Chasing Beautiful (Chasing Series #1) (27 page)

I squeezed my eyes.
I love you too…

His bare admission tore my insides. I even
ed out my breathing, pretending I was asleep.

I
startlingly woke up when I felt the cold air hit my back. I rolled to the other side reaching for him. I hugged his body from behind. I nuzzled the back of his neck, inhaling his scent like a starved woman.
I love him…

My hand trailed over his broad shoulders and trailed down to his abdomen. The ridges of his six-pack toned abs teased my fingers
; my hand trailed lower and found his semi-hard penis.
Damn, even asleep his cock is huge.
I stroked him gently as it started to come to life from my hasty ministrations.

I smiled. 
Well, hello bad boy.
         

I gently turned him on his back as a soft sigh came from his
lips, obviously still asleep. I smiled devilishly as I stared at his glorious body.
I want him…and I’ll be damned if I have to wait for him…my aroused state can’t wait for him any longer.

I took him in my mouth—teasing it with my tongue—at the same time bringing it at the back of my throat with dete
rmined suction.  He moaned. I sucked him until his cock was rigid with throbbing need and a pulse flickered. I went over to his hips and straddled him, guiding his cock with my hand and coaxing it slowly inside me. I moaned with satisfaction,
my god he feels so good
. I recoiled slowly as my insides adjusted to his size. This position made the filling penetration mind-blowing and grippingly intense. I moved slowly at first, my stomach quivering from the intensified strokes of his penis inside me.

My palm
sat on his chest to balance me as the other cupped my breast. The heightened carnal intensity drove me to ride him harder. I felt his hand pinch my nipples and I growled with delight. “Take what’s yours, my love.” Blake ordered, husky and aroused after my ministration, making me even more crazed and hungry.

I want it all.

Leaning back and placing my hands on his thighs, I rode his cock with fervent need. My mind shut down as my body convulsed around him. I yelped out his name softly as I recovered from my climax. He held me down as he ejaculated.

Lifting my head of
f his chest, I stared at his delighted face. “Fuck that was amazing. You’re one hell of rider, poppet.”

I laughed
huskily as I placed myself next to him and nuzzled the crook of his neck. “You’re welcome.”

“I
thought I had died and gone to heaven when I woke up to you moaning with your eyes closed—enjoying my cock for your own greedy pleasure.”

“I can’t seem to get enough of you…I don’t think I ever will
.” I admitted softly against his neck with my eyes heavy with exhaustion.

“As do I, my love, as do I
,” His sleepy voice murmured.

It’s been almost five weeks since I last saw
Blake but we’ve kept each other updated with everything. I was soaring high because our relationship was growing steadily and I love him a little bit more every single day. I haven’t told him how I feel. I’m not ready for that yet. It will be hard to take it back once I tell him and I don’t want it to be held against me.

The morning after Blake left for New York, I met up with Chad and Troy for the shoot. It lasted around five hours and even though I was
only wearing skimpy underwear, Troy made me feel at ease as we laughed and joked around. Though there were times in the shoot where his eyes became stormy when I draped my body over his or when he groaned as my nipples touched his chest. He’s hot, to be sure; who wouldn’t be attracted to an extremely hot man like him? But I didn’t let this bother me because I knew deep down there was only one man I wanted.

I eased Blake’s doubt by wearing his bracelet and convincing him that I didn’t want anyone else. Kyle warily eyed the bracelet but never asked about it. He knew I was dating Blake and I
was grateful that he never asked and didn’t push the issue. Our friendship strengthened over the weeks and I felt like we were almost back to where we were before. Almost.

I haven’t seen Chad since the shoot. He’s been busy preparing for his show. My time was consumed with school and working with Kyle. Luce and I barely caught up with our lives since school demanded a lot of her time with projects and applying for internships.

Today, Blake’s arriving from New York and I can’t wait to see him. He’ll be arriving late in the afternoon so we’ll see each other at Chad’s exhibition on King’s Road. I’ve primed my body for this long awaited reunion and I can’t wait to get him alone. I’ve been scouring for a perfect dress for the last week. I hope I get the reaction I’m aiming for.

My hair was in a high ponytail. I applied make-up carefully with light eye shadow and thick eye liner winged on the both ends. Swiping two coats of mascara on both my upper and lower lashes
, making my eyes look a fiery piercing, golden green. I highlighted my cheeks with bronzer and finished it with candy pink colored lipstick. Dabbing lip gloss on my bottom lip and puckering to get the full effect.

I went over to my bed and took the nude designer bandage dress that fitted my body like a glove—leaving little
to the imagination. It was short, maybe a few inches below my butt. The top part pushed my breasts up, giving me a hefty amount of cleavage. I slipped on my nude designer Rolando pumps and skimmed over my appearance in the full-length mirror
. I look good
, I thought as I admired how the dress showed off and complimented my figure. I want Blake’s eyes to pop out of their sockets when he gets a glimpse of me.

There was a soft knock at the door indicating Kyle’s presence.

Grabbing my clutch purse, I headed out to meet him.

“Coming.
” I called out as I closed the door behind me.

His face looked dumbstruck as he stared at me. I smirked as his eyes took me in.
Hopefully I will get that same reaction from Blake.
“Goddamn baby. You look like a piece of heaven.”

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the elevator. “Let’s get moving lover boy
; I don’t want to be late or Chad will cook us for dinner.”

We were five minutes away from King’s Road as the cab weaved through the traffic. I fidgeted uneasily in my seat.
Which images did Chad choose?
He’ll have fifty portraits up for display but said he needed twelve from our shoot and the rest was filled with his other models.
What if they look stupid and awkward?

I grunted my frustrations. Kyle reached out for my hand, clasped it with his and placed it on his lap. “Baby
, it’s going to be fine. You’re worrying for nothing,” smiling brightly as he kissed my hand. The cab stopped outside the gallery.

My heart was in my throat
and I was anxious to see the images Chad chose.

We entered the building
and a uniformed waiter with champagne flutes greeted us. I took two flutes and gulped them one after the other like they were water
. Okay, now I’m better
. Kyle shook his head in amusement.

I looked around me and saw Chad’s perfect artistry at its best.
Wow, that friend of mine is hella gifted
. One of the images was of a woman at the repair shop as she provocatively posed, bare-naked. Another was of a man and a woman on the hood of the car making love in a cemetery. My eyes took in the portraits. An image of a woman holding a guitar looked captivating.  Another image was of a woman with two men posing illicitly against each other but it was done in a way that provoked sexual thoughts and yet, pulled off the look of making it chic. I passed by them feeling all hot and bothered as people gathered in admiration.

It was sex, sex and more sex.

Sex blanketed the whole gallery as people buzzed about Chad’s eye for beauty. As provocative as they are, he made the images look sophisticated somehow and not raunchy. He managed to capture that essence of the moment where you feel like you’re there with them and you’re watching them in the act. It was beautiful.

“Baby love
, finally, you’re here! What do you think?” Eyeing me, cautiously, gauging my reaction.

“Chad you’re a genius!
These are quite amazing! Tonight’s your big break baby! You had better not forget me when you go global.” I hugged him tightly as my heart soared for him. I know how long he’s been waiting for someone to acknowledge his work and after tonight, he’d be the toast of London.

“As if! There’s no way a person can forget you baby love. You have a way of making people
remember you.”

Do I? Huh.

Smiling, I hugged his waist.
“Who’s all here? Luce and Toby?”

“She texted me a few minutes ago
. She said they’d be here in ten to fifteen minutes tops.”

The gallery was filling up with a lot of artsy people.
Where are the portraits of me and Troy?
I looked around for Kyle but he was nowhere in sight.

“If you’re looking for Kyle, he’s at the encore of the show. Come
, I’ll show you.” Holding my elbow with his hand, he guided me towards the end of the room and made a quick left. He showed me to another room where it was dimmer and darker. The only lighting came from the ceiling directly above each of the twelve portraits of me and Troy. My breath caught.

The images were impressively stunning. The woman in the picture was seductive, confident, and in-charge of her world. I was rendered speechless.

Chad placed an arm around my shoulders. “Now do you see what everybody sees, baby love? Never let the past dictate you. Don’t berate yourself because you aren’t tall enough or you don’t have a slimmer figure—you’re beautiful—
inside and out—scars and all
. I wanted these images to capture how I see you; how we all see you, so that you’ll realize how special you are. You’re a strong woman love, no matter what life throws at you—you always come out braver than before. It’s time to be free of the shackles because if you don’t, the Brown’s win.
Look around you—this woman is bold and fearless.
”

I got choked up as I turned my body and hugged him w
ith all of my heart. “Thank you.” I whispered in a wobbly voice. He was such a good friend and I would always remember what he did for me. I would never forget it.

“That’s what friends are for.
Let’s not ruin our make-up hmmm?
Go over to Kyle,” pointing to far right corner. “I have to greet my other guests in the other room.”

I nodded and whispered
‘I love you’ as he kissed my forehead and whispered the same words back to me.

I went over to where Kyle was standing
and staring intently at my image. I was on the bed with underwear on and my boobs were covered with only a drape of a black silk sheet. One leg on the bed, the other leg slightly bent above it. Both of my arms were above my head, lips parted as I stared provocatively at the camera.
Oh, that looks hot
!

Kyle was silent as he took in the image. I didn’t say a word because he had a pained expression.
Odd, not the impression I would’ve thought it would provoke.

“That morning in Lake Tahoe, you looked—exactly like this when I came out of the shower. And I thought to myself,
how lucky am I?
I have a gorgeous woman who loves me to bits;
I felt blessed. Seeing this portrait—made me see what I had lost again.”

Fuck, I didn’t expect him to say that. That was the morning after we made love
for the first time. I remember seeing him coming out of the shower and my heart happily swelled at the sight of him.

Fuck-fuckity-fuck.

This night
was becoming an upheaval of emotions. Kyle’s I could do without.
I felt shaky inside and I didn’t know what to say to him, so I stayed quiet.

A squeal broke from another room. I smiled at Lucy’s enthusiasm. I kindly excused myself to meet Lucy in the other room and he smiled sadly at me.
Fuck, Kyle. Don’t do this to me
, my eyes pleaded.