"You walking into my room looking like that," Leo drawled, his voice low and crude, "Is already good news for me."
Ryana stopped dead in her tracks. A furious, dark blush spread across her cheeks, visible even behind the sheer black veil covering the lower half of her face.
Her breath hitched loudly. She gripped the heavy leather ledger to her chest, her knuckles turning white. She squeezed her thighs together beneath the tight crimson silk of her dress.
She forced herself to take a deep breath. She shoved her arousal down and forced herself back into her role. She was the Merchant Queen. She had business to discuss.
"I am not here for your crude jokes, Leo," Ryana stated. Her voice shook slightly, betraying her.
She reached into the folds of her dress and pulled out a thick, wax-sealed envelope. She tossed it onto the heavy wooden table near the dais.
"Belladonna gave this to me an hour ago," Ryana said. "It is from Elder Baez."
