The Dance

*37*

Prince came into the bathroom one morning as Emma was finishing her makeup. He came up behind her and gave her a kiss on the back of her neck, getting a smile as a reward. He smiled back at Emma in the mirror and said, 'I've just gotten one of those 'Offers you can't refuse'.' He made parentheses in the air to emphasize his statement.

'What do you mean?' Emma put down her makeup brush and turned around.

'One of the richest men in the world has asked me to play for his New Year's Eve party. It's in St. Bart's, and what he's willing to pay is almost obscene. We can do a lot with that money. So, you'll need a party dress and beach clothes, and lots of sunscreen again.' We'll fly over from Turks that day in a helicopter, and leave as soon as the show ends. I don't love these shows, they're usually a bunch of extremely rich drunks, but the money is awesome.'

'I think I can handle that,' Emma replied, giving Prince a seductive kiss. As they kissed, Prince's hand trailed up the inside of Emma's thighs, which shifted open as if on command.

Prince broke off the kiss, turned Emma around, and said, 'You are going to get a show in this mirror today, wife. Are you ready?' He used his fingers to tease a response from Emma.

All she could do was gasp, while she met Prince's lustful gaze in the mirror. She certainly got a show, which finally made clear to Emma exactly what was happening when Prince was pleasuring her. He kept reminding her to keep her eyes opened, so she would see all. Watching their joining was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. Until she couldn't keep her eyes open, and she was screaming Prince's name at the top of her lungs.

The press still wasn't entirely sure that Emma and Prince were married. The marriage certificate was sealed at Prince's request, and Prince refused to talk about any relationships in interviews.

Tabloid papers and websites were full of speculation, posting closeup photos of rings, and moments when Prince and Emma were holding hands, or he was putting his hand on her back to guide her through a maze of paparazzi. There were a couple of posed photos outside events like the Brit awards which were quite flattering. Usually the tabloids used unflattering photos of Emma alone when they mentioned her at all, concluding that she was older than Prince and probably a glorified nurse for a man old enough for Senior Citizen Discounts.

Emma never read them, so she wasn't bothered. She did have a framed copy of a very nice red carpet shot of the two of them on the mantel in their living room. Prince occasionally had ugly articles brought to his attention, and would get very upset, but tried to shield Emma from the worst of it. He asked the girls to talk to him about it, rather than their mother, and finally broke down and learned how to use a texting program on his computer so they could text, since that's all they did. His texting skills were awful, and the girls had a good laugh about that.

Occasionally Emma went home alone at night, leaving Prince at the studios alone. She didn't like doing it, but Prince sometimes really wanted to work alone, and she wanted to honor his wishes. Kirk kept watch those nights, per their agreement not to leave him completely alone.

The music coming out of the studios was in all sorts of styles. He was listening to a wide variety of music, as well. He introduced Emma to artists she hadn't heard of, and she was a willing student. Sitting together listening to music was one of their favorite ways to spend time together.

It was obvious that Prince took his responsibilities as a promoter of young talent very seriously, as several of the pop up concerts he did were in support of young artists, primarily female, who he felt could use the exposure. He usually worked them in around other obligations that he had.

2015 rolled into 2016. Things were moving at a steady pace on all of Prince's plans, and he continued doing last minute concerts, trying to keep ahead of ticket brokers, pushing himself to do more, as he had always done.