Let’s Pretend

by Laurent, River

  Chapter 20

  Scarlett

  I hum to myself as I stroll down the high street. The breeze is in my hair and I’m feeling like I am walking on air. It’s a bright, sunny day, and everything feels as though it is finally falling into place.

  I decided earlier this morning I wanted a day to myself, just wandering around the shops, taking in the city. I’ve been so distracted with discovering my sexuality that it’s been easy to forget everything else I’m missing out on. Then I meet Lori for lunch.

  "He gave you a Porsche?" she gasps.

  I nod and laugh. "Yeah, he did..."

  "So what are you doing hanging around here? If I had a car, you wouldn’t see me for dust. I’d be off on road-trips all the time," she remarks with a long, wistful sigh. "Can you imagine how much fun that would be?”

  "Yeah, well, I don’t really have time for road trips," I reply automatically.

  She raises her eyebrows. "Don’t you?”

  I opened my mouth to protest, but closed it again. I’d been so used to just running around trying to keep everything in check, but now I didn’t have to do anything anymore. "I guess you’re right," I concede. "But I don’t know if there’s anywhere I want to take the car..."

  "I know. I’ll take care of the car for you," she assures me with a broad smile. "You just go out and have some fun, yeah? Take some time for yourself. Relax with Zach.”

  "This all sounds like a scheme to get your hands on the car.” I raise a brow at her.

  She shakes her head vigorously. "I just want what’s best for you," she adds earnestly.

  I can see the twinkle in her eyes. I know what she is thinking. I decide it is best just to hand over the keys to her and save us both the hassle of pretending she isn’t going to sneak it out on a ride as soon as I went out the door.

  "Just be careful with it, all right?" I warn.

  “Don’t you know? There's a special place in hell for people who hurt Porches,” she shot back with a big grin.

  I smile back at her. She has her license, so I’m not worried.

  "I will..."

  I figure also that the rest of her advice is probably good, too. I know she just gave it me to get what she wants, but I haven’t had any time to myself from the time Dad fell sick, or actually since Mom got cancer. Besides a woman getting married to a man like Zach, should live a life of sheer leisure, shouldn’t she?

  I’m not sure what I’m going to do with myself after this whole marriage thing is over. I won’t have my father’s company anymore, but maybe I’ll finally get to finish my fashion course in person, instead of from a computer screen. As long as I have the house, I don’t really care. I would give up all my dreams of fashion designing if it meant holding on to this place.

  But for now, I’m going to treat myself to a life of hedonistic fun and pleasure. Even living in that huge house of Zach’s without having to worry about taking care of a thing is a great gift. I have grown to like Arnold. I'm not sure if he returns the sentiment, but he smiles a lot when he is around me so I’ll take that as a yes. I still haven’t had a chance to get my teeth into that amazing library, either, and I must give that a go when I get a...

  My thoughts trail off when I spot a shop, just off the main high street area. A discreet sign announces it as an adult toy store. My heart does a loop-to-loop in my chest as I notice the window dressing. I bite my lip and glance around; no one is paying any attention to me, all of them too busy with their own business to care about a girl who is discovering her sexuality.

  It’s the kind of place I would have been embarrassed to be seen near in days gone by, but now...yeah, I have to admit, I’m curious. I go down the side street, open the door, and step into a world I have never ventured into before.

  There are a few other people in there, but none of them pay me any attention which makes me feel bolder. No one looks ashamed or furtive so I take my time to look around the place. It is made up of more kinds of sex toys than I had even been aware existed.

  Dildos and vibrators, sure, but so much more than that. Plugs with tapered ends and fur dangling off them, sleek pebble-shaped things that looked as though they would fit into the palm of my hand, objects with ears and attachments, whips, bunny tails, and so much more. I reach out and press the button on one of them, and it springs to life, buzzing loudly. I practically leap back.

  One man looks up at me and smiles.

  It is a smile of understanding, so I smile back.

  I make my way around the store slowly, taking it all in. There’s so much to see. From floggers, whips and paddles, to handcuffs, ropes and chains, outfits and toys...well, enough to keep me stocked for as long as I could imagine. My body is thrumming with excitement at the thought of him using some of the more interesting toys on me. I’m sure he’ll know exactly what to do with them. I pick out a couple of things and head to the cashier.

  As I am paying, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I finish the transaction before I answer it. My sister is calling. Probably to tell me what a great time she is having in the Porsche. I smile fondly as accept the call, but as soon as I hear her voice, my stomach drops.

  "Scarlett?" she wails.

  "Lori, what's wrong?”

  "I crashed the car," she blurts out.

  I can hear the fear in her voice, the panic, the doubt. And I know this is bad. "Are you okay?" I demand as I turn away from the counter.

  She sniffles slightly. "I’m fine. Totally fine. I didn’t get hurt at all."

  "And the car?” I ask.

  She falls silent for a moment.

  Now, my shoulders sag.

  "I’m so sorry!” she says with a sob. "I was just taking it out around a bend and I didn’t see the other car coming."

  I pinch the bridge of my nose. I can’t believe this is happening. “How bad is the car?”

  “Not good,” she whispers.

  “Where are you?”

  “Just outside Wotton Hall.”

  “What are you doing there? Victoria doesn’t want us there.”

  “I know. I know, but I just wanted to go visit Mom’s grave. I just wanted to…” She begins to sob in earnest.

  "I’m coming over there," I reply quickly as I stuff my latest purchases in my bag.

  I need to take care of this before Zach finds out what happened, or I get the feeling that this little pre-honeymoon honeymoon period that we’ve been on is about to coming crashing to an abrupt halt.

  Chapter 21

  Zach

  I pace back and forth in my office, checking my phone over and over again. I still haven’t heard from her. I’ve left what feels like a hundred messages and she still hasn’t gotten back to me. My brain is in a state of full panic, and I feel like I am going to tip my desk over and tear up my own office if I don’t get an answer as to what the fucking hell happened to Scarlett’s car this afternoon.

  Since the car is registered to me as the main driver, I got a call from the insurance company to let me know that the crash alarm had gone off just after lunchtime today.

  "What are you talking about?” I demanded angrily, confused as to how this could be happening. Scarlett is a careful driver, careful in the way she is careful about everything that happens in her life. No way she could have let this go down.

  "We received an alert that the car has suffered some major damage, Mr. Black," the woman on the other end of the line explained to me, clearly thrown by how harsh I sounded.

  "And what happened?" I asked.

  She hesitated. "I don’t know..."

  "Jesus Christ," I muttered, and hung up quickly.

  And ever since then, I’ve been doing everything I can to get hold of Scarlett and figure out what the fuck happened. I need to know if she made it out all right. If I don’t hear from her soon, I’m going to have to start calling hospitals.

  I hear a small knock on the door. Only Scarlett knocks like that. I dash to the door and pull it open at once. On the other side is the woman that I have been waiti
ng to hear from all day. She looks exhausted, but I am so worried about her that I pull her over the threshold and envelop her in a tight hug.

  "Fuck, Scarlett, Where the fuck have you been?" I ask harshly.

  She pulls away from me, glances around at Dahlia, then closes the door to make sure that she can’t listen in on us.

  “Are you all right?” I ask, my eyes roving over her body.

  "I’m fine," she assures me. "My baby sister is, too.”

  I frown. “What?”

  “Lori is the one who was driving the car when it crashed."

  "Jesus, Scarlett. You let your little sister drive the car? She’s not even insured," I fire angrily. I know I am just papering over the cracks of my worry with fury, but I can’t stop myself. I don’t want to.

  "I’m sorry, I didn’t think. She’s a good driver," she explains quickly. "It was the other guy’s fault. He didn’t see her. The car’s a wreck, but she’s okay."

  "Well, that’s something," I mutter.

  She furrows her brow at me. "How did you know about it, anyway?”

  "The insurance company called me," I reply. "And that’s why I’ve been trying to get hold of you all day. But you obviously didn’t think this was important enough to warrant a call to put my mind at ease, huh?”

  "I didn’t even know you were worried—"

  "And you thought I called you a hundred times just for the fun of it?” I snap.

  She held her hands up defensively. "Hey, I was too busy taking care of my little sister to think about you.” There is a barbed edge to her voice.

  I can’t believe she dares take that tone with me given what she put me through today. I move towards her.

  She stares up at me boldly, not pulling her eyes from mine.

  "Too busy to think about me?" I ask softly.

  She bites her bottom lip and looks up at me defiantly.

  “Well, fuck you too, Scarlett,” I say, grabbing her hips.

  Her breathing seems to stop. I love the power that I have over her in this regard, the way she bows to what I want, what I need from her, as though it is the most important thing in the world.

  She stands on her tiptoes and kisses me, but I push her back against the door roughly, moving her hands above her head. She flexes her wrists against my hands and grinds her body into mine. Fuck. For a few hours this afternoon, I wasn’t even sure I would ever get a chance to touch this body again.

  I slip my hand beneath her top, running it over her belly, feeling the movement of her flesh beneath my skin. I’m never going to let her get in any danger, not as long as she is with me. I can’t stand it. Then something about that emotion wells up into something else…I pluck her off the door and sit her down on my desk.

  "What are you doing?” she pants.

  I don’t want to hear her speak. I rip off her panties. "Quiet now," I command. She opens her mouth to protest. Before she can say a word, I stuff the panties between her lips, quietening her for good. Her eyes widen, but she doesn’t spit them out. I pull up her skirt, spread her legs roughly and push two fingers inside of her, I find that she is already wet and ready for my cock. The tension of everything that has happened today has morphed into something else, something dark and exciting.

  "You want me to fuck you, Scarlett?” I growl in her ear, but she can’t reply. I pull back to look at her.

  With huge eyes, she nods at me, a flash of desperation in her gaze.

  I reach into the drawer next to her and pull out a condom. Sheathing myself quickly I push her knees up so that I can expose her slick pussy. Pressing the head of my cock to her wet slit, I rub between her juicy lips, teasing her with it. “No time for me, huh?” I taunt.

  She groans, and reaches out to pull me inside of her, but I push her hands away at once.

  "Just because I’m crazy about this pussy doesn’t mean you get to ignore me and think you call all the shots," I murmur, as I push myself inside of her. I love the look in her eyes when I take her like this, as her body gets used to the feeling of me filling her up. Like she is going crazy for my cock. I keep her hands pinned down by her sides and glide into her until I am buried inside her, all the way inside, just the way I like it.

  See how it feels? See how much you want me?

  I begin to pump into her, harder and harder, pushing in deep with every thrust, watching the way her eyes roll back as I take her, right here on the desk. The last time we did this, it was on her terms, but this time, it is on mine. And I don’t want her to forget that.

  "Don’t come until I tell you to," I order.

  She lets out a moan to tell me that she accepts the terms.

  I thrust into her, really hard, the sound of our bodies clashing together fills the room, rubbing out all those images I’d had of her in some state of pain or broken. If anything had happened to her…I couldn’t have handled it. I couldn’t have handled her hurt. I needed her just like this, all mine, her body perfect, her legs open wide, her pussy full of my cock.

  I sink my fingers into her hips and pull her towards me. I couldn’t get deep enough inside her. It is like I want to wrap her up in me and never let her go. Everything that happened today has thrown into sharp relief just how much I want her. Just how much being with her has changed everything that I was sure I knew about myself. My breath tears out of my lungs as I move into her, driving myself deep.

  I can feel her beginning to tense up, but she knows she has to wait for my command. Her thighs are beginning to clamp around me, drawing me in close, and her jaw is tight, but she is doing as I ordered. Good girl. I slow my movements, tormenting her with how close she must have been and yet how far I am from giving it to her.

  "You want to come, Scarlett?” I ask her.

  She nods, letting out another soft moan.

  "Not yet," I breathe in her ear. I fuck her hard again, moving faster.

  She groans and clasps on to the desk for dear life. She is rolling her hips back to meet mine, torn between wanting to give in and wanting to please me. But she holds out, choosing the latter, and I finally give her what she wants.

  "Now," I order her, and as though I have flicked a switch, she comes. Hard. Her pussy convulsing crazily around my cock and her thighs clamping around me. Her eyes roll back into her head, and I kiss her neck, licking up her throat like I want to take a bite of it. This is how I want her. To be as helpless as she made me feel earlier today. Panties stuffed in her mouth so she can’t make a sound, giving me what I want, when I want it.

  Watching her climaxing like this pushes me over the edge. Intense pleasure shoots through me, and I let out a roar, not caring who hears me. Dahlia is outside, and probably knows just what is happening here. Let her. Maybe then, that’ll teach her to back off, and she’ll know I’m not interested in anyone but my Scarlett.

  I pull the panties from her mouth and kiss her, deeply, our bodies still connected. Her hands brush up my back and cradle my head. I wrap my arms around her, forgetting for a moment that I am meant to be punishing her for leaving me hanging for so long without any word. I can’t punish Scarlett. I’m just happy she’s here, that she’s fine.

  Pulling out of her, I swiftly dispose of the condom. She puts her hand out for her panties, but I slip the wet material into my pocket.

  She raises her eyebrows at me. "Haven’t I been punished enough?”

  "I think you enjoyed it a little too much for that, don’t you?” I point out.

  She grins. "So I have to go home without my underwear?”

  "Exactly," I reply. "And I want you naked and waiting in bed for me when I get there."

  "I should crash your cars more often," she remarks, cocking an eyebrow.

  I clasp her face in my hands, looking intently into her eyes. "If something like this ever happens again, and you don’t make it your priority to let me know what’s happened, I won’t play as nice," I tell her in a deadly serious tone.

  Her eyes soften. "Didn’t know you had it in you to be so concerned," she remark
s.

  I plant a kiss on her lips. I am just glad she is safe. Still a little mad that she made me wait so long to know that for sure, but I will take care of that tonight.

  Chapter 22

  Scarlett

  I lie in bed and stare at the ceiling. How can it be I am already starving for round two, when round one was a matter of hours ago?

  Lori is safely back to her apartment in the city, not far from school. I think she is still reeling from the stiff telling-off I gave her for taking the car around the grounds in the first place. If Victoria caught her there, either of us there, she might use it in some way against us. Until Zach and I marry, we need to be super careful.

  I am still surprised by how Zach reacted to the whole thing though. I was so nervous as I made it to his office. I saw all the missed calls and I was dreading telling him. I thought he would be mad about the car, but he didn’t seem to give a damn about that. No, he definitely had no interest in the car. The way he held me, the way he took me, and even the way he came, roaring as if he didn’t care that Dahlia would hear him. It had been something else entirely. I thought of his skin against mine, his breath on my neck, his roughness that felt like just a front to cover up his vulnerability.

  I still don’t know what to make of it.

  But I do know that I’ll have a good excuse to play with all the toys I purchased today to burn off all the adrenalin and tension from the last few hours still rushing around my system. And frankly, I can’t think of a better way to do it.

  I never thought in a million years that I would enjoy being controlled the way he controls me in bed. But when he tells me what to do, I feel...safe and protected. Like a child. No responsibilities. No fears. No worries. Nothing to do but have fun and enjoy myself. The outside world can hang back and wait, because I have my man here and he will guide me through what needs to be done, no matter what it might be.

  Maybe that sounds crazy and a nightmare to a feminist, but it works for me.