Beneath Your Beauty

by Alexa Keith

  “Is that all?” Sally asked when I was done.

  I nodded my head.

  She verified, “So, let me get this straight. You lived upstairs from my brother when you were younger. Then, you became the owner of the building my piece-of-shit brother lived in, and you had sex with Mary roughly eighteen years ago. She told you about the girl in the locket, and you later found out that the girl was Kayden.”

  “Yep, you nailed it,” I said.

  Sally snickered while picking up her plastic cup. She held it out to me and said, “No, honey, you nailed it—two of them to be exact.”

  Lisa scolded, “Sally Mae.”

  “Just trying to keep up, Lee,” Sally shot back. “Are you caught up?”

  “Yes,” Lisa said confidently, smoothing her dress.

  Sally shot back, “Okay, so, Mary had sex with Steele years ago. Then, Kayden bumped into him on a porno set, and they did the deed. He went after her, found out about the drug dealer, and yada, yada, yada.” She waved her hand in the air, “at this time, she’s dating a porn star.”

  “Retired adult performer,” I butted in.

  Jeff chimed in, “So, now, you’re a retired porn star?”

  “Yes,” I answered him, and went on to tell everyone, “My agent and lawyer are currently drawing up a contract. I will no longer be making movies, but I will be getting perquisites from the Steele Waters name.”

  “What is your fucking name?” Dalton snapped.

  “Language!” Kayden called, chastising Dalton.

  “Steele Michael Kincaid.”

  Sally said in a flirty tone, “Oh, that’s a nice name.”

  Everyone ignored Sally. We all became quiet for a minute.

  Then, Dalton asked, “Well, now that you fucked both my moms, what’s next?”

  Kayden swiftly stood. “That’s it!” she shouted. “We’re done. It’s past one in the morning, and I’m tired.” She rounded the table, gesturing her arms. “Let’s go. Bedtime, everyone,” she said in what I presumed was her mother tone.

  Everyone began to scurry. Sally, Lisa, and Bull cleaned up the kitchen. Jeff and Dalton took off to their rooms. I followed Kayden upstairs. I wasn’t about to say anything because I knew I was going to pay.

  “Did you know?” she said when I shut the door behind us.

  I sat on the edge of the bed. “Know what?” I began to untie my sneakers.

  She sat next to me, toeing off her flip-flops. “About the pictures?”

  “No,” I said. Standing and undressing, I told her, “I had my agent make sure that no pictures of us would make it to the media, but some must have leaked.”

  “Are there more that I have to worry about?” she inquired, pulling her tank top over her head.

  “I don’t know, but I’ll take care of it. I’m going to email my agent and lawyer tonight and find out what we can do, and have them both make sure there aren’t any more floating around.” I threw my clothes over on the chair.

  She stood, pulled her jeans down, and then sat back down. After her jeans were off, she sat there in her white lace bra and blue satin panties. My breath hitched at the sight of her. I’d seen her naked numerous times, I’d been inside her, I’d tasted her, and I would never tire of any of it.

  I knelt down in front of her, put my hands on her knees, and whispered, “You’re beautiful.”

  She pulled the hair tie from on top of her head, and glossy brown waves spilled to her shoulders. “Steele…”

  “I’m not looking to get laid, baby. I just wanted to let you know. I think you are the most gorgeous woman inside and out.” I leaned up and kissed her lips. I muttered, “Now, let’s get you in bed.”

  “You’re not going to bed?” she questioned.

  “As soon as I send some emails, I will.”

  I tucked her in bed, kissed her, and went to my bags. I took out my laptop and went to the desk. I booted it up, tapped some keys, and brought my email up. The number seventy-two sat next to the word Inbox.

  Fuck.

  Since Kayden had come into my life, I had definitely overlooked everything. I used to always check my email, my Facebook fan page, and my Twitter account daily. But it’d been days since I’d done any of it. I glanced over to the bed. Her back was to me, slightly rising and falling in steady breaths. She was already out. With pent-up energy from the night rolling through my system, I was wide-awake. I would have liked to use it on her, but she needed her rest. So, I went through my emails.

  A noise came from downstairs. I looked down at the time, and an hour and a half had passed. The sound of a door slamming came next. I rose, stretched, and went to the window. A shadowy figure walked across the green lawn. As the figure approached the pier, the two lampposts sitting on either side of the opening lit up the person’s form.

  It was Dalton.

  I headed down to the wood pier, and as the wood creaked from my steps, Dalton looked over his shoulder. He didn’t say anything, which was a good thing. I was waiting for him to come barreling down the wood planks to try to take me down.

  “Do you mind if I sit?” I asked quietly.

  The pale light of the moon lit up his face as he stared blankly at the rippling water below, his legs swinging back and forth as they hung off the end.

  With no expression written on his face, he replied, “Yeah.”

  “Too bad,” I retorted, sitting down while putting enough distance between us. I figured if he was going to haul off and take a cheap shot at me, I would be prepared.

  I crossed my legs at the ankles, only letting the water graze my bare heels. Leaning back, I rested my hands on the damp, cool wood. I breathed in the pine-scented sweet night air.

  “I’m not going to play games with you. I love your mother and plan to marry her one day,” I declared.

  I glanced over, and he was still looking out over the water with a blank expression.

  “Why can’t you fucking find someone else?” Dalton asked with resentment.

  Taking a loud audible breath, I asked him, “Do I really have to tell you how great your mom is or what an amazing woman she is? She’s so loving and caring—”

  He broke in, “You don’t have to tell me shit that I already know.”

  “Then, let me tell you what you don’t know. She’s strong, stronger than any woman I’ve met. And she loves me for me—not Steele Waters, the guy on the screen—the real me right here,” I finished, patting my bare chest.

  It was then Dalton turned and looked at me. His eyes held mine for a second, and then they wandered down my chest. He tried to take in the tattoo on the left side of my abs. I leaned on my right hand, stretching the left side of my torso.

  “I got that when I was twenty-eight,” I told him.

  “Within reach,” he read it aloud and then asked, “Why?”

  I sat back up and looked out in the direction of the water. “Because I firmly believe that everything is within reach. It just depends on whether or not you’re willing to stretch far enough to grab it.”

  “Hmm…” he huffed out.

  I questioned, “You don’t agree?”

  A small smile played on his lips for a brief second before he drew it back in as if he didn’t want me to see it. He played with the string that edged his dark brown cargo shorts.

  “I do. It’s just…deep,” Dalton said in a quiet voice.

  I agreed, “It is, but I’ve been through some shit in life. Then, I got to a point where it was time to take my life back from the demons that held it. It started with these.” I held out my arms, palms up.

  He read the words on both arms and nodded. “Trust?” he said as more of a question.

  “Yep, trust is not a free gift. It’s earned, and that’s something I learned the wrong way. So, I got this to remind me of that.” I pointed to the other arm and went on, “Honesty—I learned that one the hard way, too.” I gave a small chuckle. I observed him out of the corner of my eyes.

  Here was this eighteen-year-old kid, the same
damn age I was when my dad had taken off. I wanted to shake the fuckin’ shit out of him and tell him how lucky he was to have a family who loved him the way they did. I wanted to knock that cocky attitude right out of him.

  Since I couldn’t do exactly that, I told him, “My mom died when I was young. From what I remember, life was good. We were the little happy family. After she died, my dad changed. There was no more throwing the ball with me. He didn’t even go to my baseball games. I started hanging out at my friend Robbie’s house more and more. His mom started going to my games. I thought she was there for me, but I found out later that she was fucking my coach.” I puffed out a laugh and looked over to Dalton.

  He snorted a snicker while staring out at the water.

  This was good. I was chipping away the hard coating. I continued, “Back to the real point. When I turned eighteen, my dad left. He said he was done, that he had done his job, and he took off. I haven’t heard from him since, and I never looked for him. But…” I paused for a second, gazing out onto the silver sparkly water. “It took me a real long time to come to terms with him being honest. As a grown man, I have to say, I respect that.”

  We sat in silence for a few minutes. The crickets and slight sloshing of water were the only sounds filling the night. Dalton rose from his seated position. He put his hands on his hips and took one last gaze out over the water before he turned. I thought I had cracked some of his shell but maybe not.

  It wasn’t until he was halfway down the pier that he called out, “Steele?”

  I twisted. “Yeah?” I replied with a gruff, tired tone.

  He ran a hand through his hair. “Just don’t hurt her, man.”

  “I will do everything in my power to make sure hurt never touches her. I can’t promise, but I’ll try like fuckin’ hell. You have my word on that.”

  His lips turned up on one side. He was trying not to smile. “Fair enough.” Then, he continued toward the house, but he was holding his head a little higher, and the slump in his shoulders was gone.

  I won.

  I walked up the stairs, feeling a little lighter. He hadn’t said much, but it was a good talk.

  I couldn’t wait to crawl into bed and wrap my arms around my woman. I was looking forward to the morning when I would tell her about what had happened with Dalton. Feeling as if all was finally going to be okay, I opened the door.

  Kayden was sitting in front of my laptop. When she twisted on the chair, our eyes locked, and that feeling faded.

  She asked, pointing a finger behind her, “What is this?”

  Kayden

  “What is this?” I asked, pointing to the screen behind me.

  Steele leaned to the side and glanced behind me. “My emails.”

  “I know that,” I spit at him. “I mean, this?” Then, I pointed to the email that had me wondering.

  He took three long strides, and then he was bending down, squinting his bloodshot eyes to read the subject line. “Shit,” he uttered.

  “Shit…” I paused because I knew I had him.

  Then, he banished my theory and told me, “Yeah, I had our scene edited by a good, respectful guy I know. I was going to give it to you when we got home.” His face blushed a little, and that was the first time I’d witnessed it. “Thought maybe you would wanna watch us. It was that scene that brought us together.”

  The little shy-boy appearance on his face had me melting. A warm fuzzy sensation flowed through my body. I ignored it the best I could. “You weren’t going to sell or leak it for your reputation?”

  “Fuck no,” he said firmly.

  He gazed at me as if my head had just spun around. At this point though, that would not have surprised me at all.

  “Princess…” he whispered, kneeling down at the side of the chair. He placed his hand on my thigh and asked softly, “Do you really think I would do that?”

  I focused on his big, strong hand. “I don’t know what to think anymore, Steele. My head keeps spiraling with everything that has been going on. It’s like I’m trying to prepare myself for another bomb to explode.”

  He grabbed the legs of the chair and effortlessly turned it. Grabbing my hands, he squeezed them. “How about we go away after we get home and pay off Marco? Just you, no clothes, a private beach, and me. What do you say?”

  I smiled at the excitement playing on his face. “I think I would like clothes on this trip.”

  He grinned and wagged his brows. “Nope, I don’t like you in clothes.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him, and he chuckled.

  “Okay, how about we go away for eight days? I get four, and you get four. Deal?”

  “Steele…” I huffed. “Some of us are not retired. I have a job, bills, and two kids in college. I can’t go away for eight days.”

  “Baby, I’m going to pay the bills and pay for the boys’ college.”

  “Oh no!” I rose swiftly, causing Steele to fall back on his heels.

  He caught himself and stood. I began to pace the room.

  “You are not paying for the kids’ college tuition or the bills.”

  “Yes, I am,” he said nonchalantly.

  “No, you are not,” I said firmly, stomping my foot for good measure. Then, I sat on the edge of the bed and crossed my arms over my bra-clad breasts. “Did you even ask me if you can move in with me?”

  He laughed, and I grew even more pissed. I gave him my stank face, and he tackled me. His body pressed mine into the mattress. As he began to kiss my pouty lips, I pushed with all my might to get him off.

  Struggling, I whined, “Steele…”

  He snickered. “Don’t waste that energy, baby. I have plans for you.”

  I smacked his arm and glowered.

  He grinned. “Do you have any idea how fuckin’ cute you look when you’re pissed?”

  “Your sweet talk isn’t working,” I said and turned my head to look at the wall.

  Steele’s hand moved between our bodies, and then it was in my panties. I wiggled my legs, but this only produced a pleasuring rub by his hand, so I stopped. With no way of moving him off me, I ignored him. His fingers started a circular motion between my legs, and I held back a groan. I closed my eyes and thought about everything possible other than the magic that was happening down below.

  His lips began to graze my neck. He slipped two fingers inside me and sucked right below my ear. I had no choice. I let a moan release from my lips. He started rubbing a spot inside me, which caused a heated rush to pass through my body and land in my belly. I clutched his shoulders.

  “Mmm…” he groaned in my ear.

  My breaths became heavier, my belly began to tighten, and my toes started tingling.

  Then, he stopped.

  “No…” I whined, bringing my eyes to his.

  “You like this?” he asked as he started to rub that magic spot inside again.

  I breathed out, “Yes.”

  He grinned, kissed my lips, and stopped. “I’m moving in with you.”

  He gave another swirl of his fingers, and my body burned for it.

  “Okay,” I mumbled.

  I was melting right underneath him, and he knew it.

  Another churn of his fingers, he said, “I’m going to pay the bills.”

  My neck arched, and I was so close as I muttered a breathy, “Okay…”

  His fingers moved slowly in and out. “And I’m paying for the boys’ college,” he whispered. He started nipping at my neck. He was holding me right at the crest of my orgasm.

  With my body ready to burst into flames, he rubbed that spot again.

  I moaned, “Yes…”

  “Now that we’ve agreed on that situation…” Then, he was gone.

  Steele ripped my panties off, tossed them aside, spread my legs, and put his mouth on me.

  His words finally hit my brain, and I leaned up onto my elbows. I was ready to tell him that I didn’t agree to anything. At the sight of his hands spreading my bare thighs, his inked muscular back, his
blue eyes intensely gazing into mine, his tongue twirling around my most intimate part, I lost my voice. It was the most erotic sight I’d ever seen, and it wasn’t long at all before I threw my head back and rode the wave of ecstasy.

  I softly bounced down the stairs, hoping not to wake anyone. Turning the corner, I saw my mom standing at the counter. Her stare was absorbing the beautiful rising sun out the window.

  Trying not to scare her, I said lowly, “Good morning.”

  Her head twisted. She looked at me and smiled. “Good morning, sweetie.” She turned and gestured to the coffee pot. “Just made it.”

  I moved over to the counter and reached for a mug sitting on a shelf above a small cabinet. “Thanks. I need it,” I voiced while pouring a cup.

  When I turned, my mom signaled to the door. “Let’s go outside.” She started in that direction.

  She grabbed something on her way out, but I was concentrating on not spilling my overflowing cup, so I didn’t get to see what it was.

  She sat in the oversized chair. Her baby-blue thin cotton robe draped over the cushion. She crossed her yellow silk-encased legs. I sat on the wicker couch with the maple brown cushions. Putting my legs underneath me, and leaned on the arm.

  Mom looked out over the expansion of green lawn, which would be transformed into the birthday event area later. “I—”

  Before she had a chance to continue, I spoke up, “I’m sorry.”

  Her head whipped to me, and her eyes narrowed. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I understand what you did, and under no circumstances should you be sorry. You’re a grown woman.”

  “I know…” I paused and looked down to the brown liquid in my cup. “I just feel like I let you down.”

  Mom said matter-of-factly, “You did not let me down, Kayden.” She put her coffee down. “I wish you hadn’t taken on Mary’s burden by yourself, but what’s done is done.”