Divine Phoenix (11 page)

Clay shifted on his stool, and he smiled at her. “No claw marks. You must’ve weathered meeting Jane Herbert okay.”

Lily gave him a crooked smile. “I felt like I was back in middle school with the mean girls.
Rawr
. I’m ready to get started, boss.”

“I don’t know why I worried that they might be more than you could handle. I like that I’m seeing more and more of the old Lily resurfacing.”

Heat crept into her cheeks under his warm gaze. “It’s nothing I can’t handle and I really want to succeed at this…on my own merit.”

Clay nodded. “I understand. It’s just good to see you dealing well with it.” He placed his big, strong hand on the desktop monitor and turned it on. “This is going to be one of your responsibilities. Tabitha had been doing this job but she’s turning over sole responsibility of it to you.”

“I’ll bet that went over like a lead balloon.”

“No, actually she’s giving it up willingly. She’s never hidden the fact that she disapproves of this particular line of jewelry. I’m hoping you’ll do well with it. As a matter of fact, if you enjoy it, I’ll teach you to craft the pieces I sell from this website and you’ll get a percentage of the profits.”

“Really?”
Oh, man! I could be in the house that much sooner.
Lily was curious why Tabitha would take such a negative stance to something that was just business.

“Tabitha did the bare minimum of what needed to be done, without any…finesse. You could take charge of this and wind up making a huge difference in your income.” He pulled up the website and waited for the page to load. “If you have any experience with managing websites, you could also redesign this one. It’s just the basics, really. I did the photography of the pieces myself, which is another way that you could help to give it a more polished look, especially if you can find live models.”

Lily came closer and giggled when she saw the name. Clay Cook Intimate Jewelry. This was why Tabitha didn’t like it. He had a line of genital jewelry.

Clay pointed at the navigation bar. “See? It’s very basic, categorized by type. I need the orders to be shipped in a timely manner. As it is, they are a low priority for Tabitha and constantly delayed for various reasons. I also want to improve the packing standards.” He gestured to the supplies scattered on the work table. A stack of old newspapers, felt-tip markers, and a jumble of different-sized cardboard boxes stacked haphazardly at one side.

He explained to her the minimum that needed to be done. She got a notepad and started making a list. When he was finished outlining his expectations, she asked him the direction he wanted to take it and she made another list. Possibilities began formulating in her mind, and she found herself getting excited about the future.

“And you could teach me to make some of the pieces?”

“Absolutely.”

“Will I still have time for studying and schoolwork if I take this on? I want to do a good job at both.”

Clay’s touch was gentle and reassuring on her shoulder. “This is a marathon, not a sprint. If you can work on getting the orders current and respond to inquiries, everything else will come with time. Would you be willing to deal with these customers in the store?”

“Of course. Why—oh. Never mind.”

Clay smiled. “Tabitha won’t deal with the customers buying genital jewelry face-to-face. It makes her very uncomfortable. I don’t expect her to give hands-on tutorials or even open the boxes, just make the transaction. She does everything else without complaint so I haven’t made an issue of it. I just let her ship everything as though it were an out-of-town order. For various reasons I don’t want to do that anymore.”

“I don’t mind taking care of those sales. Just tell me how you want to handle it so it’s discreet.” In a small town like Divine, that could be a sticky issue.

“You could use the separate row of cases at the back of the store where the solid gold jewelry is displayed. Just answer questions and turn over their purchases to them. I’d thought of having instruction guides printed up for some of the more complicated pieces but haven’t had time. You could handle that if you’d like. Really, Lily, it’s up to you, how far you want to take it.”

Lily smiled broadly and felt herself flush when tears misted her vision. “I can do this, Clay. I can make something of this. I know I can.”

Clay nodded, and a warm gleam came into his eyes. “Just make a list of what you need, Lily.”

Lily’s mind was spinning with the possibilities.

Life with Lily settled into an increasingly distracting though comfortable routine in the following weeks. Clay was awakened from a sound sleep late one night in November. At first, he thought it was the wind blowing outside but sat upright when he heard Lily’s pained yelp. The house was peaceful as he climbed from bed, pulled on his pajama bottoms, and padded down the hall to her closed bedroom door.

He stood quietly at the door, and heard no other noise, so surmised that she had been dreaming. While debating whether he should leave her alone or go in a check on her, she whimpered again. The sound touched his heart, and he reached for the doorknob without hesitation. She struggled with the bedclothes and he gently pulled them from her grasp as he sat on the edge of the bed closest to her. The moonlight shone on her face and sympathy filled him at the low cry that erupted from her throat. She sounded hunted, terrified.

“Lily.” He placed a hand on her hip and waited, worried about startling her awake.

“Please. No. It
hurts
.”

That’s enough of that.
There was no way he could allow her to relive her husband abusing her again. Those days were done.

“Lily.” He increased his grip on her hip just a little and stroked her shoulder. “Wake up, baby.”

Her arm lashed out, and he caught her hand a split second before her fist made contact with his chest. She stilled suddenly, and in the moonlight he saw when her eyes opened. She gasped and sat upright. Part of him wanted to pull her shaking form into his arms. His attraction to her was growing daily, and he wasn’t sure that he could be that close to her, comforting her, without her knowing how he felt about her. “Clay?”

“You were having a nightmare.”

“I did? I did,” she reiterated, answering her own question.

“Yeah, and it looks like you were going to fight back for a second.” He liked that thought. She exhaled in relief and sagged back against the pillows. The movement drew his attention to the bountiful cleavage displayed by her pajama top, which had come unbuttoned in her struggle. His eyes lingered on her satiny flesh as she caught her breath from her slumbering struggle, and she eventually followed his gaze down to her chest.

Wordlessly, she grabbed the edges of the top and pulled them together, fastening the button. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” She gazed at his bare chest and bit her lip as though she was nervous. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Lily shook her head and picked at the covers he’d laid over her lap. “No. I hope the nightmares stop eventually. It’s all in the past now. I’m sorry I woke you.”

“I don’t mind. Think you can get back to sleep?”

Lily reached for the lamp and switched on the light. “Eventually. I think I’ll read for a little while.” She reached for the romance novel he’d bought for her, which was resting on her bedside table.

Clay leaned forward and gently pecked her forehead. “Okay. Don’t stay up too late. I want you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed tomorrow.” Possibly because he was sleepy, the disjointed thought of her workouts popped into his mind. She spent time each day exercising, which seemed to make her happy, and Clay was pleased to be around her, enjoying the visual fruits of her labor. She held herself more confidently, and the workouts enhanced her curvy figure, much to the torment of his libido.

“Don’t worry, Clay. I’ll be moving my tail for you in the morning.” She clamped her lips and popped her hand over her mouth and looked embarrassed. “I must be sleepier than I thought. I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

Clay smiled and patted her leg, turning away as he rose, so she wouldn’t see his stiffening cock as he escorted his ass out of her room. “That’s okay, Lily. We’re both tired.” He glanced back in time to watch her knock her fists lightly against her forehead and grinned that he wasn’t the only one with an inner conflict. “Get some rest. Don’t forget we’re meeting with Jack and Adam tomorrow.”

“Okay.” In the hallway he looked back one last time and caught her ogling his ass.
Oh, yeah. I’m definitely not the only one.

* * * *

The following morning, Clay and Lily were waiting in his truck when Jack and Adam showed up in Jack’s black SUV. Clay smiled at her, noticing the slightly nervous tremble in her hands as she reached for the door handle. She was concerned about being able to afford the repairs to the house and was afraid that Jack and Adam would quote an enormous sum to get the work done. Clay knew otherwise. Jack would never gouge a client.

Clay went around to her door, helped her down and grinned when he heard a little baby coo. “Looks like you get to meet Mrs. Warner, too.” Lily grimaced, and before she could say anything, he softly added, “Don’t worry. I didn’t tell her husbands that you think she’s ‘nutso’ or anything.” She got in one sharp jab at his ribs before he turned to smile at Jack.

“Hi, Clay!” Jack held out his hand to shake. Clay introduced Lily to Jack and Adam, and smiled at Grace as she came around the front of his truck carrying little three-month-old Rose Marie.

Grace gently patted the baby’s back as she settled her against her shoulder and said, “Hi, Clay. I hope you don’t mind that I came along. I wanted to welcome Lily to Divine.”

Sure you did, little matchmaker.
The twinkle in Grace’s eyes told him she knew what he was thinking.

Chuckling, he turned to Lily and made the introductions. Lily’s smile was guarded but Grace greeted her kindly like an old friend.

Grace gestured at the house. “So this is where you grew up, Lily?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Clay told us you were friends when you were all little.”

As the men talked about the house, Clay observed Grace draw her into conversation. When Grace spoke to her casually about Jack, Adam, and Ethan, Lily’s cheeks grew rosy and he could almost hear the wheels turning in her head as she pondered what their love lives were like.

Lily reached out to touch Rose Marie’s back, and Grace offered to let her hold the alert infant. Lily bit her lip hesitantly and Clay felt for her, wondering if she was recalling the sad reason for her emergency hospital stay. She nodded and carefully received the baby from Grace and positioned her in the same manner that Grace had, against her shoulder. Clay wondered if he had a sappy smile on his face as he watched her cuddle Rose Marie.

Of course that brought to mind images of her expecting a baby and having one of her own to hold and cherish. His imagination went a little wild and he pictured her in an arrangement like Grace’s. He had a feeling she’d be every bit as giving as any of the women he knew who were involved in a committed ménage relationship. He realized that he pictured himself as one of the lucky parties. It was all an exercise in frustration.

A little while later, after looking the house over thoroughly, Jack came outside with Adam and smiled. “Lily, the basic structure is rock-solid. We’ll have you back in your home before you know it.”

Clay would’ve preferred to go back to feeling sexually frustrated, as opposed to the heavy feeling in his heart that announcement created.

* * * *

One afternoon in late November, Clay sat at his workbench absentmindedly watching the security monitor. Lily stood behind a showcase, chatting easily with two men. He observed her in the monitor with increasing regularity, and if he was being honest with himself, it wasn’t solely because he was keeping an eye on the store or safeguarding her, it was because he couldn’t keep his eyes off of her.

Clay enjoyed watching the excitement in Lily’s beautiful eyes as she’d taken on revamping the personal jewelry program. At times, she seemed to examine some of the pieces as a customer considering them, rather than merely as a retail transaction. Once, she’d caught him watching her and had blushed profusely. She obviously took pride in her efforts and the orders that had been stacking up were shipped by the end of that first week.

It pleased him that she took such good care of his shop and his customers. She didn’t just get by, doing her job and disappearing the moment her workday was done. She took extra care with every customer as though she were invested in the business. She always seemed comfortable talking to the people who came through his door and put them at ease in the process. She brought warmth to his showroom with her easygoing personality and sense of humor. She also seemed to be handling Tabitha just fine. Tabitha had complained to him that she was too “chatty.”

Just then she smiled, and the men responded with nods and laughter. He was taken aback by the wave of possessiveness at how comfortable they seemed talking and laughing with her. Clay scrubbed his hands over his face and groaned.

He could tell by their body language that the men weren’t flirting with her but merely conversing. She was only doing her job and they were her customers. Getting territorial in this setting was over the top but the feeling persisted. Desire for her was turning him into a cranky, jealous bastard.

He squinted at the monitor and realized who he was looking at and felt a little more foolish. He knew how those two men felt about the woman they were probably shopping for. He rose from his stool and stretched, then went out into the showroom to greet Duke Rivers and Gage Randall.

Tabitha was at lunch, otherwise she’d be having a conniption fit right then. One of the other idiosyncrasies of her job was that the occasional polyamorous group needed wedding or binding ceremony rings, which he was more than happy to create. She never missed an opportunity to communicate her righteously indignant feelings to him.

Both men looked up and grinned as he entered the ring of showcases and stood beside Lily. He normally stayed out of the ladies’ “domain” because Tabitha had seemed more comfortable that way, but he enjoyed spending time with Lily in the store. She’d left her copper-tinged brown locks loose that day so they flowed in long, shimmering waves to just past her curvaceous derriere. Sometimes he had to restrain himself from running his fingers through the silky, abundant strands. His cock tingled as he indulged a brief fantasy of how the soft strands would feel as they slid over his chest or his thighs.

Down, boy!

He shook hands with both men and asked, “So is it time to barter for an engagement ring?”

Duke snorted. “We’ve already moved on from that point with Lily. We’re just haggling over price right now. Looks like you’re getting a new website.”

Clay grinned, not a bit surprised that she’d taken the bull by the horns.

She smiled at him and added, “Of course, you have final approval, boss, but I’m planning a full overhaul of everything, the custom jewelry site and the personal jewelry site. When I visited Emma while she was still in the hospital, she told me they could help us out.”

Emma Guthrie had found herself in the crosshairs of a woman who’d had an online obsession with Gage Randall and had nearly died when the woman had shown up on her doorstep with a loaded gun. Clay was reminded again how short and risky life was and was happy to see Duke and Gage making plans for a life with Emma.

“Little did Emma know that we’d both have something the other needed,” Gage said as he pointed out a ring for Duke to look at.

Clay glanced out the window and noticed the sky had darkened. “Looks like we have some rain coming.”

Duke nodded. “There’s supposed to be a big storm system headed our way overnight, too. Lily, how about I put something together for you and Clay to look at in the next day or so and we’ll go from there.”

“That sounds good. I’ll put your name on this one and hold it for you.” She showed them the ring again. “If this is the one you’ve decided on, that is.”

Duke and Gage looked at each other and nodded, slight smiles on their faces. Gage said, “Yeah, that’s the one, Lily. That’s Emma’s ring.”

Clay glanced up as Tabitha came in through the front door. She took in the scene with the two men looking at the one ring, and her face screwed up like someone had stuck a corncob up her ass. She schooled her expression before they glanced her way, and Clay rolled his eyes.

Here it comes. At least wait until they leave, Tabitha.

Duke and Gage nodded at her before making their exit, looking slightly amused at Clay’s expense as Tabitha slammed the drawer she kept her purse in, mumbling to herself.

“Something on your mind, Tabitha?” Clay asked, figuring it was better to get it out in the open while the shop was empty, rather than let it simmer.

“It just a shame. Two perfectly eligible men, to one woman. It’s not fair to the other women of this community.”

Lily looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there. Clay shrugged and met Tabitha’s hellfire and brimstone gaze. “Not fair how? They fall in love, they make a commitment to each other. It’s not like we’re assigned mates or anything.”

“It’s
shameful
,” she said as she reapplied her pink lipstick. She must’ve gone home for lunch because her beige wool cardigan was covered with black cat hair. “One woman with two men earning two incomes is greedy.”

The irritating tickle started in the back of his throat again. “If they’re happy, we should all be happy for them. I want no complaints from customers, Tabitha.” He had his handkerchief ready when the sneezing started.

Using her familiar martyred tone, she replied, “You won’t hear any complaints about me, Clay. I know you’re friends with them. But you know I have to stand for what’s moral, too.” Looking expectantly at Lily, she asked, “Time for more training?”

Clay nodded, and Lily followed him to workroom. She’d been so enthusiastic with the personal jewelry business that he’d begun showing her how to craft the basic pieces. She’d blushed at times as he’d explained how to size and create the pieces because that involved explaining how and
where
the jewelry fit, but she’d taken to the work with little trouble.

Her delight in crafting something he could sell was evident. He’d been busy at his workbench one day when she’d held out a new piece for him to inspect. It was a cloverleaf-shaped clit clip unlike anything he’d created. He could tell she had a natural knack for jewelry design, and when he told her so, her face had lit up with happiness. The one concern that she’d voiced was that she didn’t have as much time to work on them as she’d wanted to because of her other responsibilities in the store and schoolwork. It pleased Clay that she wanted to be involved and enjoyed the work.

A little later, thunder rumbled in the distance, causing Clay to remember a vital fact. Lily was terrified of lightning and always had been since they were little. The latest lesson was finished and the day’s orders were packed and ready to ship when Clay said, “Why don’t you take these to the post office and then you can head on home. Can you manage okay?” His heart told him to go with her and help her though her fears, but he knew she was trying to be independent and face challenges head-on.

Lily nodded, but he could see that her lips were pale and her knuckles stood out white from wringing her hands together. “I’ll be okay. It’s just rain. The thunderstorms don’t come until later tonight. It’s
just
a little noise and some rain. I
know
I can do this.” She said it as though she were giving herself a pep talk.

Sympathetically, Clay said, “I’ll help you load the car.”
One little hint that you need me, Lily, and I’ll come with you.

Lily grabbed her purse, and Clay carried the large cardboard carton full of smaller shipping boxes. It was a far cry from how Tabitha had handled the orders previously. Lily used packing peanuts, white tissue paper, new flat-rate shipping boxes, computer printed labels, postage and packing lists, so the operation was clean, efficient, and professional looking. The best part of it, though, was that Lily was proud of herself for the accomplishment. He was especially pleased that she’d taken the initiative with the website.

Lily unlocked her car, which was now fully repaired and running in tiptop shape. He put the carton on her front seat and looked at the sky, which had darkened a bit more. The cool wind was whipping all around them. Clay’s heart went out to her when she licked her lips nervously.

He resisted the urge to tell her to hold on while he let Tabitha know he was going with her. That would delay her getting home so it wasn’t a better option. The best thing for her was to get the job done and get home where he hoped she would feel safer. “You don’t have that far to go. I’d be willing to bet that it still hasn’t rained a drop by the time you walk in the front door at home.”

Lily nodded affirmatively and climbed in on the driver’s side. “See you this evening. I’ll have supper ready.”

“The best deal I ever made was having you move in, Lily,” Clay said appreciatively. Every word was sincere, but he also hoped to shore her rapidly dwindling bravery. Lily wasn’t just scared, she was
terrified
. It rankled some part of him that she didn’t ask for his help but she’d sworn she could do this. Now in the face of a storm, her mettle was being put to the test. “Text me as soon as you walk in the door.”

“Okay.” Her face was still pale as she white-knuckled the steering wheel and backed from her parking spot.