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“Yep.” He kisses me. “I want you, Scarlett Stone. And I always get what I want.” He kisses me again.
My face warms beneath his hands. I’m half flattered and half furious at his assumption that I’ll just fall into his lap. “Stop it,” I say when he lifts his head.
He ignores me and kisses me again. I rest both hands on his naked chest, wanting to push him away, but I can’t. His skin is warm, and he smells so good, and I keep thinking about how it felt when he made me come with his tongue this morning, and how it felt last night to have him inside me. I want him again. I’m cross with myself for it, but I can’t help it.
He lifts his head and looks at me, his eyelids at half-mast. “I’m tempted to drag you into the shower.”
I force myself to push him away and turn to put my hair up into a bun. “You need to stop acting as if I don’t have a say in this.”
He moves up behind me, and I wait for him to grab my breasts where my arms are raised. But he doesn’t. He leans on the cabinet on either side of my hips, then presses his lips to my neck, my throat, my jaw, then behind my ear. I shiver, and he moves his arms around me and gives me a hug.
I lower my arms on top of his, and our eyes meet in the mirror.
“You’re stunning,” he murmurs.
There seems to be no end to the ways this man can surprise me. “Thank you.”
He kisses my cheek. “I’m not going to break your heart. I’m going to worship the ground you walk on, until you realize you can’t bear to be without me.”
I have no idea how a relationship with him could possibly work without one of us completely changing our view of the world and the way we live. And I don’t think either of us is prepared to do that.
But it’s obvious that he’s not used to taking no for an answer. The thought sends a shiver all the way through me.
Chapter Eighteen
Orson
I fly us to the Midnight Club and then drive Scarlett back to Kahukura.
“You can drop me here,” she says as we arrive at the gates to the commune.
I ignore her, though. I’m not going to let her slip in as if we’ve done something secretive and wrong. Instead, I go through the open gates, up the drive, circle the green, and stop right outside the town hall.
“Thanks,” she says sarcastically. Then, as a group of people spill out of the building, she mutters, “Oh no.”
It’s Richard, George, and a few other older people. They fan out as Scarlett opens the car door. Concerned, slightly regretting my decision, I turn off the engine and get out, too.
They watch me walk around the car to join Scarlett. They don’t seem hostile, which was what I was worried about. In fact one of the older women is giving her a mischievous smile as she sees Bearcub in Scarlett’s hand.
“Morning,” Scarlett says. “Is this a welcome committee?”
“We’ve just finished a meeting,” Richard points out. He looks at me. “So… have you come to a decision about the Waiora?”
I nod. “I agree to seventeen and a half million.”
All their faces light up. I have no doubt that most of them are well meaning and genuinely want to improve the facilities here, and the retreat for the women and children who need it so desperately.
“Well, I’m guessing we have you to thank for that,” George says to Scarlett.
Fury balloons inside me at the implication that she slept with me to seal the deal. I cross the distance between us, and in a second I have him pinned up against the wall with an arm across his throat.
“How dare you,” I snarl.
“Whoa!” Richard struggles to pull us apart. “Steady on. Orson!”
“I made up my mind before our date,” I snap. I’m not going to let George off the hook that easily after he was so rude to my girl. “I had my business partner check some figures yesterday afternoon, and we both decided to go ahead. You’ve got a fucking cheek to insinuate anything else.”
George struggles to push me away, and as Richard and another guy pull me back, he finally frees himself. Red-faced, his clothing rucked up, he says, “I just meant that I guess she talked you around. I wasn’t referring to anything else.” He sends her a pleading glance. “You have to believe me, Scarlett. I wouldn’t say that.”