The Arrangement (5 page)

Lucas
squeezed his thighs together.

Had
Scarlett really brought home a porno?

‘W-what
are you doing?’ he asked, as she began to switch position.

‘I
am just getting comfortable.’ Scarlett placed her head upon his
lap.

The
close proximity between her mouth and the thing that was growing
between his legs was causing Lucas to lose his mind.

‘Have
a pillow.’ He quickly stuffed one under her head.

He
breathed a sigh of relief.

She
had almost felt it pressing up against her.

Before
he knew it his free hand was stroking through her long golden hair. A
sweet loving smile broke across Scarlett’s face. She always did
love having her hair played with. The scent of summer flowed up from
her hair and into his nostrils. God, she smelt so good. How could he
do this too her? Scarlett was the most amazing woman in the entire
world. Not only was she beautiful she was gifted and intelligent,
funny and sweet, but she was unlike any other girlfriends that he had
had in his life. What other woman would wear sexy lingerie and buy
porno’s for her fiancée? She was doing all this so that
he would make love to her. He knew it. She knew it, but what she
didn’t know was that he couldn’t. He had promised her
father that he wouldn’t.

***

‘Hello…’
said a half asleep Anne on the other end of the phone.

‘I
know it is late. I am sorry.’ Scarlett sounded desperate.

‘What
is wrong?’

‘The
movie didn’t work.’

‘It
seriously didn’t work?’ Anne didn’t attempt to hide
the surprise in her voice. ‘That is not possible. What man
doesn’t get turned on by a porno?’

‘He
was turned on,’ Scarlett replied. ‘This is what I don’t
understand. Every step of the way he is getting turned on, but it’s
like he doesn’t want to be with me.’ She paused for a
moment. ‘I am starting to think that maybe he is seeing someone
else.’

‘Look,’
Anne sighed. ‘Don’t give up. This is what I want you to
do next…’

***

Lucas
splashed the cold water against his face and looked up at his
reflection in the bathroom mirror. He looked tired, defeated, and
depressed. It had seemed like such an easy thing to agree to. It
wasn’t like they were sexual animals to start with, but it
wasn’t until now that he truly understood how badly he needed
Scarlett. She was the love of his life and the girl of his dreams.
She was everything and more.

He
splashed more cold water against his face.

It
didn’t help to deter such thoughts away.

Picking
up the towel he dried himself and switched off the bathroom light. In
nothing more than a pair of boxer shorts he made his way across the
landing towards the bedroom. The door was slightly ajar. In an
attempt to steady his nerves he took in a long slow breath of air in
through his nose and exhaled it smoothly out through his mouth.

He
pushed open the door and entered.

Scarlett
was standing there in the centre of the room waiting for him.

His
eyes looked her body up and down in a slow deliberate manner. He
couldn’t help himself. She was standing naked before him. Her
body was more perfect than anything he had ever seen before. No
amount of sun sets over rolling hills, or a full moon reflecting off
the surface of the ocean, could compare to the sheer magnificence he
was witnessing right now.

‘Are
you ready for bed?’ she spoke in a low sexy voice.

‘I-I
am…’ he turned and flicked off the bedroom light. ‘I
am very tired.’ He turned back to find Scarlett standing within
his personal space. He licked his lips, as he looked down upon her
firm round breasts. They looked like fresh fruit rip for the picking.
‘I have an early start in the morning.’ He swallowed down
the lump in his throat.

‘Then
we should sleep.’ A tingle ran down his spine at the feel of
her fingernails upon his muscular torso. ‘But you won’t
need these.’ In one quick movement Scarlett dropped down to her
knees and yanked his boxer shorts down around his ankles.

Lucas
looked down upon her.

How
many times had they been in this position before?

He
stepped out of his boxer shorts and they were discarded to some dark
corner of the bedroom. Scarlett didn’t bother to stand up.
Lucas could feel his heart beating like a war drum within his chest.
Every last bit of self-control he had left was rushing out of his
body like rats in a sinking ship. A whirlwind of lust swirled within
the windows of her soul. Nothing needed to be said. He knew what she
wanted and Scarlett didn’t attempt to hide the fact that she
wanted the thing between his legs.

She
began to stroke her hand up the inside of his thigh.

‘I
really need to sleep.’ Lucas walked by her and climbed into
bed.

‘Are
you being serious?’ the sexy tone of her voice was now well and
truly gone.

‘I’m
really tired.’ Not even Lucas was convinced by his reply.

‘Have
I done something wrong?’ she sounded hurt and upset.

‘No.
Of course you haven’t done something wrong.’ He shook his
hands in the air, as he sat on the edge of the bed.

‘I
cooked a lovely dinner for you tonight, I wore sexy clothes for you
tonight, I even rented a dirty movie and look at me?’ she
gestured with a wave of her hand to her naked body. ‘I am
standing here naked and willing to do anything you want me to do, but
you don’t want me.’

‘I
want you,’ he admitted. ‘I want you more than you know,
but…’

‘What
do you mean, but?’

‘But,
you know?’ He shrugged his shoulders. It was the only thing he
could think to do. He couldn’t explain the arrangement he had
with her father. ‘I don’t know. I just think it would be
nice if the two of us waited until we were married until we made
love. Don’t you think it would make the wedding night special?’

For
a moment Scarlett did not reply.

‘When
were you going to discuss this with me?’

‘I-I’m
sorry. I know I should have.’

‘We
haven’t made love in over a month, Lucas. And our wedding day
isn’t for another three months. That is one third of a year
that I will be unable to have the man that I am in love with.’
Scarlett approached the bed and climbed in next to him. ‘I
think it is a nice gesture to wait until the wedding, but we are not
one of those couples. I love you. I love you so much and I want to
make love to you.’

She
leaned forward to kiss him, but he leaned back out of reach.

‘I’m
sorry. I think we should wait.’

‘So,
no matter what, you are not going to make love to me?’ he
couldn’t work out if she was angry or hurt. It was most likely
both.

‘I’m
sorry, Scarlett.’ Lucas rolled over and hugged the quilt up to
his chin. Beneath the sheets he squeezed his thighs together so that
she would not be able to see the effect her naked body was actually
having on him. He might be saying one thing, but something very
different was happening below deck.

Scarlett
began to sob.

Chapter Two: Frustration

The
next morning Lucas had cold toast for breakfast. Not much was said at
the kitchen table and no one even really looked at each other.
Scarlett was wearing a long thick dressing gown, which covered her
body from her chin to her ankles. The sexy night gown that she
usually wore had been tucked into the back of her wardrobe. In a way
Lucas was relieved that there was no sexiness to cloud his mind and
ignite the demon of lust that lived within the depths of his body. He
felt bad because Scarlett was clearly upset. How could she not be? He
had turned down making love with his fiancée. She hadn’t
implied what she wanted. For once, Scarlett had straight out said
that she wanted to make love to him last night and he had the nerve
to turn down such a gorgeous lady.

‘I
do love you,’ his voice broke the cold silence between them.

Scarlett
gave him a quick glance, but said nothing.

‘I
really do love you. You do know that, right?’ he asked her.

Scarlett
replied with a shrug of her shoulders. ‘I don’t know if I
do.’

‘Sex
isn’t everything in a relationship,’ he was quick to
counter. It was mean saying it, but he had thought about this reply
and it was one of those comebacks that made the other person feel
like the bad guy. It was slightly out of order to use it on her, but
one day of not feeling horny was a welcomed relief after the last
month of avoiding her advances.

‘I
agree, but turning down the one you love does say a lot.’

It
was like being kicked in the testicles.

How
had she managed to turn that around and make him feel bad?

‘But
I do love you.’

‘So
you keep saying.’ Scarlett just looked into the bottom of her
cup of tea.

‘I’m
sorry about last night.’

She
said nothing in return.

He
let out a long and weary sigh. ‘I guess I should get to work.’
He was met by more silence. And now Lucas faced a dilemma. Did he
kiss her goodbye and run the risk of upsetting her more? Or did he
not kiss her goodbye and feed whatever thoughts she was thinking
inside her head? He decided to walk around and kiss her upon the top
of the forehead.

Scarlett
didn’t return the gesture.

‘I
will see you tonight.’ He headed for the door.

‘Drive
carefully,’ she mumbled a reply.

***

A
frustrated groan echoed around the silent office. It was quickly
followed by the thud of Lucas’s head connecting with the hard
top of the desk. ‘This is too much,’ he told the world in
general. The drive to work had been an obstacle course of lust.
Everywhere he looked was boobs, legs and ass. No amount of
“showering” was going to cure the itch he held for
Scarlett.

‘I
have to tell her.’

‘No!’
he countered his own comment. ‘You can’t. You promised Mr
Mills that you wouldn’t.’

He
sat back in his chair and sighed.

Was
Mr Mill’s approval more important than making Scarlett happy?

The
answer to this was obvious. Scarlett’s happiness came first
each and every time. Perhaps if he explained the situation to her,
and made her promise not to tell him, then everything would work out.
She would understand his reasons for agreeing to the arrangement. She
would appreciate the great job he would get and the money the two of
them would be making. She would understand that, wouldn’t she?

The
voice of doubt whispered quietly in his ear.

‘She
wouldn’t understand.’

‘No,’
he conceded. ‘She would be pissed and the first thing she would
do would be to get on the phone and give her father a piece of her
mind, which would only confirm to Mr Mill’s that I am
unreliable and cannot be trusted. What am I going to do?’

The
office fell silent.

No
reply came back.

‘This
is just short term,’ he told himself. ‘It will secure our
long term happiness. I just need to suck it up and Scarlett needs to
understand that I want to wait until the wedding night. I will just
have to play the “If you loved me you would do it” card.’

Someone
knocked on the door.

‘Come
in.’ Lucas straightened out his hair and tie.

The
door opened and Craig stood in the doorway with a big cheesy grin
painted upon his face.

‘Lucas,
I would like to introduce you to your new secretary.’

‘Oh
right, bring her in,’ he replied.

Craig
marched into the office and a woman stepped in through the doorway.
Lucas could suddenly feel the rate of his heart rapidly increase. It
was like a ping pong ball bouncing off his ribcage. This was no
woman. This was an angel. The angel was stood about a head shorter
than Lucas, but had long fiery red hair. Her hair flowed with an
elegance of a waterfall across her shoulders and down her back. Light
blue eyes sparkled like crystals in the night. Red lips broke into a
smile. It was the type of smile that could break hearts. He could
tell from her white blouse and long black skirt that she had a slim
hour glass figure. Large mountainous lumps protruded out of her
chest.

The
woman blushed.

A
cold wave of fear ran up Lucas’s spine.

Had
he been staring too long?

‘Ms
White, this is, Mr Earl,’ explained Craig.

She
extended out a delicate hand towards him. Lucas automatically got to
his feet and accepted the gesture. ‘I don’t want this too
formal. You can call me, Lucas, and you are…’

‘I
am, Emma.’ Emma smiled nervously and avoided his gaze.

It
was all so clear what Craig had meant, when he had said last night
that his new secretary was hot, but there really weren’t enough
words within his mind for him to perfectly describe this woman. She
had a beauty that could easily rival Scarlett’s and that was no
easy feat.

An
awkward silence fell upon the room.

Lucas
looked at Craig.

Craig
looked at Lucas’s outstretched hand.

He
was still holding onto Emma’s hand.

He
quickly let go and sat back down at his desk.

‘How
about I take you to your desk and get you started,’ suggested
Craig.

‘Yes.
I am eager to get going,’ replied Emma. ‘It was nice
meeting you, Lucas.’ Her cheeks turned an embarrassing red
colour and she followed Craig out the office. Unconsciously, Lucas
found his head tilting to one side, as he checked out the curve of
her cute ass. The back of her dress was so tight that he could her
firm cheeks.

‘This
could be a problem…’ he muttered.

***

The
front door opened with a click. It was nearly ten o’clock in
the morning and Scarlett was still wrapped in her old dressing gown.
Anne greeted her with a grimace. It had something to do with the way
Scarlett’s hair seemed to go in every direction apart from
down. ‘You have a bad night?’ she ventured.