Later that night, after reviving her body with greasy food and plenty of water all day, Scarlett found herself freshly showered and stood in the middle of her bedroom. She held up the red dress on its hanger, remembering how she'd worn it when she first saw Harry.
She wondered if he asked her to wear it because when he first saw her, he loved the way it hugged her figure but couldn't put his hands on the red attire. But now, with how things had progressed, maybe he wanted to see her in it and maybe even take it off her at the end of the night.
Melanie was skeptical, to say the least when Scarlett showed her the texts from him. He seemed cocky and controlling which was in a horrid combination in her opinion. However, she trusted her friend's judgment and told her to text her should she need anything.
Scarlett did her makeup smoky and sultry, a deep brown swept across her eyelids and glistening gloss on her lips. She got dressed and admired her figure in the mirror, adorned in the red dress that he'd requested. Ample curves and legs that seemed longer once she put on her heels.
She saw it had just gone past nine, and it would take her just over half an hour to get to the Blue Ribbon. She spritzed her favourite fragrance to her skin, making sure of a light spray through her long hair. Grabbing her purse and jacket, she set off.
She wasn't quite sure how to feel as she sat in the cab that she'd hailed. She was nervous, of course. He was intense, overwhelmingly so. And she couldn't quite pinpoint what she wanted from him, and him from her. Maybe that's what excited her.
The Blue Ribbon was popping off, being a Saturday night, she wasn't surprised. However, there was a line to get in and she rolled her eyes internally. She wanted this anticipation to end, to find him and have a drink and flirt with him, maybe playfully chastise him for his infamous suggestive dialogue.
The bouncer met her eyes, gesturing her over with a crook of his finger. He was a unit, fully muscled and tattooed. She gulped as she approached him, spying how small the clipboard was in his large hands and feeling a little intimidated.
"Scarlett?" His expression was stoic.
"Yes, that's me."
"Head on in." He lifted the blue rope that was between her and the door and nodded towards it. She thanked him and shrugged as the people in line whined after her.
The music was different this time around, emitting a completely different atmosphere. It was sexy with deep bass that vibrated in her chest.
She skimmed past people, worming her way through the sea of intoxicated inhabitants of the venue. She wasn't sure where to find Harry but Ben caught sight of her from behind the bar. She clasped her hands together in relief at seeing a familiar face among the patrons.
"Hey, babe." He greeted. "Haven't seen you in a while."
"Ben, how are you?" She softened her approach due to how Harry had treated him when she was last there. She honestly felt kind of bad for him.
"Great, now that you're here."
She gave him a sheepish smile, opening her mouth to reply but then a hand came to rest on her lower back. She turned to look who had their hand on her and gasped, seeing the man who had captivated her mind for weeks.
"Harry."
"Hi, love. What would you like to drink?" Harry asked her, but his eyes were pinning Ben to the floor with a glare.
"Uh, a gin and tonic, please."
Harry clicked his tongue, regarding Ben when he said, "You heard her. I'd like another scotch, too. Bring them to my booth in five minutes."
Scarlett let her eyes flicker between the two men, Ben nodded tightly and got started on the drinks without another glance at her.
"You don't need to be rude." She turned to look at him.
He gave a lopsided smile, his dimples popping as he brushed his fingertip along her bottom lip. "I did miss that mouth of yours."
Scarlett stared at his inviting lips, her breathing deepening as he touched her. "Says the man who took two weeks to text me."
"It won't happen again." He promised with a wink. His hand trailed down and wrapped around hers. "Let's go sit."
She followed him to a booth tucked away in the back, noting that he didn't close the curtain and feeling a pang of disappointment. But then again, the night had only just begun. He held his hand out and helped her onto the plush velvet seating, sliding in after her and draping his arm around the back of the booth behind her.
His attire was beautiful, like always. A mint suit with a white shirt underneath. The coolness of it contrasted his hot demeanor and made his eyes look more green. His expression was one of mischief, his sculpted features smooth like stone and making her feel like she was about to crumble. He smelt absolutely divine, smoky and clean; a dulcet combination like burnt smores and fresh linen.
"I'm sorry I didn't text you sooner, I was on a business trip that took longer than I wanted."
"A business trip? Where to?"
"I was visiting a few clients in London."
"Oh."
"But enough about me. I've neglected you for too long, catch me up on everything."
"I've just been working. Nothing too exciting." She shrugged.
He looked at her, amused with sparkling eyes as his other hand that wasn't behind her ran through his long hair.
"I'll have to come to your store one of these days."
"I'd like that."
His gaze feathered down her attire, enjoying the way the dress hugged her curves and made her olive skin more golden. It was so delicate on her, the way fabric is portrayed on statues.
A feminine canvas draped in silky dreams.
"You're wearing the dress for me."
She looked down at her outfit, trying to hide her hot cheeks that were no doubt flushing pink. She didn't know how to respond.
"You look beautiful."
"Thank you." She replied.
"You're not going all shy on me, are you sweetheart?"
Flickering her sight to the expanse of the bustling bar behind him, she wondered why it was so busy, she'd been there on a weekend before and it was nowhere near like this.
"No."
Ben approached the booth and set the drinks down, Scarlett's response stuck in her throat as she watched Harry's jaw clench at his presence.
"Thank you." She smiled. Ben looked at her briefly, snapping his eyes to Harry as if he was about to launch at him.
"You're very welcome."
"That's all, Ben." Harry dismissed, grabbing his drink and holding it up. Ben sauntered off, twirling the tray between his hands.
Harry and Scarlett clinked their glasses together, mirroring smirks and smoky looks as they sipped their beverages.
"I can't stop thinking about you."
Her lip curved up at his words. "I find that hard to believe."
"Why?"
"You don't even know me."
"Consider this me getting to know you, then."
"Lucky me." She mused, taking a hefty sip of her gin. His hand came up and twirled a lock of her hair around his finger with a smirk. "What?"
"You amuse me."
"I amuse you?"
"Mmhm. You have such a soft face but deadly expressions. When I first saw you I felt like you could see right through me, so gorgeous standing there like you knew you had everyone wrapped around your finger. Me included."
"I remember thinking how intense you were."
"Intense?"
"And intimidating."
His lip quirked before he took a slow drink. "Do I intimidate you now?"
She shrugged, "I think I could handle you."
"That's where you're wrong." His hand slid up her thigh and gave it a squeeze.
Her breathing became laboured as he stared at her, his gaze so overwhelming as his jeweled hand massaged her bare skin.
"You don't think I can?"
"Part of me wants to prove my point, the other part is telling me to be a gentleman, to impress you and treat you."
"I'd love to see you try and prove your point." Her hand went to his, firming his attention to her leg and encouraging it to slid higher, past the hem of her dress.
"No. Not yet." He bit out, grabbing her wrist and pinning it to the seat next to her. His gaze was so dark on her face, his jaw clenched.
"Why not? I know you want me."
"I do. But I also want to savour you... take my time with you."
"Savour me now, I'll still think you're a gentleman if you do."
His lips brushed her throat, trailing along the area softly. "Do you remember what I told you when we first talked?"
She craned her neck, allowing him the stretch of skin, his hot breath fanning across it. "No, I don't." She whispered. His lips met her ear.
"I'm in control. Always. And I'll have no trouble finding ways to remind you. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Good girl."
She huffed out a breath as he pulled away with a devious smirk. Part of her was glad she would have time to get to know him, that she wasn't alone in this connection she felt towards him. It was nice to hear him say he wanted to take his time. But she wasn't very patient.
"I'd like to know what methods you'd use to remind me." She moved her hand to his upper arm, feeling the muscles tense and she continued to push his buttons.
"And I'd like to know what you taste like, I guess we'll both have to wait to get what we want."
She widened her eyes up at him, her hand running along his arm in teasing strokes. Her mind was reeling, her heart racing as he stared at her intently. "Jesus, Harry."
"I warned you, sweetheart. I'm better at playing this game."
Her desire for him hardly seemed like a game.
His phone rang in his jacket pocket, loud and shrill. The abrupt noise pulled them both from the lustful daze they'd been floating in.
"I'm sorry." He apologised, grabbing the device and killing the call without even looking at it before putting it on the table in front of him. It almost immediately started ringing again and he closed his eyes with a sigh.
"It's okay, answer it." Scarlett assured him, taking a swig from her glass. She needed a moment for her body to cool off and that hardly seemed likely when he was focused on her.
He swiped to answer it, his tone clipped. "I told you not to bother me for the rest of the night."
Scarlett's brows rose as she took in his annoyance, she'd hate to be on the receiving end of his anger. Well, that depended on the context.
"Well, figure it out. I don't pay you to call me and cry when shit gets difficult. And be careful during transit. If there's so much of a scratch-" The person on the other end started yelling and to Scarlett's surprise, Harry smirked, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Text Seb when it's done."
Scarlett very quickly caught onto how he was so sure of being in control of everything. The way he was short and straight to the point with his employees, and it seemed he couldn't draw a line when it came to his dating life. At least with her, anyway.
She wasn't sure why being a club owner would warrant such ferocity but after hearing a snippet of a phone call, her intrigue of the man was piqued. There was definitely more to this man that he wasn't letting on, especially if he was flying off to London to meet clients. What kind of clients?
He killed the call and pocketed his phone, turning and facing Scarlett with a soft expression. "I'm so sorry about that."
"Don't even worry about it. You're a busy man, I get it."
"Not so busy that I can't take you out for dinner next week."
"Is that you trying to be a gentleman?" Her gaze was challenging.
Harry let out a light laugh, running a hand through his hair before dropping it between them and letting his finger trail along the softness of her thigh. "As I said, I want to impress you."
She wanted to make a comment on how he'd already done that a few times but bit her tongue. "Okay, dinner would be lovely."
She kept her response subdued, not wanting to seem overly eager but this man was something else. So ardent and raw.
He talked with his hands a lot, which she had to pretend she wasn't staring at his apparent habit but his hands were oddly beautiful. His lips were plump and she liked the way they looked when he talked, his stare was always extreme and passionate and almost had her melting into a puddle on the velvet next to him.
This was different for her, usually notorious for one-night stands and casual flings but Harry was right, she wanted to be drowned in his lavishness. She'd experienced him differently from how she had other men and that in itself was enough to stall her attempt to get him in bed from the get go. She wanted them to take their time and savour each other. What was the harm in doing so?
They had an early night, saying sweet goodbyes to one another. Harry placed his hand on her hip and left a tender kiss on her cheek while she took a deep breath of his scent once more, the haziness of it making her mouth water.
He'd mentioned earlier that he was wrapped around her finger and she wondered if he knew that she was wrapped around his, too.
***
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, my loves.
I'm sorry it took me a while to get this chapter up, but I've been so busy and just struggled to find the time to write. I aim to update a lot more but my work schedule is all over the place send help, please.
It'll start picking up now, I promise. In the next chapter, we're going to learn more about Harry and meet some new characters!
Let me know how you're enjoying this story so far! Don't forget to vote!
xx