Beauty Unmasked

by AJ Renee

  My stump aches and I stumble a few times, but I’m able to use the bathroom and return to bed without drawing Belle’s attention. My gaze lands on the creamy skin of her shoulder peeking out, and I push aside the frustrations clouding my mind. This woman is too good for me. I’m not quite sure what she sees in me, but I’m too weak to push her away.

  Sitting on the bed, my back to her, I stare down at my legs. I grab the back of my neck and note all the differences. Hard vs. soft. Hairy vs. smooth. Human vs. carbon fiber.

  Behind me, Belle shifts and her hands come to my shoulders. She kisses her way up my spine to my neck. The feel of her skin against mine sooths the frustration in me threatening to spill.

  “Hi honey.” Her voice is sleepy and hearing it feels incredibly intimate.

  “How was your nap, baby?” The words come out thick as my body reacts to her featherlight touch.

  “Mmm…Really good.” She clears her throat and kisses my jaw. “Your leg needs rest. Go ahead and take off the prosthetic.”

  The muscles under her touch contract. “I’m—”

  Belle turns my face to hers and presses her lips to mine. “Viktor, honey, please listen to me when I tell you it doesn’t bother me. What will bother me is if you hurt your leg because you’re being so stubborn.”

  She slips around me, and her beautiful naked body is on display a moment before she sinks down to her knees. She expertly removes my prosthetic and sets it aside where I can reach it. Without a word, I watch her walk out of my room, enjoying each sexy sway of her hips.

  When Belle returns with my crutches, I watch her set them within arm’s reach before climbing into bed. “Lay down, honey.”

  Unable to resist her quiet command, I lay back and she puts her head on my chest. I run my hand up and down her back and relax into the motion. I kiss the top of her head and breathe her in. A floral scent mixed with something else that I identify as only Belle.

  “Viktor?” Her voice is hesitant, and it scatters my thoughts.

  My hand freezes over the soft skin of her hip. “Yeah, baby?”

  A light finger runs along the tender flesh of my new tattoo. “Will you tell me?”

  I stiffen, unsure of how much I should tell her. I’m quiet for so long, debating how much to tell her when she sighs. It’s a sad, defeated sigh, and it wrenches me because I know it’s my fault. I hate that I’ve caused it.

  “The rose…” I start and nod toward my dresser.

  “Mmhmm?”

  “I kept that one from my mom’s funeral. Roses were her favorite. She used to say there was beauty and magic behind a single red rose. I laid her to rest with eleven and kept that one for myself. I guess I needed some of that beauty and magic she swore by.”

  “That’s beautiful, honey.” Belle raises to her elbow and looks from me to my tattoo. “And this one?”

  “This rose will never wilt. Its beauty and magic will last as long as I do.” I grab her hand and kiss the knuckles, needing to touch her.

  “And what about the rest? The drop of blood and the fallen petal?” she asks, and I suck in a breath.

  As crazy as it sounds, when I gaze into her eyes I see my future in this woman. I don’t know her well, but from the moment she walked into my life, this attraction crackling around us superseded the sexual attraction, making us crazy with want and need for each other.

  I hesitate but continue. “The drop of blood represents the pain the rose suffered to bring me its magic. The petal represents what it sacrificed to bring beauty into my life.” I cup her neck, needing to feel her lifeline under my palm. “Even when I didn’t deserve to have you in my life, my beautiful Belle, that drop of blood sealed my fate to you.”

  Those kissable lips part, and I hear her small gasp. Her eyes search mine, and I see the moment she realizes she’s that beauty in my life. At her reaction, I decide to take a chance, to put it all on the table.

  Raising onto my elbow, I bring us face to face. My fingers skim the side of her face, and I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “Losing my leg sucked. It’s left me broken and in a very dark place.” When Belle opens her mouth to speak, I rub my lips on hers. “Please let me finish.” Inhaling deeply, I hope the sweet smell of Belle strengthens me to finish what I’ve started.

  “Losing my mom, well that hurts on a level everyone might have to experience one day.”

  Belle cups my cheek and kisses me softly.

  “Fairy tales don’t exist. But if they did, I’d be cast as the man who stole the princess and kept her as my own. God knows I don’t deserve you. You deserve the prince with the castle and the jewels.”

  “Many will think I’m crazy and out of my mind, but when you were gone last week, thinking I lost you too…none of the other stuff compared to the darkness that overwhelmed me because you were gone. I know it’s crazy. I know it’s way too soon. I know this may scare you because it sure as hell scares me. Somehow, somewhere along the way, these last three weeks altered me. You altered me. I found beauty in my darkest hour. I love you, Isabel Marchant. I may not be good enough for you, but I promise you I’ll protect you until my dying breath.”

  Isabel

  Oh. My. God.

  Shock. Confusion. Hope. Love. Sadness. Fear. Love.

  Every feeling slams into me, one after another as I hear his words over and over again. I love you, Isabel Marchant.

  Love.

  All I can do is stare. No words come out of my mouth. Only seconds have ticked by as my brain quickly processes this information. This whole last week away from Viktor was hell. I considered and analyzed my feelings from every possible angle.

  If I was a psychologist, I would have considered transference as a possibility. Never have I developed any remote romantic attraction to my patients, not until Viktor. He’s different. This thing between us is different.

  It’s beautiful.

  There is no way I can lie to myself and say that what we shared was only sex. Every touch and kiss left an imprint on me. My life was irrefutably changed the moment I met this man. He’s a self-described broken man. I call bullshit on it. Sure, he has more cracks in him than any human being should ever experience.

  Behind his walls—that mask of hurt, anger, and sadness—he’s beautiful and strong. He’s smart and funny. He’s honest and loyal.

  I want to deny what he’s saying, but mostly I want to deny that I love him too. But I can’t. There is no way I can walk away. Viktor occupied my every thought while I was gone. If this thing between us was superficial, the time apart would have dissolved it. A week apart would have cooled it down. I wouldn’t have come here today, needing to see him.

  Making love was not something I even considered when I showed up on his doorstep, but his touch settles something deep inside of me. When I came apart in his arms, he put me back together. Our two souls fused together.

  This beautiful, stubborn, and prideful man not only loves me, but took the risk to tell me.

  I straddle his naked lap, nestling him between my folds. Cupping his face, I kiss him. Our tongues are hesitant as they explore and taste. I break the connection with a final soft kiss and put my forehead to his. His hands rub from my hips to my sides. The heat from his touch scorches my skin.

  When my lids flutter open, his eyes search mine and I cup his cheek. “You’re right. This is absolutely crazy. This is the real world. We haven’t even known each other a month. You’re mourning the loss of your mother and your leg. You should be focused on getting stronger and getting your life back.”

  “I want you in my life,” he demands before I place my finger over his lips.

  This beautiful man.

  “I have never, in all my years as a physical therapist, become involved with a patient.”

  “I’m not your patient, Belle. You said so yourself.”

  My brows snap together at his interruption before he mumbles, “Sorry. Go on.”

  Closing my eyes, I breathe in his scent. “Just so you know, you’re an awful
patient.”

  Viktor chuckles unapologetically, and I study his beautiful tattoo. It’s not his only tattoo and I’m sure it won’t be his last. I’m sure every piece has a story behind it, but this one—this one has me. My fingers carefully glide over it.

  “Why me?” I whisper, unable to look at him.

  He tips my face so our eyes meet. “I don’t know. What I do know is that you’ve woven a spell around me. You bring me peace and strength. You make me feel like I can climb mountains. You make me want to be a better man.”

  Those words wrap around me like a warm, cozy blanket in this cold, bitter winter. This burly, beastly man loves me. Hard as ice on the outside and as soft as freshly fallen snow on the inside. No. There’s no way I can deny him my feelings.

  “This last week at my father’s was awful. Not just because he hurt himself pretty badly and I hated seeing him down, but because I missed you, Viktor. I realized how much I looked forward to seeing and talking to you. Honestly? I had hoped that the week apart would have put my attraction to you to rest. Only, the time apart made it worse. I wanted to ask Toby about you, but I couldn’t without raising flags.”

  At the mention of my supervisor, I see Viktor’s face harden. It’s no secret that these two men aren’t each other’s fans. Toby considered Viktor a hothead, not entirely untrue. He even suggested that I never come back here.

  “Mr. Pretty Boy’s a prick. He also has a thing for you.”

  I chuckle. “Mr. Pretty Boy?”

  “Never mind. You were telling me why the time apart from me was worse,” Viktor tells me, urging me to return to the topic at hand.

  I laugh and shake my head. “Jealous?”

  “Depends.”

  “On what?” I wonder.

  Viktor flips me over and runs his hard length through my folds. “On whether or not you’re mine.”

  I’m breathless as I wrap my legs around his waist. Sure his touch has my body begging for more, but his words send my heart racing.

  Before I can respond he kisses me. “I love you, Belle. I have never told those words to any other woman. Are you mine?”

  Viktor is assaulting my senses from every angle. My heart is beating against my ribs in an erratic staccato. I’m crazy for this man. That’s the only thing to explain my behavior. Rolling my hips, I feel him tease the entrance to my sex. I wrap my fingers around his neck and pull his face to mine.

  Breaking the kiss, I’m breathless when I say, “I’m yours. I love you, Viktor Prinz.” My legs pull on him, and I gasp at the feel of him at my entrance. Viktor grabs a condom and slips it on in record time.

  His mouth crushes mine in a bruising kiss. Hands and tongue explore as he pumps into me. Every delicious slide into me brings me closer to the edge.

  Viktor lifts his head, and his eyes bore into mine. “I love you so fucking much.”

  “I love you!” He thrusts harder and faster.

  I hold onto his shoulders, holding on for his loving ride. His hand slips between our bodies, and his thumb circles and presses my clit. The pressure becomes too much and my head falls back. My muscles tense as the orgasm grips me, ripping out a cry of pleasure from deep within my soul.

  “Isabel,” he roars as he pours himself into me.

  When my breathing slows, I chuckle. My core tightens around him, and he growls with pleasure. “You really are beastly, honey.”

  Viktor peppers my face with sweet kisses before taking my lips in a slow languid kiss. “And you are my master. My sweet, beauty.”

  Isabel

  “Viktor!” I hiss.

  “What?”

  “Don’t ‘what’ me! You need to drop it with Toby.”

  “I don’t like how he looks at you,” Viktor says and spins me on the dance floor.

  Almost a year has passed since that night we came together, and things have been quite interesting. I moved into his home about six months ago. He’s still working through his emotional loss, and his body is becoming stronger every day. I even asked him to volunteer with other injured vets. He’s not alone in this process, and I’ve given him a purpose by helping others.

  Over Thanksgiving, my father and Viktor met. At first, Viktor’s gruffness with others rubbed Dad the wrong way. Once Dad saw Viktor taking care of me and how much he loved me, it was water under the bridge.

  Tonight, we’re dancing at my work’s Christmas party. Viktor and Toby have been glaring at each other most of the night. It didn’t matter how many times they saw each other, every time it’s the same thing.

  I cup his face and wait for his eyes to meet mine. “Am I yours?”

  “What kind of question is that? Of course, and I’m yours,” he says, and my eyes mist at the intensity of his words.

  “Then does it matter how Toby looks at me?”

  “No, it doesn’t, but he needs to stop before I rip his eyes out.”

  This conversation is an old one. It seems that any time we do some event for my job, these two idiots got into a pissing match. Toby hasn’t forgiven Viktor for kicking him out of the house or for the tongue lashing Toby received from his supervisor after they learned how he treated Viktor. Viktor is too protective over me to let it go.

  I’m exhausted. I’m Bone tired, and talking about Toby with Viktor is not helping matters. It’s our first Christmas together, and I want to enjoy it drama-free.

  Done with the topic, I place my head on his shoulder and sigh. I don’t need them to be friends. Hell, I don’t even like Toby, but I do have to work with him.

  Viktor stops us from swaying and squeezes the side of my neck. “Belle?”

  “Yeah, beast?”

  His chest vibrates with a chuckle before he lifts my face to look at him. “I’m sorry. I don’t like the man. I love you, and I promise I’ll do better.”

  My heart flutters like it always does at his declaration of love. “I don’t like him either, but I have to work with him.”

  “I know… I’m sorry I’m acting like an ass.”

  “Me too…”

  He captures my lips, and the kiss leaves me breathless. When he pulls back and my eyes flutter open, I see his smug grin. “You’re incorrigible.”

  Viktor becomes serious. The muscles in his jaw tighten, and his eyes pierce mine. “I love you, Isabel Marchant.”

  My brow raises at his use of my full name.

  “You came into my home and heart uninvited. You pushed me to uncomfortable levels. You’ve made my life better, and I’m sorry if I’ve made yours harder, but I’m not sorry that you’re mine.”

  My eyes narrow and when my lips part to speak, he kisses me softly.

  Viktor lowers to one knee. The movement is fluid even though I know his latest prosthetic has been bothering him. All the women around us gasp as I watch him with surprise. My heart beats against my ribs, and my body begins to tremble.

  “You’ve made me a better man. Will you please marry me?”

  My hand raises to my lips, and emotions wrap around me. I’m dizzy with happiness and open my mouth to tell him yes when everything goes black.

  Viktor

  I watch in horror as her body goes limp. I catch her and pull her to me. “Belle?”

  There’s a flurry of activity around us, but all I can focus on is my world. Fear claws through my body at the real possibility that something is wrong with her. I’ve been noticing that she’s been…off. Any time I’ve mentioned it, she’s chalked it up to stress from work or getting over the stomach bug.

  Gathering every bit of my strength, I push to my feet with her in my arms. I ignore the throbbing pain in my leg and see the concerned faces of the crowd that’s formed. I take one step and then another until I’m rushing through the group.

  When I place Belle in my car, I notice how clammy her skin has become. Little puffs of air escape her parted lips. After shutting the door, I step back into someone.

  “What did you do to her, Prinz?” Toby snarls.

  “Nothing!” I roar and shove the man
aside and rush to the driver’s door.

  “What’s wrong with her?” His words plague me as I haul ass to the emergency room.

  It’s been almost an hour and a half after leaving the Christmas party and I still have no idea what happened to Belle. Once I rushed her into the emergency room, they took her from me and forced me into the waiting area.

  I hate hospitals. The smell… the cold… the memories. I’m losing my mind with worry and trying to fight back the demons inside of me. The last time I was here, I lost my mother and my leg. If I walk out of here without Belle—

  I stop pacing and ignore the pain in my leg when a man walks into the waiting area. “Viktor Prinz?”

  My fists at my side, I hurry to the man dressed in scrubs, all the while reminding myself I can’t hit him. Since I’ve arrived, I haven’t seen Belle. They took her from me, and without being considered family, they refused to let me follow.

  She’s mine. How could they take her from me? She is my family, my everything.

  “Yes?” I force the word through my dry throat. My body’s been shaking with anguish, wondering what happened to my beautiful Belle.

  “Ms. Marchant is asking for you. Please follow me,” he says and moves back through the doors.

  “Is she okay? What is wrong with her?” The questions fly out, but before I can get an answer, we are at her door. I would have snuck in a while ago had I known she was this close to me.

  Inside the sterile room, I find her laying on the bed hooked up to an IV bag. Pure relief causes my knees to give out at her side. I grab her hand, kiss it, and lay my cheek to it.

  Warm tears slip from my eyes. “Belle?”

  “I’m so sorry, honey!”

  “Are you okay?” My throat is hoarse with emotion, but I don’t care. I need to know she’s okay. I can’t lose this woman. Now that I have her, I intend to keep her in every possible way.

  “Come up here. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m okay. And Viktor?”