Fab’s king-size bed dominated the room making up for the absence of a lounge. Barbells with enormous weights lay on the floor up against a wall. A wardrobe was next to the bed crammed with clothes and pornographic magazines. Lizzie knew because she’d once sneaked a look when she’d been checking out his clothes.
“Fabio. No more. You’ve given me enough presents. Stop sending me flowers. My bedroom is starting to look like a florist’s and all the girls at work are jealous.”
“I promise I’ll make you happy. I’ll do anything if you just forgive me. I love you.” Fabio sat at her feet pleading with her to take him back. “I’m not proud of what I do. It’s just that I’ve been doing it all my life and it’s hard for me to stop.”
“I don’t care, Fabio. I know guys buy pornography and do...” Lizzie hesitated. “You-know-what. Just don’t do it with me here. I mean—” Lizzie sat fiddling with her nose ring, trying to find the words to express her disgust. “It’s insulting. I feel like when we’re making love that you’re using me and that you really want the girl in the magazine.”
“I don’t, Lizzie, and I’m not trying to insult you. It’s just that after years of going it alone, the magazines are useful. It’s like a habit. A bad habit,” he mumbled. Fabio could barely look at her. He was flushed with embarrassment and Lizzie’s heart softened. It was hard to keep up her anger in the face of Fabio’s genuine shame.
How could she stay mad at this man who was trying not to cry? Yet if Fabio wanted her back, then it was going to be on her terms.
Lizzie took a deep breath. “Look, I like you, but I’m obviously not what you want in a girl.” She peered down at her small breasts.
“Lizzie, you’ve got it all wrong,” Fabio said, reaching up to hold her hand. “You’re exactly what I want in a girl. I love your energy and we like the same things. I’ve bought us season tickets to all the NRL games. Who else likes going to the gym like I do? Please give me one more chance.”
It was kind of sexy having this big, powerful-looking man begging her to take him back. Lizzie’s mouth tightened in resolve. “I’ll give you one more chance, but I’m not going to put up with the pornography. It’s got to go. All of it. Every single magazine. If you can’t make love to me without pornography then we can’t be together. You have to choose. It’s the magazines or me.”
Fabio blanched at her demand.
“I mean it, Fabio.”
“But what about my body building magazines?”
“They can stay. That’s a healthy obsession, but all the yuck ones have to go now. I’m not going to come here anymore if they’re here.”
Fabio nodded. “I’ll do anything you want. I love you, Lizzie.”
Lizzie surveyed him, thinking how tanned and fit he looked. Her heart did a little leap as his hand slid higher up. It was so nice having a boyfriend. She’d prove to James that her relationships could last more than a few weeks. She slapped her hand down on Fabio’s to stop it moving further. “Come on,” she said standing. “I want every magazine out of this place.”
“What? Now?” Fabio got to his feet. Towering over her he scratched his head with disappointment.
“Yes. Of course now.” She opened his bedside drawer and pulled out a collection of magazines featuring models with breasts so oversized they barely left room for the girls’ heads. She threw them on the floor and turned to Fabio who stood motionless beside her. “Get the ones you’ve stuffed in the wardrobe. I know you’ve got some in there and I bet there are some hidden under the mattress.”
“Yes, boss woman,” Fabio said, but he said it without rancour.
Half an hour later, Lizzie had unearthed a stack of porn magazines and had great satisfaction making Fabio throw the lot into a garbage bin. Not one offending magazine remained and as far as Lizzie was concerned that was the end of the problem.
Back in the apartment, Fabio took her hand. “Lizzie, I feel like I’ve had a religious experience.”
“Huh?” asked Lizzie, unable to see anything vaguely religious about the dumping of pornography.
“I feel like I’ve been cleansed. I’m free. It’s like all the bad things I’ve done have gone away and I don’t feel guilty anymore. You know, guys think bad stuff about women in those sorts of magazines.”
“Fabs, they’re just models earning a living. Not that I’d ever pose like that,” she hurried on.
Fabio stroked her face. “I know. You’re like a saint.”
“You are a dope,” Lizzie said, embarrassed by his praise. No one ever praised her except James and Marina. It was cool having Marina staying with them, except Marina was so upset by the police visit, she didn’t want to do fun things like shopping for bargains at the moment. She was a total nerve basket since her disaster wedding. Why take those dumb cops seriously? Who cares what they thought. James was pissed off by their visit too.
“Something wrong, Lizzie?” Fabio asked.
“No. Why?”
“You’re frowning.”
“Nothing,” she said, giving Fabio a hug. It was wonderful having a boyfriend who was prepared to change for her. Apart from James, no man had ever given a damn what she thought.
She picked up a pile of Fabio’s client training files that he’d stacked neatly on the bed and dumped them on the floor next to his body building magazines. “To shagging without pornography. To us.” Slowly, she peeled off her top and tiny yellow shorts until she was naked.
She was rewarded with a grin so wide, she knew that this time the sex would be terrific.
In a moment Fabio’s own clothes were a pile on the floor and he lay kissing her and stroking her breasts. “You’re not like those other women,” he whispered. “You’re sweet. Loving. Pure.”
Now that was going too far No one had ever called her pure before, but Fabio’s fingers had moved between her legs and were working magic with her senses. She had no problem with Fabio putting her on a pedestal if he wanted to, she thought, arching her back with pleasure as he caressed her.
She snuggled up close, loving the feeling of his large protective body against hers. He smelled good, a mixture of soap and the sandalwood cologne she’d bought him. Her hands caressed his smooth chest and she traced her fingers around one nipple and then the other. It peaked and Fabio closed his eyes in pleasure as she leant forward to take the hardened tip between her teeth, gently biting him.
A low groan met her ears. A little pain was always good. She circled his nipple with her tongue savoring his slightly salty taste, then reached further down with her hand. He was big and hard and his penis jerked when she ran her hand lightly along the shaft to the tip. An overwhelming sense of desire shot through her knowing Fabio’s contrite mood meant she was in control. This time, she was going to make sure there was no one in his mind except her.
“You’re so small, Lizzie,” he said, sliding a finger into her. “I don’t know how you take me.” She could feel his hot breath hit her face. He smelled of desire. His green eyes were narrowed into slits of arousal.
He slid another finger into her and it was her turn to moan as he rubbed his thumb lightly over her clitoris.
“Don’t stop doing that,” she urged, arching forward and rocking to the motion of his fingers. She could feel the tension building in the small of her back. He entered another finger stretching her. Lizzie writhed in pleasure. The bonus of going out with such a big guy was that his fingers felt like a penis. “Suck my breasts, Fabs,” she gasped on the edge. “I need to come.”
The feel of his moist lips and tongue teasing her nipples was enough to tip her over. A rush of heat exploded inside her and she arched against his slippery fingers. His thumb kept strumming her clitoris. It was so erotic she became boneless with ecstasy. Her whole body tensed and she was aware of nothing but what he was doing with his fingers and mouth. A moan reached her lips as she cried out with pleasure. Soon, she lay panting near his side. “That was heaven,” she said, fighting to catch her breath.
She was rewar
ded with a smile. She loved the way his teeth were white and evenly spaced. His green eyes were shining and she knew it was because he was proud because he could turn her on so easily. One of his hands cupped her bottom pressing her hard against his erection.
“Of course it was like heaven,” he whispered. “You’re an angel.”
She smiled and kissed him. He was sweet. An almost perfect boyfriend. Most men would have leapt on her by now, but Fabio always held back for her pleasure no matter how much he seemed to want her. “Your turn now. Lie on your back.” She sat up and pushed him flat. It gave her a sexual thrill to order this big man around.
“You’re a pushy girl, Lizzie,” he said, sounding delighted despite his words.
Her gaze roved over his large pectoral muscles and ridged stomach. “I want to do this my way. I’ve never been on top.” This time when they shagged she was going to make sure he looked at her the whole time because she was determined to be number one in his mind.
She knelt astride him guiding him inside her. Fabio lay back, his eyes hooded as she rose up and down taking more of him inside her. This time there’d be no more other women with their false breasts to spoil her pleasure, she thought with satisfaction.
Fabio moaned and thrust into her, picking up the pace. “You want this, don’t you?”
“Uh huh.” Lizzle sighed, her lips curving to a smile.
“You whore. You slut.” Fabio grabbed her by the hips, physically lifting her up and down so that the rhythm she had created was no longer her own.
What happened to pure? Lizzie wondered, her imaginary pedestal crumbling.
“Shove your big tits in my face. I want to see ’em. Come on, slut.”
Lizzie’s smile faded from her face. Fabio was no longer looking at her. Instead he was staring at the floor. She looked over to see what had caught his attention. Fabio’s client files lay scattered and open, but one file was different from the others. It held pictures of women with big breasts downloaded from a dating site. Lizzie stared at a printout of a female wearing a red skirt, black top and fishnet stockings who sat posing seductively, only it was impossible to recognize her because her face had been scrubbed out.
“You big-titted slut,” he groaned as he climaxed, unaware that she no longer moved to his rhythm. His whole body spasmed until finally his hold on her loosened and he dropped his hands from her hips.
Lizzie pushed herself off him in disgust. “You lied to me.”
“Lizzie?” Fabio’s green eyes focused on her.
She stepped off the bed and screamed at him. “You sick, rotten bastard. You didn’t get rid of everything, did you?” With tears in her eyes she reached for her clothes, pulling on her shorts and top.
“Lizzie,” Fabio wailed. “The folder was open. I couldn’t help looking. I didn’t plan it. These women don’t mean anything, they just add to the fantasy. They’re nobodies. Just women who advertise themselves online. Please don’t go. Don’t leave me.”
“Is that what you think? You met me online. Is that why you called me a whore?”
“No! I was getting off. That’s all. I don’t think that about you.”
Lizzie turned on him, her stomach clenched with anger. “I told you that you had to choose—the pictures or me. But you can’t do without them, can you? You’re sick.”
“Lizzie, please forgive me.”
“It’s over.”
“But I love you.”
Fabio’s words were lost as Lizzie slammed the door of his apartment behind her. She didn’t want him to see her despair. No matter what she did, no man, except for her brother, ever loved or respected her.
The loneliness of that fact tore into her heart.
Chapter 7
“Lizzie, could you give me a hand with the massage bed?” Marina asked, walking into Lizzie’s pink bedroom. It wasn’t Marina’s favorite colour but she knew Lizzie liked the room because her mother had spent time with her decorating it when she was young. The trouble was that, like the rest of the apartment, the colour was overdone. Lizzie had a pink comforter and pink lace curtains. Cross-stitch pictures with pink frames hung on the wall and, while most women would have grown out of this years ago, Lizzie refused to change a thing. Only the beige carpet broke up the unrelenting pink.
Lizzie looked at her watch. It was seven o’clock. “Sorry, Marina, my mind was elsewhere. I forgot Peta’s coming tonight for her wax job.” Lizzie was referring to their transgender client who came regularly for a complete body wax. “Did I tell you Peta used to do the massages at the salon?”
“Is that how you met?”
“Yes. She had to stop when she had her implants. Said they hurt too much. Plus,” she whispered, “I heard she had a falling out with Natalia. Something about stealing.”
“What did she steal?” Marina was surprised to hear Peta was involved in something underhanded, but then she always thought the best of people.
Lizzie shrugged. “Can’t remember.” She looked down at her breasts. “Wish I could afford implants.”
“You don’t need them. Come on.” Marina gave Lizzie a friendly pat on the shoulder. She’d been almost catatonic with misery since her fight with Fabio earlier in the week, but she seemed to have snapped out of it since she’d bought a pump-up bra. Marina didn’t think a pump-up was the answer to Lizzie’s relationship problems, but Lizzie had replied it was cheaper than implants.
“I need you to help me set the bed up. I’ve already lined up my Elvis CDs to take Peta’s mind off the pain. I’ve tested the wax. It’s nearly ready.”
Lizzie pushed herself off her bed and helped Marina.
“Is that guy who wants to be a girl coming over?” James called from the kitchen. “The beautiful one.”
“Yes, it’s back, sack and crack time again,” Lizzie said.
Both girls heard James groan. “Can’t you leave some mystery? Men don’t want to know those things.”
“And miss out on teasing you? No way,” Lizzie called.
Marina and Lizzie laughed and did a high five. They loved grossing out James with the intricacies of their job. When Marina first moved into the apartment she had been too shy to tease James, but now that she knew him better, she joined in too.
James came into Lizzie’s bedroom. “How can he bear it? I pull one hair off my head and it hurts, let alone pulling off one of my pubes.”
“She has to cope,” Marina said, emphasizing the pronoun. “Peta’s a dancer at the Cross. Have you ever seen a hairy dancer?”
James paused to consider for a moment. “Can’t say I have. Glad I’m a computer engineer. I couldn’t stand thinking about having all the hairs ripped out of my chest.”
“What, all six of them?” teased Lizzie.
“A guy’s back is the worst. It bleeds,” Marina said.
James’s face paled. “Too much information.” He started to leave the room.
“I must admit, I’m still not comfortable doing the sack,” Lizzie added winking at Marina. “The skin is so tender.”
James put his hands over the front of his jeans, his green eyes wide with horror. “You girls don’t really rip all the hairs out there?”
“Of course we do,” Lizzie said. “No part of the body is sacred to a beautician. You want to know what else? It doesn’t matter whether they are gay or not, you touch that area and they get an erection, even if they are in pain.” She shot Marina a cheeky look as she prepared the massage bed with a clean sheet.
James’s hands dropped from his front. “Lizzie!” Although Lizzie had an active sex life, James still behaved as if she were an innocent.
“Peta keeps his…her thong underwear on and we ask her to move her jewels as we wax him…um…I mean…her. It’s less painful if the client keeps the skin taut. Marina can demonstrate on you if you want to see how it’s done.”
“Lizzie!” Marina caught James’s stare. Clearly he had the same picture of them naked together from his look. If she were ever going to touch James, it wouldn�
��t be to wax him. She could imagine being naked with this big hunky man.
James’s face coloured. “If Marina touched me, I’d disgrace myself.”
“Me too,” she said.
The doorbell rang, but she ignored it.
She couldn’t stop staring at him. He was gorgeous. So strong. Protective. As far as she could tell, he was the type of guy who would appreciate her in underwear and not want to wear it. Just being around him cheered her up, especially after what had happened at the salon with Dani. Thank God, Dani had agreed not to go on her date. What if she was psychic? Was that better than being nuts? Creepy visions or going crazy. Yuck! What a choice.
“Peta’s here,” Lizzie said. “Is one of you going to get it or are you just going to stand there? Don’t worry. I’ll get it.” Lizzie marched past them, walked up the hall and opened to door for Peta who walked in wearing a silver halter-top and mini. Her blond hair was beautifully styled into a shaggy bob. Her smoky gray eyes were made up with shades of purple graduating to silver at the brow. She kissed Lizzie on the cheek. “Lizzie, honey, you look like you’re getting some.”
Lizzie laughed. “Not since I dumped Fabio.”
“At least he didn’t dump you. It’s much better being the dumper than the dumpee, I always say.”
“That’s true,” Lizzie said, looking more cheerful.
“Hi, Peta,” Marina said from the doorway of Lizzie’s bedroom. She liked the way Peta was always upbeat and could turn a negative situation into a positive one. Both girls enjoyed chatting to Peta about their love lives and getting her advice because she could give them both a man’s and a woman’s point of view. She also had an acerbic wit and was totally intrusive without being offensive.
As Peta walked down the hall toward her, Marina stared at her in envy. She had the longest and sexiest legs Marina had ever seen in a mini. She made a better-looking woman than most of her clients at the salon. “How are you?” she said, offering Peta her cheek to kiss.
“You know how it is.” Peta sighed. “Busy days and lonely nights since my lover dumped me. He can’t accept that I’m a woman inside. It’s a crazy world.” Peta shook her head.
Dirty Sexy Murder Page 6