Two to Tango: Chapter 2
A/N: Thank you for the reviews! Especially for those of you who have taken
the time to go back to Miscommunication and review there as well. Love ya!
Here's more Ian POV, thanks for the suggestion.
Nottingham knocked on Sara's door at seven on the dot. Despite her inference that the time was flexible, Ian knew better than to arrive early. He had frequently observed that the best way to put the lady in a defensive mood was to be present when she was unprepared. It didn't matter what it was, Pezzini could get her back up faster than any cat in the entire city. She was beautiful when angry, her green eyes glowed like emerald fire, but he preferred not to be on the receiving end of her temper.
He was nervous enough about this 'date' thing. Even though he watched over Sara nightly, hence his evasive answer when she called this morning, they had virtually no interaction. Nottingham was not good with casual conversation, not like Irons. His employer and mentor could charm the pants off anyone when he put his mind to it. Only Detective Pezzini seemed to have any kind of immunity, but that could have been an oblique gift bestowed by the Witchblade.
All thought flew out of his head as Sara answered the door. She was a vision of loveliness unsurpassed. Her dress was a sheath style, sleeveless, in the same vibrant green of her eyes. She had tamed her brunette locks into a sleek chignon, which served to emphasize her high cheekbones and the curve of her neck. As she stepped back to let him in, the slit in her skirt flashed a long line of toned and tanned thigh.
Ian thought he might expire on the spot. He was vaguely aware that she was speaking, he watched her luscious mouth move, but he couldn't for the life of him assign meaning to the sounds. He struggled to focus; the last thing he wanted was to stand here gawking like some great idiot, and finally managed to return to coherence.
"Well, I guess that means you like the dress, huh?" Sara was saying with a small grin playing around her lips. It was a soft, feminine amusement, unlike the harsh mockery he was usually treated to, and Nottingham found himself grinning back.
"It is not the dress, but the woman wearing it, who takes my breath away." Ian looked deep into green eyes, willing her to see that she was desirable to him always.
"Flatterer. Just hang on a minute, I need to put my earrings on, grab my coat, and we can go." Sara pulled away from him, not comfortable with the emotion in those soulful brown orbs. It should be illegal for anything but puppies to have eyes like that.
Sara had waited until the last minute to put on the earrings she'd bought to go with the dress. The salesgirl had convinced her that she could carry it off, and they did look damn good with her hair up. The jewelry was a little heavy though. Pezzini didn't normally buy anything this big, and she never wore earrings while working. It was a good way to have your earlobe torn.
Ian stood just inside the door, waiting patiently. He was strangely hesitant to move around. Nottingham had been in her apartment so many times, but never before with permission. He did not wish to wear out his welcome.
This concern did not extend to his sight, so Ian let his eyes wander where they would. The loft was very open, he could see a great deal without moving from the spot. The remnants of Chinese takeout sat on the kitchen counter, her jacket and helmet slung across the other end. Nottingham could even see his regular monitoring point through her windows. That was not something he wanted to think about, so he cast his eyes to the left.
She must have left work early enough to go shopping; he could see the end of a Bloomingdale's bag peeking around the edge of the couch. That must be where the green dress came from; surely he would have remembered it, had it been hanging in her closet on his previous incursions. The realization that Sara had bought the dress specifically for their date stopped him cold.
Maybe she felt more for him than he had allowed himself to hope. Nottingham relaxed a little, part of him had been concerned that Sara was going to treat him like the other men that had moved through her life. This was the first time she had gone shopping before a date since Irons had assigned him the duty of watching over the Wielder, and it cheered him considerably.
The possible reaction of his employer to this evening did not bear commenting on. Irons would be furious if he knew what Nottingham was up to. Fortunately, he was otherwise engaged this evening with the wife of a political rival. Kenneth would be suitably distracted by the blonde's overblown charms, doing his best to strip her of her clothes as well as any information about her husband's activities that she might possess.
Ian knew he couldn't always count on Kenneth's social calendar keeping him unaware of Sara's. It was something Nottingham was going to have to deal with eventually. Right now he was waiting to see what developed. No sense burning his bridges until he knew where he was going. Hopefully, wherever that was Sara would be there with him.
Nottingham knocked on Sara's door at seven on the dot. Despite her inference that the time was flexible, Ian knew better than to arrive early. He had frequently observed that the best way to put the lady in a defensive mood was to be present when she was unprepared. It didn't matter what it was, Pezzini could get her back up faster than any cat in the entire city. She was beautiful when angry, her green eyes glowed like emerald fire, but he preferred not to be on the receiving end of her temper.
He was nervous enough about this 'date' thing. Even though he watched over Sara nightly, hence his evasive answer when she called this morning, they had virtually no interaction. Nottingham was not good with casual conversation, not like Irons. His employer and mentor could charm the pants off anyone when he put his mind to it. Only Detective Pezzini seemed to have any kind of immunity, but that could have been an oblique gift bestowed by the Witchblade.
All thought flew out of his head as Sara answered the door. She was a vision of loveliness unsurpassed. Her dress was a sheath style, sleeveless, in the same vibrant green of her eyes. She had tamed her brunette locks into a sleek chignon, which served to emphasize her high cheekbones and the curve of her neck. As she stepped back to let him in, the slit in her skirt flashed a long line of toned and tanned thigh.
Ian thought he might expire on the spot. He was vaguely aware that she was speaking, he watched her luscious mouth move, but he couldn't for the life of him assign meaning to the sounds. He struggled to focus; the last thing he wanted was to stand here gawking like some great idiot, and finally managed to return to coherence.
"Well, I guess that means you like the dress, huh?" Sara was saying with a small grin playing around her lips. It was a soft, feminine amusement, unlike the harsh mockery he was usually treated to, and Nottingham found himself grinning back.
"It is not the dress, but the woman wearing it, who takes my breath away." Ian looked deep into green eyes, willing her to see that she was desirable to him always.
"Flatterer. Just hang on a minute, I need to put my earrings on, grab my coat, and we can go." Sara pulled away from him, not comfortable with the emotion in those soulful brown orbs. It should be illegal for anything but puppies to have eyes like that.
Sara had waited until the last minute to put on the earrings she'd bought to go with the dress. The salesgirl had convinced her that she could carry it off, and they did look damn good with her hair up. The jewelry was a little heavy though. Pezzini didn't normally buy anything this big, and she never wore earrings while working. It was a good way to have your earlobe torn.
Ian stood just inside the door, waiting patiently. He was strangely hesitant to move around. Nottingham had been in her apartment so many times, but never before with permission. He did not wish to wear out his welcome.
This concern did not extend to his sight, so Ian let his eyes wander where they would. The loft was very open, he could see a great deal without moving from the spot. The remnants of Chinese takeout sat on the kitchen counter, her jacket and helmet slung across the other end. Nottingham could even see his regular monitoring point through her windows. That was not something he wanted to think about, so he cast his eyes to the left.
She must have left work early enough to go shopping; he could see the end of a Bloomingdale's bag peeking around the edge of the couch. That must be where the green dress came from; surely he would have remembered it, had it been hanging in her closet on his previous incursions. The realization that Sara had bought the dress specifically for their date stopped him cold.
Maybe she felt more for him than he had allowed himself to hope. Nottingham relaxed a little, part of him had been concerned that Sara was going to treat him like the other men that had moved through her life. This was the first time she had gone shopping before a date since Irons had assigned him the duty of watching over the Wielder, and it cheered him considerably.
The possible reaction of his employer to this evening did not bear commenting on. Irons would be furious if he knew what Nottingham was up to. Fortunately, he was otherwise engaged this evening with the wife of a political rival. Kenneth would be suitably distracted by the blonde's overblown charms, doing his best to strip her of her clothes as well as any information about her husband's activities that she might possess.
Ian knew he couldn't always count on Kenneth's social calendar keeping him unaware of Sara's. It was something Nottingham was going to have to deal with eventually. Right now he was waiting to see what developed. No sense burning his bridges until he knew where he was going. Hopefully, wherever that was Sara would be there with him.