Page 130 of Risks of Temptation

"Ummm..." She tilts her head.

"What is it?"

"These events...we will have more nights like last night?"

My stomach flips. Her eyes are full of nerves, but I also see hope in them. It worries me, but I'm not sure how to take it and wonder if I'm mistaking her emotions.

"Bernadette...she got dressed with me last night. She had lingerie and..." She releases another breath.

"And you want that?"

Her face reddens. "Yes. If you want me to wear it?"

"I want you to put on your body whatever you wish. Anything you wear, I will like."

"Ummm... I, ummm..."

"You are stressed right now. What is causing this?"

"I've not worn any lingerie before. Is there something you would prefer?"

I shake my head. "No. As I said, anything on your sexy little body will drive me crazy. Is that what you are trying to do? Make me so mad with lust I can't think straight?"

I expect her to smile from my teasing. But her face stays serious. "Yes. Whatever I wear, when I'm by your side, I want men to understand I'm yours, and everything I put on is to please you. And they will never have me because I am your property."

I groan inside, my dick twitches, and I hate myself more. "You shouldn't be saying these things."

"Why? Can't we be honest about what we are and want?"

I grasp her head more firmly. "You can always be honest with me. But you are not my property. You are a free woman. What we have to do, we are doing because of the Global Leaders. Someday soon, when Gustave and I take them down, this will not be something we have to pretend. You are my equal. And we cannot lose sight of this when we are behind closed doors."

She frowns. "I told you last night. I enjoy you owning me. I will not change once this is over."

My stomach twists. I firmly say, "You are confusing things, Emilia."

She shakes her head. "I am not. I understand this deeper than you do. The moment you let go of your guilt and embrace it, the easier it will be."

My pulse beats harder, and my chest tightens. "I will never embrace this. You are my equal. Nothing will change that, and I don't want you to be anything less."

"That's not true, and we both know it." She puts her lips on my neck, sucking lightly on my pulse.

I close my eyes. How do I get her to see this is not the path to embrace?

She murmurs, "We can't go in and out of these worlds. You need to be what is required. I need to be yours."

"You are mine as I am yours. Before last night, we were each other's."

"Yes." She drops her towel and pulls a designer dress out of the closet then holds it up to her body. "And we are in a different world now, aren't we?"

My jaw spasms. I want to deny everything she is saying. She's right and wrong. And I wonder how much I've damaged her.

There's a knock on the door. I take the dress and hang it back on the rod, bend down, and wrap her towel around her. "Come in."

Bernadette walks in. "There you are. Gustave is showering. We need to get to Panama City."

"Why?"

"William Davies called Louis. There is a closed event tonight, invite-only. Gustave knows the details."