Covet (9 page)

B
arrett and Scarlet
sat on stiff chairs in the Delta lounge for a good thirty minutes before she was able to speak. He held her as she cried, not knowing how to react. Part of him was furious with her and another part of him just wanted to take away all the pain she was clearly in.

Scarlet had no idea what to say to him. She was exhausted mentally, emotionally, and physically while also tired of running from the past and fooling herself into thinking she could possibly ever move on from that summer. It was clear she couldn’t.

Yet she didn’t know where to start or what was okay to tell him.

“Scarlet,” he finally said quietly. His square jaw rested lightly on her head, his arms around her. “We should go back to the house. You need to sleep.”

She sat up and looked at him. Tears had smeared the makeup she had carefully applied for their date hours before, leaving rivers of black on her flushed cheeks.

“Okay,” she nodded. “Let’s go.”

He took her by the hand and they walked through the lines of people hustling around for early morning flights to distant places. Scarlet tried to keep her head down, after all, she must have looked insane. She wasn’t someone who made a public spectacle of herself and she was deeply embarrassed that her card had been declined at the counter. The pretty Delta clerk probably assumed that’s why she’d started crying.

How wrong she would be.

* * *

T
he car ride
home was mostly silent other than the sound of Barrett shifting gears. She glanced over at his forearm, his rough knuckles white against the stick. She could tell he was upset with her but didn’t want to make things worse. Scarlet looked back out the window, the trees blurring by as they entered Rancho Santa Fe. All she wanted was a shower. And Barrett wrapped around her.

As they entered his house she glanced over at his office, where the weekend began. Papers were strewn all over the floor, nothing had been picked up yet. The clock said it was 7 AM and just seeing it made her sleepy. Yet she was scared to close her eyes, scared of what she might wake up to.

“I’ll show you where the guest room is,” he said, plodding up the stairs. She shook her head.

“No,” she spoke for the first time since they’d left the airport. “Don’t leave me alone.”

He looked at her surprised, “I just figured-“

Before he could finish she jumped into his arms, smashing her mouth against his, her arms around his neck. She could feel his hesitation underneath her, but the intensity of her kiss somehow convinced his worn out body to return her affections.

He carried her to his room, the sheets still crumbled from their earlier tryst.

“Scarlet, we don’t have to…” he started.

“I need it,” she replied. “Please.”

She slipped out of her clothes, pulling on his belt as he held her head in his hands, kissing her down her neck.

“I need you so bad, Barrett,” she cried against him. “Feeling you inside me will make everything okay.”

It didn’t take much to convince him. Her body was a drug, something he could never bear to withdraw from, and as soon as they were both completely naked, he was on top of her.

“Scarlet,” he said, warning in his tone. “With how I feel, I don’t know how gentle this is going to be.”

She smirked, “Fuck me hard. Hate fuck me if you have to. Just don’t stop.”

He entered her forcefully, there was no reluctance, and she moaned at the fullness. He was large and throbbing, and her nipples expressed their approval. She liked the aggression.

He pounded her relentlessly, the headboard smacking the wall, her cries only spurring him on as he took what he craved. All of his anger and frustration spilled out of him and his growls made it clear that this was what
fucking
was. It was nothing like the slow love he had made to her last night. This was all heat and anger. This was all about
his
pleasure, at her expense.

And she loved every second of it.

He flipped her over without withdrawing from her soaking wet sex, making her yelp as he demanded she get on all fours.

“I need to watch your ass while I fuck you, Scarlet,” he said. “I won’t stop until you scream and beg me to. And maybe not even then.”

That was the last thing she wanted was for him to ever stop. He was harder than ever and his thrusts were like being rammed by a steel pole. She turned her head to watch him plow her from behind. His abs were contracting, sweat dripping down each ripple of his body, veins popping out of his biceps and forearms. She’d never been more turned on in her life.

Barrett had never fucked her like
this
.

And he was lasting forever. They swapped positions numerous times, but they were always positions where he was in control of her body. She was merely at his mercy.

After an hour she finally relented, her climaxes almost painful from the soreness in her thighs and her cervix. He’d reached places most men could only dream of.

“Please, baby,” she begged as he had her up against the wall of his closet. “I can’t take much more.”

Her begging made him thrust harder, “You’ll take it until I finish. Inside you.”

Which only caused her to want more.

Finally he carried her to the bed, her body limp against his chest, both of them panting from the exertion. He’d come inside her, finally, and they were both laying on his sheets now, catching their breaths.

Neither knew what to say. He’d punished her in the sense that he’d let out his steam on the curves of her body, but his heart still felt empty. Why did she leave him again? Even the intense orgasm he’d just experienced couldn’t relieve him of that anguish.

She curled up against him, kissing his taut stomach and up to his pectoral muscles that were still rising and falling from exertion.

“I’m sorry,” she said. Nothing else.

W
hile Scarlet slept
, Barrett watched her. She’d taken a quick shower (it had been hard not to join her) and now slept serenely on clean sheets in the guest room. He had promised not to leave her to sleep alone, but as soon as it was clear she had dozed off, he’d quietly gotten up to make a phone call.

“Nance,” he said. “I’m in a bind. I can’t come back to Vegas this week.”

Nancy sighed on the other end, “What’s wrong? Is Scarlet okay?”

He glanced back at her through the open doorway of the bedroom.

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “But I think I need this week with her to find out what the hell’s going on.”

“She’s an adult, Barrett,” Nancy lectured from the other end. “She doesn’t need you to save her.”

“Well, if not me, who?” he replied, frustrated that Nancy wasn’t understanding.

Nancy didn’t know what to say to that.

* * *

S
carlet woke
up hours later in the mid-afternoon of a perfectly sunny San Diego day. Barrett was next to her, sitting up against the upholstered headboard, reading a book.

“Hey, sleepy,” he said, a sweet smile on his face. The rough Barrett from earlier was gone.

“Hey,” she said back, stretching her arms. “Sorry I slept so long.”

Barrett shook his head, “No worries. I got some work done, took a little snooze myself. Watched you for a while.”

“Oh yeah?” she said, sliding her body towards him. “That’s kind of sweet.”

He shook his head, “You snore.”

She grimaced and then glared at him, “I do not!”

He laughed, pulling her on top of him, “You do. But it’s cute. It’s a sweet sounding snore. Not too loud either. I’ve always liked it.”

“But it’s so… not sexy. Embarrassing. I used to have to wear a nose strip in college because my roommate said my snoring kept her up!”

Barrett laughed, “Wow, that’s pretty bad, Scarlet.”

She went to playfully hit him but he caught her slender arm before it could make contact. They held eyes for a moment and her body became rigid, waiting for him to take her again. She was still sore from earlier and she was eager for him to have her again in just the same way. The thought of it made her wet underneath the comforter.

His thoughts were drifting to similar desires but he knew if they had sex all week he’d never get to the bottom of what was happening with her. And whether that led to her being back in his life or drifting away again, at least he would know all the facts.

“I was thinking we could talk a little,” he said, letting go of her arm. “Go take a walk on the beach. You know?”

Her stomach turned. She knew it was time to tell him everything but she wasn’t sure where to start. Or what to leave out.

“Okay,” she nodded. “On one condition.”

“What’s that?” he asked. He was sitting shirtless in just a pair of cotton pajama pants. She looked down at his crotch.

“
That
,” she said. “I want it again.”

He looked at her, “Jesus. Do you think that’s an actual ‘condition’?” Barrett swooped her up, making her laugh. She never felt safer than when he held her close to him.

“You can have that any time you want. Didn’t you already know?” He kissed her long and hard as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Take me to the shower,” she whispered.

“Didn’t you already have one?” he teased.

“Not the kind I wanted,” she murmured as he carried her back to the master bedroom, which was connected to a master bathroom with a shower large enough for ten people. And a bench long enough to do with Scarlet whatever he damn well pleased.

B
arrett was nervous
. It wasn’t every day you asked someone to marry you.

He’d told almost no one, only because he knew anyone he confessed to would tell him he was insane. They wouldn’t be wrong. He’d only been with Scarlet for two months. Asking her to marry him
was
insane. It was the complete opposite of what he normally did. Barrett was pragmatic to a fault. He thought things through and made the best decision for himself and his career. He knew his family depended on him for a lot and asking Scarlet Bloom to marry him was not something typical. It might be something his brother Durham would do, but not Barrett.

Which is why it excited him so much. He’d never felt so right about something, even as crazy as it might seem to an outsider. Barrett and Scarlet had spent every spare second of their lives together since their first lunch at the beginning of the summer. He’d taken her on some beautiful weekend getaways. They’d spent hours at night talking about their deepest desires and hopes for their futures. He knew every inch of her delicious body, from head to beautiful toes. Barrett could tell exactly when Scarlet was going to come; her chest would rise and fall and she would get an intense look on her face and then an immediate, sleepy, satisfied smile. It drove him wild. He knew what made her body respond and she knew exactly how to move him in a multitude of ways.

She was
it
. He knew it. And when Barrett figured something out, he didn’t waver from the answer. And Scarlet was the answer to everything.

So once he’d decided to marry her, he’d put a plan into action. He wanted it to be the engagement of a lifetime, something that no one could even think to write about because it was so original and romantic. As much as Barrett was a hard-ass in his work life, he was completely different as soon as he was near Scarlet.

“Nancy, you haven’t told anyone, right?” Barrett said over his cell, walking out towards the tarmac where the Gulfstream was waiting. He’d had to go to New York this week for a meeting with investors and he was chomping at the bit to get back to Atlanta, where Scarlet was waiting for him to pick her up for a surprise trip.

Nancy had recently been promoted to his assistant. It was a weird dynamic being that she’d been a maternal figure to him all these years. So despite her title, she was often the one in charge of his decisions. And he’d needed to tell her his plans so she could help set things up.

“Of course not,” she retorted. “They’d all shoot the messenger. Especially your mother.”

Barrett laughed, “She can deal. Shouldn’t most mothers be happy when their son meets the love of his life?”

Nancy sighed, “You really don’t know very much about women, do you?”

* * *

S
carlet had finally finished stuffing
her suitcase when her cell phone started buzzing.

I
love you
. I’m on my way
.

S
he smiled
. Scarlet still pinched herself these days. It was hard to believe he’d chosen her- or really, that they’d chosen each other. Of course the tabloids made a big thing out of it. She was portrayed as the lucky “common” girl, the daughter of the help, hitting it big with the billionaire’s son. It had taken some getting used to, having such public interest in her private life. And it was amazing how wrong they were, most of the time.

Scarlet didn’t love Barrett because he was a billionaire. She would have loved him if he was like most guys her age, scraping by on Ramen and a prayer. And that was the truth. When she’d been a little girl she hadn’t even known how rich Barrett was. Honestly (and it had taken her a while to admit this to him) his wealth often made her feel uncomfortable. It was always with them and sometimes she found herself wondering what he was doing with just a “regular” girl like her.

“So money is the only thing that makes me special?” he’d said, plainly hurt by her revelation and fear. They were lying in bed at the cabin in Asheville.

“You misunderstand me,” she said, touching his cheek. “It’s the least special thing about you, to me. But to the world, it’s a big deal. And that lies heavy on me at times.”

“It shouldn’t,” he kissed her bare shoulder, giving her goosebumps. “I’m the lucky one, Scarlet.”

God, she loved him.

And now she was waiting for him to come to her again. He’d promised her a surprise trip to cap off the best summer of both their lives. Her internship was over and she’d be back at Emory for her senior year in a couple of weeks. So he’d convinced her to let him plan something big.

There were no hints. He’d told her to pack light clothing and little of it.

“I want you naked most of the week anyway,” he’d said. “So no need to bring much.”

Scarlet rolled her eyes but she’d felt her nipples harden under her camisole at the thought of being naked with him in some tropical, exotic land.

* * *

“
A
limousine is hardly
necessary for a trip to the airport,” Scarlet teased as they drove to where Barrett’s first part of this surprise vacation awaited their arrival.

“A limousine might not be necessary but it sure beats a cab,” Barrett poured them both a glass of champagne in the crystal flutes that the driver had set up for them in the back of the stretch limo. “Let’s toast to a beautiful week.”

They clinked glasses and Scarlet took a long swig.

“Wow,” Scarlet said. “This might be the best champagne I’ve ever tasted.”

Barrett smiled, “I’m glad you like it. Even if you’re not technically legally supposed to be drinking it.”

Scarlet grinned, “You’ve corrupted me in many ways, Barrett Evers.”

The limousine pulled up to a small gate off the normal entrance to the Atlanta airport.

“Where are we?” Scarlet asked, confused. “This isn’t departures.”

“It’s not,” Barrett agreed. “Probably because we’re not flying commercial for this one.”

Her eyes widened, “What do you mean? We’re flying in a private jet?”

Barrett grinned, “Something like that.”

Scarlet shifted in her seat, excited. As much as she usually didn’t care for the high end things Barrett’s life afforded him, the thought of flying in a private plane was something she could definitely get used to. No long lines in security, no getting felt up by a doughy TSA agent, and no being crammed like sardines in an economy seat she’d bought on a cheap airfare website.

Scarlet took another long swig of champagne. This was going to be fun.

The limousine came to a stop and Barrett held out his hand for Scarlet to climb out. The champagne had made her a little light-headed. She leaned against Barrett for support.

“I think I drank too fast,” she giggled. She turned to look over at what she expected to be a small, but sleek, private jet with just enough room for them and the pilot.

What she saw in front of her was something altogether different.

“Holy. Shit.” Her jaw dropped and next to her Barrett had a grin like a kid on Christmas morning.

The plane in front of them was a Boeing 787. It was the size of a commercial jet but instead of an airline’s logo on the side, it was emblazoned with EVERS HOLDINGS. The pilot and four flight attendants stood at attention next to the airstairs leading to the lit up interior of the plane.

“Barrett,” Scarlet said. “This is a jumbo jet. This looks like something the president would travel in. This is just for
us
?”

“Yep,” he said, taking her by the hand, guiding her toward the plane. “We’re going to be in the sky a long while so I wanted you to be comfortable. Dad just bought a new one that he’s christening with a trip to Australia. So he handed me the proverbial keys to this one for the week.”

He stopped to look at her. Scarlet’s eyes were lit up and he could tell she was excited. He leaned down and kissed her gently.

“This plane, this entire week, is all for you,” he whispered.

They walked together towards the smiling flight attendants.

“Good evening, Mr. Evers,” the pilot said, holding out his hand. “My co-pilot is inside the cockpit getting things ready. We are so excited to be taking this journey with you. None of us have taken this route before, so we’re very privileged to be embarking on this with you and Miss Bloom.”

Barrett nodded stoically and wrapped his arm around Scarlet’s shoulders, “Thank you. It should be a great trip.”

As they walked up the steps Scarlet looked back at Barrett, “Where are we going? To the ends of the earth? What have you gotten me into?”

Barrett stopped her before they entered the plane, “I wanted this to be something no one else in the world gets to experience. We are going to one of the most remote locations on the planet. And one of my favorite places in the world.”

Scarlet sighed, “You better tell me right now. I’m dying here!”

As they stepped into the lush lounge of Evers Holdings’ commercial jet, Barrett grinned.

“We’re going to Easter Island,” he said. “I’ve rented out my favorite resort so we’ll have it all to ourselves. No one to bother us or get in the way of everything we want to do.”

She stared at him, “Barrett, I don’t even know what to say. This isn’t real.” She threw her arms around his neck and they shared a deep kiss, full of yearning. His need for her was straining against his belt.

“It’s very real,” he said. “Now let’s go to the master suite and do our own christening of this plane.”