Her gaze held his as she nodded. “I am.”
A satisfied smile flitted across his face before he sobered again. “My thoughts mirrored yours. While I don’t know the details of ink or other goods’ quality, I found the overall atmosphere, pricing, and level of service at each location in line with your evaluation of the offerings.”
Althea was immediately drawn back to her excitement as she left the second-to-last shop. “I need to assess who I want to compete against, but also the cost of finding shop space in the various parts of town. My preliminary plan was based on average rents from the paper when I was here last.”
“Hmm.”
She arched a brow at him, knowing he was drawing out the anticipation for hissuperb idea.
“I was thinking… Two of the shops, the Stall Street location and the one near the Crescent with the proprietress, are larger than the others. But they don’t seem to carry more inventory. Do you agree?”
She tilted her head, picturing the two shops. “Mayhap a bit more, but not much. Instead, they use the space to display their goods in a pleasing way. London is so cramped; I could never afford to do that.”
“Right, but you sell plenty. And you group different products in the same scent to promote larger purchases, do you not?”
“Yes, I keep excess inventory in the back room, in order to set up displays for maximizing sales. But I’m not looking to help my competitors. Why do you ask about this?”
“What if you chose one as your partner?”
She threw up her hands. “Ah! There you go again. I don’t want a partner. You know this.”
“No, not investor, not an equity partner. More of a…sharing space type of agreement.”
“Oh?” Her brow furrowed in confusion. She could not imagine it, but she could see from Evan’s expression he’d deduced much of it already, and she was eager to hear his idea.
“What if you picked the north shop, the one closest to your quality and offerings, but with different scents and better inks.”
She nodded, gesturing for him to continue.
“You could agree on scents that complimented each other. Even mayhap make some shampoos inherscents.” He leaned forward, his words coming faster with his enthusiasm.
Althea leaned in as well, her chest rising and falling, mouth dropping open in excitement.This man’s brain. Lud, how she wished she had the opportunity to learn more about him. But there be dragons.
“You get some shelf space in the store here, and she gets shelf space at your store in London. Limited product offerings, so that you do not have competing items, but I think it could be hugely profitable with much less capital needed to start up.”
“Ohh…” Althea’s voice trailed into breath in wonder. She stared at him, flushed with pleasure and excitement.This is almost as good as the orgasm he gave me. She giggled at the random thought.
Evan looked at her sharply. “What’s funny?”
Her eyes widened. Lud, she’d laughed out loud. Hopefully, he was not offended, but if she admitted her thoughts, he’d realize where half her attention had been focused during the trip.
On the other hand, they were away from London, away from the Season. Slowly, she held his eyes and sat back, knowing her nipples were hard, her chest flushed, and her breathing fast. “I love the idea. I find this quite exciting. Mayhap even better than sex.”
****
Evan stared at her. He’d had a hard time keeping his hands and lips off her the entire trip, envisioning her laid out on the table in the back room of her shop. In Bath, that beautiful brain of hers had spun him even higher.
He’d already been contemplating what remuneration to demand. To have her goad him after his repeated challenges was more than he could have hoped for. He knew she knew what she was offering, from her steady gaze to the deliberate arch of her back, offering her breasts with their deliciously pointed tips begging for his teeth.
He took a deep breath to steady himself and shook his head, firming his lips in mock consternation. “I thought you’d learned that sex can top just about anything.” He shook his head in mock sadness. “This is why I offered my terms. It seems another lesson is in order. And look, we have another convenient table.”
The pub staff had been in to clear dinner after Beth and Robert left, delivering his whisky and a sherry that Althea had not yet touched.
Now she grabbed it and took a gulp.
He appreciated the courage required to make the tacit dare and understood her nervousness. After her second sip, he stood and took the glass from her, then set both of their drinks aside to pull her to her feet.
Running his hands down her arms, thumbs skimming the sides of those pert, heaving breasts, he watched her skin pebble behind his touch.
