Miranda Lee: Contract with Consequences

It was a perfect plan, John thought as he reached down and splayed both his hands into her hair, meaning to stop her. After all, he didn’t want to get her addicted to giving pleasure, but in receiving it. But, damn it all, it was delicious, what she was doing. His fingertips pressed hard into her scalp. Instead of pulling her off him, he found himself holding her head captive whilst he spun out of control and surrendered to temptation.

Afterwards, when she crawled up the bed to snuggle against him, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.

‘That was incredible,’ he said, trying not to sound as shaken as he still felt. ‘Thank you.’

‘My pleasure,’ she murmured, and pressed her still-moist lips against the base of his throat.

His heart squeezed tight as a wave of emotion washed through his body.

I’m the one who’s getting addicted here , he realised. Addicted and involved. Emotionally involved .

The idea that he might be falling in love with Scarlet was so surprising, so startling, that John didn’t know what to think or do. It seemed an impossible idea at first. He didn’t do love. But gradually, once he put aside his initial shock, John began to see that it wasn’t such a weird idea. He even considered the possibility that he’d been a little in love with Scarlet ever since his teenage years.

‘You’re going to think me very naive,’ she said suddenly, lifting her head up enough to lock eyes with him. ‘But I used to think that I would have to be madly in love with a man before I really enjoyed sex. I mean really enjoyed it, the way I have with you.’ Her head lowered again to rest across his chest. ‘I guess that comes from being a hopeless romantic all these years. I didn’t realise that all it would take was a man who knew what he was doing in bed.’

The ironic timing of Scarlet’s statement did not escape John. But her very sensible words were a relief in a way. Of course it wasn’t love he felt for Scarlet. It was still lust, the same thing he’d always felt for her. Too much great sex with her was addling his brain. He needed to stop for a while.

‘Thank you for the compliment, Scarlet,’ he said. ‘I’ve also made a discovery about myself and sex since going to bed with you.’

Her head lifted again. ‘What’s that?’

‘I can’t keep going for ever.’

‘Neither can I. In fact, I can’t even keep my eyes open,’ Scarlet said as she snuggled back down, her head on his chest, her right arm flopping across his rib cage.

‘I could do with a sleep too,’ John said, glad she couldn’t see the grimace on his face. How in God’s name was he going to go to sleep with her lying all over him like that?

He didn’t, of course. He just lay there beneath her, struggling to control his breathing, and his body. Scarlet fell asleep first, for which John was grateful, because it enabled him to move her off him onto the bed. She immediately curled up into the foetal position, John covering her naked body with a sheet before rolling right away from her.

Once he’d put some physical distance between them, John began to relax. But it was still quite a while before he surrendered his mind and body to the welcoming oblivion of sleep.

SCARLET was taken aback when she woke and saw that the sun was so low in the sky. She must have been asleep for a couple of hours at least!

It wasn’t like her to sleep during the day. Of course, it wasn’t like her to have so much sex during the day. Or any sex at all. She’d read somewhere that having a climax was the best sleeping pill in the world. No wonder she’d passed out. In fact, it was a wonder she’d woken up!

John was still out like a light, she noted as she rolled over.

All due to moi, Scarlet thought rather smugly.

‘Poor darling,’ she murmured, stroking his arm gently till he stirred. When he rolled onto his back and opened his eyes she sat up and smiled down at him.

‘Time to get up, sleepyhead. I don’t know about you but I’m starving. Is there a local restaurant you know which opens early?’ she asked as she swept her hair back from her face. ‘I don’t think I could wait too long before I eat something.’

The sight of her bare breasts was doing wicked things to John’s nicely rested body. But he checked the impulse to seduce her right then and there, reminding himself that the quicker and earlier they ate dinner, the longer the evening would be.

‘The sailing club serves dinner from five-thirty,’ he informed her. ‘It’s only a few minutes’ drive from here, dress is casual, the seating alfresco and the sunset’s worth taking your camera for.’

‘Sounds perfect. Meet you in the living room in fifteen minutes,’ she said. Jumping out of bed, she dashed for the door, no doubt heading for the main bathroom and guest bedroom where she’d left all her things.

‘Scarlet!’ he called out before she could make her escape. She turned in the doorway, no longer shy about showing him her body, he noted. That was a good sign.

‘What?’ she asked.

‘A dress please. And no underwear.’

She blinked, then flushed.

‘No buts,’ he ground out. ‘No arguments. No underwear.’

Her chin came up, her eyes defiant. ‘No,’ she threw back at him. ‘I’m not going to do that.’

‘Why not? You’ll like it.’

‘No, I won’t.’

‘How do you know you won’t?’

‘I just know.’

‘Like you know you won’t like camping? Or fishing? Yet you haven’t tried either. Give it a go, Scarlet. No one will know but me.’

‘That’s one person too many. I agreed to have sex with you, John. I didn’t agree to anything… kinky.’

His eyebrows arched. ‘I would hardly call that kinky.’

‘I would.’

‘Fine. I wouldn’t want you to do anything you weren’t comfortable with.’

‘I don’t intend to. Now, I’m going to go get dressed.’

It was a rather irritated John who rose and set about getting dressed himself, pulling on fresh underwear, a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt. Obviously he had a way to go before Scarlet’s mind was totally consumed by sex. He was the one who was plagued with that problem. His agitation was not improved when Scarlet made her appearance right on schedule, wearing a very pretty floral sundress with a flouncy skirt, tight waistline and a halter-necked bodice. Her blonde hair was bundled up rather haphazardly on top of her head, with lots of wispy strands kissing her face. She didn’t appear to be wearing make-up other than some lip gloss. Even so, her cheeks glowed and her blue eyes sparkled. She looked fresh and beautiful and so sexy, it was criminal.

‘You’re not wearing a bra,’ he said gruffly, spotting the outline of provocatively naked nipples.

She shrugged, the action bringing even more attention to her unfettered breasts. ‘Some dresses aren’t made for bras.’

‘Whatever,’ he said offhandedly, doing his best to get some perspective in the face of his escalating frustration. But it wasn’t easy. He hadn’t realised that his plan to seduce Scarlet into a state of permanent arousal would backfire on him so painfully. He wished now that he was wearing shorts and not hip hugging, hard-on-squashing jeans. But he could hardly change clothes at this late stage.

‘I suggest you bring a jacket or a cardigan,’ he advised her sharply as he headed for his front door. ‘It might get cool after the sun goes down.’

‘I’ll go get one.’

He made no comment, not wanting to delay their departure any longer. The sooner he got her out to the sailing club, the sooner they could eat and the sooner they would be back here, at which point she would do as she was told for once!