Ida Jane brought the little girl over to a large pad of paper and together the two of them brainstormed options. When she skipped out of the room twenty minutes later, she waved goodbye to me, a smile on her face.
“Are all the kids you see like that one?”
“No. Some have been through a lot more trauma,” Ida Jane said.
I hummed. “Why would you want to hear about that?”
Ida Jane gathered the papers she and Loulie had worked on and neatened them into a manilla file folder on her desk.
“Why wouldn’t I want to help kids move past their trauma and go on to lead happy, productive lives?”
Well, when she put it like that, I couldn’t think of a reason. She clearly cared about her small ward and seemed to find satisfaction in what she did.
Ida Jane finished writing something, all the while casting me glances. She signed the bottom of the page and glanced over again, only to catch me staring at her. She blushed and dropped her gaze, trying to concentrate on her paperwork.
I studied her as she moved to another page. She’d buttoned her blouse to her collarbone and wore a thin cardigan over the silky material. Nothing about her clothing was salacious, but my thoughts and my gaze were.
I hissed out a breath. “You look hot sitting there.”
Her breath hitched. She licked her lips as her pen slid from her fingers. Oh, yeah, she wanted me, too. Maybe if I nudged her a bit more…
“I do not—” She began, faltering when I rose from the chair.
“To me, you do.” I stalked forward so that I leaned over her desk, my long arms clasping the opposite edges of the metal. My breath tickled her skin, causing goosebumps to appear as she parted her lips.
“You want me, too, Ida Jane. We will be so good together. All you have to do is agree to marry me…”
My voice was low, soothing. Her dilated pupils said she struggled to resist me. I inched forward until our lips touched, then I slid the tip of my tongue to her lower lip. She whimpered even as she shifted closer.
I took my time, but I was thorough as I traced first her lower lip then the upper one. Ida Jane’s breath turned choppy as desire bloomed through me.
“I don’t understand why you even brought up marriage. Why would we need to do that? Mama would probably be fine with me living with you, but my family believes in marriage beingforever,” she murmured against my lips. She pulled back, her expression was filled with concern. I noted the spark of hope deep in her eye. “And Mama’s opinion matters to me.”
“We can explain the situation—let them know we’re helping each other.”
She shook her head. “I don’t understand how.”
And I didn’t want to tell her that I needed her to solidify my immigration status, so I settled for a half-truth that didn’t hurt my pride.
“I want you in my bed. Now. With chemistry like ours, we’ll be hotter than the sun. What more do we need?”
She cleared her throat, and I saw the effort it took for her to speak the next words. “Love, Maxim. Those people committed to each other because of love.”
I barely bit back a snort, which I knew would have cost me her agreement.
“For many, that comes in time,” I said.
She swallowed and I let my thumbs follow the line of her throat.
“Lust fizzles,” she whispered.
I stepped in closer so that she had to tilt her head back. I cupped her neck, supporting it, and leaned in so I could brush my lips along the soft skin of her unblemished cheek.
“You think that this—the heat between us—will ease?” I flicked my tongue at the corner of her lips, and she gasped. I kissed the spot, electricity shooting down my spine. She shivered as she clutched me. I might need a wife to keep me from immigration court and deportation, but I desired Ida Jane. I wanted her to agree to my proposal because she wanted me just as much.
“Ida Jane?”
My gaze shot to an older woman in a no-nonsense suit who’d paused in the doorway. Her eyes went wide when she saw me embracing Ida Jane.
