Chapter 12
E dward checked his phone. It was six am.
His body was so attuned to waking up at this time, he didn’t need an alarm clock anymore, but this morning he was hesitant to get up.
The day that lay ahead was uncertain except for the fact that he would need to make the necessary move away from his fixation on Scarlett.
But it was easier said than done. Especially when every thought that entered his head was of her.
It didn’t help that despite the promise he made to himself that the last time would be the final time he’d indulge in thoughts of Scarlett– particularly at night – she was already in his thoughts, stirring awake his currently overactive imagination and subsequent hard-on.
He raised his hands to his face and rubbed his eyes before dragging them through his messy hair.
Christ, man, get a grip.
With a groan, he swiftly sat up, placed his hands on his knees, and shook his head.
“No more of this shite,” he said out loud, standing up and walking naked into the bathroom to have a cold shower.
He was resolute that things were going to be different from hereon in.
There was work to be done, let alone the preparations for the impending wedding.
He cringed; it was all going to be a complete nightmare. The wedding party would be here for weeks to make the preliminary preparations, and it was all already encroaching on his routine and his patience.
He and Leonard were back on speaking terms. Barely. But Edward wouldn’t be disappointed when they all buggered back off to the States.
With any luck, Scarlett would also realise that she could better use her talents elsewhere, and his life could return to some semblance of normality.
She wouldn’t be in his house, or thoughts, potentially not even in the same country, and the more distance between them, the better at this stage.
He didn’t feel the need to upend his entire life with unnecessary emotions or drama.
In fact, he’d respond to the messages awaiting his attention on his phone.
An evening with Evelyn should do the trick.
She was usually footloose and fancy free, and always keen for an evening with him, and, in her words, her favourite plaything .
She was a nice enough woman. Her husband worked away, and they had an arrangement in place allowing them the security and comfort of marriage with the freedom to enjoy discretional extracurricular activities.
They’d met a couple of years ago at a charity ball that his mother supported, and who, on that occasion, made the trip over, which meant Edward had to make a public appearance.
He rarely enjoyed such outings, but Evelyn had sat next to him and made it no secret that she wanted his company elsewhere.
She was persistent, getting his number from a mutual friend, and one thing led to another.
He succumbed to a meal, which led to drinks, then sex, and a reunion every couple of months.
It seemed to suit them both.
“Eddie, your talents never fail to surpass my expectations,” Evelyn told him after their last meeting. She’d watched him in the reflection of the large mirror as she fixed her hair at the dressing table– in their usual eye-wateringly expensive penthouse suite, which she always insisted upon.
He hadn’t responded, observing her cosmetic ritual and perfect composure.
“It’s quite sizeable, you know.” She’d smiled, enjoying his discomfort.
“Thank you very much,” he’d replied, picking up his phone to signal the conversation was over.
“How about dinner next week?”
“I’m busy, I’m afraid.” Edward hadn’t looked up, feeling her expectant gaze on him.
She tried again. “The week after then?”
“I’ll let you know.” He finally looked up and offered a tight smile.
Evelyn huffed loudly.
Her theatrics had irritated him and even though the sex was okay, and she was fun company, the next morning he always felt deflated and hollow.
He didn’t enjoy emotionless sex, but equally, he didn’t want a relationship, which was the precise reason women like Evelyn worked for him.
It was just unfortunate that the aftermath always left him feeling a bit shite– about his own lack of feeling more than anything else.
That was the last time he’d seen or spoken to her, but perhaps an easy dinner somewhere at a discreet hotel, a couple of bottles of red and some uncomplicated sex, was the precise antidote he needed to get Scarlett out of his head.
Because the fiery redhead, as his brother liked to refer to her, was just too much .
He knew enough about women to spot the ones who would want more, who needed the level of affection and emotional validation that he wasn’t comfortable giving, nor had the time for.
Not anymore.
He saw how his mother had left his father broken.
Christ, even his own marriage had fallen apart because of Natasha’s affair, and he didn’t even want to think about his last serious relationship.
A toxic shipwreck was an understatement.
No, passion and romance weren’t for him, and Scarlett, he could tell, was all fire, full of life and love. It would be all-consuming, and for him, that would be too much.
She would be too much.
Besides, she was also staff. And, more importantly, June’s daughter. It was all shades of wrong and he was a man of values. He wasn’t his brother.
June had worked here for years, his father’s employee and friend from what he’d seen of their interactions before he’d passed away.
Edward just couldn’t do it.
But no sooner was his resolve set than it was completely blown out of the water.
Leonard was on his way to the airport to pick up his soon-to-be blushing bride and Edward decided it would be a good token gesture to do a last walk around the east wing before their arrival.
He wanted to ensure that everything was as it should be, and part of this he knew was selfish; it would limit the need to interact with the couple and their entourage if everything that should be ready was all set and prepared for them.
On his way around the rooms, which all seemed clean, aired, and smelling of polish and fresh linen, he heard the loud scraping of furniture, followed by language he seldom heard coming out of the mouth of a woman.
He winced, recognising the English accent immediately, and silently cursed his quickening pulse, his body already betraying his hardened decision without a second thought.
Fuck’s sake, woman.
As he rounded the corner, he could still hear Scarlett muttering and swearing, “Stupid fucking bed, move!”
Edward slowed to peer into the room where Scarlett, facing away from him, was leaning over trying to move a huge oak bed, each effort only budging it a half centimetre at a time, at best.
He tried to ignore the sight of her tight jeans hugging her perfectly rounded behind, making him stir in places he was desperate to keep under some semblance of control.
Looking away, he cleared his throat to announce his presence, making her spin around with her eyes wide, cheeks flushed, and hair, as usual, fighting for freedom from its ponytail.
It took all his self-control not to stride across the space between them and take her in his arms or throw her onto the bed behind her– possibly both, whether the bed was in the right position or not.
Instead, sanity prevailing, he said, “Hello.”
“Hi,” she replied, out of breath. “You all really need to stop creeping up on me like that. Is it a family trait?”
Edward bristled at the thought of Leonard sneaking up on her.
“You could turn the air blue with that language, you know.”
He saw her cheeks and throat redden even further. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know anyone was around. Apologies for being inappropriate.”
The formality made Edward smile. “I’ve heard worse.”
Scarlett smiled in response and shrugged her shoulders. “It’s not my best trait. I’m embarrassed. Sorry again.”
The way she looked up at him through her long dark lashes was making him melt and, for a long moment, the two just stood looking at each other.
“Can I help?” he finally offered.
Scarlett looked back at the bed and laughed. “Actually, that would be really great. I moved it a little to the left to centre it, and since then it’s barely moved an inch. The thing weighs an absolute tonne.”
Edward smiled. “Yeah, solid wood has a habit of doing that. Where’s it going?”
“Just a couple of inches towards the window, to the edge of the rug.”
He walked towards the bed where Scarlett stood.
She didn’t move, and the closeness of her was disarming.
He smelled the faint scent of shampoo and face cream, but not a trace of the potent, expensive perfume he usually detected on the women he was intimate with.
He wanted to inhale her to the point it was driving him mad, and it wasn’t helping that she wasn’t taking her eyes off him.
“It’s okay, I’ve got it.” Edward bent at the knees and, with a loud scrape, pushed the bed across until he could feel the resistance of the rug. “That do it?”
He straightened to face her again.
She nodded, not looking at the bed, her eyes still stuck on his.
Edward looked down and rubbed his hands to remove the remnants of wood polish before looking back at her.
“You’re not making this very easy for me.”
Scarlett creased her forehead in genuine confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I mean.” Edward sighed, looking away, not trusting himself. “You’re just very…” He trailed off.
“Very what?” Her lips tightened, and she narrowed her eyes at him.
He looked at her again. “Just very you .”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
He couldn’t help smiling at her annoyed expression. “No, it’s not a bad thing. It’s the total opposite, which I suppose is bad.”
“I don’t understand.” Her face told him she really didn’t, and he marvelled at the fact she was so oblivious to the effect she had on him.
“You’re just incredibly—” He stopped, searching for some recognition or permission in those eyes that seemed to look into his core every time he was in her company.
Then, for reasons he couldn’t explain, he saw something in her look change, instantly making him disregard his freshly imposed resolution to steer clear of her. Maybe it was the way she wetted her lips. Or the way her gaze rested on his. He wasn’t sure.
“I find you very distracting, truth be told,” he finally said, heat rising to his neck and cheeks.
“Distracting how?” Her head tilted a little to the side.
Edward wondered if she was being deliberately obtuse.
“I think you know exactly how.” His voice resembled a growl.
“I’m not so sure I do, though.” The way she bit the smile forming on her lips almost finished him.
“Stop doing that with your lip,” he said, fighting the urge to bite it himself.
“Or what?” Her eyes were laughing at him, silently goading him.
They stood staring at each other for what seemed like an age before he lost all semblance of sense and control.
“Fuck it,” he said, pulling her towards him, making her catch her breath.
He hesitated for a moment to see if she was going to resist, but he needn’t have worried as she responded by reaching up and pulling his head down closer to hers, their lips finding each other with a hunger he’d not experienced in a long time.
His hands wrapped around her waist, pulling her in even closer, her hands in his hair, neither coming up for breath.
The chemistry he’d felt between them wasn’t a figment of his imagination after all, and as her body reacted to each movement of his mouth and touch, he knew the feeling was mutual.
He picked her up in one swift motion, one hand scooping her bum and the other tight around her waist, and she wrapped her legs around him.
He didn’t know where the overwhelming urge was coming from, but he needed to have her.
Everything about her disarmed him and easily bulldozed through his carefully constructed wall.
The one he had, until now, kept firmly in place to avoid anything as careless as this ever happening.
But he couldn’t wait another moment and lowered her onto the bed.
All common sense and restraint were gone.
Their hands tugged and loosened each other’s clothing, searching for bare skin to touch.
“You feel insanely good,” he growled again.
The woman is turning me into a possessed fucking animal!
Scarlett pulled his head up so she could look into his eyes before kissing him again.
He felt out of control, greedy, wanting to touch every part of her.
Edward groaned with pleasure as his hand reached down underneath Scarlett’s loose jeans and underwear, discovering her wetness. Everything about her was irresistible, especially the way she responded as his fingers found their way deeper inside her, making her gasp.
He was busy imagining how good it would feel to have more than just his fingers buried deep inside her when a sudden sound from further down the hall stopped Edward in his tracks.
There were definite footsteps approaching.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Edward rested his head on Scarlett’s chest for a moment before gathering his wits. “Down here, quick!”
He gently released his hand, pulled Scarlett across the bed and onto the floor next to the window, and checked for visible clothing before ducking his head down to face Scarlett’s flushed face and laughing eyes.
The closeness of her body was too much, and he was conscious of his hardness straining against her, the feel of her breasts firmly pressed against his chest not helping the situation one iota.
The unfairness of being so close yet miles away from being able to do what his body was silently roaring for made his cock strain and twitch further.
He closed his eyes and held his breath, waiting for the footsteps to pass by, screwing up his face when they paused at the doorway.
Please, no.
He silently begged a god he didn’t believe in.