Contract with Consequences

‘I’m at Erina Fair, doing some food shopping. What you can hear is the rain on the roof. It hasn’t stopped bucketing down since you left.’

‘No rain up here. It was about twenty-five degrees today, with just a gentle breeze blowing off the sea.’

‘You’re having a good time, by the sound of you.’

Good…

Now that wasn’t a word which sprang to mind about today, Scarlet thought guiltily.

‘I haven’t been doing all that much,’ she said. ‘Went for a long walk around the city and down to the new waterfront area which was pretty amazing. I’m just back from dinner at the sailing club.’

‘The sailing club, no less! That sounds swish.’

‘Actually, no, it’s nothing like that at all. The club’s on the small side and very casual. Where you eat is right on the water and has a great view of the sunset. I took lots of photos. Which reminds me, have you looked at the photos of the apartment I sent you?’

‘I sure did. It looks lovely and the view is fantastic.’

‘I’ve taken heaps more photos today. I’ll email them to you as soon as I get off the phone.’

‘Oh, don’t worry about doing that, love. I’d much rather you showed me the rest of your photos when you get home. That way you can tell me all about them at the same time. So what are you going to do tomorrow?’

‘I’m not sure. I haven’t booked anything as yet. I might just potter around Darwin again, or sit on the balcony and read a book.’

Or I might spend all day in bed, fulfilling every single sexual fantasy I’ve ever had.

‘You do whatever you want to do, darling. And don’t worry about calling me every day. You’re up there to have a complete break. And it’s not like I’m lonely. I’m with the girls at the salon all day, then I’m going to my quilting meeting tomorrow night. And Carolyn has kindly asked me over to her place for dinner on Saturday. I dare say she thinks I’m missing you, and of course I am. But not in a sad way. I love it that you’re having a holiday. I tell you what-leave off calling me till Sunday night. By then you’ll have lots of news to tell me.’

‘Okay. I’ll ring you on Sunday night around seven. Bye, Mum. Look after yourself.’

‘You too, darling. Love you. Bye.’

Scarlet sighed as she hung up. Her mother was missing her but trying desperately not to show it. Perhaps it was a good thing for her mother to learn to cope by herself for a while.

It was just as well, however, that she didn’t know what her daughter was up to during her ‘holiday’. She would be seriously shocked.

Scarlet could no longer pretend to be shocked. The lust which was consuming her was also obliterating both shock and shame. She could not wait to be with John again. Her heart beat quickened as she hurriedly made her way back out into the kitchen where the object of her desires was just saying goodbye to whoever he was talking to.

He placed his phone down on the kitchen counter and looked over at her.

‘I expected you to talk for a lot longer than that.’

‘The line wasn’t good,’ Scarlet informed him, amazed at how calm she sounded. ‘It was raining so hard I could hardly hear her. Who were you talking to?’ she asked, still managing to keep up her cool facade. Underneath, however, she was all liquid heat.

‘That was a mate of mine. Owns a helicopter. His name’s Jim. Before that I rang another mate, Brad. He owns a boat-charter business. I’ve been lining up our activities for the next three days. Tomorrow, we’re going on that harbour cruise, the one where you learn to fish. Saturday, we’re going to visit Kakadu and a few other tourist spots by air, then late in the afternoon Jim is going to set us down in a very special place where I’m going to show you that camping can be fun too. Sunday morning, Jim’ll come back to collect us, then we’re going to do a spot of heli- fishing before coming back here and cooking our catch. How does that sound?’

‘Wonderful.’ In truth, she didn’t give a damn what they did tomorrow. Or Saturday. Or Sunday. All she could think about was here and now.

‘John?’ she said, her voice turning throaty as desire trickled like shards of hot ice down her spine, radiating out into her breasts and her belly and every other turnedon area of her body.

‘Yes?’

‘Could you please stop talking now?’ she choked out. ‘I really need you to make love to me.’

John stared at her, his gaze so hungry and hot Scarlet thought she would combust on the spot.

‘In that case, I really need you to take that dress off,’ he said in a low, gravelly voice. ‘If you recall, I did say that no clothes were allowed when we were alone together.’

Scarlet gulped. Thank God she’d put her panties back on. As wickedly charged as she felt, she still didn’t want John to know that she’d sat through dinner without any underwear on. Now that would be shaming. Her heart missed several beats as she reached up her back to find the zipper which anchored her dress in place. Seconds later the dress was on the floor and her pulse rate went off the Richter scale.

‘Now the rest of it,’ he ordered.

Her hands trembled as she took her panties off, but not through nerves. It was sheer excitement that was making her shake. Tossing the panties away, she straightened her shoulders and stood before him, totally nude, except for her shoes.

‘Scarlet King,’ he said as his heavy lidded gaze raked over her. ‘You are one wickedly beautiful woman.’

I’m one very wicked woman, Scarlet thought, her belly tightening when he began to walk around the benchtop towards her.

Even before he pulled her into his arms, she knew that she would do anything John asked of her tonight. Anything at all.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Late Sunday afternoon

‘I STILL can’t believe how much I like fishing,’ Scarlet said as they walked back to the apartment, John carrying a bag of provisions they’d bought at a nearby supermarket. ‘I quite liked it on Friday but I really enjoyed myself this morning.’

They’d not long returned from their heli-fishing expedition, which had involved being delivered by helicopter to a special river spot where the barramundi had practically jumped onto their lines. They’d caught too many, really. They’d given Jim a few and still had five to bring home, stashing four in John’s freezer and keeping out a large one which Scarlet planned to cook for them both tonight, hence the trip to the supermarket.

‘I quite liked the camping part as well,’ she added, though perhaps it was the place she’d loved more than roughing it in the outback. The spot John had chosen to camp next to last night had been extremely beautiful, a fresh-water billabong surrounded on three sides by rugged cliffs, and fed by a waterfall which had sparkled like diamonds in the late-afternoon sun.

He slanted her a smug smile. ‘What you liked, madam, was sharing my sleeping bag.’

Well, yes, she certainly had. It had been something else, sleeping like spoons in the one sleeping bag with their arms around each other and their bodies joined, John making love to her on and off during the night. But it wasn’t the amount of sex which Scarlet began thinking about now, but the quality of John’s love-making. It had been different to what he’d done to her on previous nights. His love-making in the sleeping bag had been slow and gentle, and rather wonderful. It had left her feeling not ravaged, so much as loved. They’d talked at length too, exchanging memories of their childhood, laughing about incidents which had once bothered them both.

Dared she hope that their relationship was deepening? That John might care for her as she was certainly beginning to care for him?

It was impossible to pretend it was just lust she still felt for the man. She liked John’s company, in bed and out. Liked his friends. Liked his surprisingly warm, easy-going way.

‘I have to say I was surprised how well you took to going feral,’ he said with amusement in his voice.

His comment surprised her. ‘What do you mean, feral?’

He grinned. ‘Once I convinced you that no one could possibly see you, you loved skinny dipping in the billabong.