Mile High (Up in the Air #2)(30)

All he’d had to do was raise his pants and cover himself, then shrug back into his shirt with a fluid movement. I’d watched each delectable part of his body disappear behind clothes with disappointment. I could have looked at his tan flesh forever.

He smiled, pulling me against him for a long kiss. We walked back to the house with his arm around my shoulder, tucked tightly into his side.

A man in a suit and shades whom I didn’t recognize met us at the back door of the house. He nodded at us, opening the door. “Sir. Ms. Karlsson.”

“Tell Pete to tend to the horses,” James said brusquely. “We are done with the stables for today.”

“Yes, Sir. Kent called to check in with you about the investigation,” the man said hesitantly, glancing between the two of us. As though not sure whether to speak in front of me, I thought.

“Any new developments?” James asked, his voice cold. This was a subject that didn’t improve his mood, I noted.

“Nothing, Sir. Just his daily account of what he and his men have been doing.”

“Tell him to send me a report. And notify me if there are any new leads. That will be all, Paterson.”

James led me into the house, and Paterson closed the door behind us, remaining outside.

“Is that about my father?” I asked him quietly.

He glanced at me, his face a careful mask. “Yes. Can we talk about it yet?”

“No. There’s nothing to talk about. I gave my report to the police, and I won’t be so careless again. It was just terrible timing that got him into my house in the first place.”

He blanched. “Will you please tell me what happened? I’m trying to be patient, Bianca, but I need to know how he got to you. If only to prevent it from happening again.”

I sighed, the pain in his gorgeous eyes affecting me. “Stephan was due at my house. I heard the doorbell ring. I checked the peephole, but a hand was covering it. I was a fool. I actually let him in myself. I thought Stephan was playing a mean joke. Which is so ludicrous, because Stephan doesn’t do things like that, even when he’s being playful. I undid my security and opened the door, meaning to tell him off. My father had me pinned to the wall before I could even register who it was.”

He looked away, his face gone ashen. “He just attacked you on sight?”

His hands had dropped away. He looked so forlorn that I wanted to comfort him. But I gave him his space. And, finally, with a resigned sigh, some answers. “He had seen me in the tabloids. And he thought someone had been investigating him, so he blamed me. He had come to threaten me. The injuries were just his neanderthal way of telling me not to speak to the police.”

His eyes shot back to mine, shocked and appalled. “It was my fault. It was my fault you were in the tabloids. And my men had begun to look for him. He laid hands on you because I was careless enough to look for him, and expose you, without protecting you.”

I studied him. His tone and his face spoke of a deep self-loathing so misplaced that I didn’t even know how to address it.

“Of course it wasn’t. It was no one’s fault but my own. I know what he’s capable of, more than anyone, and I was careless enough to let him into my home. It’s not your job to protect me, James. It’s my job. Stephan had your same reaction, blaming himself. I don’t understand it. It’s impossible to take responsibility for things that are completely out of your control.”

His eyes were anguished as he told me, “It is my job to protect you. You don’t have to acknowledge it, but it is. All of my influence is completely worthless if I can’t even protect the thing I cherish most.”

I reached up and patted his arm comfortingly. “My dad has been like this for my entire life. Will you blame yourself for all of the other times, as well? You must see how illogical that is.”

He seemed to get himself under control, schooling his features once again. “We don’t have to agree on this, Bianca. But thank you for answering some of my questions.”

I thought briefly of all of the questions I hadn’t answered. And all of the secrets I still kept. I was grateful that James seemed to drop the subject after that.

“Let me show you the upstairs now. I’ve made some changes that I think will please you,” he told me solemnly.

I smiled at him. “I’d love to see all of it. Your homes are like works of art. You have impeccable taste.”

He put his hand on my nape as he led me to a set of stairs. “I have to agree,” he said warmly, and I knew he was referring to more than his homes.

He pointed out several guest rooms first, just glancing inside. They were themed in different colors. I thought it was a rather English thing to do. They all had names. The Green Room, The Blue Room, etc.

“All of your homes probably have the same thing. It’s so English,” I told him teasingly.

He smiled. “You’re right. They do.” We came to a closed door that he opened with a flourish. “The library,” he told me with a smile. “I’ve made some recent additions. Guess which ones.”

I blinked at the massive room. It was filled with sunlight. It was a a room of windows and books. So many books filled the massive room.

“I know e-books are the way of the future, but I can’t help it, I still love plain old books. Guess which section I made just for you.”