Read Beautifully Revealed Online
Authors: Bethany Bazile
Beautifully Revealed (12 page)
He takes me to a local steakhouse. I order a salad that I pick at while Cayden
devours his steak and watches me disapprovingly when I don’t finish my salad.
“I’m worried about you
.”
“I’m fine
, Cayden.”
“No
, you’re not. The past couple sessions you’ve become more reserved and you canceled this afternoon.”
“It was one session
, Cayden. I didn’t feel well.”
“Heartsickness isn’t a real ailment.
You’re mentally dragging yourself down and I’m not sure he’s worth it.”
“Don’t even go there
, Cayden. I’m clear on how you feel about Liam, but no one can control how I feel about him.”
H
e sighs and I can tell he’s going to drop the topic. “Our sessions are going to be less frequent. I have to start shooting the new season of my show, but I’m really nervous about leaving you without counsel. I can refer you to-”
“No
, Cayden. I’ll only talk to you. I’ll be fine until you come back so don’t worry about me.”
“If you weren’t sinking into depression
, then I wouldn’t be so worried. I’ll be leaving next week, and I’ll be back after two weeks, but call me anytime day or night if you need to talk.”
“Do you worry this much
about all your patients?”
He smiles and his golden eyes light up. “I worry about them, but you’re a special woman, Isabella. I might be a little more concerned about you.”
I’m
glad when we finally leave the restaurant and Cayden takes me back to Rich’s place. He insists on walking me up to the door, which was unnecessary. “Promise me something, Isabella.”
I
whirl around to face him and realize he’s a lot closer to me than I thought. His eyes are seriously intense and if the door wasn’t at my back I would take a step back. “Don’t let him break your spirit.” His hand reaches up and pushes my hair from my face, his fingers caressing my face. “You’re a beautiful, intelligent woman. Your past hasn’t scarred you as badly as you think. Don’t let him break you.”
Cayden moves in closer and I can feel h
is rapid breaths across my lips. The look in his eyes is indistinct, but there is no doubt in my mind what he wants. My eyes lower to his lips just before they brush against mine. My intelligent mind tells me to push him away, but my inane hands take forever to receive the message.
My
palms push against his chest just as his tongue dances across my lip. I stare into his eyes and I’m sure the same look of panic in his eyes is reflected in mine. “I’m sorry, Isabella.”
Before I can respond to his apology a deep
, mocking voice cuts me off. “ ‘
We’re only patient and doctor
,’ she says to me.”
Liam
.
He
appears out of nowhere and the angry look on his face is frightening. “You should get your hands off my girl before I bash your face in.” His tone is cool, but his expression is fierce.
Cayden recovers from his shock
of Liam appearing quickly, and steps up to him fearlessly. “You broke it off with her, I’m pretty sure she’s not
yours
anymore.”
Liam’s dry sarcastic laugh sends chills up my
spine. I don’t want this to escalate into a physical altercation. “Is that what you think Dr. Knight? You think you can replace me?” He shakes his head in disbelief. “Let me tell you something
Doctor
, the bond Ella and I share is unbreakable. Time and space don’t detract from a love like that. You need to be the professional she’s paying you to be, and get the fuck out of here.”
“Isabella, this is exactly what we talked about, he’s violent and irrational-”
Liam grabs him by his jacket before he can finish, pulling him close as he seethes in his face. “I warned you in your office not to fuck with my relationship.”
“Wait, you went to see Cayden at his office?”
“Weeks ago, because I knew he was going to pull this shit.”
“Oh god, C
ayden I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize for me,” he
turns a sharp eye at me, letting go of Cayden with a push. “You know what? You’ve gone on for months about how he’s just your therapist, but I get here and you’re minutes away from pulling him through that door and fucking him.” His rage is out of control and I can see he’s about to lose it in this hallway. He’s so close to me I can practically feel the anger radiating out of his body.
“Cayden’s right
, you’re being irrational, maybe you should go home and calm down.” He stares at me incredulously before pulling me down the hallway, out of Cayden’s earshot. His big body surrounds me as he backs me up against the wall and whispers in my ear, “Don’t do this to us, Ella. I swear if you fuck him I’m going to lose control and hurt him”
“Stop
,” I say as my hands run up his chest, over his neck, and cup his face. I force him to look into my eyes. “The kiss should’ve never happened and I’m sorry you had to see that.” If our positions were switched I would have died a little inside watching him kiss another woman.
“I’m not going to have sex with Cayden or any other man, but you can’t just show up here demandi
ng things and invading my space when this separation was all your idea.” I run my hand through his hair and have to restrain myself from pulling his head down for a kiss.
“You make it impossible to take you back
when you’re always pulling shit like this. Sometimes I think you purposely sabotage our relationship. You are your own worst enemy.” He pushes off the wall, and I instantly miss his body against mine. My heart aches as I watch him walk down the hallway.
Lillian and Rich step off the elevator
, and Liam steps on without saying a word to either one of them. Rich gives me a curious look as he approaches. “What’s that about?” he asks.
Cayden steps in beside me and Rich frowns
at him.
“This is Dr. Cayden Knight, and that,” I point in the direction Liam left, “
is me putting a dagger into what’s left of my relationship.”
“Don’t blame yourself
, Isabella,” Cayden says. “He was irrational.”
“No, I think he had a pretty rational reaction to you kissing me.”
“Oh…wow. I told you to make the man jealous not rip his heart out. Maybe we should take this inside,” Rich says. “My neighbors don’t need to watch an episode of
General Hospital
unfold in the hallway.”
I try to bite back my smile but a giggle
escapes anyway. “I hate you, Rich.” He always makes me smile when I just want to curl up and die.
“Yes and I hate to love you too, Isabella.”
Lillian wraps an arm around my waist and guides me inside while Cayden takes the seat Rich offers him and watches me nervously. “You need to separate yourself from him,” he finally says. I knew that was coming.
“
Cayden, what happened in the hallway was wrong and it can never happen again. I’m not going to blame Liam for his reaction to our mistake.”
“He acted like a maniac and you basically c
oddled him with sweet caresses. It’s like watching a train wreck about to happen.”
“In Liam’s defense,” Lillian jumps in, “he’s been through a lot lately and a person can only take so much pain before they snap.”
“I’m not good for him,” I say under my breath. The pain in his eyes before he left stayed with me, and I don’t want that for him. I want him to be happy, not dragged down into my painful existence.
“Oh god, now we
’re making backwards progress.” Cayden rises up from his seat, and looks down at me. “I need to see you in my office on Monday.” He slams the door as he exits.
“I swear I just want to shake some sense into you,” Lillian
jumps out of her seat and glares at me as soon as the door shuts. “I mean Cayden’s hot enough to melt a woman’s panties, but kissing him was a bad move.”
“Hey!” Rich shouts at her.
“I love you baby, but that man is a god. He sits about one step down from Liam Maddox.”
He smirks at her while shaking his head
. “I’ll get my placement on that list, because I’m the one you’ll be calling god tonight.”
Lillian face turns a light s
hade of pink and she glares at Rich. “Do you mind? I’m trying to be serious here.”
“Carry on,” R
ich says throwing up his hands.
“Isabella, you have to stop standing in your own way.”
“You sound like Liam, he said I’m sabotaging our relationship.”
“Of course you are, because you do
n’t think you deserve happiness. So you think you need to push him away before he comes to his senses and gets rid of you. Please Isabella, hold on to that happiness because my heart can’t take seeing the anguish that lives in your eyes.”
Everything in words always seem
s so simple, but it’s getting my damaged brain to process those words and turn them into actions that is nearly impossible. I stay stuck in my head for the rest of the night, blocking Lillian and Rich out. I nod and smile at the appropriate times to keep them from worrying about me, but that gets old fast so I retire to my room to sulk. I’m already dreading the codependency lecture I’m going to get from Cayden on Monday, but it’s thoughts of Liam that keep me up most of the night.
Liam
I pull the door open and force myself to smile back at her.
“I’m surprised you called,” she says.
I pull her body against
mine and slam the door shut. “Do you understand what this is, Arianna?” Her blue eyes sparkle with excitement and she nods enthusiastically.
“Don’t worry I know what you need,” she leans forward and initiates the kiss.
The scent of her perfume overpowers my senses. She licks at my lips trying to deepen the kiss but the guilt in my gut is quickly building.
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 use
d 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 y
ou 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 requ
est. “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 pulled 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.