Once she tidied up the kitchen, started the dishwasher and prepared a pot of coffee, then carried it along with a selection of tea biscuits and a bar of chocolate to the sitting room's coffee table, Siena paused to observe the costume she had dropped on the floor by the bathroom's door before lunch.
Stuffing it into the small washing machine of their flat seemed too risky, as the materials it was made of looked too delicate for such a treatment. She would shake both their costumes off the sand as well as she could, and carry them back to Alicia tomorrow, she resolved picking it up, then stealing James' uniform through the unclosed bathroom door where she could see it lying within easy reach, almost managing not to glance towards the frosted glass of the shower corner where the water was still running.
Just what was it about this man that she found so hard to resist? she mused, blushing, when the water was switched off suddenly and the glass started to slide open almost before she could take two steps from the door.
Silently, she rushed across the sitting room and opened the door leading into the garden, shaking each piece of the clothing outside, sending the golden grains of the Sahara sand flying through the silvery drops of London rain, then disappeared beyond the door of her bedroom to fold them down and get dressed even as James exited the bathroom, catching only a glimpse of the hem of her dressing gown floating behind her into her room.
He was already seated on the sofa, dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a t-shirt as blue as his eyes, framed by his still damp ginger curls, a large, illustrated copy of The Little Mermaid lying open on his lap, when she exited her room clad in a pair of black leggings and a long gray jumper, feeling cold from the lack of sleep.
Her legs looked so long when they were not hidden by floor-length skirts and too wide jeans, he observed while she sauntered towards him, the oversized jumper the colour of the falling rain hiding the rest of her perfectly shaped body like a shapeless blanket. His breath caught when his mind produced an uninvited image of his fingers peeling the grey wool from her cool, alabaster skin, turning warm and pink, slowly, gradually, under his gentle, patient touch... It was too early for that, it would take time to conquest her reluctance to let herself go, to accept the mutual attraction they were afflicted with...
He shifted in his seat, adjusting the large book on his lap to hide the evidence of his improper thoughts and feelings when she, perfectly naturally, sat on the sofa very close by his side, surprising him, confirming his belief that she found it just as impossible to keep any distance between them.
With a ghost of a content smile tugging at the corners of his lips, he watched her lean forward and place the copy of The Little Prince they had carried with them on their first quest on the coffee table, and while she poured out the coffee she had made and broke a bar of dark chocolate into chunks, chose a piece and popped it into her mouth, he shifted yet closer to her, so that when she sat back, her body brushed against his. He loved the hitch in her breathing, which the contact caused her, and he equally enjoyed the way his heart stumbled upon hearing it... They were in perfect tune, it seemed, and they had only just met a few days ago...
"It wasn't pointless, was it?" she asked, scattering his thoughts. Her hand, passing him his cup, shook a little, just like her voice, while she avoided meeting his eyes.
She was still thinking of the boy... He took the cup from her, then brought the fingers of his free hand under her chin, making her meet his eyes.
"No. We helped him as much as we could. He wouldn't get back home without us."
She nodded, not looking entirely convinced, her eyes glistening with unshed tears as she inhaled deeply before taking a sip of her coffee, shivering.
"What's wrong, Siena? Why would you think it was pointless?" he asked, placing his cup on the table. The strange sadness she couldn't seem to shake off tugged at his heart.
He watched her put her cup on the table next to his, then took her hands in his, unable to resist. She laced her fingers through his, grateful for his nearness and understanding.
"Well, if we simply caused his world to branch off into another, where nothing changed, just like in the book... I looked, James," she added in a barely audible voice, her shiny, caramel eyes seeping into his. "The book is just the same..."
"We knew it wouldn't change," he said gently, finding it hard to search his mind for correct words with those eyes full of empathy, understanding, and love intent on him. "We also knew that... that we don't exactly know how this all works; our knowledge about the Society and our part in this mystery is patched together from theories. But we know that we saved one Little Prince. Maybe he was just one of several, but... one is better than none, don't you think? Our Little Prince returned safely to his asteroid, wiser and mature enough to appreciate the love of his Rose. We gave him the happily ever after he wished for."
James had nothing more to tell her, he hoped that this would suffice to make her feel better. Never breaking their eye contact, he reached behind one of the sofa cushions and wrapped a white blanket that had been stored there over her shoulders.
She smiled and closed her eyes when one of his hands brushed against her cheek accidentally, lingering there for a moment too long, and she leaned into it, taking pleasure in that unexpected, fleeting touch.
"Thank you, James, for everything," she whispered, not trusting her voice, taking another piece of chocolate while he poured out more coffee for both of them.
"We need to sleep. It will all look better and make more sense tomorrow, when we are not this tired," he promised, and Siena believed him. She was already feeling better, knowing that she could rely on his closeness, and understanding was wonderful.
"I don't want to go to sleep just yet. We need to talk about our next quest first," she said, smiling finally, nodding towards the book on his lap.
"Albert mentioned that he has the diving suit ready for me," James said carefully, not sure how she would react to this. They didn't know each other beyond this enchanted world of 'their' flat and the one quest into a fantastical world.
"He has diving suits for us, you mean," she said quickly, making him smile.
That was what he was expecting from her. She wouldn't be put into a safe corner, she cared about the lives of the inhabitants of the book worlds too much. And, maybe, she cared about him too, she wouldn't let him take more risks than she did. But this had to be done just like Albert had told him while he had helped him into his pilot uniform the other day. He hoped that Siena would understand.
"No, just for me. I'll need you to stay on the shore and pump the air for me." He smiled. "You'll hold my life in your hands."
"Oh." She breathed. "Really? Are they sending us in with a Victorian diving suit?"
"Anything else would look too anachronistic and suspicious, they believe," James said, grinning. He loved how the Society people reasoned; he admired their determination to disturb the book worlds as little as possible. And he was certain that she felt the same way.
Siena rolled her eyes. "Isn't it too dangerous? Have you ever dived, James?"
He adored the flicker of concern in her eyes as she said that. "Not in a Victorian diving suit, but yes, I can dive. I must explore the waters of my loch if I want to find Nessie."
"I'll believe in your Nessie when you'll introduce us." She giggled, laying down on the sofa, placing her head in his lap most naturally.
Her breath hitched, and blush flooded her cheeks when she realised what she had just done. Things weren't like this between them; they were only colleagues and friends. And where did this level of intimacy come from, anyway? She had never been this close with any man, apart from Alessandro, who had a boyfriend of ten years. Would it be too awkward, would she offend James if she removed herself to the distant corner of the sofa now, or better yet, to the armchair across the coffee table? Siena despaired.
It definitely would, she convinced herself, seeing that one of his hands came to rest upon her head, his fingers tangling into her hair even as she was thinking about how to escape without hurting his feelings. And it felt good... even though it shouldn't.
"Shall I read the tale to you?" James proposed, and she absolutely loved the hitch in his breathing, the emotions she was afraid to name making his voice tremble.
Why did he seem so perfect, why did he always know how to behave around her? It wasn't fair... The other men she had met before him, those who had formed her experience, only got emotional about the physical, the most fleeting, most superficial aspect of love. But she believed that love could run deeper than that, all the books she had read said so, and she had resolved, long ago, that she would not give up searching for a man who thought like she did. Did she find him finally in James? It was too early to say...
"Yes, please," she replied, relaxing at last, hushing her mind as she adjusted her head on his thigh while he pulled the blanket higher over her shoulder. His content, inviting closeness and the will to please and listen to her were charming and intoxicating. She hoped that he really felt the way he made her believe he did.
James' heart soared as he ran his fingers through her blonde strands, feeling her relax rather than bolt under his touch. She was wonderful. Unpredictable. So different from the women he had met before... And right now she was very tired, she needed to sleep. But there was one thing he had to make sure about before she fell asleep; there might be no time to talk tomorrow morning. Knowing Christopher, he would despatch Jake to fetch them before the appointed time.
"For the next quest, shall we do as we said before? Try to steal the anti-serum from the Sea Witch's cave and then move forward in the plot to the wedding night on the ship?"
"Yes, I suppose that's the best we can do," Siena said, barely suppressing a yawn. "But it will be better to check if there is a smaller copy of this book upstairs in the library, no Victorian handbag Alicia can produce will be large enough to hide this one."
"Of course. We can do that in the morning, Jake will be here around eleven."
Siena simply nodded to that, so James started reading, "Far out in the ocean, where the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflower, and as clear as crystal, it is very, very deep; so deep indeed, that..."
He had the perfect reading voice, Siena mused as she fell asleep, even before he reached the part where the Mermaid visited the Sea Witch.
Confusion clouded her mind the following morning when she woke up in her own bed, dressed as she had been the previous afternoon; she remembered clearly having fallen asleep next to James on the sofa... Had he carried her to bed without waking her up?