Claiming Beauty (Taking Beauty Trilogy Book 2)

by Nikki Wild

  “Yeah, I think she might have mentioned that…”

  He chuckled with exasperation. “Should have stayed on top of that shit. Whole engine’s gotta go. Now, this being an old clunker, she might want to consider just getting a new car altogether.”

  I sighed. “I don’t think she’s not going to be able to take that option.”

  “Yeah, well, I’ll tell you what I tell everybody when I see an impending mess as bad as this one: tough shit. I’ll try and pull some strings because it’s you, but even if I found a used, compatible engine that wasn’t going to absolutely crucify her bank account, this thing’s gonna die from something else. I give it half a year… maybe a year, tops.”

  “So, it’s either spend thousands on an engine and buy some time, or spend at least that on a newer vehicle. Either way, she’s out of pocket a substantial little sum.”

  “Sure looks that way, bro.”

  “Alright, Kevin. Thanks for everything you’ve done. I’ll talk to her, and we’ll sort it all out.”

  “Later, dude.”

  I hung up the line angrily.

  As soon as the problem had happened, I’d known that it was going to take a miracle to fix it. Unfortunately, having her come back around had apparently filled the miracle quota for today.

  I was still trying to figure out what to do when Clara came into view. She was climbing the wide steps outside, ducking into the union building and scanning for me. As she spotted me in the seating area, she stomped towards me with a look of clear, overwhelming stress painted across her face.

  “What’s the problem?” I asked.

  Clara slumped down in the chair to my side. “Just… unreasonable teachers,” she muttered. “Couldn’t they just consult each other on the homework front? Instead of bombarding us with it, all at once?”

  “Pretty sure that’s not how it works,” I chuckled lightly.

  “Guess not,” Clara muttered before pulling herself to an upright, seated position. “Alright, so, have you heard from your guy yet?”

  My face immediately fell.

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” she groaned, slumping back into the cushions. “Goddammit! Why is this turning out to be such a bullshit day? Everything’s been going downhill since I saw you last…”

  “Well, what can I do to make it up to you?” I asked her. “Surely there’s something…”

  She caught my eye and chuckled. “Maybe not tonight. I’m going to be buried under assignments for the next day or two anyway…”

  “Oh, you’ve got plenty of time before then,” I smiled. “You seem stressed. Just give me an hour or two of your time to help you unwind, yeah? Wouldn’t you enjoy that?”

  Clara glanced over mischievously.

  “Well… I suppose that could work for me.”

  I made sure that it did...

  Two hours later, after an incredible simultaneous orgasm that left us both completely spent. We were laying together in bed. She and I were just the way I liked us best – grinning together, drained from great sex, without a stitch of clothing on us.

  I was already on my back again, and my lover was curled up against my chest. Absentmindedly, my fingers played with the hair on the back of her head.

  “God, Dalton, that was just as incredible as before,” she murmured softly.

  “Oh yeah? Satisfied, love?”

  “Am I ever…”

  With a satisfied groan, I glanced over at my alarm clock.

  “Huh. It’s later than I thought.”

  “Is it?” She asked, lifting her head.

  “Yeah, it’s already half past five.”

  “Half past five, huh…” Clara murmured. “That’s strange, I feel like there’s something important that I’ve forgotten, something like…”

  Her eyes widened.

  “Oh no. Oh fuck. No. Please no.”

  “What? What is it?”

  Clara was leaping up from the bed, clearly frazzled. I didn’t like how stressed she was getting, all of a sudden.

  “Oh god, it’s work,” Clara finally groaned.

  “Work?” I asked. “Wait… you didn’t…?”

  She’d forgotten to contact her boss.

  “Yeah…” She held her face in her hands. “I can’t believe it. I completely fucking forgot to email Arnold last night, when I came home… and I stayed up talking to Natalie. I was supposed to be there over an hour ago.”

  Clara dove for her phone and practically went catatonic when she saw her notifications. “Oh shit. Oh shit, I’m in trouble…”

  “I’m sure it’ll be fine,” I told her. “Look, just apologize to him, and everything will be okay.”

  “That’s not how this works,” Clara lashed out. “Look, my car’s a mess that’s apparently broken down, now I’ve been totally distracted from my job, and for what? Sex?”

  I didn’t like where this was going.

  “Clara, look. I’m sorry. I’ll help you.”

  “I don’t want your help,” she muttered.

  “Be that as it may… I know that you’ve had a rough time of things lately. Between the car thing, your job, school, our parents suddenly marrying, your feelings for me…”

  She glanced at me with irritation. “No, go on,” she snarled. “Please. Feel free to rack up additional ways that my life is fucking up right now. Really. I want to hear them.”

  I rose from the bed, and she didn’t move.

  “Clara. Don’t shut me out.”

  “I’m not shutting you out,” she grunted.

  “You are. Look at you.”

  She looked down. Her arms were crossed, her stance was defensive, and she looked ready to absolutely come unglued at me.

  Clara stayed like that for a moment… and I was afraid that she’d only snap harder.

  Instead, she began to relax.

  “Look, I’m sorry, Dalton,” she whispered as I came over to hold her close. “You’re right. There’s been a lot on my plate the last couple of weeks. I didn’t mean to try and take it out on you. It’s just that… I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  “I know,” I murmured, rubbing her shoulders as she remained pinned against me. “I understand. This has been a lot for you lately.” Pulling back, I lifted her chin with my finger. “But here’s the thing – I’m going to be right there with you, all the way.”

  She nodded softly.

  “Listen. First thing’s first. We can fix your car. My guy tells me that he can maybe find a used engine to plug into it. I can cover that.”

  Clara’s eyes widened.

  “No. I can’t let you do that.”

  “Look, you need a car, and I have a ton of money,” I shrugged. “What’s a few thousand dollars to me right now? Sure, it’s a lot of money, but I’m not going to miss it. I’d rather see you mobile and happy.”

  “Still… I’ll find a way to pay you back.”

  “Chiefly unnecessary,” I responded.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Clara shook her head. “I can’t expect you to make that kind of sacrifice for me, even if you want to and you have the money.”

  “Fine. Point conceded,” I reassured her. “As for the rest… school is going to suck, and our parents being married is going to suck too. Those, I can’t really help you out with. But you’ll have my support for as long as you want it…”

  “I appreciate that,” Clara whispered, nestling her cheek into my chest. “But what about work?”

  “You’re going to have to suck that one up,” I answered. “Make the call. Figure out what you have to do to keep yourself on the payroll. That privilege of yours that you mentioned before is probably gone by now, though.”

  “Yeah…” She muttered. “Definitely.”

  “So, do the right thing,” I continued, handing Clara her smartphone. “Don’t put it off. Reach out to your boss now, kiss ass, and keep yourself with some income. Work your way back up into his graces.”

  Clara took the phone from my hand and smiled up at me. �
�You’re really great, you know that?”

  “I can be,” I shrugged.

  “When you’re not seated at a table with a bunch of marines and making a complete ass of yourself, at any rate,” she chuckled. “What was it you told me the night we met?”

  “Oh, I told you a great number of things.”

  “I’m thinking of something in particular. You asked if I had a menu, and then you were going to have me–”

  “Stand on it, and I’d ask for some of you. Yeah, I definitely remember that.”

  Clara pulled up her contacts list on her phone and navigated towards her boss. “It’s funny to think of how much has changed since then,” she thought aloud. “I thought you were a total prick, and even a short while later, my roommate was trying to send you away… but now, here we are.”

  She lifted the phone to her ear and let it dial.

  I thought about that too. A lot had changed since Clara and I had first met… but I was happy with it. It was great to finally have someone to push all of my attention into, as opposed to just cycling through girls in my bed.

  “Hi, Arnold? Yes, it’s me… I know… I’m really sorry. My car… okay, sure.” She paused, pulling the phone away from her ear for a moment. “He’s putting me on hold so that he can go somewhere quieter.”

  I nodded, listening for every cue in her tone.

  “Right. I’m calling to apologize for tonight. I was supposed to email you yesterday and notify you that my car broke down, but I didn’t get the opportunity to reach out until now… uh-huh… yes sir… I understand… of course…” Her eyes widened, but I couldn’t tell if they were from surprise or fear. “Right… no, I get it, I understand… yes sir. Thank you, sir.”

  She hung up the line and turned to me.

  “Well, the good news is that I haven’t lost my job… bad news is that I’m on probation. Two shifts a week, maximum. As if I needed to add being broke to my troubles…”

  “Don’t worry about the money,” I replied, pulling close and massaging her shoulders. “Just focus on doing what you’ve got to do.”

  Clara looked over her shoulder at me with begrudging acceptance, and didn’t fight the point.

  “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Dalton,” she murmured. “You came into my life at such a strange time… but I’m happy to have you.”

  Her hand slipped over my knuckles as I kneaded her shoulder. It was warm and soft, squeezing tightly into the indentions between my fingers.

  “I’m happy to have you too,” I smiled, planting a kiss where her jawline connected to her ear.

  When she turned, her eyes half-lidded with the first waves of desire, I slid my hands to caress her face and hold it close. Giving a deep, passionate kiss, I realized how the tension had gotten my blood pumping again.

  As my cock bounced with lust for her, I gently lowered Clara back down to my bed again…

  Chapter 15

  Dalton and I didn’t see much of each other outside of class for the following week. Most of this was due to the workload of my semester; while he had apparently elected to take it pretty easy, I’d scheduled a number of core classes into my half-year at university.

  I’d just gotten my car back from the shop. His mechanic fell ill a couple of days, but prioritized replacing my engine as cheaply and efficiently as possible. I was never told how much it cost, but I told myself that I’d save up and pay him back for all of it in the future.

  Since I was too busy to see him too often, I went ahead and splurged on the psychology book. Luckily, I found a late used return at the local bookstore outside the campus, so it didn’t cost me more than a hundred bucks… which, to me, was like being paid a banquet shift without having to work it.

  Dalton and I stayed in communication via text. He gave me my space when I needed to focus on my schoolwork, and was never more than a few minutes away when I sent him a buzz out of the blue.

  Finally, after I’d caught up with my homework and had pulled myself back out of banquet probation with Arnold, I had him come back over.

  “I’ve missed you,” I whispered, nuzzling my face into his throat as we laid together in bed.

  “Oh, I’ve missed you too,” he murmured.

  I climbed onto his lap and bent forward, kissing his lips. I loved the warmth of them, and the feeling of his body near mine. The little crackle of energy between us never failed to invigorate me; I wondered how I could possibly do without it.

  Dalton tried to lean up, but I gently held him back with my hands against his pecs. Shaking my head with an impish smile, I kissed him again. My wandering lips meandered from his own to enjoy his cheek, his chin, his jawline, his throat, any patch of skin that I could access.

  Slowly, I pulled up at his shirt, peppering a trail of kisses down those rippling muscles and that stack of sculpted abs. As I continued, I began to fumble with his belt in my hands, slowly unbuckling and tugging down his jeans.

  By the time I reached the V of his hips, his boxer briefs were the last deterrent between his weapon and me. Already, his tool was yearning for attention, standing tall against the underside of the fabric. Tugging those down too, I wrapped my fingers around his steaming, rigid tool.

  “Do you like my hand on your cock?” I whispered into his ear as I began to stroke him.

  Dalton nodded, groaning as his head sank backwards into my pillows.

  “Good,” I whispered, rolling my fist over his bulbous head. “Because I think I love doing it. Knowing that I can drive you crazy with my touch…”

  I sank back down his chest, licking beneath the crown of his rock-hard erection as I continued beating him off. Dalton shifted slightly beneath me, as if he were going to take control again, but I parted my lips around the red helmet tantalizingly.

  “Nuh,uh, uhhh” I teased him, just hovering my lips on his blood-engorged head. “I’m in control now. You just sit back, relax, and let me take care of things…”

  Dalton glanced down at me, his eyes filled with animalistic lust, but he did as he was told. He lowered his head back down to the pillows, his hands down on either side.

  With that, I slid my fingers out of the way and descended down his cock.

  I knew that he was huge, but I wasn’t prepared for just how much of him I was trying to fit into my mouth. I could barely manage half of his generous size, and that was only by pushing myself…

  But I was determined to please him.

  My head began to bob up and down his erect weapon. As my enthusiasm and passion began to take hold, I steadied myself against his body by pushing down against his thighs with my palms.

  Dalton’s hands drifted downward, but instead of controlling the tempo of my mouth on his cock, or trying to force me to suck more of him inside, he graciously held my hair out of my way.

  “Oh god, Clara,” I heard his husky, English accent murmur out. “That feel so bloody good…”

  His reaction only prompted me further. I grew more tenacious with the motions, pushing myself to take more of him inside, speeding it up. After a moment, I relinquished his saliva-slicken cock from my mouth, rolling my fist down it again as I licked the underside.

  Teasing him with my tongue, I was eager to get him towards his limit. I could feel his body begin to move around beneath me; his hips shifted in position, his chest rose and dropped in faster intervals, and his great, broad form began to subtly squirm under the pressure of my passion.

  “That’s right,” I murmured, kissing his helmet as I stroked him. “Come for me, baby. I know you want to.”

  Dalton looked down at me again, but his eyes were glazed with unadulterated pleasure. With another few, swift groans, his hands quickly dove for my head. He pushed my lips down around his cock as he thrust up several times, careful to not hurt me, but eager for satisfaction…

  As his body trembled and his thick cock twitched between my lips, I felt his hot release burst into my mouth. In several steady, hot ropes, his salty come glazed my tongue, and I swallowed dow
n his load while he groaned heartily, draining his balls inside my mouth.

  I wiped my lips with the back of my hand as I pulled back, grinning slyly down at him.

  “Where did that come from?” Dalton murmured, stretching his arms and holding onto his head briefly.

  “I told you I missed you,” I chuckled, sliding into place beside his broad, powerful chest. His arm naturally slid around me and kept me close.

  “Yes, I can see that,” he smirked.

  The stresses of our school day came upon us, and soon we fell into a nap together. I dreamt peacefully of a life where I didn’t have to worry about money, or schoolwork, or my parents, or anything else of the sort.

  When I awoke, Dalton was facing away, staring into space. I watched him for a few minutes before he finally glanced back down and noticed that I wasn’t asleep anymore.

  “I’ve been thinking,” he mentioned.

  “Oh yeah? What about?”

  After a moment of contemplation, he finally spoke. “If you’re ready, I’m about to tell you about that topic that came up before, which I wasn’t too comfortable in divulging… the topic of my wealthy relatives.”

  “Only if you want to,” I nodded.

  Dalton smirked. “You might not actually know this, but my grandparents are fookin’ loaded,” he explained, subtly letting his accent come out. “We’re not talking just a couple of million dollars. My grandparents have an astronomical wealth that makes my head spin.”

  “Seriously?” I asked.

  Dalton nodded, his eyes cutting back to meet my gaze. “Extending back generations through English history, we were the Windsor-Carlyle family. For hundreds of years, we were one of the most distinguished families in the country. We had a place at the court, lordships, ladyships…”

  I listened intently, hanging on every crisp, fascinating word on his introspective breath.

  “But that ended with my ancestor, Lord Abner Villas Carlyle. At the height of Windsor-Carlyle decadence, he offended Her Majesty. You see, he had quite the flame for her darling daughter, the upcoming Crown Princess… enough so that he was caught in her bedchamber, his face between her thighs.”