Miranda Lee - Contract with Consequences

‘Scarlet King,’ he said as his heavy lidded gaze raked over her. ‘You are one wickedly beautiful woman.’

I’m one very wicked woman , Scarlet thought, her belly tightening when he began to walk around the benchtop towards her.

Even before he pulled her into his arms, she knew that she would do anything John asked of her tonight. Anything at all.

Late Sunday afternoon

‘I STILL can’t believe how much I like fishing,’ Scarlet said as they walked back to the apartment, John carrying a bag of provisions they’d bought at a nearby supermarket. ‘I quite liked it on Friday but I really enjoyed myself this morning.’

They’d not long returned from their heli-fishing expedition, which had involved being delivered by helicopter to a special river spot where the barramundi had practically jumped onto their lines. They’d caught too many, really. They’d given Jim a few and still had five to bring home, stashing four in John’s freezer and keeping out a large one which Scarlet planned to cook for them both tonight, hence the trip to the supermarket.

‘I quite liked the camping part as well,’ she added, though perhaps it was the place she’d loved more than roughing it in the outback. The spot John had chosen to camp next to last night had been extremely beautiful, a fresh-water billabong surrounded on three sides by rugged cliffs, and fed by a waterfall which had sparkled like diamonds in the late-afternoon sun.

He slanted her a smug smile. ‘What you liked, madam, was sharing my sleeping bag.’

Well, yes, she certainly had. It had been something else, sleeping like spoons in the one sleeping bag with their arms around each other and their bodies joined, John making love to her on and off during the night. But it wasn’t the amount of sex which Scarlet began thinking about now, but the quality of John’s love-making. It had been different to what he’d done to her on previous nights. His love-making in the sleeping bag had been slow and gentle, and rather wonderful. It had left her feeling not ravaged, so much as loved. They’d talked at length too, exchanging memories of their childhood, laughing about incidents which had once bothered them both.

Dared she hope that their relationship was deepening? That John might care for her as she was certainly beginning to care for him?

It was impossible to pretend it was just lust she still felt for the man. She liked John’s company, in bed and out. Liked his friends. Liked his surprisingly warm, easy-going way.

‘I have to say I was surprised how well you took to going feral,’ he said with amusement in his voice.

His comment surprised her. ‘What do you mean, feral?’

He grinned. ‘Once I convinced you that no one could possibly see you, you loved skinny dipping in the billabong. And sitting by the campfire naked.’

‘Don’t be crude,’ she said sharply.

‘And don’t you start being a hypocrite,’ he shot back. ‘There was nothing crude about anything we did out there. It was fun.’

Fun? Fun? Was that what being with her still meant to him? Just fun ?

It was a dismaying reality, but logical. John didn’t fall in love. Even if he was capable of it, he simply didn’t want to.

Unfortunately, the opposite was true of herself-she did want to. Also unfortunately, she had an awful feeling that she already had. She’d foreseen this disastrous outcome the night they’d gone to the sailing club. What a fool she was to think she could stop it happening!

Dear God, how could she possibly have John as the father of her child now? At the same time, how could she not?

She was damned if she did, and damned if she didn’t.

Her eyes searched his for a hint that maybe she was wrong. Maybe his feelings had deepened for her. But all she saw in his face was irritation and impatience. If he cared for her-even a little-he would understand that what they’d shared last night had been something special, not just fun !

‘You’re not going to start a fight, are you, Scarlet?’ he asked her somewhat warily. Her heart sank. She wasn’t. Of course she wasn’t. But it wasn’t going to be the same after this, was it? She was sure to keep hoping for more from John. Hoping and praying. And it would never happen. Yet if she had his baby he’d be in her life for ever. And she’d be secretly in love with him for ever.

‘I think we should get back to the apartment,’ she said stiffly and, whirling, set out purposefully along the pavement.

John shook his head as he trudged after her. Everything had been going according to his plan. Absolutely everything. She’d clearly become addicted to sex with him. Extremely addicted. And he’d been only too happy to oblige. Frankly, he’d never before felt the buzz he felt when he was with her. She could fire him up with just a look. He couldn’t get enough of her. She was so damned hot, and so damned obliging.

Up till now, that was…

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked her during their ride up in the lift.

Scarlet was still struggling with the enormity of her realisation, so she didn’t have a ready or a reasonable answer for him.

‘Nothing’s wrong,’ she bit out.

‘Don’t take me for a fool, Scarlet. My using the word fun upset you. I’m not sure why.’

‘Yes, well, I obviously don’t have as casual an attitude to sex as you do. I’m not a one-night-stand kind of girl. What we’ve been doing together… it’s all been a bit much. To be honest, it’s beginning to bother me.’

‘Right. I see.’

The lift doors opened and they made their way along to his door. John extracted his keys from his shorts pocket, all the while thinking that Scarlet had just handed him the perfect excuse to put a halt to the sex till she was entering the phase when she’d be likely to conceive late on Tuesday night. Not that he wanted to stop the sex. Hell, no. He’d been looking forward to making love to her after dinner as he had every other night, a shudder of dark pleasure running through him as he recalled how total her sexual surrender was. She never said no to him any more, no matter what he wanted to do. It was going to be hard, giving that up for two days.

Under the circumstances, however, it would be wise if she spent tonight in the guest bedroom. His only problem was how to suggest it. That might be awkward. As much as Scarlet claimed she didn’t like having sex for sex’s sake, the truth was that she did. A lot.

John was thinking about how he could solve this problem whilst he opened the door. He didn’t say a word as he walked in and headed for the kitchen with the shopping, leaving Scarlet to close the door and trail after him. The ring tone of a phone-not his-suddenly split the silence in the apartment. Scarlet ran off into the guest bedroom where she’d obviously left her mobile. John heard her answer but then she closed the door, shutting him out.

Ten minutes later, she emerged. John knew immediately that this time, something was really wrong.

‘That was Joanna,’ Scarlet said before he asked. ‘She’s one of the hairdressers at the salon. Mum had a fall on Thursday when she came home from shopping. Slipped on some wet tiles and broke her wrist. Her right wrist. The thing is, John, I have to go home.’

‘Hold on a minute,’ John said, his stomach instantly churning. ‘What do you mean, you have to go home? Why do you have to go home? I’m sure your mother can manage. It’s just a wrist, not an arm or a leg. She has good friends and neighbours. They’ll all help. Have you rung her? Did she say she wants you to go home?’

‘Of course I haven’t rung Mum, because she’d say to stay here. But I can’t do that, not now that I know what’s happened. She needs me, no matter what you think. And the salon needs me. They can’t operate without two of their full-time hairdressers. We’ll lose clients. Joanna said it was chaos there on Friday and Saturday. Fortunately, tomorrow is a slow day. By Tuesday, however, I’ll have to be there.’