Scarlet Fever - Hill Country 2 (27 page)

Alex joined her on the bed and held her for a minute until her trembling subsided.
 
“Thank you, my love,” she turned to me and pressed every inch of her body as tight into his as she could.
 
“I want to feel you all the way up and down.
 
You make me feel so welcome, so at home, I’ve never felt like this before.
 
I have a place to be.
 
It’s so amazing to know that I have someone who wants to be with me.”
 
She knew that she probably wasn’t making any sense, but it didn’t matter.
 
“Make love to me, Alex.
 
I want you inside me.
 
Please?”

Alex was incoherent with need.
 
He lay on his back and urged her to climb astraddle of him.
 
“Ride me, baby.”
 
With shaking hands he held her up high enough that he could slip inside of her.
 
Every time that he entered Scarlet he was struck anew by the total perfection of the act of loving her.
 
She was tight, hot, and made just for him.
 
Her vastly talented interior muscles massaged his shaft in ways that boggled his mind.
 
“Lord, Scarlet, what you do to me!”
  

Gripping her hips, one in each hand, he kneaded their firmness, pushing and pulling her backwards and forwards, creating an intoxicating friction.
 
Watching her breasts bounce was too big of a temptation to resist.
 
Sitting up, he clasped her right breast in his hand and brought it to his lips.
 
Opening his mouth wide, he fitted it over the entire nipple and areola, drawing them in deeply, laving and sucking to his heart’s content.
 
His tender ministrations sent rivulets of pleasure straight to her womb.
 
Scarlet cradled his head to her, kissing him repeatedly on the top of his golden hair.

“Lay me down, Alex.
 
I need to feel you on top of me.”
 
Picking her up, he did as she asked.
 
Reconnecting them, he lay down on top of her, careful to support his weight so as not to crush her.
 
Still, he let his body graze her, letting her feel his dominant, solid presence as close as she wanted.
  
He thrust into her, ever mindful of her fragile state and his powerful build.
 
But, she wanted no more of ‘careful’ or ‘holding back’.
 
Looking him straight in the eye she lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist and made his day.
 
“Faster, baby.
 
Harder, love.
 
Make this a wedding night to remember.”
 
Burying his head in her neck, he pumped into her, lifting them both beyond the distant stars.

Later, there was chocolate cheesecake.
 
They fed each other on the balcony, watching the moon as it hovered low in the clear Texas sky.
 
Even later, the huge, rainfall shower did not go to waste, and Scarlet grew to appreciate Alex’s football shoulders and wrestler’s legs.
 
He held her up easily under the warm spray, her legs wrapped around his waist, as he made love to her against the marble wall.

And when they lay beneath the covers, Alex slipped down in the bed until his face was even with her soft, ripe swells.
 
As he had promised himself, he breast-fed from her creamy flesh until they were aching to make love again.
 
Finally, they slept, absolutely and utterly contented.
 

“Wake up, precious girl.
 
It‘s time to go home.”
 
Scarlet was snuggled in his arms, her back to his front.
 
Upon hearing him whisper in her ear, she stretched in his arms and cuddled close.

“I wish we could stay longer.
 
This has been so wonderful, Alex.”

“I promise you that we’ll come back.”
 
He ran his finger down her nose, and then clasped her to him, running his hands up and down her body.
 
“There are so many things that I want us to do together.
 
We’re going to have a wonderful life, baby.”

************************

“Did you have a good time?”
 
Annalise slyly glanced at her sister.

“Do you have to ask?”
 
Scarlet came back just as playfully.

“These Stewart men are incredible lovers.”
 
Cecile agreed, as she joined the pair in the master bedroom.
 
Scarlet blushed in spite of herself, she wasn’t as used to sex talk as the other two.
 

There was still plenty to do and Scarlet rushed around playing the role of the maid of honor, making sure that everything was taken care of.
 
The flowers arrived and the caterer started setting up the wet bar.
 
The band came and did a preliminary set up of their sound equipment and tested it out.
 
Alex was just as busy as Scarlet, but periodically he would catch her and pull her aside for a private moment.
 

“How are you feeling?
 
Don’t push yourself, if you need to rest; just tell someone else what to do.”
 
It felt so good to have someone be concerned about her.
 
She was tired, but she didn’t let on to Alex.
 
He had enough to worry about, without her adding to his burden.

“I feel like a new bride.”
 
She pulled his head down for a kiss.
 
“I’m fine.
 
Right now, I’m heading back into the house to find Annalise’s bridal book to put out for the guests to sign.
 
She and Cecile have left to go to the hair salon.”

“You didn’t want to go and get yours done?”
 
Like a man, Alex had to ask the wrong question.

Scarlet looked stricken.
 
“No.
 
Should I have?
 
I was just going to throw some hot curlers in it?
 
Do you think that will be all right?”

He grabbed her hands and held her still. “You are beautiful; you don’t need to do a thing.
 
I wasn’t trying to imply that you needed to get your hair done.”
 
He laughed, realizing that they were having a typical ’couple’ conversation.
 
“Go, gorgeous.
 
Do what you need to do and know that you are the most beautiful woman here,” he leaned into whisper to her, “including the bride.”

Scarlet kissed him again, before heading to the main house.
 
Alex took to the opportunity to call Doc Gibbs and make sure that they were on for the first dialysis consultation the following morning.
 
After the wedding, he and Scarlet had some serious things to discuss.
 

************************

 
Scarlet looked first in Annalise’s bedroom, but the book wasn’t there.
 
Standing still a moment, she considered where else she might look.
 
Taking one step toward the hall, she walked straight into somebody.
 
It was a man.
 
At first, she assumed it was Alex, and almost put her arms around him.
 
But, then her body, so used to Alex’s touch, instinctively knew that this individual was too soft and not broad enough.
 
Backing up a step, she looked up to apologize.
 
Recognition was her first reaction, then a wave of uncomfortable trepidation assailed her.
 
“Rick?”

“That’s right, church mouse.”
 
Rick didn’t give her a chance to get away.
 
He grabbed her roughly by the shoulder and spun her around, pinning her arm painfully behind her back.
 

Scarlet gasped from the pain.
 
“Why?
 
What do you want?”

“
Want
isn’t the right word, Crip.
 
I could never ‘want’ a woman like you.
 
No man in his right mind would ever
want
a woman like you.
 
Alex Stewart doesn’t
really
want you.”
 
Scarlet struggled and Rick increased the pressure.
 
“You had better be still, or I’ll break this arm – snap it like a twig.
 
Does that hurt?”

“Yes, it hurts.
 
But, you’re wrong!
 
Alex loves me.”
 
Scarlet stated emphatically.
 
At her declaration, LeBeau pulled the trapped arm up sharply, causing Scarlet to nearly pass out from the pain.
 

“I told you, one more word like that and I’ll do more than dislocate your shoulder.
 
All of this is a joke, church mouse.
 
We’re in cahoots, Alex and me. ” Rick said with a sneer.
 
“Just like when you thought you would be attending the prom.
 
You’re not really married.
 
Who would want to marry you?
 
The truth will eventually come out and everybody will laugh and laugh at you.
 
The church mouse getting a man?
 
Alex is going to enjoy the look on your face when he tells you that this was all a great big hoax.
 
Your hot shot boyfriend is really in love with your sister and I have proof.
 
He doesn’t really love you, you’re a stand in.
 
Listen to this, church mouse.”

Still holding on to her, Rick took a small recorder out of his pocket and pressed play.
 
Alex’s voice came over it, unmistakable.
 
“I don’t love Scarlet.
 
I don’t want to marry her.
 
I love Annalise.”
 
Scarlet shut her eyes as the pain assailed her.
 
God, what was she going to do?
 
Was it all a lie?
 
As one who is dying, Scarlet’s last few days flashed before her eyes.
 
Alex loved her, didn’t he?

“Alex loves me.”
 
Scarlet stated, but not with as much certainty as before.
 
Suddenly, Rick jerked her hair back sharply, bringing her to her knees.
 
Scarlet bowed her head, not knowing what the next moment would bring.
 
“What do you want from me, Rick?”
 
She asked with resignation in her voice.
 
Lord, she hoped he didn’t have a gun.
 
Scarlet never even considered calling for help, there was no way she would knowingly lead anyone else into danger.
 
She would just ride this out, find out what he wanted, and then, hopefully, he would let her go.

“I want what you had.
 
Did you know that your daddy was really mine?
 
Oh, he came off like a big Christian man, but he had two women and two families.
 
Only, I was hidden.
 
I was cast aside.
 
You, you ugly, bitch – you’re my half sister.
 
And I hate your guts.
 
Now, I want you to admit that you’ve gone too far.
 
You’re assuming too much.
 
Admit that you don’t deserve to be happy.”
 
A rivulet of fear traveled down Scarlet’s spine as Rick Lebeau’s hands slid from her hair to her neck.
 
“Shall I squeeze the breath from your body?
 
How does this feel?
 
Can you breathe?”
 
At first it was a caress, which turned Scarlet’s stomach, but then his fingers tightened around her neck and for the first time, Scarlet feared for her life.
 
How ironic.
 
If what he said was true, her own brother was going to kill her.
 
Somehow, she wasn’t shocked.
 
She always knew that life with her father was not what it should be.
 
He always came off as so self-righteous.
 
Perhaps he had protested
too
much.
 
Now, it looked like it might be all over.
 
She had been prepping her mind for months, readying herself to accept her mortality.
 
What a shame that just as it seemed she would have a real chance at life, another cruel twist of fate seemed destined to take it away.

“Why do you care so much?
 
What my father did to you wasn’t my fault.
 
I never knew anything about it!”
 
Suddenly it all made some horrible form of sense.
 
Jeff Ramsey and
 
his hatred for Annalise;
 
Rick LeBeau and his hatred of her.
 
Her father’s harsh attitude toward her clubfoot and her kidney disease.
 
It was all connected.
 
His grip on her neck was suddenly a vise and Scarlet knew that she needed to do something if she wanted to live.