His Melody (20 page)

“That was just cruel,” he said.

“No more cruel than you kicking me out of bed after what you did to me in my dreams,” she said.

“And what exactly did I do? You never said,” he said, following her with his eyes.

“I wouldn’t want to be any crueler.” She left the room, wondering how she was going to make it through the next few days without giving into what she wanted to do with him.
And not really wanting to resist.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Tuesday after work, on the ride home, Austin looked over at Melody before looking back at the road.

“What?” she said.

“Your car will be all ready to go by tomorrow afternoon. I’ll probably finish up with it by lunchtime,” he said. The job had gone faster than expected, faster than he’d wanted it to. He’d thought about drawing it out, but why prolong the torture? The sooner she left, the better chance there was he wouldn’t fall completely for her. He’d already gone too far. He cringed inside, thinking of how he’d all but fallen to pieces in front of her the night before. Had he really asked her to stay with him because he was scared to sleep alone? The answer to that question was a tragic yes, he had.

“Okay,” she said with a heavy sigh. She sounded just as reluctant about her leaving as he felt.

“There’s somewhere I want to take you tonight,” he said. He watched her turn toward him from the corner of his eye. Took in her curious stare.

“Where?” she asked.

“Just this place. It’s a surprise,” he said.

“Okay,” she said.

After all he’d put her through over the past couple of weeks, and especially after last night in the bar when he’d been at or near his lowest, he felt that he owed her this one last thing before she left town. He owed it to himself, too. He needed to stop shutting things out and refusing to deal with them in hopes that they would go away. Certain things were a part of him, whether he liked it or not, and trying to ignore them wasn’t helping him or anyone who had to deal with him.
 

#

Austin knew he was in trouble when she met him at the truck in a low-cut red number. It clung to her perfect shape, curved in all the right places, ended just high enough on the thigh to put his imagination in high gear. He tried not to stare, but she’d made that damned near impossible.

“I’m ready,” she said in a low voice that connoted she meant more than she was ready to get in the truck and go with him. “Wherever you want to take me.”

“Um, let’s go then,” he said, barely able to watch where he was going because he couldn’t take his eyes off her. His eyes trailed over those perfect shoulders, moved down the naked skin of her back exposed by the skimpy dress.

“Am I overdressed?” she asked as they climbed into the truck.

He looked down at his dark jeans and button-down and then smiled up at her. “You’re perfect.”

She returned his smile.

He drove them to Glennville, to a place called Myrtle’s Catfish and Beer. He hadn’t been there in almost a year, and he could only hope he wouldn’t make a fool of himself. He walked over to her side of the truck and opened the door.

“I don’t understand. We already had dinner. And it’s past nine,” she said.

He grinned, nodding in a gesture indicating she should hop out of the truck. “You will. C’mon.”

He walked her into the dimly lit restaurant with his arm around her shoulders. She spotted the “Open Mic Poetry Slam” notice scrawled on a chalkboard in the entry way and her eyes darted between it and his face at lightning speed. His grin widened as he watched her figure it all out.

“Oh Austin,” she said, her voice a low, sultry murmur that made him want to kiss her right there in the entry way with people moving in and out around them.

“I haven’t done this in about a year and if I suck, you brought the ear pain on yourself. And I fully plan on embarrassing you by letting everyone know you’re with me,” he said.

“I’m with you?” Her words were a near-whisper.

He looked deeply into her eyes, lost in their brown depths. “You’re with me.” Before he could do any more damage, he walked her into the restaurant proper and up to the bar.

“Austin Holt! Am I seeing things?” A fortyish, black-haired, brown-skinned woman placed a hand over her large chest.

“Hey, Myrtle,” he said.

She hurried around the bar and gave him a huge squeeze.

“And who’s this?” Myrtle asked. “You’ve never brought anybody with you and such a pretty thing.” Myrtle turned to Melody. She was certainly right about that.

“This is my friend, Melody.
Melody, Myrtle.
Myrtle’s the proprietor of this fine establishment,” Austin said.

The two women greeted each other.

Austin then said, “You have room for me on the schedule tonight, Myrtle?”

“Oh, I always have room for you, baby,” she said in her naturally smoky, sultry tone. “You can go on at eleven, right after Big Boy Leroy as he’s decided to refer to himself this week.” Myrtle rolled her eyes. “Y’all have a seat. I’ll bring you drinks.
On the house.
Austin at open mic for the first time since I don’t know when?
Cause for celebration. Austin, I got you, Jack right? And Melody, what you drinking, darling?”

“Vodka tonic,” Melody and Austin answered at the same time. Melody locked a look on him that was caramel and sugar and everything warm and good. “That’s right,” she said. He didn’t even notice Myrtle leave. He was too busy noticing the way her brown skin seemed to glow under the low house lights. When he was able to tear his eyes away, Myrtle was behind the bar again.

“Let’s grab those seats she mentioned,” he said, putting a hand on her lower back and guiding her to an empty table. He took a seat across from her. She was smiling at him. “What?”

“I never expected this.” She looked around the dimly lit restaurant. “I’m glad we’re here, but I just—never expected this. Thank you,” she reached across the table and put her hand over his, “for bringing me here.”

He put his other hand on top of hers, stroking her knuckles with the side of his thumb. He hadn’t expected to come there. He hadn’t expected to do a lot of the things he’d done since meeting Melody. All of a sudden, he wanted to share everything with her.

“That’s Shawn up there now. He’s good, huh?” Austin turned his attention to the stage to distract himself from her. It was a good thing she was leaving soon. Whenever he started to have these kinds of feelings, things went downhill from there. He’d devastated Kristen and Donnie along with her. The whole thing had been a huge tangle of mistakes. He’d killed Isadora. And poor Regan had done so much for him, and he’d given her so little besides grief in return. He’d never be able to make up for that.
For any of it.

“Austin, about last night…” Melody’s voice trailed off and Austin looked up to see Myrtle at the table with their drinks. Good. He needed one. The dark liquid burned in a good way going down. He held Myrtle at the table a moment, starting up a conversation with her to avoid a difficult one with Melody. They talked about the restaurant and how well business was going. After a while, he turned the conversation to Melody.

“She’s A&R.” His eyes landed on Melody. “You have any cards you can give Myrtle? She gets some real talent in here every now and then.”

Myrtle squeezed his shoulder. “Like this one right here.”

He chuckled.

“No. Sorry.” Melody smiled up at her. “I’m between jobs right now anyway. So I’m not sure how much I could do for anybody.” She gave Austin a look he couldn’t quite read. Turning back to Myrtle, she changed the subject to something about interior design and color schemes. Austin lost interest and turned his attention back to the stage.

When it was Austin’s turn, he listened to the soft neo-jazz music in the background on his way up front, thinking of what to say. He had it by the time he grabbed the mic. Smiling, he said, “I’m Austin Holt. Some of y’all know me.” He paused for shouts. “Yeah, I’m back. You can blame this one right here. My friend, Melody.” He nodded to Melody and he could see the brown skin of her cheeks redden from where he was. She earned a few wolf whistles and a lot of clapping. “So everything I do up here tonight, I dedicate it to her. This first one is called…” he hadn’t named it yet and came up with a title while staring at Melody. “So Beautiful.”

Austin had eyes only for Melody all the way through the three pieces he performed. He noticed no one’s reactions but hers.
No one’s applause but hers.
He made love to her with his eyes in front of a bar full of people.

When his time was up, and he walked back to the table, she stood and hugged him, murmuring against his ear, “You were a hit.”

“Really?”

“Didn’t you notice your standing ovation?”

He moved his fingertips between her shoulder blades. “What did you think?”

“You scorched me. In a good way.” Her cheek brushed his. “A very good way. Tease.” She grinned. She should be talking what with her wearing that dress and all.

“I take that as a personal challenge.” His hand slipped down her back. He let his fingers brush against a place that elicited a sharp gasp from her. Then he grinned and took a seat, clapping as the next act took the stage.

Chapter Twenty-Four

By the time they got in the truck for the long drive home, he could barely sit still. It was going to be a long ride. He tried to keep his hands to himself, but she wasn’t having it. She linked her fingers through his almost as soon as they got in the truck. Once they were on the road for a few minutes, she brought their hands to her lips. She pulled his index finger into her mouth and sucked it long and slow, grazing her teeth along it as she finally released it from her mouth.

He groaned and shifted in his seat. Tried to think about something, anything else but ripping that little red scrap of fabric off her body. Then she held their fingers up to his chin. No. He wasn’t going to get pulled into this trap, this sexy little trap of hers. She grazed her index finger along his bottom lip. Then she did it again and again, over and over. He sighed without thinking about it and her finger found its way to his lower front teeth. Fuck it. He wasn’t made of steel. He sucked her
finger,
letting his tongue do all the things to it he wanted to do to the rest of her. She finally pulled it away from him with a rich moan.

“You’re
gonna
pay for that,” she said before pulling his middle finger into her mouth. She made good on her threat. He almost let the truck drift onto the shoulder.

By the time they’d worked their way through each other’s fingers and ended with the thumbs, he realized they weren’t going to make it home without a pit stop. When he spotted the dark path he’d been looking for that he remembered from his high school days, they were over halfway home. By now, she was practically sitting on his lap, and he didn’t know how he was still able to drive with her busy hands all over his heated body.

He drove down the path a little ways and then pulled over to the side. Turning to her, he unleashed all the kisses and touches he’d wanted to give her while driving—wanted to give her since the last time they’d kissed. He backed her against the passenger side door, and her long legs wrapped around his waist. Her dress had ridden up her hips and his jeans pressed against her panties. He reached down and touched the fabric between her legs. Silky. His fingers moved lower and she arched her back, moaning out his name. Wet silk.

“Austin, please,” she whispered the words against his ear, fumbling with her dress until she pushed it down to her middle. It looked more like a bunched up red belt now than a dress. He stared down at the plump round mounds she’d just exposed and the chocolate drops at their apexes. Cupping her breasts with his hands he gave her mouth another hard, wet kiss before moving down to her breasts. Pulling one of her nipples between his teeth, he rubbed his thumb in circles against the other. She clamped her legs tighter around him.

He moved her panties to the side and pressed his fingers past the wet curls of hair
,
 
moved
them against the sensitive, slick skin inside. He moved his fingers lower, pushing them inside of her briefly. She moaned in protest when he moved them out again. He made up for it by pinching the sensitive skin of her clitoris. While his fingers worked, his mouth went to hers and then her breasts and
back
again until she came with shuddering breaths. He wanted so badly to be inside her when she did, but he settled for pushing his fingers back inside her, stroking her until she came a second time. Afterward, she lay limp and happy against the passenger side door.

He then kissed his way down her body, stuffed her panties into his back pocket, and put his mouth to work, letting her know he wasn’t done without saying a word. After she came a third time, he pulled the skirt of her dress down and helped her slip the straps back onto her shoulders.

On the rest of the ride home, she nestled her head into his chest and wrapped her arms around him. They didn’t talk about what had happened or the fact that her car would be ready to go back to Atlanta in a few hours or Myrtle’s or anything else. He wanted her in his bed again that night, but he didn’t trust himself, having her be that close all night, after the heated time they’d just spent together. Driving home with her wrapped all around him was hard enough. He wouldn’t have wanted her any place else, but still, it wasn’t easy.