“What did she say?” he asked.
“It was more what she didn’t say.” I spun in his arms. “Don’t be mad at her. She was excited to tell me that...” I hesitated. “...that your mother approves of me.”
He scoffed. “She would, yes.”
That simple comment shouldn’t fill me with happiness, but it did.
“What didn’t Miss Guidry say?” he asked again.
“I don’t know. Something about my...Jezebel and Mr. Boudreau. I got a weird feeling that...” I wasn’t sure how to phrase it.
Finally, Rett laid a kiss on my forehead and walked to the other side of the room. It was hard not to notice how nice he looked for our dinners. The suit he wore was not the one he’d worn all day. His cheeks were freshly shaven and he smelled divine. I was growing accustomed to his cologne.
“None of it matters,” he said. “Don’t overthink what she says. When I was a boy, my friends called her Crazy Guidry.”
A grin came to my lips. “You had friends?”
“Believe it or not. That was a long time ago. Before I sold my soul for what I have.”
“To the devil?”
“To become the devil.”
I walked over to him until we were close enough to touch. “I’ll believe a lot of things about you, Rett Ramses. I won’t believe that.”
“No matter what Guidry tells you or what you learn, I want you to believe what I’m about to say.” His gaze lowered to my neckline and back. “Believe this with all your heart, Emma. You are a queen.” He cupped my cheeks. “This city is filled with stories, good versus evil. That ongoing battle becomes ingrained in our psyche from a young age. Not all good comes from good nor all bad comes from evil. Sometimes the opposite is true. Evil from good and good from evil. You are good.”
His words settled over me.
“I need to do some work, Emma. Once this is over, we’ll have more time together.”
I sighed as he lifted my hand and kissed my knuckles.
Once more, he said, “Talk to me.”
I was quickly learning it was one of his favorite phrases. Though I was hesitant, I voiced my thoughts. “What happened to the man in the restaurant, the one I woke to my first morning?”
Rett’s grin returned. “He’s waiting.”
“For what?”
Rett gently ran his finger down my cheek. His touch continued down my arm until my hand was again in his. “You were conceived for me, to be my wife. What is happening here isn’t a sprint. It is a marathon. I’m learning about you and you about me.”
Keeping my lips together, I exhaled.
“And for you to heal, and...” His dark brown eyes glistened as he lifted my hand. “I’m waiting until you’re ready to give me what I want.”
Submission.
He kissed my knuckles again and turned toward his suite.
“I wear the stupid blindfold.”
Rett turned back and grinned. “You do.”
With a bow, he disappeared behind the door to his suite.
Letting out a long breath, I sat on the edge of the bed.