Page 24 of Desire

I began going through the clothing with an excitement I’d never felt. Everything was gorgeous, and the shoes… oh my God, the shoes were some of the most beautiful I’d ever seen. I lost track of time when I began having a whole damn fashion show.

“It looks like you’re happy with the new clothes.”

I sucked in a breath and put my hand to my heart because Aziel had scared the mess out of me.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that! You scared me,” I fussed.

“My bad, baby. I wasn’t sneaking; you’re just focused on something else. How do you like everything?”

“I love it all. This was so thoughtful. Aziel, how did you do this?”

“Your sisters helped me. I figured they knew the most about you.”

“When did you—you know what, I’m not going to overthink it. Just know that I appreciate your kindness and forethought. I’ll show you just how much later.”

I’d stripped down to my lavender lace panty and bra set and slowly approached him. He opened his arms for what I thought would be an embrace, but instead, he cupped my ass cheeks and lifted me from the floor. Automatically, my legs went around his waist.

“You sure you want to wait until later?” he questioned.

“Not if?—”

“Oh, shit. Excuse me. I didn’t realize you were in the middle of something.”

Aziel turned around with me still attached, exposing me to our guest.

“I’m pretty sure I told you I’d be down shortly with Desire,” Aziel said.

“Yeah, my bad. I’ll be downstairs.”

She disappeared as quickly as she’d come.

“Is that your assistant slash PR agent?”

“Yeah, get dressed so you can meet formally. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

He kissed my lips before releasing my ass and putting me down. After he disappeared into the hallway, I dressed in the clothes I had on before and did a quick mirror check to make sure I looked decent.

When I made it downstairs, I didn’t see either of them, so I followed their voices to Aziel’s office. The closer I got, the more I could decipher what was said.

“I apologized. Can we move on?” the woman said, clearly annoyed.

“If you think this will be a problem, I’ll change the gate and security code.”

“You’ve been married for two minutes, A. This is the first time I’ve ever had to be mindful of entering your home because I’m the only woman besides your mother, sister, and sister-in-law who’s ever been here. Give me a chance to get used to this.”

Her words and entitled tone rubbed me the wrong way, and I planned to discuss what I’d overheard with him later. I didn’t want to continue to eavesdrop, so I entered Aziel’s office.

“Hey, baby. This is my assistant, Tammy. She will go over what you should expect at the press conference tomorrow. Tammy, this is my wife, Desire.”

I approached Tammy and extended my hand. It seemed as if she hesitated briefly before doing the same.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said.

“Likewise. I don’t remember seeing you at the wedding.”

“Oh, my apologies. Since everything was last minute, I had other plans that I couldn’t reschedule. Congratulations, by the way. You two seem… very comfortable with each other for having just met.”

I’d gone to stand beside Aziel, and he put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me to his side.

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