Covet by Alison Ryan

they landed and a large, luxury SUV waited for them. It whisked them off to Addison, one of the finest restaurants in San Diego. Not that Scarlet knew that. She’d Google it on her phone while in the bathroom later, freshening up.
    They’d had the tasting menu as their dinner, which consisted of about a dozen courses of one delicious plate after another. Scarlet’s nerves were getting the best of her, but she managed to eat a little as Barrett tried his best to have a conversation that didn’t include too much from their past. An almost impossible thing to do.
    Barrett hoped that after dinner they could talk about something more. Either way, he refused to allow the night to end until he had something from Scarlet, some reason why she’d chosen to go back on the promise of not breaking his heart so long ago.
    After dessert was finished and it looked like they were finally on their way back to Las Vegas where he knew the date would be quickly over and thus out of his control, he made a decision.
    “Do you mind if we stop by my house?” he asked. “I want to check on something. I haven’t been to it in a few months.”
    Scarlet rolled her eyes, “I’m not stupid. Don’t expect me to fall for that, Barrett.”
    “What?” he asked innocently. “I just figured while I’m here, I might as well stop by.”
    “Okay,” she suddenly said, to his surprise. “Take me there.”
    The SUV couldn’t have gotten there fast enough for Barrett’s liking. He didn’t want her to change her mind. Because of course he had ulterior motives. There was no way he was letting Scarlet off this easy.
    As they drove towards Rancho Santa Fe, Scarlet thought that maybe she should say something. Bring up her idea of just having one night with him. Before she could say it, Barrett spoke.
    “This might be out of line, but I don’t care,” he said, moving over closer to her. Her long legs were crossed but they were facing him, a good sign.
    “Okay,” she said, looking at him.
    “We don’t have to talk about the past,” he said. “But what if for tonight we pretended we were back there. That nothing had ended. That you still felt for me how you did then.”
    Barrett I never stopped she thought, wishing she had the guts to say it.
    “What do you mean?” she said in a low voice, looking up at him with those damn chartreuse eyes.
    “You know what I mean,” he replied and suddenly he couldn’t help it. He grabbed her, kissing her passionately on her mouth that was still open in surprise.
    To his complete relief, she kissed him back. She tasted just as she had and all at once, everything started happening.

    * * *
    T hey’d practically tumbled out of the car when they finally reached Barrett’s sprawling estate in Rancho Santa Fe. The driver had walked in front of them to unlock the door.
    As soon as they were in the house Barrett ambled over to his office. It was the first room to the right of the front entrance. Freshly renovated, it was all mahogany wood and maroon curtains and valances. A large desk was in the center of everything.
    Scarlet followed, suddenly not caring about anything but being near him. Just for tonight she said to herself.
    “How badly do you want me?” Scarlett asked.
    She was on his desk now, her legs open. She could feel her arousal soaking the papers she was sitting on; she hoped they weren’t important.
    “Desperately,” he whispered, walking towards her. She could see it was true, the large bulge in his tailored pants told her as much.
    “Fuck me, then,” she said. It wasn’t begging as much as it was a challenge- a dare. Underneath her dress, nothing separated him from being inside her.
    “Don’t tease me,” he growled, now on top of her, his hands riding up her inner thighs to her dripping sex. “You will get fucked. It won’t be sweet. It won’t be love. It will be what you need more than what you want.”
    His mouth smashed against hers, a groan escaping her lips as he beared down on