Chapter 5- Lustful Danger
1580 Words
Dean
Dean Steele knew getting Scarlett Thorne alone in his SUV was a mistake the second she climbed inside.
The scent of rain and vanilla followed her immediately, filling the dark interior while she pulled the door shut quietly beside him.
And f**k.
Between the tiny shorts and the low-cut tank top barely hidden beneath her unzipped hoodie, Dean was already losing the fight with himself.
Rainwater clung to the soft skin exposed at the top of her chest, subtle cleavage visible every time she shifted in the passenger seat.
Dean’s eyes flicked there once.
Then immediately away.
His jaw tightened hard.
Do not look at her again.
Naturally, that became impossible.
Scarlett shifted nervously beside him, bare thighs brushing against black leather while she tucked wet hair behind one ear.
Dean noticed every movement automatically.
Always had.
That was the problem.
“You’re staring,” Scarlett muttered softly.
Dean glanced at her briefly before pulling out onto the road.
“You’re nervous.”
“That wasn’t an answer.”
A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth despite himself.
“You ask too many questions.”
Scarlett rolled her eyes quietly.
Jesus Christ.
Even that got to him.
That tiny flash of attitude made something dark shift low in Dean’s chest.
Because Scarlett always acted sweet and shy around everyone else.
But with him?
She pushed.
Teased.
Looked at him like she wasn’t even slightly intimidated by the fact he could ruin her with one bad decision.
And Dean hated how badly he wanted to take control of that mouth when she did it.
Wanted to pin her beneath him and make her look at him while he reminded her exactly who was in charge.
Wanted to hear that sarcasm disappear into soft broken breaths after one rough kiss and a firm hand at her waist pulling her closer.
The thoughts hit hard enough to make Dean grip the steering wheel tighter.
Because Scarlett had no idea what kind of man he really was beneath the restraint.
No idea how badly he wanted control of her.
How badly he wanted her soft, needy, and completely undone because of him.
And the worst part?
Dean was starting to think Scarlett would let him.
He turned his attention back toward the rain-slick highway stretching ahead while low music played softly through the speakers.
The silence between them should’ve felt awkward.
Instead it felt dangerous.
Too intimate.
Scarlett’s thighs were still damp from the rain.
Her shorts kept riding higher every time she moved.
And Dean was trying very hard not to think about all the things he wanted to do to her.
Which wasn’t going well.
At all.
He imagined gripping her thighs hard enough to leave marks while she trembled beneath him.
Imagined Scarlett flushed and breathless, those innocent green eyes looking up at him while he finally f****d every filthy thought out of her mind.
Dean wanted to hear her lose composure.
Wanted to know what sounds she’d make when she stopped pretending she didn’t want exactly what I want to give her.
And one look at the soft cleavage peeking from beneath her half-zipped hoodie told him losing control around Scarlett Thorne would feel dangerously easy.
Distracted with these thoughts has my c**k straining against my pants. So I shift discretely to adjust myself before she notices.
“You didn’t have to pick me up,” Scarlett said after a minute.
Dean laughed quietly under his breath.
“Yeah, I did.”
Scarlett frowned slightly beside him. “Why?”
Because the idea of leaving you standing alone in the rain while your boyfriend forgot you existed made me want to break his neck.
Dean flexed his jaw.
“You looked miserable.”
“I did not.”
“You skip breakfast when you’re upset.”
Scarlett blinked slowly.
“How do you even know that?”
Dean’s grip tightened against the steering wheel.
Because I know everything about you.
Instead he shrugged casually.
“You’ve done it since sophomore year.”
Silence filled the SUV again.
Heavy this time.
Scarlett looked down toward her lap quietly while thunder rumbled overhead.
Dean forced himself not to stare at her mouth.
Failed almost immediately.
Pink lips.
Soft skin.
Big green eyes constantly looking at him like he's a mystery she's trying to solve.
It drove him insane.
Scarlett had always done that.
Even as a kid.
Especially as a kid.
Dean still remembered the first day she wandered onto the Steele construction site wearing muddy rain boots and crooked pigtails while her father worked on the mansion.
She’d been eight.
Tiny.
Mouthy.
Dean had been twelve and already pissed off at the world for reasons he couldn’t explain yet.
Most people annoyed him.
But Scarlett?
Scarlett walked directly into an unfinished hallway, looked him dead in the eye, and told him:
“Your house is too big.”
Dean actually laughed.
The first real laugh he’d had in weeks.
And somehow after that…
She just stayed.
Running through unfinished rooms with Erik.
Eating popsicles on the half-built patio.
Falling asleep on the Steele family couch during movies.
Dean spent years pretending she was annoying while secretly memorizing everything about her.
The books she read.
The songs she hummed absentmindedly.
The way she twisted rings when anxious.
And then one day—
She stopped looking like a kid.
Dean exhaled slowly through his nose.
That realization still made him feel guilty sometimes.
Because now at eighteen, Scarlett had no idea what she did to him.
No idea what it felt like watching her walk around in oversized sweaters and tiny shorts completely unaware she was every fantasy he’d spent years trying to bury.
Dean glanced sideways again before immediately regretting it.
Scarlett was biting her lip softly while staring out the rain-covered window.
Fuck.
His thoughts turned dark instantly.
He imagined biting down hard on that lip while Scarlett trembled beneath him, breathless little sounds falling from her mouth as he finally gave in to years of pent up restraint.
Dean gripped the steering wheel harder.
Because one day he was going to lose control around her.
And deep down, he wasn’t sure he wanted to stop it anymore.
“Dean?”
Her soft voice snapped him out of it immediately.
“What?”
Scarlett looked at him carefully.
“You okay?”
The irony almost made him laugh.
No, Scarlett.
I’m one bad decision away from ruining both our lives.
“Fine,” he muttered.
Scarlett didn’t look convinced.
She reached over absentmindedly then— fingers brushing lightly against his forearm.
Dean nearly lost his f*****g mind.
Heat shot straight to his d**k.
Every muscle in his body tightened violently.
Scarlett pulled her hand back immediately. “Sorry.”
Dean stared straight ahead at the road.
Because if he looked at her right now—
God.
“Stop apologizing so much,” he said sharply. Trying to keep his composure but it came out harsher than he meant it to be.
Scarlett looked down at her lap again.
Will made her do that.
Dean observed.
The constant apologizing.
Second-guessing herself.
Acting smaller lately.
And it filled him with a rage so cold it scared even him sometimes.
“Why do you hate him?” Scarlett asked suddenly.
Dean already knew who she meant.
“I don’t hate him.”
Scarlett snorted softly beside him.
“Dean.”
His jaw flexed.
“I hate the way he treats you.”
Silence.
Rain pounded harder overhead.
Scarlett stared at him for a long moment.
“You barely even know our relationship.”
Dean laughed quietly.
Bitterly.
“I know he left you standing alone in the rain today.”
Scarlett looked away immediately.
That tiny reaction told Dean everything he needed to know.
Something dark twisted low in his chest.
“He’s busy,” she whispered.
“No,” Dean said flatly. “He’s careless.”
Scarlett’s expression tightened slightly.
“He wasn’t always like this.”
Dean seen that too.
The sadness in her voice.
The disappointment she kept trying to hide.
And suddenly he couldn’t stop himself.
“He doesn’t look at you the way he should.”
Scarlett’s breath caught softly.
Dean realized too late what he’d almost admitted.
The tension inside the SUV shifted instantly.
Dangerous now.
Scarlett looked at him slowly.
“How should he look at me?”
Fuck.
Dean’s pulse thudded heavily once in his chest.
He should not answer that question.
Should not tell her the truth.
Should not admit that every time she walks into a room, his brain fills with thoughts dangerous enough to ruin him.
But Scarlett kept staring at him with those huge green eyes.
Waiting.
Dean finally looked at her fully for the first time since she got into the car.
And there it was again.
That unbearable pull.
“You really wanna know?” he asked quietly.
Scarlett swallowed hard.
Neither of them moved.
Neither of them breathed.
Then Dean’s phone rang through the SUV speakers, shattering the moment instantly.
Scarlett jumped slightly.
Dean looked away first, jaw tight with frustration while the dashboard lit up with a call from Steele Medical.
Reality crashing back in all at once.
Dean answered coldly.
Businesslike.
Controlled.
But even while discussing hospital contracts and investor meetings—
His eyes kept drifting back to Scarlett Thorne sitting beside him.
And somehow that terrified him more than anything else ever had.
- Writer
