Chapter 19: Energy Play

Scarlet missed remembering returning to her suite. She hardly remembered locking the door behind her or the sensation of the cold doorknob in her palm. She could only feel the heat crawling under her skin, the sting of Tucker's voice still ringing in her ears, and the weight of the folder she had just turned over crushingly. Her brain whirled with the words she could not undo. The LangSTON Incident. The treachery. The alteration. interference of Wyatt. Five years that have been stolen.

Chest rising and falling quickly, she fell into the velvet recliner and felt Tucker's ghost still tingling on her cheek. She remembered his question "What else did you see?" yet it was not the wrath that tormented her. That was the instant his voice softened. The way his hands had trembled just as he touched her. She heard someone knock at the door.

Three leisurely taps. The door opened before she could reply. Tucker intervened, his presence weighty, mouth rigid, shirt collar slightly undone as if he had barely stopped before squarely approaching her. She asked, voice low and hoarse from the fight, "What are you doing here? He said, shutting the door behind him, "I didn't complete what I had to say." His voice was like silk-wrapped steel under control, sharp enough to cut. Scarlet got standing. "You spoke plenty, in my opinion." He moved forward a bit closer. "You still don't grasp it." She shot a "No," crossed her arms. "I cannot understand it.

I find it hard to understand how you could storm into that office and accuse me of treachery when the actual treason has been stashed in the vault of your family for years. "You entered my territory." "You invaded my life the day you presented that contract." His eyes sparkled. "Don't pass yourself as a victim. You signed that. Knowing what this house was, you entered it. "I signed it to salvage what was remained of my father's heritage!," she yelled. " Not to be drawn into a twisted game of power plays and controlled silence!!" Tucker's mouth closed tightly. " You could have asked me." You wouldn't have given me the truth.

Stillness extended. He stared at her for a moment, then moved forward too closely once more. "You assume I was looking for that kind of information? Seeing my father's handwriting on that letter, you could see it didn't gut me. Realizing everything I thought of you was untrue? Then why treat me as though I still have guilt? He yelled, "Because I don't know what to do with the truth!" She fixed her gaze, frozen. At the end, his voice broke like a fault line giving way under strain.

He turned away sharply and paced like a caged beast, running a hand over his hair. Now coiled in his shoulders, scorching behind his eyelids, the feeling he battled to control was all over him. Scarlet moved forward, her voice softer now. "Tucker... Your father caused us to lose something. something we owned. Tell him not to keep pilfering it. Chest rising sharply, he once more stared at her. "You believe I can forget?" No, she answered. Possibly, though, you could start afresh. He moved to her side. Then still another. Then they were suddenly inches apart. Tension, suffering, longing permeated the air separating them. She could see the fight inside his eyes. the portion still disgusted her for leaving. The portion that today loathed herself for thinking she had desired. "You still want to run?," he questioned, his voice low. "Not nowadays." His hand rose, hung close to her face, then softly touched her jaw.

His thumb passed across her bottom lip. "You ruined me," he said softly. "And I allowed you.". She said quietly, "I didn't want to." His pulse stopped. Then his tongue was on hers. It wasn't delicate. It was not reticent. Five years of agony and fire and unsatisfied hunger slamming into one kiss. Pulled close, his hands entwined in her hair, pushed her to him like he could bury the past beneath their flesh. Scarlet's fists clasped his shoulders, nails biting in to match his urgency. Every kiss turned into a confession. Every gesture, an apologies. But he soon withdrew breathing forcefully, eyes crazy, just as fast as it started.

"I should detest you," he murmured with hoarse voice. I ought to toss you from this house. "then why don't you??" He replied nothing. He turned, walked out, and slammed the door behind him after merely staring at her long, hard, with something unreadable in his eyes. The quiet he left behind was intolerable. And Scarlet stood in the middle of her suite, lips still tingling, heart still pounding, wondering what the hell had just started between them. Beaumont Manor's dining hall was a chamber cut directly from the pages of royalty towering arched ceilings covered with gold leaf filigree, a chandelier dripping with crystal teardrops, and a dining table long enough to seat a king's court. Under candlelight, the polished mahogany shone; the air smelled of roasted meats and rich wine. Walking next Tucker, Scarlet's heels quietly clicked across the marble floor, each step ringing like a reminder of the brittle ceasefire they shared. The torrent of words and his sudden departure there had left no discourse following the night before the kiss. No justification.

Another message fell under her door this morning. Formal family supper. At 8 PM. Don navy. That was all that was mentioned. She had gazed at it for some minutes before dumping it onto the vanity. Apologues had not come from here. No allusion to the heat of his kiss on hers, the way his hands had trembled against her flesh, or the brittle vulnerability in his voice. Zero. Just a directive, as usual, wrapped in formality. She felt the heat of that chilly distance more than ever as she walked into this hall with him once more, arm-in-arm but miles apart. Under her breath, "Why tonight?" she whispered as they approached the table.

He paid no attention to her. "My mother urged.." Scar checked his profile. The sharp contours of his jaw. His mouth stayed tightly closed and inscrutable. She didn't believe him. She also was correct. A familiar voice flowed through the air like a poisoned song as they reached the table and she moved to seat beside him. "Well, this is surprising.." Scarlett stiffened.