Behind the Lens (Behind the Lives) (30 page)

“I
still want to hear him sing.”

Dante
turned to Jade. “Look, he’s had a shit life, and this past week has been
absolute hell for him, so if you’re genuinely interested in his voice, I’ll
allow you to meet him, but if you so much as hit on him, I’ll be the one throwing
you out.”

“What
happened to him?” Jade asked, rounding a corner, the tall buildings of central
Auckland shadowing the car.

“Nuthin’
I can repeat.”

“Well,
I promise I will be completely professional in regards to any offer I make Ash,
that is, if I make one, because if he doesn’t have the same vocal ability as
you, I won’t be able to sign him. The people I give contracts to all have
strong voices so that they can perform live.”

“You
want me to do concerts?”

Jade
stopped at the lights that led onto the motorway. “Yes, but you’ll start off as
a supporting act.”

“Who
will I sing for?”

“Whatever
big acts we can get you connected to.”

“Sweet,
I wanna do it for Lincoln Park.”

“You’ll
sing for whoever you’re told.”

“You
don’t hafta say it like that. Sheesh, you’re a bossy cunt.”

“Language,
please.”

“I
can give ya a whole lot more
language
: bastard, pussy, cunt,
cock-sucker—”

“Dante!”

Dante
laughed. “You’re so uptight.”

“Only
because you’re infuriating,” Jade said, heading onto the motorway.

“And
a good fuck, which you won’t be gettin’ again.”

Jade
sniffed. “We’ll see.”

“Nope,
you’ll only be
seeing
my cock, not receiving it, and remember, when you
go to my place don’t touch my arse like you did in the shop, cos you’re purely
my record producer to my family, nuthin’ else. And if you mention anything
’bout me taking money for sex I
will
kill you.”

“You
don’t have to be so dramatic about it.”

“Just
promise.”

“I
promise—”

“—to
gimme all your money.”

“Very
funny. And don’t worry; I’ll be a perfect gentleman when addressing your
family.”

“Jesus,
you sound like a knob.”

“There’s
no need to be rude, and especially not after I agreed with you.”

“That
you’re a knob?”

Jade
exhaled loudly. “I won’t touch you while in your family’s presence. Are those
words to your liking?”

“Yes,
and you can’t insinuate anything either, no innuendos, and especially not round
Ash. He has some serious issues.”

“Like
what?”

“That’s
his business, not yours; just don’t look at him the wrong way, ‘kay?”

“Agreed.”
Jade glanced at Dante. “Were you two sexually abused?”

“What?!
Where did that come from?”

“Your
warning about your brother and the way you acted last night both during and
after sex.”

“That
doesn’t mean I wuz sexually abused.”

“I’m
not so sure about that, plus you didn’t say your brother wasn’t.”

“Again,
that’s none of your biz.”

“Your
brother isn’t my business, but you are.”

“Only
what comes out of my mouth, not out of my past.”

Jade
glanced at him, his expression serious. “If you need to talk to me about
anything, you can.”

“You
think I’m seriously fucked up, don’t cha?”

“Well,
something isn’t right, especially with the way you conduct sex.”

Dante
frowned. “My ex said the same thing, reckons I should see a psychiatrist or a
psychologist, I can’t remember which one.”

“Maybe
you
should
see someone, and I’ll be happy to pay for it.”

“Nope,
I ain’t seeing a shrink like you Americans.”

“Us
Americans? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Visiting
shrinks is your nation’s favourite pastime.”

“You
like to deflect things with humour, don’t you?”

Dante
turned to look out the window. “It’s better than answering your questions.”

“Seriously,
Dante, I think you should see someone.”

“What’s
the use? No shrink could help me.”

“You’ll
be surprised by how good it feels to air out your secrets and your darkest
thoughts.”

Dante
shook his head, knowing he would never admit to anyone what he really thought,
because he’d be hauled off to the loony bin, and he had no intention of ending
up like his cousin, wasting away into nothing.

“My
secrets are better left hidden,” Dante said.

“Secrets
can’t stay hidden forever, no matter how much you want them to.”

“Mine
can.”

Jade
glanced at him, then refocused on the road, looking like he disagreed. Dante
looked back out of the window, his mind now going to Kara, wondering whether
she would be home. He frowned, thinking of all the times she’d hurt him
sexually, wondering whether he’d allowed that because he wanted to be punished,
but he was usually the one who hurt people, so why did he only let her to do it
to him, why was she so different? And why did he still want her? He closed his
eyes, his mind going to her body pressed up against his, her nails scraping his
cock, then he tried to picture Beth doing the same thing to him, but couldn’t.
Beth and Kara were nothing alike, especially in bed: one liking pain, the other
causing it, and right now he wasn’t sure if he could go without either of them.

He
opened his eyes and looked at Jade. “Do ya think it’s possible to love two
people at the same time?”

“Yes,”
Jade said, steering onto the off-ramp. He headed away from the motorway,
Rainbow’s End fun park drawing closer.

“Then
how do you choose between two lovers?”

“If
you love them the same, you can’t, because it’ll destroy you either way.” Jade
glanced at him again. “Who do you love?”

“My
exes.”

Jade
sighed. “I love you.”

“How
can you say that? You hardly know me.”

“I
know you better than you think.”

“How?”

“That’s
my secret.” Jade screwed up his nose. “And if I were you, I’d choose me over
those women, because women are more trouble than they’re worth.”

“Looks
like we agree on sumpthin’ after all.”

Jade’s
eyes shot to Dante. “You’re choosing me?”

“No,
I meant, that women are more trouble than they’re worth.”
Even Beth and
Kara.

16

Kara

Kara was lying on Dante’s
bed, her mind all over the place: anger, fear and sorrow all vying for the
number one spot, and at the centre of it was Dante. She wished she’d broken him
yesterday, made him give into what he’d obviously wanted, because now he was
with that witch, ruining everything. In the past, he’d never chased after her
when they’d had arguments, but that might have been because she didn’t buckle
and apologise like Beth had. Was that why he wanted Beth more than her? Or did
she really ruin things all those years ago? No, she was being stupid; she’d
only been back two days, so she shouldn’t expect him to fall into her arms just
like that, the time they’d spent apart obviously affecting him differently,
which meant she needed to be patient, and to chip away at his resolve one day
at a time. She frowned at the camera hidden in the light fixture, wondering
whether Craven could help her. Maybe he could bribe or threaten Beth into
rejecting Dante. Hell, she didn’t even care if he killed the witch, because it
was everyone for themselves in love and war.

A
holler went through the house, making her jolt upright, Dante’s nine-year-old
nephew having the loudest voice she’d ever heard. He yelled again, “Uncle
Dante’s home!” his high squeal going right through her head, but she’d asked
for it. She’d given him five bucks to warn her if Dante turned up, so she could
ready herself, making sure that Dante got an eyeful of what he could’ve had
yesterday. She took off the shirt she was wearing and strategically placed the sheet
below her bare breasts, then lay back and closed her eyes, knowing he would
probably come into his room for a change of clothes.

A
door banged, then a few seconds later Dante’s voice came from the passageway.
“Angelo, where’s your mum and dad?”

“Out
the back!” Angelo yelled, the child obviously deaf. “Dad’s making me a
playhouse, cos you broke my old one.”

“You
were told I had to tear it down,” Dante said. “And your dad promised you a
better one.”

“I
liked the old one!”

“This
one will be bigger and you’ll be able to take it to your new home.”

“I
still like the old one.”

“Just
get your dad for me.”

“Dad!”
Angelo hollered.

“No,
boy, go outside and get him.”

The
pounding of small feet raced off, then a second later Dante knocked on the
bedroom door. “Kara,” he said. “Are you in there?”

She
remained silent, hoping he would just barge in. He repeated her name, then a
heartbeat later the door opened and closed. Afraid he’d left, she opened her
eyes, relieved to find him standing by the door, staring at her breasts with
his mouth hanging open.

She
stretched her arms over her head and yawned, giving him an even better view of
them. “
Dobro jutro
,” she said, wishing him good morning in their shared
language.

“More
like
dobar dan
, cos it’s past lunchtime,” he said, his eyes lifting to
her face. He was dressed in the same clothes as yesterday, with his keys
dangling from his fingertips and a pair of sunglasses on his head. He looked
damn fine, no,
more
than fine, because that word was inadequate to
describe him. Instead,
sexy, mouth-watering
and
fuckable
were
much better descriptions,
fuckable
being the best, because she was
already getting wet just from looking at him and she could tell by the bulge in
his leather pants he was aching to fill her. Her eyes travelled up to his white
T-shirt. The material was pulled tight across his impressive torso, not hiding
a thing, his ridged muscles indenting the fabric and his tattoos showing
through the sleeves, the kaleidoscope of colours finishing at his wrists. That
was DEFINITELY not the same shirt he’d left in yesterday, because she would
have hit him over the head and dragged him back to the bedroom if she’d seen
him in that, then shoved a Viagra down his throat and fuck the consequences,
because she would’ve rode him all day long.

“Giddy
up,” she said.

He
frowned. “What’s that s’posed to mean?”

“It
means I was thinking about riding your cock.”

He
spluttered, his surprised look making her laugh. “That’s not funny,” he coughed
the words out, hitting his chest.

“Your
reaction was the only thing funny, not my wet dream.” She sat up and glanced at
the clock, feigning surprise. “Wow, you’re right, it is late.” She looked back
at him, pleased as his eyes returned to her breasts. She ran a hand over one of
them, pretending to wipe away fluff. “I ended up watching movies into the early
hours of the morning with Ash.”

Dante’s
eyes shot up to her face, like she’d said something extraordinary. “Ash watched
movies with you?”

“
Da.
He said he couldn’t sleep, but I think he was avoiding Tiana. She kept coming
out, trying to talk him into going to bed, but he pretended he was interested
in the movies, which I know he wasn’t, because he wouldn’t stop criticising
them and telling me what was going to happen next, then rolling his eyes when it
eventuated. I told him to go to bed if he’d seen them, but he said he hadn’t.
Looks like him and Tiana are having problems.”

“No,
he really is having trouble sleeping. The doctor prescribed him some pills, but
he refuses to take ’em. And you’ve obviously forgotten what he’s like with
movies. He’s got a knack for reading the plot. I’ve given up on watching
anything with him, cos he tells me what’s gonna happen, totally ruins
everything, and he’s even worse with pornos. He used to go on ’bout the plot
sucking or how the character development blew, usually when someone wuz gettin’
a blowjob, or that they’d totally fucked up the script, then he would yell out
to Beth that I wuz watching another porno. She always rushed out and gave me
bollocks for it, while Ash sniggered behind her.”

Kara
laughed. “
Da
, I remember now, he even did that to me once. It was when
Tiana and Angelo were away for some reason.”

Dante
grinned. “Yeah, but it totally backfired on him. Instead of goin’ ballistic
like Beth, you called me a naughty boy for not telling you it wuz on, then
unzipped me and started sucking me off right in front of Ash.”

Kara
grinned. “He couldn’t get out of the room fast enough. It was so funny.”

“Yeah,
I laughed so hard I got soft.”

Kara
raised her eyebrows. “Though, I fixed that problem in the bedroom.”

“You
sure did.” Dante’s hand went to his crotch, his gaze locked in the past, like
he was imagining what they’d done all those years ago. “I miss those times.”

“Me
too,”
more than you’ll ever know.
She pushed the blankets aside and
stood up, baring herself to him.

His
gaze moved down her body, lust now replacing the wistfulness that had been
there only a few seconds ago, and dear Lord, did Kara lust for him too—so bad
it hurt. She walked up to him and pulled his hand away from his crotch, his
eyes telling her that he wouldn’t fight her today, that she’d won the battle
before it had even started. With her other hand, she reached up and touched his
cheek. He leaned into her palm, taking her by surprise, his expression now sad.
She wondered whether it was to do with Beth. She hoped so, because that would
mean those two were over, but she wasn’t going to risk asking, instead she was
going to take back what was hers—and never let go.

She
pushed up onto her toes to kiss him. A loud knock made both of them jump. Dante
turned away from her, making Kara almost scream. She wanted to kill the person
on the other side of the door, because she’d had him, she’d had him!

“Who
is it?” he asked.

What
sounded like an American voice answered: “Who are you talking to?”

“None
of your biz, you nosey yank.”

“Don’t
call me a yank.” The door-handle started turning.

Dante
grabbed it and poked his head out, his tall frame blocking Kara’s view of her intended
murder victim. “Go wait in the lounge,” he snapped.

“No,
you’re taking too long, and your nephew keeps squinting his eyes at me, and
making racist remarks.”

“Angelo
won’t understand what he’s doin’.”

“Yes
he does, he’s even imitating my accent.”

“Tell
him off then.”

“I
can’t do that, he’s not my kid, and he shouldn’t be behaving like that in the
first place. I thought someone with mixed blood would be more sensitive.”

“He’s
a nine-year-old boy. They find sumpthin’ that annoys you and pick at it until
they get the reaction they want. Just ignore him, then he’ll get bored and go
away.”

“No,
come out and introduce me to his father. I want to meet Ash.”

“Angelo
wuz s’posed to get him. Ask him again.”

“I’m
not talking to that little monster.”

“Then
go out back and introduce yourself to Ash.”

“Not
without you, you said he’s violent.”

“I
didn’t say that, just told you not to do anything sexual round him.”

“You
said he’d throw me out.”

“I—”

“Will
you two shut up?!” Kara yelled, sick of their back and forth banter, her
patience now non-existent. She wrapped a blanket around herself and shoved
Dante aside, ready to tell the American to piss off, but the words froze in her
mouth, the Korean man standing before her taking her breath away, and not
because of his beauty.

Looking
shocked, Jade Park stared back at her. “Kara?”

Fear
gripped her, kick starting her mind. “Hello, Jade, how nice to see you again?”
she said, praying he wouldn’t contradict her. She glanced back at Dante. “Jade
was one of my husband’s clients before Gary started working fulltime for Mr.
Craven. He’s also a friend of my husband’s, well, was until Gary started
threatening him after Jade broke a
very
important contract.”

Jade
blinked, like he didn’t understand, then realisation crossed his face, telling
her he knew what she was referring to: Craven’s porn club contract, which
stipulated that clients weren’t allowed to contact the ‘actors’.

“I
didn’t break it; I was given permission,” he said, “And what happened to your
face?”

“Gary
attacked me, and he would never have given you permission.”

“But
I’m investing a lot of money to get out of it.”

“Obviously,
not
enough.” Kara turned to Dante. “Can I talk with Jade in private? I
really need to sort out this mess with him.”

“Take
as long as you like, I’ll be out back.” Dante pushed past them.

Kara
waited until he’d left, then yanked Jade into the bedroom and locked the door.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she spat. Her eyes shot to the cameras,
realising her mistake too late. But this wasn’t her fault, it was Jade’s,
although she still didn’t want Craven hearing what she was about to say.

Before
Jade could put two words together, she unlocked the door and dragged the
stunned-looking man down the passage and into the bathroom, closing the door
behind them. “You shouldn’t be here,” she said, flicking the lock. “You know
the consequences of breaking the contract.”

Jade
pulled free. “No, you’re the one who shouldn’t be here. I’m paying a lot of
money for Dante—”

“You
can’t buy him!”

“I’m
not buying him as such, just procuring a right to him.”

“You
have no right to him.”

“That’s
not for you to decide, and why are you lying to Dante?”

“So
I can get him back.”

“Well,
you can’t have him, he’s mine.”

“No
he’s not, and if Craven found out what you’re up to he’d be furious. He’s the
one who wants me back with Dante.”

“That
can’t be right, he promised
me
Dante.”

“I
don’t believe you.”

“Regardless,
the deal was settled yesterday.”

She
narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re definitely lying, because he called me in two
days ago.”

“If
you want confirmation ring Anthony Torres. He’s the one I’ve been negotiating
with.”

Kara
frowned. “Ant doesn’t speak for Craven; he just runs the porn studio.”

“Which
makes Dante one of his employees.”

“No
it doesn’t; Dante works for Craven.”

“Ant
was speaking on Nigel’s behalf.”

“But
Dante’s not gay, so why the hell are you even bothering?”

Jade
smiled. “As long as I pay him enough money he’ll pretend to be.”

“Liar,
he’s always refused to fuck men.”

“Ten
grand says he’s fucked me. Guess money does buy a fabulous hunk of a man.”

Kara
shook her head, not believing what she was hearing.

“And
by the way, he’s the reason why I’m walking so awkwardly today.” Jade patted
his butt. “He’s a very naughty boy in bed, but I don’t need to tell you that;
now do I, Kara?”