Behind the Secrets (Behind the Lives #4) (6 page)

“Let me take that for you,” he said,
pulling L’s luggage out of the boot.

After Jade had locked the car, L
followed him to the front door. Jade ushered him inside, the place a snowstorm
of white, Jade a clean-freak.

Jade let out a shriek as they entered
the lounge. “How did you get in here?!”

A stunning blonde woman pushed up from
the white leather couch, her breasts almost bursting out of her tight
leopard-print dress, the zip running up the middle threatening to split open. “I
will no longer play your stupid games, Jade,” she said, her accent Slavic. “I’m
not leaving until you tell me where Dante is.”

“I already told you: he’s in a psyche
ward. Now leave, Kara, or I’ll call the police.”

Kara’s eyes moved to L. “Who are you?”

“Llewellyn Davies, but I go by L,” he
replied, fascinated by the woman’s striking pale blue eyes, the colour mesmerising.

“Do you know where my
dragi
is?”

L shook his head, not knowing what
dragi
meant, other than it was to do with Dante.

“Why are you in my
dragi
’s house,
then?”

“It’s
my
house,” Jade cut in. “And
don’t answer her, Llewellyn. She has no right to be here.” He pointed to the
door. “So get out, Kara.”

Ignoring Jade, Kara walked around the
couch, stopping in front of L. She was slightly taller, their heels about the
same height. Though, unlike L’s lithe physique, Kara was busty, with a stunning
hour-glass figure that would’ve put Marilyn Monroe to shame.

Kara cocked her head to the side,
looking like she was examining L, her intensity making him take a step back.
Her gaze ran down him, pausing at his neck, chest, and crotch, before returning
to his face. “Are you male or female?”

“Both,” L answered, surprised she hadn’t
automatically assumed he was female.

Her eyebrows shot up. “You’re a
hermaphrodite?”

“Partially, but intersex is more
accurate.”

“Do you like males or females sexually?”

“I like being alone. I’m celibate.”

“That’s a shame.” She smiled. “You’re a
fascinating creature.”

L frowned. “Please don’t call me a
creature
.”

“I didn’t mean it as an offence; English
is a second language for me. I don’t always use the correct terms. And you
are
fascinating. What do I call you?
He
or
she
?”

“I prefer to be called a
he
.” Regardless
of whether he looked like one or not, he’d grown up as a male. Not only that, male
pronouns made a lot of men back off, afraid their sexuality would be questioned
if they pursued him.

Kara’s eyebrows quirked up. “But you
present yourself as a female.”

“I can’t help how I look.”

“You’re wearing lip-gloss, platform
boots, and a blouse, plus you have long hair with highlights. All of that tells
me it is a choice.”

L frowned. “Men also have long hair,
especially ones who play heavy metal music—like I do. My highlights are to tone
down my bright orange hair and I use Chapstick because I get dry lips. I’m also
wearing platforms due to being short and a loose blouse to hide my breasts,
because I don’t like it when men stare at them.”

She smiled. “I love it when men stare at
my breasts, like you did before.”

L’s face dropped.

“Don’t look so horrified.” She cupped
her enormous breasts. “I display them to be looked at, otherwise I’d cover them
like you do, and I’m happy you looked, because it means you like women after
all.” Her eyes moved to Jade. “Unlike
him.
He thinks he has a chance
with my
dragi.
” Kara sneered. “Dante doesn’t like your arse, Jade, so
keep your shit away from him.”

“GET OUT!” Jade screamed, pointing at
the door.

Ignoring Jade,
yet again
, Kara turned
and leaned over the couch, reaching for something. L’s eyes zeroed in as Kara’s
short dress rode up, displaying a red G-string and one hell of an arse. Kara
snatched up a pen off the coffee table and turned back to L, grabbing his hand.
She wrote a number on it, flinging the pen at Jade once she’d finished. “Call
me when you see Dante and I’ll make it worth your time, honey,” Kara stroked a
hand down L’s face, giving him a wink.

Jade charged at Kara, pushing her hand
off L. “Don’t you dare touch, Llewellyn, you tramp. That’s precisely why you’re
not good enough for Dante. I would never cheat on him.”

“I wouldn’t cheat on him either,” Kara
said, smiling. “He would
love
watching Red suck on my tits—a lot of
straight
men would. Plus, you forget, Jade, that Dante’s a sex addict. He needs more
stimulation than the average male, and I
love
stimulating him.” She
returned her gaze to L. “I hope to hear from you soon, honey.” She blew L a
kiss, then walked off, disappearing through the doorway.

Jade turned to L. “You are
not
to
call her.”

“I wasn’t going to, and why would you
even think I would? I told you I’m celibate.”

“Then why were you staring at her tits
and arse?”

“They were lovely.”

“
Lovely
isn’t what I’d use to
describe that horrid woman. She’s all tits and no class.”

“She’s beautiful.”

Jade’s eyes widened. “She’s horrible!
And I thought you didn’t like strangers touching you. Yet, you let her caress
your face.”

“I don’t like men touching me. Women are
an entirely different matter.”

Jade scowled at him. “Just don’t call
her.”

L placed his hands on Jade’s shoulders,
giving them a massage. “Relax, Jade. Just because I found her attractive
doesn’t mean I want to go near her again. Plus, she probably only flirted with
me to get at Dante.”

Jade breathed out. “True, I didn’t think
of that. She just rattles me, much more than Beth. You can see why it’s hard
for Dante to resist her, especially with her tits bursting out like that.”

“I did notice.”

“So, you really like breasts?”

“On beautiful women, I do.”

“I never thought you liked women, I
always thought you preferred men.” He smiled. “I did notice you like looking at
me.”

L smacked Jade’s arm. “Arrogance doesn’t
become you, Jade.”

Jade smiled wider, no longer looking
tense. “So, does that mean you’re bi?”

“It means I’m celibate.”

“Stop skirting the question.”

L exhaled loudly. “If you must know, I’m
attracted to beautiful people, regardless of what gender they are.”

“Dante’s beautiful. Don’t you dare be
attracted to him.”

“You really are insecure.”

Jade scowled. “That’s not a nice thing
to say.”

“Then stop acting that way.”

Jade breathed out. “I usually don’t,
Dante just makes me question myself constantly.” He placed a hand on L’s arm.
“Anyway, you must be tired. Let’s get you into bed.”

L grinned. “I’m not your type.”

A smile broke through Jade’s sad
expression. “I meant for you to sleep, you dirty-minded man.”

“Again, I’m celibate.”

“That doesn’t stop you from dreaming
about me.”

L shook his head. “Just show me my
bedroom, Mr. Arrogant.”

Smiling, Jade indicated to the
staircase. “Take the second one on the right; I’ll wake you up in time for
dinner.”

“Thanks.”
L gave him a peck on the cheek, then headed up the staircase with his carry
bag, leaving his suitcase downstairs. He entered the room and went straight for
the ensuite, aching for a hot shower. Once he was clean, he headed back into
the bedroom and flopped onto the bed, falling asleep within seconds.

***

A large body lay on top of L, kissing
him, smothering him, fucking him... L’s eyes shot open, desperate to get Ant
off him. Only empty air greeted him, Ant not there. Breathing heavily, L looked
around the semi-dark bedroom, a dull light seeping through the thin curtains.
Again, no one was there, just L and his fears, the vestiges of his nightmare
finally dwindling away. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep, L
pushed out of bed and unzipped his bag, looking for a clean pair of pants to
put on. He frowned, unable to find any, the majority of his clothes in the
suitcase downstairs. He pulled out some clean underwear and slipped them on,
along with a flouncy white blouse and a leather vest, wondering whether he
should wear his pants from the flight. No, it was just Jade home, and anyway,
the blouse was long enough to cover his behind, which he knew Jade wouldn’t be
interested in, since he looked too much like a girl. Gay men never hit on him,
only the heteros showing interest.

L opened the door and headed towards the
staircase, stopping as another door opened behind him. He looked over his
shoulder, doing a double-take as a drop-dead gorgeous man stepped out of a
room, wearing black leather pants and nothing else, his muscular body
mouth-watering. He had colourful tattoos covering both arms and a darker one
around his left eye—a stylised Maori design made up of koru-like curves. He had
his eyes closed and was yawning, his messy black hair making him look like he’d
just gotten out of bed. L remained frozen to the spot, caught in the stunning
glare of the man’s beauty.

The man opened his eyes, jolting at L’s
presence. L felt his cheeks flush, hoping his face wasn’t turning splotchy.
Whenever he was embarrassed, the nasty colour spread up his neck and hit his
face, resembling a raspberry-splattered whiteboard.

“Who are you?” the man asked with a
South Auckland accent.

“L,” he replied, barely getting his name
out, the man’s hair and model-perfect face resembling Ash Rata. Although L
hadn’t seen Ash in ten years, he’d kept a picture of him, one he liked to look
at often. He went to ask if the man was Ash, but stopped himself, realising a
second later it must be Ash’s brother, since Dante lived with Jade.

Dante’s eyes lowered down L’s body,
making his flush deepen. “Why are you in my home?”

“I’m your guitarist.”

Dante looked back up. “But that’s a
bloke.”

L chewed his bottom lip. Dante’s eyes
zeroed in on his mouth. L instantly stopped chewing, Dante making him feel
self-conscious.

Dante raised an eyebrow. “Well? Are you
gonna answer me, gorgeous?”

L’s mouth went dry at the last word.

A smile quirked the corner of Dante’s
mouth. “This is a joke, isn’t it? One of my mates sent you as a welcome home
fuck. Well, sorry, love, I’m not allowed to fuck cos the last time I did I
fucked up
real
bad.” His eyes lowered down L again. “And you better put
on some pants, sweetheart, cos you’re making me hard, and I don’t like gettin’
blue-balls.”

L started shaking his head, pure
embarrassment racing through him. “I’m not here to have sex, I swear, I’m your
guitarist. My full name’s Llewellyn Davies, but I go by L because people think
I’m female, which I am partly, although I identify as male due to growing up as
one, well, that’s not entirely true,” he babbled nervously, “’cause at times I
do feel like a female. It can be confusing, especially since society tries to
force me to identify as one or the other, which I can’t, since I’m both.”

Dante pulled a face. “I have no idea
what you’re on about,” his eyes lowered to L’s crotch, “and if you’re not a
whore, why are you half-undressed?”

L covered his crotch. “I didn’t know you
were here, I was just going to get some pants on. I left them downstairs in my suitcase.”

Dante’s eyes remained on L’s crotch, his
expression suggesting he was trying to spot his dick, which he wouldn’t,
because it was shrivelling up right now, disappearing inside of L, his penis
abnormally small.

Dante’s gaze moved up to L’s chest,
which was covered by L’s long hair. “If you’re a male, show me your chest
then,” he said, looking like he expected to see breasts. He smiled. “Or I’ll
grab your crotch.”

L took off downstairs, calling out to
Jade, his heart pounding like crazy. He ran into the lounge, panicking when he
couldn’t find Jade. He turned to go back into the passage, jumping back as
Dante blocked his way.

“Is this a test?” Dante said, now
looking angry. “Did Beth send you to see if I’d cheat?”

“No, I swear I’m a man.”

“Stop lying to me! And you can tell Beth
that if she keeps mind-fucking me, then it’s over, cos I ain’t puttin’ up with
anymore of her shit. It’s doin’ my head in and I’m no good to anyone if I get
sent back to the loony bin.”

L backed up into the couch as Dante
moved closer. Dante lowered his head, placing his face right in front of L’s.
Unable to help himself, L started shaking.

Frowning, Dante took a step back. “I
didn’t meana scare ya. Just grab your pants and leave, and tell Beth I’ll be
havin’ a talk with her ’bout this.”