Beneath Your Beauty Read online

  Copyright © 2014 by Alexa Keith

  All rights reserved.

  Cover Designer: Stephanie Mooney, Mooney Designs

  Editor and Interior Designer: Jovana Shirley, Unforeseen Editing, www.unforeseenediting.com

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  I devote this book to two angels in heaven who have been shining down on me through my entire journey. I love and miss you every day.

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Inside Your Beauty Teaser

  Kayden

  “Damn it.” I flew from the warm confines of my bed, groggily stumbling toward the shower.

  My alarm hadn’t gone off, maybe it had, and I’d subconsciously turned it off since I wasn’t looking forward to today.

  The hot water cascaded down my body while I poured body wash onto the washcloth. Rushing, I ran the soapy rag over my figure with a little more oomph than I normally would. I gently rubbed between my legs, still sore from the waxing I’d gotten three days ago. I could never understand why some women put themselves through such pain. It hurt like hell—to the point of not being worth it. However, I had no choice in the matter. One of the stipulations in my contract said I had to be waxed.

  After a substantial amount of scrubbing, I emerged from the shower. The scent of my cinnamon-pumpkin body wash filled the steamy bathroom.

  “I hope he likes the way I smell,” I mumbled to the foggy mirror, massaging my body with the matching lotion. Then, I began to panic about the way I smelled. “What if he doesn’t like it?” I asked the anxiety-stricken face in the mirror. Bile rose to the back of my throat causing me to nearly choke on it.

  Lord knows, I have a ton more to worry about than what I smell like.

  Making my way to the closet, I said harshly to myself, “Who cares if he likes my scent?”

  I ended up choosing a wraparound black blouse, a pair of dark blue jeans, and my trusty flip-flops. I shoved the pencil-thin six-inch heels, another requirement specified in my contract, into my bag with a huff.

  “How I’m going to walk, bend, squat, and God only knows what else in them is beyond me,” I whined to the bag.

  Nevertheless, they were hot-looking heels, and it had taken me a long time to find them. I’d found them at a trendy store in the mall—okay, not a wow-that’s-a-really-nice-outfit trendy store. No, I’d seen them in the window at the slut-it-up popular store. On my first conquest to buy the shoes, one of the parents of another boy who my kids went to school with had caught me right before I entered. We’d talked briefly, boasting about what our kids were up to nowadays. When the conversation had ended, my boys had weighed heavily on my mind. Going over it in my head, I’d worried about what they would think of me if they knew what I was doing. With the heaviness of those thoughts on my brain, I hadn’t had the balls to go in.

  The next time I had tried was on a Sunday morning. I’d figured it was safe. Who goes to the mall on an early Sunday morning? Actually, one of my neighbors, Clive, did, who lived two doors down from me.

  On a third try two days ago, I had waited in my car until the mall was about to close. Then, I dashed in, bought the shoes, and stormed right back out. My mission had been accomplished.

  After folding the black silk robe, I placed it beside my heels in the bag. The contract stated there’d be robes available, but I definitely felt more comfortable bringing my own. As I passed by the full-length mirror in my closet, I twisted to look at the reflection staring back at me.

  My normal mess of dark chocolate brown waves was now blonde. The brown eyes I had looked at every day in the mirror were now blue—thanks to colored contacts. The trim waist, curvy hips, and full ass were all still the same. My skin color was just a tad bit darker, due to the sessions I’d started last week at the tanning salon.

  The image looking back at me wasn’t me, and that was exactly what I’d been shooting for.

  After I finished my bathroom routine, I walked into the kitchen. Glancing at the clock on the coffee pot, I poured myself a travel mug for the road. I had two hours, which was great, considering it should only take an hour and ten minutes to get there. I was making good time, and it was probably because of the minimal preparation I had to do, since they provided makeup artists and hairdressers to prepare me for the scene.

  With my bag over my shoulder and my coffee cup in hand, I walked to the garage. My pearl white Chrysler 300 was sitting pretty in her space. I’d thought about selling it. I had been given a week to come up with ten thousand dollars. However, having two kids in college, a mortgage, and household bills, I didn’t have that kind of money lying around. Furthermore, my baking business hadn’t been doing well either.

  After I’d hocked as much jewelry as I was able to part with along with a few items around the house, I’d only come up to a total of six thousand dollars. Being four thousand short, yes, I could have sold my car, but I couldn’t take the gamble that it would sell in less than a week.

  Programming the address into the GPS, I was on my way. Once on the freeway, I turned my iPhone to my favorite playlist. An hour into my drive, the ringing echoing from the speakers interrupted the singing career I had nicely envisioned in my head.

  I tapped the Answer button. “Hello?”

  “Hey, babe,” the male voice answered.

  I sighed. “Hey, Jake. What’s up?”

  Jake was a guy I’d gone out with on one date two weeks ago, and he hadn’t gotten the hint that I wasn’t interested. He was a bartender at, Murrays, a local bar that my neighbor, Hunter, owned. Hunter living on the same block as me was brought to my attention when there was a small incident where he brought my boys, Jeff and Dalton, home because they had been drinking underage down on the beach. Not only had Hunter owed Murrays, he was also been a cop. Once he found out I was a baker, he had asked me if I would make ten dozen cookies a week for him to sell at his bar. I had agreed, and that’s when Hunter and I had become friends.

  “You wanna grab dinner tonight?” Jake asked in a hopeful tone.

  Glancing at my GPS, I noticed my exit was approaching. “Sorry, I can’t. I’m…” Shit, what do I say? Damn, I didn’t put much thought into an explanation.


  I blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “I’m on my way into the city to pick up something.” It wasn’t a total lie. I was picking up a four-thousand-dollar check. The thought behind receiving the check had caused me to shamefully sink into my seat.

  “Oh, you should have told me. I would have taken a ride with you. You shouldn’t be driving the two-hours by yourself,” Jake said.

  By myself? Ha!

  I was a single parent of two college boys, whom I’d raised since they were ten and eleven. Not to mention, I was twenty-nine years old. I was pretty sure that qualified me as a big girl.

  “Thanks, Jake, but I’ll be fine. Listen, my exit is coming up. I have to go.”

  “Where are you going?” Jake rushed out.

  “Bye, Jake. I’ll call you.” I tapped the button, hanging up. I didn’t needed him questioning me any more than he already had. I had been having a hard enough time answering my own questions on what I was about to do.

  Once off the exit ramp, I followed the GPS and went three miles left. I turned into the parking lot of a ten-story building with mirrored glass. After parking, I headed toward the fancy glass double doors.

  “Hmm…it’s a lot more extravagant than I pictured,” I mumbled to myself, impressed, and then took a sip from my travel mug.

  An older man dressed in an all-black uniform opened the door for me.

  “Thank you,” I said while looking around the chrome, white, and red lobby.

  “Can I help you find something?” His voice jolted me.

  I spun around face him, wondering if I should tell him where I needed to go. He gave me a reassuring smile.

  “Um…” I faltered, twisting around to look for the directory.

  Hot air caressed my back as the door opened behind us.

  “Hey, Sam. How’s it going, buddy?”

  The silky, smooth deep voice flowed down my body, causing goose bumps to erupt across my skin. Having no choice but to turn and see who the voice belonged to, I pivoted on my foot to see the most stunning man I’d ever laid my eyes on while he shook hands with the door attendant.

  I saw this type of man in magazines and movies all the time, but in the flesh…oh my freaking God.

  He had tousled short brown hair, eyes the color of a cloudless blue sky, and a maintained scruff covering his chiseled jawline. He had that look about him that was bad boy and good guy mixed together. Faded blue jeans hung low on his narrow hips, and a worn white T-shirt hugged his muscular chest. His tall frame towered over Sam and me. He was definitely a sight to behold.

  My breath hitched when both men turned to face me.

  “Miss, did you need help?” the door attendant, Sam, asked again.

  Shit!

  I was standing there gawking at this god when I should have been finding which floor I needed to be on.

  “Um…” I uttered.

  Then the sexy god spoke, “Hmm…blonde hair, blue eyes, and a timid look…” He tapped his perfect finger on his chin. “I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say you’re looking for Ecstasy Pictures, am I right?” He smiled.

  Oh God…

  His smile only made him that much sexier.

  I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

  His grin broadened, and I thought I was going to pass out right there. However, I did better than that. I dropped my coffee cup, splashing what was left of it onto my flip-flops. All I could do was stare at my feet in dismay, praying that my face didn’t look as embarrassed as I felt.

  Steele

  Oh, fuck yeah. I like them nervous.

  It’d been some time since I had a newbie, and damn, I wanted this one. There was something about her. Fumbling around with her bag and cup, she had that deer-in-the-headlights look.

  Oh yeah, I’m going to make this one scream my fuckin’ name. Damn, I’m glad I flew in to do this movie.

  I bent down and picked up her travel mug covered in pink and yellow hearts. “Here ya go, beautiful.”

  She grabbed the cup from my hand. Her fingers grazed mine, and an unusual shiver took over my body.

  What the fuck was that?

  “Thanks,” she responded in a soft voice. After positioning her bag on her shoulder, she held her hand out to me. “Hi, I’m Summer Crest.” She smiled nervously at me.

  My cock jumped in my pants, which seemed to be getting tighter the longer I stood there talking to her. When I took her clammy small hand in mine, I felt that forceful shiver take over my body again. “Steele Waters,” I replied, trying to keep my calm.

  What the hell is wrong with me? I must be getting sick. Shit, that’s exactly what I need at a time like this.

  I motioned to the elevator. “Shall we, Summer?” Putting some emphasis on her name received the reaction I’d expected.

  She jerked her head in my direction before moving her eyes to the floor. We entered the elevator and I pressed the button for the tenth floor.

  I turned to her. “It’s okay. Not everyone uses their real names. I’m curious though, how did you come up with Summer Crest?”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. That’s my name.” She sounded as though she was trying to convince herself just as much as she was trying to convince me.

  I snickered. “Whatever you say, Summer.”

  She turned and faced the closed elevator door.

  “Maybe I’ll get to show you why they call me Steele Waters,” I said mockingly.

  Her head whipped around to face me, and her mouth was hanging open. As her eyes met mine, I took my hand and rubbed it up and down my jean-clad, semi-erect cock.

  “You’re gross,” she stated like she couldn’t quite believe it.

  I moved into her. Her back hit the wall, and her eyes grew to the size of quarters. She stopped breathing as I bent forward until I was nose-to-nose with her.

  Fuck, she smells like pumpkin pie. Damn.

  “For now, I’ll just tell you, sweetheart.” I leaned in, taking an exaggerated inhale of her scent lingering on her neck.

  Her body stiffened, and I swore I heard a slight whimper come from her.

  My mouth landed right next to her ear where I whispered, “You’re going to feel like you’re being fucked by a steel rod, and when I’m done with your body, it will have the same sensation as if you’re floating on water.”

  The look in her eyes told me all I needed to know. I had her right where I wanted her— lusting after me like all the other willing females.

  I’m going to fuck this girl until she can’t see straight.

  Kayden

  Oh God, I think I had a mini orgasm.

  The combination of his nose running the length of my neck, his velvety voice filling my ear, and his heady scent of spice had me fighting the urge not to squirm against the wall. When his blue eyes had pierced into mine, I would have done anything for him.

  What I didn’t understand was why he was so damn cocky. Now that I thought about it, I wouldn’t have done anything for him. I had more self-respect than that. He’d rubbed his hand over his growing erection.

  For God’s sake, who does he think he is?

  Oh yeah…Steele Waters. Blah, blah, blah… And how dare he question my name! What is wrong with Summer Crest? It has a nice ring to it.

  Despite my annoyance, my body betrayed me. The evidence of wet panties made me unable to deny that he’d turned me on.

  It’d been too long. That was all it was. It had nothing to do with the sensation of his warm body so close to mine.

  Nothing whatsoever.

  I’d been so focused on raising the boys and trying to make their lives as uncomplicated as possible that I hadn’t been with a man in nine years.

  Nine. Years.

  I was convinced my cherry had grown back. For all I knew, there could be a whole damn tree down there. It was a depressing thought to have—not to mention, a discouraging one. Even more depressing was that after a nine-year dry spell, I was finally getting some—while filming
a porn scene.

  Kayden

  When we exited the elevator, a gorgeous red-haired woman greeted Steele, swooping in and leading him away. By the way she fawned over him, I assumed she was his co-star. Some plain Jane named Maggie welcomed me. She quickly sent me off to hair and makeup. After that, I was put in the hands of the wardrobe department. Everyone was hurrying to get me on set, rushing me from room to room, as they complained about my scene being brought forward unexpectedly.

  Personally, I was in no rush.

  In the process of being thrown from one place to another, one thing I was able to observe was the cleanliness of everything. I didn’t know what I had expected—okay, that was a lie. I knew exactly what I pictured—a dimly lit, seedy room with naked bodies lying around, tangled in various sexual positions. In reality, that was a far cry from what I’d experienced so far. Although, I’d only been in three rooms up to this point. There were five rooms on one side of the corridor, and five on the other, and who knew what was happening behind them. The doors were numbered, making it feel as if I were in a hotel—except for the door at the end of the hallway.

  That door read, First and Ten, the name of the movie I would be featured in. The meaning behind the title was straightforward. It was my first porn scene and the porn stars ten-year anniversary in the business. From what I knew, —five males and one female—were celebrating their ten years in the industry. I supposed the first-timers were their gifts.

  The more I contemplated the entire scenario, the more panicked I became.

  Oh my God! What if I get a late bloomer? What if I have to be with a dirty old man who smells like my grandpa? Oh God, why didn’t I think of this before?

  I’d been left in a small dressing room that housed a black leather couch, a coffee table, and a mini fridge. Knowing what took place on the floor of this building made me reluctant to touch anything. At the back of the room, a door opened into a small bathroom.

  Staring at myself in the mirror while brushing my teeth, I muttered around my toothbrush, “You can do it. You have to do it.” I spit and rinsed, and then I reentered the little waiting room.

  I groaned as I flopped onto the couch. “God, I can’t believe it’s come to this.” Rapidly I jumped to my feet, I brushed at my backside. “Fuck, I can’t believe I just sat on that.”