Beautifully Revealed (13 page)

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. M
entally 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 brave 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.

“Onc
e 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.

“I don’t owe you shit
.” I push her off and straighten my shirt.

“You’re going to give me that money Isabella.”
She runs a finger under her nose and sniffs. That one move tells me she is still the same Elaina, with the same horrible habits.

“
That’s an expensive habit to maintain without Daddy’s money. Even if I die, you’ll never find that money.” I’m done with this conversation. I walk towards my car to get away from her as quickly as possible.

“I’m sure the press will pay well for Liam Maddox’s girlfriend in a sex tape.” That stops me in my tracks.

How did I get back here? Elaina has all the power again, and I know I’ll do anything to keep Liam protected from this kind of embarrassment. Happiness was never mine. It was an illusion of my optimistic mind. I couldn’t possibly think I could come back here and fight off these demons from my past. I wasn’t strong enough ten years ago, and it seems like I’m about to fall into the same trap all over again.

“How much?” I d
on’t even bother turning around because I’ll be sick if I have to look at her face again.

“Five million.”

“No, I don’t even have that much,” I lie.

“Have your rich boyfriend give you the rest.”

“If Liam finds out what you’re doing he’ll make sure you get nothing.” I can’t risk Liam ever seeing that tape. He would never look at me the same. I can’t even stand to look at myself when I think about it.

“Bring me two million by
Friday,” she places a card on the roof of my car. “Bring it to that motel and if you don’t show up, I sell the video to the highest bidder.”

I
snatch the card before getting into my car. I peel out of that garage like a bat out of hell because it feels like that’s where I’ve been. By the time I get to Cayden’s office I’m panting angrily and tears are brimming in my eyes. After a few shallow breaths and an extra coat of makeup, I’m ready to face my therapist wearing an iron-clad mask. The last thing I need is to talk about Elaina and her blackmail scheme with anyone.

********

“I think we have a conflict of interest
, Isabella.” Today Cayden’s sitting behind his desk, obviously trying to keep his distance from me. I’m a disaster waiting to happen and if he was smart, if Liam was smart, they would both stay away from me.

“No we don’t Cayden.
I need you to be my doctor, so don’t try to back out now.”

“What happen
ed Friday night was unprofessional. I have to be honest with you, Isabella. I have feelings for you.”

I knew Cayden felt something for me
, but I preferred to be oblivious to it. It allowed me to remain friends with him without the guilt. But Liam was right about Cayden, he has feelings for me and after Friday night we have to deal with that now and get past it.

“Cayden, y
ou’re a wonderful man and I feel safe with you, but I don’t have romantic feelings for you. All those feelings are wrapped up in Liam. I think you were brought into my life for a reason, and I think I knew from the beginning that you would be the first person who I could talk to about my issues. Please don’t say you can’t help me anymore.” My hope slowly dwindles as he remains quiet for so long I just know he’s going to say no.

He runs his hand over his face and through his blonde hair. “I’ll help you, but once we cross the line into patient and doctor there’s no going back.” He looks at me hopeful
ly.

“I know
.” I lost my heart four months ago in a night club, to a man almost as fucked up as I am, and I’ll never get it back. I never want him to give it back to me. Cayden is the key to my healing, but Liam is the reason I want to be better. He’s the driving force that inspires me to hope for more, and I feel it just within my reach, if I can only beat back my past.

“What would you like to discuss today?” he ask
s.

I shrug my shoulders because I’d rather cancel this session.

“Why don’t we talk about Damon?”

A shiver runs up my spine at the name, “What about him?”

“Do you think he’ll come back?”

“I think he’
s still here.” I answer honestly.

H
e sits up in his seat and looks at me with concern, “You think he’s watching you?”

I nod my head
. “Biding his time.”

“You should get a bodyguard.”

“No, I refuse to hide behind some guard.”

“You can’t be a walking target either, Isabella.”

“The moment I stepped off that plane I knew I would have to battle with Damon. You saw me Cayden, I was scared to the point of a physical breakdown. I don’t want to be scared anymore. I don’t want to hide.”

“I don’t like this
, Isabella.”

“It’s fate
, Cayden. I know this because the strangest thing happened to me. While hiding from my past I met a man and he inadvertently bought me back home. His love gave me the strength to come back and face my past so whatever happens, fate led me down this road and I accept it.”

“It sounds like you think something bad is going to happen to you.”

“When Damon and my mother are involved nothing good happens.”

“What do you think Damon wants from
you?”

That’s an easy question
. “He wants me…dead or alive.”

He begins to shake his head while
rubbing his finger over his lower lip. He’s worried about me, and I don’t mean to scare him but after Elaina’s visit I need to be honest with him and myself. This will not end well and I have a sick feeling in my gut that I’ll be on the losing end of this battle.

“How do you feel about him wanting you dead?”

What the fuck kind of question is that?

“What kind of psycho-babble is that
, Cayden? How is anyone supposed to feel when someone wants them dead?”

“I don’t know
, Isabella, that’s why I’m asking you.” He’s waiting for me to answer, but I don’t know what to say to that.

“I’ve never thought about what happens if he catches me
. I’ve been too busy trying not to get caught.”

“So what happens if he catches you?
That’s what you seem to be preparing for.”

Damon’s face flashes in front of me
and my stomach twists. “I don’t know. I just know I’d rather die than go through that shit with Damon again.”

“When I ask you how you feel about Damon wanting you dead, I expect to hear that you’re afraid or angry. The kind
s of emotions that trigger your fight instinct. Your answer to me is you’d rather die than let him touch you. It sounds to me like you’re ready to give up the moment he touches you.”

Maybe I have given up. Maybe I’ve been living on borrowed time the last ten years, living a borrowed life that I didn’t deserve.

“Giving up is not an option, Isabella. No matter what happens, you fight till there’s no fight left in you. This is your life and it’s time you claim it, not give it away.”