Be Mine(14)

“And you loved it.”

“That’s not the point. The point is that he always decides everything, and he never listens to me. I want a little power here, too.”

“Maybe you should go crawl under his desk.”

“No.” Emily shook her head. “Not my style. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I really love him.”

“Whoa. This is serious.”

“Very. But he pushes me around too much. I can’t live with a man who ignores what I say if he doesn’t agree with it. Even if he does make my knees turn to jelly every time I look at him.”

“Maybe I better meet Ben for lunch.” Jane shifted in her chair. “Just what was Richard doing under the desk?”

“Just what you think he was doing.” Emily sighed at the memory. “And he’s very good at it.”

“I’m definitely meeting Ben for lunch. I’ll be back late.”

“Bite him on the lip for me.”

“I’ll do that.” Jane picked up her pad again. “In the meantime, is there really a memo?”

“Oh, yes.” Emily pulled the papers toward her and read to Jane from her draft. “Memo to Richard Parker...”

* * *

JANE SENT THE MEMO TO Richard with predictable results.

“The Hun’s on line two,” Jane said an hour later, and Emily went a little dizzy at the thought of him.

Pull yourself together, woman, she told herself, and picked up the phone.

“Emily Tate,” she said.

“Hello, Emily Tate,” he said softly.

“Don’t do that. Talk in your usual Hun voice, or I can’t think.”

“Have dinner with me tonight.”

“Only if it’s at your place, and we eat in bed.”

“Let’s start with lunch. My bed is a great place to have lunch. I’ll meet you in the lobby in ten minutes.”

“No,” Emily said with much more conviction than she felt. “We’ve got to get some work done first. Now pay attention. Did you have time to read the ruby memo?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

He sighed. “We can’t afford real rubies.”

“We can’t not afford real rubies.” Emily tried to keep calm. “Move some money around in the budget, but I need two things, bottom line. Real rubies and a product placement.”

“No,” he said.

“Try,” she said. “Try to cut some other corners. I need these two. I won’t ask for anything else.”

“Emily—”

“Try. You haven’t tried yet.”

There was a long silence. “If I can’t, what happens to you and me?”

Emily heard the tension in his voice. “We still have dinner in bed. I don’t use sexual blackmail. And besides, I want you too much to say no.”

He made a sound she couldn’t identify. “Richard?”

“Just trying to breathe. You have that effect on me.”

“Well, I definitely want you breathing. As heavily as possible. But I want the rubies and product placement, too. You can do it, Richard. It’s important.”

“It’s not going to work, Emily.”

“You’re not listening.” She stopped and tried again. “It’s important. The money is there. Find it. We’re partners, remember? Don’t say no to me. Find a way to make it work.”

“Saying no to you is impossible. Can I take you home with me after work?”

“Give me time to shower and change,” Emily said. “Then I’ll come to your place. But no more tables, closets, desks or floors.”

“Just an old-fashioned girl,” Richard said. “I’ll turn down the bed.”

“I love you.”

“Say it again.”

“I love you. You’re a Hun, but I love you.”

“I love you, too. Make it a fast shower.”

* * *

THEY MADE LOVE SLOWLY that night in Richard’s huge bed, discovering each other, finding themselves so in tune with each other physically that they didn’t need to speak, even though they did because they both loved the sound of the other’s voice.

Any doubts Emily had were gone. She’d always scoffed at the idea of knowing without a doubt when the perfect lover showed up, the perfect life partner. Jane had told her she’d known within the first week of meeting Ben that he was all there was.

And now she knew.

Emily wasn’t quite as confident about Richard’s feelings for her. She knew he adored her—she wasn’t a complete fool. But sometimes with men, adoration wasn’t followed by commitment. Maybe he wasn’t thinking marriage.

“We’ll live here when we get married,” Richard said, holding her, kissing her hair. “It’s closer to work, and it’s bigger than your place.”

Since she’d planned to suggest the same thing, Emily really had no reason to be annoyed. But she was.

“Did I miss the proposal?” she asked coolly, pulling away from him.

He flushed. “I did it again, didn’t I? Do you want me to go down on my knees?”

She relented. “Well, it was wonderful the last time you did, but I think I can make do with one from where you are.”

He pulled her close and kissed her, and she felt the length of his hard naked body against hers.

“Will you marry me, Emily Tate, so we can spend the rest of our lives together like this?”

“Yes.” She ran her hand down his side, feeling the rope of muscles there. “Absolutely.”

He shuddered and rolled on top of her, kissing her with such heat she was lost. He slipped his fingers inside her and moaned a little at the warmth and wetness there. Then he moved against her, and she realized he was ready, and she tried frantically to push him away.

“Richard, wait, no,” she said, but he was inside her, and he filled her so completely she finally fell back into his arms, back into the throbbing ecstasy of him in her.

Later, when they were trying to breathe, still clinging to each other, Emily put her head on his chest and started to cry.

“What?” he asked, sounding panic-stricken.

“You don’t listen,” Emily said quietly. “I keep telling you, but you don’t listen.”

“What?” he asked again, holding her. “I love you.”

“You better.” She swallowed hard. “I’m using a diaphragm for birth control.”

“I know.” He held her, bewildered. “I asked you if you wanted me to use a condom and you said...”

“You have to use foam with a diaphragm. Fresh foam, every...single...time.”

“Oh.” He held her tighter.

“I told you to stop,” Emily said.

“I didn’t hear you,” Richard said.

“I know,” Emily said, staring at the ceiling. “I know.”

Later that night when he was asleep, after he’d sworn to her that he’d love a child, that she wouldn’t have to stop work, that everything would be all right, that he’d take care of her forever, after he fell asleep worn out from reassuring her, Emily stared at the ceiling in the dark and thought.

This is worse than I was afraid of. This is much worse. He’s got to change. I’ve got to do something.

But she couldn’t think of anything, and she finally fell asleep, spent from love and worry and passion.

In the morning, they made love again, and Richard was scrupulous about not rushing her. He was also tender and strong and passionate, and she went into work with a lovely physical buzz spoiled only by a nasty nagging fear.

* * *

“DID YOU COUNT THE DAYS?” Jane asked when Emily told her what had happened.

“If counting the days works, I’m positive I’m safe.” Emily looked down at her calendar again. “But you never know. This could be the month I decide to ovulate late or something.”

“Are you worried?”

“About a baby, not yet. About Richard, very. When he almost pulled out my hair because he wasn’t listening, it was vaguely amusing. Starting a baby because he wasn’t listening isn’t. What will it be next time? Dragging me out in front of a speeding bus?” She shook her head. “And he really

loves me. I don’t get it.”

“I don’t, either.” Jane frowned. “But you were right. This is not a little flaw.”

Emily shook her head in misery.

“Well, here’s something to take your mind off Richard.” Jane handed her a message. “Laura called before you got in. She needs to have a bottle of Sizzle by the day after tomorrow if you want it in the shoot. What do I tell her?”

Emily thought about it. Richard had said no, but this was important. She knew it just as she knew that he loved her, in her bones. Emily’s instincts had taken her far, and she wasn’t about to start ignoring them now.