but hers looked like overkill to him. He liked a more natural look like what Lissa wore. Liss, always the gold standard.

But this woman was friendly enough. He'd seen her volunteering here before. He nodded in return for her greeting of "Back for more?"

She took the books to total them and noticed the vampire on the cover of the top one. "Oh, I love this author. Don't you?"

"I don't know. I've never read her."

"You haven't? Well, you're in for a treat. Her vampire is really sexy."

Did she think he was into guy vampires? He opened his mouth to explain that neither guys nor vampires were his thing, but he found it impossible to wedge the words into the conversation.

"He's right up there with Sookie's Eric. Gotta love Eric, don't you?"

Jonathan was aware of teen tittering behind him. His face began to heat. "Well..."

"I suppose you've read all the Twilight books. Are you on Team Edward or Team Jacob?"

"Huh?"

"I say vampires win every time. Werewolves just aren't that sexy."

More tittering produced more burning on Jonathan's face. "These aren't for me."

"Sure they're not," came a whisper from behind him."

"They're for my sister."

The volunteer's face fell. "Oh."

Okay. She was embarrassed, he was embarrassed. He held up the vampire. "But I'll have to give this one a try."

"You should," she said, nodding her head and making her earrings jingle. "You'll like it, I promise."

He paid his buck and got out of there.