by Sable Hunter
Alex took her hand in his. “You are a very sweet person.” He squeezed her hand. “But, I am so jealous. The sword that killed Bloody Bill Anderson!”
“If I’d known you were into the Civil War, I would have brought it to show you.”
“I would love to see it. You can bring it next time,” Alex said with confidence.
Next time.
She knew there would be no next time.
“Let’s go home, sweetie.” He brought her hand to his lips and she almost cried.
* * * *
It was a good thing the kitchen at Lost Maples was huge, because Scarlet needed every square inch. Delicate roses and hydrangeas made of tasty fondant were spread out everywhere. Twice, Scarlet had snuck out and lay down for just a few minutes. She was careful to not let anyone know that she wasn’t feeling well. Annalise was on cloud nine, and Scarlet was determined she would do nothing to put a damper on the excitement.
Alex had company business to take care of, but he had kissed her before he left and whispered in her ear that he couldn’t wait to come home to her. Their trip to Austin that morning had been a revelation for Scarlet. Alex’s interest in her was real. She didn’t understand it, but it was. He had been sweet, attentive and truly interested in everything she had to say. It hadn’t been a real date, it had been too rushed. Hurrying back to work on wedding preparations had curtailed the time they had to spare, but still, it had been wonderful. Plus, she wasn’t blind, she could see he had been in almost a constant state of arousal when they had sat close in his burnt orange Hummer. Alex wanted her. That was a heady thought.
Finally, every flower was made and had been carefully boxed up in anticipation of gracing the three-tiered wedding cake. There was even a chocolate longhorn to grace the groom’s cake, in honor of Ethan and Annalise’s alma mater. Her sister had taken pity on her and had volunteered to clean up the kitchen.
There was no slowing down, however, more seed pearls were waiting to be sewn on and there was a little more work to be done on the maid of honor’s dress. Cecile Fairchild, the maid of honor, was Annalise’s agent. The steamy romance novels that came from Annalise’s fertile imagination had kept both of them hopping for years. Scarlet had never met Cecile and she was anxious to do so. It was important to Scarlet that Annalise have friends and loved ones who would be with her for years to come.
The media room seemed too lonely, so she went to the family room and sat down under a wide window which let in ample light. Sitting on the floor, she leaned back against the wall and settled in for several hours work.
“There’s my girl.” At the sound of his voice, Scarlet’s heart warmed. She looked up at him, always amazed anew, at how truly handsome he was. Joining her on the floor, he claimed her lips in a hard kiss. “You’re wearing your hair down,” he ran his fingers through the curls that hung almost to her waist. “I love your hair. It’s going to look gorgeous spread out on my pillow.” Ripples of awareness flowed over Scarlet’s body causing her nipples to pebble.
“You left this on my desk.” Scarlet looked at what he had in his hand. It was her notebook.
“Wait.” She started to reach for it, but it was too late.
“I found this odd list. Scarlet, do you have a tattoo?” He had her bucket list in his hand. It was out of order, but if he kept looking, he would find out that her number one desire had been to seduce one Alex Stewart. Scarlet didn’t know whether to cry or run.
“Yes.”
“Where?” Swear to God, he licked his lips.
“On my bottom.” He closed his eyes and sighed.
“What is it?” He still had his eyes closed.
“A red rose, like my name, Scarlet Rose.” What was it with men and tattoos?
“You have a little red rose on your butt? Let me see.” He was as serious as a heart attack.
“No!” she huffed. Then she laughed.
“Just a peek?” He was so darned cute. Scarlet rose to her knees and turned her back to him. Pulling her jeans down a little ways, she held the back open so he could glance down on her hip.
Alex groaned. “Damn!”
Scarlet sat back down, quickly, once again reaching for the list. “Not so fast,” holding it over her head. “There may be more interesting stuff on this list.” He began to peruse it, chuckling here, asking questions there. “What is this list, anyway? A glorified to-do list?” Before she could answer he had shuffled the papers so that the first page was on top. “Bucket list–100 things to do before I die.” That wasn’t enough to cause him to question, until his eyes rested on the first item.
“Make love.” His eyes flew to hers. “Scarlet, what’s my name doing here? And it’s crossed out.” He looked back down at the paper. “Escort service. And it’s marked out”
He turned the papers over, reshuffled them and looked at her hard. “Explain. Did you come here looking for sex? If not from me, from a gigolo? I don’t understand.” Scarlet paused, just looking at him, trying to determine if he was angry.
“I wanted to know what it was like to make love with a man. Just once.” There was no inflection in her voice, she wasn’t looking for sympathy.
“Why is my name crossed out?”
“It was just a day dream, the whole list is mostly just a wish list. When I got here, I realized that I couldn’t go through with it. I changed my mind.”
“Why, because of the stupid things I said?”
“No because you’re so beautiful.” She looked down, unable to watch his face, afraid of what she would see.
“I’m glad you ditched the escort service idea, that’s just stupid. Why didn’t you want to take the time to find someone and cultivate a relationship with them?” Scarlet blanched. He was talking as if he had never held her close, never whispered warm suggestive words to her that had turned her insides to mush.
Time to come clean. Regardless of the outcome, she owed him an explanation. She would just have to get his promise that what he learned would go no further. “I don’t have time to cultivate a relationship.”
“You don’t have time.” He acted like he didn’t believe her. “You’re too busy to learn to love somebody.” Alex was disappointed in her, she could tell.
“It’s not so much that I’m ‘busy—don’t have time...’” Scarlet’s voice was soft, but serious. “More like I’m running out of time.” At his look of confusion, she clarified. “It’s a bucket list, Alex.”
“A bucket list?”
“Things I want to do while I’m still—all right.” She spoke slowly.
A dawning comprehension cleared his eyes. His tone dropped from irritated to panicked. “What are you saying? Are you sick?”
“The operation that corrected my foot had complications. They gave me the wrong anesthesia and my kidneys were damaged. It’s been seven years, and they’ve progressively weakened. Soon, it will be dialysis, a transplant, or…or…” she stopped talking.
“No, no, no.” He pulled her up in his arms and held her close. His arms didn’t give an inch, he only tightened his grasp until he was practically squeezing the breath from her body. “Tell me that there’s some mistake. Tell me that you’re getting back at me for my cruelty.”
His immediate and intense reaction melted Scarlet’s heart. Her arms crept around his neck and she rubbed her face against his. His face was wet! Oh God, he was crying. “I’m sorry, Alex. Please don’t cry.”
He pulled back and took her face in his hands, framing it. Rubbing his lips over her eyelids, he kissed her eyes closed. Punctuating his words with kisses, he whispered. “I’ll do it. I’ll do it. I’ll do it. I’ll make love to you.” He kissed her cheek. “Scarlet, I want you. God, I want you so bad. I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you, but now…” He gently pushed aside Annalise’s dress and pulled her onto his lap. Shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts, he looked her in the eye. “I want to know everything, baby. I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through this. When do you start your dialysis?” He was t
alking so fast, she couldn’t get a word in edgewise. When he stilled and waited for her response, her words froze in her throat. When she didn’t answer right away, he tilted up her chin to look into her eyes.
“I can’t do dialysis. I don’t have any insurance.” She looked down, then up into his eyes.
He wasn’t responding. Disbelief stole his voice. Trying desperately to comfort him, yet explain, she continued, “That’s why I’m working at the library and the church. When I graduated college, I couldn’t get a job in my field, because I couldn’t pass the physical. Their insurance plans wouldn’t accept me because I had a pre-existing condition. I work two jobs and take in sewing so I can afford the medicine, but there won’t be any dialysis and there won’t be a transplant.”
* * * *
Alex stood up in a rush. He began pacing the floor. “The hell there won’t,” he shouted. “The alternative is unthinkable.” Alex’s mind was whirling. He was a take charge kind of guy and he wasn’t about to sit around and watch this precious woman die, not if he could do anything about it. He didn’t know what he was going to do. But, by God, he was going to do something.
“How about your family?” Alex was grasping for solutions.
“Dad was a match, but mother and Annalise aren’t. And Alex.” Scarlet warned in a voice that brooked no argument. “Annalise doesn’t know and I don’t want her to know.”
“What do you mean? She has to know. How could you even consider keeping something like this from your sister?” Alex stood with his hands on his hips, he didn’t know whether to spank her or cuddle up to her and never let her go.
“I’ve kept it from her for seven years. She doesn’t have to know, not until…”
Alex couldn’t believe this. Every word that came of her mouth tore another hole in his heart. She had been so alone! She had been bearing this burden all alone! “What? Until someone notifies her about the time and the place for the funeral?” The words seemed to cause Alex physical pain. “Who’s going to take care of you?”
“I’ll take care of myself,” she emphasized sternly, lifting her little chin. Alex marveled at her fearlessness. His little soldier.
“What about the transplant list?” Why was he just now thinking of this? His mind wasn’t working worth a flip. His divorce hadn’t caused even an iota of stress compared to what he was feeling today.
She didn’t answer him. He asked again. “You are signed up for a transplant, aren’t you?” He was still desperately searching, trying to come up with an answer.
“I’m on the deceased donor transplant list, but the chances of that happening before my time is up are about a million to one.” She wished she had never made the stupid bucket list. The agony on his face was tearing her to bits.
“How about a living donor, other than your sister? Has everyone else been tested?”
“You are so sweet.” Walking over to him, she framed his face. “There is no one else, there will be no living donor, baby. Let’s talk about something else.”
Picking her up, he kissed her neck, sucking gently. “I’m not giving up, I just need to think. But, right now. I want to make love to you.” He started walking toward her bedroom.
She laid her head on his shoulder, resigned. “No. I can’t. Not now. I’ve changed my mind.”
“I’m not letting you change your mind. Give me a couple of hours to get the RV ready and packed. Gather a few things and tell your sister that we’ll see her this time tomorrow. We’re leaving. No argument.” Another hard kiss and he was gone.
* * * *
She did as he asked. It wasn’t hard. She wanted to make love to him more than anything else in the world. Still, she was more nervous than she could ever remember being in her life. Annalise hadn’t seemed surprised. In fact, she had seemed thrilled. “This is what I dreamed of. I love you so much, baby sister. And I love Alex more than I can say. You’re perfect for one another.”
“Don’t read more into this than it is.”
“What is it? Just sex? Don’t tell me that. I’ve seen how he looks at you. And I’ve certainly seen how you look at him. The two of you stare at one another like you’re starving.” Annalise was adamant in her belief.
“Just don’t make a big deal out of this, please.”
When Scarlet walked out the front door to meet Alex, she was flabbergasted. RV was a term that could apply to a multitude of vehicles, Alex’s was a monster. Forty-two feet of pure, unadulterated luxury. He opened the door with pride and invited her inside. “We use it mostly for tailgate parties at the Texas games.”
Scarlet looked around in wonder. She had never been in a more luxurious place. The B&B was fantastic, but this was out of this world. Everything was white and cherry wood, recliners, wet bar, granite countertops, huge plasma TV. There was even a fireplace. “Wait till you see the bed. It’s a California King. We have plenty of room to play.”
Scarlet stilled. She turned to him, big, huge Teddy bear of a man. Curls of gold that she longed to sink her fingers into. “You don’t have to do this, you know. It’s okay. I would understand. Making love to a person with…uh, problems has to be a turn-off.” She had thought about this. What if he couldn’t? What if he got so far, then he had to stop. She would die. Better not to start it at all.
With one swift move, he pulled her to him. “Does that feel like I don’t want you?”
It didn’t. It felt like there was a baseball bat between them.
“I’ve been hard for you since I turned and saw your sad little eyes. Now, no more doubts. No more tears. Only pleasure.”
Alex had gone all out. There was lobster with butter sauce, asparagus, rice pilaf and double chocolate mousse. “I can’t believe you did all of this. You are very talented.”
“Wait until you see what I can do in the bedroom.” She didn’t doubt him for a minute.
They didn’t go far. He drove her to the Lost Maples National Park, just a few miles. “Tomorrow, we’ll explore, take in the leaves. But tonight, the only thing that I want to explore is you.”
He fed her. She had never giggled so much in her life. Butter would drip from the succulent pieces of shell fish and he would capture it with his tongue, straight off of her lips. The mousse proved to be not only a culinary adventure, but an erotic one. This time she got in on the act, sitting astraddle his lap, feeding him spoonful after spoonful of the luscious chocolate.
Standing, he caught her by the hand. “Enough. I can’t wait any longer. I’m so turned-on I ache. Come with me.” He led her to the fireplace. “We’re going to make out here. Afterwards, I’ll take you to bed.” The fire crackled and the flames danced and Scarlet’s blood pressure raced madly. This incredible dream of a man was about to make love to her.
Please God, don’t let me disappoint him.
They had dressed up for each other. He wore all black, black slacks, black dress shirt, no tie, but with that golden hair, he was a walking dream. She didn’t have any real finery, but what she had, she wore well. It felt like silk, but it wasn’t, a full red tiered skirt and a long-sleeve red peasant blouse. Not overtly sexy, but it clung in all the right places, making Scarlet feel like a wanton, exotic Gypsy. Her hair was down, just like he had said he like it, and when he laid her down on the rug in front of the warm fire, she thought she would pass out from sheer happiness.
“You don’t have a bra on. I gotta tell you, the sight of your aroused little nipples tortured me all during the meal. Now that I’m almost ready to touch them, my fingers are tingling with anticipation.”
“That’s a spot we should probably skip.” Alex stretched out next to her and they lay face to face.
He pushed her hair over her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. “I don’t like to skip anything. I’m much too thorough.” His fingertips began reading her face as if the secrets of the universe were written there in Braille. Light, soft, gentle touches. “You are so beautiful. I’ll never get tired of looking at your face.”
Before she co
uld stop them, tears welled up in her eyes, his words touched her heart in ways she had never conceived. “What’s this?” He kissed the tears away. “No, no, babe. No crying, not tonight.”
“You are so sweet, Alex. So sweet, to do this for me. I’ll never be able to repay you.”
Her voice caught on the tears, cracking just enough so he had to know how close she was to crying. “Sorry, I don’t mean to fall apart.”
“Baby, I want you to come apart, but not from tears—I want you to fly apart in rapture. Honey, this is for you. I can’t deny that. But not just for you.” He took her bottom lip between his teeth, nibbled on it and then sucked it into his mouth, laving it with his tongue. Her top lip got the same attention, and by the time he was finished, she was kissing every part of his mouth that she could. Little whimpers of need bubbled up from her throat and he captured each one reverently, his tongue mating with hers in a dance of desire. “This is for me, sweetheart. I want you so much. Put your hand down between us and feel my hunger for you.”
He didn’t have to ask twice. Unladylike it might be, but she had dreamed of touching his manhood. There were two layers of cloth between her hands and his cock, but the cotton and the linen could not mask either the size, or the heat of the beast that she grasped. He was longer than the length of her palm, a lot longer. And over half as wide. How she would ever be able to take him inside of her was a mystery, but one she was anxious to delve into. She let her palm make itself at home on the steel-hard ridge, riding a little up and down it as she held her breath with excitement. “Does that feel like I’m an unwilling participant?” He pushed himself into her hand, moaning his encouragement at her first forays into pleasuring him.
“Can I mark you, baby? Somewhere, that only my eyes will see?” He asked this as he trailed hot, wet kisses down her throat. She nodded her assent, words beyond her ability at the moment. Pulling the ties that held the neck of her blouse in place, he loosened them, pushing her top off of her shoulders. The soft skin of her neck, shoulders and upper chest were exposed for his viewing pleasure. “Right here.” He touched the soft swell of her upper breast. “Can I mark you here?”