whatever—Kema would take care of whatever he didn’t manage to get done. It didn’t matter. None of it mattered.
Nothing except Hope.
Oh, when she had kissed him, he almost exploded in joy. She was not only getting used to him, she was starting to enjoy him, he could tell. She didn’t stiffen at his caresses anymore. She didn’t pull away from his lips. And she had rested her head on his shoulder of her own accord. He was going to have her, and soon.
Her body, at any rate. But her heart? That was trickier. She was a cunning, intelligent creature. And while she was going to lie down before him in the next few days—maybe even sooner if he were lucky—getting her to love him was going to be harder. Heh. Harder.
An idea popped into his head.
“Kema?”
“Hm?”
The Egyptian was sitting at her own desk, head down, writing away. They didn’t use typewriters in his office. The clicking drove him mad. “I’d like you to call the zoo tomorrow. Set up a surprise for me.”
“For you and Hope, you mean?”
“Mmhm.”
“I hope she fucks you soon, Nero. You’re useless right now. Somehow, you’ve managed to become more useless than you usually are.”
“I don’t think it’s going to stop there.”
“That’s what scares me.” Kema clicked her tongue. “You’re really in deep this time. I’m doomed.”
He laughed and turned his head to the paper. It was a letter from the Lord Commander of the East Wind, Otto something-or-other, asking for more of the metal ore the South Wind refined and shipped. They needed more copper for their gadgets. In return, they’d get a new shipment of cars, and so on, and so forth.
He signed it. Sure. Whatever. I don’t care.
I have a girl I need to get back to.
He stopped reading the letters and just kept signing them. Kema only put things on his desk that she wanted him to sign, anyway. She knew he didn’t read half of them.
His mind wandered back to the pool. The way Hope felt in his lap straddling him. How badly he wanted to pull their clothing off and have her right then and there. But she wasn’t ready. He had to go take care of himself, and he watched as the thought seemed to excite and terrify her at the same time.
It was clear that Hope wanted him. She was too afraid to make the leap yet. It’d happen soon. But he didn’t just want her—he wanted to make the moment right. He wanted to feel like it mattered.
That was new.
He’d never felt that way before. That his first time with a girl should…mean something. He laughed and put his forehead down on the desk.
“What?”
“This is terrible, and I want it to stop. But I don’t want it to stop. I’m useless.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying.”
“No, I mean, I don’t know what to do.” He took in a long breath. “Keeemaaaa,” he whined. “What do I do?”
She laughed at his silliness then walked up to the desk and sat on the edge of it. She poked him in the head until he looked up at her. He folded his arms underneath his chin. “Here’s what I would do. I’ll set up that nice surprise. Have a private dinner with her. Talk to her. Get to know her more. Let her get to know you. Don’t force it to happen faster.”
“But I want it now.”
“I know.” She poked him again in the forehead. “That’s the problem.” She went back to her desk and sat, going back to work. “I’ll call the zoo for tomorrow. What do you want me to say to them?”
“Elephants.” He grinned. “I want her to meet an elephant.”
She shot him a weird look, but shrugging, wrote herself a note. “Oh. Hugo and Viktor will be here on Saturday.”
And that deflated his mood like a pin through a balloon.
The day went by without incident, and so did dinner. It was just her and Nero, and he was on his best behavior. By his standards, anyway. The food was exquisite. The wine was just as good. They talked about everything and nothing that mattered.
All the while it burned in her head.
He says he loves me.
Does he really?
It’s been two days.
He kissed her goodnight—a gentle, tender thing that she stopped before it got too heated—at her door. He lingered for a moment, as if wondering if she was going to invite him inside. But she didn’t. And with that, he left.
Just left.
He could have forced his way in.