She felt his smile against her bare skin.
“A thing?” he echoed.
“I wasn’t sure what to call us. It isn’t like we’re dating. What do people call what we’re doing? We’re not hooking up.” She said that decisively. She hoped they weren’t.
“We’re not hooking up. You’re my woman. I’m your man. We’re exclusive. We’re going into this with the idea that we have a future together.” He took her left hand and kissed her finger. “I could put a ring here if it would make you feel more secure.”
Vienna panicked all over again, nearly jerking her hand away from him. “I think it’s way too soon for that, Zale. How about we walk before we try to run?”
He laughed softly and pressed a kiss into her belly button. “You’re so courageous in so many ways and such a chicken when it comes to our relationship.”
“You left me without a word and broke my heart.” She wasn’t going to pretend it hadn’t happened.
He sobered immediately. “I know I did, Snowflake. I didn’t know what to do to protect you. I had to think about it and figure out the best way for us.”
She considered pulling his hair out by the roots. “Communication is always a good skill to have, Zale. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of it in your business.”
“Communication in my business gets you dead very fast, Vienna. Have we put this issue to bed, or do we need to keep talking about it? I’m willing. I want you to feel secure with me. I didn’t just walk out on you. You never left my mind, not for a minute.”
“Yes, the issue has been dealt with satisfactorily. I’m good. If I have a bad moment, I don’t want you to think I’m panicking without merit, though. I might have panic attacks just at the thought of being in a committed relationship, since I’ve never really been in one before.”
“This is going to be interesting, the two of us navigating our way together, since neither of us know what a good relationship is. We’ll just make our own rules.”
“Good. Rule one. You tell me when you’re worried about something.” Vienna pounced when she could.
He laughed and lifted his head, his dark eyes going velvet soft. “I can see you’re going to be relentless when you want something.”
“Yes. That’s why I’m good at search and rescue. I don’t give up until I find who I’m looking for and bring them home.”
Zale pushed himself into a sitting position. “I know you need to eat. You never want to after playing poker, but you need to. You can order dinner, and while we’re waiting for it, I’ll tell you what I think is going on.”
He wasn’t exactly telling her she had to eat, but he put the phone in front of her along with the menu. “Would you order me a steak with the prawns this time, everything on the baked potato. Salad on the side and the brussels sprouts special. That beet thing looks good. Do you want to share it? What dessert do you want to get this time?” He paced across the room and then back again to pick up the menu and look at it a second time.
“You have it memorized,” she said, trying not to laugh, because, really, he did.
“I know, but if I stare at it, items jump out at me. Look at this one. I never really noticed this one before. Grilled mahi-mahi. Some sort of lemon sauce that sounds fantastic.”
She couldn’t hold back her laughter. He clearly loved food. “Should I just order one of everything on the menu? I could go down the list.”
“If you didn’t eat like a little bird, we could do that and share. As it is, make sure you order something I’ll enjoy too, because you never finish your plate.”
“How is it you don’t gain tons of weight?” she demanded.
“It’s called a metabolism, Snowflake. What are you ordering besides all the fruit on the menu? We need whipped cream too.”
“We do?”
“Yep. I’ve got plans for later tonight. Serious plans, so whipped cream and a good bottle of champagne.” He paced away from the bed again and then came back to peer over her shoulder. “If you get that prawn dinner you love, I’ll switch to lobster with my steak.”
“I might get pasta.”
“You always say you might get pasta, but you don’t actually order pasta. You go back to the prawns. And you love the New England clam chowder.”
“Only if I can get fresh garlic bread.”
“At this point, Vienna, you’re the golden girl. They’re afraid you might sue them, so they’ll give you anything you want. You want garlic bread, if they don’t have it fresh, they’ll find someone who can make it for you. Hell, they might already know my background and call me on my cell to have me come downstairs to whip it up.”
She laughed again. That was one of the things she loved about being with Zale most—he could make her laugh. “I’ll order you the lobster and me the prawns and I’ll get the chowder. It’s going overboard to get the mahi-mahi too. You can order that from your room.” She picked up the phone.
“Dessert,” he mouthed. “Whipped cream. Strawberries.”
Laughter bubbled up again as she ordered what she was certain was enough food for ten people. She let him help her up so she could make her way to the cuddle chairs in the huge living room. That way, when the food came, she could bring the cart inside the door herself.
“Did Rainier stay in the suite tonight?” She wanted to find a way to subtly bring the conversation back to Zale’s problem of the missing agents and whether or not his cover had been blown.
“Yes. He normally goes down to gamble this time of night. He plays the big spender at the craps table, women hanging all over him, drinks a bit, but not too much, always the gentleman, but we were both fairly certain someone tried to kill him last night by poisoning his drink. He wasn’t the one who drank it. One of the ladies at the craps table had been wrapping her arms around his neck and blowing on his dice for him. He picked up the drink and she took it out of his hands and downed it herself, smiling at him. Looking him right in the eye. She went down hard, straight to the floor. Just collapsed.”
Vienna forced herself to remain relaxed in the cuddle chair. He watched her too closely, assessing her reaction, weighing whether or not he should continue. She’d pulled her share of dead bodies out of lakes and rivers and snowbanks. She’d seen young people crushed from falls while climbing rocks they never should have been on. She knew how to school her expression, and she called on that discipline now.
“I texted my people to hit the security tapes fast, because I knew that tape would be pulled to cover for whoever had attempted to murder Rainier, if they hadn’t already messed with the camera, which was far more likely. I had been watching Rainier closely because I’d been worried for his safety, more so recently.”
“Why?”
“I cautioned Rainier several times against asking too many questions a man in his position wouldn’t necessarily be asking of security guards, but he didn’t want to wait and leave it to me. He’s used to being in charge. Sam, Rainier, Zyair, Wilder and I mostly work alone. You met them all when Sam needed us, and they’ll all be at Sam’s wedding. We trained together and we back one another up. Occasionally, we’re sent in as a team, but for the most part, we work alone. Rainier just got impatient. Hotels aren’t his environment. He prefers outdoors and wants to get back to it.”
“At the cost of his life?”