Beautiful
by
Angela Stephens
Copyright © 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Copyright © 2013
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Warning: This work contains scenes of graphic sexual nature and it is written for adults only(18+). All characters katz depicted in this story are over 18 years of age.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Epilogue
Chapter One
Kathryn felt goosebumps rise on her neck. Heather was here, and no good was going to come of that.
“That’s not possible,” Kathryn said, instantly scanning the crowd. “How would she have gotten past security?”
“I don’t know, but I know it was her,” Sandra said. She grimaced. “I only glimpsed her for a moment when I was talking to Lakisha a few minute ago, and by the time I worked my way through the crowd she was gone.”
“What was she wearing?”
“Something dark, black or maybe blue. She kept to the edge of the crowd.”
“Okay. You’re absolutely sure?”
“I’d know that face anywhere.”
Kathryn felt the thrill of the evening ebb away. Though the thought Heather might try and crash the Gala had been a nagging concern, she had lulled herself into believing that it was just her paranoia at work. She sighed.
“I’d like to know how the hell she got in here.”
“She didn’t come through the main entrances, that much is for certain,” Sandra said. “Security had strict instructions not to let her in and none of the staff admitted anyone fitting her description.”
“Could she have paid someone off? Maybe snuck in through a service entrance?”
Sandra shrugged. “That’s got to be it. Maybe she got friendly with one of the busboys. Who knows? However she got here, she’s here now.”
“We have to warn James and Frank,” Kathryn said. “There’s no telling what she might do.” She paused. “Do you think she noticed us?”
“How long were you up here?”
“Close to an hour.”
“Well,” Sandra said, “I kind of figured it out when the two of you went AWOL, but if she’s been here all evening...”
She let her words trail off. Who knew what that druggie was capable of.
“Okay,” Kathryn said. “Let’s not waste any more time. Even if she hasn’t done anything yet that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have something planned. Do me a favor and find Frank. Ask him to meet me and James back here.”
***
“I can’t believe this,” Frank said, continuously pacing around the bridal suite like a nervous groom. “We might as well be talking about a serial killer for the sense this is making.”
Sitting with James on the couch, Kathryn tried to maintain her composure while James squeezed her hand in encouragement. She had never seen Frank so agitated and emotions were running high. Hopefully no one would notice any of them missing, at least for now, but she knew they would soon have to get back downstairs to see off departing guests.
“Take it easy, Dad,” James said. “Why are you surprised? We’ve both noticed how Heather has changed. How many times have we discussed this, especially after that incident between her and Kathryn in the lobby?”
Frank paused, his expression registering shock, dismay and disgust. “I understand that, James, but to actually have a file... I mean Jesus.”
“I haven’t actually seen the file,” James said, casting a querying look at Kathryn, “but I’m sure if the evidence was gathered by a licensed private investigator, it can be verified.”
Frank paused. “James, we’re talking about a woman you were set to marry. How are you not mad about this? Did you know?”
“I didn’t,” James said, “but I haven’t loved Heather for a while, and I had no intention of going through with the marriage. Obviously I should have made that clear before now.”
“When were you going to tell me?” Frank asked. “The wedding is less than three weeks away.”
“Kathryn beat me to it,” James said. “I wanted to wait until after the Gala, as did Kathryn, before telling you about Heather. Unfortunately, it seems that she crashed the party regardless of our efforts to keep her away.”
“Keep her away as in notifying security?”
“We thought it would be best to take extra precautions,” Kathryn said. “We didn’t want to risk any incidents with so many high profile guests in attendance.”
Frank rubbed his temples as though warding off an incipient migraine. “My God,” he said. “It just gets worse.” He sank onto the dressing table chair and shook his head. “I never questioned the guest list because I knew Heather’s family was on vacation. I simply assumed she wouldn’t be attending. Did she try anything? Did anyone else recognize her?”
“I don’t think so,” Kathryn said. “Otherwise I’m sure we would have heard about it.”
“I still can’t believe this,” Frank said. “Her father and I go back to our college days. It’s hard to imagine the beautiful little girl that used to bring me flowers she’d picked from the garden is a depraved drug addict.”
James rose and placed his arm around his father’s shoulders. Kathryn watched with emotion at how strong the bond between them had become. Though she had reservations about Frank’s reaction when she revealed what she knew about Heather, he had taken it better than she expected.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” James said. “I don’t even think I ever loved Heather, but I guess the two of us were so far apart we dug our heels in like a couple of stubborn mules and danced around all the bullshit.”
Frank gripped James’ hand and looked at his son with a mix of pride and embarrassment. ‘It wasn’t just you, James. I’ve let my ego get in the way one too many times. Manticorp Media needed to evolve. I was just too stubborn to admit it.” He paused to wipe his eyes. “I noticed that Heather was different when she came back into your life, but I thought a wife might settle you down; get you to toe the line, so to speak.”
“That’s all in the past now, Dad,” James said. “We live and learn. Isn’t that the way it always is?”
“I guess it is.” Frank glanced at his watch and rose. “The guests will be starting to leave soon. I suggest we go downstairs and continue this tomorrow.”
“Give me a moment with Kathryn, Dad,” James said. “There are a few more things we need to discuss.”
“Very well,” Frank said, walking toward the door. “I’ll see you shortly. Sandra, perhaps you’d like to accompany me? I have some questions about Sam, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course not,” Sandra said, following him. She turned to James at James and Kathryn before shutting the door.
Kathryn sagged against James. For a moment, they held each other in a quiet embrace.
“The evening had been going so well,” she said.
“Correction,” James said, planting a kiss on her lips. “It was a resounding success.” He paused to retrieve his phone and brought up a slew of waiting messages regarding the Gala. “See all these? These are Manticorp’s future contacts, proposals and deals, all seeds planted tonight. And all thanks to you.”
Kathryn gazed at him with emotion that threatened to spill into tears. Never before had she made such an impact in the world and the thought that her efforts counted for so much still left her with a sense of unreality. She no longer had to gaze longingly into the bakery window, she was inside devouring every delicious pastry she could stuff into her mouth.
“I really appreciate that,” she said.
“You deserve it. As for Heather, all that scheming bitch did was to alert us to her intentions, and now we’re armed and ready.”
“Your father looked really upset.”
“Yes, he did,” James said, “and I’m most upset about that. Heather and I may have had our differences, but Dad never deserved this. He always loved her.”
“I hope he’s not angry at me,” Kathryn said. “I’ve not only rocked the boat, I’ve sunk it.”
James laughed. “Are you kidding? Tomorrow he’ll probably give you a big hug. He’s a gentleman at the end of the day. As unpleasant as the situation is with Heather, in a perverse way she did us all a huge favor. I’m actually pleased.”
He kissed her again, and this time their lips lingered. She glanced at his exposed throat peeking through the open buttons of his shirt and was seized by a desire to taste his flesh. James cupped her chin and grinned.
“Didn’t we already have dinner?” he asked.
Kathryn nodded. “We did, but I have a craving for dessert.”
“Hmmm...” he said. “What’s on the menu?”
“Oh, I don’t know... maybe something a little sweet, a little creamy. Something I could just pop into my mouth.”
“Were you thinking of a late night treat?” James asked.
Kathryn looked him in the eye with a sly smile. “You bringing dessert?”
Chapter Two
It felt strange bringing James into her apartment for the first time. So often Kathryn had imagined in painstaking detail how it would be sit down to dinner, enjoy a glass of wine on the balcony, and of course, lay together in her bed. Now the fantasy that had existed so long in her mind had become reality. Still dressed in their evening finery, they looked like Cinderella and her handsome prince back in the castle after the ball, though James had removed his jacket and rolled up his shirtsleeves.
They tapped their wine glasses together on the balcony and sipped a delightfully crisp chardonnay beneath the buttery glow of the moon peeking through the trees. After one a.m. the street slumbered beneath the intoxicating fragrance of night bloomers wafting on the mild breeze. The occasional chug of a boat rose from the river, punctuating the almost dreamy silence.
“To my beautiful goddess,” James said, “thank you for coming into my life.”
“Thank you for making my dreams a reality, king of Olympus,” Kathryn said teasingly. “I can’t believe how things have changed since the day we met in the parking lot. I mooned over you like a lovestruck teenager, though you really were an asshole the way you first treated me when I started here.”
James grinned. “I concede the point. I was still a pseudo-adolescent when we met. Thanks to you I finally became a man.” He winked. “But you have to admit that I released something in you as well.”
They exchanged a laugh. In a sense it was true; they had both evolved though there had been some significant growing pains. James took their wine glasses and set them on the small balcony table, then gathered Kathryn into his arms. She rest her head on James’ chest and together they gazed at the quiet street.
“What do you think will happen with Heather?” Kathryn asked, enjoying the peace of the moment.
James stroked her hair and placed a kiss on her forehead. “What should have happened long ago,” he said. “We were just too blind to see what was going on. My father and I owe you big time.”
“I was talking about legally,” Kathryn said. “You haven’t yet seen the file. There’s some pretty scary stuff in there, James. What if things get ugly?”
James chuckled. “If Heather thinks she’s got the upper hand she’s seriously mistaken, especially if she even thinks about harming you in any way.”
He turned Kathryn toward him and looked at her with an expression that frightened her. Here was another side of James she was seeing for the first. She wondered how many more she had yet to see.
“You see,” he said. “She’s not the only one with friends in low places. If she wants to play dirty, she’s messing with the wrong guy.”
Kathryn gazed at him. “You really have no connection with each other. How on earth did you even go through with the engagement?”
“Because I didn’t give a shit. That was before you. Old James was a child. Thanks to you, New James is a grown up.”
“I think we’ve all grown up,” Kathryn said. “But I’m still worried Heather might try something. If you could have seen the look in her eye that day in the lobby, James, you’d understand. At this point I honestly think anything is possible.”
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” James asked.
“You know why. Also, I didn’t know how until Sandra stepped in. Even after I followed Heather I was too terrified by what she might do.”
James remained silent.
“It’s been a long day,” he finally said. “Let’s not spoil the mood. We made an impact on the world and nobody’s taking that away from us.”
Kathryn yawned. “Guess you should be heading home,” she said. “We’ve got another long day ahead of us in a few hours.”
“I am home,” James said, leading her into the living room and closing the doors.
With a grin, he began unbuttoning his shirt.
“But Sir,” Kathryn said playfully. “You have no change of clothes.”
James continued to strip, tantalizingly dangling each item of clothing before discarding it to the floor. Standing naked before her, Kathryn stared at his thick, blue-veined cock and engorged head dripping with pre-cum. A coy smile crossed her lips.
“Correction,” he said, staring hotly at her. “I have no clothes at all.”
Approaching her, he swept her into a passionate kiss of eagerly probing tongues. Whatever fatigue Kathryn felt soon evaporated into raw heat as James impatiently stripped her. Feeling his hands urgently tugging at her clothes and brushing against her sensitized flesh elicited a gush of hot wetness from between her legs.
Though her body had hungered for James before, Kathryn was filled with an animalistic lust for him at a level she had never experienced before. Along with her emotional and intellectual evolution, her sexuality was evolving into a more adventurous and erotically charged aspect of her personality, emboldening her beyond what she now realized were the narrow limitations imposed by her upbringing.
James released the jeweled clips from her hair and ran his fingers through it until it resembled a wildly tangled mane.
“I love your hair when it looks like this,” he murmured. “You look so fucking hot.”
He gripped her head and pushed her to her knees. Kathryn stared at his swollen cock for a moment before gripping his quivering flesh and flicking her tongue against it, gently at first, but then more aggressively as she ran her tongue back and forth along its quivering length.
James gasped and threw back his head, his fingers clutching at Kathryn’s hair. Trailing her tongue around the head of his cock, she lapped at the glistening drops of pre-cum before swallowing him to the base of his shaft. She gagged for a moment, then began vigorously licking and sucking his jerking flesh. One of her hands strayed to his swinging balls, squeezing and caressing them.
Kathryn could already feel the sweat breaking out on her skin and smelled the aroma of her perfume and her own musk rising from her pussy. Her juice slic
ked her thighs, and her knees chafed the floor in time with her movements. She realized the guttural sound coming from her own throat, but she was no longer willing to detach herself from the raw desire that promised to purge a dam of emotions, frustration and need from her body.
James’ taste was of sun-warmed flesh, his cock completely filling her throat. Now and again Kathryn pulled it from her mouth to reach over and suck his smooth, taut balls. His body tensed. Eyes tightly clenched, choked cries came from his throat. As his cock started to quiver on the edge of coming, he withdrew from her mouth and pushed her to her hands and knees.
Kneeling behind Kathryn, James gripped her ass and squeezed her smooth cheeks until his fingers imprinted red marks on her flesh. He then spread her wide to reveal her juicy ripe pussy and the tight, quivering ring of her asshole. Kathryn gasped and wantonly raised her hips and spread her thighs wider to expose her body and soul to him. Panting heavily, James began teasing her painfully engorged clit with his fingers and tongue. Spreading her lips open, James’ tongue flicked and slithered into every sticky fold and crevice before deeply penetrating her.
Uttering a feral cry, Kathryn jerked so violently that she almost knocked James off balance. He muttered a curse, grabbed her hips and ground her pussy against his face, roughly tongue fucking her and teasing her swollen clit until she squirmed and clawed at the floor. Moistening his fingers with her juice, he then slipped them into her ass and worked them deep inside her. Unprepared for the sensation, Kathryn tried to crawl away from him but he held her firmly and pumped her more aggressively.
She tried to speak, but the words faded in her parched throat. The mounting waves of pleasure reached a crescendo, sapping her strength. Her legs trembled, her body tensed as she spasmed in the throes of an explosive orgasm so intense that she felt on the verge of fainting.
The release she expected was short-lived. Still shuddering from her orgasm, James kneed her thighs wide apart and impaled her pussy with his ramrod-solid cock. He pummeled her squelching flesh deeper until his cock seemed to pierce her womb. She writhed in a detached delirium, her moans increasing with James’ piston-like thrusting.
Beautiful (Book Three of the Beautifully Broken Series) Page 1