by Sable Hunter
“And their beauty pales next to yours.” Alex had arranged for a large white basket to be mounted across the front of the carriage, just big enough to hold the flowers. Arranging them in the basket for Scarlet, he then, turned and held out his hand to help her up and into the seat.
“I can’t believe you did this. I feel like Cinderella.” Joyous laughter bubbled out from Scarlet. “I’ve never done anything like this in my entire life.”
“I hoped you would enjoy it, sweetheart. And the night is young. I have several other surprises in store for you.” He gathered her close and they settled back to enjoy the view of beautiful Lady Bird Lake and the scenes of downtown Austin, except Alex only had eyes for Scarlet. He was entranced, watching her delight in a simple ride through the park.
“I wish tonight would never end,” Scarlet whispered, picking up Alex’s hand and kissing the palm.
“It doesn’t have to. Tonight can go on forever. Stay with me, Scarlet.” He hadn’t planned on saying this, but he couldn’t seem to help himself.
“I wish I could. You don’t know how badly I wish I could.” As she said this, she couldn’t meet his eyes.
“You can. It’s simple. Just don’t go. I’ll take care of you, always.” With gentle care he slipped the bracelet onto her wrist. With a gasp, she looked down to see a white gold bangle, completely covered in diamonds.
“Oh, my Lord,” Scarlet breathed. “I have never seen anything so fabulous in my entire life.”
“Read the engraving,” Alex encouraged. He held her hand and pulled the bracelet off so she could read the words. ‘Alex loves Scarlet, Today, Tomorrow and Forever’.
Her first impulse was to show him how much she loved him. And that impulse she couldn‘t resist. “I love you. I love you. I love you.” The driver glanced back and smiled at the sight of the small woman launching herself at the big man.
She rested her cheek against his forehead. “Alex, this is too much, baby.” Scarlet cradled the hand that wore the bracelet up to her heart. “You shouldn’t have done this. You shouldn’t have gotten it engraved. It’ll be such a waste.”
“Nothing that I could ever give you would be a waste. Don’t say that.” He knew she meant that she didn’t have long to live.
She pulled herself from his lap and kissed the cool silver colored bracelet tenderly. “I didn’t mean that, I’m sorry. I love it. It’s by far the most beautiful thing that I have ever owned.”
The driver turned and gestured to Alex that they had reached the docking port for the supper cruise vessel. “Come on, doll. Time for phase two.” He helped her out and picked up the huge basket of yellow roses.
Surprisingly, the captain of the ship handed the keys over to Alex with a smile.
“Thanks. Come aboard, baby.”
It was unlike anything she had ever expected. Alex took them out onto the lake and she sat with him under the stars watching the lights of the city go by. Heading for a secluded cove, downstream on the scenic Colorado, he pulled in and cut the engine.
“Now for the good stuff.” In the luxurious cabin, he opened and unpacked two large picnic baskets. They were full of delicacies that made their mouths water—crab cakes, stuffed mushrooms, sliced avocados, roasted asparagus and strawberries with chocolate fondue sauce.
“Heavenly.” Scarlet licked her lips at the sight of the delicious food.
“Come on, let’s eat so we can see the water and the skyline.” She followed his lead and they dined like royalty.
“Alex, can we pretend? Just for tonight.” Scarlet asked with a hopeful expression on her face.
“Pretend? I don’t understand.” Alex wanted to do anything for her that he could, no matter how painful.
“Let’s pretend that we, that I, have a future. Just for a few hours, let’s dream about what our life would be like.” Alex swallowed the pain. Maybe if he went along with this she would see that they did indeed have a future.
“Okay, what do we plan first?” Alex watched her beautiful face, alight with visions of impossible things.
“Our honeymoon.” He wondered why she was skipping the wedding, but that was okay, he already had that part handled.
“All right.” He gave her a private, wicked grin. “Let’s talk about the honeymoon. I have a pretty good idea of what we’ll do, but where do you want to go?”
“Somewhere in the RV.” She smiled, remembering what wonderful things he had done to her body in that RV.
Getting into the spirit of things, he thought of her bucket list. “I’ll take you to Graceland for our honeymoon. Would you like that?”
“Oh, yes. That would be perfect.” Standing up, she leaned over and kissed him full on the lips. “When we come home, will we live with Ethan and Annalise?” She tried not to let her personal desires show.
“No way, baby. I’m going to build us our own home on a piece of land that sits right on the banks of the Sabinal River.” Alex dipped a strawberry into chocolate and inserted it between her lips. “Soon, I’ll drive you out to see it.”
“I’d love that. Do you think that I could have an herb garden and a room just for my sewing?” The way they were talking, they had left pretend behind and had moved straight into full reality mode.
“An herb garden, a rose garden and big beds of daylilies,” Alex promised her. “And inside we will have home offices for our joint consulting firm, a game room for me, a sewing room for you, a full gourmet kitchen and the biggest most sensual master bed and bath that could possibly be conceived.” Scarlet closed her eyes, visualizing their dream house.
“And children?” Scarlet asked. “Would you let me have your baby?”
“God, yes.” Alex was as caught up in the fantasy as she was. “Six of them.’ At that Scarlet laughed. “Six?”
“Well, two or three, to start with.” He placed a hand on her cheek, imagining what a little girl with her sapphire blue eyes and dark curls would look like. “What would we call our little boy?”
“Phillip Alexander, of course,” she said with a smile.
“I like that, what about our little girl?”
“Isabella, I think.”
“That was my grandmother’s name.” Alex marveled.
“Well, then, that’s settled. Isabella. It’s meant to be.” She didn’t realize what she had said, but Alex did.
“You’re right, sweetheart. It’s meant to be, all of it. You were sent to me, you were born to be a part of my life. We were meant to be, Scarlet.” At his solemn words, the skies above them lit up in a myriad of lights and colors.
“Oh, Alex, look! Fireworks!” She walked over to him and climbed onto his lap. “Aren’t they beautiful? How lucky we are to be here just at the right time.”
“Yeah, lucky.” He started to tell her that the fireworks were part of his gift to her, but maybe letting her think that it was providence would work in his favor. “See how everything is coming together? This night is magical, love.”
And it was.
Even more so, when he took her home. To bed.
* * * *
Two days before the wedding…
The next morning, Scarlet woke up first. Her thoughts immediately flew back to the wonderful night that Alex had given her. Had it really happened? The bracelet on her wrist was a testament to the accuracy of her memories. He had brought her home and taken her to his bed. There had been no doubt in her mind when he had finished that his desire for her knew no bounds. This morning, she intended to give him quid pro quo.
He was laying on his back, his magnificent chest bare, the sheet slipping down to just below his waist. There was a mountain on the horizon, however. He had a morning erection that looked like Mt. Everest. She wondered how he would like waking up like Sleeping Beauty—with a kiss. But the kiss that she had in mind wasn’t one that would land on his lips.
Carefully, so as not to awaken him, she eased the sheet back. Scarlet bit her lip to keep from moaning out loud at the sight. He was incredible. So proud. So rigid.
So swollen. So beautiful. Nothing could have kept her away. She bent over him and gently taking him in her hand, she licked his shaft from bottom to top, following the delectable raphe ridge that ran along the underside. At her caress, Alex lifted his hips, and groaned in his sleep. Pleased with his initial reaction, Scarlet took him in her mouth, luxuriously bathing him with her tongue. She paid special attention to the sensitive glans that made up the bulbous head, tracing her tongue around and around in endless circles. Applying delicate suction, she drew him deep into her mouth, holding the base of his shaft with one hand and caressing his balls with the other.
Alex arched his back off the bed. At first, he thought he was having the most intense erotic wet dream of his life. Heat—friction—moist creamy haven—Holy Heavens! Fully awake, he realized that Scarlet was giving him the most incredible wake-up call of his life. Glancing down at her, he met her eyes, which looked at him with so much love and desire that he almost climaxed right then and there. “Sweet, baby girl,” he moaned. “What are you doing to me?”
Her answer was to take him deeper and suck him harder. Scarlet couldn’t be still, she was trying to alleviate the hunger between her legs by pressing her thighs together. Alex was enchanted. She was as aroused as he was. Despite her concentrated efforts to concentrate on him, he watched her hips began to dip up and down. The motion drew Alex’s eye and he couldn’t resist. “Oh, you’re excited too, aren’t you baby?” His hand gravitated to her bottom, slipping his fingers deep within her cleft. When she felt his welcome invasion, her relief manifested itself with a throaty groan. The vocalization of her excitement vibrated all around his super-sensitive cock, and Alex exploded in ecstasy. Scarlet reacted to his incredible pleasure by answering it with a quivering climax of her own. She kissed and loved him with her mouth until she had drained him of every drop of his erotic release.
Alex pulled her up into his arms, cradling her body next to his. “You have got to be the sweetest thing in the whole world. Do you have any idea how much I love you?”
“I know how much I love you. And it’s so many things. I’m not talking about the sex. Or just the sex.” Alex chuckled so hard, she was dislodged from his chest.
“Watch the ego, Scarlet,” he teased her.
“You know what a great lover you are, you ego isn’t dependent on my stroking,” she teased back.
“Oh, but you’re wrong. I’m very much dependent on your stroking.” He rolled her over on top of him and nuzzled her on the neck.
“Listen to me, Alex.” She was giggling so hard, trying to get her breath. He eased up so she could finish her thought. “I’m talking about the feelings, the love, the sense of belonging to someone. Even if it was for just a little while. I adore you.”
“My sweet baby.” He framed her face with his hands, forcing her to look at him. “How in the world do you ever expect me to live even one day without you?”
She didn’t answer. What could she say? They only had three more nights, seventy-two hours, before she had to leave. Letting out a long, tortured breath, she nestled against him, wishing for a miracle.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The girls went shopping. Scarlet had to take it easy and sit down every few minutes, but she convinced her sister that it was because she had slept poorly the night before. That hadn’t been true. In Alex’s arms, she had slept like a baby.
“I want to go to Chico’s and Cold Water Creek.” Annalise announced. They had pulled into the beautiful Arboretum mall.
“I want to go to Barnes and Nobles and look at our books on the shelves.” Cecile was serious. She loved to do that. “What do you want to do, Scarlet?”
There was no doubt in her mind, it was number thirty-three on her bucket list. “Cheesecake Factory,” she said with awe and reverence in her voice. The other two girls cracked up. Their day was planned.
* * * *
Alex spent the day at the doctor’s office. Doc Gibbs ran him through a battery of tests. They had to be certain that Scarlet’s body would accept his kidney. Ethan and Bobby went with him, knowing how very important and serious this was to him. “Don’t worry, Alex. Everything’s going to be all right. You’re going to be a perfect match.” Bobby tried to reassure his brother.
“I have to believe that, Bobby.” Alex sat in the waiting room, his head in his hands. “Your brother and I have pulled a thousand strings, and I have put Scarlet on my insurance roll at Econ. So I can keep her alive with dialysis and medicine. That is, if she’ll let me.” Alex’s voice cracked. “She just has this hard-headed idea that she doesn’t want to be a burden to anyone. I don’t know how to make her understand that I can’t live without her.” Both brothers placed their hands on Alex’s back. One sat on one side of him and one on the other. “What I really want for her, though, is a normal life. I want my kidney to be a perfect match, so we can make all of our dreams come true. I want to be married to her for fifty years. I want to show her the world, not just the modest requests on her bucket list. I want to give her everything she deserves. I want children with her.” Alex stopped talking. He hated to appear weak in front of his brothers.
They didn’t look at it that way, however. Ethan leaned over, close to his brother. “You will, Alex. You will marry her tomorrow, and in a few days, you’ll give her a hell of a wedding gift—a future. I know it. I’m praying for it, Bobby and I both are.” Bobby voiced his agreement.
“The doctor will see you now.” The nurse’s simple words brought all three of them to their feet. It might not have been normal, but all three brothers filed into the office, anxious to hear what the verdict was.
If the sight seemed strange to Doc Gibbs, he didn’t say so. “Alex,” he looked at the largest Stewart brother straight on. “You and Scarlet have a match on only three out of six antigens.” At Alex’s stricken look, the doctor held up his hand. “No, wait. There’s still one more thing to check. We have performed a cross-match test that will tell us the likelihood of Scarlet’s body rejecting your kidney. We’re hoping for a negative result.”
“Negative, how could that be good news?” Alex didn’t understand.
“A negative result would mean that the probability of rejection of your kidney would be small. Don’t lose hope, in fact, be positive—to not be related, the two of you seem to chemically and physiologically have much in common.”
“Well, I could have told you that,” Bobby said. “You two were created for each other.” Bobby’s words gave Alex a tremendous sense of peace.
“You’re right, Bobby. Scarlet was created just for me.” And he intended to use those words to Scarlet as he presented his case to her. He wasn’t naive enough to think that she was going to fall in easily with his plans. She was just too stubborn and too protective of him. Scarlet was going to have to be convinced.
Doc Gibbs wasn’t finished, however. “I sent Scarlet’s blood off to the premier research laboratory at the University of California. The results should be here this afternoon or in the morning. This will tell us exactly what we’re dealing with, how much time we have, and the best way to proceed. Due to malpractice law, I can only call her with the results. So stick close to her, just in case she decides not to share with you what I’ve told her. And I’ll call you both as soon as I have the results of the cross-match. ”
“Thanks, Doc.” Alex assured him, forcing himself to remain positive. If he had his way, Scarlet was going to live. Now, if everything fell into place, all he would have to do is convince her to accept his gift of life.
“How much will the transplant cost?” Alex asked taking out his checkbook.
“She doesn’t have insurance?” The doctor wasn’t really surprised.
“No, I’ll be taking care of everything.”
“Why don’t we wait and see. There’s no use paying for something that is just a maybe at this stage.”
“No,” Alex said. “I believe in the law of attraction. I’m going to act as if this transplant is a done deal. Now, how much?”
“I can’t be completely sure, but approximately $375,000, give or take a dollar or two.” Alex never hesitated. He wrote the check, tore it out and handed it to the doctor. “We’ll divide it up between you and your hospital later, Okay?”
Doc Gibbs knew that this was Alex’s way of hanging on to hope. He took the check and placed it in his safe, hoping against hope that he would have reason to cash it.
* * * *
It was time for the cakes. Scarlet had decided to bake the groom’s cake first. The cake itself had chocolate syrup and real butter in it. Rich was not the word. The icing was made with heavy cream and chocolate chips, absolutely sinful. “That smells heavenly,” Alex murmured as he embraced her from behind. He was holding nothing back. Every waking moment, he conveyed his love and desire for her. And there was no doubt she shared his feelings, loving the attention. In fact, she ate it up.
Turning in his arms, she fitted her body to his. “I made you a small one. You can have it now, if you’d like.”
“Thanks, love. That was sweet of you.” He fitted his mouth to hers, drinking from her mouth like a man who was starving for a life-giving drink of water.
“Did you actually suppose that I wouldn’t think of you? You’re always on my mind. I’d do anything for you.” She was surprised when he pulled away and reached for a pad and pen. “What are you doing?”
“I’m writing this down,” he said playfully. “I’m going to hold you to those words, Scarlet.” He actually put pen to paper. “Scarlet Rose Evans says she will do anything for one, Phillip Alexander Stewart. Duly noted. Here sign it.”
He held it out to her and she giggled and did as he requested. Then, he put it away for safe keeping.
Scarlet mischievously pushed at him with her bottom, and he reacted as expected. Clasping her bottom with both hands, he pulled her into his heat. “When can you stop? I’m hungrier for you than I am for cake.”
