Clever, maybe, but hopeful. Always hopeful. Emma never quite lost faith that she could change him. Oh, not completely. He had a passion and a drive that she wanted for him. But why did it have to manifest itself in a need to rid the city of...well, everyone? That brain of his...it could be such an asset. Oh, she wasn't blind. She knew it still was to him. And, if she was being honest, to her, too. He had everything anyone could ask for. And so did she.
"We've been over this, Jim. I can take care of myself, you know. I don't need you and yours tailing my every move." And letting her know they had been made her feel about two inches tall. What was the point? Why bother putting herself on the line if someone was just going to swoop in and finish the job if she messed up? It was frustrating.
If she had any idea where his head was, she'd have forced herself to walk out. She'd already promised herself, that woman was not going to be her. That Seal had allowed her to see that for a reason. She couldn't be that Emma. That was the one this city hated, far more than they hated her just for being Jim's little toy. Not that that's all she was. Maybe. It was so hard to call it. For a woman who made a living off of reading people, he was the hardest one of all.
Right here, right now, though... That she could manage. That was how Emma had lived her life every day for the majority of her life. "You know what I want. All I want is you. Whatever that entails, whatever it takes..." God, it was true, wasn't it? She'd put herself at risk, her friends at risk, and for what? For eyes that could hold hers for hours, for a smile so rare that every time it was given she felt it all the way through. And more...because he wanted more for her. He cared more than he should, they both knew it. She'd never had that effect on any man. How could she walk away now?
"Whatever happens, we're in it together now. There's not much I can do to change that. Even if I did leave you, nothing would ever be the same. So..." She finally glanced away, looking down at the space between them. "If that's the case, why deny myself?"
Emma Swan was becoming a walking contradiction. Even she saw it. And she had no idea how to stop it.