Covet

by Alison Ryan

  “Fuck,” she said. “God. Please don’t stop.”

  And he didn’t. For an hour.

  They fell asleep in the last place he had her, the bed in the loft on the second floor. He’d finally come, deep inside her as she’d ridden him, her bouncing breasts being the stuff his dreams would be made of that night.

  He woke around 5 am and watched her sleep. He kissed her softly on her shoulder and her eyes fluttered open.

  “Barrett,” she whispered. “I love you.”

  “Scarlet, I’ll love you forever.”

  She smiled, pulling him towards her, spreading her perfect legs.

  “Fuck me again,” she said. “But slower this time.”

  He entered her and she gasped, something he never got tired of. She was truly so tight, so snug around his cock, like they were built for this very action. He thrusted slowly and they were quiet as they made love, the only sounds were Scarlet’s moans and her begging for more of him, whispering how close she was. He said nothing, only kissed her harder as the thrusts quickened, his pace matching her hips’ rising.

  “Come with me,” she begged. “I’m so close. Please. Come with me, Barrett.”

  And he gladly did. As soon as he felt her quiver underneath him, he emptied himself inside of her, growling from the pleasure of unloading his seed.

  They lay there panting and sweating for a few moments, clinging to one another, not wanting to move.

  “That was my favorite,” she finally said. “The one I will remember when I’m an old woman on my deathbed, thinking about the most perfect moments of my life.”

  He looked at her and thought he would combust at her words. Never had he felt this level of complete contentment.

  “I’ll be there with you. Holding your hand,” he said. “Or in heaven waiting for you to join me.”

  Tears touched the edges of her eyes and she kissed him deeply, not letting him go for a long time.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Scarlet’s heart pounded the entire way home from Green Valley Ranch to her parent’s house down the 215 in deep Henderson. She shouldn’t have let him in her car. But what could she do? Part of her had wanted to drive away and part of her had been so elated to see him again, to be near him. She’d forgotten how good he smelled, how soothing his presence could be.

  God, how she wished she hadn’t come to Las Vegas.

  She finally pulled into the driveway and when she turned the ignition off she stared at the front of the house for a few moments, contemplating what she’d gotten herself into. Why had she agreed to dinner? It would lead to nothing good except for the reoccurrence of painful memories. She’d have to hurt him all over again, something she couldn’t do. It had been almost impossible for her to do it the first time, but too much had been on the line not to. She brushed away the memory. She’d repressed so much, thinking about it all now would possibly cause her to have a breakdown.

  She just wouldn’t show up. She’d cancel. She’d cut him off again. It was really for his own good. And everyone else’s too.

  “Hey, Daddy!” Scarlet opened the door to her parents’ Spanish style home. Sure enough, there was Scarlet’s father, Larry, sitting in his recliner, fresh from a nap.

  “Hey, buttercup. Your momma texted me that you were here,” he smiled. “Quite a surprise.”

  “I know. Sorry,” she said, nervous. She fully expected a lecture from her father about getting her shit together. Curiously enough, he didn’t seem upset to see her. At least for now.

  “Sorry to wake you,” she said, leaning down to wrap her arms around him. “I know you love your naps.”

  “Best part of retirement,” he nodded. “A nap makes everything better.”

  “This is true,” Scarlet smiled. Her father had worked as an air traffic controller for over twenty-five years, an incredibly stressful job. He deserved every single nap from here until the end. She missed hearing his snores from her bedroom. She’d be reading a novel and the soundtrack would be her dad snoozing away. Post-Thanksgiving meal was a day where he pretty much napped all afternoon. Football be damned. This was just one of the thousands of things she adored about him.

  “Momma says you’re joining us for dinner,” he said. “And that you ran into Barrett.”

  Scarlet stiffened at the sound of his name.

  “Uh huh,” she said, desperate to change the subject. “I’m excited to see Aunt Nancy.” Such a lie.

  “How long you staying with us?” he asked, pushing the foot rest down.

  “I don’t know. A week. Maybe more,” she said, walking to the kitchen. “Is that okay?”

  “Buttercup, you can stay here forever. But we should talk about things, you know?” her father said gently. “You know we just want you to be happy, right? I know you think I’m an ogre but I just love you.”

  “I know, Daddy,” Scarlet said, grabbing herself a bottle of water from the fridge. “We can talk later, okay? I’m worn out. I might take a nap myself if it’s okay.”

  “Of course,” Larry Bloom stood and walked over to his only daughter. He kissed her forehead. “I love seeing you walk through the door. I miss those days.”

  “Me too,” she said, because she meant it.

  Chapter Fourteen

  After leaving Scarlet, Barrett had immediately called for his driver, who was staging the Maybach in Green Valley Ranch’s valet, to pick him up. He’d made a lucky guess that Scarlet would agree to drive him and had told his driver, before leaving him back at Elixir, to meet him there.

  “Thanks, Mark,” Barrett said as he got into the back of the car. “Sorry for the odd request.”

  “No problem at all, sir,” Mark said. “Where to now?”

  Barrett considered his options. He should probably get back to Elixir. But then again, his schedule was pretty clear today and he knew that wouldn’t be likely the case tomorrow or for the weeks and months coming up. He couldn’t think of the last time he had a day to himself with no pressing plans.

  “Take me to Caesars. I’m going to see if Nancy can get them to open Guy Savoy for lunch,” Barrett said as he dialed Nancy’s number in his iPhone.

  She answered on the first ring.

  “All okay?” she asked. “With Scarlet and all.”

  “All is fine,” he said. “Want to join me for lunch?”

  “I’m kind of busy and I was saving my calories for dinner. What were you thinking?”

  “Call Caesars and have them open Guy Savoy for me.”

  Nancy paused, “Is this Barrett Evers or Durham Evers I’m talking to?”

  Barrett laughed, “What’s the point of having all this money if I can’t make ridiculous demands? Besides, I’m craving their French sea bass. You know it’s the best. And since you’re going out tonight I’ll be forced to eat whatever you’ve put in my fridge. So I need a good meal. Come on, Nance.”

  She sighed, “As if you’ve ever been forced to do anything. I’ll make the call. And I’ll join you in thirty minutes. Your father has been calling, I’m assuming he wants to hear from you.”

  Barrett sighed. His father always kept a close leash on his children. Even when they weren’t children anymore.

  “Fine. I’ll call him once you’re there,” Barrett said, hanging up.

  Barrett Evers was the oldest son (and child) of Rhett and Patricia Evers. Rhett was the son of Mitchell Evers III, who founded Evers Holdings decades ago. Despite various national and global changes, the company had always thrived. An Evers didn’t know much about struggle, unless it had to do with waiting on their private plane to taxi during a storm. And even then they probably owned the private airport and had their own private lounge to pout in while they drank their brandy in a silk upholstered chair.

  There were worse fates in life than being the heir to a multi-billion dollar fortune.

  Barrett had always strived to be humble and grateful for his station. He was a powerful presence and being that he was the oldest of his siblings, much had always been put
on his broad shoulders. From an early age he had showed a lot of promise. Walking at eight months old, reading at a first grade level when he was three, skipping the second grade due to having the reading comprehension of a high school student. Barrett was the man that would have had success no matter who he had been born to. But combining his natural gifts with his good fortune made him unstoppable.

  And with that, somehow, Barrett came with little pretense. He had a great sense of humor, compassion for others, and although slightly entitled, for someone of his stature he was an incredibly self-effacing man. All of this made him someone that people were irresistibly drawn to, because Barrett Evers never had to try. He had nothing to prove.

  He had always credited this to Nancy. She’d by far spent more time with him than anyone else, much more than his parents. She’d insisted on him socializing with “normal” kids, like her niece and nephew. Nancy took Barrett to public libraries, public parks, playgrounds. She had been devastated when it was decided that he would go to boarding school. She’d become Durham’s nanny at that point, a three year stint she’d sooner forget than relive.

  Barrett had fraternized with the wealthiest people in the world. His prom date had been an Oscar-nominated starlet who had just graced People magazine as one of the world’s most beautiful people the week before he escorted her to the dance. His senior trip was a trek around the world that lasted three months. Two English princesses spent the trip with him, and their cousin, who just so happened to be the future King of Denmark, met his future fiancée on that excursion. Barrett introduced the two when they were curing hangovers at a St Regis spa.

  On his twenty-first birthday, Barrett’s father spared no expense. He’d flown all of Barrett’s closest buddies to Macau for a week of gambling and complete debauchery. The newest Victoria’s Secret models joined them and Barrett had been linked to one briefly, though the entire “romance” was set up by her publicist.

  Barrett found it hard to get too close to women, never knowing their true intentions. He’d certainly had his fun (of course) with beautiful women. He’d gone to Stanford (much to his father’s disappointment. He’d wanted him to go to an Ivy or to his alma mater, Duke) and had the time of his life meeting people from across the globe, partaking in all that the college party scene could provide. He’d spent summers on the island his family owned off the coast of South America, sometimes taking a Gulfstream over to see his friends in the Maldives. Very rarely did he head to the Hamptons. His brother Durham loved it, but it wasn’t Barrett’s scene. He liked to go off the beaten billionaire path, to the places not everyone got to see.

  But none of his adventures had ever included love. Barrett had never said he loved anyone. Not until Scarlet.

  As he rode to Guy Savoy he thought of her again, of her wild blonde hair, her slender shoulder peeking out from the lavender sweater she’d been wearing. Her face was still so perfect, the most beautiful he’d ever seen. The reason she was suddenly back in his life he couldn’t take as just a coincidence. So much remained unsaid between them. For the first time in his life he knew he’d have to somehow use any advantage he had to get her to speak to him, to at least tell him what happened, what really happened.

  Meanwhile, Nancy had somehow beaten him to the restaurant.

  “You owe me,” she said as he met her at the brown doors of the famous Restaurant Guy Savoy. “Actually, you owe them. We’ll be paying a pretty hefty premium for them to open up for you.”

  Barrett shrugged, “Expected. I’ve done it before and I’ll do it again.”

  They were seated in a table towards the back. A maître d’ and two servers were immediately at their beck and call. Barrett promptly ordered wine and caviar.

  “You’re in a mood,” Nancy said, sighing. “What happened? You’re never like this unless something is pressing.”

  She was right. Opening up a restaurant and having a luxurious (but ostentatious) meal reminded him of the control he had in his life. While Scarlet reminded him of everything he didn’t control. Namely, her.

  “It’s Scarlet,” he confessed. “Seeing her shook me up.”

  Nancy took a long sip of her cabernet before responding, “It’s been a while. I wish I’d known she was coming, I would have warned you to wait another week before coming out here.”

  “Yeah, she pulled a very Scarlet move and told no one,” he sighed. “I know you always avoid bringing her up, but seeing her in the flesh- it’s just jarring. Last time I saw her she was coldly kicking my heart down my throat and out my ass.” He looked over at Nancy, “Sorry to be crass.”

  Nancy shook her head, “I don’t need to avoid the topic much because I maybe see Scarlet once a year, twice max. Hell, her own mother only sees her a couple times a year. For two years she didn’t see her at all, just heard from her through calls and emails. Scarlet got rid of all her social media, quit the job we set up for her at Evers Holdings. And no one to this day knows why. She about tore her parents to pieces over it.”

  Barrett had known some of this. He’d hired his people to follow Scarlet for almost a year, which wasn’t hard because she’d barely left her apartment. There were a dozen times at least that he’d driven by, tempted to go to her. But he would remember her last words and he would stop himself. Eventually he’d decided to escape her his own way.

  It had been a tumultuous five years, to say the least.

  They finished up the sea bass and artichoke and black truffle soup, leaving a large credit card transaction in their wake. Barrett tipped his usual fifty percent on top of the premium costs. As demanding as he could be, he could never be accused of lacking generosity and gratitude.

  “So you’ll see Scarlet tonight?” Barrett remarked. “She agreed to have dinner with me on Thursday.”

  Nancy looked at him, shocked, “Why on earth would you have dinner together? She agreed to this? Of her own free will?”

  Barrett smiled, “I might have had to do some heavy convincing. But yes. She told me she would do dinner.”

  Nancy shook her head, “I think it’s a terrible idea, honestly. What can come of it?”

  “Closure,” he said as they walked back to valet. “It’s the one thing I need and the one thing I can’t buy.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  The Blooms agreed to meet up with Nancy at six o’clock, at a buffet, much to Nancy’s chagrin.

  “Excess is too much for us,” Michelle argued over the phone.

  “You’re not paying for it,” Nancy countered. “And when was the last time you ate somewhere that didn’t involve all-you-can-eat shrimp?”

  “We ate at the Olive Garden for Larry’s birthday a couple of weeks ago. That’s as fancy as we get,” Michelle said.

  Nancy rolled her eyes, “So let’s all risk catching norovirus and eat at the buffet. Splendid. We could at least eat at one on the strip.”

  “It’s too crowded. Larry doesn’t like crowds,” Michelle reminded Nancy.

  “Fine,” Nancy said, hanging up. She turned over the ignition to her BMW and glided out of Elixir’s valet, annoyed to be driving all the way out to Henderson; or as she referred to it- Hendertucky.

  Nancy and Michelle had grown up out in the country in a small town called Ayersville, Georgia. They were two years apart in age, Nancy being the oldest of the Sanderson girls. Nancy had always been the more serious one; straight-A student, member of National Honor Society, and a debate team co-captain. Michelle had been the beautiful, free spirited sister who was friendly to everyone and never met a stranger in all her life. Michelle met her husband Larry at a concert, and before Nancy could blink Michelle was married, with kids. Nancy, meanwhile, graduated from the University of Georgia, first with a bachelor’s degree and then a master’s, and snagged a job as a nanny for the Evers. It was supposed to be a temporary gig until she found a job in her chosen field- psychology. But a year turned into another, and suddenly a decade had gone by and she was still working for the Evers. She’d gotten a job for Michelle as well s
o whether she liked it or not, she was wrapped up in the fate of one of the richest families on the planet. Her life had somehow become devoted to them, or at least devoted to Barrett.

  She had to admit one thing; her psychology degrees definitely came in handy when it came to dealing with the Evers family. Particularly Rhett and Patricia.

  But Nancy pushed thoughts of them out of her mind as she exited the 15 onto the 215. She wasn’t terribly hungry after the rich meal at Guy Savoy but she was looking forward to seeing Michelle and Larry. They were the two people, besides Barrett, that she could truly be herself around. Scarlet being there would be a bit of a distraction. She was never quite sure what to say to her niece, not since she and Barrett had their break up.

  Even five years later it was the elephant in any room Scarlet was in with Nancy.

  Scarlet swept her thick hair into a bun after a long shower and brief nap. She’d opted to wear a tunic and skinny jeans with flats. Aunt Nancy tended to be someone who was always dressed to the nines, so Scarlet figured her usual beat-up sneakers and worn out jeans wouldn’t suffice.

  As she dried herself off from her shower she stared at her naked body in the full length mirror. Scarlet’s body hadn’t changed much since she was nineteen. Her breasts were still full and high, her stomach flat, her hips curvy and sensual. Barrett would still be pleased with me, she thought. And from what she’d seen of him, he looked better than ever, if that was possible.

  But why was she even thinking about him? That part of her life was over and she certainly didn’t intend on opening those wounds again. They were better closed. Permanently. She was afraid they might not heal up again, otherwise.

  She sat on her bed for a moment, contemplating her conversation with him. She’d tried her best to seem disinterested and put upon to be forced to converse with him. But hearing his voice again stirred something deep in her soul, something she had pushed down for so long that she couldn’t believe it still resided inside her. It was torture being near him and not touching him. Part of her wanted to break down and tell him everything. She knew it would be temporarily cleansing but possibly permanently damning for other reasons. Tears stung her eyes at the thought of their last conversation five years ago, after the most perfect summer of her entire life.