Chapter III

(A/N: Warning - Sexual content ahead. I’d recommend this for ages 16+ I guess but I can't stop you from reading it. Basically, ‘read at your own risk’ I suppose. I always feel obliged to make this statement before I post chapters like this, so you can't hold me responsible if there is content in here you don't like because I did warn you)

James’ POV

I was testing her limit.

To see how far she would go to prove to me that I was wrong and she was right. I insulted her, provoking her to make her fight me. With less than an inch of space between us, I could sense her emotions before she executed a bodily movement in reception to them.

It happened quickly. Scarlett pulled me towards her by the fabric of my shirt and her lips were soon gliding over mine. My reaction, at first was hesitant. I knew how dangerous she was, especially when she was furious at somebody. There’s only two things that could occur from this: her laughing expression after humilating me, or the both of us disappearing under the sheets. The latter of the two being the most preferred option right now.

The last rational thought in my mind was pushing her away from me, but the second her fingers entangled their way through my hair I was beyond the point of resisting. All my bottled up anger and resentment against her was pushing off the machine pressed cap. I caught her bottom lip between my teeth, just enough to make her halt her motions from the sharp pain but to test her limits once more. She kissed back twice as hard which made me groan into her mouth.

I could taste the faint traces of bourbon against her tongue, but that isn’t what I wanted. I was searching for the insatiable sensation that I got from the last time we ever spent together. I still remember the hotel suite in Venice and the taste of European summer cuisine and Italian wine. Breaking apart, my eyes widened in surprise. My actions were driven by a greedy type of lust, so I could prove something to her. I just didn't know what that something was.

"What ar—?" I began, but I soon dropped my question as Scarlett shrugged and fiddled with the hem of my sweater. We hastily but cumbersomely moved towards the bed, removing articles of clothing as we did. Soon enough she was straddling my lap and I was nipping at her neck.

As I breathed out, she breathed me and the rhymatic responses of our bodies was alarmingly in either in perfect synchronisation, or perfect sequence. I shifted her legs and gently pushed into her, eliciting a surprising sigh of relief from both of us. My libido was on fire tonight, given the fact that I hadn't been getting any action for the past few months. I just never thought this was the person I'd be ending my dry spell with. Nevertheless, I wasn't complaining. Scarlett gently ran her nails over my ribs and down my spine, knowing exactly what that did to me. A light seemed to switch on in my head and I remembered all the things that would drive her wild. 

I tossed her onto her back and pressed my hips into hers, the sounds she was making told me I was doing a good job. All the while, my hands roamed across her body and my teeth left marks on her neck. Leaning down, I pressed my forehead against hers, the sticky feeling of our skin indicating that a lot more time had lapsed than I had first thought. The first time she breathed my name into my ear, I felt shivers travel down my spine...but it wasn’t until she screamed it that I found my release as she found hers.

Collapsing on top of her in exhaustion, I planted one more kiss on her neck before rolling off to lie on my back and catch my breath. I could still hear music and the chatter of voices from below, which indicated that no one would have heard us unless they were outside this very room. That was a major relief.  As far as everyone else knew, I was never in this room. 

"Well that was interesting…" Scarlett muttered, twiddling her thumbs and staring up at the ceiling. I could only nod in agreement, unsure of what to say or do. Hearing Scarlett sigh, I sat up and watched her rummaging around for her clothes. 

As I searched for my own, a thought travelled into my head. I'm definitely going to regret this in the morning.

-

Scarlett’s POV

Whilst the devil was dancing in circles on my left shoulder, the angel on my right was shaking its head in disappointment at me. As I came down from my high, I realized what just occurred.

I just had sex with James.

Burying my face in my hands, I couldn't get the image of him manoeuvering on top of me and placing kisses in all the right places. The feeling of his large hands roaming across my body with adept ease seemed to be imprinted on my skin and the scent of his cologne slowly depleting to that terrible scent of sex now lingered in the air. I had to get out of this room, because he was all I could think about.

What makes things even worse was the fact that James and I were completely sober. I can't use the excuse of being drunk to validate the reason why I had sex with the person I consider to be the bane of my existence. Rummaging around in the sheets, I located my clothes and got dressed. I’d have to explain to Seth that I could no longer stay the night, because the last thing I wanted was to sleep in this now dirty bed. I highly doubt Seth would appreciate me burning his linen, let alone his guest bed.

Or his entire guest room. 

"Have you seen my belt?" James asks while pulling on his pants, his eyes scanning around the room.

"Nope, but here’s your shirt," I said, tossing his shirt over my shoulder.

Just as I opened the door to leave, James called out my name. "Scarlett?"

"Yes?"

"I’m the best you’ve ever had," He winks, a smug grin plastered across his face. I slammed the bedroom door behind me. 

Right now all I wanted was to be far away from this place. It's only my third day here in LA, meaning there was a high possibility that I'd have to see James some time soon. It's times like these when I really wish that I enjoyed drinking alcohol. It's not like I can't hold it down or anything, I just don't enjoy the taste or the feeling of what it does to you. Or the hangovers the day after, for that matter.

Making my way back down to the party, I retreated to a reclining outdoor chair situated between two palm trees. On my way over, I grabbed a giant bowl of potato chips. I figured that since I wasn't planning on getting drunk, putting on a few kilos wouldn't be a bad alternative.

"Mind if I join you?" 

"Go right  ahead," I mumbled, not bothering to look at who was speaking to me. All I know was that voice didn't belong to James, and that was enough for me. 

"Scarlett, right?" The man says.

"Oh hey!" I grinned, perking up a bit as I realized it was Jay Baruchel.

"You looked like you needed a friend," He explains, reaching into the bowl of potato chips and scooping out a handful of them.

"So you decided to come over and steal my potato chips?" I joked. 

Throwing his head back in laughter, he raised his hands in the air. "You got me," Jay chuckled, "So what's bothering you?"

"I just let him get to me, that's all," I said, not elaborating any further. Jay understood who I was referring to and nodded understandingly, "Bad history?"

"Yeah...we dated for a while. Didn't end well, you know the deal.," I sighed. Jay nodded sympathetically, "All too well. Relationships suck." 

When neither of us elaborated any further, I sat up and crossed my legs, motioning for him to sit across from me, with the bowl situated between us. "So, Seth mentioned you're a musician didn't he? What kind of music do you like?" He queries.

"I listen to just about everything. The Cure, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, The Stooges, Wu-Tang Clan, Biggie, Nirvana just to name a few all time favourites. When I'm on tour, I get given a lot of demos or EPs by aspiring musicians, and I listen to every single one of those. A lot of it is very obscure but I enjoy it so much I put it on my ipod," I laughed. "Yourself?"

"Great taste, but please tell me you've got some Joy Division and My Bloody Valentine on there?" Jay asks, closing his eyes as if he was bracing for a horrible response. "Don't worry, I do. 'Loveless' is one of my all-time favourite albums."

"No way!" Jay exclaims excitedly, before rambling off about his favourite bands. Turns out we have the same taste. After chatting about various things with Jay, we realized that just a few hours slipped by and the number of party guests was diminishing. "I should probably get going," Jay announced, checking the time on his phone. I stood up and pulled him into a hug, "Thanks for cheering me up.

"No problem," He smiled, "See you around!"

"You too," I smiled.

On second thoughts, this night wasn't so bad.