When Dante untied the straps and the mask fell away from his face, I knew who I would see. I’d had that light bulb moment, that blinding flash of clarity, call it what you will. When the mask fell away, the man staring back at me was the man who had plagued so many of my dreams, since that night. It was him, the God like creature from the club. It was Dan. I smirked slightly at that. No wonder the name didn’t seem to fit him, it was too simple for a man like him, and it sure as hell wasn’t Italian. No, he was a Dante, that’s for sure. He was also a liar; manipulator and he’d conned his way into my home, fucked me, and helped me fulfil my fantasy. Hell, I’d let him come all over me, and the whole damn thing was a lie? I’d walked away from him that night. I’d denied him basically, and he’d found a way to take advantage of me anyway. I was so fucking angry right now.
“You bastard.” I spat the words out in an ominously quiet tone. “I told you no that night and yet you still found a way to get what you wanted? Plus it cost me a lot of money? You bastard. How could you do this to me? I want you to get the fuck out of my house.”
“No cara, please. I’m sorry, but I wanted to see you. I am very much attracted to you. I shouldn’t have done it, but I didn’t actually plan it, it’s just that, there’s more…” His voice trailed off momentarily. “How could I have known you would call Dial A Stud? I didn’t know. It was only when I overheard Sally getting your details, and I saw the name she’d typed into the computer, I knew it was you.”
My eyes widened as I stared at him, the cogs turning over in my brain, as things began to click into place. “That’s why the night was changed from tomorrow to tonight, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, I couldn’t let any of my escorts touch you. I was free this evening so it was easy to change your appointment to tonight. I just had to get someone to come with me, and I knew Alex would be free. It pained me to share you with anyone, but Alex is the only one, I could trust enough, to let him touch you, let him be inside you.”
I groaned, as his words started sinking in. “Alex isn’t a stud either?”
“Not anymore. We both worked as studs for a couple of years, but when I bought the company, I stopped. It’s not as glamorous as it may seem. I didn’t want to spend my life, until I was too old to do it anymore, fucking women for money. It’s not what you think. Yes we get paid so you probably feel we are using you, but it is the clients who are using us. I wanted to feel again cara. I wanted to be more than an object to women. I want to mean something to a special woman, besides just her next orgasm.”
The tone in Dante’s voice was very passionate, and admittedly he’d given me food for thought. I guess I’d never thought about, what the life of an escort would be like, but I was still so angry with him.
I still believed he’d lied, and done something underhanded, to achieve his goal. To get what he wanted, me.
“You say you’ve wanted me since you first saw me, but we only met a few nights ago. Ok, I’m a romantic at heart. I believe in love at first sight, but I still think you’ve gone to a hell of a lot of trouble chasing after me. It was one meeting, one night, one kiss, that’s all.”
Dante shook his head slowly as he stared at me. “No, it’s been longer than that for me. I have watched you for months. I have had to endure, seeing you arrive in the club, with your friend. Watch you pick up men, dancing and drinking. Laughing with them, and finally leaving with them. I wanted to come to you, to speak to you, but I couldn’t. For reasons I don’t wish to get into right now, I couldn’t do anything, but watch you and want you.”
Now this time he really did confuse the hell out of me. He was a gorgeous looking man. Why didn’t he just approach me if he thought I was so amazing? Hell, if he’d come to me, I’d probably have wrapped myself around him and not let go, but nothing. I’d never noticed him prior to that night we’d danced, fallen over and kissed.
The irony of it all was that the one night, he’d chosen to approach me, was the night Mel and I had made the pact that we wouldn’t pick up anyone. Ugh, this was all getting so confusing and complicated. So much so, I was getting a headache.
I couldn’t deal with him now. I had so many questions and such conflicting emotions. I was still mad at him though and right now, it was winning over everything else.
“I can’t deal with this. My head is spinning. None of this makes sense. I want you to leave. Please get out of my house.”
“Please cara, don’t do this.” He begged, walking towards me.
I couldn’t deal with him, and if he touched me, I didn’t trust myself. “No, just get out. I need you to get the hell out of my home.” I told him, before turning from him.
He was silent for a few moments. “Very well, forgive me.” He whispered; the words spoken so closely to me, that I felt his breath, next to my cheek, and I could smell the intoxicating scent of his body.
I heard more sounds of him putting his vest on and his shoes, and then he was gone. Moments later I heard my front door open, and then close. Finally without the sheer impact that was Dante in my home, I sagged, gasping for air and turned back to throw myself on the bed.
It was only as I lay there, my mind spinning, and tears I didn’t expect, blurring my vision; that I noticed something folded on the sheet by my side.
Blinking and sniffing, I picked it up and opened it, bringing it close to my face to read through the tears. It was a cheque, made out to me, for four and a half thousand.
Oh my fucking God! He’d paid me back the money from tonight.
Chapter Eight
For the next couple of days before Mel was due home, I spent the time wandering around in a daze.
I couldn’t escape thoughts of Dante, and what he’d said to me. I was angry still, feeling like he’d taken advantage of me, almost.
I had rejected him that night in the club, and I’d rejected him, not necessarily by choice, but to honour the pact I’d made with Mel.
I could accept that he wasn’t happy with my choice. I could understand him pursuing me through old fashioned means, if he’d done that. There was just something, about him taking advantage of my call to his company, choosing to pretend to be one of the studs that struck me, as being underhanded.
Maybe I was over-reacting, who knows, but I couldn’t help how I felt. I also couldn’t stop the conflicting emotions coursing through me. I couldn’t stop thinking about that night. It had been beyond my wildest dreams, but a part of me wondered, if I’d have felt as I did, had it been with the proper studs, and not Dante and his friend.
That probably explained, why they had seemed far more personal, with the way they’d treated me. Sure, they were still professional, and they certainly succeeded in giving me the kind of night, I’d never forget, but they had both seemed just that little bit too affectionate, with how they’d spoken, and touched me.
My mind kept dwelling on the way Dante had spoken to me, and of course, I was dying to know what he’d said. I’d thought all the huskily spoken Italian was part of his act, to loosen me up, and it sure worked. I mean, what woman doesn’t go all gooey over a sexy accent? Now of course, I knew it was real for him. I wished I could have remembered what he’d said, so I could look up the meanings, but I’d always had a terrible ear for languages. The only word that stuck with me was cara. I could start with that.
I opened my laptop and quickly googled the word. When I saw its meaning I was a little taken aback; it meant dear or beloved. Basically, it was a form of endearment. Now that was just weird, that he’d used it on me, given we didn’t know one another. Well, I didn’t know him, but he had said he’d been watching me for a while.
The whole thing was strange, and I had questions to which I may never have answers. To get them answered, I would have to see Dante again, and I wasn’t so sure I wanted to. The man was hot as hell, sexy as sin, pick a cliché any cliché for gorgeous and he was it, but at the end of the day, I still wasn’t so sure getting involved with someone like him, would be such a good idea.
Ugh, my mind was spinning with all this. I needed Mel to come home. Of course that would be awkward, because if I talked to her, to get her advice, then I would have to tell her about ringing Dial A Stud, and what had happened as a result of that. She would either be sympathetic to my cause, call me a bloody idiot and read me the riot act as if she was my mother, or she’d slap me on the back and congratulate me for growing a set.
No matter what she said, I was going to point out to her that it had originally been her idea, to call Dial A Stud.
Feeling restless, I headed for the kitchen to seek out wine. My state of mind called for wine and possibly lots of it.
“Good one Grace. Get drunk and then Mel can really chew your ear off.” I chided myself.
“Did I just hear my name?” Mel’s voice asked and I jumped, before blushing. I’d just been caught in the act of talking to myself.
I turned to her as she breezed into the kitchen, looking just a little frayed around the edges. The time with her mother had not gone well, I was guessing.
“You look like you need this more than I do.” I told her, holding out the glass of wine I’d just poured.
“You’d better believe it.” She said, taking it from me, and immediately tipping half the contents down her throat.
“Wow, that good huh?” I watched as she tipped the other half down, and straight away refilled the glass from the bottle in the fridge.
“Yeah.” Mel flopped down on the bar stool, and propped her head in her hands. “Next time I say I’m going to my mother’s place, stop me. I don’t care if you have to break my legs, or go all Christian Grey on me, and tie me up with cable ties, just fucking stop me.”
I couldn’t help laughing at her words. “So what did the mother from hell summon you for? What great emergency required your immediate attendance?”
“Ugh, it wasn’t any great emergency at all. Mum’s found a new sucker to marry. I had to meet the poor bastard.”
“Well that’s not so bad. Hopefully planning for a wedding will keep your mother of your back for a while.” I tried to be encouraging.
Mel snorted. “Yeah, she’ll be busy preparing to marry Warren. He seems ok. Well now he does. A few weeks, months or years with mum will change that. He’ll be certifiable by the time she’s done with him. Anyway, it wasn’t just meeting him that I got called home for. Seems Warren’s been married before and has a grown son.”
The penny dropped at her words. “Ah, mother figured if she’s marrying the father, you can marry the son?”
She nodded. “Luke is twenty five, has his own business but he’s not my type.” She laughed. “Now if mum and Warren paid more attention, they’d realise I’m not Luke’s type either. I’m pretty sure he’s gay but just hasn’t come out of the closet yet. God he’ll never come out with mum as his step mother. Actually her as a step mother’s a great role for her. She’s a perfect step monster.” Mel sighed dramatically, and tossed down another mouthful of wine. “I’m glad to be home. So, what did I miss?”
Immediately I tensed. ‘Oh smooth Grace,’ the voice in my head sneered. Maybe Mel didn’t notice?
“Ok, what the hell happened?” Those blue eyes of hers locked on mine.
“Bloody hell Mel; I’m not a child you know.” I blustered, stalling on answering her.
“Dammit Gracie, I was gone two days. How can you get up to no good in two days?”
I shrugged. “It’s a talent and you’re just jealous.”
“You’re stalling, I can tell. So what did you do?” She narrowed her eyes at me for a moment, before they suddenly shot open wide. “Oh hell, you went out looking for the stud from the club, didn’t you?”
I smirked at her choice of words. “Actually you’re wrong. I didn’t go to the club at all, in fact I never left the house the entire time you were gone.” I told her smugly.
She still studied me with narrowed eyes. “Why do I still feel there’s something going on with you? Come clean woman, I know you’re hiding something.”
I took a deep breath. It was show time. “Something did happen while you were away.” I paused for a moment, before dropping my bomb on her. “I called Dial A Stud.”
There was a deathly silence at my announcement, but I knew Mel wouldn’t be silent for long. Right now, her brain would be digesting my words, and shortly she would get her brain to mouth co-ordinated, and she would say…?
“Holy fucking shit! You called Dial A Stud? What happened to being too embarrassed?”
“I got bored here alone and I couldn’t stop thinking about him. The man from the club, and I knew if I didn’t do something, I’d end up there. So, I thought I’d ring and find out what it was all about.”
Mel rolled her eyes at me. “You got bored? You know when I get bored, I watch a movie or read a book, I don’t ring up an escort agency.”
I shot her an amused look. “Well you’re just boring then aren’t you?”
“So you called this place? I want every detail, don’t leave anything out.” She suddenly seemed quite excited and I laughed. She was going to love the story of what happened, but wait until I got to the bit about Dante being the man from the club. Now that was going to knock her socks off.
“I’ll tell you everything. You are going to be amazed, jealous, shocked and maybe a little horny. Let’s get more wine, something to nibble on and move to the living room. I want to be comfortable for this. I swear; you’re not going to believe what I have to tell you.” I said, and stood up to pour a glass of wine for myself before grabbing a couple of bottles from the fridge. While I armed myself with much needed alcohol, Mel grabbed chips and we headed for the living room.
An hour and a half later, both of us slightly tanked from one too many glasses of wine, and my story was told. Well the sex part, not the revelation of Dante’s.
“Hot damn Gracie, the studs sound amazing; lucky bitch getting the cock daily double like that. Sounds like you got a bit of a cultural flavour too. You said the blonde one, Alex was American?”
“Yeah, I think so. He didn’t have much of an accent, so he’s been in Australia a long time I think, but he kept calling me sugar. It was kind of sweet, no pun intended.” I grinned.
So the other one was Italian and he kept speaking in Italian? Wow, I bet that sounded so hot. I do love a man with an accent.”
“Dante was gorgeous; they both were and guess what?” I waited for Mel to respond with the predicted ‘what’ which she did. “They were both pierced, through…their…cocks!” I dragged it out to make it sound more dramatic. “Hell Mel, you haven’t had cock until you’ve had it pierced. It was amazing and those chunks of jewellery hanging out of them hit in all the right spots.” I squirmed, just thinking about how it had felt.
“Lucky bitch, now you have me wanting to call Dial A Stud.”
“Well, you can, but I haven’t finished telling you the whole story yet.”
Mel raised a questioning eyebrow at me. “Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like this?”
I shrugged. “I think it’s going to shock you. I know it shocked the shit out of me.” I took a deep breath and began. “You know how I said I felt drawn to Dante, and that he seemed to be acting a little, well, kind of more affectionate than I would have expected?”
Mel nodded. “He was touching you a lot, but you said they both seemed affectionate.”
“Yeah, Alex was, but Dante was more so, plus he kept saying a lot to me in Italian. You know what I’m like. I have no ear for foreign languages but one word stuck. He used it a lot. It was ‘cara’. I googled it and it means beloved, dear, something like that. It’s an endearment. Now don’t you think that’s a strange thing to be saying to someone you’ve just met? Plus to someone who has paid you to be there?”
Mel was thoughtful for a moment. “You could say that. So what was his deal then? Come on girl, spill, I know you’ve got more to this story.”
“After we’d finished and they’d come on me, Dante told Alex to go. I was a bit sur
prised, because for most of the time they were with me, Alex was the more outspoken one, so I thought he was like the boss, out of the two or something.”
“So I’m guessing that was not the case?”
“No, Dante told him to leave and he did, but then he said he had to speak to me, and I thought that was strange. He started going on about how he had to be there that night, how much he wanted me, how he’d always wanted me. I thought I was either hearing things or the man was insane at first. Then he drops his first bomb. He’s the fucking owner of Dial A Stud.” I waited for Mel to digest what I was saying.
“Holy shit, so Mr Italian Stallion is the owner? Wow, so he owns it and works for himself?”
“That’s just it. He hasn’t worked as a stud for six months he told me. He only worked that night because of me. He said he saw his receptionist type my name into the computer, and he made her change the appointment. I was actually supposed to have the studs arrive the following night, but he had it changed, and dragged Alex along for the ride. Oh and Alex is another ex-stud. He’s a friend of Dante’s, and was only here, because Dante said he didn’t like that he had to share me, but Alex was the only one he’d allow in me besides himself, or words to that effect.”
Mel’s eyes were wide now. “Holy shit, he’s a possessive son of a bitch for someone who doesn’t really know you. So what happened next?”
“He took his mask off so I could see him. Bloody hell, it was him, him from the club. Dan is Dante.”
“Fucking hell!” Mel swore. “This is kind of fucked up, but kind of hot too. So he knew your name from the club, and then he sees your name on his computer? Shit, how’s that for a coincidence? You ring and he sees your name and sets things in motion to make sure he’s in on the double fuck. Well I have to hand it to you Gracie girl. You think you’ve got no sex appeal? One meeting, one roll around on the dancefloor, one kiss, and he’s going to extraordinary lengths to get in your pants. The funny thing is; you paid him to get right where he wanted to be a few nights before. Shit girl, I don’t know what to say to that.”
Dial a Stud: Dante's Story Page 9
