CURVES BY DESIGN (Big Girls And Bad Boys: A BBW Erotic Romance) Read online

  Curves By Design (Big Girls And Bad Boys: A BBW Erotic Romance)

  By J. S. Scott

  Copyright© 2012 by J.S. Scott

  All Rights Reserved

  "Have you lost any weight on that new diet yet, Molly."

  Molly Whitney shifted her feet with guilt as she gave the bagel in her hand the evil eye. It was a far cry from being dietetic - extra large and loaded with cream cheese that wasn't even low fat. It was the real deal...and just the way she liked it.

  She dropped her carb-and-calorie-loaded snack back onto her plate on the kitchen cupboard and shifted the phone to her other ear as she answered. "Yeah, Mom. I'm doing great," she lied in a monotone voice, as she visualized her disgustingly slim and trim mother, Elaine Whitney, with a frown. Oh, God. Here it comes. Lecture time!

  "You know, you could have caught that nice Dylan Richards yourself if you had just lost some weight. Now you're going to his engagement announcement dinner to another woman instead." Her mother's displeasure rang loud in Molly's ear and she had to hold the phone slightly away from her face. She knew her mom was gearing up for a full-blown oration.

  Mom was all about "catching" a man, as if the male sex were a prize fish to be reeled in. Molly didn't want a "catch." What she wanted was a man who loved and respected her. Someone who accepted her, faults and all.

  A man who didn’t exist!

  "Look, I really have to go now, Mom. I still need to get ready." She had plenty of time to get ready, but Molly really wasn't in the mood for her mother's daily if-you-would-only-lose-weight-your-life-would-be-wonderful discussion. She was already depressed enough by her inability to lose weight.

  She heard her mother sigh loud and long into the phone, obviously disappointed in her only child. Molly knew the sound. She heard it often enough. "Another good man who slipped away from you, Molly."

  Molly agreed that Dylan was a good man...but they had never been anything but buddies. "He was never a possibility, Mother. We're just good friends," she answered briskly, hoping the subject would be dropped.

  Molly was feeling plenty nervous about the dinner she had to attend that evening...but not because of Dylan.

  "Fine...go watch another good man slip away to an attractive woman."

  Molly lifted her eyes to the ceiling, silently asking for some sort of divine intervention for patience. Elaine Whitney was obviously on a roll today, making certain Molly knew that she wasn't attractive because she was full- figured.

  "I'll talk to you later, Mom." Much later if Molly could avoid her. She didn't wait for a reply before she disconnected the phone call. If she did, her mother would continue her tirade.

  Molly dropped the cordless phone back into the cradle and contemplated the bagel on her kitchen counter. She picked it up in a defiant gesture and took a big bite, savoring the toasted crunch and the taste of cream cheese, even though the bagel had grown lukewarm during her brief phone conversation. Screw it. She hadn't eaten all day and she was starving.

  Her eyes moist from unshed tears, Molly propped her ample hip against the kitchen counter and finished every bite. As she rinsed the plate and put it in her dishwasher, she let the tears flow down her cheeks, unable to fight the pain caused by her mother's sharp comments and disapproval.

  It wasn't as if she didn't try. She had tried every new diet that came on the market. At the age of twenty-seven, she had been on more weight loss plans than she could count and she exercised more than the average woman.

  Her mother had started her early, putting her on strict diets in her adolescence from the moment Molly had shown signs of being even the slightest bit chubby. While her friends had been eating Twinkies and sandwiches...she had sat at the lunch tables with her carrot sticks. Elaine Whitney was weight-obsessed and Molly knew it had rubbed off on her. She knew it was beyond pathetic that her mood in the morning would depend on what the bathroom scale measured.

  Molly left the kitchen and flung herself onto her living room couch. Her black cat, Cleo, jumped into her lap and rubbed her head against Molly's breast.

  She laughed as she murmured jokingly, "Thanks, Cleo. That's the most action I've seen in years." She stroked her pet's body, thankful for the unconditional love that animals seemed to be able to give so easily. She wished it extended to humans...or specifically, her mother.

  Trying to shake off the gloom that always accompanied a discussion with her parent, Molly thought about what to wear to Dylan and Lauren's engagement announcement dinner that evening. She was on the first of her three days off from her job as a Pediatric Intensive Care Nurse and the first evening would be spent celebrating the engagement of two of her best friends.

  Molly smiled. No one was happier than she that the blind date she had arranged between Dylan and Lauren had ended up being a whirlwind courtship where the two of them fell madly in love. They were perfect for each other and she had known instinctively that they would hit it off, but she certainly had never imagined that after only two short months they would be announcing their engagement.

  She was ecstatic...but she really didn't want to go to the dinner tonight.

  Both Dylan’s and Lauren's parents were great. She knew them very well and was fond of both sets of parents. It was the thought of seeing Dylan's older brother, Devon, that made her uneasy.

  Molly's body tensed at the thought of seeing Devon again. How would she react? Could she get through the evening without stammering like an idiot and blushing from head to toe? She had only met him once...and it had been an embarrassing experience. They had met six months ago when Dylan had taken her with him to his parents’ yearly anniversary party.

  At the age of thirty-three, Devon Richards was six years older than Dylan and so very different. She and Devon had just...clicked. They had spent most of the evening talking, laughing. At first, having his undivided attention had made her uncomfortable. His intense focus on her and his interested conversation had been...unusual. Men just didn't focus on her that way. The few boyfriends she had been with previously had been men who used her until someone or something better came along.

  Near the end of the evening she had ended up on the patio alone with Devon. He hadn't wasted the opportunity to give her an earth-shattering kiss that had turned her inside out.

  Her panties got moist from just thinking about the passion and intensity that Devon had shown her. One embrace had turned into two...then three...then she had lost count. She had been too consumed with lust to care.

  She closed her eyes and groaned as she remembered the feel of his big hands moving over her body, exploring, touching, finding every sensitive area he could possibly touch.

  Her eyes shot back open and she shuddered as she recalled Dylan interrupting them, calling out for her from inside the house. She had blushed and jumped away from Devon like a nervous, guilty virgin when Dylan walked onto the patio to find her and Devon together.

  Devon had ignored her for the rest of the night. He had been polite, but stilted, bidding her a polite goodbye as he departed.

  It was just a few kisses, nothing more than a brief make-out session. He was just amusing himself, you idiot. It's stupid to be so hurt by his rejection.

  And she had been hurt. Devon had obviously gotten one feel of her abundant curves, big ass and extra flesh...and been completely turned off.

  Molly had never mentioned it to Dylan, humiliation and the fact that Devon was his brother had kept her silent. It had been too painful and degrading to mention to anyone.

  She let out a nervous breath, shot up from the couch and marched into the bedroom of her apartment. The fact that
Devon was going to be at this dinner was not going to get to her. She was going to celebrate and she would be damned if she would let Devon's presence make her uncomfortable.

  She would sit as far away from his absolutely gorgeous, tall, muscular, raven-haired, blue-eyed appeal as possible. That way, she wouldn't have to smell his sexy male scent or see his easy grin that had made her heart flip from the moment she had met him. It would help if she couldn't hear that husky, bedroom baritone voice either.

  Grabbing a towel from her linen closet, she hit the shower, determined not to let her previous, mortifying experience with Devon affect her.

  Maybe he won't show up.

  Her mood brightened at that thought. He was an architect with a thriving business of restoring old buildings and homes. Something could come up to keep him from attending the dinner.

  Stop being such a chicken. It doesn't matter whether he's there or not. He's nothing to you. He's just some guy you met once, who kissed you a few times and then blew you off.

  She kept repeating those same thoughts as she got ready for the dinner, trying to convince herself that Devon didn't matter. By the time she was ready...she almost believed it.

  *****

  Devon Richards tossed back his drink, almost enjoying the raw burn from the straight alcohol that he usually didn't like or consume. He wasn't generally a drinking man, but tonight he would be. He needed something to get him through the evening. That's why he had arrived at the restaurant early and currently was sitting at the bar slamming down straight shots of whiskey, like water.

  It still hurts.

  Obviously, he hadn't had enough alcohol to dull the pain.

  He was just signaling the bartender for a refill when she walked in, looking just as beautiful and irresistible as she had six months ago.

  Fuck! Just seeing Molly walk through the door made his cock hard and his chest ache, like he was having a major heart attack.

  She looked beautiful in a black cocktail dress of some silky material that flirted with her legs right below her knees and only hinted at that generous, curvy body hiding beneath it. It was conservative...but it didn't matter. She looked sexy as hell and his body reacted to her like a flame to oxygen, burning hotter every moment that he watched her.

  Molly was peeking into the dining room of the upscale restaurant, obviously looking for Dylan and the rest of the party. She didn't look toward the bar and Devon let out a breath that he hadn’t even realized he had been holding.

  Where the hell was Dylan?

  Devon knew that if she belonged to him, he certainly wouldn't let her arrive alone, especially considering the announcement that Devon suspected was the purpose of this dinner.

  He watched as she nibbled at her bottom lip and seated herself gingerly in one of the chairs in the waiting area.

  Devon’s heart stuttered as she reached up to toy with her hair. She had swept it up on top of her head, but some uncooperative strands had escaped and she tried to push them back into place. He wanted to liberate that sexy, mahogany mane and let it fall down around her shoulders. He wondered how it would look spread out on his pillow as he pounded his aching cock into her soft, silky body. Would her seductive green eyes be filled with passion? Would she cry his name as she climaxed?

  She was perfection.

  "And she belongs to your brother," he whispered harshly as he shook himself from his erotic thoughts. Shit! He loved his brother, but for the first time in his life he also found himself green with envy. Not only was Molly beautiful, but she possessed every single asset that he found attractive in a woman. Intelligent, kind and she had a quirky sense of humor that had attracted him like a magnet.

  He took a large gulp of the drink that the bartender had silently refilled, his eyes never leaving Molly Whitney.

  He could feel his cell phone vibrating in his pocket and he reached for it, tearing his eyes away from Molly to look at the caller ID.

  Dylan.

  "Where in the hell are you?" He greeted his brother abruptly, perturbed that Dylan had left Molly waiting anxiously, alone.

  Dylan chuckled as he answered, "The dinner was cancelled. If you had answered your phone earlier, I could have let you know. Are you at the restaurant?"

  "Hell, yes, I'm here. So is Molly." His answer was gruff and surly. "Where are you?"

  "Work. They called an emergency meeting for one of our biggest clients. I couldn't get out of it. The only ones I couldn't get in touch with were you and Molly. I'm sorry."

  Dylan was in marketing and catered to some large clients...but it was no excuse. Maybe it was the alcohol, but Devon found himself furious at his younger brother. "My phone was off. I just realized it a few minutes ago. But how could you not get in touch with Molly? She's just waiting here."

  "She might not have her phone with her. Listen...can you just let her know that we're rescheduling the dinner. Tell her I'm sorry and I'll talk to her later. I gotta go. I'm busy putting out fires right now. I'm sure she'll understand." Dylan sounded anxious, ready to get back to work.

  Devon gritted his teeth. "Dylan?"

  "Yeah?"

  "You're a complete asshole." Devon punched the disconnect button on his phone and turned it off again.

  Damn it. He didn't want to be the one to go over and tell Molly that Dylan wasn't going to show. He didn't think she should be understanding at all and let Dylan off the hook that easily. He sure as hell wouldn't.

  Devon stood up, feeling the effects of the alcohol he had consumed as he grabbed his suit jacket off of the barstool. He was a little dizzy. He had drunk to make himself numb...and it wasn't even going to happen tonight. Dylan wasn't going to announce his engagement, so Devon was going to have to go through this experience on another hellish night?

  Oh...hell no. I’ll be sick...or busy...or have car problems. I’m not going through this again.

  He had never thought his little brother would be such a callous bastard. Dylan had casually blown off the fact that Molly was waiting here for him on such an important night, like it was nothing.

  He was slightly unsteady as he made his way to the waiting area to break the news to Molly. Dreading the disappointed look he was sure to see on her beautiful face, Devon tried to console himself by thinking of all of the different ways he wanted to kick his little brother's ass. They had never had a physical fight...but for the first time in his life...Devon really wanted to pound his brother into the ground. It might make him feel better.

  *****

  Molly saw him coming as he left the bar. He was dressed in a navy blue suit, his jacket draped casually over his shoulder. And he was headed straight toward her.

  Okay...maybe not particularly straight. His face was stormy and he was walking determinedly, but a little unsteady.

  She cocked her head as she watched him approach, coming to the obvious conclusion that he had probably had a few drinks. He wasn't stumbling drunk, but he definitely wasn't carrying himself with his usual confident stride.

  "Nobody's coming." He informed her abruptly as he stopped in front of her. "Dylan called me and said he had a work emergency and the dinner would have to be another time."

  Crap. She rifled through the interior of the small bag she was carrying, realizing that she had forgotten to drop her phone into her purse. "Okay. I wish I had remembered my phone. I wouldn't have had to wait. But it's no big deal."

  She watched Devon as he dropped his large, muscular body into the chair beside her. "Don't forgive him so easily, Molly." His voice was husky as his blue eyes pierced her with a fierce look.

  Definitely drinking. Not that she knew him well...but she knew this wasn't his typical behavior. "Devon...are you drunk?"

  He shrugged. "I've had a few. But I'm not so hammered that I don't know what I'm saying. Dylan is treating you like shit and you're making it too easy for him. He should value a woman like you."

  A woman like her? What was he saying? Did he even know what he was saying?

  "Dylan is a good frie
nd. I'm sure he wouldn't have cancelled unless it was a dire situation."

  "He's an asshole."

  She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at Devon's abrupt statement. He obviously had drunk enough that he had lost his usual tact. She got up from her chair and held her hand out to Devon. "I'm taking you home. You obviously shouldn't be driving."

  She watched with amusement as he scowled at her hand before grasping it as he muttered, "He didn't even buy you a ring?"

  Molly tugged him to his feet. Her hand was engulfed by his strong, masculine grip, and just that casual contact was enough to send a jolt of sensation down her arm and spine. Oh hell...she needed her head examined. She was either desperate or deranged for feeling these tingles of excitement from the meaningless touch of a drunk man who didn't have the slightest interest in her.

  "Why would anybody give me a ring?" she asked curiously, as she led him out of the restaurant and to her vehicle.

  She knew she was crazy for placing herself in a position where she had to spend any more time in Devon's company, but he was basically harmless at the moment, and Dylan would never forgive her if something happened to his big brother. She wouldn't forgive herself either.

  As she hit the button on her key chain to unlock the car door she heard him mumble, "Emeralds and diamonds, to match your eyes."

  Oh, Lord. He really was inebriated. "Devon...do you know what you're talking about?" The nurse in her kicked in, wanting to know if he was oriented or if he was rambling.

  He seemed perfectly capable as he folded his large body into her car and closed the door. She got in and fastened her seatbelt before he replied, "You and Devon were going to announce your engagement. Why hasn't he gotten you a ring?"

  He sounded completely serious. No slurred speech and perfect diction...but he was talking complete nonsense.

  She leaned over him to grab his seatbelt and snap it closed as she replied to humor him, "Dylan and I aren't getting married, Devon. He's marrying my best friend, Lauren."

  He went completely silent.