Emma’s blue gaze went from me to Ian. Her neck straightened, yet not a word was uttered. Not until the bookcase closed and we were alone.
“When will I not need an escort?” she asked.
A grin came to my lips. “See, that wasn’t difficult.”
“What?” she asked as she dropped her arms to her side.
Emma Ramses was a fucking vision. Her damp hair and makeup-free face gave her an appearance of innocence, one I knew from only a few weeks of intimacy was deceiving.
Was she bewitching?
Prior to her learning of her adoption, Emma never knew the name Jezebel North. Prior to her coming to me, she didn’t know anything about the woman who bore her. As Leon’s words rambled around in my thoughts, I doubted that Emma knew what she was—innocent or bewitching—or what she was capable of doing with that knowledge.
I came to a stop merely a foot away, entering a soft, floral-scented cloud surrounding my wife. My gaze scanned from Emma’s rhinestone-studded sandals, to her sexy ankles, and the long gauze skirt—not much different than the one she wore the first night—and up over her white blouse. My attention went to the way her blouse stopped an inch above her skirt allowing a small strip of her midsection to show and up further to the scooped neckline.
Emma’s long hair was plaited into a long braid that went down the center of her back. Though everything about her was casual, I sensed what Leon warned me about. Emma emanated power that I would be better served if she never realized she possessed.
I answered her earlier question. “You waited until we were alone to question me. It wasn’t difficult, was it?”
Emma’s arms crossed over her breasts as she exhaled. “I’m trying, Rett. Give me something in return.”
“I think I’ve misled you. It wasn’t intentional.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t make concessions or deals that involve my authority, Emma. You’re my wife now. That position has its benefits, its own clout, but don’t forget: that power never supersedes mine nor is over me.”
Emma looked around the office and back to me. “Why am I here?”
“I have a few reasons.” I took a step closer until her chin rose, continuing our eye contact. “Tell me. Am I interrupting your busy day?”
“Well, you see, my day was already cut short because I didn’t get a lot of sleep.”
“Get used to it, Mrs. Ramses.”
Her smile grew.
“One reason I called you down to me was because I knew if I went upstairs, my agenda would be lost.”
“And why would that be?”
My hands went to her waist, my fingers splaying on her soft, exposed skin. “Because seeing you, knowing you’re mine, not only because of fate but legally ordained by the State of Louisiana, I can’t keep my hands off of you.” The blue of her eyes swirled with emotions as her nostrils flared and her breaths deepened.
This wasn’t why I called her down. It was why I didn’t go upstairs, but that was what Emma did to me. It was what Leon warned about.
I tilted my head as I pulled her hips to mine. “Do you regret it?”
“You need to be more specific.”
“Marrying me, Emma. I told you the first night we met what your requirement would be. You saidI doand signed the marriage certificate...now you have an obligation to fulfill. Do you regret any of that?”
“You said I’d be your queen. That’s hardly something to regret.”
“I promised you the world at your feet and every desire to be indulged, with one task. Tell me you remember that task.”
Her breasts heaved with my words. The soft material of her blouse tented as her nipples hardened. It was impossible not to notice.
“I remember,” she said, her words coming in a breathy gust.