Grounded (Up in the Air #3)(74)

The house was cleared, and we made it to my room without any further incident.

“I’m surprised that you were able to come to Vegas again so quickly,” I said to James as we were undressing in my closet. “Are things going smoothly in New York?”

“Things are going fine. I would have come even if they weren’t, though.”

I glanced back at him.

He gave me a sad smile. “I can’t sleep without you anymore, Love. And letting you stay here in this house, where that man attacked you, well, I just can’t do it again.”

“There’s an entire team guarding the place.”

He shrugged. “I told myself that, and I even went a weekend letting you stay here without me, but I know my own limits, and I just can’t do it again, not after he killed that woman.”

“Maybe we should just stay at your place, at least until he’s caught. I wonder if we could talk Stephan into staying there with us. I would feel—“

He pushed me back against the wall of the closet, tangling us both in clothes. He kissed me. “Thank you. I’ll handle Stephan. We can nap here, and go to my place tonight, after you have a meeting with Danika. She needs your approval for some things, and she’s in town for the day.”

We took a three-hour nap, waking up at our leisure. Between the shower sex, and James going down on me in the closet as I tried to pick out clothes, it was well over an hour after we woke up before we were ready to go to the casino for business.

I wore a navy and black, color-block pencil skirt. I paired it with a loose fitting royal blue silk blouse with three-quarter sleeves. I didn’t know what Jackie would think of the outfit, but she hadn’t paired my clothes in this closet, and I liked the ensemble.

After I’d done a quick job on my hair and makeup, I stepped into white heels, and watched as James finished getting ready. I was done first for once, and it was a show worth watching.

He was buttoning up his slacks as I perched on the bed, my eyes glued to his hands. He arched a brow at me as he shrugged into a white dress shirt.

“Enjoying the show?” he asked as he buttoned the shirt.

I nodded.

He grinned. “I feel like I should be dancing for you. You have an unmistakable glint in your eyes, Bianca. I’m not a piece of meat, you know.”

I just smiled back, watching his every move.

He tucked his shirt into his slacks, shrugging into a dark gray vest that matched his slacks. He looped a yellow tie around his neck, his clever fingers making short work of it, before he buttoned the severely tailored vest.

“I love your hands,” I told him.

“We’re running late,” he murmured.

I let my eyes show him just how much I didn’t care.

It was another half an hour before we walked out the front door.

James walked me to the gallery before going to his office to do some paperwork. He greeted Danika with a smile.

“Just come to my office when you finish,” James told me. “Blake or Danika can show you where it is.” He gave me an affectionate kiss on the forehead before taking his leave.

Danika watched him go. She smiled at me. “He’s so different with you. It’s a lovely thing to see.”

I smiled back.

Danika wore a very modern take on a woman’s suit, with pleated, slate gray shorts, and a baggy white men’s shirt that was belted at the waist. She looked delicate and lovely. I thought she was the most elegant woman I’d ever met. Her hair was parted down the middle, and as she bent down to show me some detail of her plans, it trailed into her face like a silky black curtain. I wondered again what had happened between her and Tristan, but I shook myself out of the pointless musings. We had lots of work to do, and I could hardly ask.

We worked well together. Danika was never pushy, but she did finally get me to settle on a date for the showing. We scheduled it for the first Friday after my furlough began. James would be ecstatic. I was nervous—so nervous that I felt a little nauseous just thinking about it.

“Do you have any other big plans for after you take your leave?”

I smiled, remembering our plans. That was something I could get very excited about. “James and I are going to Japan.”

She raised her elegant brows in surprise. “Well, that’s exciting. My mother was half-Japanese. I didn’t know her well, but I’ve always had a fascination with Japanese culture.”

I smiled. “I have no blood-ties there, but I’ve always been interested in the culture, as well. We’re going there because James said pick a spot on a map of the world, and I knew just where I wanted to go.”

She smiled back, tilting her head. “Well, have fun. I bet the locals will get a kick out of you two.”

I laughed. “Yeah, right? I don’t suppose we’ll blend in.”

She pursed her lips. “Do you ever? I don’t see too many supermodel couples strolling around together.”

I wrinkled my nose at her. “James is the supermodel.”

Her lovely brow wrinkled in consternation. “So it’s like that, huh? You’re going to need to work on your self-esteem, girl, to be with a man like that, otherwise it could be the end of you two.”

I blinked at her. Her tone had been gentle but firm, so I didn’t take offense. I just didn’t agree. “I don’t have low self-esteem. I just know that I’m not in that league.”