Free Sworn to Protect by Katie Reus Page A

job? Either he was worried about her because of White or he’d requested it because he wanted to work with her. Or maybe it was a combination of both.
    She wasn’t asking why though. Instead she decided to ignore the fluttery feeling in her stomach and stick to a safe topic. “Have you been to Vegas before?”
    He shook his head. “Nah. Never wanted to, but I’ve heard The Serafina is amazing. You been?”
    “I’m a first-timer too. And from the pictures I’ve seen, the hotel and casino really are amazing. Is there anything extra we need to go over for the tradeshow?”
    “Once we get settled in we’ll do a walkthrough of the tradeshow area and talk to all the onsite staff to get a feel for the layout, but I think we’re good for now. I read over your files. Very detailed.” A ghost of a smile teased those very kissable lips.
    She had to resist the real—and again, ridiculous—urge to lean in and brush her lips over his. He was making her feel out of sorts and she couldn’t deal with that. Not right now. “Good, that’s my plan too. Did you ever work with Iris Christiansen before?”
    “Yeah. She’s the best. Very professional.” Another smile touched his lips and this time she saw humor in his eyes.
    “What is it?”
    “Just thinking about the last job I worked with her. It was long before she married Christiansen and moved to Vegas. One of our clients—now an ex-client—thought he could get handsy with her. Before anyone on the team could move she had that guy flat on his stomach with one hand wrenched behind his back and was reaming him out with language that uh, could make a sailor blush. Working with her was always entertaining.”
    Feeling more at ease, Athena settled back against her seat as the flight attendant approached them, asking if they wanted anything to drink. After requesting a bottle of water—she’d learned to stay hydrated when traveling—she reclined her seat a bit more and decided to turn off her brain for the flight. Soon enough she’d be working her butt off and spending plenty of time with Quinn.
    That thought excited her way more than it should have. She was the one who’d said no to more with him, but just being in such close quarters with Quinn was short-circuiting her brain. Despite that, he still made her feel safe, secure. Even though White hadn’t reached out again she still liked knowing Quinn was nearby right now.
    * * *
    “I don’t know how you made a tradeshow room about GPS and transportation not boring, but everything looks pretty great,” Travis said as they got on the elevator to head up to the executive floor.
    Their bags had been taken when they’d arrived at the hotel hours ago and they hadn’t been to their rooms yet. And Athena didn’t know that she was sharing a suite with Quinn. Something he knew was going to annoy her, but it was happening. He was still wired about Glenn. Didn’t matter that they were across the country, Quinn took Athena’s safety seriously. And yeah, he wanted to open up the opportunity for more to develop between them.
    Since they’d have two separate bedrooms with an adjoining living room area, it was basically like they had separate rooms. He didn’t think she’d see it that way since Travis would be across the hall, but she’d just have to deal with it.
    “That wasn’t me, it was a local design firm who set everything up,” Athena said.
    “You hired them and approved everything,” Quinn said, pressing the button to their floor.
    She shrugged. “I’m pretty sure this is going to be one of the more fun tradeshows I’ve done. Everything’s set up ahead of time and there’s no take down from day to day which will ease a lot of headaches—and how cool was that multi-tiered tire cake?”
    Travis nodded, grinning as the elevator arrived on their floor. “I say we see if someone can save us some food tomorrow. The spread the catering staff already has set up is sick.”
    Quinn just shook his head. “We’re in