I clapped my hands together and practically scared Scarlett into a sitting position. “Okay, so I guess it’s time we get you cleaned up.”

She shook her head, and a mess of crimson spirals moved haphazardly across her fair face. “Oh, ouch.” She reached up and touched the back of her head.

I was instantly at her side. “Lie back down.” She gently slid on the couch. “Crap. Maybe you have a concussion.” I looked behind me at the front door, but I knew Granny had already left. I carefully sat beside Scarlett and moved a wayward lock away from her face. I leaned over and started feeling behind the back of her head. I felt her eyes on me as I groped her head like I was checking a watermelon for freshness. I really wasn’t sure what I was doing because suddenly touching Scarlett sent my senses into overload. Her hair was soft and silky between my fingers. I slowed down my rhythm and gently massaged her scalp. A low murmur escaped her lips. I quickly glanced at her, and her eyes were closed. I wanted to lean over and kiss her perfectly plump lips, but I returned my focus to her head where my hands wove through her wild hair that was a wonderland of richness. Even though she was soaked in wine, her head smelled like lavender. Now when I looked again at her, she looked up at me and smiled.

“I don’t feel any bumps?” I asked as more of a question than a statement.

Scarlett’s deep, husky laugh rose to my ears like an aphrodisiac that sent a signal to my brain and straight to my jeans as if she had suddenly cupped my cock. Her laughter was that enticing. It spiked a primal desire to have her beneath me with her mouth wrapped around my cock, which was beginning to grow as fast as my field of bean stocks.

I quickly shook my head and jerked away from her as if from a hot flame. “Yup,” I said brushing my hands together and trying to shake free from the heat that radiated between us. “I think you’re A-okay. Okay-dokay.”

She looked up at me, and her faint green eyes questioned me. “What happened?”

I shrugged. “Nothing. Just taking Granny’s orders to get you cleaned up. So let’s get moving and get you ready.” I hiked my thumb toward where I imagined the bathroom was located. “I’ll start the shower, run a bath, or grab a bucket of water from the well.” I scratched my head. “I’m not sure if there’s running water out here. But no matter.” I snapped. “I’ll do whatever it takes.” I pointed to Scarlett. “To get you freshened up.” Who am I? I sounded like some jingle writer for a feminine hygiene commercial.

Scarlett shook her head. “But Granny won’t be back for at least an hour.”

I nodded. “Yes, but she left me in charge to get you cleaned up.”

Scarlett slightly raised her hips off the couch, and her yellow skirt fell forward to reveal sheer panties that were streaked red. But even stained in wine, it was clear to see that Scarlett was a true redhead.

“I don’t think I should move in my condition,” she said with a coy look on her face. “Could you help me, Jack?”

I swallowed hard and looked at the tiniest, barely-there V-shaped panty that was held together by thin, pink, spaghetti-like straps that hugged Scarlett’s narrow hips. I wanted to gnaw them off with my teeth to get to the strip of hair that was tucked beneath the sexy sheer. Instead, I held Scarlett in my gaze.

“Maybe you hit your head too hard?” I said trying to maintain some semblance of control, trying to be the good guy, trying to remember that we just met. Trying to get a handle on a situation that was suddenly moving too fast, too soon, and yet felt so right, which made no sense at all.

Scarlett rolled her head from side-to-side. Locks of her hair swayed in a truly mesmerizing, hypnotic fashion. “Jack, Jack, Jack. You over-think things way too much. If this Wolfe guy really is so bad and I really was in harm’s way then you just came and rescued me.” She looked up at me, and in that look I could have shot my load.

“Shouldn’t we be living in the moment?” Her voice dripped with sex appeal, and my mind and body stopped working together. “Shouldn’t we forget what’s behind us and start moving forward? I’m not usually this way, but tonight hasn’t gone anywhere like I had planned. I met some Wolfe in the woods. I knew he was bad news, I knew that, but I didn’t listen to my gut.”

For a moment anger flashed across her face. “I should have listened to my first instinct. But I didn’t.” She shook her head. “I did what was expected of me. I shared my dessert. I played nice.”

Her hands were in her lap, and she opened them like she was releasing a bomb. “And then because of my kindness, I got knocked out by you, and now you tell me that Blue may have lost everything?” Her voice dropped like she was about to cry. “If we can’t save what Blue lost…”

Scarlett placed both of her hands over her chest, and in that moment I could tell that what she needed. What she wanted wasn’t necessarily me, but some retreat, some reprieve, some form of escapism from everything that had just happened. And if I could give her thirty minutes, though I hoped much longer, of total release, what was the harm?

“I didn’t hit my head too hard,” she said. “But I am having a difficult time getting up off this couch because I’m feeling a bit dizzy.” Her tone started to shift. “So I was hoping that maybe you could help me?” She leaned on her elbows and partially unzipped her gray hoodie. “It’s really wet and uncomfortable.” She looked up at me, and I knew it was my last chance to give her something I’m sure she never asked for and never had to ask for. “Could you help me out of this?”

I knelt down in front of her while she lowered the rest of the zipper. Perfectly plum-shaped breasts, which strained against what was once a white, lacy bra that was now streaked with merlot, greeted me when I carefully reached for her arm. She turned toward me, and her left breast practically popped in my mouth.

She wiggled out of her hoodie and dropped it to the floor. “Are you good at unclasping a bra?”

I could no longer speak. My hands found their way behind her back that was caked with dried wine, and with a flick of my wrist her bra released in my hand. She slid out of it, and her breasts fell out of their constraints. I was there to cup them in my hand. My thumb circled her nipple until her back arched and low moans drew from deep within her. I circled the other nipple until I thought she would explode.

“Oh, Jack.” Her head leaned back against the couch, and her nipples were erect with pleasure. I suckled on them volleying my attention back and forth just enough to tease and titillate without numbing the sensations. It was a fine balance and one that I prided myself on mastering. If this was our only moment together I wanted to savor every part of her succulent body. And her breasts were a magnificent feast.