Carnage by Sarah Bailey

Thirty

Francis

The office had been quiet yesterday. I had seen no one but Drake. When I asked him, he assured me Scarlett was here and didn’t appear to be annoyed. If anything, she was acting like nothing untoward had happened. The knowledge of that didn’t sit well with me. The Scarlett I’d known ten years ago didn’t take anything lying down. Had she changed that much or was I just trying to see glimpses of the girl I’d once known like the back of my hand?

Later on, when we were upstairs, Prescott had been oddly quiet. Drake asked him what the fuck was up with him. Prescott merely shrugged and went back to his phone. His behaviour made me suspicious, but if he wasn’t going to answer Drake, he certainly wasn’t going to talk to me.

Everything about Prescott being weird and Scarlett’s lack of reaction to what we’d done made me uneasy. Probably why I’d made her tea as an excuse to talk to her. I wanted to see for myself how she was dealing with what we did. The whole tag-teaming thing had been my idea after all, along with the blindfolding, binding her wrists and restricting her hearing.

Her door was wide open when I approached. Scarlett sat behind her desk, her eyes intent on her screen. She didn’t immediately look up when I walked in. When she did as I stood in front of her desk and set the mug down, her eyes widened.

The last time I’d seen her was when I tucked her up in her own bed on Friday night. It had been me who’d taken her to her flat after Prescott retrieved her things from her office. Having her keys made it easy for me to carry her in from the car. It’d been late so there weren’t many people milling around to see me with her cradled in my arms.

When I got her inside, I’d found her bedroom and set her on the bed. It didn’t feel right to leave her naked. We’d wrapped her up in a blanket to take her home. I folded her clothes, placed them and her bag on her chest of drawers before rooting around in them to find her pyjamas. I could imagine what the others would say about me dressing her and tucking her up in bed, but I didn’t care. I had an urge to take care of her. To protect her. To keep her safe.

It was stupid. I couldn’t save her from any of this shit. Fuck, I fully participated in it. I wanted it. But seeing her bare before us and the evidence of her accident almost fucking killed me. The way she’d told me to stop touching one of the scars on her abdomen was soul-destroying. Having to shove down my misgivings took some effort because it made me sick. Because we were all responsible for what happened to Scarlett that night.

There was no point in thinking about how if we’d made smarter choices things could have been different. It wouldn’t bring any of us peace. It only led down a dark path I’d already travelled along before. One I was stuck on. We were all glued to it. Me, Drake, Prescott and West. None of us could deviate from it. It was all or nothing.

“Is that for me?” Scarlett asked, her voice sounding shy and hushed.

I nodded, not yet trusting myself to speak.

“Thank you, Francis.”

My heart thumped at her using my name. I’d missed the sound of it on her lips.

“You’re welcome.”

She gave me a smile and picked up the mug, bringing it to her lips. Her eyes glinted over the rim as she sipped at it. I glanced over at her door before deciding I didn’t want to leave. Her presence was equally soothing and damning.

“Are you okay? Did you want something else?” she asked, cocking her head to the side as she put the mug on a coaster.

Why is she being so nice? I don’t like this.

I’d seen a few sides to Scarlett since she’d returned to us, but this one… it didn’t feel her.

A part of me was terrified about opening up to Scarlett. The only women I’d ever cared about I’d fucked up with. The first being Scarlett herself, who I’d only ever seen as a friend until now, and the second… Chelsea. What I did to her I couldn’t take back. I was usually so fucking careful, but that day, I’d been distracted. And the cause of the distraction happened to be in front of me. The knowledge we were almost at the point where we could get her back had me reeling. Ten years of being without the woman who belonged to us was a nightmare I thought would never end. Chelsea had suffered for my lack of concentration. And West’s solution to the problem hadn’t helped either.

“I’m… fine.”

“You sure? You don’t look fine.”

I frowned. Were my emotions displayed all over my face? I wanted to laugh it off but found myself unable to crack a smile.

“No, I’m good.” I waved a hand at her. “What about you? I didn’t see you yesterday.”

“I’m okay. Drake kept me busy, so I didn't have time for chitchat.”

She nibbled on her bottom lip, which told me that was a lie.

“Did he? Bit of a taskmaster that one.”

She eyed the open doorway as if making sure no one was lurking.

“I’m kind of intimidated by him if I’m honest.”

I almost snorted. Drake’s aloof nature most likely. He wasn’t known for opening up to anyone. Instead, people told him their secrets. He gave off that locked fortress vibe, making it easy for them to think they could trust him.

“He is rather stoic.”

She shook her head.

“It’s not that. More the ‘if you fuck with me, I’ll ruin you’ vibe he gives off. I dread to think what would happen if I did something he didn’t like.”

I backed away towards her door and closed it. Then I wandered back over to her desk, but this time I walked around to her side of it. Leaning against it, I placed my hands at my sides, gripping the edge.

“I don’t suggest you try his patience, but he’s not so bad when you get to know him.”

She looked up at me. Flashes of Friday night appeared in my brain. Particularly the part where I’d pulled my dick out her mouth and cum had run down her chin. The next time that happened, I wanted to see her eyes staring up at me like they were now. Wanted to see her full expression.

“No? How long have you known him?”

“Drake? Since we were babies. Our mothers were best friends.”

That was probably safe enough to tell her. If I went into any more detail, it would be a mistake. I might want Scarlett to remember us, but it didn’t serve our purposes. We were keeping her in the dark for good reason. There would be a massive fallout if she discovered our secrets too soon.

“That long? Wow… and the others?”

I shrugged.

“We met in primary school.”

“You’ve been friends a long time. I don’t even remember that far back.”

I nodded, wanting to reach out and touch her. The sadness in her eyes felt like someone had dug a knife in my chest.

“No?”

She shook her head.

“I have retrograde amnesia… they don’t know if my memories will ever return.”

It felt strange to have a normal conversation with her after we’d been intimate, but she didn’t appear to want to acknowledge the events of Friday night. And for her to admit her condition so readily to me? It was unexpected.

“I’m sorry. Can’t be easy for you.”

She gave me a smile.

“No… that’s why…” she faltered and looked away. “Why I have so many scars… because… because I had an accident.”

The air refused to leave my lungs, my chest constricting at her words.

“I know you saw them,” she continued, her voice quiet. “We don’t have to pretend it didn’t happen.”

I couldn’t help reaching out then, my hand catching her chin and turning her face back towards me. Her expression made me stroke my thumb across her jaw. Scarlett looked like a little lost girl in a world she didn’t understand. I couldn’t allow myself to get sucked into her beguiling gaze no matter how much I wanted to take away the pain lingering there. She wasn’t innocent. She wasn’t on our side. And I certainly couldn’t forget the fact she was here to tear us apart.

“No one here is pretending anything of the sort,” I murmured.

I wasn’t going to insult her intelligence. Not after West had taken her headphones off and made it very clear who had a hold of her.

“Why did none of you kiss me?”

My hand fell from her face, her question startling me.

“What?”

“None of you kissed me. I don’t know what it feels like to be kissed and I guess I was kind of disappointed.”

I had no fucking clue how to answer her. We weren’t the type to do the whole kissing thing. And Friday had not been about anything other than using her body for pleasure. To mess with her head. But the Scarlett I saw in front of me didn’t seem particularly put out by what we’d done to her. Was this how she thought she could manipulate me? Or did she genuinely want to experience a kiss? I hated not knowing. Hated navigating this path when her intentions weren’t clear.

“Are you asking me to kiss you?”

I figured being direct was the best option.

“No.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“No? Then why bring it up?”

She blinked.

“Curiosity.”

“Did no one tell you curiosity killed the cat, Scarlett?”

She licked her bottom lip.

“I guess not.”

Her tongue peeking out was all I could concentrate on. Fuck. I wanted to taste her. And I didn’t believe her. Scarlett wouldn’t have brought it up if she didn’t want to experience it.

Leaning down, I gripped her wrist and pulled her up out of her chair. I straightened and backed her towards the shelves behind her desk. Before she knew what was happening, I pinned her wrists above her with one of my own against the shelves. Scarlett’s eyes snapped to mine as I leant into her, pressing my leg between hers.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to kiss you?”

She sucked in a breath, her lips parting, but no sound came out. I shifted closer, our breathing mingling together, lips inches apart, ready and waiting to taste each other.

“If you want something, you merely need to ask, Scarlett,” I whispered. “I’m in a giving mood.”

My mouth dusted over hers, waiting for her response. She shuddered against me. I expected her to try to escape my hold, but she didn’t. My eyes flicked up to where I held her wrists. I could imagine ropes around them, intricate knots running down her arms, keeping her bound and unable to move. She’d hang there, suspended in the air whilst I knelt at her feet and feasted on her essence.

“You want to kiss me?” Her mouth formed the words over mine, her lips brushing against my skin.

“There are many things I want to do to you, but none of them are appropriate at work.”

She inhaled, almost as if she was breathing me in.

“You smell of apples and cinnamon.”

I eyed her, wondering why she’d brought that up. They had been Scarlett’s favourite scents when she was younger. To remind me of her, I had my cologne specially commissioned. It was my way of staying connected to the girl I’d grown up with. Did she retain her tastes even after her accident? I couldn’t think of any other reason she’d have commented on it.

“I like it,” she whispered.

Then she kissed me. The press of her mouth against mine awakened all my senses. My free hand went to her face, fingers gliding along her soft skin. I tipped her head to gain a better angle. There was a sense of clumsiness to the way she kissed me like it was alien to her. To ease her into it, I took control, dominating her mouth with mine. The moan leaving her lips a minute later had me gripping her tighter. Fuck, did I want more. Her mere presence sent me into a tailspin, desire leaking from my pores and infusing with hers.

I parted her lips with my tongue, tasting her with practised care even though I wanted to kiss this woman with savage brutality and drown her. Scarlett was the light in the darkness. A beacon shining so fucking bright. I watched her closed eyes and listened to her make these adorable noises of pleasure. There was no more beautiful sight than her losing herself in me.

Her tongue tangled with mine in a mess, but I didn’t care. Scarlett tasted sweet. She was compliant, her body rocking into mine, almost as if she was trying to grind herself on my leg. The one situated between hers. It made me smile with how easily I could make her give in. Make her want more. Fill her with a need she couldn’t contain.

I sucked her tongue into my mouth, making her eyes flick open. She stared at me, the ring of hazel and green almost invisible with her blown pupils. Releasing her tongue, I nibbled on her bottom lip, drawing a gasp from her.

“Did I disappoint you further?” I murmured, my teeth making indents on her lip.

“No,” she whispered back.

“Good.”

I dove back in, taking her mouth without any sort of restraint. She could do nothing but give in and let me wring every ounce of pleasure from her lips. The two of us were out of breath when we finally drew apart.

“Your scars make you who you are, Scarlett, and who you are is perfect. Never forget that.”

I kissed her cheek then released her and backed away towards the door. Her eyes tracked my movements as she dropped her arms to her sides like she couldn’t keep them off me. I opened the door and was about to step out when her voice brought me up short.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Showing me what a real kiss should feel like.”

I bit my lip but said no more. We stared at each other for a long moment before I strolled out.

As I walked down the hallway back to my office, I rubbed my bottom lip with my thumb. That had been some fucking kiss. I didn’t know where it had come from nor why I’d allowed it, but I didn’t regret it. Getting to taste her was in some ways far sweeter than fucking her with the others on Friday. It was just me and her in that moment. It made me feel like we were in a little bubble of our own, where the outside world and all the shit that came with it didn’t exist.

I knew I couldn’t lose my damn head to the woman but fuck it. If we were going to burn the world down, then I might as well enjoy myself in the process. Sharing a kiss with Scarlett wasn’t going to derail our plans. And so fucking what if I indulged myself a few more times after this. She was ours. And I wasn’t going to be the one to let that girl forget it.