Scarred Beauty (7 page)

“I want to take you home. Get in.” He opened the
door and took her hand to help her inside his car. The touch of his hand sent
electricity up her arm making her gasp.

Isaac placed the seatbelt around her, securing
her into the car. She was touched by his action.

He moved round the car and got into the driver’s
side. The engine roared to life the moment he turned the key in the ignition.
He pulled away from the parking space. She gave him directions to her
apartment. The space between them felt huge in the small car. The closeness
they had shared in the hotel room was gone. She would be going back to her
secluded life while he went and saw other women.

Biting her lip, she glanced out of the window.
Would the next woman get his attention? Would she have flawless skin with
natural beauty?

Stemming the thoughts inside her head, she
watched the city go by. Before she knew what was happening, Isaac was parked
outside of her apartment. She stared at the steps leading into the big house.

He made a move to get out, and she stopped him
with a hand on top of his.

“You don’t need to get out. Thank you for
driving me home.” She unbuckled her seat belt.

“I look forward to seeing you again. Wait.” He
started searching his coat. She saw him pull out a piece of paper. “If you need
anything at all, call this number.” He passed her the piece of paper with the
number to get in touch. “Phone any time. Day or night.”

She nodded her head and got out of the car.
Isaac didn’t pull away from the curb. She walked into her building, gave him a
wave. When the door shut safely, he pulled away and was gone.

Brad sat waiting for her when she let herself
into the apartment.

“You should have gone to bed,” she said.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay. It’s not
like you to leave for any length of time.”

“I’m sorry. I enjoyed myself and might go out
again.” She ran her fingers through her hair recalling the feel of Isaac’s
touch. “How was your day?”

“Fine.”

“Did you see Ben?”

“He doesn’t want to talk to me. I’m going to hit
the hay. I’m glad you had a good time.” Brad got up from his seat. He walked to
her, kissed her head and left to his room.

Nothing. She had no reaction to him. Brad’s
touch was nothing like Isaac’s. Touching her scar, she thought of him. He
hadn’t pulled away from her, repulsed by her scar.

Smiling to herself, she got a glass of water
from the kitchen. One week until she saw him again. Could she last that long?

Grabbing the piece of paper from her pocket, she
saved the number into her phone. No matter what time it was she would be able
to get in touch with him.

She went to bed and dreamt pleasant dreams.

****

Isaac lay in his bed staring at the ceiling. The
paintwork was flawless, not a single bit of imperfection within the paint. So
many people demanded perfection. Anything less than the best was considered
second place. Is that how Elle had lived her life since she’d gotten the scar?

When he’d seen her scar he’d felt an
overwhelming need to protect her. Brad had not told him the full extent of her
pain. Isaac saw it on her face as she looked at him. At every turn she expected
him to leave. His cock thickened with the thought of her body under his. One
meeting was all it had taken for him to want her. She had no idea who he was.
He could be the man he wanted to be without the social media destroying their
time together.

Her body made him ache. Lying next to her
without touching her had been a miracle. She held everything he was looking
for. He wished he’d seen her hair before she dyed it the dark red colour.
Closing his eyes, he saw the image of her standing before him. He remembered
her breasts in the white, lacy bra. Through the white lace he’d been able to
see the dark areola of her nipples. The temptation to take her bra off had
forced his attention back to her eyes. The sparkle in her eye had grown with
the time she spent with him.

Isaac couldn’t believe he was hard and aching
for a woman twenty years his junior, a woman with more complications than he
usually liked. His women had to come to him for sex. Nothing else. Conversation
wasn’t high on his list. Fucking was the only thing he wanted to do. Hard and
rough. Elle needed tenderness and time.

Wrapping his hand around his shaft, he thought
about her on her back. The next time he saw her he would get her naked, her
legs splayed open so he could see her cunt. He masturbated harder as he saw her
spread out on the bed, looking at him with wonder in her eyes. She would trust
him. Her reactions would not be rehearsed. Elle would be natural, and he would
be her first. The thought of another man touching her sent a bolt of jealousy
and rage through him. He would not allow another man to touch her. Elle was
his. He didn’t want the world he lived in to spoil her precious quality. Two
minutes in his world would destroy everything about her.

Imagining taking her, Isaac wanked his cock. She
would be tight, hot, and welcoming. He imagined taking her long and slow, then
hard and fast.

Fucking his fist, Isaac came with a loud growl,
his sperm shooting up his stomach. Using the blanket to wipe himself, he waited
for himself to calm down.

In the morning he knew Brad wanted an update on
what happened. Closing his eyes, he allowed sleep to claim him. His dreams were
filled with a red headed, scarred beauty.

Chapter Eight

Brad phoned Isaac from a café. He’d decided to
go out for breakfast before he went straight on to work.

His brother answered on the first ring.

“Hello.”

“What happened?” he asked. Small talk wasn’t
going to get him the answers he wanted. Noelle had walked through the door
looking happy. At the time he wanted to question her but thought better of it.
She would suspect him of something if he bombarded her with questions.

“Good morning to you, too, Brad,” Isaac said,
his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Cut the shit. Tell me what happened.”

He heard the other man sigh down the line.

“We met and talked. She’s a lovely woman, Brad.
Are you sure you don’t have feelings for her?”

Never had his feelings gone beyond the bounds of
friendship. He wasn’t attracted to women at all. Just then, Ben walked into the
café while Isaac was talking. Ben glanced to where Brad sat. Brad’s heart
pounded. He had had no idea Ben visited the café. Otherwise he would have started
coming more often.

“Are you listening to me?” Isaac asked.

“Sorry. I was distracted.”

“You phoned me, cursed down the line, and then
ignored me. Do you really care for your friend or not?”

“I care for her, dammit, but I have my own life
to lead as well.” Brad knew he sounded selfish. Noelle had sacrificed so much
to help him. The least he could do was try to care about her the same.

“I asked if you had feelings for her?”

“No. I care about her, but I’m not in love with
her. We’re best friends. That’s it. I wasn’t lying to you when I said I was
gay.”

“Good.”

“You let her down gently?” Brad asked. Ben was
served his coffee and turned to make his way to where Brad was sitting.

“Yes, I did.”

“Good. I’ll talk to you soon.” Brad closed his
mobile phone as Ben approached his table.

“You’re not going to give up?” Ben asked.

“No. I’m just having a coffee before I go to
work. I’m not here to stalk you or anything. I didn’t know you came here.”

Ben stared at him for several seconds. Nothing
mattered but the two of them. They were the only ones who existed. “How about
we have some breakfast together?”

“Love some.”

Ben called out an order to the woman on the
counter, smiling at him the whole time. It was a small, reserved smile, but it
was a start. Brad released the breath he’d been holding the moment Ben took the
seat opposite him.

He forgot about the blunt response from Isaac or
how quickly he answered his question. Ben had spoken to him and was sitting
with him.

Success.

****

Isaac put his phone in his pocket, disappointed
that the call hadn’t been Elle. His work day was boring him, the contracts
tedious. His secretary had told him several women were waiting for his call
back. The glossy magazines were spreading more gossip about his current relationships.
The pressure was too much.

Added to the pressure of work, his mother had
asked to see him. And he had had another shocker. His father requested some
time as well. It had been over twenty years since he’d last seen his father
face to face. Functions were a different matter. When he attended functions
where his father was present, he couldn’t help but see him. Willingly seeing
and talking to his father had been twenty years ago.

What to do? He would see his mother at her
country estate at the weekend. His father, he refused to respond to.

Checking his phone for the hundredth time, he
hoped Elle would make the first call. He was a grown man with many
relationships behind him, whereas she was a virgin with no relationships. Why
couldn’t he take the lead? Be the person to control what happened in their
meetings?

He would not spend his nights fucking his hand
when she would be open and ready for the taking. Elle was a challenge. Her
beauty was more than skin deep.

His phone rang as he began to sign through the
endless stack of paperwork. The screen flashed with the warning of an unknown
caller.

“Hello,” he said.

“Isaac?” He smiled when he recognized her voice.

“Elle. I was wondering when you were going to
phone.”

“You were?”

He chuckled. Being the easy-going Isaac came to
him instantly. Usually, he lived for his work whereas now, he wanted something
more. Working full time was no longer satisfying his craving.

“Yes. I liked spending time with you.”

“I did as well.”

“I want to see you again.”

“We’re meeting next week.”

“No, Elle. I want to see you tonight. Can you
meet me tonight?” he asked. He hadn’t planned on seeing her so soon. Asking her
to see him came naturally to him. The only other plans he would have had would
have been trawling through bars looking for a willing woman.

“I don’t think I can.”

“Sure you can. Come and see me. I want to see
you and touch you.”

His secretary came through the door, and he
waved her away. Getting up from his seat, he closed the door behind her.

“Do you want me to meet you at the same hotel?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll see you there at eight-thirty. I’ll
transfer funds into your bank account.”

He wanted to tell her not to bother. The money
would stay in the account until he found some way of giving it her back.

“I look forward to it, and, Elle.”

“Yes.”

“Wear your hair back.”

“I will.”

He hung up the phone with a huge grin on his
face. His plans for the evening had improved.

Chapter Nine

For the second time she sat on the bed waiting
for Isaac to turn up, only this time she wasn’t in a state of panic but in a
state of anticipation. Her heart threatened to thump out of her chest. The
palms of her hands were sweaty, and her stomach was knotted.

The knock came at exactly eight-thirty. Brad
hadn’t been home all day, and she’d left him a note to say she would be out
looking for inspiration. He shouldn’t ask too many questions as her funds were
beginning to run out. She would have to sell another painting to be able to
afford Christmas.

She opened the door and there he stood. Her god.

“Hello, Elle.”

He walked into the room, shutting the door as he
did so. She smiled at him, her words hard to find when she stared. He really
was a beautiful man, sexy and handsome. She imagined many women were dazzled by
him. When he reached out to touch her, she froze. The action was unexpected. He
tilted her head back with a finger under her chin.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Wondering why you are so different from the
other women.”

“I know you could have any woman you wanted,”
she said, crushed at how it hurt her to think of the endless sea of beautiful
women she could only imagine panting at his feet.

“And yet, I stand here in your company as there
is no other place I’d rather be than with you, Elle.”

“Why won’t you say my name?”

“Because Elle is what I want to call you. No one
has called you Elle before?”