Dark Sexy Knight (A Modern Fairytale)(38)

“Yeah. I’m hungry, C-C-C-Colton.”

She shuffled into the living room, and he looked up to catch her stretching. Her reddish-blonde hair was still in the French braid that Dawn must have plaited before bed, and her Hello Kitty pajamas were wrinkled.

“I had a s-s-seizure last night.” She clicked her teeth together, looking at him through her thick glasses.

“I heard,” he said. He finished buttering the toast and cut it in half, placing two pieces on her plate and two on his, then picked up the plates and turned to face her. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”

“Dawn was here.”

“I know. I’m still sorry I wasn’t.”

“It’s . . . okay, C-C-C-Colton.”

He scanned her face with his eyes. Her familiar freckles. Her chapped lips. Her bright blue eyes. Her ruddy cheeks. Her cheerful smile. And he did what he always did. He smiled back because he loved her.

“Ready for breakfast, Mel?”

Her smile widened as she turned for the balcony. “I’m always ready for breakfast, silly. You know that.”

***

Since Colton was working the evening show, he didn’t need to be in until four o’clock, which meant that Verity, who was working the matinee shift, hadn’t seen him since last night.

It was probably for the best because, after last night’s kiss, she wouldn’t have been able to keep her eyes off him if he walked by or stopped to visit her, and she definitely would have taken a bathroom break right about the time he entered the arena to fight Artie, so she could watch him fight for a few minutes.

It was impossible to miss—even upon first meeting—that Colton Lane was a force field of sexual energy. From the intense, angry set of his jaw to the hard, coiled strength in his frame, she’d been mesmerized by the hard-core masculinity of him. But she couldn’t have predicted their mutual chemistry. It was one thing for him to be sexy—to make any woman’s mind beeline straight to the bedroom when he was in sight—but it was quite another to discover that together they were combustible.

All day she’d relived their kiss, daydreaming into space, squelching little whimpers and soft sighs as she remembered the way his hand had masterfully cupped her skull, the way his arm had braced her back, his knee between her thighs, her soaked panties rubbing against his jeans. Just as she’d somehow known he would, he’d owned her with that kiss. Completely.

But she’d also felt his arousal, heard his groans, felt the pressure of his fingers against her scalp, and seen the desperate want in his eyes before he dipped his head and claimed her mouth with his. She recalled the way he’d grabbed her around the waist when she decided to leave the patio before their night together had even begun—the way he’d held on to her, sliding his lips along her throat and shoulder, begging her not to leave him.

It was intoxicating for her to realize that this sexy, beautiful Viking Knight with a heart of gold wanted her, liked her, little Verity Grace Gwynn from nowhere, when it felt like he could have anyone. She leaned her elbow on the glass case as a customer stood before her, trying to decide between a Celtic cross and Thor’s hammer, and Verity fingered the charm she hadn’t taken off since last night.

“What’s that?” asked the customer.

Verity looked up in surprise, smiling at the young woman as she reached for the necklace Colton had given to her. “It’s the Yggdrasil tree.”

“Irish?”

“Nope. Norse,” she said. “Viking.”

She sorted through the charms, finding another one just like hers and setting it on a display tray of black velvet on the counter.

“Ohhhh. What is it? You know, like, what does it mean?”

Verity grinned at the woman, remembering Colton clasping it around her neck last night and everything that came after. “They believed that Yggdrasil was the crossroads between heaven and earth.”

“Oh, wow. That’s so romancey.”

“Mmm. You bet.”

“I’ll take it.”

“Want a chain too?”

“Yeah. I want it to look just like yours.”

Verity wrapped up the charm and chain and placed both in a little black box, running the woman’s credit card before waving good-bye.

“Well,” said Beverly, looking around the almost-empty main hall as the last of the matinee stragglers headed out to the parking lot, “I guess we can start straightening up for the evening shift.”

“Mind if I go to the bathroom first?”

Beverly shrugged. “Don’t take forever. We only have an hour before Annaliese and Desiree get here, and that birthday party of little brats messed up all the princess dresses and crowns. They all have to be restocked.”

“Two minutes,” promised Verity, grinning at her crotchety coworker.

“Save your smiles for the Viking,” she grumbled.

“Beverly,” she said, “I’ve told you, there’s nothing between me and—”

Beverly’s eyes shot with precision to the necklace around Verity’s neck. “I might have believed you yesterday . . . but not today.”

Verity felt her cheeks heat up, but she refused to be sorry or feel embarrassed about the wonderful thing that was happening between her and Colton, so she decided to say nothing. She smiled again, then ducked under the counter and headed for the bathroom. “I’ll be right back.”