“Ready for what?” she asked sleepily.
“Ready for our next stop on the evening’s agenda,” he explained, smothering a laugh because the wine really had relaxed her a great deal.
“I think my next stop should be my bed,” she told him, propping her chin up on her raised hands. “I’m falling asleep.” She emphasized that point with a yawn, her hand delicately covering her mouth. “I’m so sorry!” she gasped, but she didn’t look sorry. She looked sweet and delectable.
“That’s the stop after this one,” he promised. Standing up, he took her hand and lifted her out of her chair. “Come along, sleeping beauty. This will be quick, I promise.”
She sighed but allowed him to lead her out of the restaurant and back into the limousine. “I could really get used to this,” she said happily as he stepped into the back next to her. “Fighting the crowds on the subway can be brutal!”
“No more subways for you, my little woman,” he told her. “Not safe for you any longer.”
“Oh, it’s fine,” she said, waving away his worries. “Women travel along the subways all the time without anyone bothering them. Besides, I don’t go into any of the more dicey areas of the city. So I’m pretty safe.”
“Subways are not safe for future princesses.”
He ignored her snort of laughter and nodded to his driver when the door was once again opened for them. “Come along, princess. You have a choice to make.”
Joline sighed but allowed him to tug her out of the vehicle. “You really are a handsome man,” she told him as she looked up into his hard profile.
Rais looked down into her beautiful hazel eyes, surprised by her compliment. But he only wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her against him as they walked into the exclusive jewelry store. The manager had already been informed of their visit and had closed the shop in anticipation. On the countertop, there was a large black display of diamond rings already laid out, sparkling in the overhead lights and looking more astounding than anything she’d ever seen in her life. “Pick one,” he said and gestured to the startling array.
“Pick what?” she asked, leaning her head against his chest.
Rais chuckled a bit but he was enjoying this softer, more affectionate side of Joline. Normally, she was pulling away from him, telling him that they shouldn’t, couldn’t and wouldn’t be together. A tipsy Joline was more malleable, and, in some ways, more honest. “A ring.”
Joline looked down at all of the lovely rings and gasped. “Oh my! Those are gorgeous!”
Not as gorgeous as she was, he thought. “Which one do you like the most?”
She shook her head. “Oh, I couldn’t ever afford anything like those rings.”
Rais lifted one eyebrow, ignoring the manager who was standing stiffly behind the counter. “Choose one, Joline.”
Joline had been up since about five o’clock this morning after having about five hours of sleep. In fact, she’d only gotten four or five hours of sleep for the past several nights. Add a few glasses of wine and yummy, cheesy pasta and she’d garnered just enough courage to defy him openly. “No,” she said simply and crossed her arms over her chest, plopping down onto one of the tufted seats. “I’d like you to bring me home so that I can get some sleep,” she told him with her most disdainful tone of voice.
Rais could see the dark circles under her eyes and wanted to laugh at how charming she looked as she tried to argue with him. “Fine,” he told her and turned towards the rings. He looked over the selection and picked one up, looked down at Joline’s hands and almost chuckled again when she curled her fingers underneath her arms.
But he was not to be deterred. He selected another one and took her hand, ignoring the way she tried to hide her hands behind her back. With very little effort, he slid the diamond ring onto her finger. “She also needs real diamond earrings,” he told the manager. He looked down at Joline as he said, “My fiancée is not going to be wearing fake jewelry,” he announced.
Joline rolled her eyes as she shrugged her shoulders. “No one can tell the difference,” she replied back, yawning again. “These are fine.” She ignored the muffled gasp of horror from the store manager with those words as she continued to glare up at Rais.
He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head, needing to avoid kissing those red lips at the moment or his mind would shift to other priorities. And she was getting real diamonds, damn it! “I can tell.”
Joline started to slide the ring off of her finger but froze when he glared at her. “Don’t you dare,” he told her with a voice that sent a sliver of fear throughout her body.