Page 13 of Shadow's Surrender
Chapter Three
Scarlett sat onthe large front porch cooling herself with a colorful Chinese fan; it had been a gift from her parents on one of their many trips to Hong Kong.
“I’m just melting here,” Kiara said, running her fingers through her short hair. Kiara and Scarlett had been friends since their first day of high school, and had even gone to the same university back East. After graduation they’d both returned to Pinewood Springs, where Kiara secured a part-time job at her father’s prestigious financial planning firm, CWP Wealth Management. “I wonder how long the outage is going to last.”
“It’s already been too long,” Scarlett replied. Heat licked and coiled her limbs like a hot-blooded serpent, and perspiration surfaced on her forehead and the bridge of her nose. The sky blazed blue and the sun burned an intense yellow while the ground smoldered and sent up a disoriented haze. Even the birds were silent, and the grass stood still as if too hot to move.
“You seem restless since Brooke’s engagement party. Jessica and Daisy have noticed it too.” Kiara leaned forward and poured iced tea from an insulated pitcher into her glass. “What’s going on?”
An image of herself perched on the counter with legs spread wide and Shadow thrusting and grunting made Scarlett shift in her seat. “I guess I’m just bored.”
Kiara’s eyes widened. “Of Warren?”
“Of the monotony of life. I want something other than fashion shows in Denver, tea at the club, committee meetings, and all the fundraisers and cocktail parties I have to go to.” Scarlett pulled at a loose thread in her cotton sundress.
“That’s the world we live in—high society,” Kiara said as she ran the glass of iced tea over the side of her glistening face. “The people on the other side of the tracks think we got it made, but they have no idea how many obligations we have.” She took a sip of tea.
Scarlett leaned back against the soft cushion. “There are so many damn rules I have to live by that they lace me in tighter than a corset. I’d love to throw caution to the wind and just have a wild summer.” She picked up her glass of iced tea from the glass-top table.
Kiara giggled. “Me too.” She glanced around and lowered her voice. “But I don’t dare. Being respectable can be such a burden.” She sighed. “If I’m being totally honest, I just want to plan dinner parties and wait for some big, handsome man to come home from work.” She tilted her head up and stared at the non-moving ceiling fan. “I want to take kids to swim lessons, broil steak on the grill for my good-looking husband … and make love all night.” She glanced sideways at Scarlett. “Why do you keep pushing Warren away? If you’re not careful, some other woman’s going to swoop in and take him from you—someone like Melody. You know she has her eyes on your man, right?”
Scarlett shrugged and watched the melting ice cubes in her glass. “My dad’s the one obsessed with him, not me.”
Kiara laughed. “I think you’re right about that. You seem so much more at ease since your dad’s been away on business. When’s he coming back?”
“Tomorrow.” Scarlett’s mouth turned downward and her eyes narrowed. “And the forecast is storm and thunder.”
“Your dad’s always scared the hell out of me ever since the first day I met him,” Kiara said.
“You and practically the whole town, and that’s the way he likes it. He’s not at all like your dad.” Scarlett’s stomach clenched at the thought of her father coming home and the end of the temporary peace that had descended on the house during his absence.
“He’s pretty wonderful.” A small smile spread across her friend’s face as she rolled her eyes. “I’m totally a daddy’s little girl.”
Scarlett returned the smile. “That’s okay, I wish I were. You even have a mom who’s cool. Mine is too busy acquiescing to every fucking thing my dad wants. Do you know that my mom hasnevertaken my side in any argument or disagreement I’ve had with him? And my two older brothers are just miniature versions of my father.” Scarlett threw her head back and stared up at the ceiling. “Ugh … my family is such a fucking cliché—rich people who are miserable.”
Kiara laughed. “That’s the way most of the families are in our circle. I’m one of the lucky ones—mine is pretty normal. I think once you have your own house and are married to Warren, your life will improve.”
“I’m terrified of being Mrs. Warren Huntington,” she whispered.
“Getting married is scary as hell for womenandfor men, but I’d love to be in your position. I mean, Warren ticks all the boxes, right? He comes from a respectable family, has a degree from an Ivy League college, and treats you like a princess. What more can you ask for?”
“A spark between us. I mean, forget about love, but I’d like to feel something akin to desire or lust for him, but I don’t. Let’s face it, my dad’s a big real estate developer and Warren’s dad owns a ton of land in an area where my father wants to develop.” Kiara’s eyes widened as understanding crossed over her face. Scarlett snorted. “Yeah … our relationship is just one big fucking merger.”
Her friend shook her head emphatically. “No, you’re wrong. Warren cares about you—I see it in his eyes. All our friends wish they could be you.”
“Yeah … Well, Warren isn’t as great as you all think. He likes having me as arm candy, and he’s not a very good kisser.”
“He’s not?” Kiara looked around as if she were afraid Warren would come out from the neatly trimmed bushes at the side of the porch.
“Nope.” Shadow’s lips on hers with their tongues twisting and dancing together flashed through her mind, and a moan escaped through her lips.He didn’t even ask for my phone number.The thread of disappointment that had been weaving through her since that night, coiled tighter around her nerves.
“Wow, you never told me that. I hope he’s making up for that in other ways.”
“Nope.” Warren’s lack of foreplay and technique made their intimate time together less than exciting. Hooking up with Shadow at the party had turned out to be the most exciting and wild sex she’d ever had. She’d orgasmedtwiceand that was two times more than she had ever climaxed with Warren since they’d started sleeping together. Based onthatalone, who could blame her for using the excuse of a migraine for the past several days to get out of making love with Warren? The fact that Scarlett hadn’t told any of her friends about her hookup surprised her. She and her sorority sisters shared just about everything, but for reasons she couldn’t articulate, she’d wanted to keep her encounter with Shadow to herself.So silly.
“One of my mom’s friend’s”—Kiara cut her gaze to the opened windows of the house—“Mrs. Fielding,” she whispered, then gave another glance at the house, “has had lovers for the last several years, and the men are always in their thirties or younger.” She sat back and clasped her hands in her lap.
“Well, Mr. Fielding has been cheating for years on her, so I guess she’s decided to see what she’s been missing out on.” Scarlett laughed.
