Knightless in Seattle (2 page)

"I'm visiting from out of town."

Of course he was. She could almost hear the clang of her
heart and hopes smacking into cold, hard reality.
Move along, no
possibilities of happy-ever-after here.
She had tried once, and
failed, in the long-distance relationship department. It had left her
heartbroken and feeling like a fool. That was one road she was never
going down again.

Well, nothing wrong with enjoying the moment, and this
totally hot guy, for what they were.

"Business or pleasure?" she said, and immediately wanted to
bite her tongue. What possible business could involve a grown man
dressing up as a knight?

"Both, actually."

"Really?" She pretended to run a critical gaze over his figure,
barely managing to keep from licking her lips. "And do they both
involve your current, um, dress?"

He chuckled. "They do. But today is all about pleasure."

He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. Jackie's
knees trembled a little at the sensation that shot through her at the
touch.
Hell yeah it is.

She cleared her throat. "And what kind of pleasure would
that be?"

"Not the kind I wish it was right now," he murmured, as he
pressed another kiss to her hand. "Actually, I'm running late to a
weekend, um, fair of sorts."

Jackie frowned. "A fair that requires chain mail?"

"Actually, it's a LARP, a Live Action Role Play event. I
decided it would be better to get into costume before I get there so I
can hit the ground running."

"Oh, I've heard of that. Some of those are pretty intense, I
hear." Live Action Role Play was big in their area. She knew several
people who took part various LARPs. The detailed costume suddenly
made a lot more sense.

"Yes, and unfortunately, that means that I need to get going.
Even pleasure has its schedule sometimes."

"Oh. Of course." She couldn't keep the disappointment out of
her voice. Time for Sir Lancelot to get on his horse and move along to
the next great conquest.

He squeezed her hand and looked more carefully at it, while
fingering the lace of her glove. "Perhaps you would consider a
favor?"

"You'd like me to do you a favor?"

"No, I would like you to
give
me one." His smile
deepened. "It's considered good luck for a knight to carry his lady's
handkerchief or glove into a competition." He slid a finger under the
edge of the lace that lay over the back of her hand, stroking the skin
beneath.

Jackie's breath locked in her throat. The unmistakable heat
in his eyes raised her temperature a few notches from "melt" to
"incinerate."

"Ah, um, ok. Sure."
That was smooth
,
Jackie
.
Sadly, it was the best she could manage.

"If you would allow me to carry one of your gloves, I would
consider it a great honor." He tilted his head, giving her a considering
look. "The fighting event is supposed to be held tomorrow, around
noon. Could I persuade you to come cheer me on?"

No persuading needed here. I would happily take even five
more minutes with this man
. "I would love to." She summoned a
cheeky grin. "You sound pretty sure you'll make the final round.
What are you competing in, jousting?"

He grinned back. "Sword fighting. And yes, I'm pretty sure,
since I teach European martial arts for a living."

"Martial arts?" She frowned, confused. "Sooo...you're a
ninja
knight?"

He laughed. "Really more of a fencing master than a knight.
European martial arts is a fancy name for traditional medieval
fighting techniques, but we also teach the traditional knightly virtues
of chivalry, self-discipline and self-control."

"So you really are a knight, then? I mean, professionally.
Wow." How irresistible was that?

She found herself hoping chastity wasn't one of those
virtues as well. She frowned. Or was that just for women? "Well, sir,
um-- What was your name again?"

"Lance."

Of course it was. "Yes, well. Sir Lance," Jackie reached under
her right sleeve to gently slide the delicate lace glove down her arm.
"I do hereby, at your request, grant you the honor of carrying my
favor into battle. Or competition. Whichever it is."

As she carefully pulled the glove over her hand, noting the
beautiful leaf pattern her friend had doubtless spent hours knitting,
she bit her lip. Was she taking too great a chance by giving this to a
virtual stranger? He could drive off into the Seattle mist and she
would never see it, or him, again. She wondered what the chances
were of convincing Nikki to knit her a replacement.

Which made her stop and ask herself, which possibility was
she more worried about?

He closed warm fingers over hers, covering the lacy glove. "I
promise to guard it with my life." He raised her hand once again to
his lips. "And you must promise to come and claim it tomorrow
when I'm declared victor."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

* * * *

Jackie swung her car into one of the last tight little spaces
still left in a dirt parking lot filled with a surprising number of
vehicles. Before her was an encampment of dozens of tents spread
over the rich green of a meadow cradled by rolling hills. She gave a
low whistle. This was a bigger deal than she had expected. The LARP
groups a couple of her friends belonged to had about a hundred
members and that was considered pretty big.

For such a big camp, it sure was quiet. Where was
everyone?

Lance's directions had been amazingly accurate, considering
this place was off several beaten paths. All she had to do now was
figure out where her knight was.

Shouts from an unseen crowd rose from somewhere beyond
the tents. A tingle of anticipation raced up her spine at the
sound.

She hot-footed it down the path that led to the encampment.
As she passed the last cluster of empty tents, someone called out,
"Hello there! Wait up."

Jackie turned and saw a woman hurrying after her, clutching
a clipboard to her chest. She was dressed in black jeans and sweater
with a white band tied around her head.

"You must be Jackie." The woman pushed thick-framed
glasses higher on her nose before extending her hand to shake
Jackie's firmly. "I'm Lila, the game manager." Tendrils of straight
brown hair escaped her haphazard bun, but her attitude was all
business. "Sorry I didn't see you drive in. I've been watching for you,
but got caught up in something." She tilted her head to one side and
grinned. "You made quite an impression on Lance."

Jackie felt heat climb into her cheeks. "I-I did?" What
embarrassment did she have to live down now?

Mischief sparkled in Lila's eyes. "Well, he's certainly never
asked any of the other women in here to give him a token to carry
into battle, or anywhere else for that matter. Not that they haven't
offered." She chuckled. "He's got quite a little following, our Lance,
but he keeps everything polite and professional." Her grin
broadened. "Yup, there's going to be some broken hearts after
today's tournament. Speaking of which, we'd better get a move
on."

Stepping back, she cast an assessing glance down Jackie's
body. "So, you're what, a medium?"

"Um, I guess so."

"Great. I have just the thing for you. Lance thought you
might be up for wearing a costume. A lot more fun that way."

"Um, sure. Okay." She wiped suddenly damp palms down
her jeans. She hadn't really thought about what she was wearing,
figuring she would just be standing anonymously in a crowd and
cheering on her hero. But Lila was right. She might feel out of place if
she were the only one not wearing a costume. "That actually sounds
like fun."

Ten minutes and a world-record wardrobe change in a
nearby tent later, Jackie found herself hurrying after Lila,
quick-stepping down the dirt path she'd been on earlier, following the
sounds of the crowd.

* * * *

"Are you sure this is a medium?" She tugged ineffectively at
the low-cut bodice of the emerald-green damask gown. It was
scooped to bare an uncomfortable amount of bosom, which was
currently pushed up by a tightly-cinched black velvet outer corset.
"It seems a little small."

Lila cast an appraising glance over her shoulder. "Nope.
Looks perfect. Totally killer with your red hair and green eyes." She
shot a conspiratorial grin at Jackie. "Our boy doesn't stand a
chance."

She kept on marching, talking as they went, while Jackie
pondered that particular comment. "You'll be a character, but not a
main, scripted one. You don't have an actual part; you're more like
an extra."

Just then they rounded the base of the hill and Jackie
stopped in her tracks. "Holy crap. What a production!"

The trail had opened onto a parade ground-sized area. A
medieval parade ground to be exact. It looked like a full-on country
fair from the fifteenth century.

At the far end, brightly colored flags fluttered from poles
ringing an open-air arena where easily two hundred people in
medieval dress sat on wooden risers, cheering enthusiastically.

In front of the arena, colorful tents dotted the ground. Kids
and dogs chased each other across the still-damp grass, and smells of
roasting meat and something frying reached her on the light breeze.
There were even more people here than she had thought.

Beside her, Lila grinned, while hugging her clipboard to her
chest. "I know, right?" The pride in her voice was obvious. "We've
been planning this for a year. There are European martial arts
fencing masters from six different states here for an all-out
competition as the highlight of our storyline. It's been a hell of a lot
of work, but totally worth it. C'mon, I'll show you where your spot
is."

Jackie trotted after Lila, trying to keep pace with her
ground-eating stride.

"You're going to be a lady in waiting to one of the nobles,"
Lila said over her shoulder. "Basically, the plot of our LARP involves
six noble houses and who will become the new ruling house because
the King and Queen are stepping down. So there's a lot of scheming
and intrigue going on at the moment. You can always tell who is who
by the colors they wear. Each house has its own colors--you've
probably noticed the flags. Your dress is green and black because
those are Lance's colors."

She grinned as Jackie caught up. "Your Lance is really the
key to a big power move by his house. There's a lot riding on him
winning the overall competition. You might just be the extra
inspiration he needs."

As they crossed the field to the arena, Lila nodded at the
huge, billowing purple-and-black-striped tent standing just outside
the circle of flags.

"That's the knight's tent. They go there before their turn at
the competition to prepare for their round. All the equipment is kept
in there, so be careful if you go near it, since it gets busy and there's a
lot of weapons."

"Lila, thank God I found you!"

Jackie recognized the familiar tone of panic. A teenage girl,
also dressed all in black, skidded to a stop before Lila. Her brown
eyes were wide in a pale face framed by a mop of black curls.

"Jason needs you and he says
now
."

Lila sighed. "Guess I'd better go find out what he wants this
time." She put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I told you, Roxie, don't
let Jason scare you. His bark is worse than his bite." She looked over
her shoulder and gave Jackie a pained smile. "Jason is in charge of
plot. I swear that man can't tie his own shoes without making a
production out of it."

Jackie grinned back. "Don't worry, I totally understand. Just
point me to where I'm supposed to go. I'm sure I can find it."

Armed with the description and location of the noblewoman
she was supposed to belong to as a lady in waiting, Jackie headed
towards the entrance of the arena.

Passing the purple-striped Knight's tent, she ran her fingers
along the softly billowing fabric. Her fingers caught unexpectedly on
the unseen edge of a panel, pulling it open. A hand shot out from a
slit and grabbed her wrist.

"Do you consent to physical role play?" The low voice came
from the other side of the panel.

What was she supposed to say to that? "Um, sure.
Okay."

The next thing she knew, she was pulled into the darkened
interior and brought up hard against a muscled body at her back,
held in place with one of her captor's arms around her neck and the
other around her middle, effectively pinning her own arms to her
sides. The grip wasn't overly tight or painful in any way, but she
couldn't move, that was for sure.

"Who are you and what business do you have in the knight's
tent?"

Jackie swallowed hard. Boy, these guys really took this
knightly battle stuff seriously. "Um, hi? I'm really sorry about all
this." Boy, was she ever. "Didn't mean to disturb you or anything, I
was just going to find a seat in the stands."

"Jackie?" The hands that had held her helplessly pinned now
spun her around until she was brought chest-to-chest with a
particular tall, blond, knight-in-shining-chain mail. Well, almost
chest-to-chest. He did have a foot on her in height, after all.

"You came."

Lance took a step back to get a better look at Jackie. He ran
his hands up and down her arms, and gave a low whistle. He couldn't
help himself.

"Nice costume." He made an effort to raise his gaze from her
deliciously mounded breasts to her face. "You look great."

And felt even better. He couldn't get enough of touching her.
"Sorry about all that. I didn't know it was you. Thought someone was
trying to sneak into the tent." He drew her back into his arms. What
was it about this girl that pulled him like a super-charged magnet?
"There's a lot of funny business going on in the game right now and
I'm a little jumpy."