Scarred Beauty (9 page)

“I wear something nice all the time.”
 

“I know. What I meant was wear a skirt or a
dress. I’ll drive you home and make sure you stay warm.”

She nodded her head and then realised he
couldn’t see the action.

“I will. I promise.”

“I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Okay.”

Isaac hung up the phone. In the small amount of
time he’d been on the phone her whole world had picked up. Glancing at the
clock, she saw it was only three hours until she’d be able to see him. She went
straight to the bathroom and began running herself a bath.

The lemon scent of her bath salts soothed her as
she undressed. Minutes later she was climbing into the tub and soaking her body
in the water.

She jumped as she heard Brad slam the door when
he entered the apartment. There was no way of knowing the time. From the curses
she heard, she knew his encounters with Ben were not going so well. She felt
like a bitch for not knowing everything that was going on in his life.

He knocked on the bathroom door. She made sure
her body was covered by the bubbles in the water before calling out to him to
come inside.

“You’re taking a bath early.” Brad walked in and
closed the door before sitting on top of the toilet seat.

“I’m going out to meet a friend later.”

“Do I need to meet this friend?”

Noelle shook her head. She knew he wasn’t in the
bathroom to talk to her about whom she was seeing.

“What’s the matter, Brad? You haven’t been the same
for a while now, and you’re starting to scare me. You’re not drinking again are
you?” She’d never thought about him falling off the wagon. He’d been sober for
so long, falling off now would be disastrous.

“Nothing like that. I can’t get Ben out of my mind.
Something happened between us when I was drunk and full of the drugs. I don’t
know what it is, but I feel it’s bad.” He let out a sigh of frustration. She
saw how annoyed he was at himself. Sometimes, she could read him like a book.

“Have you thought about talking with him about
this?”

“He doesn’t want to talk about it. All he says
is that I’m not ready to hear. What did I do? Is it possible for someone to
forget something so horrible?” he asked. He wanted answers, but she couldn’t
give them.

“Brad, I don’t know. Maybe. I guess.”

“Could I really hurt someone that badly in
drink?” he asked.

She saw the tears forming in his eyes. They were
two fucked-up people.

“You need to talk to Ben.” Noelle grabbed her
towel and stood while he had his head in his hands. She wrapped the towel
around her body, got out and went to him. She pulled him into her arms. They’d
never had a physical relationship, of course. Neither felt anything for the
other besides the love of friendship. “Don’t do this to yourself. You deserve
better.”

She stroked his hair as he let go. The tears
poured out of his eyes as he sobbed out his grief, the pain of so many mistakes
coming out at once.

They lay on the bathroom floor until his tears
stopped, and then he pulled away from her arms. Noelle stared at him. Her
friend was more important than her paid-for date.

“You’re right. I’ve got to get him to talk to
me.”

“Yes. The sooner, the better. You can’t live
your life guessing, Brad.” She kissed him on the head and stood up with him. “Are
you using some kind of plant food? You’re getting way too tall.”

The joke had the desired effect as he began to
laugh.

“I’m sorry to unload on you. You’re right. I’m
going to head out and try to catch him at the club. Have a good night, and I’ll
see you tomorrow.” He kissed her cheek and left.

Deciding not to take offense, she left the
bathroom to get ready for her date.

She picked out a pink knee-length dress with
some stockings. There was no way she would be going out in the cold without
being warm. The colour would contrast with her hair, but she didn’t mind. The
dress looked good on her. Brad had told her so. She hoped it played down her
large curves.

She phoned for a taxi. While she waited, she
wrapped her face with a scarf and a hat.
 
When the sound of the taxi came up, she took her key and locked the
apartment.

The drive didn’t last long. It never did, and
soon the taxi was pulling up outside the hotel. She paid him then went to the
reception desk to ask for her key. The man on the desk was used to her, so he
handed her the key and wished her a good night.

She was late from dealing with Brad. When she
turned the corner, she saw Isaac waiting for her.

“You’re late,” he said the moment he saw her.

“My friend needed me.”

“Then I can forgive you.” He gestured for her to
open the door.

She felt his presence against her back,
dominating and invasive at the same time. Noelle fumbled with the key a few
times. Eventually, Isaac took it from her and let them both into the room.

“Take your hat and scarf off. I want to see
you.”

She followed his command, removing the hat from
her head and feeling the rush of relief from having her bound hair released to
tumble around her shoulder. Gently, she unwrapped the scarf.

Isaac removed his coat. “I’m so pleased you
could see me tonight.”

“I can see you every night. I’m not exactly
busy.”

“The life of an artist is free and light?”

“Inspiration has been in short supply. I can’t
paint unless I feel the need to.”

Isaac held out his hands. She placed hers inside
his. They were warm and soothing to the touch. The electricity caught her off
guard again.

“You feel it, too?”

She nodded her head, unable to speak.

“I feel like tiny bolts of lightning are going
up and down my arms.”

He led the way to the bed and lay down. He
tapped the side of the bed. “Come and join me.”

Pulling her coat off, she heard him gasp as she
revealed the dress she wore.

“You look stunning.”

She smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear.
When she was with him, she wasn’t as conscious about her scar as other times.
Isaac helped her to see past her worries. Tucking her dress under her, she
settled on the bed beside him, staring up at the ceiling.

“How far have you ever gone with a man?” he
asked, startling her with his question. Had she spoken out loud?

“Why?”

“I’m curious about you.”

“Do you ask all your clients this?” She felt
nervous in case he compared her with them. Is that why he asked the question?

“No, I don’t. You’re the first. Why do you keep
bringing up other clients?”

“I don’t want to forget that this is what you
do,” she said.

“What do I do?”

“You do what women tell you to do. You make them
all feel special in their own way for a price. I’m no different, and I don’t
want to forget that.”

“What we have is different.” He stared down at
her. “I’m not like this with other women, Elle. You’re special. I want to be
with you. I don’t phone any other women to be with.”

She heard what he said, and her heart lifted.
Her gaze went from his eyes to his lips. The thoughts she’d been having earlier
came back to haunt her.

“Will you kiss me?” she asked before she could
stop herself.

“What?”

Closing her eyes at the stupidity of her
thoughts, she asked the question again. She had nothing to lose.

****

“Will you kiss me?” she asked. Isaac stared into
her beautiful eyes and knew he’d lost any battle he once had. Brad asked for
him to let her down gently, so she wouldn’t be tempted to see him again. After
meeting her, he wanted to spend more time in her company. He didn’t see the
scar on her face. He saw the kindness in her heart. The beauty of her scar told
him she’d fought to survive. “Forget about it.” She pulled away from him and
sat on the bed.

Without thinking, he pulled her into his arms.
Cupping the right side of her face, he ran his thumb over the scarred flesh of
her cheek. She gasped, and he took her lips in a gentle kiss. The moment his
lips touched hers, he was a goner. The soft feel of her mouth frozen under him
made him want to coax a response from her, to feel her passion as she kissed
him back. Tilting her head back, Isaac plunged his tongue inside her mouth. The
exquisite sound and vibration as she moaned had his cock thickening inside his
pants.

Moments later she responded to the demanding
heat of his kiss, her lips opening as she submitted to his onslaught. Her
inexperience added to his pleasure. He held her waist as he cupped her face.
She lay on her back. Isaac wanted to feel her beneath him. He changed
positions. He pushed open her thighs as he took her lips again.

She moaned as he plunged inside her mouth with
his tongue. Her hands fisted in his shirt, her tits rising over the top of her
dress with each indrawn breath. All he needed to do was pull the fabric aside,
and she would fit snugly against his palm. Moving from her lips to her neck, he
inhaled her sweet scent before kissing each of her mounds. His cock pulsed out
pre-cum. The desperation to get inside her was driving him crazy.

He pulled back. It was the only thing he could
do to gain control. She stared at him with hooded eyes, her lips bruised from
his kisses.

“If you wanted me to kiss you, all you had to do
was ask.”

“I didn’t know if you’d want to kiss me,” she
said.

I want to
do more than kiss you. I’ve fucked so many women, and none of them are as precious
to me as you are.

“I wanted to kiss you the first moment we met.”

“Really?”

He chuckled. One of her charms was her lack of
knowledge of how desirable she was. “Do you want me to kiss you again?” he
asked.

She nodded her head.

“Ask me.”

She licked her lips. The sight of her pink
tongue licking a path along her lips made him moan and thrust his hips into the
air. He wished her tongue was licking along his cock. He would love to see
himself sinking into her mouth as she sucked him. His balls were tight in his
pants.

“Isaac, will you kiss me?”

He smiled, leaning back on his legs. “Yes, but
you’ve got to come and kiss me.”

Noelle hesitated before she moved out from under
him. He got a quick flash of her panties as she moved her legs under her. The jolt
of pleasure shocked him. The view of seeing innocent panties should not have
had any effect on him at all. She went on her knees and lead over to him. He
held back until she had no choice but to put her hands on him to balance
herself. She rested on his chest, both of them on their knees.

“I’m not tall enough,” she said.

“Cup my head and bring me to you.” Isaac didn’t
know why he was creating the intimacy. He only knew that he wanted to feel her
bringing him in for a kiss.

She circled his neck and pulled him down so
their heads were touching, their breath mingling. The only sounds he could hear
were the different tones of their indrawn breath.

“You’ve got me, Elle,” he whispered and then
claimed her lips once again. They fell together, their lips locked and their
hearts pounding. The rest of the hours passed in a haze as they spent the
entire time together kissing each other.

When the time ended, he helped her into her
coat, placed the hat on her head, and folded the scarf around her face. He
kissed her right cheek before taking her lips once again.

“I think I should take you to the cops,” he
said.

“Why?”

“Your lips are addictive, and I think I should
report them.”

She hit him on the chest and burst out laughing.
“You’re so full of it sometimes,” she said.

“Let’s take you home.”

He went to his car as she gave back the key. The
heating inside was on, so she would feel the benefit as soon as she got inside.

“It is getting really cold out.”

“I know.” He pulled out of the parking lot and
made his way to her apartment. He noted her place was pitch-black as he turned
up.

“Do you want me to come up?” he asked, already
unbuckling his seat belt.

“You don’t have to.”

“From the looks of it, your friend isn’t home,
and I don’t like the thought of you going up there on your own.”

He climbed out and followed her inside. Isaac
waited as she produced the key to her door. She flicked the light switch, and
he was in her apartment.

The place was a lot smaller than he expected. He
wondered why Brad was living in a smaller place when he could afford something
more expensive and spacious. Their dad might not be the wealthiest man in the
world, but he did have quite a bit of money. Isaac made a note to talk to him
the next time his brother phoned.