Relentless (Benson Security 2)

He thought about that for a minute. Surely someone would have mentioned if he snored? “I don’t think so.”

“I’ll let you know if you do.”

Her eyes went wide again at the reminder they were about to share a bed. She reached for the coca leaf tea he’d ordered for her. Although Cusco was still at high altitude, it was nowhere near the height of La Paz, but he knew she liked the taste of the tea. She swayed in her seat, and she’d only managed to eat half her pastry. It was better than nothing.

“Go to bed,” Joe said.

Julia nodded and stood slowly, as though it was taking conscious effort to stay upright. “What side do you want?” Her voice trembled slightly as she pointed to the bed.

“Any side. I don’t care.”

“Okay.” She went to the left side, threw back the covers and climbed into bed.

A strange sense of rightness flooded through Joe’s veins at the sight of Julia in his bed. It was where she belonged.

“Night, Joe.” She faced the edge of the bed and closed her eyes.

Joe turned off the lights, all except for the lamp beside the table. “Night, baby.”

She was sound asleep within seconds. Joe sat going over emails about Carlos Esteban, while he polished off the rest of the food and watched over Julia. It was perfect.

An hour later, he stripped to his shorts and climbed into bed. As promised, he kept his hands to himself, content in the knowledge that Julia was beside him. She trusted him enough to share a bed, to sleep with him, and that was a gift he wouldn’t squander.

Baby steps, he reminded himself as he felt sleep take him. Baby steps.

Chapter 18

Julia woke up to a warm, but empty bed. She heard water running in the bathroom. Joe. She remembered crawling into bed, but everything after that was blank. Obviously exhaustion had caught up with her and she’d slept like the dead. Typical. Only she would manage to go to bed with Joe Barone and have nothing to show for it.

The early morning light was soft against the pale yellow walls. The plaster was uneven in places, a chic decorating technique to make the place seem rustic and remind the guests of the history of the building. On the wall facing the bed was one of the many religious paintings in the hotel’s collection. Julia knew that some of them were almost as old as the building. This one showed a warrior angel, and she was pretty sure the image in the clouds was supposed to be God. The painting reminded her of some of the Renaissance works she’d seen in the National Art Gallery in London. Although, to her untrained eye, it didn’t pack the same punch as a Caravaggio. The massive, ornate gold-leafed frame gave the painting weight, though. She could imagine monks in centuries past, kneeling at the base of the artwork and using it to help them focus on God.

“What are you thinking about?”

When she looked over, she found Joe leaning against the doorjamb, drying his hands on a towel. His hair was sleep-rumpled, his chest was bare and his jeans were unbuttoned. Now that was a vision worthy of painting.

?

??The art.” She pointed at the painting. “I was thinking that Caravaggio is better.”

His lips twitched into a sensuous smile. “I don’t know who that is, babe.”

“Oh, he was a scoundrel, wanted for murder and unpaid debts. He lived the life of a party animal, and when he wasn’t drinking, womanising and gambling, he painted. And he managed to paint some of the most powerful religious art ever made.” She was babbling. Something she had a tendency to do around Joe. She’d learned long ago that people didn’t want to know the facts that were stored in her nerdy mind, and yet Joe had a way of making her say them anyway. When he smiled at her, she felt the need to explain. “Gran was an art professor. Visiting with her was always a lesson of some sort. She’d take us to look at the Caravaggios in the National Gallery, amongst other things.”

“Sounds like an interesting guy. Maybe you could take me sometime?”

“Gran would be the best one to go with. She knows all the wildest stories about the artists.”

Joe’s grin was dazzling. “Julia, I was asking you out on a date.”

“Oh.” Her cheeks flushed and she became intensely aware that she was in his bed. “A date seems kind of redundant, Joe, considering where I am right now.”

That made him laugh, and the sound was like music. It made her blood rush faster.

“I kept my promise.” Joe’s eyes seemed suddenly darker. “I kept my hands to myself and let you sleep.”

It was suddenly difficult to swallow. “Thanks.”

He pushed off the doorjamb and sauntered towards her. The air in the room became charged, sending tingles across her skin. She flicked her tongue out to wet her suddenly dry lips.