Playing in Shadow (14 page)

“Say it,” Juliet ordered.

“Fuck me. You can put the money in the jar after.”

*

The extraordinary feeling of happiness Scarlet was experiencing made her turn up her music another notch. She knew the other workers were now in the house next door so no one could complain. She enjoyed having the building to herself to play her music loud and dance when the mood took her. She’d laid her paintbrush down momentarily when a particular piece of music came on and had felt the urge to celebrate it. Lost in the song, deaf to all around her but the pulsing beat, Scarlet let the music wash over her as she swung her body sensuously to the rhythm. With her eyes half closed at the emotions she always felt from this particular song, Scarlet didn’t see someone standing in the open doorway until it was too late. Her hands flew to her chest over her racing heart.

“Oh my God, Bryce! You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

Bryce was leaning against the doorjamb with a growing smile on her face. “That seems only fair seeing as I nearly had one just from watching you dance like that.” She pushed herself off the door and took the few steps closer to Scarlet. “I’ve never seen anything quite so sexy.”

“It looks more impressive when I’m not wearing coveralls.” Scarlet tugged at the baggy overalls she was only half wearing. The top half was pulled down and tied around her waist. It revealed a tight white undershirt that clung in all the right places.

Bryce stepped closer still, invading Scarlet’s personal space. “You kissed me last night then sent me on my way.”

Unable to stop herself, Scarlet shivered at the low timbre Bryce’s voice rumbled out at. “I had to leave something as an incentive for you to accept another date request.”

“Like you’re not incentive enough?”

Scarlet was thrilled by Bryce’s appreciative look. “Well, aren’t you sweet?” She sidled closer so that their hips bumped. “What brings you over here when I know you’re working in a house two doors down?” She ran a finger down Bryce’s arm and watched as the muscles twitched.

“I came to say hi and thank you for last night. I had a wonderful evening.”

“Enough to do it again?” She smiled when Bryce nodded.

“I’d prefer somewhere less public though, if you wouldn’t mind. I’m still feeling a little out of my element around too many people.” Her hand fluttered nervously to her forehead before settling on Scarlet’s hip. “But the next time it’s on me. I’ll try for us not to have a repeat performance of the evil ex right after dessert either.”

“Good, because I think I’d be tempted to stomp all over her ass if she dared to unleash her vicious tongue in your direction again.” Scarlet pressed a kiss on Bryce’s smiling lips. “Good morning, by the way.” She pulled back but noticed Bryce still had her eyes closed so she kissed her again, slower this time, with a little more pressure and definite need. Bryce’s arms slipped around her and pulled her closer as they began languidly exploring each other’s mouths.

Scarlet loved the feel of Bryce’s lips against her own. She felt a tongue teasing her bottom lip, requesting entrance. Scarlet granted it and moaned as Bryce’s agile tongue brushed against her own. Bryce tasted of fresh mint and a hint of her morning coffee. Scarlet couldn’t taste her enough. Their breathing was ragged when they finally came up for air.

“I did only come in to say hello,” Bryce said, resting her forehead against Scarlet’s.

“I love how you say it.” Scarlet tugged at Bryce’s head, slipping her fingers through her pale hair. “My turn now.” Her lips captured Bryce’s once again. She then trailed her lips up over flushed cheekbones to deliver a kiss to Bryce’s forehead.

“You’re making me forget that I should be working and not fraternizing with the painter next door.”

“But you fraternize so well.” Scarlet whispered her words against Bryce’s brow as she peppered soft kisses over the prominent scar. Bryce didn’t wear her cap when she worked, and Scarlet could see that Bryce’s hair was finally filling in again. She pouted when Bryce finally took a step back. She missed the heat from her.

“I’d better go before you tempt me any further,” Bryce said.

“You’d better come back here and have lunch with me.” The look Bryce favored her with reassured Scarlet.

“I’ll be here.”

Scarlet couldn’t help but tease her. “Do you want to stay in here and we can maybe make out like teenagers while we share bites of our food?”

Bryce laughed but shook her head. “No. I don’t want us to be all about a quick fumble in a half painted room.”

“You don’t look like the kind of girl who fumbles at anything, Bryce.”

“No, but you make it very hard for me to slow down and apply the brakes with the way you make me feel. I figure if we sit outside with the others milling back and forth I’ll be less inclined to take a kiss further. At least, not until we’re both certain this is what we want.”

“And if I said I’m more than certain now?” Scarlet tugged at the waistband of Bryce’s black jeans, pulling her closer. Bryce resisted with a deep chuckle that made Scarlet’s insides clench with the rush of arousal.

“Then I say let me take you out and we’ll see what happens.”

Scarlet’s fingers slipped inside Bryce’s waistband and brushed at soft warm skin. Unable to stop herself, she let her fingers linger and traced a lazy circle idly around Bryce’s belly button. Bryce jumped as if electrocuted and let out a whine. Scarlet didn’t hesitate in keeping Bryce in place while she felt stomach muscles tremble and twitch.

“Oh fuck, you’ve got to stop that right now.” Bryce’s hand trapped Scarlet’s beneath her own, inadvertently pressing Scarlet’s hand further into her jeans.

“Do you know I sometimes peek in to watch you working? It’s just so I can catch you reaching up because your shirts ride up and expose your skin. It makes me want to kiss every inch of your stomach I see revealed.” Scarlet stole a kiss from Bryce. With some reluctance, Scarlet withdrew her hand from Bryce’s jeans. But not without one last lingering scrape of her fingernails scoring gently across Bryce’s quivering flesh.

“Fuck.” Bryce’s voice shook. She grabbed at Scarlet’s arm and stopped her from leaving. “You’re going to drive me crazy, aren’t you?”

“Only in all the best ways.”

The Tweedy Contractors company offices hadn’t changed much since Scarlet had been a child. Computers had taken over from the filing cabinets full of the records of completed or future jobs. Scarlet’s growth as a child had been measured by what letter of the alphabet on the filing system she had reached. All the company’s details were ably run by Alice Judson. She was her dad’s long serving office manager. Her delight at seeing Scarlet enter the office trailing after her father had made Scarlet feel five years old again. Her father had disappeared into his office to return a call Alice had told him needed to be dealt with, leaving her and Scarlet alone.

“Well, it’s about time you found your way back home, young lady. I was thinking you’d forgotten Missouri existed on the map,” Alice said. She took a hold of Scarlet’s hands and looked her over. “Haven’t you grown into even more of a beauty?”

Scarlet smiled. “I was only gone three years, Alice, and I still came home for the holidays. I haven’t changed that much and I saw you at Christmas.”

Alice waved her objections away. “Your father has shown me all the photos you sent him. He loves showing them off. You’re very talented in that field, young lady. Are you serious about that work?”

Scarlet nodded. “It’s more than just a hobby, Alice. I love it. It lets me be creative, and you know that’s where my heart lies.”

“And yet you’re here, helping your father out.”

“Once he knew I was losing my job, he started with gentle hints, then the not so subtle coercion. That evolved into the ‘I’m not getting any younger’ comments. I know he wants me to take over from him, but…”

“But you’re not sure if you want it,” Alice said.

“I love the manual work. I know it’s odd, but I enjoy the slapping of paint on a wall. It’s so different from the techniques I employ when I do my portrait paintings. But with my camera work, I can capture a moment and suspend it in time. I don’t want those moments lost being shut in this office having to hustle up work for the guys Dad employs. That’s a little too much responsibility on these shoulders.”

Alice squeezed her arm gently. “You’re such a free spirit. Just like your mother was. Victor could never quite keep that girl’s feet on the ground.”

“I’m grounded, Alice, but I think the earth beneath my feet is a different soil from what Dad wants me to grow roots in.”

Alice burst out laughing. “Poetic too. You’re way more than just your mother’s image.”

“What do you think she’d have wanted me to do?”

“She’d have wanted you to live your life your own way. She never got the chance to fulfill her dreams. Life’s too short, sweetheart. But your father has had your future planned from the minute he held you in his arms. His business was always meant for you. You’re his sole heir.”

“I don’t know that I can do this. I’d rather just be the painter, plain and simple. I don’t want to have to deal with the financial and administrative side of Tweedy Contractors.”

“There are courses. You could learn.”

Scarlet made a face. “But I’m learning what makes me happy and this”—she gestured around the office—“I don’t think this is it.”

“Then you’d better find a way to let your father down gently because he’s set his heart on you running this business once he retires.”

“He’s got years yet,” Scarlet said. She wanted her own life to live and not take over her father’s.

“Then with that thought in mind, you’ve got ample time to learn if you can fill his shoes or take a brave step forward in your own.” Alice patted Scarlet’s cheek gently. “You’ll make the right choice either way. You are your daddy’s girl, after all.”

*

The unrecognized ring tone playing from her pocket distracted Bryce from opening her front door. She removed her phone and stared at the caller ID. She answered it quickly.

“Did you program a new ring tone into my phone without me somehow seeing you do it?” she asked. Scarlet’s soft laughter made her smile regardless.

“You left it unattended one lunchtime. It was too much temptation. I wanted you to have something suitable when I called you so I Bluetoothed you my ring tone.”

“You are aware I don’t know your music?” Bryce keyed her lock and pushed inside. She tossed her keys on the table and settled onto her sofa to talk to Scarlet.

“It’s ‘Storytime’ by Nightwish,” Scarlet said.

Bryce was still none the wiser but nodded even though she knew Scarlet couldn’t see her. “So, how can I help you other than to confirm your light-fingered appropriation of my phone worked?”

“Should I mention you should lock your phone at all times?”

“I’ll take that under advisement,” Bryce said drolly.

“I was wondering if you’d care to join me at my apartment for some takeout tonight? I realize you’re probably on your way home still.”

“I’ve just literally walked in.”

“Oh.”

Bryce looked around her empty apartment, so tired of the same four walls staring back at her. “But I can wash up, change out of my work clothes, and come over if that’s what you want.”

“I do.” Scarlet’s voice was eager to Bryce’s ears. “I live right by an excellent Chinese takeout. I’ll order in and we can eat as soon as you arrive.”

Bryce wondered at Scarlet’s last-minute invitation. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just…would like to see you.”

“Does this have anything to do with you skipping out of work early with your dad today? Are you sure you’re okay? Oh God, is it him? Is
he
okay?”

“He’s fine, I’m fine, don’t worry so. I just need a friendly face tonight.”

“And you picked me?” Bryce couldn’t help the surprise that escaped her voice.

Scarlet chuckled. “You need to realize, Bryce Donovan, yours is the face I want to see most of all.”

The sweet burst of joy wasn’t something Bryce had felt for some time. It came with a bittersweet pang. Her fingers itched to touch her scar. Maybe if she traced the length enough times she could make it finally disappear, that and the nightmares it brought along with it.

“Give me your address and I’ll go find a bus route.” She heard Scarlet hesitate. “What?”

“Thank you for doing this.”

Bryce couldn’t help smiling. “Well, maybe you need to realize that yours is the face I want to see the most too.” Scarlet’s low moan sent shivers down Bryce’s spine. It was deep and rich and disturbingly sensual.

“Hurry.”

Bryce was already shucking off her work boots and searching for clean clothes.

*

Soft, measured footsteps sounded in the hallway outside Trent’s game room. She looked up from scrolling along the tiles her PS4’s home screen displayed. She caught sight of Juliet as she disappeared into the nursery. Controller in hand, Trent started her game for the evening then selected the online multiplayer mode. Before she picked up her headset, she heard Juliet come into the room behind her. Her hands were occupied with a cup of herbal tea, which was her latest craving, a book, and a patterned blanket draped over her arm.

“Sweetheart, if you’re tired you should go rest in bed.” Trent had been worried to come home to find Juliet looking pale and worn. She’d started to fuss but had been shot down shortly in a fashion that was so uncharacteristic of Juliet that it had made Trent even more concerned. So Trent had decided a tactical withdrawal from Juliet’s line of
ire
was her best call. She had an online match of Call of Duty Advanced Warfare set up with a friend in Texas so Trent was settled in for a night of playing.

A soft kiss was planted on top of Trent’s head as Juliet shuffled behind her.

“I’m sorry.”

Trent craned her neck to follow Juliet’s path. “Jule, you know I’m just worried about—”

“I know,” Juliet interrupted, settling herself down heavily on the sofa and fidgeting until she was comfortable. “I overdid it today. I realize that now. I just didn’t think I’d get this tired so fast.”

Trent looked at her, waiting for more.