I laugh. 揃ullshit.?
Her eyes flash. 揈xcuse me??
揧ou heard me. If you didn抰 want this, we wouldn抰 be married.?I stare her down, daring her to deny it.
She looks away. 揑 expected this to be different.?
揇ifferent how??
揑 don抰 know. Just卍ifferent.?
I sigh. Nothing is ever simple or straightforward with this woman. 揑抎 like to know what it抯 like to fuck my wife, Scarlett.?
She doesn抰 flinch at the crude statement. Doesn抰 react at all. 揧ou can get that elsewhere.?
揂re you? Still??I add that last word just to be an ass. To see her angry expression. She抯 more forthcoming when she抯 mad.
揘one of your business.?
I laugh. 揃ut it was my business after the Rutherford gala??
She抯 silent.
揥hat about kids??
揧ou mean heirs??She scoffs. 揑抦 not ready. Between Haute and the new clothing line, I barely remember to eat. I can抰 handle a baby right now.?
揙kay.?
She eyes me, clearly suspicious about my lack of argument.
揇o you want me to move out??I ask.
揥hat??Scarlett looks genuinely shocked by the question. 揂fter you insisted on moving in with your two closets worth of suits and filling the fridge with cow milk??
She sounds more disgruntled about the second fact than the first, and I almost smile. Phillipe already informed me Scarlett prefers non-dairy milk to the real thing and wasn抰 happy about my lack of substitution appearing in the fridge.
揑 moved in because we抮e married, Scarlett. If you want to pretend like we抮e not, that抯 fine.?
She sits up. 揑 know we抮e married. And I抦 holding up my end of the bargain. I don抰 know what else you want from me.?
揘othing you抮e willing to give, clearly.?
揝ex. Right.?She snorts. 揧ou抮e such a guy.?
揧eah. I want to have sex with you. I also want to know why you asked me to kiss you before our wedding. Why you fight me on everything. I don抰 know shit about you, Scarlett.?
揧ou know everything that matters.?
揙r everything that doesn抰，？I counter.
She sighs. Looks away. Fiddles with the pages of her book. 揥ere you named after the sport??
I blink. What? Scarlett stares at me. I raise a brow. 揟hat抯 what you want to know about me??
Scarlett takes another sip from her wineglass. 揂nswer the question.?
揘o, it抯 a family name.?I shift so I抦 facing her, not the pool. 揥ere you named after the color??
The amusement is brief, but it appears. 揗y mother was a Margaret Mitchell fan.?She flips over the book beside me, revealing the faded cover of Gone With The Wind.
揝o you were named after a tease hopelessly in love with a guy who married his cousin??
She narrows her eyes, but not before I see she抯 surprised I抳e read the book. 揝carlett is strong. She抯 a survivor. She saves herself over and over again, never accepting defeat or relying on a savior.?
揑t suits you.?
Her pink-tipped nails tap the edge of the crystal she抯 holding. She sucks on her bottom lip, and I imagine doing the same. 揑 don抰 want you to move out.?Color rises in her cheeks, but she holds my gaze.
揝carlett厰
揑抣l try, okay? I抣l try.?
揑t wasn抰 an ultimatum,?I say softly.
揋ood.?
She abandons her spot on the chair, crawling into my lap and shocking me into stillness. She settles directly on my crotch. Just like that, I抦 uncomfortably hard.
揟hank you.?
揊or what??I choke out.
She looks down at my red, swollen knuckles. 揊or that.?
揑抳e wanted to punch Camden for years. Guy抯 an ass,?I lie. Camden Crane is an asshole. But I抳e never contemplated punching him until I overheard him speculating about what Scarlett is like in bed.
I can tell from her expression she knows the truth, but she doesn抰 dispute it. 揚eople will talk.?
揕et them.?
揥on抰 your father be upset? He does business with Sebastian Crane.?
Upset? More like furious. 揅ontrary to what some people think, I don抰 make my decisions based on my father.?
Rather than reply, she kisses me. She tastes like tart wine. Sour and sweet. Intoxicating.
The last time our lips touched, we were standing in a lobby with hundreds of people on the other side of the wall. I was wearing a tux, and she was wearing a white dress. Now it抯 the middle of the night. There抯 no one else around. She抯 grinding on my lap, wearing a silk nightgown that barely covers her ass.
Heat surges through my veins. Sparks between us catch, burning with intention. With want and need and other consuming emotions that wash away rational thought.
I don抰 usually pay much attention to kissing. It抯 a courtesy, a stop on the way to the final destination. Sprinkled between desperate touches and tearing clothes off. But with Scarlett, I savor it. Maybe because it抯 been a month since her lips were on mine. Kissing her feels like a gift梐 privilege.