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“I know.” Evangeline patted her shoulder. “It took me a while to get used to it, too.” She bent her head close to Louella’s and whispered in the woman’s ear, “I get paid a damned good salary for my horticultural work and have little opportunity to spend it. When—not if—you become Ahn’hudin’s chief health officer or whatever title you’ll give yourself, Ahn’hudin will reward you handsomely. Trust me. You’ll earn more money than you could spend in three lifetimes.”
“But I haven’t earned it yet,” Louella protested.
“You mated the general superior who is now the emperor. You’ve already earned it and you’ll keep earning it. Trust me.”
Louella took a deep breath and looked up to see the proprietor watching her with an expectant gaze. “I’d like to see these bracelets, please.”
Chapter19
Louella felt a purely feminine satisfaction upon returning to the hotel penthouse to find the mountain of packages waiting for her. With a squeal of delight, she tore into her purchases and laughed when she pulled out a flowing dress of silky, pale green fabric with softly fluttering sleeves and a deeply scooped neckline bedazzled with white and deep green crystals. With a growl of satisfaction, she pulled off the despised collar with its long fringe of ribbons and tossed it aside. Carrying the gown, she marched into the bathroom and indulged in what she’d been craving for far too long: a bath.
With a sigh of pleasure, she relaxed into the deep tub, sinking into hot water up to her chin. She leaned her head back against a rolled towel and skimmed a dripping hand over her scalp. Her eyes widened and she pressed her palm more firmly against the skin and raised her other hand to her head, feeling the soft prickle of new growth.
“My hair’s growing back!” she squealed with joy and felt hot tears prick her eyes. Until that moment, Louella hadn’t realized how much she missed her hair, despite reassurances from Yas’kihn that she was beautiful without it.
Eventually, the water cooled and she could not justify wallowing in the tub any longer. She wondered if Yas’kihn was finished with his many meetings for the day and, if so, he was giving her the gift of privacy. She dried off, ran her hand over the fuzz growing on her head, and pulled on the new, pale green dress.
“You enjoyed your shopping trip,” Yas’kihn commented when she strolled into the sitting room where he lounged on a sofa, his long legs and large feet stretched out in front of him. He glanced at the pile of purchases.
Feeling a little spiteful, Louella said, “I made sure to tell Sarus to have all the bills sent to you.”
He nodded. He expected nothing less, for it was his duty and honor to provide for his mate’s needs and wants. His gaze lingered on the flow of silky fabric gracefully skimming over his mate’s slender body and outlining curves that with time and good food would fill out and soften her still-bony frame. “The gown is lovely.”
Louella narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Do you really think so, or are you just saying that?”
“I do not lie to you, ever.”
Her full lips stretched into a smile of pure pleasure as she twirled, making the skirt flare around her slender ankles. Running her hands over the flare of her hips, she said, “Thisis the kind of dress I like to wear.”
Yas’kihn sighed, because he could neither deny it looked lovely nor endure her disappointment and resentment if he forced her to wear the loathed dress of flowing ribbons.
She met his gaze and said with an intensity he hadn’t expected, “Since you’re the emperor and I’m, I guess, your wife, that puts me in the position of being a trendsetter. I’m going to set my own fashion trend regardless of whether it’s consideredappropriate.”
For the first time in the hulking, ferocious warrior’s three centuries, he meekly replied, “Yes, dear.”
Louella blinked in astonishment, then threw her head back and laughed. After a moment, she wiped her eyes and asked, “Will you help me sort through all this stuff and put it away?”
“No need, pretty spark, we’re leaving tomorrow.”
“For the capital?”
“Yes.”
She sat beside him and leaned toward him, but averted her gaze. Reading her body language, he said, “Louella, what is it you wish to ask me?”
“Jax,” she began, then faltered and took a deep breath. She ran a hand down his arm, sliding her fingers and palm over the hills and valleys of his bulging muscles. “Jax, I … er … Evangeline and I had an idea.”
“Tell me, Louella.”
“I’m more than a uterus, Jax.”
He shook his head and pulled her onto his lap. Cuddling her close, he murmured, “Tell me. Do not fear me, Louella. I would never harm you.”
“I’m a nurse, Jax, a good one.”
He nodded and said nothing as he held her within his embrace and resisted the urge to cup one of her breasts and slide his other hand between her thighs. She needed him to listen to her, not to arouse her and drive her into orgasm after orgasm. The prehensile end of his tail wound around her lower leg, the tip stroking her calf.
“You are,” he agreed. Healer Esillon mek Uskand’Kihn had praised her nursing skills.
