My head, neck and shoulders, all ached so badly. I couldn't sleep the whole night before the flight and the flight just added to the stress on my body. I took painkillers after finishing the hot chocolate and then returned to our room.

Scarlet was still in awe of this place, judging by how she was gaping out through the glass door. She looked like an angel with her slightly wet hair, her alluring legs peeking out of the gown, her flushed cheeks and her overall innocence.

Shaking my head, I sat on the revolving chair of my study desk and rested my head back. I had some work to do but I decided to close my eyes for a bit. The silence in this place felt so soothing but the pain in my head stopped me from relaxing.

Still with eyes closed, I massaged my knuckles and the slight pressure alleviated the pain a little. I continued doing that until I felt soft hands over my hard, rugged ones.

My eyes opened up and I found Scarlet towering over me. "Ssshhh, let me give you a little massage. It used to work wonder on Liam when he was in grad school." she said.

I wanted to refuse but her hands felt so good that I gave in and closed my eyes. Her fingers gently kneeded my forehead and a wave of relaxation hit me. She knew what she was doing. Her hands soothed my headache as she gently massaged my scalp and slowly made her way down to my neck.

The muscles in my neck relaxed as she made circles with the pulp of her fingers, going towards my shoulder. She was definitely a witch who was casting a spell on me with her hands. My body felt so light all of sudden and the urge to sleep overwhelmed me.

Something other than sleep also overpowered me. The desire to feel her hands all over me. I couldn't stop myself from imagining her hands tracing all the way from my neck to my abs, teasing me with her seductive eyes.

"Fuck," I groaned. She stopped for a moment and then hesitantly, she once again started doing her magic. She undid all the knots in my muscles and made me feel lighter than air. I wished I could give her the same pleasure she was giving me, maybe more than that. If only I could pull her close to me and give her the same attention she was giving me.

"Is it better?" she asked, pulling me out of my not-so-innocent thoughts.

"Yes," I said and my voice sounded much hoarse. It was weird that her massages was turning me on so badly. I wanted to resist the temptation but when her fingers dug into the skin of my shoulders, an involuntary moan left my mouth.

She pulled her hands back on hearing the moan and that's when I revolved the chair to face her. "I... I should go sleep now," she said but before she could leave, I gripped her wrist tugged her forwards; the force causing her to fall on my lap.

She gasped as I wrapped my arms around her waist and kept her glued to me. My eyes locked with her hooded ones and I could see the same desire in her eyes.

Using my right hand, I pushed the wet hair away from her face and lingered my hand on her jaw. She blushed profusely under my touch and her pupil dilated more, pushing the brown iris to periphery.

Leaning forwards, I placed a small kiss on her jaw. She closed her eyes and supported herself on top of me by gripping my shoulders.

I peppered few more kisses on her jawline and her grip tightened on my shoulder with every kiss. Her skin was so soft, so feminine. After last five years spent in abstinence, her proximity was causing all the blood of my body to rush downwards.

But I knew if I moved any further, I wouldn't be able to stop myself from ravishing her and the rest of this marriage will be spent in regret and awkwardness. She was here just for Cara, this was not the part of plan. I had to remind myself that this was an arranged marriage and what we had was not true.

Placing one last, long, lingering kiss on her neck, I pulled away. "Thanks for the massage. It's getting late. You should sleep now," I whispered and traced my fingers one last time along her cheeks.

She looked disoriented when she opened her eyes. "Y... Ye... Yeah," she stuttered and let out a deep exhale.

Disentangling herself from me, she went to the bed and I made my way to the bathroom to take another cold shower which was now a necessity for me every now and then.

..........

"And that's the final draft made by our worthy team of engineers." I finished my presentation with the last slide of the PowerPoint.

Right now, I was in my office made on the second floor of my beach house. The team of our new investors were sitting in front of me, listening to me carefully. This was one of the many meetings I had intended to finish during my stay here in California.

"Can you brief about the budget once again?" One of them asked.

"Yeah, it's...." I was about to tell them when through the huge glass window of my office, my eyes reached the figure standing on the beach near the water.

It was Scarlet, playing with a basketball alone. She had taken off her sundress and was now cladded in a maroon swimwear that hugged all her curves. Her hair was pulled up in a loose bun, with few tendrils framing her face. She looked genuinely happy with the way she was playing, although she failed to score a basket everytime. My mouth curved into a smile on watching her.

"Mr. Parker?" One of the investors called me and I came to realisation that I was drooling at my wife in the middle or a meeting.

"Yeah, we will talk about this later." I said and dismissed the meeting.

After they left, I made my way downstairs to the beach to see her more closely. She was jumping up and down, trying to make a basket and the sight of her doing this was heartwarming.

She looked so temptatingly delicious that it hurts to look at her. The neckline of her swimwear was deep, showing some hint of her ample chest. Her long legs were glistening under the sun, urging me to wrap them around my waist. She was a seductress without even knowing that what she was doing to me and my hormones.

I was lost in these thoughts when a ball came out of nowhere and hit me on my calf. I glared at her and she grinned mischievously.

Lowering down, I picked it up and slowly walked towards her in a menacing manner. Reaching her, I threw the ball towards the basket and fortunately, made it in my first attempt.

"Aren't you too old to play this?" she teased me and I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Bold of you to say that before playing against me." I retorted.

"Well, it's not my fault that I can't imagine someone in a suit playing basketball." she replied.

"Really? Glad you told me." I said and took off my coat, chucking it towards the deck. Then my hands went to the buttons of my shirt and the smile wiped off her face.

________________________