The Arrangement (18 page)

Lucas
couldn’t help but think how cute she looked when she did that.

‘I
wish you were my boyfriend,’ said Emma. ‘Then I could
have you.’

‘I
wish I was single.’ Lucas was slightly surprised the words had
left his lips. ‘Then I could have you.’

Emma
gently placed her hand upon his forearm.

‘Can’t
you pretend you are single for one night?’

Lucas
paused deep in thought.

Suddenly,
guilt stabbed at him like a knife through the heart.

He
was actually considering cheating on Scarlett.

‘I
need to the toilet,’ he lied, but it was a good excuse to
splash some cold water on his face and sober up. He got up off the
bed and walked slightly unsteadily around the room and into the
toilet. The door locked from the inside. Within seconds of him
leaving the bedroom his cell phone began to ring. Emma placed down
her glass of wine and plucked the cell phone from his coat pocket.

‘Hello?’
she slurred slightly upon answering.

‘Hello?’
Scarlett replied on the other end of the phone. ‘Is Lucas
there?’

‘I
am sorry, but he is in a very important business meeting right now,’
Emma lied. ‘I can pass on a message if you like.’

‘Okay.
Yes. Can you please tell him that Scarlett called and ask him to ring
me back when he has a free moment?’

‘I
shall pass the message onto him.’ Emma abruptly ended the call.
She glanced up towards the toilet door. The sound of the tap running
could be heard from within the small room. Her attention returned to
the cell phone and she held her thumb down on the power button and
waited for the phone to switch off completely. A smile split her soft
red lips, as she tucked the dead cell phone back into his coat
pocket. ‘Now we won’t have any unwanted disturbances.’

***

Scarlett
sat in shocked silence and listened to the dead phone line. A single
thought rattled about within the inside of her mind. Who was that
woman? She sounded really happy on the phone, like she had been
laughing, but what was she doing with Lucas this late at night? It
was clearly a blatant lie that Lucas was in another meeting at this
late hour, but if he wasn’t working, what was he doing? And who
was that woman?

‘Is
something wrong?’ asked Brandon.

‘N-no,
it was nothing.’ Scarlett stuttered a reply.

‘Is
your husband busy?’

‘Yes.
I think he was called away to do some more work on the contract.’
She wasn’t sure who she was trying to convince, but such a
feeble excuse for him not answering the phone was clearly a miss
truth.

Brandon
turned the car into the cul-de-sac and pulled up outside of
Scarlett’s home. The engine was flicked off and the interior of
the car faded into silence. For a moment no one spoke. In fact, not
much had been said since they had got into the car. The kiss that
they shared still remained fresh on their minds and fresh upon their
lips. It wasn’t that it was a bad kiss, or a kiss they did not
wish to experience. It was the case that she was engaged and had
enjoyed the feel of this gorgeous man’s tongue curling within
her mouth.

‘I
am sorry that I kissed you,’ said Brandon.

‘Don’t
be.’ Scarlett was quick to say.

He
tilted his head to one side and wore a mask of confusion.

Scarlett
couldn’t help but giggle. She reached across and placed her
hand upon the back of his. ‘I had a really good time tonight.
It was a really lovely dinner at a really nice restaurant and I was
with the most perfect man. I have loved talking to you, getting to
know you, and sharing ideas and thoughts on writing. I don’t
think I have ever met such a like minded person before. The walk on
the beach was magical and the kiss.’ Her cheeks began to glow
at the thought of it. ‘The kiss was like something out of a
romance novel. It was perfect and if it wasn’t for Lucas I
wouldn’t have asked for you to take me home. I really like you,
Brandon.’

‘I
really like you, too.’ He smiled.

‘Do
you think that we could still be friends?’

‘I
wasn’t sure you would want to be friends after what happened,’
he admitted. ‘But I would be the happiest guy in the world if
you and I could stay friends.’

‘I
would really like that.’

‘We
could do lunch, dinner, or anything that you like.’

‘You
should call me when you free.’ A tinge of guilt pulled down on
her heart. Scarlett knew in her heart of hearts that she should cut
all ties with this tempting man, right here and now, but she couldn’t
deny the fact that she did really like him. It wasn’t because
he was hot, but because he was everything she wanted in a friend and
in a companion. Just talking to him made her feel ten feet tall and
so inspired that she could sit down and work on her books all night
long.

‘Then
I will call you tomorrow?’ he asked.

‘Great.’
Scarlett unclipped her seatbelt and their eyes met.

A
silent signal was sent between them. It said “I want you”.

She
sat in the front seat frozen like a statue. How did she bring this
night to a conclusion? The thought occurred to her that perhaps she
should lean forward and give him a small peck upon the cheek, but
that deep powerful gaze was turning the idea of a small peck into
devouring his face. Reluctantly, she popped open the car door.

‘Thank
you for such a lovely night.’

‘Thank
you for being so lovely,’ he replied.

Scarlett
grinned like an idiot at the compliment.

‘I
will call you tomorrow.’

‘I
look forward to it,’ she replied and with that she pushed the
car door closed and quickly rushed off towards the house. She didn’t
dare look back, for her self-control was packing its bags and
preparing to go on a long vacation overseas. If she looked back into
those beautiful eyes her self-control would leave and something bad
was sure to happen.

***

Lucas
dried his face with the towel and hung it back upon the bathroom
rack. His light brown eyes stared into his reflection on the bathroom
cabinet mirror. He felt like some sort of professional boxer psyching
himself up before going out to defend his world heavy weight
championship. Never before had he held such a serious expression upon
his face, as he looked himself dead in the eye. Inside his mind he
repeated the same four words over and over again ‘You must be
strong. You must be strong. You must be strong.’

In
truth, he didn’t feel very strong right now.

In
fact, he felt like going into that room and doing some very naughty
things to his secretary. ‘You must be strong.’ The
thought of going back into the bedroom and facing her was making
something heavy pull down on the depths of his stomach. There was
only so much more of this temptation he could take before his will
gave way to lust and passion.

‘Why
does she have to be so sexy?’ he whispered to his reflection.

No
reply came back.

With
a heavy heart and a deep sigh he flicked off the bathroom light and
opened the door. He was met by a dark gloom of the bedroom.

‘Emma?’
he asked into the silence.

‘I’m
here,’ she replied.

The
overhead lights, and the lamp on the bedside table, had all been
switched off. Even the television had been unplugged, which meant
there was no artificial light spilling into the shadows of the room.
Lucas began to move slowly into the bedroom. His hands reached out in
front of him like a blind person trying to discover the layout of a
new location.

‘Are
you going to bed?’ his fingers found the end of her bed and he
stumbled his way around.

‘I
am going to bed.’ Her voice was coming from the far side of the
room. ‘And you are going to join me.’

Suddenly,
the long flowing balcony curtains were thrown open. The lights of the
outside world poured in through the glass windows and illuminated the
interior of the hotel room. A cloudy sky blocked out the glow of the
moon, but the neon signs of the surrounding buildings danced upon
Emma’s body, as she stood in front of the window. Lucas
swallowed the lump down in his throat.

Emma
was naked.

His
eyes seemed to sparkle, as he looked her up and down in a slow
deliberate manner. There was so much to take in that he wasn’t
sure where to start. Did he start with her long smooth kissable legs?
Or with her flat toned stomach? Or perhaps he should start with her
large round plump breasts? Something troublesome began to happen
between his legs.

Emma
walked towards him.

Lucas
was suddenly feeling like a shy teenage boy, not really sure what to
do.

She
stepped into his personal space and placed a hand upon his chest.

He
could feel himself falling into her light blue eyes. They shone like
crystals in the night. Emma leaned forward and pressed her soft red
lips against his. Lucas was too shocked to say or do anything in
reply. He just stood there frozen like a statue. ‘I really like
you.’ She pulled away just long enough to mutter these words
before pressing her lips back against his. Much to Lucas’s
surprise he found himself pressing his lips back against hers.

It
quickly turned.

Emma
opened her mouth and welcomed his tongue inside. She moaned
erotically at the feel of him adding greater force to the kiss.
Within seconds the two of them were devouring each other like sex
craved lunatics. His strong right hand started its climb up across
her ribcage. A single thought rattled within the inside of his mind.

Would
she really let him do this?

The
question was answered when he took her breast within the palm of her
hand.

Emma
started to unbutton his shirt.

***

Scarlett
lay alone in their bed, staring up at the ceiling. Her mind was in
turmoil. She had kissed another man. It hadn’t been a little
peck on the cheek. They had used tongues. If that wasn’t bad
enough she couldn’t get out of her head just how amazing it
felt when Brandon kissed her. The memory of his lips caused
butterflies to flutter within her stomach. She felt giddy just
thinking about him. That wasn’t something a woman that is going
to be married should be doing. The other thought bouncing of the
walls of her mind was the woman that had answered Lucas’s
phone. Who was she? And why was she with Lucas at this late hour? And
why had she told such an obvious lie about Lucas being in a meeting?
Just what was he up too?

***

Lucas
looked down upon the angel of beauty lying beneath him. Her face was
so gentle and innocent, but looks could be deceiving. Every half a
heartbeat a high pitched “ah” escaped her lips and echoed
off the bedroom walls. He could feel her delicate hands stroking up
along his naked back, as he made love to her. He had never known a
woman to have such an intent stare during the art of love. It was
impossible to tear his eyes away from the windows of her soul. It
felt like he could see straight through to the core of her being.
Emma was letting down all her mental, physical and emotional walls
and allowing him in.

‘Oh.’
He could feel her body tense up.

Emma
bit her bottom lip, as her face twisted into a mask of pleasure.

He
continued to roll his hips in a slow and controlled manner.

Her
hands clung to his muscular body and her back arched slightly up off
the bed, which forced her large plump breasts up towards him. Lucas
took this opportunity to drop his head down and consume the peak of
her chest within his mouth.

‘Oh
god,’ she moaned even louder at the feel of the powerful
suction.

She
fell back down onto the bed.

Her
breathing was now erratic. Her breasts heaved. Lucas could feel her
hips squirming beneath him, as they attempted to distance themselves
from the one thing that was causing her to feel this much pleasure.
He could feel her gripping him tightly inside her body, like some
kind of snake attempting the choke the life out of its prey, as she
grew closer to another orgasm.

She
felt so warm inside.

‘Are
you close?’ she asked him between heavy pants for air.

‘Yes,’
he admitted.

Lucas
had been using a deep abdominal breathing technique designed for
public speaking to slow his breathing down. This allowed him some
level of self-control over his body. It also helped that he was on
top and allowed to dictate the pace, which meant whenever he got too
close he could slow down until his body was ready to go again.

‘You
don’t have to hold it.’ She smiled that loving smile.

‘I
want you to enjoy it,’ he told her. ‘I want to make it
good for you.’

‘You
are making it good.’ She stroked her fingers threw his hair and
pulled his head down towards her. The two of them shared a long
passionate kiss. It was the type of kiss that people deeply in love
would share. ‘But you don’t have to hold it in. We have
plenty of protection for you to make love to me again.’ She
nodded to the box of condoms on the bedside table.

‘Okay,’
he kissed her gently on the lips.

‘Okay,’
she giggled like a school girl. ‘Lucas!’

She
called out his name at the sudden increase of speed his hips moved
at. Emma clawed at the bed sheets, as her mouth hung wide open. Lucas
was making her take all of him inside of her. His hips were starting
to pound away with the speed and force of a high-tech machine
drilling for oil.

‘Yes,’
he groaned like some kind of wild animal.

The
pressure between his legs was rapidly increasing to dangerous levels.
If he was a volcano then all the surrounding villages would be
getting evacuated because of the coming eruption. He pressed his
muscular torso down against her large plump breasts and hugged her
tightly. Emma rapped her arms and legs around him. It was all she
could do. The overwhelming sensation of ecstasy had taken over her
body. She was enjoying it too much to stop. All she could do was
brace herself, hold on, and take it until this gorgeous man could
give no more, and from the desperate moans filling the room, that
moment was drawing nearer.