I feel on the edge of a chasm, and I know if I slip into this gaping hole, I will surely fall through the center of the earth and keep falling through all of time and space. Never to recover.
His gaze snaps from my hand to my eyes, and he quickly drops my hand and steps back. The loss is palpable.
I wonder what could have caused his rapid retreat when my entire world has just turned upside down. Had he felt that shockwave, too, or did my reaction cause his sudden withdrawal?
I clear my throat, look at the floor, and then back up at him.Get a grip, I scold myself. He’s just a good-looking dude. You are making this out to be so much more than what it is. I blink through the brain fog induced by his presence and focus on his last words.
“You? You are the one who startled me this morning and made me burn my hand? How are you getting in and out of here without me hearing the door? It is quite disarming. Why wouldn’t I have heard the bells?”
I have to stop myself from rambling. Disarming? Who says that? What do I speak in Old English now? I internally scold myself,get it together, Lieshe.
He shrugs nonchalantly. “You must have missed them. I love your store, it's very, what’s the word? Eclectic. I am looking for something—something very specific.”
His eyes narrow at me as he says the last word, but I swallow down my lust and turn on proprietor mode. I just want him to keep speaking so I can hear his voice and watch his mouth form the words as they slip from his lips like music. I blink owlishly at him and then realize he is waiting for a reply.
“Well, uh, as you can see, unusual is my specialty. Although specific requests can be difficult to track down, I have some excellent sources. What can I help you with?” I ask with my best smile.
If he notices the quaver in my voice or my racing pulse, he is kind enough to pretend he doesn’t. I bet he induces a mild state of hysteria whenever he so much as glances at a woman. He must be used to it by now.
I am used to not grabbing anyone’s attention, certainly not the notice of such a fine specimen of manhood. I am dorky and round, hiding behind my thick-framed glasses and enormous mass of curly hair. It's a safe place to hide. Familiar, if a little lonely.
Sometimes my heterochromia, or more rarely, my quirky sense of style or dark humor, would draw someone’s attention. Or maybe when they heard what I did for a living. But just me catch someone’s attention? I know better. Very few people actually see me and definitely even fewer men.
“I’ll know when I see it,” he replies, looking me up and down, responding as if he can hear my thoughts of not being seen aloud. This time, I avoid eye contact, not wanting to get drawn back into his magnetic gaze.
I focus on my darling two-toed sloth in a jar just over his shoulder. I feel his heated stare still on me and it is an act of sheer will to not meet it with my own. “Well,” I chuckle, “that is pretty vague.”
I turn my back to him, my neck prickling with the awareness that I have left an apex predator behind me. My lizard brain recognizes how dangerous this is. A drop of sweat trickles down my spine, and an image of him chasing it with his tongue flashes into my mind.
I audibly gasp and look over my shoulder at him, and that half-smile quirks across his lips again. I narrow my eyes at him, a strange feeling that he knows exactly what I am thinking. I about face and shake my head.
That is not only the most improbable thing that could ever happen between my body and his sweet, sweet mouth, but reading my mind?Gah, too much fiction, I tell myself.
My current paranormal romance reading streak tickles my imagination, causing my mind to classify him as one of those super alpha wolves that permeates the shape-shifter genre. But I quickly dismiss the thought.
Despite the predator’s gaze, an alpha wolf just doesn’t quite fit him. He seems too big, toomuchto simplify into a fictional character. And although I adore fiction, this is real life. He is just a man, albeit an insanely hot one.
“Well, I have a wide variety of oddities, as you can see. I love vintage taxidermy and I’m going on a buying trip soon. So, I can keep an eye out for something specific, but this industry is very hit or miss.”
I wander around as I speak, drifting to the front bay window brimming with plants. I know every square inch of Grimm; the familiarity grounds me. The sun is streaming through the clouds so that I can just see my reflection in the glass, framed by the air plants in their glass globes, the vintage baby doll head planters, and dinosaurs filled with succulents.
Surprisingly, the charming taxidermy ‘Easter duckling’ in the rain boots with a little red umbrella hasn’t been sold this spring. It is time to put him away and get ready for summer. Distracted by my thoughts, I'm startled when I sense an intense presence behind me. I spin around, all but planting my face into his broad chest.
That golden gaze stares down at me, forcing me to tip my head up, up, up to meet his eyes. I feel my mouth drop open, my tongue darting out to moisten my dry lips.
He follows the movement of my tongue and then spins and leaves, throwing over his shoulder, “I’ll be back.”
Just as the door slams, Lucifer makes his way out of the kitchen and runs to the door, hissing. This time I hear the doorbells jingle. I have to figure out why I hadn’t heard him come in not just once, but twice today.
What a bizarre interaction. I can’t help but wonder at the cause of his sudden departure and Lucifer’s reaction. That cat never bothers with any of the customers and although he doesn’t actually like anyone, he has also never cared enough to hiss at anything.
I didn’t know he could vocalize; I’ve never even heard him meow. And he sure as shit hasn’t purred. Prickly little thing.
Perhaps I hit my head harder than I thought when I fell.At least the mystery man didn’t ask me if I knew I have two different colored eyes,I think as I walk back to the counter, eat my now cold again sandwich, and down my seltzer.
Ihate to cause her pain, yet it has already happened, inevitable as always. Even something as small as a scald to her hand has my cold heart stuttering in my chest.
I hadn’t meant to startle her, and then once she had burnt her hand, I had lost my nerve and escaped to the safety of my property next door. Only when I saw she was alone at last was I ready to approach her again.
