Scarlet

by Aria Cole

  I watched riveted as he slipped his finger, coated in my juices, into his mouth and sucked it clean.

  “Thank you, Beau.”

  “Mmm…I’m saving the rest of you for tonight.” He grinned wickedly and helped me off the bed, righting my dress and locking his hand in mine.

  Butterflies battered my rib cage as we walked through his cabin hand in hand. Down the front porch steps, the very same he’d carried me over last night, he escorted me outside and into the bright summer sunshine. My eyes glazed as bliss bombarded my brain. I could see myself here, with him, forever. I could see it. I could feel it in my bones. With him, I knew.

  “Be a good girl while I’m at work, baby.” His warm gaze heated my skin, his lips descending to meet my own. Every nerve in my body tingled when he slipped his arms around my waist, and I pressed up on my tiptoes to return the kiss. I was definitely too short, he was definitely too tall, but together we were perfect.

  “I’ll miss you,” I confessed when we pulled apart.

  “Keep kissing me like that and I won’t leave.” He pressed another kiss to my lips, one of his hands fidgeting at the hem of my dress, dusting my thighs.

  “Later?” I backed away, our hands still locked and stretching between us.

  He pulled me back to him swiftly, crushing my body against his and landing another dark kiss across my lips, his tongue pushing further, deeper, longer this time. “Later,” he murmured when he finished.

  I nodded, taking a few tentative steps backward, our gazes still locked. I waved softly, a shy smile on my lips, while his gaze held mine with unwavering intensity.

  My cheeks burned with the smile that lit my face. I ran a hand through my hair, relishing the scent of him. My lips were still a little swollen from his kisses, my vagina felt sore and a little raw, but it only reminded me of where I’d been the night before, where he’d been.

  My fingertips fell on my lips, and I traced the bow, remembering his body pressed against mine.

  It was heaven, and he was heaven, and I couldn't imagine a single thing that could shatter this bubble.

  TEN

  Beau

  I smoothed the grout on a row of outdoor tile just as my cell vibrated in my pocket. I had employees who did the manual labor, but I loved the feeling of accomplishment after a hard day’s work. There was just something rewarding about hard labor.

  “Yeah?” I listened a few moments before my heart slammed to a dead stop.

  Emergency. Next of kin. Signatures needed. The words tumbled violently in my head.

  “I’ll be there as quick as I can.” I uttered, hitting end call on the phone before dropping my tools and heading for my truck.

  The last goddamn thing I wanted to do was leave right now, but I couldn’t live with myself if I stayed. My only priority was getting to the main house to tell Scarlet I had to leave. I wished like hell I could bring her with me, but I knew this was something I’d have to do on my own. The idea of leaving her now felt beyond unbearable, but what kind of man would I be if I did nothing and stayed? She deserved a good man and for her, I wanted to be the best in every way imaginable.

  I barreled down the road to the main house, catching sight of Darla as I walked up to the driveway. I gave her a curt nod as I rushed through the front doors, hoping to catch a glimpse of red hair, but settling on Ms. Fair when she turned the corner.

  “Have you seen Scarlet?”

  “She left for a walk. What’s wrong, Beau?” Her worried eyes assessed my near-trembling form.

  “I have to go to Pennsylvania.”

  “Oh no.” Her eyes laced with sympathy. She knew. I’d had a weak moment a few weeks ago and confessed to her some of the darkest secrets about my past. I normally didn’t open up too easily to people, but Ms. Fair’s gentle wisdom and kind heart had made me finally let go.

  “I don’t want to leave her. She means everything to me, and I want to be good for her, so I have to leave so that I can be worthy of her.”

  “Beau.” She pressed a hand to her mouth as her eyes watered. “Of course. I’ll take care of her for you.”

  “I don’t want her to worry, and I know she’ll worry about me when I’m gone.”

  “The only thing you need to worry about is getting on the road.”

  “Thank you, ma’am. I can’t thank you enough.” I gently touched her thin arm.

  “Be safe, dear. And get back to us soon.”

  I nodded, relieved the Scarlet would get my message, and someone would take care of my girl.

  ELEVEN

  Scarlet

  “You look gorgeous today, darling. Look at you!” Gran stood and took my hand, spinning me indulgently.

  “Having a good day, Gran?” I asked as I took a seat next to her on the wooden swing Beau had made and set up the very first day I was here.

  “Wonderful day, the sun is out, what’s not to love?”

  “It is beautiful, you’re very right.” I looked up at the bright sun, feeling like its rays were shining just for me. My thoughts trailed back to Beau before I instantly pulled myself back to the present.

  “Scarlet, Beau was here earlier. He had to leave unexpectedly.”

  My ears perked up instantly at the mention of his name. “Leave?”

  “He was frantically looking for you. It was when you were out for that walk. He stopped by and said he had a pressing matter in Pennsylvania he had to tend to, but that he would be back as soon as he could.” Her eyes twinkled as she relayed the information. “He did sound very concerned about you, I think you’ve left quite the impression on him.”

  “Oh, I don’t think so, Gran.” I tried to wave off her polite concern. I felt the ground under my feet shift. Was I not important enough for him to wait until he could speak to me? What could be so pressing that it couldn’t wait another hour? I was foolish to think that he cared. Maybe the time we had spent together wasn’t as precious to him as it was to me.

  “Please don’t think ill of him, it must have been something very important to pull him away. I got the sense that he was not too pleased to be leaving.” She winked at me and offered a small smile.

  Heat crept up my face. Gran had always been able to read me like a book. She chattered on, and I tuned out, my heart shuddering to a slow stop as I realized I wouldn’t see him tonight, maybe not even tomorrow night. I sighed, slumping in my chair and feeling like the day had gone wildly downhill in just the course of a few hours. What could possibly have pulled him away? And why hadn’t he waited to tell me before he left?

  “Are you ready to read, dear?” The question pulled me from my thoughts.

  “Yes, Gran.” I smiled brightly and held up the copy of The Little Prince, a French classic Gran had requested.

  “Good, honey. Now where did we leave off?”

  I began to read, my thoughts drifting away to Beau behind the wheel of his truck, driving all day and night to get to whatever had pulled him away in Pennsylvania. And I was here alone. Why hadn’t he even tried to tell me? A quick stop before he left? Was it too much to ask? Or was I expecting too much?

  He was the only person I’d ever been with, and I didn’t want to be one of those girls, but deep down I wanted to be one of those girls and scream and beat his chest and tell him I’d just lost my virginity to him last night and now he was gone. The soreness between my legs was the only reminder that it’d even happened at all.

  TWELVE

  Beau

  An old Merle Haggard song pumped through the stereo as miles upon miles of highway stretched before and behind me. Here I was, somewhere over the New York and Pennsylvania state line, and my mind was three hundred miles away on the little saucy redhead who shared my bed last night.

  That I’d kissed like the devil had possessed me this morning.

  I still hoped she was feeling the sting from my hand on her ass.

  It fucking killed me to leave her this morning. But I didn’t have another choice. The call had come in just after I’d gotten to th
e job site.

  Emergency. Next of kin. Signatures needed.

  The words rattled on repeat in my brain. I should have seen this coming, in some regards I blamed myself for being so far away, but damned if I’d let a mistake like this slip through the cracks again. As soon as I arrived in Pennsylvania, I’d have to walk into that room and take charge, something I didn’t like to do, but a position everyone seemed to look to me to fill.

  The music filtered through the cab of my truck as I drove, sending my mind back to simpler times before life had taken hold. Everyone chooses their path in life, has their reaction to a hardship, in my case, I’d turned to woodworking, putting everything I had into my business. Age and experience taught me that all too often others turned to a darker side, a coping mechanism to forget the pain instead of dealing with it.

  Thank god I’d opened up to Ms. Fair about this very situation a few weeks ago. She’d become a sweet, grandmother-figure for me, an effect she seemed to have on many. Her gentle nature was a balm for my wounded soul. Similar to the effect her granddaughter had on me.

  As soon as I returned, I planned on finding Scarlet. I’d knock down the door of the damn mansion if I had to. I was hoping this would be a there and back trip, a day or two at most, but God knows it could be longer. It would all depend on what exactly I was dealing with when I got there.

  The sun shone brightly across the evening sky, lighting up the horizon in a blaze of color. My mind fell back on every single moment with Scarlet under my body last night. I knew she probably still felt the pinch this morning, but if anything, she’d seemed more alive. Happier. The rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes nearly blinded me with beauty. She was a vision walking out into my kitchen this morning, and it was my full intention to do everything in my power to keep her there.

  A Patsy Cline song filtered across the radio waves, and my heart instantly plummeted. One of my mother’s favorites. ‘You Belong to Me.’

  I remembered her listening to it on repeat and twirling around the kitchen as she sang, the soft threads of her floral dress whispering around her legs. She was like an angel, a dream in my three-year-old perspective. I loved her more than anything, the evenings spent rocking on the porch with a book, the mornings with pancakes and freshly plucked cherries.

  I had an idyllic childhood, simple, to be sure, but it was all the carefree happiness a little boy could ask for, until it was all ripped away.

  I didn’t understand the diagnosis then, but I still remember the chaos at the hospital. I remember the funeral. I remember my dad’s tears. I remember my dad crying for days in their bedroom after she was gone. My memories up until the age of three are filled with laughter and love, but every one after is painted with a tar-black brush, until Scarlet.

  My father pulled away after that. He was still a good dad. He tried, I knew that. But I think he was too broken to go on without her. He passed when I was only twenty, years of hard work and carrying a broken heart too much for him. I threw myself into my business after he was gone, only going home to collapse in a cold bed at the end of the night. I’d come a long way since then, barely crawling my way out of the darkness intact. Those days made me realize how utterly lonely life is without someone to spend your nights and days with. I’d come to realize life just wasn’t worth living if you didn’t have someone to laugh with, share the joys and the smiles with. My father’s descent into darkness and my own experience with loneliness had taught me that.

  I ached to hear Scarlet’s voice, feel the velvet threads of her sweet red hair beneath my fingers. I craved her.

  THIRTEEN

  Scarlet

  It’d been two days since I’d seen Beau.

  It’d been two days since Gran had heard from him.

  “Maybe you should call Beau, make sure everything is okay?” I offered nonchalantly as Gran and I sat, The Little Prince and tea spread out between us. I’d fallen asleep with tears hovering in my eyelids, desperate to know how he was, craving his velvet voice and intoxicating touch.

  “Oh, I’m sure he’s fine, dear. If there was a problem, he would have called.” She patted my knee before taking a sip from her porcelain cup. “But what if something did happen to Beau? Who would the police even contact? I think you should call him.” I knew I’d crossed the line as soon as I said it.

  “Oh? You think so?” Gran’s knowing eyes assessed me quickly before returning to her tea cup. “Maybe I’ll give him a call this afternoon. Make sure he’s all right like you said,” she offered, and I knew she was doing it only to appease me.

  “Good idea,” I mumbled, slumping in my chair, wondering if it would be too much to shake her and demand she call right now!

  “Chapter six, right?” She picked up the book between us and pressed it into my lap, a sweet smile on her face.

  I returned the smile and opened the book, starting to read about faraway lands and destiny.

  I didn’t give two licks for any of it. I wanted to know if Beau was okay. “Everything all right, Scarlet dear?” Gran asked, pulling me from my thoughts and forcing me to focus on the text in front of me.

  “Yes, it’s just hot out today.”

  “Well, maybe you should go upstairs and lie down. I heard a truck door out front, so I’m going to wander out there and see if it’s Beau.”

  My eyes widened instantly as my heart galloped out of my chest. How had I missed the sound of a truck door?

  “Oh, maybe I’ll check with you.” I stood, straightening my dress and knowing she saw through my act instantly. She smiled and looped her arm with mine anyway.

  “I thought you might want to walk with me, make sure he’s okay and all.” Her coy smile sent heat radiating up my cheeks.

  We walked around the edge of the house, and Beau’s black pickup came into view, his broad physique taking long, elegant strides to us.

  “Welcome home, Beau!” Gran clasped her hands together, and with more energy in her step than I’d seen all week, she touched his cheek lovingly with an open palm.

  My eyes cut to Beau’s, our gazes held suspended in the static energy between us.

  “You must be parched, let me get you something to drink. Scarlet made some sweet tea this morning...” Gran continued mumbling as she turned back to the house.

  “I’ll be right back!”

  My gaze tore back to his.

  If I’d thought for a minute he’d forgotten about me, I was dead wrong.

  His intense eyes burned up the space between us, nearly emptying my lungs of all oxygen. Slow, quick pants wracked my body under his heated gaze. I licked my lips and watched as he crossed the distance in long strides, his hand reaching for my elbow instantly.

  “Scarlet.” He caught my elbow and hauled me against his broad, rigid form. His mouth covered mine, tongue slipping between my lips as his hands roamed my back and bottom. I’d missed him so much it physically hurt.

  “Beau,” I breathed, a thousand words choking my throat and none of them breaking free.

  “Sorry I was gone so long,” he said, his lips grazing the shell of my ear when he spoke. “I have to make a few calls, but I want to see you. Come to me tonight.”

  I only nodded, nearly choking on my own tongue.

  “Until later, petite rouge?” His rakish grin danced up my body.

  I sucked in a breath and croaked, “Later.”

  “Here we are, dears! A glass for each of us.” Gran stepped over the threshold then, a small tray of sweet tea in her hands.

  “Gran!” I pulled out of Beau’s embrace, hoping she hadn’t spied us.

  “Let me.” Beau took the tray from my grandmother, passing each of us a fancy crystal glass, such a delicate gesture in his rough hands. “It’s good to be back.” He winked at me and held his glass up in a toast.

  My cheeks flamed deeply as the three of us toasted before drinking the sweet amber liquid.

  “If you don’t mind I’ve got some things to take care of before the special reunion I have planned tonight.” Be
au spoke to Gran, every hair on the back of my neck standing up with his private innuendo.

  “We’ll have to catch up later, Beau.” Gran smiled deeply, and I wondered who was more smitten with him, me or her.

  “Will do, ma’am.” Beau replied before casting a sidelong glance my way. “Ladies.”

  He nodded and walked off.

  Just like that, he was gone again, leaving me up at this big house alone, my thoughts walking away right along with his sexy gait.

  I sighed, feeling drained from just the few minutes of being in his presence, having to pretend there wasn’t more between us, when every fiber of my body wanted to run to him.

  I turned, heading up to my room for a short nap to calm my nerves and rest before tonight.

  Flopping on my bed, I pulled a pillow over my head, trying to calm my racing thoughts and vibrating body before drifting into a restless sleep. Beau Loup enchanted me, like a fly caught in his web, I couldn't escape, and I didn’t even want to.

  I woke later that evening after the sun had set and dusk was settling in. I shook my head and caught my bearings before I remembered that Beau was home.

  It had been too long. I needed to be in his arms, just for a few minutes, just for the reassurance that he was back. I searched the kitchen for something to bring him when my eyes landed on two freshly baked cherry pies. Gran definitely wouldn’t mind if I brought one to Beau.

  I skipped down the steps and out the patio doors, navy brushing the landscape in dark shadows. I picked my way down the path to the orchard, then twined my way in and out of the trees on the way to his cabin.

  I walked out of the orchard and turned the corner down the driveway to his house, past a small grove of trees, and then the space opened up. I smiled when I saw his truck parked out front.

  I sped up when I saw the golden glow of a light on in the kitchen.

  I nearly tripped over my own feet when I bounced up the steps to his porch.

  I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Beau, fresh out of the shower and wearing only a pair of low-hanging sweats on his hips.