Contract with Consequences

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

SCARLET was impressed by the waterfront development. It was tourist heaven, with luxury apartment blocks, a fantastic hotel, chic shops and cafés, great walkways suitable for morning jogs, a wave pool to delight children and adults alike and deep-water wharves at which cruise ships could dock. Scarlet might have made lots more complimentary comments if she hadn’t been rendered uncharacteristically quiet by what was going on in her head, and in her body.

Never before had Scarlet felt such agitation. Her head whirled. Her stomach swirled. When John suggested they have some lunch at a trendy outdoor café, she was swift to agree, because it meant she could finally take her hand out of his. Not that she didn’t enjoy holding hands with him. She did, more than she wanted to. But it wasn’t the kind of physical closeness she was craving.

It had been wickedly clever of him to tell her what he had planned for this afternoon, she realised as they sat down opposite each other. Clever and corrupting. For she could think of nothing else now. She couldn’t even make up her mind what to eat, telling him to order for her. John didn’t seem to be similarly afflicted, ordering their lunches with the kind of savoir faire she should have expected from this new John. He didn’t even consult the menu as he told the pretty young waitress to bring them two chicken-and-salad wraps on Turkish bread and two mugs of latte.

The girl’s simpering smile showed she found John just as attractive as Scarlet did.

She almost made some caustic remark after the waitress hurried off to do his bidding, biting her tongue just in time. But the near-miss left Scarlet somewhat rattled. If she didn’t know better, she’d think she was jealous. Which was insane! There was absolutely no reason to be jealous because some slip of a girl was dancing attention on John. After all, she wasn’t going to be spending the afternoon in bed with him. Scarlet was!

She sucked in sharply at the spite-filled possessiveness behind her thoughts.

‘Something wrong with what I ordered?’ John asked straight away.

‘No, no. It was fine. I just remembered I should have taken some photos whilst we were walking around to send to Mum,’ she improvised. ‘I totally forgot.’

And no damned wonder, she thought mutinously. All I’ve been thinking about is having sex with you all afternoon, you wicked man!

‘You can still take some photos after we’ve had our lunch.’

‘Yes, I suppose so.’

‘But you’ll have to be quick.’

‘Oh? Why’s that?’ she asked, glancing up to the sky to see if there were any clouds gathering. But no, the sky was still clear and blue.

Some clouds had gathered in John’s eyes, however, by the time her gaze returned to his.

‘For an intelligent thirty-something, you can be pretty dense sometimes.’ There was total exasperation and another kind of tension in his voice. ‘I’m getting the sense that you don’t know much about men, Scarlet.’

Scarlet decided not to take offence. She was tired of arguing with John. ‘I’m well aware that I’ve led a narrow kind of life. After listening to all your travelling tales and adventures this morning, I would say very narrow. I dare say you probably think I’ve had a lot of boyfriends over the years but in truth I can count the number on one hand. So, no, I don’t know all that much about men. I’m sorry if that disappoints you.’

John didn’t want her apology. He wanted her naked in his arms. It had been hell this last hour, showing her the sights and resisting the temptation to drag her back up to his apartment post-haste. As for his being disappointed that she’d had only a handful of lovers, nothing could be further from the truth. It pleased him hugely. He loved that he could show her things in bed that she didn’t know. Her lack of experience excited him. So, strangely, did her lack of feminine guile. Maybe he’d spent too many years bedding women who could read a man’s needs like an open book, and who knew how to meet those needs every which way. Whatever the reason, he’d never felt such a need for any other woman.

But he would clearly have to wait a little longer. He could hardly insist that Scarlet skip the lunch he’d just ordered. Or forget taking those damned photographs for her mother. As much as John sometimes regretted the tenuous relationship he had with his family, he did not miss the demands that some parents made on their children, even into adulthood. Being a grown up, in his opinion, was being able to do your own thing without having to answer to someone all the time. Clearly, Scarlet was aghast at the lack of communication which existed between himself and his family, but he could think of nothing worse than having to ring his mother every single night he was away. Sometimes, months went by without his contacting home. He rarely felt guilty about it. Scarlet would, however. Underneath that tough exterior she liked to show to him, she had a soft, sentimental and sensitive soul.

This last realisation warned him not to say or do anything to hurt her. Now that would make him feel really guilty.

‘Nothing about you disappoints me, Scarlet,’ he said truthfully. ‘I have always admired you enormously.’

‘Really.’ There was a trace of laughter in her voice.

‘Really.’

‘Even when I’m being dense about men?’

‘Even then.’

‘So what was I being dense about a minute ago?’ she asked.

‘I thought you would intuitively know that I needed to get you back to my apartment after lunch, as soon as possible.’

John saw the penny drop in her eyes, and colour flare up in her cheeks.

‘Oh,’ she said, then smiled a rueful smile. ‘I thought it was just me suffering in silence.’

Her admission did little to soothe John’s own frustration. He could not recall ever being this hard.

It was a relief that their lunch arrived at that precise moment, giving his overheated brain some well-needed respite. His overheated body as well. The wrap was excellent, though he hardly noticed, considering the speed with which he ate it.

‘You’ll get indigestion,’ Scarlet warned him with a sweet smile. She was taking her time, he noted.

‘Just eat your food and get on with those photos or I’ll take them for you,’ he ground out.

‘Yes, sir!’

‘And stop being sarcastic; I prefer the way you were a little while ago.’

‘Which was?’

‘Soft and sweet.’

‘But I thought you said that my being stroppy turned you on?’

John spoke through gritted teeth. ‘I don’t want to be turned on any more right at this moment.’

‘Ah, I see. Not to worry. I promise to be sweet as apple pie till we’re safely behind closed doors.’

John had to laugh. ‘Just get on with your food, will you?’

‘I don’t think I can eat any more,’ she said.

Their eyes met across the table.

‘Get those photos taken while I’ll go pay the bill,’ he said thickly as he rose to his feet.

Scarlet took only a few photos before he returned to collect her.

They hurried back the way they’d come, not holding hands this time, and not talking at all. Scarlet struggled to keep up with his long strides, her breathing heavy by the time they reached his apartment building. They rode the lift up in silence, Scarlet not daring even to look at John for fear of what he might do right there in the lift.

By the time John opened his apartment door and ushered her inside, she was desperate for him. Up against the door would have done. Or on the sofa. Or even on the floor. She imagined John would have been just as eager, so she was surprised when he didn’t pounce immediately. Surprised and disappointed, especially when he stepped right away from her.

‘No, Scarlet,’ he said brusquely when she frowned at him. ‘Not here and not yet. Now, I want you to go into the main bathroom, strip off and have a long, hot shower. I’ll be doing the same in my bathroom. When you feel nicely relaxed, get out of the shower, dry yourself off then come into my bedroom. Without any clothes on, please. No towel. No robe.’

Scarlet swallowed. ‘You… you expect me to walk into your room totally naked?’

‘Totally. You have an incredibly beautiful body, Scarlet, and I want to see all of it, all the time.’

‘All the time?’ she choked out.

‘Absolutely. Clothes are only going to be worn in future when we go out.’

‘But…’

‘No buts. This is part of my plan.’

‘What plan is that?’

‘A private plan.’

‘But I don’t see how-’

‘I thought we agreed no buts,’ he broke in sharply. ‘And no more arguments. All I want to hear from you this afternoon is “yes, John; of course, John; anything you say, John”.’

‘You forgot “three bags full, John”,’ she snapped, but he could see the excitement in her eyes.

He smiled. ‘That’s my girl.’

Scarlet shook her head at him. ‘You are the most infuriating man!’

‘And you are the most desirable woman. Now, go and do exactly as you were told.’

He didn’t wait for her reply, stalking off into the nearby master bedroom and shutting the door behind him, leaving her standing in the middle of the living room feeling totally flummoxed. But oh, so turned on. There was no question that she wouldn’t do as he’d commanded. Because, deep down, she wanted to do it.

Doing it, however, was quite daunting. She didn’t look at herself in the bathroom mirror after she stripped off, keeping her eyes averted as she turned on the shower and waited till the water was warm enough to step into. She washed herself all over, doing her best not to linger too long on those areas which reminded her of how excited she was. Five minutes later she was out of the shower and reaching for one of the thick turquoise towels.

It took Scarlet another five minutes before she dared leave the bathroom, during which time she brushed out her hair for ages before freshening up her lipstick and spraying on some perfume. When she could not delay her emergence any longer, she scooped in several deep breaths then opened the bathroom door.

Walking naked through the apartment was the hardest thing she’d ever done, harder than showing up at that fertility clinic the first time. Which had been darned hard. By the time she reached the door to the master bedroom, Scarlet was a bundle of nerves. Steeling herself, she decided not to knock, choosing instead to open the door and go straight in.

As she entered the room, John was just coming out of his bathroom, a white towel wrapped low around his hips.

She ground to an annoyed halt, her hands in her hips. ‘I want you naked too,’ she threw at him.

‘Not just yet,’ he replied. His eyes glittered as they flicked over her from head to toe. ‘You are even more beautiful standing up than lying down. Now, come over here to me. I want to watch you walk, then I want to hold you hard against me and kiss you till you beg me to just do it to you like you did last night. But not in bed-standing up with your legs wrapped around my waist and your arms tight around my neck.’

The highly erotic images his words evoked made Scarlet’s head spin. How she managed to cross the room without tripping or stumbling she had no idea. But cross it she did, despite her knees feeling like jelly. He watched her closely with narrowed eyes, not saying another word. When she drew near, she could hear his heavy breathing and her own. Could feel his tension and her own. When he tossed the towel aside, she could see his arousal.

Stunningly, magnificently erect. A lethal weapon of naked desire. Her mouth dried in anticipation of his doing it to her the way he’d said he would, standing up. Her heart rate quickened, her nipples tightening.

Oh yes, she thought heatedly when he reached out to pull her into his arms, pressing her hard against him so that his erection sank deep into the soft swell of her stomach. Yes, yes. Do it to me. Do it to me now. Don’t kiss me. Don’t wait. Just lift me up and do it!

He didn’t obey her silent commands. He kissed her first, hot hungry kisses which brought her to a level of frustration she could not previously have imagined. It was violent, the need to have him inside her. The need to come. When a muffled moan echoed in her throat, John tore his mouth from hers.

‘Tell me that you want me, Scarlet,’ he whispered fiercely into her hair.

‘Yes, yes, I want you,’ she choked out. ‘Oh God, John, just do it. Do it the way you said.’

She gasped when he drove up into her, then again when he cupped her buttocks and lifted her right off the floor.

‘Wrap your arms and legs around me,’ he ground out.

After she did so, he carried her over to the bedroom wall, using it to support her back whilst he surged up into her, over and over. Her release was quick and savage, her first spasm so intense that she screamed out. He came too, just as violently, his orgasmic groans sounding more like cries of pain. His fingertips dug into her flesh whilst she clasped him just as tightly around his neck. Their climaxes lasted a considerable time, their bodies pulsing together, their hearts thudding to the same mad beat.

Finally, it was over, a wave of post-coital exhaustion bringing a heavy sigh to Scarlet’s lips. John sighed also, his head lifting from where he’d buried it in her hair.

Scarlet felt absolutely drained. In fact, she was having difficulty keeping her legs where they were. They were on the verge of dropping back down to the floor when John carried her over to the bed, tipping her gently back across the black quilt before slowly withdrawing.

‘See what you’ve done to me?’ he said as he straightened and nodded downwards.

‘Poor John,’ she murmured sleepily. ‘Perhaps you should lie down next to me and have a rest.’

‘Perhaps I should. But only on condition you don’t ask me any more questions.’