Chapter 6 Hunter
SIX
HUNTER
Charlie’s bright blue eyes stared at me in surprise. “I didn’t expect to see you again,” he blurted out. Then his eyes went wide and he covered his mouth with his hand.
I had to smile. He was so damned adorable. I approached the counter where he was standing. “I thought I’d come find a book to read on this cold rainy day.”
The older woman with long silver hair who was with Charlie, approached me and held out her hand. “Hello Hunter, I’m Zenia, the owner of this shop. I want to thank you for taking such good care of Charlie this morning.”
I shook her much smaller hand. “It was my pleasure.”
She turned to Charlie, who was still staring at me. “You didn’t tell me he was so handsome.”
A blush bloomed on Charlie’s cheeks and I just wanted to gobble him up. I couldn’t remember ever being this attracted to a man so quickly. I inclined my head to Zenia. “I’m flattered. Thank you ma’am.”
Zenia smiled at me. “What lovely manners. Charlie and I were just about to have lunch. We’re waiting for it to be delivered.”
Disappointment twisted my gut. “Oh. I can come back later.”
She shook her head. “Nonsense. I insist you join us. I always order extra.”
I glanced at Charlie and saw him looking at me with a hopeful expression. How could I say no to that? “I’d be happy to join you. Thank you.”
She clapped her hands together. “Excellent. Charlie and I just finished packing up our online orders. He can show you around the shop until our food arrives.”
Charlie blinked, his surprise evident. Zenia didn’t give him time to object, instead shooing him out from behind the counter toward me. To be fair, I was just as taken aback as he was. I never expected a woman I didn’t know to play matchmaker for me.
Charlie came to stand in front of me, his cheeks still pink. “Hi,” he said breathlessly.
I’d forgotten how much shorter than me he was. He barely made it up to my shoulder. I wanted to wrap him up and cuddle him. I grinned. “Hi. I’m glad I got here before you left for the day.”
“Me too,” he replied. He started walking down one of the two aisles. “So, what kind of books do you like to read?”
I hummed thoughtfully as I followed him. “Mysteries. My mom had all the Agatha Christie novels so I read those growing up. I like some crime dramas if they’re well written and not stupidly unrealistic. I’m also a huge history buff.”
He stopped walking and turned to face me, his eyes alight with excitement. “You are? History was one of my majors in university.”
“One of your majors? What was the other one?” I asked.
“Library science,” he replied.
Gorgeous and smart. A fantastic combination. “Then you really are a true librarian. I’m suitably impressed.”
“Oh.” The pink was back in his cheeks.
His tiny gasp of surprise touched something in me. He wasn’t used to being praised. I could only imagine what people probably said to this shy, quiet man about being a historian and a librarian. “Don’t be so surprised. Only ignorant assholes don’t understand how hard it is to do what you do.”
He looked down, even as a small smile graced his kissable lips. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now show me your treasures.”
We spent the time until the food arrived looking at the history section of the shop. Then Zenia split up the various dishes she’d ordered and sent us up to the loft library to eat at the table there.
The loft library was larger than I’d expected.
It spanned the width of the store and half the length.
Built-in bookcases lined three walls, all of them filled from top to bottom.
The shelves nearest the stairs held old hardcovers that looked like they’d been printed in the early 20th century.
The farther back the shelves went, the older the books got.
The bookshelves at the very back of the loft were locked behind glass doors.
Those books were large and leather bound.
“This is an amazing library,” I said. “I’d love to come here some day to browse.”
Charlie set the food on the table. “I’m sure Zenia would love to show you around. She’s very proud of this library.”
Once we were settled, Charlie said, “I forgot to ask, did you get the job?”
“Yeah,” I replied with a grin. “I think they’d already decided to hire me before I got there. Their IT guy did an extensive background check on me and they liked what they found.”
“What kind of work is it?” he asked.
“It’s a security firm. They do personal protection and security for big events. They also do personnel extractions. That’s what they hired me for.”
His brows bunched in confusion. “What’s that?”
“Oh, sorry. I forget most people don’t know what that is. Sometimes employees for large international corporations get kidnapped for ransom. I’ll be leading a team that goes in to rescue said employees.”
His big blue eyes widened. “Wow. So I guess you have experience with that?”
I nodded. “When I was in the Marines.”
The shy smile was back. “I suppose that’s why you’re so big.”
I leaned in and brushed a stray lock of auburn hair from his face. My voice was low and husky when I asked, “Do you like that I’m big, Charlie?”
A rosy blush rose from his neck to his freckled cheeks. He pulled on his bottom lip with his teeth, looked up at me from beneath his long coppery lashes and whispered, “Yes.”
Blood rushed to my cock so fast I felt dizzy. I reached over and took one of his smaller hands in mine. “Well baby boy, we’ll have to see what we can do about that.”
His breath hitched and he looked sad. “But I’m small and weak. Why would you want to be with someone like me?”
Oh hell no. I rose from my seat and went around to his side of the table. “Stand up for me, Charlie."
He pushed his chair back and stood before me. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him snuggly to my body, like I’d wanted to do all day. “You’re a perfect fit for me.”
He tentatively put his arms around my waist and rested his head on my chest. “You’re very warm.”
“And you’re very cuddly,” I replied.
Those bright blue eyes looked up at me. “And you like that?”
I couldn’t resist anymore. I kissed his forehead. “I like that very much.”
“Oh that’s just lovely. You two make an adorable couple.”
Zenia’s voice startled both of us. My head whipped around, wondering how she’d been able to get so close without me noticing. Charlie went to pull away from me. I wasn’t having any of that so I held on tightly.
She was standing at the top of the loft stairs staring at us with what I could only describe as heart-eyes. “Don’t stop on my account.”
Charlie's cheeks were bright red. “Sorry Zenia. Did you need me?”
She waved away his question. “Not at all. I came to tell you to take the rest of the afternoon off. I doubt we’re going to get many more customers today.”
“Are you sure?” Charlie asked, a worried frown creasing his brow.
“Of course,” she replied. “Take your young man to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He probably hasn’t been there yet.”
Charlie looked over at me and asked, “Would you like to do that?”
“Absolutely. Zenia’s right, I haven’t been there yet. I haven’t had time.”
She clapped her hands together. “Excellent. You two go on and enjoy the rest of your day. I’m going to curl up on my sofa and read a good book.”
I chuckled. “How will you decide which one to read?”
Her eyes lit up with amusement. “That’s the adventure now, isn’t it?”
I took Charlie’s hand and headed down the stairs. “Let’s go to a museum.”
I was not prepared for how big the Metropolitan Museum of Art was.
Charlie was practically bouncing, he was so excited to show me his favorite exhibits.
I liked the Arms and Armor exhibit, of course.
Charlie was a huge fan of the musical instruments exhibit.
We both were captivated by the Tiffany exhibit.
By the time the museum closed, my feet hurt and I was starving. “Let’s go get some dinner,” I said.
“Okay,” he replied. “But I don’t know any of the restaurants in this part of town.”
I held up my phone. “This is why we have the Google. I’ll find us a place.”
Within a few minutes I found a small Italian restaurant only three blocks away. The rain had stopped so we decided to walk rather than wait for a taxi at rush hour. The restaurant was warm and inviting and we were seated at a table for two in a cozy corner soon after we arrived.
Charlie took a deep breath. “It smells wonderful in here.”
“Yes, it does.” I picked up the menu. “I’m definitely getting some garlic bread.”
“You can’t go wrong with bread.”
When the server came by, we ordered drinks and appetizers. While we were waiting I asked, “So, what do you do at the bookstore besides pack online orders? I know you’re not just a clerk. It would be a waste of your talent.”
His pleased smile told me he wasn’t used to hearing compliments about his chosen profession.
“I do a lot of research for Zenia. The library gets scholars from all over the world coming in to investigate obscure events or topics. They’ll sometimes ask her if she can find something from a particular era and she sends me on a search.
That’s the part of the job I enjoy the most.” He held up his phone.
“This guy gets a lot of use at the bookshop.”
“It’s good that you get to use your degree like that.”
The server brought our drinks and the appetizers and Charlie dove into the garlic bread like it was his last meal.
We had just ordered our main course when Charlie’s phone vibrated with a text.
He frowned when he looked at the text and then his face went sheet-white and the phone slipped from his hand.
“Charlie? What’s wrong?” I reached over to take his hand and it was ice cold and clammy. He was staring off into the middle-distance with unseeing eyes. I got out of my seat and knelt beside his chair. “Tell me what’s wrong sweetheart. I can tell something’s scared you.”
He blinked and turned his head to look at me with tear-filled eyes. “I can’t go back,” he croaked.
“I’m going to look at your phone,” I said quietly. “Are you okay with that?”
He nodded jerkily. Luckily the lock screen hadn’t come on by the time I picked up his cell. The text was still open.
Unknown Number: Did you think I wouldn’t find you?
Unknown Number: 14 St. Marks Pl.