The Arrangement (29 page)

‘That’s
funny,’ he chuckled to himself.

‘What
is?’

‘Your
sister came around this morning. She doesn’t remember you
staying over.’ There was a clattering of cups on the kitchen
counter and Scarlett came to an abrupt stop. Her shoulders sagged and
her head dropped. It was the body language of someone that had just
been dealt a heavy emotional blow. ‘Where were you?’

She
took in a slow deep breath and sighed.

‘I
was with a friend,’ she admitted.

‘And
does this friend have a name?’

She
looked over at him with tears in her eyes. ‘Brandon.’

‘You
stayed with a man?’ for the first time Lucas felt a slight stab
of hurt.

‘What
does it matter to you?’ snapped Scarlett. Lucas went to open
his mouth and reply, but she spoke loudly over the top of him. ‘You
don’t want me. You haven’t wanted me in months. You don’t
look at me the same way you used to. I throw myself at you and what
do you do? You shoot me down. You disappear for nights on end and
what do I hear when I call you? I hear the voice of your secretary
that you are suddenly really good friends with. You have forced me
into this!’

‘I
have forced you into what?’

His
question caught her a little off guard.

She
had the type of face that said “I have said too much.”

‘What
have you done? Are you sleeping with this man?’

‘Why
do you care if I am? What would it change? Do we even have a
relationship any more? We live like college room-mates We share the
same home. We eat together. We talk, but what else is there in our
relationship?’

‘I
just want you to be honest,’ replied Lucas.

‘Honesty
is a two way street,’ countered Scarlett. ‘Are you
sleeping with your secretary?’ Lucas nervously swallowed down
the lump in his throat and momentarily broke eye contact.

It
was the moment of truth.

‘Yes.’
Getting that one word out was the hardest thing he had ever done, but
almost instantly he could feel a weight being lifted off his
shoulders. Every single muscle appeared to relax in Scarlett’s
face. The sadness and anger she had been displaying until this point
disappeared within a blink of an eye.

‘You
are?’ Tears began to roll down her cheeks.

It
broke his heart to see Scarlett this upset, but it had to be done.

Emma
was the woman that he loved.

‘Yes.
I am sorry.’

‘Don’t
be.’ She wiped away her tears. ‘I am in love with
Brandon. I never meant to fall in love with him, but you were being
so cold to me and I was so lonely. He was so kind and generous and we
have had so much fun together. One thing led to another. I really
tried not to fall in love with him.’

‘So,
we are both seeing other people,’ said Lucas.

‘That
is on your head.’ Scarlett pointed a finger at him like a
loaded gun. ‘You picked your career over our relationship.’

‘I
know I did. I do love you, Scarlett, but I am no longer in love with
you.’

A
dark cloud of silence filled the kitchen.

Lucas
had expected fireworks. He had expected the very aggressive pan
throwing kind of fireworks, but Scarlett just looked numb.

‘What
happens now?’ muttered Scarlett.

‘I
guess we call off the wedding.’

‘Don’t
you want to try to fix this?’ she asked him.

‘Do
you want to try to fix this?’

Scarlett
thought about it for a second and shook her head in reply.

‘I
love Brandon.’

‘I
love Emma.’ Lucas let out a long slow breath of air and headed
for the kitchen door. ‘I will come by tonight after work and
pick up my things.’

She
couldn’t even bring herself to look at him.

The
tears continued to fall.

‘I
am sorry,’ he told her.

Scarlett
said nothing in reply.

***

Lucas
power marched down the corridor like a man on a mission. Craig
appeared out of his office door. ‘Hey, Lucas, if you have a
minute I want to talk to you about...’ Lucas walked straight by
him. Had the man been standing in his way he might have flattened him
straight into the ground. The usual pleasantries he exchanged with
everyone on this floor were forgotten today. He only had one person
that he wanted to talk to.

Emma
smiled that gorgeous smile, as he approached her desk.

He
couldn’t help but smile back.

‘I
have to talk to you,’ he said without stopping.

He
headed passed her desk and straight into his office.

‘Okay.’
The beautiful secretary frowned. ‘What is this about?’
she followed him into the office and pushed the door to a close.
Lucas flung himself down into his leather chair and laughed.

‘I
told her.’

‘What?’
Emma could hardly believe it.

‘I
told her about us,’ he repeated.

‘I-I...’
she stuttered.

‘Are
you happy?’ he asked.

‘I
am.’ Her smile nearly consumed her entire face. ‘It is
just I know you said you would tell her. The men in these type of
office romance situations always say that they are going to tell
their wives in the movies, but never do they actually do it.’

‘I
have done it. I love you.’

There
had to be some kind of law against people feeling this happy.

Emma
was grinning for ear to ear. ‘I love you, too.’

***

Scarlett
walked peacefully along the beach. For once her mind was completely
calm. All the negativity and confusion brought on my Lucas’s
actions over the last few months had simply been blown away like
ashes in the wind. The burden of staying with him out of loyalty and
not following her heart had been lifted. How long had it been since
she felt this much freedom?

She
waved to Brandon.

He
was out having his mid-day swim in the ocean.

Just
the sight of him made her body tingle all over. Lucas never made her
feel this way. She always had a warm glow in her stomach whenever she
was with Lucas, but then again she got a warm glow in her stomach
whenever she saw a puppy or a kitten. It was a nice feeling that
could disguise itself as love, but it wasn’t until she truly
experienced love did she discover its true identity.

She
was in love with Brandon.

Just
the sight of his smile could ease any pain she had.

Just
the whisper of his name could make her heart beat faster.

Just
the touch of his skin could make her melt inside.

‘Hey.’
It was all that he was able to get out before she kissed him. It was
a rushed kiss and slightly clumsy, but it didn’t take long for
the two of them to relax into a warm embrace. Scarlett pulled back
and smiled. ‘I am happy to see you, too.’

She
looked his wet muscular body up and down.

It
still took some getting used to the thought she had made love to his
man.

He
was hot with a capital H.

‘I
told him,’ said Scarlett.

A
puzzled expression appeared upon his face. It was a clear sign to
continue.

‘I
told Lucas that I am seeing someone else. We broke up.’

She
could see that he was torn between smiling and frowning. It was like
his brain was trying to work out, was this good news? Or is it bad
news?

‘And
you are happy?’ he asked.

‘I
am very happy. I am single now. That means I get to be with you...’
Scarlett paused for a brief moment and nervously looked away. ‘That
is if you still want me.’

He
lifted her chin with the tip of his finger.

Brandon
looked straight into the windows of her soul.

‘I
want you. I love you.’

Scarlett
could feel her heart melting.

Brandon
casually began to unbutton her blouse. She didn’t put up any
protest. A sly smile split her lips at the naughty sparkle within his
eyes, as he got half way down her buttons. Scarlett had put on her
sexy blue lacy bra, which lifted and squeezed her breasts together.
She knew for a fact he would like that.

‘I
didn’t bring a swimsuit,’ she told him.

‘That
is okay.’ He unbuttoned her black trousers. ‘We are not
going swimming.’

‘Were
not?’

‘No.’

‘Then
why are you taking my clothes off?’

‘I
am going to make love to you right here on the beach.’

Scarlett’s
jaw nearly hit the ground.

Did
he know how sexy that was?

Her
heart was starting to go into overdrive.

This
is exactly what love felt like.

***

‘That
is the last of them.’ Lucas placed his suitcase down on the
living room floor next to the small pile of bags. He exhaled a long
and thoughtful breath, as he took one final look around the silent
house.

‘Are
you okay?’ Emma hugged him from behind.

‘I
am okay. This was a nice house. I did have some good memories here.’

‘It
is hard leaving a loved home.’

‘I
know,’ he sighed.

‘Are
you thinking about Scarlett?’

‘No.
Not really. She will be with her boyfriend. And I don’t regret
for one second what we have done.’ He stroked his hand along
her forearm. ‘You are the woman I am in love with.’ Lucas
reached into his pocket and plucked out his house keys. He dropped
them on the coffee table. ‘Shall we go?’

Emma
released him from the hug and picked up two of the bags.

‘Yes,
let’s go to our new home.’

Lucas
couldn’t help but smile ‘Our new home. I like the sound
of that.’

Emma
giggled.

‘I
do, too.’

***

To
say she was losing her mind was an understatement. The two of them
had transformed into wild passionate animals ever since she arrived
at the beach. It was like Scarlett was attempting to get every single
last bit of sexual frustration out of her body, all in one night. She
had lost count how many times they had made love. They couldn’t
keep their hands off each other. They had made love on the beach,
they had made love on the path up to Brandon’s house, they had
made love in the hallway and they had made love in the living room,
they had even made love on the stairs and since then they hadn’t
left his bedroom. It was now two in the morning and while the rest of
the world slept, the lovers remained awake. The sound of bed springs
squeaking and headboard banging competed with the erotic moans that
echoed throughout the house.

The
feel of his warmth inside her was making her heart melt.

The
feel of his hands upon her body was making her spine tingle.

The
feel of his lips against her was making butterflies flutter.

She
looked up into his eyes. They were filled with love, happiness and a
strong sense of desperate agony. He was as close as she was to the
end. A thought blossomed within the depths of her mind, as she looked
through the windows of her lover’s soul. It was strange how
quickly her life had changed.  A week ago she had to use every
erotic trick in the book just to get the slightest bit of attention
out of Lucas and now here she was with a gorgeous man that wanted her
more than any man had ever wanted anything before. Her life of
loneliness and neglect had come to an end. A new life of passion,
love, and romance had been born.

Dreams
really did come true.

Suddenly,
an explosion of bliss ignited between her thighs.

Scarlett’s
back arched up off the bed, as every muscle in her body locked.

She
could feel Brandon’s hips going into overdrive.

A
euphoric wave of pleasure rushed up through her body.

It
felt like the top of her head was going to be blown off.

‘Scarlett!’
He howled her name like some kind of wild beast.

It
was like music to her ears.

The
headboard thumped rapidly and the bed springs squeaked so much that
it sounded like the entire bed was going to go crashing down through
the floor. They both gave everything they had, like sprinter’s
heading for the finish line, and then it was over.

His
hips rolled to a standstill.

The
sound of heavy breathing filled the air.

Brandon
placed his head upon her breast, as they cuddled into each other.

It
took a long moment for anyone to be able to talk.

‘Brandon,’
she panted his name.

‘Yes?’

‘I
love you.’

‘I
love you, too.’

***

The End

Books by Simon Smith-Wilson

***

The
Curse of Meredith Holmes (Crime of the Mind 1)

Five
Days Notice (City of Sin 1)

Hand
of God (City of Sin 2)

Last
Tomorrow (City of Sin 3)

Prisoner
3-57: Ghost

Last Tomorrow (City of Sin 3)

***

From
the decaying ruins of a broken city comes new hope. The Riggs Crew
continue to rebuild this once great city, as aggressive negotiations
for control of the train stations come to an end. An old face returns
home, as Kerry is met by her daughter’s father. Travis begins
climbing the food chain by working for the local Mafia Malcolm heads
south on a journey to find his wife and the son she kidnapped, but
South City is a beautiful, clean and safe place. Can he really abduct
his son and return him to the dangerous north? Demons emerge from
Ariel’s heart, as post natal depression consumes her. She loves
her baby, but River can never know the truth. River cannot know that
his own father raped his fiancée. In the shadows of North City
Jasmine Murdock is plotting. She wants control. This devious
temptress is planning the ultimate betrayal of her hateful husband.
In one grand gesture of strength she aims to remove the Riggs Crew,
her husband and become the new head of the twelve families. Last
Tomorrow puts you in the centre of a fast paced character driven
story of love, power, betrayal and greed.