Beautifully Revealed

by Bethany Bazile

  “Do you even hear yourself? You talk about her like she’s your possession. I don’t think your relationship is healthy for her.”

  “Don’t fuck with me, Dr. Knight. Leave our relationship out of your sessions. You may think our relationship is screwed up, but that’s what we are, two people who are making something out of the shit life we used to lead.”

  He shakes his head and sits back down in his chair. He stares at me with disdain before saying, “Are we done?”

  “For now.” I walk out his office ten times more pissed off than when I got here. I knew he would try to pull that unhealthy relationship shit with Ella. I just hope he heeds my warning because if Ella starts to pull away from me due to his influence on her, I will put a stop to their sessions, and find Ella an impartial therapist.

  As soon as I get to the car, I slam the door shut behind me, and rest my head on the steering wheel. This thing between Ella and I just doesn’t seem to get any better. She’s leaving this weekend to go to Vegas with Lucas, and if that didn’t twist my stomach enough, now I have this Dr. Knight ready to undermine our relationship.

  My phone rings and I pick it up without looking at the screen, “Maddox.”

  Silence greets me so I click it off. It immediately rings again this time I look at the screen and notice the number is blocked. “Maddox,” I answer, but again I’m greeted with silence.

  “Look I don’t have the fucking time for this, so if you have nothing to say, stop calling.” Just as I’m getting ready to hang up I hear it, the whisper soft voice on the line shocks me.

  “Lee…it’s me…your mother-I mean, it’s Anna.”

  Silence. She’s waiting for me to respond, but I can’t, I don’t know what to say. I don’t even know what she wants from me.

  “Are you still there?” she asks.

  “Yeah,” I say, finally finding my voice.

  “I said I would leave you alone, but I just…would like to try to fix things. I miss you. I was thinking about when you were a little boy and we used to-”

  “I don’t want to go down memory lane with you. I don’t even know if I can give you what you want. Maybe someday, but I can’t promise you anything.”

  She sighs. “I understand. Don’t hesitate to call me. Anytime.” The line clicks off and I stare into the distance, hating that I want to work things out with her, but I’m too much of a coward to put my heart on the line. Ask me to conquer the world and I’ll place it in the palm of your hand, but ask me to put my heart on the line and I practically cower in a corner.

  Isabella

  Liam has been off all week, I keep trying to get him to open up, but the closer I get to this trip with Lucas the more closed off he becomes. Tonight I ordered in from an Italian restaurant and have been waiting on him to come home for three hours. He never avoids me, but this week he’s stayed late at work almost every night. I leave in the morning for Vegas, and I really wanted to have tonight to calm his fears. I hear the door open and I hold my breath in anticipation of seeing his face.

  He walks in and glances at me from across the room. He looks strained and tired, like something is eating away at him, but he won’t let me in. He loosens his tie as he walks over to the fridge, grabs a bottle of juice and drinks it right out of the container. He turns and just stares at me as he leans against the counter. Quietly observing my every move, waiting for something, but I’m not sure what it is.

  “Hey,” I say walking up to him cautiously. He flinches when I place my hand on his chest and now I know something is wrong. “What’s going on, Liam?” He shrugs his shoulders and takes another swig of juice from the bottle.

  He runs a hand through his hair and looks off to his right. “I hate this,” he finally admits before turning and looking at me with those intense green eyes. “I hate the way this relationship makes me feel.” His eyes lock with mine, and I’m a little taken aback by his words. He seems to be heading towards ending this and that scares me.

  “What are you trying to say, Liam?”

  “I’m saying that I hate how weak you make me feel. I’m really trying to make this work with you, but I don’t think you want the same thing.”

  “Of course that’s what I want,” I step up to him and touch his cheek, but he turns his face and my hand slips away.

  “Then why are you meeting with Cayden behind my back? I’m sick of you lying and trying to manipulate every situation to get what you want out of it. I’m not Lucas and I’m not going to put up with this shit for much longer.”

  My eyes shut and I take a deep breath, trying to stop the swarming in my head. I’m not sure when I’ll learn that I can’t get anything past him. I felt as though I was protecting him more than keeping things from him, but he’s right, I wanted Cayden’s help and the easiest way to get it was to go behind Liam’s back. Communication has always been an issue for me, it’s the main reason I never had friends. The option to talk to Liam about my visits to Cayden was outweighed by my selfish need to keep him in a different compartment, separate from my past.

  “I’ve been talking to him about Damon. I thought it would be better not to upset you by telling you. Cayden is my doctor and nothing else.”

  He lets out a terse laugh then turns a serious eye on me. “You didn’t think lying to me would upset me? If you need him to be your doctor that’s fine, but you need to learn to let me in and tell me what’s going on in your life or this will never work.”

  He stalks off towards the bedroom and I decide it’s probably better to give him some time to cool off. I warm the food up and eat alone then watch television until I can’t stand the separation any longer. I have to fix this before I leave in the morning, but I know I can’t repair lost trust in one night.

  I creep into the dark room and lie down next to him in the bed wondering what my next move should be. I cuddle up under his arm and lay my head against his chest.

  I sigh in relief when he doesn’t push me away. “I fuck everything up. It’s what I’ve always done and I don’t know how to stop.”

  His hand caresses my back and he says, “All I want is to be involved in your life. If Cayden can help you in some way I can I accept that, but I can’t handle you sneaking around behind my back.”

  I don’t respond, but I know I need to work through my issues quickly or I’ll lose Liam, and that’s a risk I’m not willing to take.

  ********

  I wake to noises of Liam moving around in the dressing room. A quick glance at the clock reveals I have less than three hours before my flight to Vegas. I enter the dressing area to find him pulling on his pants with his shirt hanging open. I watch him with avid interest as he buckles his belt. He glances up and smiles weakly at me.

  “Good morning,” he says, beginning to button up his shirt.

  “Where are you going?” I ask, slowly pulling my shirt over my head. He looks at his watch and shakes his head.

  “We can’t. I have a meeting in half an hour. My flight to New York leaves at five and I have a lot to do today.”

  “Are you really going to let me leave for the weekend all hot and bothered?” I stroll towards him and his eyes follow the line of my body, stopping to pay extra attention to the sway of my breasts. He wants me as much as much I want him, but he may still be mad at me.

  I stop him from buttoning up the last button of his shirt, and begin to undo the entire thing. He smirks at me and drops his head back when I cup his hard length through his slacks. I make quick work of his belt buckle and pull his pants down. He steps out of them then picks me up and carries me over to a nearby bench. He sits down and pulls me over him so I’m straddling his waist. His hard cock nudges my wet center. “You need it don’t you?” he asks.

  “You know I do,” I whisper against his lips. He guides me onto his shaft, raining gentle kisses along my jaw while he invades me hard and deep. I clutch his head and kiss him deeply. My tongue licking his lips and drinking in his flavor as my hips rock to meet his upward thrusts.

&nb
sp; The fierce look in his eyes excites me and I begin to move up and down on him so hard I can feel the force of my movements against my pelvic bone. His breathing increases to harsh puffs of air and lust overflows from his eyes. He lets me take over our movements, and I revel in the power he grants me.

  His hands lock on the back of my neck and he holds me trapped in his burning gaze. I grind my body against him in a nearly hypnotic state. The tingling in my core begins slowly and builds rapidly. The friction against my clit every time I come down on his groin is incredible. He shivers and I can feel him thickening inside me.

  He’s straining to hold on for me. He groans loudly as I begin to clench down on him, tremors of ecstasy overtake my body. I bury my head in his neck and scream out my release as I ride out each wave of pleasure. He pumps into me from beneath, chasing his release. His muscles are tightly corded underneath my hands and I can taste the salty flavor of his sweat as I lick the pulsating vein on his neck. He finally abandons himself to the pleasure and erupts deep within me.

  He pulls me into a passionate kiss that sucks the air out my lungs. He bites my lip and battles with my tongue in an aggressive show of dominance. When he bites down on my neck, gently sucking, I know the bruise he’s leaving is his way of marking me. He might have accepted me going to Vegas, but it still bothers him that I’ll be alone with Lucas. If he only knew how full my heart is with the love I feel for him, he wouldn’t be so concerned about Lucas.

  He gives me one last apprehensive look before pulling me off of him and quietly going to the bathroom to clean up. I sit there until he comes back and gets dressed with a grim look on his face. There’s nothing short of canceling my trip that will ease his fears. I approach him as he grabs his briefcase, wrap my arms around his waist then kiss his lips. My hands tangle in his hair and the tension in his body coils up tighter.

  “I’ll be back in two days,” I whisper against his lips. “I love you.”

  He nods his head then turns to leave the room.

  “Liam,” I say as he turns to look at me. “I love you.”

  He sighs loudly and runs a hand across his face. “What the fuck do you want from me?” He unexpectedly snaps at me. “You’re leaving to spend the weekend with your ex-boyfriend, and you want me to put my heart out on the line for you. I can’t give you that right now, Ella.” He walks out the door and leaves me standing there hurt that he doesn’t trust me enough to not do something that will hurt him.

  Chapter 5

  Isabella

  After my long flight I want nothing more than to collapse on a bed and get some much needed rest for tomorrow. I push the door to my room open and I’m surprised when Lucas’s smiling face greets me. My heart thuds in my chest, unexpected tears of happiness glisten in my eyes and I realize I missed him more than I was willing to admit. I drop my bags and leap into his arms.

  He welcomes me into his arms with a firm hug, nuzzling his face into my hair. He smells like home. A feeling of comfort falls over me, and I’m absolutely certain I made the right decision in coming here.

  “I missed you,” I say quietly.

  “I missed you too, Izzy.”

  I step back and look into those blue eyes I’ve missed seeing. His hair has grown out from his usual buzz cut, but it’s sexy and gives him an edge I’ve never seen before. “I thought you might still be mad at me.”

  He smiles and that cute dimple appears, “Oh I’m still pissed, but I’m happy to see you more than anything else.”

  “Well maybe we can be friends again,” I say hopefully.

  “I don’t want to be your friend, Izzy, you know that.”

  Of course I know that, but it’s all I have to offer him now and forever. “It’s all I have to offer you, Luc.”

  “We’ll see about that,” he says grabbing my bags and pulling them into the room. “This is your room and mine is across the hall,” he says. It finally clicks that Lucas is in my suite and I realize he expects us to share.

  “We’re staying in the same suite?”

  “Of course we are, we haven’t had time to prepare for our meeting so we’ll be spending most our time together anyway.”

  It sounds logical, but I know it’s a terrible idea.

  “I don’t know, Luc, this is a bad idea. If Liam-”

  “Does he control everything you do? He’s probably as domineering as his father.”

  Domineering? Maybe.

  Abusive? No.

  I don’t like Lucas comparing Liam to the man who beat his mother, and I find myself getting defensive.

  “Don’t compare him to that man. Liam is good to me, Luc. I know you hate him but he’s a really great guy.” He rolls his eyes at me then turns to leave the room. So much for fixing our friendship, as long as I’m with Liam it’s going to be a huge obstacle in the middle of this friendship.

  ********

  I take a two hour nap before showering and venturing into the sitting room to find Lucas. I don’t find him there so I knock on his door. Lucas opens the door in a pair of briefs and nothing else. “Uh…sorry Luc, I thought we could go over the details for the meeting tomorrow.”

  He smiles at me, running a hand over his tight abs. Okay so he’s purposely trying to tempt me, but I feel nothing. I turn around and head into the sitting room to wait for him. Lucas doesn’t bother to get dressed and just comes out of his room with his briefcase as if he’s not practically naked.

  “Aren’t you going to get dressed?”

  “Why? Am I making you nervous?”

  “No Lucas, it’s just very inappropriate.” I’m not nervous. It’s just really disrespectful towards Liam. I don’t want to say that to Lucas because he would probably strip naked just to spite Liam.

  “You’ve seen me in less than this, Izzy.” He takes a seat at the table and I’m irritated by his ridiculous ploy to tempt me. I contemplate going into my room and leaving him out here, but I have no idea what we’re doing tomorrow so I sit across from him grudgingly.

  “So how’s Florida?” he asks.

  “Do you really care?”

  “Of course I care, you’re important to me and I want you to be happy.”

  I eye him suspiciously because I just don’t believe he wants me to be happy with Liam. “I am happy.”

  He nods his head and looks down at the papers in front of him, but not before I saw that look of disapproval cross his face.

  We spend most of the night going over our presentation, and by the time I get up from the table to get some rest it’s almost dawn and we need to be at our meeting at noon. Luc gives me an awkward hug at the door to my room and I hurry in, shutting the door behind me before he’s tempted to ask to sleep in my bed with me. Old habits die hard and Luc is really good at getting his way.

  ********

  I wake feeling groggy, the jet lag is taking a toll on me, and I just want to get this over with so I can come back and sleep until my flight the next morning. I dress in a pantsuit and sensible shoes. Put my hair up in a tight bun then wait for Lucas at the door.

  Our meeting goes off without a hitch and it seems everything is going as scheduled. Lucas has begun to relax and I don’t bring up Liam because I know his name will sour his mood. He talks me into spending a little time in the casino before we decide to go to dinner. I’d much rather go to my room and order room service, but Luc insisted. We won’t get the opportunity to see each other for a while so I give in and join him at the hotel’s restaurant.

  I’m almost glad that I came here until our dinner arrives, and Lucas’s phone begins to ring. He ignores it at first, but it continues to ring so he finally answers it. He turns his face to talk and judging from the tone in his voice this is bad news. He hangs up and gives me a dismal look. “Anna’s missing.”

  I sit up straight in my chair, shocked by his words. “What do you mean missing? What happened?”

  “My dad says she never came home last night and she’s not answering her cell. He didn’t want to call me until he had ti
me to look for her, but now he’s pretty frantic.”

  “Oh my God, Lucas, I’ll call the airport and see if we can get a flight out of here.” I rush outside the restaurant while Lucas settles the bill and waits for them to box up our dinner. After several calls and quick checks on my phone I realize we won’t be able to get out of Vegas until the morning. I cancel my flight and reserve two tickets for the five a.m. flight to Chicago.

  I quickly dial Liam number because he needs to know about his mother. “Ella,” he answers on the first ring.

  “Anna’s missing,” I say abruptly. I didn’t mean to blurt it out but I’m anxious and scared.

  “What?” His voice is almost a whisper.

  “Anna’s been missing since last night.” The silence that ensues worries me. “Liam? What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know,” he answers.

  “You have to go Liam, she’s your mother.” He’s quiet for a while and I’m not sure if I got through to him or not.

  “She called me,” he finally says. “She called me and I blew her off…now this happens.”

  “You have to go to Chicago, Liam.”

  “I don’t know if I can.” This is hard for him and I wish I could hold him and reassure him that going to Chicago is the right thing to do.

  Lucas steps out of the restaurant and immediately asks, “Were you able to get a flight?”

  “Not till tomorrow morning.” He nods his head and we walk to the elevator. As hard as I know this is for Liam, it’s ten times worst for Lucas. Anna is his everything and we need to get to Chicago as soon as possible and figure out what’s going on.

  “Hello?” I say into the phone and realize that Liam hung up on me. I contemplate calling him back, but I’m pretty sure Lucas’s voice chased him off in the first place so I decide not to.