The Arrangement (16 page)

They
exchanged smiles and long lingering looks. ‘Shall we order?’
she asked.

Brandon
deliberately looked her up and down and allowed her to watch him
staring at her breasts. ‘We can order, but it’s hard to
choose. Everything looks good from where I’m sitting.’

***

Laughter
echoed off the hotel room walls. It wasn’t the type of friendly
chuckle someone did when they heard something amusing. This was deep
belly laughter that had the capabilities of splitting open ones side.
The sound had become infectious. The louder Emma laughed, the louder
Lucas laughed, and the louder Lucas laughed, the louder Emma laughed.
It was a never ending cycle of comedy.

‘That
is too funny. What did he say?’ she managed to say.

‘He
said nothing. For the first time in his life he was actually
speechless,’ Lucas explained. ‘Scarlett had turned as
white as a sheet.’

‘I
think I would have died.’ The laughter started to die down.

‘I
wanted to. It was just so embarrassing.’ Lucas shook his head
at the memory. ‘All I heard was Scarlett screaming when I was
down in the kitchen. I bounded up the stairs to find Craig standing
in my bedroom doorway looking at her wearing just enough clothes to
cover a small saucer. I mean absolutely everything was there for him
to see. Scarlett didn’t have enough hands to cover up all her
private parts. I know I shouldn’t laugh, but it was so funny.’

Lucas
wiped a tear from his eye.

‘Bless
her.’ Emma took a long deep breath and exhaled sharply. The
heaving bosoms beneath her revealing nightgown did not go unnoticed
by Lucas’s eyes. Emma made a mental note that he was looking at
her chest. She leaned over and picked her glass of wine of the
bedside table that separated their two beds. Lucas was already three
quarters the way through his second glass.

‘Have
you ever been in an embarrassing situation like that?’ she
asked.

‘How
do you mean?’

‘Well,
have you ever been in Scarlett’s situation?’

‘Has
Craig ever walked in on me in lingerie? No.’

This
brought a giggle out of Emma.

She
stared at him for one long moment and something naughty sparkled
behind her beautiful blue eyes. ‘Let’s play a game.’

‘You
want to play a game?’

Had
he heard her right?

‘Yes.
It is something I use to play with my ex-boyfriend.’ She saw
the shocked expression upon his face and quickly added. ‘It is
a game of trust that lets people get to know each other better.’

‘Okay…’
he wasn’t sure where this was going.

‘There
are no rules really. I mean I cannot stop you from telling a lie. I
will know when you do.’ She winked. ‘You will know when
you tell me a lie. The idea of the game is to be brutally honest with
the other person. If you are honest then I am honest.’

‘That
sounds fair.’ The wine tickled the back of his throat as it
went down. Lucas could feel his head starting to get a little lighter
with each sip.

‘So,
there are no rules really. The idea is to be honest and prove to me
that you trust me and I can prove to you that I trust you. So, for
ten questions you have to be completely honest and the questions can
be about anything and everything. If you refuse to answer then it
basically means you do not trust me.’

‘I
ask ten question and you ask ten questions.’

Emma
nodded a reply.

‘Will
you play?’ she asked.

‘Sure,
why not? It is not like we have anything better to do.’ That
was true. They had gone through every channel on the hotel television
and browsed all the box office movies they had on offer. The
selection was not going to win the hotel any awards. ‘Since you
are an expert at this game, how about ladies first?’

‘Such
a gentleman,’ she giggled. ‘Okay. My first question is
this. Have you ever been caught in an embarrassing sexual situation
like Scarlett was?’

Lucas
thought about this for a moment. He had never really been in any sort
of situation like that before. ‘To be honest, I have never
really been in an embarrassing sexual situation.’ That answer
seemed to disappoint Emma somewhat, which for some unknown reason
forced him to dig deep within the archives of his memory to bring up
some interesting and embarrassing fact. ‘I once went out with
Scarlett and got so wasted that when we got back to her parents place
I accidentally climbed into bed with her older sister.’

‘Oh
my god,’ Emma gasped. ‘I would say that is fairly
embarrassing.’

‘It
was just a bit,’ laughed Lucas. ‘Her dad went mental. Her
sister nearly beat me half to death, but Scarlett had tricked me into
going in there and thought the whole thing was really funny. I
couldn’t step foot in that house for months after that. So what
about you? What is your most embarrassing sexual situation?’

‘I
don’t even have to think about.’ Emma cringed at the
memory. ‘My ex-boyfriend was working late one night, but what I
didn’t know was that he had given the house keys to his dad to
come by and pick up some stuff, which he had brought for him. So I
thought I was all alone at home and…’ she paused for a
long moment and attempted to pick her words. ‘…let’s
just say I was feeling fairly horny. So I am sat on the living room
couch with my...’ she blushed.

Something
dangerous flared in Lucas’s stomach.

He
had to know what she had. ‘With you’re what?’ he
prompted her.

Emma
shrugged her shoulder. ‘I was sat with my vibrator.’

A
wave of pressure suddenly dropped down between his legs. ‘And
what happened?’ he was hanging on her every word.

‘Well,
I never heard my ex’s dad walk in. He walks in on me sitting on
the couch with my legs spread, pleasuring myself. I thought he was
going to have a heart attack.’

Lucas
couldn’t contain his laughter. ‘I think that easily beats
my most embarrassing situation hands down.’ Unconsciously, his
eyes dropped down onto the top of her smooth silky thighs. A question
was forming within the back of his mind. He tried to stop it from
reaching his lips, but in truth he really wanted to know. ‘Do
you touch yourself often?’

Emma
smiled a naughty smile. ‘I do touch myself,’ she
admitted. ‘I didn’t for a long time. I mean looking for a
new place to live, moving home, and starting work at my new job
pretty much consumed the last few months of my life. I sometime touch
myself when I am lonely, but since meeting you I touch myself two or
three times a night.’

Lucas
swallowed down the lump in his throat.

She
touches herself because of him?

‘Do
you touch yourself?’ she asked him.

Lucas
blushed nervously. This was entering a very personal section of
information that he didn’t even share with Scarlett, but Emma
had been honest and he would be lying if he said he didn’t find
this conversation exciting. ‘I never used to touch myself.
Scarlett is very sexual and my needs were met, but we haven’t
had sex in over a month and I have started to touch myself.’

Emma’s
eyes momentarily betrayed her, as she looked down at his groin. She
bit her bottom lip in that sexy way that sent a wave of tingles down
Lucas’s spine.

‘What
is your favourite sexual position?’ she asked.

‘U-um…’
Lucas stuttered.

‘Lucas,
you don’t have to be shy.’ She flashed him a beautiful
smile.

‘Okay,’
he nodded. ‘I like doggy style. What about you?’

‘That
is my favourite position, too. I like my man to have total control
over me and dictate the force, the pace, and the depth of sex.’

Lucas
shuffled nervously on the bed.

Her
words were having a very serious effect on his body below the waist.

‘Question
four.’ Emma thought for a long moment. Lucas could almost see
the gears and clogs working away within her mind, as she attempted to
unlock more information about him. ‘Is there anyone you like
sexually that isn’t your fiancée?’

Lucas
sipped on his wine to hide his smile.

‘Yes.’
He replied.

‘And
where is this mystery woman?’ asked Emma.

‘She
is on the bed opposite me.’

Emma
smile threatened to consume her entire face it was so wide. The two
of them held eye contact longer than they really should have. ‘My
fourth question is why do you want me? I mean out of everybody you
could have, and you could have anyone you wanted. You are
intelligent, interesting, beautiful and sexy, but why do you want
me?’

Emma
swung her legs over the edge of her bed, as she sat up. ‘I like
you.’ She reached for the wine bottle on the bedside table. ‘I
can’t really explain it, but from the very first moment I met
you I could instantly feel a connection between us. You are
absolutely gorgeous, but you know how sometimes you meet someone and
know straight away that you’re not going to like them?’
She poured some of the contents of the bottle into her glass and
leaned purposely forward towards Lucas. The loose hanging fabric of
her nightgown fell open and gave him a perfect bird’s eye view
straight down her top at her large firm breasts. This was not a
cleavage shot. He could see everything. ‘Well, when I met you I
knew instantly that you and I would be able to get along like best
friends. I have never really felt a connection like that with someone
so quickly before. That is why I like you.’ She poured some of
the wine into his wine glass. ‘Question five. Do you like
looking at my tits?’

Lucas
glanced up into her eyes and then back down her top. ‘Yes.’

‘Does
it make you hard?’ she asked straight away.

‘Yes.’

She
giggled excitedly and looked down at his groin.

He
could see the dark troubling thoughts bouncing off the inside of her
mind.

‘You’re
question.’

‘My
mind has kind of gone blank.’ He was still looking at her
breasts.

‘You
can ask anything and everything.’ She reminded him.

‘Okay.
Question Five. Why are you coming onto me when you know I am
engaged?’

Emma
sat up straight and tilted her head to the side deep in thought.
‘When you say it like that it sounds really bad. Usually, I
would never do something like this, but I really like you. I mean I
liked my ex-boyfriend, but I wasn’t head over heels in love
with him. We had fun and I was happy, but I was with him because it
was better than being alone. I was content. In the short time I have
known you I have really come to like you. I promised myself, when I
moved out here, that I would not roll over for anyone and that I will
fight for the things I want. I know it is selfish of me, but I want
you. I know you want me, too.’

‘But
I have Scarlett…’ he seemed to be talking more to
himself. ‘So, question six. If I made a move on you right here
and now. You would let me?’ he asked.

‘I
would.’ She nodded slowly in reply.

The
atmosphere in the room had definitely changed.

‘Do
you want to make love to me?’ Emma spoke softly.

‘I
do. If I was single I think we would be making love already.’

‘What
if we kept it our little secret? Just something that you and I knew.’

‘Do
you really want to be the bit on the side?’ asked Lucas.

‘No,
but I want you. I know it is slutty, but I do want you. I am willing
to do something I have never done before to be with you.’

The
room fell silent for a long moment.

It
was so quiet that Lucas could feel his own heart beat throbbing
within his ears. It was like someone hammering on the wall directly
behind his head. He knew that even having this conversation was
wrong, but something about it felt so right. Maybe it was the wine,
but for once he actually felt like he was living. It felt good just
to laugh, drink, and not have to be stressed about Scarlett’s
advances. The question that was eating at him more than anything was
this. Why was he more tempted by Emma’s sexual advances than
Scarlett’s? He had managed to avoid and defuse Scarlett’s
sexy techniques for almost a month, but a night alone with Emma and
the walls he had placed up to block out such thoughts were coming
crumbling down.

Did
this mean that he liked Emma more than Scarlett?

‘I
lost count of the questions.’ Lucas was the one to break the
silence.

Emma
laughed out loud. ‘I was on…’ she tallied it up in
her head. ‘I have asked eight questions and you have only asked
seven. So, you have three more and I only have two. Ask away.’

‘What
to ask?’ he tapped his finger against his chin.

‘Have
you gone all shy now?’ she giggled.

‘Ha.
I think at this point there is no reason to be shy. I want you and
you want me. We are both sexually attracted to each other and I know
you use a vibrator several times a night whilst thinking of me and I
know you want to be my bit on the side. Do you think it is wrong that
I am tempted to kiss you on the lips?’

Emma
smiled naughtily.

‘It
depends what lips you mean.’ Unconsciously, she spread her legs
slightly, as she sat on the edge of the bed. The base of her night
gown blocked out the one thing he wanted to see, but the gesture and
intent were there. They both knew what they were thinking. ‘I
think for some reason you are very unhappy with your relationship at
the moment. I think you love Scarlett, but something between the two
of you isn’t right and here I am offering you what it is you
want. I think the only way you wouldn’t be tempted was if you
were gay.’

Lucas
laughed.

Emma
got up off the bed, crossed the small divide and sat down beside him.
The sweet smell of summer flowed in through Lucas’s nose and
caused a tickling sensation within the depths of his stomach. She was
sat within his personal space. Having her in such close proximity was
causing tingles to rush up and down the full length of his body. Emma
downed all the wine in her glass in one go and reached for the phone
on the bedside table. Within a second she was talking to reception.