The Beauty Series Bundle (19 page)

I
’m almost
glad Audrey came. Lachlan is forced to give me insight he would’ve never volunteered. I now understand why he’s so secretive about his life, and I can’t really say I blame him if that’s the kind of bat-shit crazy he’s had to deal with.

We don’t talk after I tell him about how I was going to leave. He holds onto me like he’s afraid I might get up and sneak away in the night. He was scared when he thought I was leaving him. I heard it in his voice and saw it in his eyes.

I somehow make it to sleep with him wrapped around me, and he’s still holding on when my phone vibrates on the nightstand at seven o’clock. I’m sure it’s Daniel calling to see if I’m ready to leave.

Lachlan rolls away from me and grabs it before I’m able to make a move. “Daniel, Miss. Beckett won’t be needing you to drive her this morning after all.”

After he ends the call, he rolls back to me. “You’d be leaving me right now if I hadn’t come home early.”

He’s right, yet I don’t want to admit it, so I say nothing. He pulls me close again, the same way he held me all night. “We have two more months together. Please, don’t plan to leave again unless it’s a mutual decision.”

“Okay.”

“Promise me, Laurelyn. I don’t want to worry about coming in and finding you gone one day.”

“I promise.” He relaxes with my assurance and I know this is the end of it. He’ll never bring it up again because he believes me.

“What would you like to do today?” he asks.

“I wasn’t expecting you to be here, so I asked Addison to meet me for lunch before the whole Audrey thing happened.”

“That’s fine. I seem to have fallen down on my office work since you’ve been around, Miss Beckett. My books could stand a little catching up.”

“Mr. Henry, you’re blaming your lack of productivity on me?”

“Only my lack of concentration,” he explains. “It always seems to be on you these days.”

“Then it’s probably a good idea for me to get out of your hair today.”

“Let’s call it a girls’ day out. You and your friend can shop or whatever it is you do when you’re together.”

I shrug because I don’t really have any extra money to spend. My budget is super tight after my lingerie spending spree before Christmas. “I don’t really need anything.”

He gets out of bed and takes his wallet from his pants. He places several hundreds on the nightstand under my phone. Wow, that really makes me feel like a hooker.

“When you buy for yourself, you’re buying for me because I like you in nice things.” He leans down and kisses my mouth. “I’m taking you somewhere next week, so buy some new things for our trip.”

“Where are you taking me?”

“New Zealand. It’s a business trip, but we’ll have plenty of time to play while we’re there, so buy some sundresses and a few new swimsuits. I’d like to request skimpy bikinis.”

No freakin’ way. Addison will be so jealous. “You’re taking me to New Zealand?”

“Yes. I have some business at one of the vineyards and my boss has a house on a private beach. He’s letting us stay there a couple of nights.”

“Lachlan. I don’t even know what to say.” And I don’t. I’d never get to do anything like this on my own. I wouldn’t have been able to come to Australia if Addison’s parents hadn’t bought my airline ticket.

“There’s only one word I want to hear.”

“Yes?”

“That’s the one.”

I hold my arms out and he lets me hop on him with my legs around his waist as I squeal. “We’re going to New Zealand,” I squeal in excitement.

I
call
Addison when I’m almost to the apartment. I don’t plan on going up because I don’t want to run into Ben. “Hey, I’m a block away. Are you ready to come down?”

“I need five or ten more minutes.” Of course she does. She’s never ready on time. Won’t I ever learn to tell her to be ready thirty minutes earlier?

“I’ll wait in the car.”

“No way. Come up, please.”

I know I shouldn’t, but I agree against my better judgment. “Okay. Buzz me in, but please hurry.”

Daniel stops in front of the apartment. “Addison isn’t ready so I’m going up. I shouldn’t be long.”

I reach for the handle, but it doesn’t work. Child safety locks, I guess. They’re probably activated because Daniel knows I don’t give a rat’s ass about having a door opened for me. I’m not helpless. I can open my own door, but that’s not the way Lachlan wants it.

Daniel appears displeased with me as he lets me out the car. I think he doesn’t approve of me going up to the apartment because he knows his employer won’t like it. “I won’t be long, Daniel.”

“I can’t tell you what to do, but you know he won’t like this.” Daniel knows about my run-in with Ben, maybe not the specifics, but Lachlan has told him something.

“I’ll hurry.”

“Take your phone and call me if you have any problems. Anything at all.”

Great. I have Lachlan and Daniel wanting to kick Ben’s ass. “I’ll take it, but don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll worry until I see you come out of that building safe and sound.” What did Lachlan tell him?

“I’ll be ten minutes max,” I promise.

“Make it five.” He sounds irritated.

I knock on the door and Ben answers. He gives me a crooked grin, but he’s embarrassed. He should be. “Hi, Laurelyn. Please, come in.”

I walk into the apartment and I can’t remember a more uncomfortable moment in my life. I stand there trying to think of polite conversation, but I can’t come up with anything I want to say to the man who called me a whore after he tried to kiss me.

“I’m gonna walk back and check on Addison.”

He touches my arm as I walk by and I go stiff. “Can I please have just a minute?”

I pull my arm from him. I don’t want to do this, but I feel like I have to because he’s my best friend’s brother. “I’ll give you one minute.”

“I’m not saying it’s any kind of excuse for what I did, but I was really drunk New Year’s Eve. I never would’ve acted that way otherwise. I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted.” That’s all he’s getting from me.

I walk to the bedroom I once shared with my best friend and she’s sitting on the bed, ready to go. She jolts when she sees me in the doorway. I knew this was a total set-up. “Don’t be mad, Laurie. He wanted to see you so he could apologize and I knew this was the only way.”

“You lied to me.” As I accuse her, I think of all the half-truths I’ve told her about Lachlan and decide it might be a good idea if I’m not too quick to call the kettle black. “But it’s okay. I understand why you did it.”

“I had to, Laurie. He’s been so sick with himself since it happened.”

“Well, it’s over now. I told him I accepted his apology.”

“Thank you, Laurie.”

A
ddison
and I haven’t seen each other since I moved out, so we have a lot of catching up to do. We decide it’s best to do it over cheeseburgers and shakes at the fifties diner on the square.

“So, how’s it going with the suit?”

That name is all wrong for him now. I’ve rarely seen him in a suit since those first few days. He’s all sexy, rugged wear these days, but I choose to not debate it with her. “He works a lot of hours, but things are good now.”

“What does ‘now’ mean?”

Do I really want to discuss Audrey with her? Yes, I think I do. She’s my best friend. I need to get this out and tell someone about it. “One of his bat-shit crazy exes came to see me last night while he was out of town.”

Addison sits up straighter, ready to hear the juicy details. She loves a good catfight. “What happened? Did you have to whip her ass?”

“She walked in the house like she owned the place and told me she was his wife and mother of his children.”

I suspect she’s seeing the same red flag I saw. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Right? “And is she?”

“No, but of course I believed her. You know how I am when it comes to men. I don’t trust them.”

“Laurie, how do you know she’s not telling the truth?”

I’m playing with the napkin in my lap, tearing off small pieces and rolling them into little balls. “I packed my stuff and had it by the door so I could get out of there first thing this morning. He came home early and then the shit got real when he saw I was leaving. Addison, he called his mother and woke her at three o’clock this morning so she would vouch that he isn’t married.”

“That’s good, right?”

“The part about being single is good, but what happened afterwards was unexpected.” I’m not sure this uncomplicated relationship thing is going to stay that way.

“Chillax, Laurie. Sex is sex. Roll with it and have fun. Stop trying to make it complex.”

I’m not trying to make sex with Lachlan complicated. “We didn’t have sex.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “Did he tell you he loved you or some bullshit like that?”

“No, we didn’t talk.”

“If you didn’t talk and you didn’t have sex, what did you do?”

“He just held me all night.”

“Psst. That sounds boring as hell.”

“But it wasn’t. I liked it.”

“You need counseling.” Addison can be such a dude sometimes.

“You’re my best friend. You’re supposed to counsel me when I lose my way.”

“Honey, you lost me on this deal back when you said you didn’t have sex.” She shrugs her shoulders. “I got nothing for you.”

“He’s taking me to New Zealand next week.”

She punches me in the shoulder. “Shut the hell up. No way.”

“Yeah, he is.” I reach into my purse and hold up the money he gave me. “We’re staying at a house on a private beach and he wants me to buy new clothes and swimsuits for the trip.”

Addison’s eyes widen. “Shit! How much money is that?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t count it.”

She reaches over and takes it from my hand to thumb through it. “The suit gave you a grand to buy bikinis and flip-flops.”

I remind myself of what Lachlan said. When I buy for myself, I’m buying for him because he wants me in nice things. “I feel guilty taking his money, but I can’t afford to buy the things he wants me to have for the trip.”

She waves the money in front of me. “He promised to show you the time of your life. This is one of things he was talking about. You have two months left with him. Have fun while you can.”

She’s right. I’m making too much of this. We discussed what he wanted from this relationship in the beginning, and he told me he wanted to pamper me and make us feel genuine. This is him following through with his part of the bargain, so I should keep mine too. If he wants us to feel real, I can give him real—every day and twice on Sunday.

A
fter takeoff
in our small private plane to Auckland, New Zealand, I check my watch to see if we’re on schedule. I notice the date—February 1st—and I’m struck by the memory of a conversation Laurelyn and I had on our second date. She told me she would turn twenty-three on Groundhog’s Day. That’s tomorrow. I can’t believe I didn’t remember until just now.

She hasn’t mentioned it. I think she would tell me if I asked her, but I decide I want to surprise her with something special. I just don’t know what it will be.

Our flight lands and I usually have a driver waiting, but not today. Instead, I rent a convertible for the twenty-minute drive to the house so Laurelyn and I can have this experience alone and at our own pace.

After pulling off the road several times for Laurelyn to admire the coastline, we arrive at the house in Auckland. She hasn’t traveled much outside her small world at home and her eyes are wide with elation. I love seeing her like this. Her expression makes me want to show her the world.

“It’s amazing.”

“Wait until you see the beachfront.”

I carry our bags from the car into the house. I give her the tour, purposely making the bedroom our last stop. I’m proud of this room, even if I can’t take credit for how lovely it is since the house was furnished when I purchased it last year. The previous owner did a fantastic job making this bedroom romantic.

Laurelyn walks over and runs her fingers down the sheer fabric draped over the canopy. “I can’t think of a word to describe this room. Romantic isn’t enough to do it justice.”

“I know.”

“You’ve stayed here before?”

“Many times.” I feel the question she doesn’t ask and I answer it. “But always alone. You’re the only one I’ve brought here.” I want her to know she’s the first and only.

She sits on the bed and falls back across the mattress. “Your boss has great taste.”

I look at the beautiful woman sprawled across my bed. “I agree.”

“What are we going to do first?”

Now is the only time I have to go into town for Laurelyn’s gift before tomorrow. “I have to go out to the vineyard for a quick visit. I should only be gone a couple of hours.” She frowns at my news. “This is still a business trip for me, but don’t worry. We’ll have plenty of time for fun.”

“I’m ready to hit the beach.”

“You can go while I’m gone, but I don’t want you to go into the water while you’re alone.”

She pokes her bottom lip out. “Boo.”

“I know you’re a big girl, but it’s still the ocean. Sometimes unexpected things happen and I’d feel better about you not going in by yourself.”

“I get it.”

She sits up and I kiss her. “I’ll be back before you know it. Don’t forget to wear sunscreen. I don’t need you burned for what we’re going to be doing while we’re here.”

I
don’t find
Laurelyn’s gift right away, so I’m gone longer than I anticipate. When I return to the house, I leave her gift in the car’s glove box. I want her to think I’m clueless about her birthday since she hasn’t mentioned it.

I walk around to the beach and see Laurelyn’s towel on the lounger where she was lying, but no sign of her. I call her name several times without a response. Where is she?

Deciding she is probably inside, I open the front door and shout her name several times without a reply.

Would she have gone into the water after I asked her not to? I know the answer. Yes, she would. The moment I answer my own question, I dash toward the beach and shout her name. I hear panic in my voice and feel it in my chest as I search the water. I don’t see a sign of her anywhere.

I hear my name in the distance and I turn to see her walking along the beach’s edge. She’s wearing a bright red bikini. How did I miss that? I’m flooded with instant relief and that’s when I notice my hands trembling. She lifts her hand to wave and I lift my shaky one to return the greeting. I sit on the lounger to wait on her because my knees are threatening to buckle beneath me.

I’m calmed, or at least appear to be, by the time she reaches me. I hold my arms out for her to come sit across my lap. I pull her close and bury my face in her hair.

“Wow, someone really missed me while he was gone. Is everything okay?”

“It is now.” I forgo telling her about my near breakdown when I couldn’t find her.

“Good.” She reaches for the buttons on my shirt and begins unfastening them. “You, sir, are overdressed. Go change into your trunks and swim with me.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

When I come out of the house, she’s already shoulder deep in the clear blue water so I don’t get to feast my eyes on her in the skimpy red bikini. “You just couldn’t wait, could you?”

“Nope. It’s been calling to me for hours and now I’m not alone, so I didn’t break your rule.”

I toss my towel next to hers and walk out to meet her in the ocean. She swims over and puts her arms around my shoulders. “I’ve never been anywhere so beautiful. Thank you for bringing me.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s going to bring you some.”

“Oh, is it?”

“The eight ball says chances are good.” She kisses my mouth and rests her forehead against mine. “Do you come here often?”

“I try to make rounds on Aurelia at least once a month during the summer.”

“Why do you always come alone?”

“I’ve never been with anyone I wanted to bring. Until you.”

“Oh.” That’s all she says and doesn’t press it further.

When we’re tired of swimming, we come out of the water to relax on the loungers. She’s stretched out with one of her long legs bent.

“I want to take you into town for dinner.”

“Okay.”

“Maybe dancing afterwards?”

“Sure, that sounds like fun.”

A
fter dinner at a romantic café
, I take Laurelyn to a dance club I noticed when buying her birthday present. Lights flash around us in the dark and it’s packed shoulder to shoulder. It’s not really the relaxed dancing I had in mind, but she seems happy about being here.

She grabs my arms and we move toward the dance floor. The music is loud and there’s a fast song playing. Laurelyn moves to it like it’s something she’s done a million times.

“Go out dancing much?”

“Yeah. Addison and I hit the dance scene in Nashville a lot.”

She turns her back to me and grabs my hands. She places them on her hips and backs up until her whole body is rubbing against mine as she dances. She knows what she’s doing to me. She can feel the evidence grinding against her ass.

We’re packed on the dance floor and everyone is in his or her own little world. No one is paying attention to us, so I slide my hand from her hip to between her legs. She leans her head against my chest. “You are so bad.”

“I can’t help myself when you’re rubbing on me like that.”

“Sorry. Want to get a drink?”

“Yeah, I need one. A big one.”

We get a couple of glasses of wine from the bar and migrate to the corner so we can hear each other over the pounding bass. “Have you been here before?”

“No. I saw this place today and thought it might be fun. Do you want to leave?”

She shakes her head. “No. I’m having fun.”

I feel someone bump into me from behind and I spill my wine down the front of my shirt. “Shit.”

I turn to look at the jerk behind me and he sees the damage he’s caused. “Man, I’m sorry. Please, let me buy you another drink and pay for your dry cleaning.”

I’m afraid dry cleaning isn’t going to save this. “That won’t be necessary.”

He offers his hand. “I’m Chris and this is my wife, Trisha.”

I’m not really interested in introductions, but I choose to be friendly instead of telling these people to get lost so I can be alone with my girl. “I’m Lachlan and this is Laurelyn.”

I’m shaking his hand but he’s looking at Laurelyn. And for longer than I like. “Is the missus your wife or girlfriend?”

“Girlfriend.” Laurelyn gazes at me and we both grin.

The music is loud, so the wife leans closer. “Have you been together long?”

“Six weeks,” I answer. That means we’re half-over. I wonder if she’s thinking the same thing.

Trish is screaming over the music. “Wow. Things are still in that new, fun, exciting stage for you.” Exciting is an understatement. I should tell them what kind of relationship we have just to freak their married asses out so they’ll go away.

We laugh at our shared secret. I put my arm around her and pull her close. “There’s very little about us or our relationship that’s boring.”

Laurelyn holds her glass of wine out for me. “Will you hold this for a moment while I step to the restroom?”

Trisha takes the last gulp and then slides her empty glass toward the bartender. “I need to go too.”

Perfect. I’m left with my new best friend, Chris. “Your girlfriend is a Yank?”

I take a drink from Laurelyn’s glass since I’m wearing my wine. “Yes.”

“She’s very beautiful. I couldn’t help but notice her when you were dancing. I’d really like to fuck her.”

What? The music is loud and I decide I misunderstood what he said, so I tilt my head toward him. “What was that?”

He steps closer and puts his hand on my shoulder. “My wife is really turned on by you. She wants to give you head while you watch me fuck your girlfriend. I mean, if you’re into watching. Our only rule is no kissing. We save that for each other.”

Swingers.

I know I do some weird shit when it comes to women, but this tops the fucking cake. I look like an altar boy next to this joker. I’m so stunned I don’t answer. I don’t know how to.

Laurelyn and Swinger Trisha come back from the bathroom and rejoin the circle. Laurelyn takes her drink from my hand and I watch her face, wondering if the wifey propositioned her while in the bathroom. Her demeanor seems unchanged, so I assume Trisha left her husband in charge of closing this deal.

She loops her arm through her husband’s. “So, did you ask him, honey?”

“We’re in the middle of discussing it.” He grins at me. “So, what do you think? Are you guys up for it?”

I think Laurelyn is trying to read my face, but can’t. “Are we up for what?”

I pass my empty wine glass to Laurelyn. “Will you hold this for me, baby?”

I guess it can be called a sucker punch since he has no idea it’s coming, but I make a fist and slam Swinger Chris in the jaw, sending him face down onto the dance floor. I want him to get up so I can beat the shit out of him, but he’s smarter than that and stays down. “Get up.”

Laurelyn stands there in shock staring at me because she has no idea what this freak wants to do to her. “Lachlan! What are you doing?”

I point to Chris on the floor. “You want to know what I think? Is that a clear-enough answer for you?”

Security is stalking in my direction to throw me out, so I put both hands up. “No need. We’re out of here.”

I take Laurelyn by the arm and pull her toward the door. “What’s going on?”

“Not now,” I growl at her.

She follows me outside and comes to a halt. “Why did you hit him?”

I keep walking toward the car. I’m afraid I’ll go back inside and kill him if I don’t get out of there.

We get into the car and I grip the steering wheel. That’s when I realize how damn bad my hand hurts.

“Lachlan, you’re scaring me.”

“No more than I’m scaring myself.” I just lost my shit over some guy telling me he wanted to fuck her. He made me see red. I wanted to choke the life out of him for what he said.

She’s staring at me. “I highly doubt that.”

I can’t talk to her about this right now. I’m too furious. I start the car and drive to the house in silence. I’m pissed off. She’s scared and confused. Not a great combination.

Neither of us says anything when we get to the house. She walks inside and goes straight to the bedroom. I go to the kitchen and search the freezer. I don’t find frozen peas, so I wrap ice in a dish towel and put it around my swollen hand. It hurts like hell, but I don’t regret hitting that asshole. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

I calm down after I stand in the kitchen for a while. I decide I owe her an explanation, so I go into the bedroom to find her. She’s wearing her nightgown and standing in front of the sink washing her face. She watches me in the mirror as I come up to stand behind her.

I put the dishcloth-wrapped ice on the counter before I place my hands on her upper arms and kiss one of her bare shoulders. She reaches up to touch my injured hand. “You’re bleeding. You need to clean this so it doesn’t get infected.”

She takes my hand. “Is there any antiseptic here? Or maybe some triple antibiotic ointment?”

I’m rarely here, so I don’t make a habit of keeping stuff like that around. “I doubt it.”

She brings it closer for a better inspection. “You should at least wash it with soap and water.”

She cuts on the water and soaps a lather onto her fingers. She washes my knuckles until the dried blood is gone and then blots it dry. “I’m afraid you’re going to owe your boss some new towels.”

“He’ll get over it.”

She’s still holding my hand when she looks up at me. “Tell me what happened.”

I focus on her eyes as I remember his words, “I’d really like to fuck her.” The thought of anyone else having her makes me crazy.

I reach out to hold her face. I lean forward and kiss her, not knowing if she will let me or not, but she does. When I finish, I take her hand and pull her into the bedroom toward the bed. I sit on the edge and pull her hips toward me so she’s standing between my legs. Her fingers play in my tousled hair.

“I want to know.”

I take a deep breath and blow it out slowly. “That guy, Chris, told me he wanted something of mine—something I wasn’t willing to share.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You. He wanted you.”

“Me? But he’s married.”

It makes me sick that I can’t say it without picturing it in my head. “He asked me to watch him fuck you while his wife gave me head.”

Her eyes are wide. “Oh?” I see it on her face when it clicks. “Ohh. Swingers?”

“Exactly.”