Sweet Seduction Sabotage

by Nicola Claire

  The second time my head collided with the wood of the table, he wrapped his hands around my body and hauled me off the floor.

  Then slammed me against the wall.

  "Jesus Christ!" he exclaimed, as he continued to fuck me, determined, I think, to reach the other side of me. I clung on; legs wrapped around his hips, arms snaked around his neck, taking everything he gave. "I have... never... wanted... someone... as much... as I... want you." Thrusts accompanied each set of words. Hard, almost angry, definitely desperate rolls of his hips against mine.

  I screamed as my first orgasm rocked me, I think Drew shouted out a "Yes!" when he heard and felt me go. He didn't stop his movements, kept them hard and fast and entirely controlled by him.

  "Who am I?" he demanded, something he'd not done for quite some time. If I thought about it, which was difficult under the current circumstances, I realised it was since we'd started an exclusive relationship. But here he was asking again.

  I gave him what he wanted without delay, my words breathless, grunts accompanying them with each pound of his steel hard cock inside.

  "I'm yours, Drew!"

  "Fuck," he muttered, burying his head in the crook of my neck for several seconds. And then just as I felt him swell inside, just as I reached the edge of the abyss myself and started to topple over with him, he growled, "Who are you?"

  I didn't think. I just reacted. I came with the words, "Kelly, I'm Kelly, no one else," on my lips, rushing out of my body as the orgasm rushed through me inside.

  It was the most liberating moment of my life.

  We collapsed backwards onto the bed, Drew still holding me, my body draped over his. His erection still half inside. Both of us panting, I think I might have been crying, but they were tears of joy, of ecstatic release. Of the realisation that I'd found myself again.

  Kelly, I'm Kelly, no one else.

  "And don't you forget it," Drew said breathlessly, somehow reading my mind and reaffirming my epiphany just now. "You are Kelly Quayle. Beautiful, brave, a little fragile, but a survivor. Someone who has lived with the blackness, but is strong enough to make it back to the light."

  He tilted his head and looked up into my eyes, fingers stroking softly through my hair.

  "You are a dazzling star to me, Kelly." His sternchen. "You shine so very bright. I think sometimes you believe that you'll just burn yourself out. But do you know what's so extraordinary about stars?"

  I shook my head, I was so lost for this man. I couldn't utter a sound.

  "The rest of us orbit them, because there is no way we have anywhere near the same integrity, the same strength and power, the same awesome luminous light, so we crave to be near yours."

  I swallowed thickly, running a trembling hand through his sweaty hair. This gave such new and deep meaning to his nickname for me. The one he'd gifted me from his Oma.

  "I crave to be near you, Kelly. And I have since I first laid eyes on you in Sweet Seduction's store. I can't explain it any other way. I was drawn to you, like the gravity of the sun. I didn't want to fight it, I wanted to, even if only briefly, say it was mine."

  What did you say to such an honest and revealing confession such as that?

  But he wasn't done.

  "I'm a meticulous planner," he added, with a wry smirk. "I set my sights on a goal and plan how I'll achieve it. I'm pretty good at it," he admitted, a little cockily.

  I just smiled and kept running my fingers through his hair, I couldn't seem to stop.

  "And I made a plan to catch the sun."

  I thought back on all the times he'd appeared at the same places I'd been. The coincidences that now seemed like part of a grand plan. The way he approached me at Dom and Gen's, offering me something I couldn't refuse, wouldn't turn down. How he had always been there for me, never judging, simply waiting for me to realise I'd been caught.

  I should have been angered, maybe even outraged, I don't know. He had sabotaged my dates.

  But then I'd let him, because I was ready. And because I wanted this man to catch the sun.

  It was flattering, too, I suppose. That he'd gone to such lengths to know me, know my life, know what turned me on, what I needed and when I would need it most. What does that say about someone? That they would do whatever was necessary in order to get what they want?

  I have lived a borderline debauched lifestyle, within rules that most people would mock.

  I have loved freely, given my body willingly to multiple lovers, in order to feel, to remind myself that I was alive.

  I have taken what I needed to survive, a harem of men at my beck and call, regardless of morality or society's conformist views.

  I did it all because I wanted to. I pushed the boundaries, I broke the rules.

  Who the fuck am I to judge Drew Kline?

  "So," I said, my hand wrapping around the back of his neck and dipping my face down closer to his. "How's that plan going for you?"

  His head came up of the bed and he pressed his lips to mine, and then against them, he whispered, "I'll let you know. But I'm enjoying the ride."

  I sighed into his kiss, then pulled back and offered a wink.

  "Can't make it too easy for you, apparently I'm the awesomely bright sun." He started laughing, it felt ridiculously delicious under my body. "And this sun is famished. So, how about that breakfast you promised?"

  I rolled off him and headed to the bathroom to clean up. Over my shoulder I saw him dealing with the condom and shaking his head while he laughed.

  "Kels?" he called, just as I'd turned back to face the hall door.

  "Yeah, Drew?" I replied, stopping to look at him again. Not a hardship.

  "Something else you should know about me." He held my gaze, his eyes searching my face as he said, "I always keep my promises."

  I stalled on the threshold of the room and just smiled.

  And for the first time in my life I believed a man when he said that. Because there was something about Drew Kline. Something immovable, solid, and determined. Something my father had never had.

  Honour. Conviction. Strength.

  Drew was everything my Dad had not been.

  And that thought was a rainbow of colours that carried me out of the room.

  Chapter 16

  I'd Surprised The Schemer, I'd Caught Him Off Guard

  I was cautiously optimistic about my life when I walked into Sweet Seduction that day. Black was just a shadow on the edges of my world, still there, but distant, indistinct. A threat that could return, but was held at bay by red and blue and yellow and green.

  Drew's colours. Drew’s rainbow. What he made me feel when I was with him.

  Even walking into the store, listening to Pink at full volume through the shop's speakers, that rainbow surrounded me now.

  I wanted it to stay. I never wanted to let go of it again.

  I was in love with Drew Kline and it made me... happy.

  My mood improved even further when I noticed Ben and Abi sitting at one of the tables, hunched over coffees and having a chat with Gen.

  "Did you start the party without me?" I called out as I locked the door at my back. It wasn't quite nine o'clock, Sweet Seduction held old school retail hours.

  Several pairs of surprised and shocked eyes stared back at me making me pause. I understood why they looked like that, I just hadn't realised how much worry I had caused my friends until now.

  "Are you OK?" Gen asked first.

  "You look good," Abi spoke over her.

  "Grab a cup and join in the fun, Kels," Ben offered, purposely returning the atmosphere to something close to normal.

  "Don't mind if I do," I said with a smile. Not my old pretend to be on top of the world smile, but the new me. The Kelly Quayle I'd found again last night.

  I sat down to silence, those eyes staring at me again.

  OK.

  "Lucas!' I shouted, making Gen and Abi jump a little in their chairs. Ben just smirked and lifted his take-away cup up to his lips. I noticed h
e looked tired. My eyes flicked over Abi and found the same wrinkled, drawn look as her man's. "I'll go a double mocha," I added. "And I'll give you a kiss if you add extra marshmallows on top."

  "Coming right up!" he shouted back eagerly. I sniggered. Abi slammed her cup down on the table, still staring, now not even trying to hide her open mouthed surprise.

  "What happened to you?" she asked, sounding a little too stunned for my current mood. I wasn't that different from yesterday, was I?

  "She's in love," Gen offered, and I scoffed. It was expected, and I still hadn't quite learned to control the reflex action to hide.

  "Maybe," I whispered, reaching over and breaking a piece of muffin off Ben's half eaten breakfast. We don't sell muffins, only chocolate, so he was lucky Gen had allowed him inside the door.

  He pushed the rest of his meal towards me. Despite having just had a lovely breakfast of fresh fruit and cereals with Drew, I dug in. Anxiety made me hungry. And the way Gen and Abi kept staring was ratcheting up the sensation of nervousness to alarming degrees.

  "Soooo?" Abi asked. "Are you gonna share?"

  "Share what?" I said around a mouthful of blueberry muffin.

  "What's it like?" she pushed.

  "I'm not talking about this," I shot back, relieved Lucas arrived with my drink. He leaned down and exaggerated his position for a sloppy kiss on the lips. He was a good guy, skinny but full of attitude. So I gave him a wink and a barely there kiss.

  "I've been had," he muttered, turning away and returning to his set-up at the counter.

  "OK," Gen declared. "That was not a kiss."

  "That's the only kiss he'll be getting," I answered.

  Again with the staring. Was I really that much of a slut before?

  I shook my head. Then let a long breath of air out and leaned back in my chair. I purposely looked at each one of my closest friends while I nursed my mochaccino, heavy on the marshmallows.

  "It's good to have friends," I said, taking a long drink.

  "You're really OK?" Gen asked.

  I reached over and squeezed her hand. "Getting there, chickie."

  "And Drew's helping?" Abi couldn't resist asking.

  "Red," Ben warned, and I started to laugh.

  "He took me to the opera and showed me that rainbows exist." They deserved something, I could tell they'd been consumed by worry for my mental health.

  Not that that statement probably allayed all their fears, but it must have been enough because I received three beaming smiles back at me, making me think they understood the brilliance of rainbows as well.

  "So, final dress fitting tonight," I threw at Gen.

  She grimaced, rubbed her big belly and said, "It might be final for you, but the dressmaker's insisting on another on Friday night for me. I swear I'm putting on a kilo each day. I'll be rolling down the aisle at this rate. You'll have to push me with a stick to make sure I don't land on my back like an upside down turtle. Legs and arms pathetically flailing in the air as I try to get to my feet."

  Gen had a wicked imagination.

  "You look gorgeous, Gen," Abi offered.

  "Glowy and full of life," I added.

  "Sexy as fuck," Ben murmured and received a raised eyebrow from Abs. He shrugged. "Nothin' wrong with appreciatin' a woman when she's pregnant, red."

  Gen's eyes widened. Abi's narrowed.

  "So, every time we pass a pregnant woman on the street I've got to keep an eye on you?" she demanded.

  "Not just any woman, sunshine."

  "No, just a good friend then?"

  I downed the rest of my mocha quickly, stuffed the muffin in my mouth and prepared to bolt. When these two got going, it was best to escape out of the blast range.

  "I've known Gen a while," Ben argued.

  "And that's a good enough excuse?" Abi's hands had made it to her hips. I pushed my chair back.

  "Woman!" Ben growled. "Can't you see what I'm tryin' to tell you?"

  I helped Gen to her feet, keen to get the pregnant woman out of the blast range too.

  "All I see is my man ogling one of my friends." Abi growled back. "Who he thinks is sexy because she's pregnant!"

  "It's not the fact that she's pregnant."

  "No it's the fact she's our friend."

  "Argh!" Ben cried, Gen and I retreated a few feet. "Bloody hell, woman, you drive me crazy." Where had I heard that before? "I'm tryin' to hint that I want you that way." He flung his hand out towards Gen's general direction. Gen quickly hid behind my back. "With my baby," he added, causing the entire shop to still.

  Even Lucas, who was holding the portafilter upside down over the dump bin ready to whack the fuck out of the thing.

  "Oh," Abi answered, all bluster melting away. "Really?"

  "Yes, really," Ben growled, still riled enough to cross his bulky arms over his chest.

  "I wouldn't have to lie on shitty roofs in the rain watching sleazy back alleys through binoculars," she whispered.

  "No," Ben murmured, arms coming undone.

  "But," Abi went on. "I also wouldn't be able to chase down bad guys and leap over fences shooting my gun."

  Ben's lips twitched.

  "No, red. But it's just an idea. Somethin' for you to think about. Somethin' for us to plan for."

  "Practice making me pregnant?" Abi suggested, a wicked gleam in her eyes.

  "Fuck me," Ben murmured, then abruptly stood from his seat. "Home. Bed. Now."

  "OK," she said smiling a mile wide. She winked in our direction. Abi had that man wrapped around her little finger. I started chuckling as the shop returned to its normal start-up hum.

  They said their goodbyes, but Ben was on a mission now, that tiredness I'd seen before hidden behind a sheen of lust. Baby making may not have been on the immediate horizon for those two, but they were sure going to enjoy testing the idea out.

  I hummed to myself as the doors were unlocked, feeling a sensation I couldn't quite name. It took three customers and two more songs from Pink for me to get it. Contentment.

  I was content.

  It's a strange word, contentment. It's not raunchy, it's not adventurous, it's not something you wake up and say to yourself in the morning, 'today I want to be content'. No, but it is all consuming, it weaves its way into your psyche, into your soul, and settles down like an old faithful dog at your feet. It's good, and it's right, and it's completely warm and soothing. And so nice you never want to be without it again.

  I have been addicted to a lot of things in my life. I have never been addicted to just this. But I knew instantly, the moment I identified the feeling, that I would spend the rest of my life hunting it down.

  It surpassed every other addiction, it came from inside of myself. Yes, Drew had given me the impetus to find contentment, so had Gen and Abi and Ben. But it is not something they can show you, or give you themselves. It's something that comes from deep down inside of you and no one else.

  I have not been content for fifteen years. I decided that today was the start of my new content life.

  "Can I take an early lunch?" I asked Gen.

  It was time to give Drew one of his fantasies. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate my new self.

  "Sure. What have you got planned?"

  I smiled, it might have held a hint of the old me, I'm not sure. There would always be stripes of that Kelly, interwoven with the Kelly Quayle I'd just found.

  "It involves a cloakroom and a Court House."

  Gen snorted out a burst of laughter.

  "Then far be it from me to hinder your, no doubt, illegal activities inside the country's biggest court of law."

  "You know me so well," I quipped, throwing my apron in the cupboard and snatching up my cellphone as I started for the door.

  "Kelly?" Gen called, when I was halfway there.

  I spun around and offered a smile. Hers was cautious.

  "Welcome back," she said softly.

  My smiled dimmed at the weight of her words, but didn't vanish co
mpletely.

  "It's good to be back, Gen," I whispered, and then slipped out the door.

  The city was abuzz at this time of the day. Still only mid-morning, but as I crossed over Queen Street it felt like it was thrumming with life. People in crisp business suits, cellphones to their ears. Tourists staring up at the Sky Tower as it loomed over the CBD, casting a shadow down Victoria Street West. So many different colours, in the clothes, in the windows, on the people themselves. Auckland is a cosmopolitan city and I realised I'd forgotten how much I loved the old girl.

  A little bit dirty, a little bit flirty, she was young and beguiling, and desperate to put on a good show.

  I planned on putting on a good show myself, and as I came to the steps that led up into the modern District Court building on Albert Street, my fingers flew over the keyboard on my cellphone screen as I set the stage for a performance that would hopefully wow.

  Ever since Drew had told me he liked the idea of a raunchy roll in amongst the coats when he was between cases at court, I hadn't been able to get the idea out of my mind. I'd looked the building up on-line, familiarised myself with the reception area and entrance atrium inside, and slowly developed a plan of my own in my mind.

  Drew had always been the one scheming, I thought it only fitting that I follow his lead.

  His reply text beeped as I crossed the threshold and made my way towards the x-ray machines.

  What are you up to, Kels? it read. Then, I'll be there in five minutes. Hooked.

  I placed the phone down on the conveyor belt and let the armed guard usher me through the device. Nothing sounded out, and so having passed inspection I retrieved my cell and wandered toward the information desk, taking my first real look at the cloakroom behind.

  People were everywhere, the poor guy at the desk was inundated with soon to be jurors and family attending scheduled cases for the day. He hurriedly gave directions, looked things up on the computer, and took the odd bag and coat, exchanging them for tickets, and then placing them in the room that ran off the rear of his workstation. He shut the door firmly after each visit he made.

  This would be harder than I thought. I needed a distraction.

  The thrill of 'illicit' began to enter my bones. My hands shook with adrenaline, my breaths sawed in and out. The chances of achieving this were next to nothing, but trying would be a hell of a lot of fun. Which made me think of Ben and Abi and just what they were trying out right now.