With deliberate slowness, he ran his palm across her bare shoulder and down the feminine curves of her body. She almost convulsed at the river of fire and erotic music he left in his wake.
His hand stopped at her knee, where he hooked his fingers behind it and bent her leg. The skirt of her dress slithered down her skin to gather at her waist, and his musical caress followed the path of the fabric. Her breath caught as her body began to feel like an orchestra of its own. Everywhere he touched, a different part of her being came alive with a different sound. Her mind filled with the most amazing melodies of his heart while her body burned in a slow ache.
She barely felt him pull her dress over her head. The cold ocean air hitting her bare skin was the only indication, but he quickly took the chill away with the infernal caress of his hands and lips. She squirmed, trying to find some sort of coherent thought within the maelstrom of notes and sensations he built with every erotic sweep of his fingers, lips, and tongue. Her fingers tangled in his hair while his mouth explored her body in an unhurried journey that was going to drive her insane.
“Liron,” she managed to rasp out, tugging gently on the silky strands. “I can’t think…this isn’t fair.”
His low chuckle was like the rumble of a kettledrum. He dragged his lips in a slow line of kisses up her throat. “What isn’t fair?”
“I….” She struggled to remember how to verbalize while his hands did wicked things. “I want to touch you too, but I can’t even….” She groaned as another wave of sultry music pulsed through her.
“Shhh,” he breathed against her ear. “There will be time for that later.”
“But….” She gasped as he blanketed her body with his, and somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized he had managed to discard the rest of both of their clothing. When that had happened, she had no idea. His hips nestled against hers and she shivered.
“We have many nights and days ahead of us that we can explore one another, if you so desire,” he whispered. “For now, please give me this chance to show you what you mean to me.”
He kissed her long and thorough, and every nerve in her body thrummed with a song of its own—his song. She opened her eyes and forced herself to focus through the haze of passion and feeling that swept through her. The way he had said that statement, “if you so desire,” made her heart ache. He was still afraid that she would not want him after this, that there was something about him that had turned Elizabeth off and that he would do the same to her. How could he think that? More importantly, how could Elizabeth have spurned him when he had the power to make someone feel so much? He had loved her, which meant he had lavished this same kind of affection on her. How could she have felt nothing? Melody thought she was going to explode inside a cyclone of sensations. How could Elizabeth have just endured that instead of falling so hard for him at the realization that he’d felt so much for her?
Melody both hated and loved Liron’s ex-wife. She hated her for hurting Liron, but she rejoiced in the fact that because of her idiocy, he now belonged to Melody. And she knew it might take some time to convince him completely, but she would make him realize how incredible he was, in every way. He would come to never doubt her feelings for him, or how talented and desirable he really was. No one else had ever made her feel the way he did, not in the smallest measurement. She was lost, and she was addicted. Addicted to his touch, his heart, and his resplendent song.
She gazed into his blue eyes. They had turned stormy with his passion, mirroring the turbulent sea. Lightning lit up the sky as the storm moved closer, and thunder rumbled low and ominous. Behind them, the waves crashed. It seemed the whole world was making music, taking part in the overture that Liron was creating just for her.
He reached behind him to grasp one of her legs and bend it at the knee, sliding his fingers across her skin in a decadent, velvet caress that made what little rational thought she had fly away into the night. He settled himself more intimately against her and dropped a slow, languorous kiss to her lips.
When he pulled back, he took her hand and placed her palm over his heart. She surfaced enough from the haze of feeling she was trapped within to look up into his beautiful face. All she saw there was devotion and desire, complete and total rapture. For her. It was so overwhelming she felt tears burn behind her eyes.
But before the emotion could take over, he lowered his lips to hers again and claimed her body with his, sending such a tremendous wave of wonderful sound sweeping through her that she didn’t even recognize the noise that was torn from her throat. She shuddered and clutched him close to her while he buried his face against her neck and let out a shaky breath. He whispered her name like it was the most cherished word he had ever spoken, and she felt her heart beating in tandem with his, playing the same wonderful song. The music that made up his person surged into her, connecting them on every available level.
Lightning flickered again overhead, followed by the gentle roll of thunder. The rhythm of the ocean waves seemed to match the rhythm of Liron’s body against hers and the tempo of their synchronized heartbeats. The music she felt and heard, along with the tremendous pleasure rippling through her with every movement Liron made, coalesced into one symphonic masterpiece. It coiled tighter within her, took over all of her senses, and she lost herself within the sound and the passion as all of the elements climbed toward crescendo.
She’d never felt anything like it as the realm of reality fractured and dissolved into a world full of nothing but the purest music and burning emotion. At that moment, she was the music and he, the conductor. She was lost to him in every way. Her heart, her body, the song of her soul—all of it belonged to him.
After what felt like an eternity of slow boiling, burning, erotic musical sensation, every note within Melody converged with the physical pleasure of Liron’s lovemaking and exploded inside her like white-hot energy. She arched her back and dug her fingers into his shoulders as wave after wave of ecstatic light and sound crashed over her.
She expected the feeling to ebb, but it didn’t. Liron kissed her, never breaking the pulsing sonata that coursed through her blood and wrapped around her heart and every part of her body. Melody whimpered and writhed against him, certain that she would incinerate if he made her feel any more, but Liron was relentless. He took her over the edge again, bringing to life notes and chords inside of her that she never even knew existed. He turned her entire being into an orchestra, opened up secret chambers in her heart that filled with love for him, and only then did he allow his song to come to completion.
As Melody slowly drifted back into the real world, Liron pulled her up close to him, dropping lazy kisses along her shoulder and neck. Melody couldn’t think, could barely function. She snuggled up against Liron and basked in the warm, thrumming sensation that still pulsed throughout her body.
“That…that was….” She couldn’t complete the sentence because moving her lips and tongue required too much effort.
His soft chuckle filled her with warmth as he wrapped her up in his arms and nuzzled the back of her neck. “Yes, it was.”
She smiled and relaxed against him, enjoying the feel of his skin touching hers, of his arm wrapped around her waist, of knowing she was his. The sky was lightening with the coming of dawn, but dark storm clouds roiled overhead and a drizzling rain began to mist the air.
Melody sighed. They were protected from the weather in their nature-made shelter, and she was in no great hurry to move. For the first time in what seemed like so long, her heart was full and content. She planned on holding onto that for as long as possible.
Chapter Fifteen
She was aware of the rain peppering the stained glass window in Liron’s bedroom as she was roused from slumber. She didn’t know how long she had slept, only that the warmth of Liron’s embrace provided the perfect haven for her to rest.
They had dressed and returned to Liron’s home, where they’d bathed and eaten, then climbed into his bed, contented and exhausted. I
t felt close to evening, and she smiled at the thought that they had slept the day away.
She remained where she was for several minutes, basking in the serenity of the sound of the rain and the feel of Liron’s arm wrapped securely around her. She realized this was her bed now, her home. It should have frightened her, with the idea being so foreign, but it didn’t. Her heart was happy here, sated, and she had no desire to return to her cold world. There, she was sad, lonely, and condemned for her emotions. Here, she was with Liron, her mate, who understood her and embraced both her emotions and her passion for music. She fit here, and her place in her world had vanished with the death of her parents. There was nothing left for her there now.
Although, she did need to finalize her business, take care of her house and such, and she wanted some of her things. She would have to attend to that the next time the portal opened. But right now, none of that really seemed all that important.
She smiled and turned in Liron’s arms. She was dressed only in one of his black button-down shirts, and he was in black boxer shorts, another strange and modern thing in Liron’s half-medieval world. The random occurrence of indoor plumbing, modern clothing and furniture, certain technology, and other things that seemed out of place in a world with taverns, outdoor marketplaces and horses instead of cars surprised her, but she imagined it would take her awhile to discover everything about Liron’s world. It was an adventure she looked forward to.
Liron’s hair was fanned out across his pillow in a dark, beautiful disarray and Melody reached up to brush back an errant lock that had fallen across his forehead. She snuggled closer to him and pressed a kiss to the hollow of his throat.
He stirred and the arm he had around her waist tightened. A soft smile lifted his lips even though he didn’t open his eyes. “Oh good,” he murmured. “It wasn’t just a fantasy I created after all.”
She grinned and ran her hand over his bare shoulder and across his chest. “Not unless I had the same fantasy.”
He shrugged lazily, still not opening his eyes. “I am a muse, you know. I’m supposed to create things. Maybe I created you so I didn’t have to sleep alone anymore.”
“Hmm,” she teased, pushing him onto his back and rolling over so she was straddling his hips. His eyes flew open, and he sucked in his breath. She giggled. “Well, if I was a figment of your imagination, would you be able to feel this?” She wiggled her hips, settling herself against him provocatively.
He groaned and reached up to bury his fingers in her hair. “You had better be careful doing that. This shirt I loaned you might not be on you very much longer.”
She gave him her best seductive look and began to slowly loosen the buttons. “I’m not seeing any kind of negative in that option.”
Surprise flashed across his features, and her heart melted. She wondered how long it would take to convince him that she was really here for the long haul, and that she found him to be the most desirable man she had ever met.
She undid the last button and leaned forward so her lips teased over his. “Yes, Liron,” she murmured. “I still want you.”
Burning desire and smoldering devotion filled his eyes, and he took her in his arms, rolling her onto her back. “You’re playing with fire, Mrs. Tabor,” he said, his voice husky.
Warm giddiness filled her at the mention of her new name. She wondered if she would have to change it in his world. She guessed not, since there were no records of her ever being there. She even imagined she wouldn’t need to mess with the legalities in her own world. It wasn’t like she was going to be there long enough for it to matter.
“I like fire,” she teased. “Especially the kind you create.” She reached up to thread her fingers through his hair. She frowned in thought. “Not to bring up an uncomfortable subject, but how in the world did Elizabeth not become putty in your hands after you made love to her?”
Liron’s striking face tinged pink with a blush, and she giggled. He cocked an eyebrow at her and slipped his hand inside her open shirt to push the fabric off of her shoulder. He kissed her there lazily. “Elizabeth was cold as ice. I imagine she can’t be faulted completely. If she didn’t have feelings for me, that was all there was to it.”
“Still…. Do muses feel things the same way humans do? I mean, I know I can’t make you hear music like you do, but—”
He cut her off by placing his fingers to her lips. “You make me hear scores,” he murmured. “You make me hear wonder untold. You inspire me in a way only muses are supposed to be able to. You are a miracle. Stop worrying.”
She closed her eyes as his lips trailed down her neck and over her exposed shoulder. “I’m not worried. I’m just…saying.” She sighed and any point she had been trying to make died as his mouth continued its descent.
“You want to know what you make me hear?” he whispered. “I’ll show you.” One of his hands traveled down her side to her hip, and the notes that filled her mind were wicked and wonderful. She groaned and sought his lips with hers, surrendering to his music and his masterful touch.
* * * *
It was a lovely, warm day as Melody and Liron wandered through the marketplace. Liron couldn’t remember the last time his heart had felt so content and full. He had grown accustomed to the aching hollowness of his solitude. Having Melody with him, holding his hand as they shopped for her new wardrobe, was so simple, but spoke so much. Where Elizabeth had spurned and shunned him, regardless of what he had done for her, Melody accepted him, embraced him, wanted him. She made all of his dreams and wildest fantasies come true in blazing color and sound.
“I’m hungry,” she announced suddenly, turning to look up at him. “Can we stop to get some lunch?”
He smiled and gave a nod. “Of course. Let’s go this way. I know of a nice place.”
“Hopefully somewhere that I won’t get hog slop spilled down my front.”
He looked back at her and smothered a chuckle at the odd outfit she had dressed in. Considering she couldn’t fit in any of his pants, she had put her dress on from the night before, but buttoned his black shirt up over it. Thus, the purpose of the shopping excursion.
As they headed down a small alley, Liron stopped short as he came face to face with Melody’s living room splayed out in front of him with a rather insistent pounding at her door. He frowned. “It seems someone desires your attention…again.” He didn’t mean to sound so dismal when he said it, but something strange made his heart squeeze in his chest.
Melody moved around him to see for herself. “It’s probably Nikki. I knew, sooner or later, she would come to check up on me again. And who knows how long it’s been in my world.” She turned to face him and put her hands on his chest. “This actually comes at a great time. I can go home, get some clothing, and tie up all my loose ends.”
His brow furrowed as the uneasy feeling inside of him intensified. “I’ll come with you.”
She shook her head. “It’s okay, Liron. I won’t be long. Really not long by your time standards. Only long enough to get my stuff squared away, and I want some pictures of my family and things.”
He took her hands in his and rubbed his thumbs over the backs of them. How could he tell her that he didn’t feel right? That, this time, something felt off? Was he just being paranoid? Afraid to lose her now that he had her?
The pounding on her door intensified, and he met her gaze. “You’re sure you don’t want me to come with you?” He couldn’t put a reason to his uneasiness, not one that would hold merit.
“I don’t even know if you could cross into my world through that portal. Maybe I’m the only one who can. It’ll be fine. I’ll be back in no time.” She rose up to kiss his lips softly. “And when I come back, I’ll be all yours.”
His heart fluttered at the thought of having her forever, but it did little to chase away the foreboding that was gripping him. “Please don’t be gone long,” he whispered.
She shook her head. “I promise, just long enough to get my business in orde
r.” She kissed him again. “I love you.”
Her words pierced him like an arrow, and he choked on his reply as she turned and headed through the portal. She had barely stepped through it before it swallowed her, leaving only the dismal, empty alleyway behind.
* * * *
Melody was grinning as she ran to her door. She couldn’t wait to tell Nikki more about Liron. Although, she would have to leave out the random eloping part. She didn’t think her friend would necessarily understand that. And she really didn’t want to bring up the part about her deciding to go live in another dimension. But hey, she could tell her some of the other good stuff. Nikki didn’t need to know all the technicalities.
She yanked the door open only to have her smile fizzle like a burnt out sparkler. It wasn’t Nikki. It was friggin’ Rob. Of all the people she didn’t want to see. Her good mood vanished, and she crossed her arms with a scowl. “What do you want, Rob?”
The glower on his face was ferocious, and he pushed his way into her door without even waiting for an invite. “What do I want? Nice way to greet your boyfriend after disappearing into thin air for a week. Where the hell have you been, Melody?”
She blinked rapidly because her brain had difficulty catching up with all of that. Boyfriend? In his twisted dreams. And he was swearing at her now. Nice. She heaved a sigh and let her front door slam shut. “Last time I checked, you weren’t my boyfriend. Like, ever. Actually, the last time I saw you, you were just an ass telling me I was being overly dramatic about my parents dying.”
He snorted. “Whatever. I’m not going to listen to you whine about that right now. I want some answers. I’m not going to ask you again. I’m sick of this cat-and-mouse, hard-to-get dance of yours. Where have you been?”
She stared at him. Gaped was actually a better word. Okay, enough was enough. She was sick of this man. Really sick of him. She let out a long-suffering sigh. “All right, Rob. You want an explanation? Fine. Since you’re obviously denser than a brick, let me spell it out for you. I’m not interested in you. I do not want to be with you. Not now, not tomorrow, not ever. You have the compassion of a cockroach and are just about as appealing to me as one. Besides that, I’ve met someone.”
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