She’d dithered considerably over what to bring, in the end packing probably more than she would need. But it had been so hard to choose. Scarlet had always loved nice clothes, and had a wardrobe full of outfits for every occasion. Her mother had thought she was crazy putting in a couple of pretty dresses, but that was because she believed Scarlet was going to spend her ‘holiday’ either lazing around the pool of the hotel she’d supposedly booked, or going on day bus-tours, all of which required nothing more than Bermuda shorts, solid shoes, a hat and insect repellent. Her mother had stopped criticising her choice of wardrobe when Scarlet reminded her about that nice man she might meet.
‘Who knows?’ she’d added for good measure. ‘He might ask me out to dinner!’
Which she’d assumed John would at some stage.
But what if he didn’t? Scarlet now wondered.
During the past week, Scarlet had tried not to think about what John’s plans were for the next ten days. For what was the point? She’d already agreed to his terms, whatever they were.
But, now that the moment was at hand, it was almost impossible not to wonder, and worry. Maybe she should have warned him that she was a bit of a lemon in the bedroom. It was one thing to have private fantasies where she stripped off without a qualm and had multiple orgasms every single time she had sex. The reality was totally different. She was rather shy at being naked in front of a man.
Her stomach tightened as she tried to imagine what it was going to be like, having sex with John. For some crazy reason she was terrified of disappointing him. She wanted him to find pleasure in her body.
The announcement that they’d begun their descent into Darwin tightened her stomach further. If Scarlet hadn’t been so besieged by nervous tension, she might have noticed that she’d stopped thinking about what she’d come to Darwin to achieve. All her thoughts were on one subject and one subject only: John.
Seeking distraction, she stared once more at the ground below, surprised to see that the red and brown of the outback had given way to a greener landscape, one with lots of trees and, yes, water out to the left of the plane. It looked like a harbour but obviously not Darwin harbour. There were no houses along the foreshore and not many boats on the water. Of course, it always took a good while for a commercial jet to descend into an airport, so they weren’t over Darwin yet.
When the plane banked sharply, the setting sun shone straight into Scarlet’s eyes. She automatically shut them, then kept them shut, always having found landing stressful, though this time her stresses were many and varied.
The landing seemed to take for ever, but exiting the plane was relatively quick, thank goodness, as her seat was right down the back, not far from the exit. She walked across the tarmac towards the terminal building, her only thought at that moment being that every step brought her closer to John.
John stood at a window in the arrivals area, scanning the passengers as they left the plane. He spotted Scarlet immediately, the rays of the setting sun bouncing gold off her blonde hair which was down and blowing in the breeze. She was wearing jeans and a white jacket, with a white-and-blue top underneath. She looked utterly gorgeous, sexy and… very tense. Her forehead was scrunched into a frown and her walk was fast and anxious, passing several other passengers before entering the terminal building.
Clearly, she didn’t see him standing nearby, although her eyes were darting around the place. When he stepped forward to make his presence known, she gave him a tight smile, obviously very nervous indeed. At her request, he led her to the nearest ladies’ room, waiting patiently outside for her return, using the time to gather his thoughts and assess his reaction to her arrival.
There was only one word to describe the way he was feeling.
Excited. More excited than he’d been in years. Not just sexual excitement, though that was there as well. Hell, yes! He’d had a hard-on for days. But there was another excitement firing him up: the excitement which came from rising to meet a challenge.
During the last week or so John had given a lot of thought to why he was doing this. He’d finally come to the conclusion that it was his male ego that had directed his offer to Scarlet. There wasn’t anything mysterious or confusing about it. It was his competitive spirit coming to the fore. He, John Mitchell, was going to do what no other man could do. His intense desire to give Scarlet a baby wasn’t just sexual, it was
Scarlet had been spot on when she’d said having a child was a basic drive for men as well as for women. It was.
All these realisations had led John to approach his time with Scarlet as much more than an opportunistic affair. It was an important project, to be researched and carried out with meticulous attention to detail. When he’d been looking for oil in Argentina he hadn’t just lucked upon the discovery. It had taken months of painstaking work, both physical and intellectual. So he’d set about researching the reasons for an otherwise healthy woman not conceiving with the same dogged determination. After reading every article on the Internet on the subject, he’d come to the conclusion that Scarlet’s most likely problem was stress, something he’d already suspected. She needed to relax more and stop obsessing about having a baby.
Which was where he came in. His job was to relax her, and the best way to relax her was through sex. Not just ordinary old sex-great sex. The kind which would eventually make the woman forget everything but having her partner deep inside her. John had concluded that Mother Nature had created orgasms for a reason, so making sure that Scarlet had fun was his number one priority.
Luckily, John knew his way around a woman’s body very well indeed. Knew what pleasured them. Knew what was likely to satisfy them. Scarlet had obviously had some negative experiences where the opposite sex was concerned. It made sense that she’d been turned off men to a degree.
She’d probably expect him to make a pass tonight. All the more reason why he wouldn’t. Let her be impressed with his gentlemanly manners and his apartment. It was a very nice apartment. He’d give her one of the two guest rooms, the one which opened out onto the balcony with a view of the harbour, the same balcony his bedroom opened onto. Tomorrow, he would take her sightseeing during the day, wine and dine her in the evening, then make love to her afterwards. Romantic sex, the kind with silk sheets and candles.
John’s mouth quirked. Unfortunately, he didn’t have silk sheets or candles. He wasn’t that kind of guy. Damn. Still, perhaps it was for the best not to get too romantic-it might… confuse the issue.
Such thinking brought a rueful laugh to his lips. Scarlet King, fall in love with
Scarlet felt marginally better by the time she emerged from the ladies’ room. Besides a much-needed trip to the loo, she’d taken off her jacket and brushed her hair. But the sight of John standing there brought a swarm of butterflies to her stomach. She still couldn’t get used to how sexy she found him. He looked very attractive, dressed in fawn cargo shorts and a white polo shirt which highlighted his tan, as well as his broad-shouldered, very fit body.
She also couldn’t get used to the way he kept looking at her, like she was a freshly cooked pizza and he a starving Italian. His obvious desire was both flattering and nerve-wracking at the same time. Her pulse-rate definitely moved up several notches.
Scooping in a deep breath, she hooked her bag over her right shoulder, draped her jacket over her left arm and moved towards him, fiercely aware of the movements slow walking and fast breathing were creating in her female body. The soft rise and fall of her breasts. The sway of her hips. Lord, but she was blushing now!
Thankfully, his eyes had by then moved in the direction of the nearby carousel where the luggage was coming out.
‘What does your bag look like?’ he asked, glancing back over his shoulder at her.
‘It’s black with a big pink ribbon tied to the handle. There it is now,’ she said, pointing.
John strode over and scooped her bag off the carousel, his eyebrows lifting when he felt the weight of it. ‘I only asked you to come for ten days, Scarlet,’ he said with dry amusement as he steered her towards the exit, dragging the bag behind them. ‘Not for life.’
‘I hate going away anywhere and getting caught with either not enough clothes or all the wrong ones.’
‘Can’t say it’s a problem I have often.’
‘You’re not a female.’
‘Which is rather a good thing,’ he said with a wry little smile.
Scarlet ground to a halt and stared up at him.
‘What?’ he said.
