Chapter 18
Eighth Week of Faire
“Why are you listening to Gregorian chanting?” Lilian asked, noticing for the first time the low, harmonizing hum that came out of nearby speakers. Curious, she glanced at Hawk’s phone and was surprised by the current playlist. Usually Hawk put on a sports commentator.
Hawk looked up from the paper in front of him. “Dad asked me to vet them for an act next year. But it turns out they help me focus. Why, is it distracting?”
Lilian tilted her head, listening to the low voices for a moment longer. “No, you’re right. It is pretty soothing.” It definitely helped put her at ease. Hawk had been to her store plenty of times over the last couple weeks. This was the first time since Pirate Weekend.
The store had undergone a massive change, but so had the relationship between the two of them. Her body was still confused when he was around her. The urge to pull him close to kiss him itched under her skin. Along with the nerves about the reason why he’d come over.
Money. The accounts. Would the bookstore survive to see another year?
Over the last couple of days, the locals had come out in droves to check out the new and improved space.
There were no more book piles on the ground, the dust had been cleared away, and she’d added some extra lighting in the back that pulled the shop out of its dark, antique haze.
With the changing weather and cooler days, the space felt warmer. Cozier.
Nearly everyone who’d stopped in left with a book or two; the community worked to do their part to help keep the business afloat. And every single person had complimented the new look.
The last week and a half had filled her with a sense of satisfaction stronger than the day she’d graduated college.
They were doing it. They were keeping the shop alive.
“All right,” Lilian said, leaning over the counter. “Give it to me, how are our numbers looking?”
Hawk’s smile dipped into something she was beginning to recognize as his business face. “I’m still working on it.”
“Really?” He’d had their accounting records for weeks; she’d thought he’d be done by now.
He ran a hand through his hair, looking as close to embarrassed as an overly arrogant accountant could look. Oddly enough… it made him look kind of cute. “I’m sorry. It’s been a little crazy recently. The ball…”
Her ears perked. “What about it?”
He sagged in his chair. “Just a disagreement between my parents about the budget.” She could hear the stress in his voice; it was different from the exasperated tone he usually pointed toward faire vendors.
This was actually affecting him. Probably because he couldn’t tell his parents to shove it and listen to him.
“It’s always a good event. Even if they decided to have it outside in the cold, people would be there, having fun,” she offered in an attempt to make him feel better. The remark earned her a side eye that questioned her (and everyone’s) sanity.
“The event coordinator has me on speed dial, asking questions my mom should be answering. Plus, I have my other clients.” A heavy sigh. “It’s been busier than normal. I’m sorry. I should have had your accounting done. I’ll be on top of it this week.”
Lilian couldn’t help but be impressed. It was a reminder that this wasn’t his full-time job, it wasn’t even a side job. This was a project, one he was helping her with for free.
She leaned forward, the need to better understand thrumming through her veins. “Well, can you still tell me how it’s looking? From what you’ve seen so far.”
“So far,” Hawk said slowly, typing something on his computer before turning it her way, “you’re in the red.”
A rock lodged itself in her throat, one that refused to go down. She’d known better than to get her hopes up; the changes were only a few weeks old. It would have been impossible for them to make a comeback after years of poor management.
Fighting back the disappointment, she took a deep breath and pushed on. “All right, so what do we do next?”
“Refocus.” Hawk’s voice came out rough as if he was saying it for both their sake. “When the faire is over, you need to put all your attention into this bookshop. Not the faire. I know you love Bodice and Brawn, but that isn’t a viable business, Lilian. You must know that. This business needs you.”
Ouch. That hurt.
It didn’t matter how true the statement was, Bodice and Brawn was her shop. While Ten Cents Books was just something she was helping to keep afloat while her mother was in recovery.
“The other thing I would suggest is moving the business away from Tenison.”
The suggestion knocked her back. “Away from Tenison? What do you mean?”
“Lilian.” He paused, letting her name hang between them to emphasize the seriousness of the conversation.
“I know you love this town. It’s where your family lives, and the store has been here for a long time.
I get that. But this location is not viable for business.
You told me everyone has been coming into the store and buying things? ”
She nodded mutely, and he continued, “It’s helped, but it’s not enough. Everyone in this town would need to buy at least four books every week for you to turn a profit. That just isn’t feasible.”
Not feasible.
She swallowed hard. “I can’t move the business. It’s not mine to make that kind of decision. And my mom…” Her mind spun, still processing the weight of what he’d just said. “She won’t be in favor of it.” All the careful hope she’d been carrying disintegrated in her chest. “What do we need to do?”
Hawk’s jaw tightened. “That’s what I’m still trying to figure out. I need to crunch the numbers that will give you a way out of this. But it won’t be easy. You and your mom are going to have to make some hard decisions, but I think we can still keep the business running.”
That eased something in her. A path toward success was all she needed. Now that Ten Cents Books had its makeover, and with the faire season almost done, she was ready to fully commit to whatever Hawk told her to do.
He was a professional. One of the smartest men she’d met, who’d helped make his parents' faire one of the most successful in the country.
There was no one she trusted more.
If Hawk couldn’t help Ten Cents Books, no one could.
She reached across the table and twined their fingers together. Hawk gave her a reassuring squeeze; it was a silent promise between them.
“Thank you for doing all this for me.”
A hesitant smile creased his lips. His eyes shifted back to the shop around them, ensuring there was no one else around before he allowed his guard to fall. “Don’t thank me yet, we still have a long way to go.”
We. The word curled around her, a promise that she wasn’t alone in this. That he would stick by her side until the faire was over, and maybe even after.
It had only been a few days since he’d come to her house, since the heat of that night. But the memory of it sent a fire throughout her entire body.
Her thumb caressed the inside of his wrist, fascinated by the soft skin. “You know, we’re not at the faire now. Does that mean I’m talking to my business consultant or my future boyfriend?”
Hawk’s smile eased. “We’re not at the faire, but we are in a public business space.”
“No one is here.” As soon as the word left her, excitement curled in her stomach and her core.
“Lilian.” Her name was a warning, one last opportunity for her to back off if she wanted to. But it wasn’t a no.
Hawk had said no public display at the faire. But he’d said nothing about the store.
“Come on.” She tugged on his hand lightly, inviting him toward the back of the store.
Hawk followed, his eyes casting over the bookshop one last time to ensure they were truly alone.
“The bell will ring if someone comes in,” Lilian assured.
“And you think I’ll let you walk away once we start?”
His voice held a tremor of heat that licked at her. She could barely suppress a grin. I never thought I would pray not to have customers, but dear god.
They stepped into the back room, which she’d cleaned and organized over the weeks to make room for storage shelves and the boxes of inventory she’d ordered. It was a basic storage room, but that didn’t matter for what they were doing.
The door remained open in case someone stepped into the shop. The idea of it sent a warm pool of lust between her legs.
Hawk’s fingers trailed down the side of her waist as he took his time kissing her neck. “This turns you on. Doing this somewhere people can see us.”
He was too observant for his own good, but there was no use in denying it. “Yes,” she breathed.
“You did the same thing back in your shop when I kissed you.”
She blinked. “The same thing?”
His hand reached under her T-shirt, bringing heat across her bare skin as it moved to greedily cup her breast. “Your breathing, it hitched. You fucking love this.”
Oh. There was something about polo-wearing, button-up Hawk Carlisle cussing that did something to her. She’d never considered herself an exhibitionist, or even someone who would be into dirty talk. Yet here she was, melting in a storage room because a man said the word fuck.
But in the fog of her lust, it wasn’t clear what she liked more, the act or the man making her feel this way.
Her back arched against the wall. This was everything she was, the shop, her body, her pride. It was all in the palm of the hands that slipped between the elastic of her leggings and underwear. In a single breath his slender fingers glided between her wet folds. They both moaned at the contact.
“You’re so wet for me.” He sounded awestruck, even as he curled his fingers against her. “Damn.”
“What?” She was breathing fast now. The anticipation of his touch was too much. It wouldn’t take much before she fell apart.
He pulled back and met her gaze. “I don’t have…”
Don’t have what? An erection? Was he not enjoying this? Did she need to close the door?
It was clear she was supposed to know what he was saying, but her mind was too occupied with the fingers stroking her core. “Hawk!” She moaned, needing more.
“I don’t want to presume that you want more between your legs.” He breathed. “But I don’t have a condom.”
A condom. Oh. Her knees buckled at the mention of protection, the promise it represented, but right now she really, really didn’t care. “There’s time for that later.” Her fingers flexed on his bicep. The muscle was a stone of bedrock, keeping her upright.
“I’ll still make this good for you.” He breathed, lips returning to hers.
Without warning, his finger plunged inside her at the same time as his tongue. Lilian moaned at the double penetration.
Yes, yes! She shifted on her heels, rocking against him to bring more friction to her core.
This was so much better than the frantic humping in her bedroom.
A second finger joined the first, and god, his fingers were so long.
They reached deep inside her, stroking a spot that had been dormant for so long.
“Oh god,” she groaned against his lips.
“Shh,” he whispered, “we don’t want anyone to hear us.”
“No one is here, remember?” she teased, but then his fingers pulled out, and a cry left her lips instead.
“Would you like that? If I took you here with customers in the other room?” His breath was hot against her ear. His chest pressed against her now, pinning her against the wall or she would have fallen into a heap on the floor. The images it conjured up, oh yeah. She was into it.
“Huh.” She felt him smile against her skin. “I think I like that idea as well.” His jeans brushed against her thigh, allowing her to feel the hard heat of his erection. “But today, we’ll have to settle for this.” His finger started circling her clit, stroking it faster… harder.
Lilian’s hips were working on their own cadence now, pumping against him in a frantic rhythm to bring her release. “I’m not settling,” she panted.
“I’m not either.”
There was something in those words that made her come undone. With a cry, the orgasm shook her entire being. She curled against him, clutching at his arms to stay up right, even as he kept circling her clit, milking every last bit of pleasure from her.
The aftershocks kept coming. Her lungs couldn’t get enough air for a full minute, and then the world righted itself. Slowly, Hawk’s finger stopped moving, but it stayed between her thighs, buried against her.
“Good?” he asked.
She could hear her heart hammering against her chest, her breath coming out in quick little puffs of air as she wondered how this was her life now. In a store that was barely recognizable as her mother’s cluttered shop, with a man she’d once despised.
“Yeah,” she panted, feeling breathless and beautiful and so damn hopeful for what the future held. She was better than good. For the first time, Lilian felt in charge of her life.