Beautifully Revealed

by Bethany Bazile

  Why do I feel guilty? I need to do this to move on, rid myself of the weakness Ella brings out in me. Arianna’s hand lands on my belt. She’s definitely trying to get in before I change my mind. As soon as her fingers brush against me I jolt back like I’ve been shocked by an electric current.

  “Fuck!” I roar, frightening Arianna with my outburst.

  Why can’t I just take what she’s offering me and leave Ella behind? This relationship is torture and I’ve turned into a masochist. I can’t even bring myself to do anything that would permanently end us.

  “You have to leave.” I walk into my study leaving Arianna to let herself out. I grab the bottle of scotch from the bar just as Arianna follows me into the room.

  “Is this about her?”

  “It always about her. Everything in my life is about her since she stumbled into it.”

  “I can stay…we can just talk.”

  Talk about what? How Ella takes every opportunity she has to ruin what could be beautiful? How I’m foolish enough to hold on to her hoping I can fix her broken pieces?

  “I’m not going to sit here pouring my heart out to you, Arianna.”

  “Why not? You look like you need a friend and I thought we were friends now.”

  “We’re not friends. I called you in the middle of the night so I could fuck you. I was going to use you Arianna, that’s not friendship.”

  “And I would’ve let you, it’s what you do. Well, it’s what you used to do before you met her.”

  “Yeah, I’m the asshole who used to fuck women and walk away. I guess I’m getting what I deserve now.” I down a shot of scotch and let the golden liquid run down my throat. Hoping the burn will take the pain away.

  “What happened tonight?” she asks stopping in front of the bar and pouring a shot in the glass I just used. She tips it back and immediately begins coughing. I hand her a bottle of water before answering her question.

  “Doesn’t matter what happened. My bottle of scotch and I are going to sit here and call it a night”

  “I’ll keep you company. Friends don’t let friends drink alone.”

  I used to have some sense of control over the women in my life, now I can’t get Ella out my mind and I can’t get Arianna out of my fucking home. She sits next to me on the sofa with another shot glass in her hand. She pours two shots and hands me one.

  “Cheers,” she says, clinking her glass with mine. We slam the glasses back down on the table simultaneously before she picks up the bottle and refills them again.

  ********

  My head is pounding, and I’m almost afraid to open my eyes. A soft body squirms on top of me and I know instantly it’s not Ella. I crack my eyes open and nudge Arianna on the shoulder. She slowly looks up and runs a hand through her hair.

  “Good morning,” she smiles.

  “I need to get up,” I say, waiting for her to move. Her smile fades as she rolls off me. I rush off to the bathroom, relieved that I’m still fully dressed. I don’t know how I get myself into these situations, but I need to get her out of here quickly. It feels really odd to have someone other than Ella up here. I quickly brush my teeth and throw some water on my face in an attempt to feel somewhat human again.

  “You need to leave,” I say as soon as I step back into my study. I’m not going to waste time with pleasantries when I really just want her gone.

  “Can I use your bathroom first?”

  “Yeah, down the hall, first door to your left.” She scurries off as I sit behind my desk and lay my head down to ease the thumping.

  A couple minutes later, a door slams so loud my head nearly explodes. I jolt into an upright position in time to see Ella storming into the room.

  “Where the fuck is she?” she screams, every word piercing painfully into my head.

  “First of all, stop fucking screaming. Secondly, what are you talking about?”

  She stomps up to my desk glaring at me with wild eyes. “I called you less than ten minutes ago and Arianna answered. Did you fuck her?”

  If I wasn’t so hung over maybe I’d enjoy going another round with her, but right now I just need a shower and my bed. I round the desk and face her. “After the shit you pulled last night you have no right to barge in here questioning me.”

  “Liam, it’s like an unwritten rule between us. We both do our best to ruin this relationship, but we know once we cross that line there’s no going back so I need to know. Did. You. Fuck. Her?”

  Footsteps thud in the hallway behind her and Arianna walks in wearing a robe, soaking wet from a fresh shower. This is unreal. She’s setting me up.

  “Oh I’m sorry,” she feigns a surprised look.

  “She’s wearing my robe,” Ella says in quiet shock. She looks back and forth between Arianna and me before walking calmly towards Arianna. She just stands there staring at her. I know she’s going to erupt, but I don’t make a move to stop her.

  In a flash Ella grabs a handful of her hair, and pulls her within inches of her face. “Take it off,” she hisses.

  “Let go of my hair,” Arianna shrieks, struggling to loosen Ella’s iron-like grip from her hair. I should step in and help her but I really hate how she set this all up.

  “Take it off now or I swear to god I’ll-”

  “Okay,” Arianna says untying the robe and pushing it off her shoulders. It slides down to the floor exposing her naked body and Ella growls. She pulls a screaming Arianna by her hair and drags her out of the room. I hear the door slam shut and then Ella storms back in the room.

  “Did you at least let the woman get her clothes?”

  “Fuck her.”

  I shake my head as I pass by her. I quickly gather Arianna’s clothes from the bathroom and hand them to her in the lobby. She whispers a sorry to me, but I don’t acknowledge it. I don’t care for her apology. I just don’t need her getting attacked in the elevator while leaving my building.

  Ella is on verge of a breakdown when I step back into the study. Her eyes are misty and she’s taking shallow breaths to keep composed. “If you wanted to end us, you didn’t have to do it this way,” she says in a shaky voice. “What happened to not having women up here?”

  I invited Arianna up here because I knew it would hurt Ella the most. I wasn’t thinking straight after seeing her with Cayden and resorted to what we do best. She pushes me and I push back harder. At some point we’ll push each other so far, there will be no amount of pulling that will get us back together.

  “If you wanted to hurt me then congratulations, you won this one.” She runs a hand through her tousled hair and shakes her head at me.

  “I didn’t sleep with her.”

  “Then why is she naked in our home?” she screams.

  “I invited her, but nothing happened. We drank then fell asleep. The shower thing was a set up. She probably knew you would show up here after she picked up my phone. You can’t just barge in here acting like a maniac whenever you want. Maybe you should give me my key back.”

  She takes a step back, bewildered by my request. “You want your key back?” She pulls the card out her pocket, walks up to me, and presses it up against my chest. She lets go and the card slides down to the floor.

  “I hate you sometimes.” Her voice quivers and I know she’s saying it out of anger, but the words still sting.

  I grab her by the back of her neck and pull her face up to mine, her body plastered against me. “Say it again,” I demand. “Tell me how much you hate me.” Her lips tremble and her eyes drop to my lips then return to my eyes. She battles with her true feelings until the electric current of emotions between us erupts and she presses her soft lips against mine.

  “I want to hate you,” she says against my lips.

  “But you don’t.” I thrust my tongue into her mouth and every emotion I feel is displayed in that kiss. Love. Anger. Resentment. It’s all there in that passion-filled kiss. This is a horrible idea because every time I get another taste of her I feel like I’m being pulle
d deeper into an unsalvageable situation.

  Her hands caress my chest and run a smooth a line down to flirt with the edge of my pants. She pulls on the drawstring until her warm hand closes over me. She rapidly strokes my hardened length, causing me to growl into her mouth. It might not be a wise decision, but I know I’m going to fuck her within an inch of her life.

  I tear at her shorts and shirt like a mad man until nothing is left between us. Her smooth skin presses against my body, nipples rub against my chest as I lift her up by her thighs, and impale her with my throbbing erection. Her arms wrap around my neck for support and I revel in her warmth wrapped around my cock like a wet glove. I control our motions, picking her up and slamming her down back down on me while watching her accept each punishing thrust.

  As I quicken our pace her moans increase, her face contorts with pleasure and her breast sway temptingly against my chest. I want to suck her nipple into my mouth and watch her squirm, but she latches on to my hair, pulling on it until it stings. I fuck her so hard she’s gasping for breath.

  “You’re mine,” she declares staring into my eyes.

  “Then take me. Take all of me.”

  “I am baby,” she moans. “God, I’m taking all of you.” She explodes with a climax that has her pussy clenching down on me so tightly my rhythm falters and my balls tighten from the intense sensation.

  “Come for me,” she whispers against my ear, sending shivers down my spine. My grip tightens as she gyrates her hips in a circular motion, up and down my rigid shaft. “Give it to me baby.” She sucks on that spot under my ear that makes me shiver.

  “Fuck!” I groan in blissful ecstasy as I shoot off deep into her soft depths. My arms wrap around her waist and I hold on to her as tightly as she’s clinging to me. Her heart is beating rapidly against my chest and our breathing is equally erratic. We’re still intimately connected, our combined moisture leaking onto my balls, and I’m tempted to take her to my bed and fuck her all over again.

  I know I need to separate myself from her. This relationship is destructive and I’m not sure we’ll ever figure out how to do this right. I lift her off me and let her legs slide down to the ground. She looks at me sadly because she knows as well as I do that this did not fix things between us.

  “Let yourself out.” I walk out of the room before I invite her to stay and this endless circle continues.

  Chapter 12

  Liam

  Monday morning I’m all about running my company. I remember a time when this company consumed all my time and I wasn’t plagued with thoughts of a sexy, wild-haired brunette with an amazing set of gray eyes.

  Saturday after she left I suffered a hangover from the scotch and the sex. Her scent clung to me as I collapsed on my bed. It’s been so long since I’ve tasted her that I just want to chain her to my bed and feast on her pussy until I can quell this hunger inside me.

  “Mr. Maddox, Richard Harris is here to see you,” Jessica announces, interrupting the images in my mind of Ella screaming for mercy on my bed as I fuck her. I have to be across town in less than an hour, but this could only be about Ella and I’m curious to learn what he has to tell me about her.

  “Send him in.”

  He enters the office cautiously, and I’m glad the man is smart enough to have some fear of me. “What is this about Harris?” I ask soon as he sits down.

  “Put down your guard. I only want to talk about Isabella.”

  “What about her?”

  “I’m worried about her. She won’t eat, she rarely has anything to say, and she barely leaves the house unless she’s coming here. You really need to stop torturing her.”

  “Why are you assuming I’m doing something to her?” He thinks he has some kind of inside track to my relationship and I wonder how much Ella tells him.

  “You left her and for someone like Isabella that’s a pretty big deal. We all know she’s hiding something from her past, but if you love her you need to let her open up when she’s ready.”

  “You just have all the answers to fixing my relationship, don’t you?”

  Arrogant prick.

  “Look I know you lost your mother but-”

  “You don’t know shit about my mother,” I snap. It’s one thing to come into my office to lecture me about Ella but to bring my mother into this…hell no.

  “I apologize. I don’t mean to over step, but Isabella’s my friend and I hate to see her so miserable. All I was trying to say is that you never know when you’re going to run out of time to fix things with someone.” He stands up and I realize I’m more pissed at him because he’s right.

  “And for the record,” he says as he’s walking away, “Isabella and I are just friends.”

  I already knew that. “If I thought you touched her, you wouldn’t be here right now.” I say to his departing back. He must’ve thought I was joking because I hear him laughing as he closes the door.

  I’ve seen him and Lillian together on the cameras so I know he’s not touching Ella. If I thought for a moment that he was interested, I would’ve dragged Ella out of his place the first night I found out she was there.

  Isabella

  “Where’s Rich?” I ask Lillian on my way out to meet with Cayden.

  “He went to speak to Liam.” She gives me a guilty look because she knows I don’t want them interceding in my relationship with Liam.

  “Why?”

  “Because we’re worried about you.”

  “Well stop, I’m fine.” The elevator slides open and Rich steps off. He stops in front of me and I look up to glare at him. I cross my arms over my chest and he can tell I’m mad at him, but it’s hard to be intimidating with a tall man. “What did you do?”

  “I just told him he needs to stop playing with your emotions.”

  I shake my head at him because I really wish he had stayed out of it. “Just stay out of it please.” He nods his head, but I know he’ll step in again if I don’t cheer up.

  I press the elevator button and the door slides open almost immediately. Liam’s bent head rises and his eyes lock with mine. He’s leaning in the corner with his hands in his pockets and a strand of hair hangs over his green eyes. His penetrating gaze causes my heart to pound in excitement. This may be too much for me to handle, and I’m tempted to back up and wait for another elevator car, but I don’t want to appear as cowardly as I feel so I step into the opposite corner, pretending not to feel his eyes on me. The air is thick with his incredible scent and my heart is thumping so hard he can probably hear it from his corner.

  Is this how we’ll be from now on? Existing in separate corners while this invisible string tying us together refuses to break? The physical attraction and emotional connection is unbearably intense. My resolve breaks and I glance over at him and our eyes lock. In that glance I can feel his hand running over my breast, his tongue tangling with mine, and his cock pounding into my already-wet center.

  Oh god this is hard.

  The door slides open but neither of us move. Mentally we’re on another plane, where the distance between us is non-existent, and our minds and bodies are one. The doors begin to slide shut and a muscle in his jaw twitches before he runs a hand over his face, effectively breaking the spell. He steps off and I follow, observing how perfectly etched his suit is to his body. That suit wasn’t just made for him, he makes that suit an experience. A panty-soaking, sex on the copy machine, masturbating under the desk kind of experience. How can any woman be expected to get any work done around this man?

  By the time his hand touches the handle of his car I know I have to speak up. “So this is it?” I say to his back. I watch him stiffen before turning towards me.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m tired of not knowing where we stand. Why don’t we just end this now? Then you can run off and fuck Arianna without me interfering.”

  A smile plays on his lips and oddly enough I want to kiss it off. He laughs and steps closer to me. “I wish I was bra
ve enough to fuck her and end this disaster before it destroys us both.”

  I let go of a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Relief floods over me as I realize he’s not giving up yet. I want to touch him, hold him in my arms, and feel his hard body against mine. “Can I touch you?” I whisper. I sound desperate, and I hate that, but that’s how I always end up around him.

  “No.” He shakes his head, taking a step back towards his car. “If you touch me, I’m going to fuck you on the hood of my car and I don’t give a fuck who comes down here to see me taking you.”

  My body shudders as I get an image of me pressed against the cool metal of the car with his warm body pounding into me. His door slams and I watch his car screech out the parking deck. Every time he leaves me it feels like the world shifts and I return to reality.

  “Once a whore always a whore.” A familiar voice echoes within the empty garage.

  That voice vibrates through my soul and every muscle in my body locks up as panic sets in. Maybe if I don’t turn around it won’t be real. I don’t have to face her and my past if I can just get to my car and leave it behind me. Before I can take a step forward she steps in front of me and my past slams into my present.

  “What do you want, Elaina?” I hiss angrily. I hate that she can evoke this much emotion out of me. I wish that I could be as cold as she is.

  “Elaina? Where’s the respect for your mother?” She’s still perfectly beautiful, even with her haughty air.

  “Ha…mother? You were never my mother and you’re nothing to me now.”

  Her eyebrows raise and a wicked smile appears on her face. “You’re such an ungrateful bitch. I carried you for nine months because it’s what your father wanted. From the day you came home it was ‘Ella’s so beautiful’ and ‘Ella’s my little princess.’ You stole him from me and if that wasn’t enough, you took everything and disappeared.” She grabs my shirt and pulls me up into her face. “You fucking owe me,” she seethes.