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“She’s leaving town,” he muttered, and she immediately reverted to normal, punching his shoulder hard enough to hurt.
“Vampires. So dramatic about everything. Plans can change.”
“Does that mean?—”
But she was already gone, skipping across the kitchen in her red and white striped tracksuit like a psychotic elf. She murmured something too softly for even his enhanced hearing to pick up. Whatever it was, it made Wendy blush and glance in his direction. She looked adorably confused when she saw him looking at her, and he hid a smile.
Once the kitchen had been cleaned, they left for the festival. Alison decided to wait for Will so they were alone in the hall when he fastened the white cape around her, letting his fingers linger on her neck.
“Have I told you that you look like a very sexy Mrs. Claus?” he murmured, finding the rapidly fluttering pulse.
“I guess I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You should. I can’t imagine a better present to find in my stocking.”
“Christmas is over.” she pointed out breathlessly. “And you certainly don’t look like Mr. Claus in a black cape.”
He laughed. “Then maybe I’m the devil coming to steal Mrs. Claus away.”
“What if she already wants to go with you?”
“Is that what you want, kitten?”
Her lips parted but before she could answer him, the door opened and Will swept in with a blast of cold air.
“Chilly out there,” he said cheerfully, his sharp eyes taking in their closeness.
Wendy blushed again and tried to step back, but he kept his arm around her shoulders.
“We’re going down to the festival,” she said quickly. “Do you want us to wait for you?”
“No, thanks. We have… plans first.”
From the glint in the troll’s eye, Damian could guess what those plans entailed so he dropped a hand to Wendy’s waist and guided her towards the door as she called a goodbye.
“We’ll see you later.”
“A lot later, I’m sure,” he added and Will grinned again as they left.
CHAPTER 14
Outside the inn the sun was still shining, but the temperature had definitely dropped so Damian put his arm around Wendy’s shoulders again. It wasn’t until they were almost at the Town Square that he realized he was about to make his interest in her very clear to everyone they saw.So much for my aloof reputation, he thought, then decided that having his curvy little kitten tucked against his side was far more important.
Some parts of the festival, like the skating rink, were simply carried over from the Christmas Festival, but they’d taken down the tree and added an ice carving display. Santa’s village had been replaced by an Enchanted Winter Forest, the trees festooned with oversized glittering snowflakes and plastic icicles. Gaily striped stalls around the edge of the Town Square sold a variety of treats, including hot mulled wine, and another section of the square was set up as a winter market.
Wendy gave a delighted laugh and a little bounce—which did very tempting things to her luscious breasts.
“This is amazing. I have to do a blog post about it. If I’d known I’d also have done one in advance so people would know about it, but I’ll be sure and do one next year.”
The innocent remark made him remember that she would be leaving soon, and the joy went out of the day. He followed silently as she rushed from stall to stall, sampling hot chocolate and roast chestnuts, gingerbread and apple cider donuts. She appeared genuinely delighted with everything she tried and asked several of the vendors about their recipes and techniques. It wasn’t until they reached the fifth stall that she noticed his silence.
“Damian, is something wrong?”
“No,” he snapped. If she wasn’t concerned about leaving him, why should he care?Except I do care, very much.
“Liar,” she said, ignoring his bad temper, and tried to pull him into a semi-secluded spot between two evergreen bushes covered with twinkle lights. In spite of his irritation, he let her.
“Now don’t lie to me. Tell me what’s going on.”
