Chapter 1
Beau
What the entire fuck have I gotten myself into? Beau Haught walked into the dimly lit studio, trying to pull himself together. He’d been out of sorts lately, but that wasn’t unexpected, right? His baby brother’s wedding was in a few days, and his nerves were shot. He’d like to think it was because weddings in general made him slightly nauseated, and if anyone asked, that was what he would say. How could they tell him he was wrong?
Ouch. What the hell? he thought, somehow managing to hit his toe on a huge trunk that he would have seen if the mood lighting wasn’t on the too-damn-dim setting. Looking down, he saw the real reason he’d been out of sorts, and why his big toe was throbbing. Karessables Lingerie and Intimate Attire. The trunk was filled with sexy, exclusive unmentionables that would make his heart race and mouth water…just like their curvy creator. Beau shook his head to clear his thoughts, because lately that woman had started occupying ever-increasing space in his brain.
He hobbled around the heavy container, trying to keep the pleasant, calm demeanor he usually displayed intact, and that’s when he saw a door open. That had to be the room True was using for the boudoir photos she was creating for the bride, the groom, and all of the people in the bridal party. If the flickering glow was anything to go by, the room had several candles lit.
The sound of jangling keys and high heels clicking on tile flooring led him to believe that he wasn’t alone, but the speed of the footsteps suggested someone was trying to leave quickly. Was True leaving? With all those candles lit? He tried to make it back to the door, but the maze-like obstacles and dim lighting made it difficult. By the time he got to the entrance, he could only watch as True jumped in her car and drove off. Beau tried to open it, but it was locked, and he knew he needed a key to open it. He pulled out his cell, hoping this weird behavior would be explained with a simple phone call, but she had the nerve to not answer her phone.
“Now what?” he murmured to the empty room. He’d come from the bachelor party early, by cab, because he’d been drinking and didn’t want to chance driving while even slightly intoxicated. Well, he was sober now, pissed off that he was missing one of the last few times to be with his brother before he tied the knot, and trying to figure out what the hell was happening in his life. Of course, everyone he knew was busy tonight, and for some reason his best friend seemed to want him to try out the bed in her boudoir set up. Well, if that wasn’t what she wanted, Miss Jet-Pack was out of luck. Maybe she’d put some of those sleepy vanilla-lavender packets she’s always giving him in the bed she’d set up. He’d never tell her that they sometimes helped him get comfortable enough to sleep…not because he didn’t want to admit to the meddlesome woman that she was right, but because True would know the reason why. They reminded him of her. Karessa. The woman behind the brand, Karessables. Karessa Monroe. That was how he had described her after he rode her sweet pussy through the night and brought them both to fulfillment. They’d snuggled together, and he’d enjoyed just listening to her breathe. She was Karessable, and he’d told her so almost every day. The fact that she’d taken that endearment and made it a part of her very successful business made him smile, even though it hurt like all hell. He had no right feeling like he was a part of something that she created, especially when he knew she hated him, and had every right. Somehow that didn’t change the fact that he missed snuggling with her.
Snuggling…that was a fucked-up word. He couldn’t even believe he’d been that guy. The one who wanted forever. The one who would have done anything for his woman. The one who did everything for his woman. He even let her get away from him, so she could have the life she’d always dreamed of. No one knew how hard it had been to let her go, or how much his sacrifice continued to cost him to this day. She was rich, famous, and successful. That was the life she wanted, and that was the life he wasn’t going to get in the way of.
He wondered if True had anything to snack on, as he’d missed the food portion of the evening. It probably was only going to be wings and burgers, but right now that sounded like a little piece of heaven. Ordering some wings might be an option, but unless he wanted to break the industrial-strength door to let the delivery person in, it wasn’t going to happen. Flicking on the lights by the door, he wondered why the hell he hadn’t done that in the first place. Damned Adios Motherfuckers. That was the drink his brothers and a few friends were having at the bar: equal parts rum, gin, tequila, vodka, Blue Curacao, a little bit of sweet and sour, and lemon lime soda. That drink could make even the most horrendous farewell a bit more palatable. The sudden brightness of the room made him squint, but his name was on a note taped under the switch. Ripping it off the wall, he tore it open.
Beau,
I know you’ve had a rough couple of years, and although I’ve never mentioned it, I’ve always known why. I am also aware you’ve had trouble sleeping for a little while, so I wanted you to try out the comfy new bed I’ve placed in my studio. I said I wanted your opinion on the room for the pictures we are taking tomorrow, and I do, but you owe me a favor, and I’m calling it in now. One night in my studio. You can’t leave unless there’s a true emergency. I’ll be back to unlock the door around 9:00 am. You have nothing planned except the photo shoot, and that’s not until 4:00 pm, so you can relax and enjoy your evening. You’re welcome.
True
P.S. There are wings and other goodies in the kitchen.
He was welcome? For fucking what? He walked into the studio, now wanting to blow out the candles before he was in a fire while locked in here.
He’d rounded the corner and entered the door he’d seen open before True left. It was useless to mutter under his breath, but he did it anyway, just because he damn well could. True had all the lights on a remote control he would have to freaking find in a room that was probably as cluttered as she usually had everything. He could just go around blowing out all the candles, but then he’d be in the dark in this big-ass room that had no windows. He’d probably break all kinds of shit just trying to find the bed.
Irritated. That’s what he was.
What kind of payback was this? Anytime True needed something, he would do it with no questions, but when he needed someone to drive with him to the bartender competition last year, they’d had to leave at 4:30 am and they were gone for three days. She didn’t mind the competition, but waking up before five in the morning was something she said no artist should have to do, and then she said he owed her. No problem. It wasn’t like he didn’t do whatever she wanted in the first place. All of the Haught brothers thought the world of her, and if he couldn’t help her, one of the other brothers would have jumped in. He didn’t think she’d have asked him to miss the best part of his brother’s bachelor party for a solitary night in a room created to make a guy think sexy thoughts with a box of his ex-fiancée’s…er…ex-girlfriend’s lingerie.
“True? Have mercy. That took forever. Are you ready now?” The voice came from the center of the room, and it hit him like a physical punch. He hoped it was that Adios Motherfucker he drank, because the voice that he let himself remember as he stroked his cock at night seemed to be filling his ears at this moment. That just wasn’t possible.
He turned his head slowly, wishing with all his heart that what he thought was happening was actually happening, and hoping almost as hard that it wasn’t. Adjusting his eyes in the dim room was difficult, but when his focus sharpened, he could barely recall how to breathe, because sitting on the bed like his very favorite wet dream was the woman who owned him heart and soul. She had on pink boy shorts, and a…was that… his white linen shirt? Damn. Here sat the woman he gave up, so she could globe trot around the world and make her dreams—dreams she was going to give up if he’d have allowed it—come true. The breath he was holding was starting to burn. When he finally exhaled, it was so loud in the quiet room it sounded like dust should have been expelled with it.
“Karessa?” His voice sounded like he’d not talked in ages. This wasn’t how he thought their first meeting would go. He thought he’d be able to see her, say a few things, and then move to a neutral corner of the room away from her. True, Gemmi and Camden had all told him they weren’t sure if she’d be able to come to the wedding, but the women of the bridal party were so excited to get lingerie that Karessa had made exclusively for this event. She’d made it just for Camden and his bride…even named it the Haught Line. Not that Beau had asked, because when it came to this woman he’d never asked any questions. The info he’d received about her was from the media or came unsolicited from friends and family. He didn’t feel like he really deserved any intel, but that didn’t stop him from soaking up every piece of Karessa information that someone spilled.
“Beau?” She turned her head this way and that. Her brow was furrowed like the prospect of it actually being him was impossible. It was then he noticed she was blindfolded. He walked over to the bed to find her hands tied behind her back and attached to the headboard. What the hell was going on?
“Yes, it’s me.”
“One hundred percent,” she said loudly, and the lights of the room came up full blast.
“Let me guess. True has the lights set to voice control now?” Beau looked at Karessa in the full light and held back the groan that felt like it was fighting to get out. “Why are you tied up and blindfolded?”
“True told me she had an idea for the last few pictures. She tied me up and told me to wait right here. It seems like I’ve been here forever.” She giggled. He remembered how she’d always done that when she was really nervous. He’d seen the sleek, confident woman on television for the last few years and almost forgotten she had one of the cutest nervous habits he’d ever witnessed.
“It looks as if True has pulled a fast one on us both. She locked us in here with snacks and said she’d be back tomorrow morning.” Beau just stood there drinking in her beauty and hoping he’d be able to get through this without embarrassing both of them.
She gasped, and his body tightened at that sound. That was the exact same noise she made when he entered her and his cock lengthened and thickened like it hoped what usually followed that noise would happen again and again. She barely had on any clothing, and what she did have on was draped in a way that made him want a strong breeze to flow into the room.
“Could you untie me?” she said in a small voice that reminded him of how much she hated to ask anyone for anything.
He stared at her and wasn’t sure he could touch her and keep his composure. It was slipping fast. Her aroma filled the air, and she smelled as sweet as she always did.
Concentrate on the task at hand.
The way she was bound, there was no way to untie her without wrapping his arms around her. “Fuck.” He really hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but he was just so off-kilter. He wouldn’t have thought the whole damsel-in-distress thing would have him so discombobulated. That was his brother Camden’s deal, before the man had met his fiancée. It had never been Beau’s thing. He liked independent woman who knew what they wanted and took it without abandon.
Karessa looked so beautiful as she sat and waited for him.
“I know. You’ll actually have to touch me.” She sounded slightly offended, and after his outburst, he could see why.
“Touching you has never been a problem I just…” What could he say? Touching your skin may be more than I can take? Looking at you laying there with your skin flushed pink and your breathing pattern a bit altered is making most of the blood that would normally fill my brain and allow it to function properly, now fill my cock? That information probably wouldn’t make this situation any better, so he decided to keep it to himself.
“Beau?” Her breathy voice made his cock even harder.
He froze and hoped he could get his body to calm down. Beau cleared his throat to give him a minute to get his thoughts and words together. After a few seconds he realized that breathing in her scent and listening to her breathing wasn’t going to get him calm, no matter how long he tried to settle himself. Taking a deep breath, he tried to explain what he was doing. “I was just trying to figure out how to free you without molesting you too much.”
“Don’t worry about what you have to touch to get the job done. I’ll give you a pass. This should be short work for you. You never had any problem setting me free.”
The sadness in her voice weakened the erection he’d thought was going to beat down his zipper, and the elephant that was sitting quietly in the room trampled all over his heart. Beau had to see her eyes. Maybe if she could look at him, she’d see that this was just as hard for him as it was for her. Untying the blindfold from behind her head, he took time to caress the silky strands of the thick, black hair that wrapped around his fingers as he gently pulled the knot from the fabric. When she was released from the darkness, she blinked a few times and peered up at him.
“Hello, beautiful,” he said, and then wanted to recall those words immediately. That’s what he’d always said to her when she woke up. He couldn’t count the times he’d woken up before her or had stayed up after she fell asleep and just watched her slumber. She’d always thought he was such a prize, but little did she know that he was the big winner when it came to them being a couple.
She didn’t smile the way she used to, but he could see she was affected by his words. Her shallow breaths and wide eyes belied the calm he could see she was trying to display. That shouldn’t make him happy, but damn…it sure did.
He reached behind her from the side, trying to get a grip on the rope that bound her to the bed, but he was barely able to work his hand down into such a tight space. Taking another deep breath, he wrapped his other arm around her and was able to feel the intricately tied knot. What the hell? The silky rope was pulled into one huge, tight ball. Karessa turned her head to the side, and his face rested on her neck while her hair fell across his cheek.
“What?” she asked.
“I didn’t say anything,” he said through gritted teeth.
“No, you didn’t, but you’re growling.” She sounded amused, and he was happy that one of them found this funny, because he was going to need a trip to the ER for both the scrapes on his hands and blue balls.
“This knot is just so tight it’s hard to get it apart. How long did it take for True to do this?” He knew he was speaking through his teeth, but he was getting more and more frustrated as her sexy lavender scent filled his senses.
“Not long. It was partially done when I put my hands into it. She just pulled on one of the ends, and it was done.” She was facing away from him, but every time she said something her jaw would move against his face. That shouldn’t be sexy at all, but even Karessa clipping her fingernails made his body hop to attention.
This knot wasn’t coming apart. He had to get closer and bend down a little more to get a better grip on the fabric. Scraping his hands on the wall and trying to fit them behind the large brass headboard was painful as hell, and he would have thought his cock would at least take notice that this wasn’t time to fuck, but there it throbbed as it waited for something that wasn’t coming. He looked up to see how Karessa was faring, and her mouth formed a perfect circle. She usually did that when…he looked down. He’d been rubbing his cheek against her nipple, a hot spot for her and a favorite spot for him.
He gave up trying to pick the knot apart. Jumping away from the bed, he really scraped the sides of the hands and hurt one of his wrists, but he didn’t know what else to do. At least he’d released her without having done something he should apologize for, but now he needed to find something to cut that fabric while he could still think. It seemed like all the blood had rushed to his cock, and he feared that very-loved part of him may actually explode.
Looking around the room, he saw something shiny on the desk. Scissors and a note.
Here you go, Beau. Don’t blow this.
What the entire hell? He went back taking deep breaths on his short walk back to the beautiful vision he’d missed so much more than he’d ever admit aloud.
“Did you find the scissors?” Karessa said, looking at him expectantly.
“Yes. Did you know she left them for me?”
“I didn’t know they were for you, but she did tell me the scissors were there.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that?”
She looked away, like she could only look at him for short periods of time. He remembered when she would follow him around with her eyes all day, but that was just one more thing he could chalk up to what he’d done to her. “I was shocked to see you. It’s been a few years.”
“Eight,” he said with more bite than he’d intended.
“What?”
“You haven’t seen me in eight years.” That came out better. Matter of fact…no emotion…no theatrics.
She nodded and looked anywhere but at him. He made quick work of slipping the scissors between the fabric and her skin, and then he checked to make sure that none of her skin would be damaged or cut when he closed the sharp metal knives that would set her free. The noise of the scissors sliced through the air, sounding like a guillotine, but at least it was over.
“There you go,” he said, hoping the relief he felt wasn’t in his voice.
“My hero.” She sounded even more snarky and sarcastic. Damn. It was hard to believe how much that turned him on.
“Anytime,” he said as he buttoned up her—his—shirt. He drew out every slip of the button through the hole, because he didn’t want this quiet moment to end, and he didn’t want to move away from her. The weight of her gaze was so heavy he swore he could actually feel it, so he looked up to see if he should back off. She was studying him, but she’d gotten better at hiding what she was feeling. The young woman he remembered had every emotion displayed on her face like a movie projector. He missed how easily he could read her. Fastening up the next to last button he took a breath, knowing there was no reason to stay this close to her. “I heard that there is food in the kitchen. Let’s grab a bite and talk.”
“Talk? Now you want to talk? After all this time?” When he only blinked back at her, Karessa rolled her eyes. “You never once looked me up, came to see me when I visited home or returned any of my letters.”
He wasn’t even sure he had the words for this. He’d done it for her. If he’d told her then what he was doing, she wouldn’t have allowed it. And she would have grown to resent him…eventually. So he’d taken the hard route and made her hate him, so she could get the life she’d always wanted. He wouldn’t be sorry, because she’d done it…she made it, and he was so damned proud of her.
He turned toward the kitchen and noticed then that the flickering flames weren’t candles, but little lights that looked like candles. “Let’s just eat, and if you don’t want to talk to me, then I can just look at you.” Beau knew his words were going to cause a problem as soon as they left his mouth. He wanted to laugh, because he’d always thought he was pretty good at flirting and conversation, but apparently when he was talking to this particular woman, things came out sounding like lines from a cheesy porn movie.
“Don’t try to sweet talk me, Mr. I’m-Such-a-Sexy-Playboy.”
“Karessa, I’m not trying to sweet talk you. I just want to feed you.” He walked to the kitchen knowing the woman she was would have followed him. He had to believe that person was still in there.
“I’m not the poor little girl you have to look out for anymore, the one you had to make sure had something to eat because her mother was too drunk to care. You gave up that gig years ago, and I take care of myself…but thanks.” He could tell she’d not moved from the spot where he’d left her, but he continued walking to the kitchen.
Beau set about getting them fed. At least if they were eating, he wouldn’t have room to put his foot in his mouth. There was enough food for at least six people. He got out some water for Karessa and a beer for himself. True would have made sure both of them had their favorite food and drink. She could be flighty sometimes, but when it came to knowing what her friends liked, she knew every detail. He fixed a plate for himself and for Karessa, then he leaned against the sink while waiting for her to come in.
She made him wait much longer than she usually did.
He didn’t call out to her because he knew she was angry. She had every right to be. A few minutes later, she walked in wearing his buttoned-up shirt and panties, looking as regal as she had when she accepted the Parisian Pleasures award this year for the best and most elegant undergarments of the year…for the second time in three years.
She sat down where he’d set her plate and appeared to be confused. “Thank you for making me a plate.”
“You’re welcome.”
She took a few deep breaths, and he could almost see her trying to pull herself together. “I apologize. I don’t know what I’m all worked up about. What we had was over a long time ago..” She didn’t look at him, so he couldn’t really tell what was going on in her mind, but he figured he’d just play along until he knew what she was about.
“That’s understandable,” he said sitting down across from her, trying to stay quiet but wanting her to know that he was involved in the conversation.
“I was young when I was last with you. I’m sure I’d blown up our attraction and sexual chemistry way out of proportion. Now that I’ve seen you, I know we can get through this wedding and get back to ignoring each other.”
Like a red flag before a bull, her words seemed to wave and taunt. “What do you mean by that?”
“Nothing. I was just saying that we should be fine now that we’ve greeted each other and the first shock is over. We can enjoy the wedding like civilized people.”
He should be happy with that. They weren’t going to dredge up the past. She was going to continue to run her wildly successful, huge-fish-in-a-big-pond company while he poured drinks in his little swamp of the world. He should be happy, but he wasn’t.
The flavorful wings had just the right amount of spice and heat. They should be, since this was his recipe. True always got a kick out of him liking his wings better than any others.
“You make great wings, Beau.” She licked her fingers clean of the barbeque sauce, and Beau tried to keep himself focused on what she was saying instead of her pink tongue drawing her fingers into her mouth, one by one, and sucking them clean.
“How did you know they were mine?” He cleared his throat and followed up with a deep swig of his beer.
“I know True. She would have both of our favorites on hand, and I know how much you love the flavor you created. It won in the Wild Wing Off a while ago.” She looked pretty smug about knowing that, and he’d give her points for the surprise, because that genuinely shocked him.
“How did you know about that?”
She shrugged. “Sometimes I ask questions.”
He started to open his mouth.
“Don’t bother. I already know you don’t ask about me…you don’t mention me. I’m surprised you remember me at all.” The sadness filled her eyes again just as a self-deprecating giggle left her lips, and his heart felt like it cramped up just a little.
“I can see why you would say that, but you know I’d never forget you. I’m really proud of your success, Karessa, and anything I’ve done was with your best interest at heart.”
“I really want to say thank you for having my best interest as your first priority, but I can’t. You always think you know what’s best for everyone, but newsflash, other people involved should have a say.” She gave a wobbly smile but stiffened her lips and continued to eat.
“If I were a gentleman I wouldn’t call foul on something you said just now, but we both know I’m no gentleman. There has always been and there will always be sexual chemistry between us. You don’t have to admit it to me, but I can feel it. Our bodies respond to each other like a spark and paper.”
“Who gets to be paper?” she asked.
He looked over at her and was rewarded with a smile. This is the way they used to get along. He would say something, and she would fuss...he missed her questions and snappy retorts more than she’d ever believe.
“I disagree. What happened back there was the shock of being tied up, and then released by a person I was not expecting to see.”
“It’s been a while, but I know how your body responds to me. I was starting to smell the sweet scent that accompanies your pussy getting slick. Your nipples were almost begging me to taste them, but if you want to believe that’s not what was happening…that’s fine with me.” He picked up his bottle before realizing that there was almost nothing left in the bottle to cool him down, but he tipped up the bottle to his mouth anyway.
“What we had was so long ago we’ve probably just built it up in our minds as something spectacular. You’ve gone through who knows how many women since I’ve seen you last?”
“And that means?” Under normal circumstances he’d have let that go. He didn’t have to prove or explain what he did with other women to anyone and he didn’t care what people thought. At least he didn’t before this, but there was no way he was going to let Karessa get away with what she was thinking…especially since this was the second time she’d said something like this.
“What we had has been lost in the time warp…it now means nothing.” She shrugged like what she was saying was just a casual observation, but he watched her pull herself back from her slight lean toward him and stare at her plate, as if the answers to all the problems in the world could be found there.
“No one has ever compared to you, Karessa.” He didn’t want to get into all that right now, but there was no way he was going to let her think she was just another woman. She deserved to know that, at least.
“You must have authored the wet panties manual since I’ve been away. You actually sound pretty sincere. I don’t remember you being this poetic.” She rolled her eyes like she heard bullshit like this all the time, and she wanted to keep it light.
“Are your panties wet, Karessa?” His voice dropped a few octaves. He’d been in different stages of arousal since he’d first got a whiff of her, as was evident by the half chub he’d been sporting this whole time. Her left brow lifted and he expected she was going to reach into her smart ass box for a retort.
“Why don’t you check for yourself?”
He chuckled as he was reminded of the soft-spoken girl she used to be. She had always been the picture of sweet loveliness, but it was deceptive. Karessa wouldn’t back down from a challenge, and he could see in her eyes that was what she considered him.
“I owed True a favor, and she called it in tonight, but I don’t think she would make you stay if you didn’t want to.” Beau didn’t really want to give her an out but he figured it was the gentlemanly thing to do. Maybe that was why this gesture felt so foreign, because he didn’t think he’d ever even pretended to be a gentleman. The slight snort from across the table shook him from his thoughts.
“I owed True a favor too. How do you think she convinced me to be tied up and blindfolded in the middle of the bed?”
They looked at each other and laughed in earnest. He’d missed this. He knew he missed her curvy body, her passionate sex drive and her breathy moans for more when her orgasm was closing in on her, but he’d somehow forgotten just how much he liked to spend time with her, laughing, talking, and just playing around.
“True is something else,” she said, lifting her drink. “To True.”
“To True,” he replied and clinked his glass bottle to her plastic one.
They cleaned up the little kitchenette like they’d been doing it every night for the last fifty years. The easy camaraderie and conversation went from the Haught Line she’d created for the wedding to questions about the Haught Spot and his brothers.
Leading her back to the quasi-bedroom lit with simulated candles, he tried the voice-activated system. “Fifty percent,” he called out and watched the room dim around them.
“You’re a quick study, huh?” Karessa stared at him like she didn’t know what to do next.
“Are you ready for your panty check, Karessa?”
Ready for more? Read Too Haught here →https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D8WXMN5