Bona Fide Beauty

by Landra Graf

  “You didn’t say anything helpful, either. But that’s okay because everything you do has some reason, some justifiable purpose in your mind, right?”

  The words came out angrier than he intended, the reality of their relationship brimming to the surface again. The cruelty he saw so often destroyed women’s self-esteem and confidence, and she wielded it like a reverse mirror, one side closeup and personal, the other pulled back away from the imperfections.

  She didn’t faze, though, didn’t yield. “Maybe you should consider eating; a hungry stomach can turn the most pleasant person sour.”

  “Great idea.” Grabbing onto the out she’d given him, he didn’t say goodbye, just walked over to the table and slid into his chair. Kat and Kinyon were already eating. “I got you another Moscato.”

  Kat looked up from a plate of salad and chicken breast. “You were gone a long time.”

  He leaned in. “Long enough for you to get cozy with Kinyon. Make any headway?”

  The man in question conversed with a couple on the other side of him. Dev hoped she’d been able to share her story. This was the only investor he didn’t think Pru had her hooks into.

  “No, Sweet Talker here is pretty convinced he’s doing the right thing. He firmly believes those who can’t afford to take care of their houses should accept the deal the board is offering, even if it takes away the homeowner’s rights.” She didn’t keep her voice down or try to hide what she’d discussed with him. In fact, her comments turned Kinyon’s and the couple’s attention on them.

  “I can’t help but think you’re talking about me.” The smile Kinyon wore soured.

  “Let me be clear.” Kat stabbed through a bite of chicken and held it up in the air. “I am.”

  For a moment Dev envisioned a bull seeing red, the matador taunting, and she’d be run down. Then the man she’d so blatantly bad-mouthed threw his head back and laughed.

  “You’ve got brass ones, young woman. Calling me out like that, I don’t know a single person who would ever do such a thing.”

  “My grandma always said lies get no one anywhere. I’m a firm believer in speaking the truth.”

  “Even if it hurts?”

  “Even then.” Kat ate her bite of chicken, and Dev let himself smile. She’d wowed someone with more influence in his pinky finger than she possessed in her whole body. A self-made millionaire who constantly expressed an attitude for not taking crap appeared to be willing to put up with hers.

  “A piece of advice,” Kinyon lowered his voice a bit, but Dev could still pick it up. “Don’t ever change, and if you ever want to get a different look at the city, call my office.”

  The man then put a hand over Kat’s, an intimate gesture. She appeared a little surprised, but Kinyon grabbed his plate, got up, and left them with a parting greeting. “I better mingle with a few other folks. Wouldn’t want to monopolize your time, or I’d try to steal you away from your date.”

  “Oh, he’s not my—” Kat cut off as he walked away.

  The words were a blow to his ego a little bit, creating the sudden desire to be more—a date, a companion, or at least somewhere higher on the scale. “But technically I am.”

  She eyed him with skepticism. “Really? Last week that wasn’t the case. I’m the client, the cousin. Off-limits, remember?”

  “Is that what you want to be?” He whispered the question into her ear, felt her shiver. Her fork clattered against her plate.

  A little wrinkle appeared on her forehead as she replied, “I want a lot of things, but I’m familiar with being limited to less.”

  He gripped her fork, lifting the metal utensil with its single bite of chicken up to her mouth. “Eat.”

  Her lips wrapped around the prongs, and he could feel every movement, including her tongue touching the meat, her lips using a gentle pressure to pull the succulent bite off the fork. The room, the problems, the guests fell away and left them. He’d started this, driven by her ability to dismiss the contact they shared, the intimate nature in their familiarity. The lines had blurred weeks prior, and after tonight, she wasn’t a client but his business associate’s cousin.

  “Aren’t you hungry?” She asked this before taking a drink of her wine. He watched her swallow, traced the path down the slender line of her neck, then her ample chest and curves.

  “Not for food.” A dangerous sentence, but he couldn’t help it. The words lingered between them, the air thick as he set down the fork and slid his palm over hers. Feedback from a microphone echoed through the room’s speakers, but it didn’t encourage him to break the contact. In the last five minutes, he’d decided to throw caution to the wind.

  Pru started speaking, her voice droning on about the board, the beautification of downtown Bentonville, and all the wonderful families willing to allow the board to help restore their homes. Dev didn’t care about it; he wanted the woman next to him alone. He wanted to run his fingers into her braids and strip the chiffon dress off and reveal all her skin and the body he’d been tempted by since he’d met her.

  “Let’s get out of here?”

  She nodded her assent, and they stood from the table, moving toward the door quickly. Hopefully, no one would notice or care they were gone.

  In the car, once they were both settled, Dev looked at Kat, her breathing slow and steady. His heart pounded in his chest. If he wanted to have second thoughts, now would be the time. “My place?”

  “Sure.” She looked at her lap, linked her hands, and he could sense the hesitancy.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, but what about you?” The natural concern in her question touched him.

  “You passed tonight—got dressed up, mingled with people you didn’t know, and impressed a millionaire—all of that without changing who you were, only refining bits and pieces. I have a feeling you’ll be getting your house back. Our business contract is complete. At this moment we are two consenting adults who know each other.”

  She smiled. “Then let’s go.

  16

  Kat couldn’t believe the turn of events. One second she’d been trying to keep her patience with Colton and process her cousin’s attitude toward her. Then Dev had swept her away with his sudden change of heart. He wanted her, and let it show. She hoped Mark missed their exit for the simple sake that it might complicate her getting the rest of the money. She agreed, though, with Dev’s assessment; their business arrangement was complete. The next steps were up to them.

  Dev’s apartment rested in Rogers, a good fifteen-minute drive from the Bentonville Square. The car was waved in by the gatekeeper, and they parked at the second building. She waited for a minute, taking in the all-brick facade and large patios on the outside of each apartment, which gave Dev the opportunity to open her door for her. When she put her hand in his, he pulled her out of the car and into his arms.

  “I love this dress, your hair.” He mumbled the words, eyes on her lips.

  “Thank you.” Why the hell she experienced a sudden wave of shyness, she had no clue. But his words made her feel beautiful in a way no other man had. Like earlier, she could tell he spoke the truth by the lack of a smile on his face. He spoke the words stone-cold seriously, and this time they dripped with desire.

  “Ay Dios mio, the things I want to do to you.” He ran an index finger down her cheek, allowing his hand to mold against it. Then he pulled away, the giant fucking tease. “Let me show you my place first.”

  She almost stomped her foot and demanded he kiss her, but instead, she let him lead the way, the whole moment still so close to a dream. She’d imagined where he lived before but never pictured this place. They went up one flight of stairs, and he was the first door on the right. He had to let go of her to open the door, but once done, he held her again. She liked how he wanted contact with her body. Once inside, he shut the door and locked it. She trailed away from him and walked toward the big living room window, which overlooked a small lake and, across from there, a golf course. The moon il
luminated a path on the lake, bringing to mind childhood memories of night fishing with her grandmother in summer, and she stood transfixed.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, just enjoying the view.”

  His question had her turning to look at the rest of the room, the white sectional and glass coffee table, the matching end tables and glass lamps. Everything was clean and pristine, and light-reflecting colors dominated the room and appeared brighter thanks to the moon and the window. A kitchen was off to the right with a breakfast bar and stools. He didn’t keep a messy place.

  “I’m a little embarrassed I even let you in my house,” she said as she sauntered toward him.

  He chuckled. “I have a housekeeper. If it weren’t for her, this place would be a disaster.”

  The tension between them thickened. They both stood, mere feet away from each other, locked in a staring contest like gunslingers awaiting the clock chime to draw their weapons.

  “Damn, looking at you like this... face the window.” The command, so different from how Dev normally acted, caught her off guard. She paused, and that had him grabbing her hand, caressing it with his fingers. A soothing, calming sensation washed over her. “You don’t have to, but I need to slow things down. You’re lighting me on fire.”

  She smiled and turned, his fingers trailing away, loosening as she went.

  “Walk toward the window.”

  She responded with a slow roll of her hips as she took multiple steps forward. His eyes were on her; she could feel them boring into her body. The power she had over his desire emboldened her. She slid her palms down the sides of her dress, past her hips, flattening the poufy skirt.

  “Stop.”

  She froze like an escapee in a spotlight, palms near her upper thighs, looking out those big windows on a crystal clear fall night with the stars twinkling. Her heart pounded in anticipation, like in those scenes in a movie before something big happened.

  He moved then; she didn’t have to turn to know it. The unmistakable sound of his slacks, the light swish they gave as he walked. She had exposed herself, given him a chance to catch her off guard. Why had she kept her back to him? Because you’re going to explode if he doesn’t touch you, and you’re still afraid.

  Afraid it was a joke, a farce made to destroy her completely. She’d already come close to losing everything. Now there existed one more person to rip away her faith in the idea that someone somewhere would want her as she was, falling apart house and all.

  One arm slipped around her waist. Dev’s suit jacket was still in place as his hand flattened against her stomach. “I got jealous of your hands for a minute,” he whispered, hot breath against her ear. “I wanted to be the one sneaking under your skirt.”

  The words heightened her awareness as his hot, smooth palm slid underneath the dress and touched her bare thigh. Then glided upward to the silk of her thong. She couldn’t move or think. It had been a while since a man touched her there, and all her snarky, witty comments failed her as two fingers breached past the thin barrier and touched the folds of her vagina.

  “This is a surprise. A thong?”

  She shuddered at the touch, and his other hand moved to the back of her neck, offering support. The way he touched her, reached out to her, stole her words away.

  “Breathe, Hermosa. May I continue?”

  “Yes.” The word came out on a moan.

  Each breath she produced paired with him furthering his exploration of her body. Her nipples tightened against the fabric of her strapless bra, and she wanted him there, wanted no clothes between them. Through a faded, transparent reflection of him in his patio glass door, she glimpsed his hand up her dress and her eyes wide, mouth in an “oh.” Her desire increased, the scene ten times more erotic with a combination of touch and sight. One finger slipped inside her, then another. She tightened around him, and he groaned, “So tight and gorgeous. Your expressions... show me more.”

  He whispered more wicked nothings in her ear, dirty encouragement, and she bucked her hips to connect, searching for some momentum. He pulled his fingers out and found her clit, stimulating it with flicks and teasing.

  “Right there.”

  He pinched the little nub, and she bit back the scream threatening to escape. The sensations were nearly too much, and then he spoke more naughty things. “Imagine me above you, entering you. Can you picture us together? Your legs wrapped around my waist, sweet heat joining us together. I see it.”

  Moaning, she leaned back against him, feeling his erection press between her ass cheeks. The heels were bringing her right in line with the part of him she wanted to be impaled on. She was so close, right near the edge, and her legs locked. Sensing her rigid movement, Dev quickened his pace, focusing all attention on her clit. Her breaths turned into pants, the shortened to gasps. He coaxed the sounds spilling from her. He mastered her without effort with each stroke, every caress. When he let go of her neck and reached down inside the bodice of her dress to pinch one of her nipples, she exploded.

  “I’m—” the only word she got out as a short light burst behind her eyes and her legs turned to jelly. Dev held her as the last twinges and shudders from her orgasm worked their way through her body.

  “I can’t tell you how amazing you looked, hermosa.”

  “What does it mean?” She squirmed in his arms until she faced him. Those eyes of his appeared darker in the light, pupils big, as if they were taking in everything—thoughts, feelings, her very soul.

  “Hermosa?”

  She nodded, leaning up to kiss his lips with a soft touch. Her attempt at gentle, leisure kisses fell apart in rapid succession, and they battled with tongues once more. Except this time, her hands roamed, cupping his erection and giving it a gentle squeeze. He pulled away then.

  “It means beautiful, but I call you that.”

  The words were not as formal or well put together, but she loved how he was a mess like her. His hair loose, shirt untucked, and eyes darting across her figure as if he couldn’t decide what to do next. She knew what to do. She wanted to bring him to a quivering, unable-to-think state, similar to the one she’d fought through. He always gave to the shelter, his work, to her. For once she wanted to give.

  “Then let me show you something beautiful,” she said as she dropped to her knees.

  Dev never wanted a woman naked so bad before. Sure, seeing her sink to her knees fully clothed proved hot, damn hot. But he wanted a chance to explore her body completely naked and at his discretion. For now, he’d let her take control to give him a chance to simply exist. She kept her eyes locked on his, and he watched her lips part, her tongue darting out. Then she loosened his belt and freed the button on his slacks from its mooring. He couldn’t look away from watching how she licked her lips. The tentative, teasing way she took the zipper between two fingers and eased it down the teeth made him shudder. She changed her focus from his fuck-me eyes to his dick as she pushed the flaps of his pants aside. He sighed as cool air hit his thighs, replaced with warm heat from her fingertips as they crept across his skin. When she finally got her hands on him, he sighed in relief. That’s when she looked at him, all blue-eyed wonder staring him down, and she held the whole package and squeezed gently. He moaned.

  “I’ve been wondering about this for a while.” Her words caught him off guard, and she focused on his erection now.

  “Really? Then I can say without shame I wondered what this would be like.”

  The downright wicked and sexy grin on her face touched him somewhere he’d never expected to be touched again—in his heart. Her wanting him without a need to get something made him melt. Her devious, playful side turned him on.

  She started with a gentle grip that quickly turned firm. “Then let’s turn your wonder to reality.”

  He’d always been a huge fan of blowjobs, loved and appreciated receiving them, selfishly took them whenever offered, and kept his eagerness locked up so his previous bedroom partners never thought him too gree
dy. This tactic had earned him many blow jobs, and he’d become accustomed to the tentative ways women approached the act.

  When Kat put her hot mouth around him and swallowed him to the hilt, cupping his balls in one hand and his shaft in the other, he almost spilled his load right there. His jaw dropped open, and he tried to get the words to come out to convince her to slow down. But no, she was engaged on a mission to make him lose his damn mind, confirmed by the way she fondled him, kissing the tip of his head, before starting all over again.

  She set the pace, and he closed his eyes and gave in to the sensation, attempted to imprint the feel of her tongue and mouth around him. Even the occasional graze of her teeth felt more arousing than he’d ever thought possible. When her hand on his sack reached back to the little area between his scrotum and anus, he lost it.

  The world went dark for a moment, and all he knew was that his release had found a home. She didn’t pull away as his cum burst forth into her mouth. No, she drank it all, sucking and swallowing. He finally came down from his momentary high to watch her sit back on her heels and then stand up.

  “Not my favorite thing to do, but I couldn’t let you ruin the dress,” she said with a wink.

  “I’d have bought you a new one.” He didn’t bother closing his pants, nor did he care about anyone on the other side of the window. The only thing of importance stood right beside him.

  She put a hand on his shoulder. “What else would you do for me?”

  The question echoed in his ears like a single gunshot, an open invitation to extend this beyond oral in his living room to something far more. He should say no, stop the madness. Leave them both with some sort of boundary intact, but at the same time, if this was the only night they had together…

  If nothing came of them beyond this chance to clear out all the lust and insanity, he wanted it to be a night worth remembering. It’d be unfair to them both if they didn’t explore the possibilities.