Scarlet bit down on his bottom lip and pulled at her clothes at the same time.
Both stripped down, but when Richard picked her up in his arms and made to move against the bed she stopped him.
“No. I want it against the wall. Like they did in that movie.”
He pressed her against the wall and f**ked his c**k inside her warm cunt. She was so wet and melting beneath his touch.
Her cries were amazing to hear. “Harder,” she moaned.
He didn’t know what brought her change of heart, and he didn’t care. He was inside her body, and he intended to make her forget all about David.
Richard f**ked her against the wall, bringing both of them to a screaming cl**ax in a matter of minutes before he took her to the bed. His shaft was still inside her, and he wouldn’t pull out.
He kissed and teased her lips open for him. Richard felt a stirring begin in his groin even though he’d already cl**axed once.
Her nails scored his back and neck. Her hands travelled down to his bu**ocks to grab.
“Hold it.”
Richard stared into her eyes and knew in his heart he loved her. He couldn’t describe how it happened, but he was sure.
“Stay here,” he whispered and pulled out of her body. He walked away from the bedroom with a chuckle when she cursed at him. His woman was turning into a little fire-cracker.
His office was on the opposite side from the bedroom. He opened the safe and moved a few bits around until he found the square box. Inside were contained a red ruby necklace and earrings, a purchase he hadn’t been able to resist two weeks ago. He hesitated when he glanced at the box with the engagement ring inside. Should he defy his parents and take that huge leap against their wishes?
No. He wouldn’t subject Scarlet to such scandal.
Richard took the box back inside. Scarlet sat up in bed with the blanket covering her.
“I want you to wear this for me,” he said and opened the box.
She gasped, her fingers going to the edge. “They’re beautiful.”
“Will you put them on?” he asked.
“I can’t accept anything like this.” She pulled away as if they burnt her.
“No. I bought them for you. Please, you’ll make me very happy to wear them. I wanted to see you in them,” he said with a smile.
Scarlet wouldn’t touch them, and he pulled them out of the box as if they didn’t cost a thing.
She lifted her hair and he fixed the clasp. “It’s cold.” She chuckled. “I can’t keep these.”
“I want you to have them.”
“Won’t you use them for the next woman?” Her question, so innocent, hit him in the chest.
“No. These won’t be for another woman.”
No other woman will come after you.
Richard knew he couldn’t hold off his feelings forever. It was only a matter of time before he would be taken out of the game.
Chapter Ten
Scarlet couldn’t believe how magically and beautifully the next few days passed. Richard lavished her with attention and gifts. She didn’t want them, but he loved giving them to her. His face would light up, and he’d give her an indulgent smile. The gifts were so personal. She loved the paperweight with dolphins inside he’d given her. No one but Harry knew how much she loved the sea creatures.
The calls to Harry upset and excited her. She loved and missed her little boy. However, when she was with Richard the contract became a distant thought, as if it had never existed. Soon Wednesday came, and he took her to one of his older houses. She was introduced to his housekeeper, Lydia. Scarlet fell in love with the old house instantly.
“I love this place,” she said.
“It’s been in our family for over four generations.”
“How come your parents don’t live in it then?” She knew he didn’t like talking about his parents, even though they were responsible for giving birth to him.
“This is considered a house for people lower than themselves. Everything has to be top notch and of the highest order.”
“Really? Who owned this house?”
“My great-great-great-grandfather. He bought this for his wife. My family originally came from peasant stock. I guess as we all got older it no longer became acceptable to live in this house. My parents were going to sell it last winter. I couldn’t let them and demanded they give it to me.”
“I’m glad you did. It’s so beautiful.” Scarlet followed him down to his study. “Even though I thought you said you didn’t stay anywhere but in the city.”
“I don’t, but sometimes I like to come here to dream of something I could have.”
Scarlet closed her eyes and shook her head. “You don’t make any sense when you speak like that. You can have anything you want.”
“No, I can’t.”
“You know you behave like you own the world, and then you come out with this yearning that you want. And I don’t know what to say to you.” She watched him go behind his desk and sit down. His pose looked so much like when he forced her to sign that contract.
She wanted to hate him so much, but if she hadn’t signed that contract she’d never know what it meant to love and maybe feel love in return.
He opened his mouth. Scarlet tensed and hoped she was about to hear something she’d wanted to hear for such a long time.
Richard had asked her a question a few days ago. If she’d have come away with him without the contract. At the time she’d answered she didn’t know, but she did. Being at work and seeing him every day had become so important to her. She’d rather watch him from afar than have nothing at all. As much as the contract had hurt her, she would have gone anywhere he asked her to go.
Her heart pounded whenever he was nearby, and her pulse raced. Richard was every part of her. When this week was up she knew in her heart she didn’t want it to end.
Nothing could stop the way she felt about it. Her eyes dropped to the piece of paper he held in his hands, and the smile froze on her lips.
Please, god, no.
****
Scarlet smiled at him, and his whole world became clear. She was younger than he, and he’d f**ked up with this shit contract. He had it in his hands right now. Richard had purposefully brought her to his little hideaway to see how she’d react. Since her trust in him with her secret and claiming her and Harry to David he knew what he wanted most in life. He wanted to have a family to come home to. To fall in love and not worry about what the world thought. The time to react was at his fingertips. He’d be forever miserable if he didn’t show Scarlet how much he loved and cared about her.