Knightless in Seattle (3 page)

"So I've heard," Jackie murmured against his chest. "You're
going to have to show me that move one of these days. I'd never be
afraid to walk down a dark alley again."

"Any time." Lance swallowed hard at the feel of her pressed
tantalizingly against him. Reaching for a little of the focus and
self-discipline that had built him a name and a chain of successful
European martial arts studios on the eastern seaboard, he reminded
himself he had a match to get ready for.

"But who will protect you from me?" He grinned and leaned
down, intending to drop a chaste kiss on the top of her head. She
turned her face up to his at the last second and met his lips squarely
with her own.

Fireworks exploded behind Lance's eyelids at the first touch
of her soft, lush mouth. The little teasing flame of attraction that had
flared to life yesterday with the first touch of her hand burst into
full-fledged inferno-mode, scorching him with a bolt of lust.

Jackie opened her lips beneath his, and he thrust his tongue
inside to tangle with hers. His control was further shaken by the little
moan she gave as she looped her arms around his neck and pressed
tightly against him.

He pulled her even closer. He could hardly believe his own
response. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since
yesterday." He ran his hands down the length of her spine. "All wet
and bedraggled, pushing that dead-as-a-doornail car in the
rain."

"Yeah, I know. That was my plan all along." She looked up at
him, laughter dancing in her eyes. "How could you resist a damsel in
distress, you being a knight and all?"

God, this woman was like water in the desert. Her skin, her
soft curves, that knowing sparkle in her eye. Maybe it was just that
he hadn't had anyone special in his life for such a long time. He put a
lot of time into his work, but he knew deep down he intentionally
kept himself too busy to think about how lonely he was.

"You seem like the kind of girl that should keep a knight in
shining armor on contract, if you ask me," he said, and bent his head
to kiss her again.

A spear of daylight stabbed through the open tent flap. "Hi,
I'm looking for-- Oh! Sorry about that." The boy's voice cracked on
"sorry".

"Oh!" Jackie jerked back out of his arms. Her blush was
obvious even in the dim light.

Lance sucked in a deep breath and counted to three as he
forced reality back into focus around him.

The freckle-faced boy cleared his throat and focused
pointedly on the toe of his soft leather boot as he traced arcs in the
dirt floor. "I was, uh, just looking for your shield to, you know, shine
it up for you."

Lance frowned. He had actually been expecting the arrival of
his squire to start getting things ready for his next event. Although
the kid was dressed in the green and black of his house, Lance didn't
recognize him. "Who are you and where's Matthew?"

"Um, I think he had to go home for some emergency or
something. I'm Sam." He slid his gaze around the interior of the tent
and licked his lips. "The game manager sent me."

"Oh, maybe that was what Lila was dealing with when I got
here," said Jackie from behind him. "She said she got pulled away by
something and missed seeing me arrive."

The kid seemed a little off to Lance, but maybe he was just
being paranoid. The problem was that his final event was going to
start in about fifteen minutes and he needed a squire to help him
with his gear. He made his decision.

"All right, thanks Sam. Why don't you start gathering my
equipment together. We don't have much time."

After a few more instructions from Lance, the boy made a
hurried escape into the darker interior of the tent. He sure seemed
nervous to Jackie. But considering the stacks of wickedly pointed
weapons of various shapes and sizes, piles of shields and metal body
armor, she didn't really blame him. Definitely gave
her
the
creeps.

Lance turned back and pulled her close. "Thanks for coming.
It means a lot."

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world." She fought the
smile that pulled at her lips, keeping her face serious. "You have my
glove."

"Next to my heart," he said, as brought his hands up to
cradle her face.

There was nothing accidental about the way he kissed her
this time. He was slow and thorough, letting her know that for this
moment she was the absolute center of his attention.

The kiss ended altogether too soon, leaving her with
trembling knees and a pounding heart.

He lifted her chin with one finger. "I can't believe I'm going
to say this, but you've got to go. That is,
I've
got to go. Get
ready for my competition." He pressed a last, fierce kiss to her lips.
"Everything hangs on this final event and it starts in about ten
minutes. But I promise after that, I'm all yours."

Jackie stepped back on shaking legs, hoping it wasn't too
obvious how rattled she was. She offered a bright smile. "Go out
there and kick some knightly butt then."

"Thanks. I will," he said with a grin. "You should probably go
back out the way you came in. I'll catch up with you after the
tournament."

"Sure thing." Jackie backed towards the side of the tent
where she had come in. "No worries. I know where to go. You just
focus on, you know, winning and all." She gave a little wave of her
fingers. "I'll see you out there."

With a last smile Lance turned away and faded into the
darker recesses of the tent as he busied himself with whatever
knights did to get ready for combat.

She gingerly felt her way along the tent wall, hoping she
wouldn't stumble over any of the pointed weapons.

There it was. Bright daylight nearly blinded her as she found
and opened the slit. She blinked several times to give her eyes a
chance to adjust. As she did so, a movement to her right caught her
attention.

Was that Lance's squire hunkered down on the floor? He
seemed to be looking for something, maybe something Lance was
going to really need in a few minutes. God knew it was dark enough
in here to lose a horse.

She cleared her throat. "Do you need some help?" She pulled
the opening wider, washing several feet of floor in the glare of
daylight. "Did you drop something?"

The boy leaped up with a startled yelp. The way he thrust
his hands behind him all but shouted that he'd been doing something
he shouldn't.

Jackie narrowed her eyes at him, tempted to just jump him
and grab whatever he was hiding behind his back. "Everything
okay?"

"Yeah, sure," he squeaked. "Just making sure to load up all
the daggers and stuff he's gonna need out there." He cleared his
throat and shot a look in Lance's direction. "I'd better get back at it.
See ya."

With that he turned halfway round and sidled past her,
clutching to his chest whatever he'd been hiding behind him.

"Okay, then. Guess my work here is done." Jackie grasped
the edges of the slit, braced herself for a second, and pushed through
the opening into the light and noise.

And collided with the body that was occupying the same
space.

"Oh, there you are."

Jackie blinked in confusion before recognizing Lila's
assistant.

"Lila sent me back to take you to your seat. I've been looking
for you for five minutes. Man, she would kill me if I lost you."

"No worries, Roxie," Jackie smiled. Poor girl, she had a lot to
learn about handling stress. "Glad you found me. I don't think I have
much time before Lance is on, or out, or whatever."

"That's for sure. The tournament is starting in just a couple
of minutes. We gotta go."

Roxie set a quick pace, leading Jackie up the closest set of
wooden steps and tugging her along the planks of the crowded
stands circling the arena. At the far end the King and Queen were
seated on a raised platform draped in purple and gold striped satin.
They were flanked on either side by about a dozen apparently
favored nobles, each dressed in the distinctive colors of their
factions.

Roxie halted in front of a group of obviously important
personages decked out in the tell-tale green and black of Lance's
house.

Seated in the middle of the first row was a regal brunette,
dressed in a form-fitting green brocade and velvet gown with a
plunging neckline. Strings of pearls threaded through her high-piled
hair and wrapped lovingly around her neck. Clearly she was
nobility.

Nobility who quite pointedly ignored them, lowly peasants
that they were.

Roxie cleared her throat. "Pardon me, my lady."

The brunette slowly turned her head, as if she was looking
for someone in the arena. Finally she faced Roxie. "Yes? What is
it?"

Roxie's sigh was almost inaudible. She dropped her eyes and
hunched her shoulders. Clearly this wasn't her first encounter with
the brunette. "May I present your handmaiden Jacqueline, my lady?
Jacqueline, this is Lady Nima."

Just before she turned to leave, she caught Jackie's eye.
Good luck,
she mouthed silently.

"Ah, yes, Jacqueline." Lady Nima flicked a condescending
gaze over Jackie, from head to foot. "I've heard about you. You've
come to cheer on our dear Lancelot."

She gestured with an exquisite fan to the empty seat on her
left. "Sit. It is rude to block people's view."

Jackie sat, while wondering how she was supposed to
respond. She certainly didn't care much for this Lady Nima
character.
That must be it, she's just playing the character. Nobody
is really that rude.
Were they?

"You are rather late in the game, you know." Lady Nima
returned to surveying the crowd. "I have attended every bout
Lancelot has fought in the last three years." Her lips curled in a
self-satisfied smile. "I am his good luck charm, after all".

She shot Jackie a sideways glance. "Your hair is a mess. You
should have made more of an effort to be presentable."

Jackie felt her mouth drop open. She snapped it closed,
reminding herself again that Lady Nima's offensive manners were
probably all part of the role play.

"Yes, my lady," she murmured. There. That sounded like an
appropriate response for a peasant-class nobody to make to her
medieval betters.

Besides, there wasn't much she could do about her hair at
this point. Lila had arranged it loosely, with only a circlet to hold it in
any kind of order. Unfortunately the damp air had its usual effect of
transforming her carefully straightened long hair into a mass of
curls. She could feel them springing around her face.

And who knew what her few minutes alone with Lance had
done to it? She gave an inner shrug of acceptance. It was what it
was.

Horns blared from the direction of the royal platform,
drawing everyone's attention. A barrel-chested man dressed in the
same purple and gold as the royal pair stepped to the front of the
platform.

"Hear ye, hear ye!" His commanding tone sent a hush over
the chattering crowd. "I present your King, His Royal Majesty, King
Richard!"

The King stepped forward, and silence fell over the
crowd.

"My Lords and Ladies." The King had a deep resonating voice
that reached every ear in the arena. "Your Champions have fought
well for you. But none has fought more fiercely or more honorably
than Sir Lance of House Greeve and Sir Reggie of House Mallory.
Today, this final contest shall determine which head of these two
noble houses will succeed me as king." He waited a moment for the
cheering of the crowd to die down. "Let the match begin!"

The crowd exploded into cheers as two figures emerged
from the knight's tent at the opposite end of the arena, and marched
side by side to the center of the ring.

Even with his shoulder-length blond hair tied back with a
cord, Lance was unmistakable. The sun glinted off the silver rings of
his chainmail and the mirrored steel of the arm guards that reached
from his wrists to his elbows. Around his waist he wore a broad satin
band striped with the same Kelly-green and black of Jackie's dress.
At his side hung the biggest sword she'd ever seen.

The other man wore something red and gold, colors which
barely registered on Jackie's senses. He could have been naked for all
she cared.

A young squire decked out in the royal purple and gold
trotted out to the center of the ring and stood between the two men,
who now faced each other. At his direction, the combatants took six
large steps back from where he stood. He shouted a brief
announcement of names and titles, and then signaled for the round
to commence.

The two knights got right down to it; no social niceties, no
easing into things. Just full throttle attack mode right out of the
gate.

Gripping his enormous sword, Lance swung it in fierce arcs
that seemed designed to take his opponent's head off. At the same
time he was simultaneously dodging and parrying the wild swings of
his opponent's sword.

Jackie wanted scream with every blow aimed at Lance.
While she couldn't seem to look away, her front row seat gave her a
way too close and personal view of any and all possible carnage.

With their swords locked hilt to hilt between them, blades
mere inches from their faces, Lance and his opponent danced in a
tight circle.

Jackie clutched the rail with numb fingers as the sound of
steel sliding against steel rang in the morning air.
Exhibition, my
ass
.
A hair's breadth slip one way or another and somebody is
going to get seriously hurt.

One instant, the pair was facing each other across deadly
blades. In the next, Lance's opponent was flat on his back with the tip
of a sword at his heart and his wrist trapped by Lance's boot. His
blade lay useless in the dirt a few inches beyond his open
fingers.

Pandemonium broke loose as everyone cheered and
stomped their feet. "Kill him! Kill him!" they chanted.