Chapter Eight
Loralei
Ash and I spend half of Sunday dealing with my car. As suspected, there's no saving it. I'm not entirely surprised, but I am sad about it. I loved that car. Actually, I loved that I didn't have to go buy a new one because of that car.
He offers to buy me a new one, but I shoot that idea down flat. There's no way I'm letting him buy me a car when my insurance will help cover at least some of the expense, enough to put a little down, at least.
I do let him help arrange a rental until the insurance adjuster can take a look at it, though. By the time the fire department gets the tree off it, and a tow truck hauls it to a shop in town, the day is half over.
We spend the rest of the day in bed, talking, laughing. He spends a good portion of the day trying to see how many times he can make me come. Turns out, it's a lot.
That's not a complaint, just a statement of fact.
By the time Monday morning rolls around, I'm not ready to leave. I want to stay forever. Unfortunately, I can't. The library won't open itself.
"Do you think…?" I hesitate, not sure if I'm allowed to invite him to my place. Maybe he wants to hide out here where no one knows where to find him.
"That you should stay here today? Absolutely," he says, grinning at me. "Who really uses the library anyway?"
"Approximately 155 million people per year in the United States."
He startles, gaping at me. "No shit?"
"No shit."
"Jesus. That's a lot more than I thought," he mumbles, making me smile. "Ask your question."
"Um, I was just going to ask if maybe you'd want to have dinner with me at my place tonight?" I say, avoiding his gaze. "You can say no. I'll understand if you'd rather no—"
He silences me with his lips on mine. "Fuck yeah, I want to come over tonight, Loralei. I will never say no to more time with you."
I melt against him, relieved. "I'm usually finished by five." I pause. "Well, I need to go by the bookstore afterward, so maybe seven?"
"Text me your address, and I'll be there."
I smile. Who knew getting a rockstar to agree to a date would be so easy? Not me.
"I wish you could stay," he murmurs, cupping my cheek. "It's going to be too fucking quiet here without you."
I bite my bottom lip, suddenly worried. "Will you be okay? I mean, if you think you aren't ready yet, maybe I can…"
He places a finger over my lip, smiling softly. "That's not what I meant, beautiful. I'll be perfectly fine. There isn't a single drop of alcohol in the cabin. I'm just going to miss having you here, that's all."
"Oh."
"Yeah." His smile grows. "Oh."
"I'll miss you too, Ash."
He groans loudly, pressing his lips to mine in a hard kiss. "You better get out of here, Loralei. If you don't, I'm not going to let you go. I'm going to recreate that thing in your book where he used sheets to tie her to the bed to keep her there."
My core clenches, a moan tumbling from my lips.
He chuckles, gently nudging me toward my rental. "Go, baby. I'll see you tonight."
"See you tonight, Ash." I practically dive into the car before I decide no one really uses the library anyway.
"Here you go, Lexi," I say, sliding a stack of books across the counter to the adorable little blonde in pigtails and chunky glasses. "You're all checked out."
"Thanks, Ms. Grey," she chirps, stretching to try to reach them. She's not quite tall enough, though. Or, rather, her stack is a little too tall for her.
"I've got it," her mom, Cora, says, scooping them into her arms. "Thanks, Loralei."
Lexi beams at her, skipping in place.
I just smile as they head for the exit, certain Lexi will be back by the end of the week for a brand-new stack. She reads as much as I did when I was her age.
They pause at the doors, stepping aside to allow someone inside. I grin when I see Lilah stepping through the doors, her arms loaded down with books. She pauses to speak with Cora and Lexi for a moment before heading my way.
"Brought you something," she says, dropping her stack of books on the counter. "These are damaged, so we can't sell them. Figured you could use them for the next basement sale here."
"Thanks." I grin, poking through the stack.
Twice a year, we hold a big basement sale, where members of the community can buy the books no longer in circulation or books donated by others in the community.
The funding helps us purchase new materials.
Lilah is great about contributing damaged copies from the bookstore to the sale.
"A couple of those are signed."
"Seriously?" I lift the cover of one of Cassia Murphy's newest books to see her signature scrawled across the title page. "Oh, nice. You're my favorite bookstore owner, you know that?"
Lilah makes a noise, propping one hand on her hip. "I better be," she sasses. "I provide you all the smut your dirty little heart desires, and I only make you work for it sometimes."
I laugh quietly, moving the books beneath the counter.
"Speaking of which…have you seen Jazz?"
"Yes." My lips twitch. "She was here earlier, trying to convince me to disappear into the back for five minutes while she looked up River's home address."
Lilah groans, covering her face with her hands. "That girl is going to wind up in jail."
"Yep," I agree with a little laugh. "And I am not aiding and abetting. I told her to come back Wednesday. She can harass him in public like a normal person. Figured it'd be safer for everyone that way."
Lilah pulls her hands away from her face, sighing heavily. "You do not know her nearly well enough if you believe that, Loralei. She's going to drive the man up the damn wall until he agrees to talk to Book Club."
"He's not going to agree." I don't know River well, but he's been coming here every other week since he moved to the area.
Frankly, he's a grump with a bad attitude.
There's not a chance in hell Jazz is going to talk him into coming to talk to Book Club.
But she's determined, so I'm going to let her find that out the hard way.
It's all I can do at this point. Well, that and hope she doesn't actually get herself thrown into jail.
Because he will absolutely call the police on her if she annoys him enough.
"We'll see," Lilah says with a shrug. "You coming to the bookstore tonight?"
"Um…maybe for a little while. I have some stuff to do."
"What kind of stuff?"
Dinner with my favorite rockstar.
"Just stuff," I say, carefully avoiding her gaze. I'm not a very good liar…and I'm also not entirely sure Ash wants everyone to know that he's in town. Lilah is one of my closest friends. I trust her with my life. But this is different.
For starters, I don't even know what to say.
I spent the weekend in bed with Ash Kilborne, and he wants to keep seeing me doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.
Truthfully, I'm not sure I'm ready to share it yet.
I want it to be just mine for a little while longer. Is that so wrong? No, of course not.
But I feel the weight of Lilah's gaze boring into me.
"Why are you blushing?"
"What?" I grab a book from the stack waiting to be checked in. "I'm not blushing. It's just hot in here."
"Uh-huh," she says, still staring at me. "You look funny, too. All…glowy."
"New makeup," I lie.
"Right," she says, drawing the word out to make it clear she thinks I'm full of shit. "Well, whatever you're busy doing, be safe, okay? And I'm here if you want to talk about it."
I swallow hard, suddenly intensely grateful for her. My gaze tangles with hers, a swell of gratitude lodged in my throat. "I will," I whisper. "Thanks, Lilah."
She stares at me for another long moment, then shrugs, waves, and strides toward the doors.
I droop against the counter as soon as she's gone, my heart hammering. I'm not good at this, at sneaking around and pretending everything is normal. It's not normal.
"What am I doing?" I groan, burying my face in my hands. I'm not entirely sure I have an answer…but I do know I don't want to stop whatever is going on with Ash. The thought alone feels a little like it's crushing the breath from my lungs.
"Excuse me, ma'am," a scratchy voice says from the opposite side of the counter.
I drop my hands, glancing up. And then I snort, trying to contain laughter. Ash is standing in front of the counter in a baseball cap, oversized sunglasses, and a leather jacket, clearly trying to remain incognito. He sticks out like a sore thumb.
"Do you have time to help me find the most private part of the library?" he asks in that same scratchy falsetto, one brow arching above his sunglasses. The wicked smile on his face makes my stomach dip and spin.
"That'd be the basement."
"Yes, the basement."
I hesitate, glancing around. There are a few patrons scattered around, browsing shelves or working at the computer station. The part-time librarian, Mena, is shelving books in the nonfiction section.
"Yeah," I decide, grabbing the sign alerting patrons that I've stepped away and plunking it down on the counter. "I can help you."
Ash grins as I grab the stack of books Lilah brought in and then hurry around the counter, motioning for him to follow me. He takes the stack from me before falling into step behind me, his hand brushing my hip.
I fight a groan, trying to act casual, like he's just any other patron. I'm not sure if I succeed or not, but we make it to the elevator with only a few curious glances.
As soon as the doors close behind us, Ash is on me, pressing me back against the wall. "Fuck, I missed you," he growls, his lips brushing mine in a hard kiss. His beard feels like heaven against my skin. "I couldn't wait until tonight to see you."
"Ash," I moan, my hands fisting in the sides of his jacket to anchor him to me. The edge of a book digs into my ribcage, but I don't even care. His mouth is on mine, his scent swirls around me. I'm right where I want to be.
He grunts, biting my bottom lip.