Dante
I continued to smile at Clara, feeling drunk, but not on booze, on the thrill of a new chick. Though, Clara was hardly a new chick in my life. My dreams were telling me she was someone I was incredibly close to, while my brain was telling me she was someone I’d only just met. Either way, I liked being with her. She made me feel good and I wanted to see if it could continue.
I slid off the bed and grabbed my jeans, jumping into them. “I’ll go grab some grub and bring it up for you.”
She sat up, looking so fucking hot I wanted to fuck her into the bed again. Although she’d pulled her mauve-coloured bra back on, her blouse was wide open, while her skirt was still circling her waist, her pussy on full display. My eyes wandered to it, the chick no longer shaving down there, her hair a light, mousy brown.
“I’m meant to be your helper, not the other way around,” she said, drawing my eyes back up to her face.
I shook my head. “You really don’t wanna go downstairs if Jade’s still hanging around. He may like you, but us fucking on your first day of work...” I clicked my tongue. “He won’t like that, especially since I wuz s’posed to be recording today.”
She grimaced. “Guess so.”
“It’s more than a guess, I know so.” I blew her a kiss, then took off out of the room, heading down the stairs. I rounded the corner and strode towards the kitchen, shoving the door open. As expected, Jade was still at home, his expression as bitter as the black coffee he was sipping on.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “The first day? And on company time?”
I shrugged, not really caring. “What can I say, chicks love me.” I pulled open the fridge, eyeing up its contents. I grabbed a packet of ham, some cheese, and a tomato, dumping my stash on the bench. I grabbed a loaf from the bread bin and started making some sandwiches, tensing as Jade moved behind me.
I turned around to face him. “What did we say ’bout personal space?” I said, tapping his nose with the flat of the knife.
He wiped his nose and took a step back. “Fine, I’m sorry. I’m also sorry about what Ash said. I let it slip about what we did to Kara. She must’ve been the one who told Ash.”
“I already know she knew, she blew me up for it. Regardless, she didn’t have a right to tell Ash, so that’s on her, not you.”
“I still feel bad about it, even worse after your reaction earlier. I really didn’t mean to upset you. I was so desperate for you back then; I didn’t think what it would do to you.” He placed a hand on my arm. “I’m truly sorry, so very, very sorry for taking advantage of you.”
I gave him a small smile, appreciating what he’d said, Jade one of the good guys. “Don’t worry, I’ve dealt with it.”
“It didn’t look like it with your reaction to Ash.”
“I just didn’t want him to know. He judges people, and in this case I deserve to be judged. I harp on ’bout my old man bein’ a whore, yet I go and whore myself out too. This is on me, not you. You didn’t force me. I wanted that money, thought I needed it. Guess there’s always a price for a man’s soul.”
He grimaced. “And I paid for it with more than cash. Clara ripped into me, blaming me for using you.”
“Yeah, we just had a talk. She told me she thinks no less of me over it, but unfortunately, she does blame you.”
He grunted. “She can hardly talk. She jumped into bed with you minutes after ripping into me. She’s a hypocrite.”
I shrugged. “She loves me.”
“I love you, too.”
I smiled at him. “I know.” I slapped his arm again. “I love you as a mate.”
His shoulders slumped. “You know I love you more than as a friend, which is why I’m concerned about you sleeping with Clara straight away. You should build a rapport first, so it doesn’t end up all about sex. You go on about people treating you like a sex object, then you jump into bed without blinking.”
I frowned, what he was saying kind of true. I’d even complained about people treating me like a sex object to Clara, then had fucked her seconds later. “Guess I’m a hypocrite in more ways than one,” I muttered.
He shook his head. “You’re just impulsive. Still, you need to try to control yourself a bit more. If you like this woman, you should talk, not fuck.”
“We did talk, that’s what we were doin’ before I screwed her.”
“On company time,” he growled. “You really did lose me a lot of money today.”
“Don’t put that on me, you fucked up,” I replied, jabbing a finger at him. “You shoulda known I wouldn’t have sung that crap L wrote.”
“Will you stop insulting L’s work?!”
“It’s not an insult if it’s true. Just give the damn songs to some girly twat and lemme sing my own work.”
“I already said I would, even though you haven’t put music to your lyrics yet.”
“Cos that’s L’s job.”
“So, now you’re fine with L being involved?” he asked, snidely.
“I wuz always fine with her doin’ the music, not the lyrics, so quit riding my back. I’ve been straight up ’bout what I’d do for my career, and—”
A loud shattering sound cut my rant off, yanking my attention away from Jade, the noise coming from the lounge.
“What the hell was that?” he said, rushing for the door.
I followed him, coming to an abrupt halt in the lounge. The front window was shattered, with jagged pieces of glass sticking out of the frame. Glass was sprayed across the white carpet and the single-seater couch by the window. A rock large enough to crack someone’s skull open lay on the plush cushion, the person who’d thrown it nowhere in sight.
Jade shot out of the lounge and front door. Through the smashed window, I could see him running down the footpath, stopping on the street. He looked both ways, then stormed back inside. His face had turned an angry red, darkening his pale complexion.
“I’m sick of that woman!” he shouted, whipping out his phone.
“What woman?”
“Kara. She won’t get away with this.” He keyed in a number. “Yes, police,” he said into the phone.
Before he could say another word, I snatched the phone out of his hand and hung up.
“What did you do that for?” he snapped.
“I’ll pay for the window.”
“With what? You don’t have any money.”
“I will once you pay me. You fix the window and I’ll pay you back.”
“No, Kara will pay. And you,” he jabbed a finger at me, “need to get a restraining order on that crazy bitch. What would’ve happened if someone was sitting on the sofa? They could’ve gotten hurt, even killed. She needs to be held accountable for her actions.”
“I’ll deal with it, ’kay, just calm the fuck down,” I said, keying in Kara’s number. I placed the phone to my ear, ignoring Jade’s rant. Kara picked up a few seconds later. “You hafta stop this,” I said into the phone.
“Stop what?” she replied.
“Harassing me. Jade is fuming, he tried to phone the cops on you. I stopped him, but if you keep pushing, I might let him do it next time.”
“What I did today wasn’t harassment, so stop running to Jade with tall tales, dragi. Gay boy is turning you into a precious princess. Next thing you know, he’ll have his little dick up your arse. You need to move out of there. Come live with me, I’ll let you put your dick up my arse.”
“I ain’t running to him ’bout anything, bitch,” I spat back. “You threw a fuckin’ rock through his window. You’re lucky I stopped him from phoning the cops on your bunny boiler arse.”
“I didn’t throw a rock through your window.”
“He saw you do it.”
“He’s lying! Can’t you see what he’s doing? He’s instigating all of this drama to keep us apart.”
“That’s got nuthin’ to do with him. You’re the one creating the drama. Showing up at the rehab, pushing me around, then coming here, insulting me and Clara, and now throwing a rock through my window.”
“I didn’t do it!”
“Well, I believe Jade over you, cos right now I’m starting to wonder whether he’s right, that I should clap a restraining order on you.”
“No, dragi, no. I’m sorry for pushing you, but I honestly didn’t throw any rock. How can I? I’m in K Road. Listen...” She started talking to someone, asking what street she was on. “Karangahape Road,” the person answered, the sound of traffic behind her much busier than my street.
“See, Dante,” she said into the phone. “I’m nowhere near you, so how can I throw a rock through your window? Question Jade, make him tell the truth.”
I turned my focus on Jade. “Kara said she didn’t do it. You sure it wuz her you saw?”
He frowned. “I didn’t see her.”
I scowled at him. “Then why the fuck did’ja tell me it wuz Kara? I thought you bloody saw her running away.”
“I didn’t say that, but it was her, she’s been harassing me to get at you.”
“That doesn’t mean she threw the damn rock through the window, and how could she? She’s on bloody K Road.”
“She’s lying.”
“It sure as shit didn’t sound like it. She asked a passer-by to tell me what road she wuz on, plus the traffic on her side sounds too noisy to be ’ere.”
“Then who threw the rock?”
“Kids?”
“Fine, maybe I was wrong,” he grunted, “but that psycho still needs to be slapped with a restraining order. She’s obsessed with you, Dante.”
“I know, but that doesn’t mean you can go around sayin’ she did shit without proof. You could’ve gotten her hauled in by the cops.”
“Okay, I’m sorry, but with all the stunts she’s pulled, you can hardly blame me for thinking it was her.”
I grimaced, knowing he was right, but regardless, I needed to apologise to Kara. I turned away from him and placed the phone back to my ear. “Sorry, Kara,” I said, not liking having to apologise to her, the pill a bitter one to swallow, especially with all the shit she’d put me through.
“No worries, dragi,” she said, sounding pleased. “You want me to come back, help you clean up the mess? Or would you like to come out to K Road? I can buy you some more whiskey. Did you like the present I left?”
“It got taken off me.”
“If you come out with me, I won’t take anything off you... except for your clothes,” she purred. “Come on, dragi, I’ll make sure you have a real good time.”
“I can’t, Kara, you know we’re through.”
“We don’t have to be. I love you, Dante. Madly. Deeply. No one will give you what I’m willing to.”
I closed my eyes, the woman making it hard, her words, her voice, our memories... “I can’t. It wouldn’t end well.”
“Nothing ends well. Death will always be waiting, so we should make the most of life before it comes knocking at our door.”
“No.”
“Do you truly want me gone? For good? To never see me again?”
I opened my eyes, both wanting and not wanting that. “Stop making this hard.”
“I’m not the one making it hard. I don’t want us to end. I never want us to end. Why wouldn’t I fight for you, the one I love? It wouldn’t be love if I didn’t fight for you.”
“You know love isn’t enough.”
“It should be.”
“I can’t do this anymore.” I hung up and turned back to Jade, thrusting the phone out at him. It started ringing, without a doubt Kara, my call probably encouraging rather than discouraging her. Ignoring it, I returned to the kitchen to grab the plate of sandwiches and headed back upstairs, my ex getting to me. She was right, love should be enough. And I did love her...
I stopped at the top of the stairs and bowed my head, wondering what the fuck I was doing. I was throwing away everything we had, not giving her a chance to change. I closed my eyes, imagining her in front of me, dressed in her shorter than short skirt and the halter top with the zip down the front, the one I used to love seeing her unzip slowly.
My hands began to shake. I needed booze. It would stop me thinking about what I was throwing away. I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, knowing I couldn’t fucking do that, or go back to Kara. She was...
Violent.
Wrong for me.
No matter how much it felt right at times.
But that was it... It didn’t feel right all the time, and the times it felt wrong outweighed the good.
I opened my eyes and looked at my door, the woman on the other side so far feeling right all the time. The teasing, the flirting, albeit more on my side, the banter, that was great, and the sex... That was way more than great.
But comparing Clara to Kara?
I loved Kara, though I had a feeling I’d loved Clara too. The way I was instantly attracted to her, no, it was more than attraction. There was some residual feeling left behind, fuelled by the dreams and her presence. And I knew it could grow into something more if I didn’t let Kara get in the way.
Clara versus Kara.
It was weird that they had such similar names, and even weirder that they looked alike, minus their styles. But one thing they didn’t share: the way they treated me. Clara treated me a hell of a lot better than Kara. But would that continue? Maybe Clara was like those bitches who acted all nice at first, then once they’d gotten their hooks into you, they fucked you over.
Beth was a bit like that.
But not Kara, she was always nuts, straight up bunny boiler from day one, showing me exactly what I was getting.
While Clara... I didn’t know what I was getting with her. Didn’t know what she wanted from me either.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open, finding my bedroom empty. The sound of running water was coming from my en suite. I placed the plate of sandwiches down on the bedside table and opened the bathroom door. Clara was in my shower, steaming up the glass, reminding me of the time I’d had sex with Kara in there. My ex had broken into my home while I’d been showering, joining me uninvited. She’d tried to tempt me into choosing her over Beth—and she’d succeeded, using her body to win me over. I’d fucked her against the wall, ramming her as hard as I could, my release almost painful in intensity, the sex unforgettable. I wondered whether I’d still be tempted if she was in the shower now instead of Clara. I walked over to the stall and opened the door, the sight of Clara’s wet body telling me I wouldn’t, because this woman... She was even hotter than Kara, which was saying a lot, because my psycho ex was drop-dead fucking gorgeous.
Clara blinked water out of her eyes, staring at me as though she didn’t know whether to cover herself or keep her hands by her side. She opted for the latter, leaving herself open for my slow perusal. My gaze followed the water running down her body, settling on the heaven between her legs. She let out a soft sound, somewhere between a squeak and a sharp inhale, pulling my attention back to her face. She looked both embarrassed and aroused, her cheeks as pink as her wet hair.
I stepped into the shower, not caring that I was still wearing jeans. Clara took a rapid step back, her arse hitting the wall. Keeping eye contact, I unzipped my jeans and pulled out my already hardening cock. Her gaze flicked to it, her lips parting as though in invitation. I groaned, imagining my cock sliding into her mouth. But what I needed right now was even more base.
I passed through the shower spray, liking how her breathing sped up, the woman wanting me bad. Her gunmetal eyes were quickly darkening with lust, a touch of fear tempering it. She looked a hell of lot more innocent than Kara, all big eyes and heaving tits. Kara had been the seducer in our relationship, while with Clara... I was.
Clara started shaking.
“Are you scared of me?” I asked, leaning past her, shutting off the water.
She nodded.
“Why? We fucked only minutes ago.”
“You make me lose control.”
I stepped in closer, placing my hands on either side of her. “If you don’t like losing control, take control.”
She didn’t reply, the woman appearing overwhelmed. I leaned down, placing my lips a whisper away from hers. “Go on, take control, use me however you want.”
“Use you?” she exhaled.
“Yes.” I brushed my lips over hers.
She opened her mouth for me, but I pulled back. “What did’ja dream ’bout doin’ with, or to me?” I asked, hoping it was dirty.
She groaned and leaned her head back against the wall, murmuring, “Why are you doing this? You told me you don’t want to be treated like a sex object.”
“You don’t treat me like one. You don’t fuck me; you make love to me.”
She swallowed. “While you don’t return my feelings.”
“I could if you gimme time, plus I do like you.” I leaned forward, rubbing my cock against her stomach. “A lot.”
She inhaled sharply, but didn’t reply. I wasn’t sure if she could. I spun her around, causing her to squeal, but other than that, she didn’t object. Instead, she placed her hands against the wall and arched her arse out as I bent my knees, rubbing my cock between her perfect arse cheeks.
“Fuck yeah,” I exhaled, all the blood rushing to my cock.
I kicked her feet further apart, getting a, “Oh God!” out of her, the woman already losing it. I liked how much I affected her, no, I fucking loved it. Women always went crazy for me, it just felt different with Clara. It was much more intense, the sounds coming out of her making me so fucking hard I was ready to blow.
I gave my balls a squeeze to calm them down, breathing in sharply at the pain. Clara looked over her shoulder at me, probably wondering what I was doing. “You’re making me so fuckin’ horny,” I said, running a finger between her pussy lips, the woman so wet I didn’t need to prime her.
She sucked in a breath, looking a mixture of innocent and dirty, a right sex kitten. She arched her arse out more, all but begging me to fuck her, but I wanted to taste her pussy before I lost myself in her body.
I turned her around and dropped to my knees. “You are so beautiful,” she said, staring down at me in rapture.
I paused, wondering what she was seeing, because I was sure I didn’t look beautiful right now. I was on my knees, bare chested, and with my cock hanging out of my wet jeans. Dirty as fuck was a much better description.
Proving it, I extended my tongue out and licked up her pussy.
She gasped, “Yes!” and grabbed my head, thrusting her pussy into my face, just like she’d done in my dream.
That was all the encouragement I needed. I went at her, tonguing, nipping, all out gorging on her delicious pussy, making her sing my praises, my cock just as happy to hang free while I got her off. It didn’t take long before she was crying out my name, suffocating me on her cunt, the woman having a thing for fucking my face.
I removed her hands from my head and rose up, ready to receive my reward. I spun her around and kicked her legs apart, bending my knees to push my cock inside of her pussy. She cried out, clawing at the wall, my name still on her lips.
“Fuck me,” she pleaded.
And I did.
I bent her over and started hammering her, her pussy so fucking good, so fucking tight. She cried out again as I came, saying something else, but I was too busy riding the high to hear what it was. She looked back at me, the desire in her eyes as strong as Kara’s had been. No, it was stronger. Clara’s eyes looked almost silver, so full of emotion it took my breath away. Along with her pink hair, it gave her an otherworldly look, too good to be real.
My mind went to what Kara had asked me when she’d been in the shower. ‘You have to choose, Dante. Me or her.’ She’d been talking about Beth, forcing me to decide between them. But now, it felt like those whispered memories were forcing me to decide between Kara and Clara—my two aras.
I pulled out of Clara and turned her around. “You,” I said.
“Me, what?” she panted, staring up at me.
“I choose you.” I leaned down and kissed her, feeling happy for the first time in a very long while.