Scarlet Fever - Hill Country 2 (22 page)

“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 into the lake and she sat with him under the stars and watched 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 OK, 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 into 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 was 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 wake 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 this 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 tried to alleviate the hunger between her legs by pressing her thighs together.
 
That wasn’t enough.
 
Despite her concentrated efforts, 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.