Haunting Melody

by Mackenzie Reed

  Now knowing what to expect, she became nervous. “I need a drink.” She looked in the direction of the bar and motioned for a server. She ordered a martini, feeling the need for something stronger than a beer tonight.

  Devra glanced around the room again but still didn't see Joshua. She was about to turn back to the stage when a man at the end of the bar caught her eye. Something about him intrigued her. Not like Joshua did, yet he drew her gaze. He was as tall as Joshua, with a muscular build, but that's where the similarities ended.

  This guy had tawny gold hair, cut shorter so that the edges flirted with his shirt collar, and dark cold eyes. Devra shivered with unease. She shook her head to clear it and turned away. This man scared the hell out of her and she didn't know why.

  When the lights dimmed, Devra turned to see Joshua walking on stage. Their eyes met and held, his filled with a hunger too strong to deny. Gasping for breath, she swallowed hard, wondering if there was time to escape but knowing it was already too late. It had been too late since she'd first seen him, touched him, and heard him play.

  His first notes rang out, making her weak-kneed with their clarity. As he continued to play, the music seeped into every pore of her body, coursing through her veins and finding a straight shot to her core. It was so powerful, so acute, that she closed her eyes against the feelings welling up inside her.

  Her breasts swelled, pressing against the silky dress, creating an unbearable friction each time she inhaled. Her panties were soaked and her clit, swollen and aching with need, pulsed strong and steady. She tried to stop the waves of pleasure threatening to nudge her over the edge she so desperately clung to. She fought it every step of the way, but it seemed Joshua had other ideas.

  Devra opened her eyes and found her gaze locked with his as he continued to play, to arouse her. It was as if he was playing just for her. What happened next was a shock to Devra, and incredibly confusing. With his piano crescendo came a tiny orgasm, so minute it wasn't enough to satisfy but was enough to frighten her.

  “No, not now … please.” Her eyes still locked with his, she saw him smile and she toppled off her precarious perch into the abyss below. Her hands gripped the table edge while the climax rolled through her body all the way to her toes. She wanted to scream with her release but dared not. She would not give him or anybody else the satisfaction of hearing her pleasure. Tears slid down her cheeks unnoticed by all but Joshua.

  He played the last note, his eyes never leaving her face. His smile faded, replaced with a look of extreme, carnal hunger. It was too much. She was angry, shaking, and still hungry herself.

  “You bastard,” she mouthed. She jumped from her chair, grabbed her bag and ran from the bar and outside into the cool dark night where no one could see her cry.

  She made it to her car and was about to put the key in the lock when boots crunched on the ground behind her. She whirled around, keys in hand, ready to scratch a mugger's eyes out. But, it wasn't the danger she expected. Instead Joshua stood there, chest heaving, eyes flashing.

  “What the hell are you doing out here?” he hissed at her, his hands on his hips.

  “I'm just leaving. So get the hell out of my way and you won't have to worry about me.” She turned away, inserting the key in the lock.

  His hand shot out to stop her action. “No.” He grabbed the keys from her hand and deposited them in his jeans pocket. Cocking a brow, she narrowed her eyes. “Do you think I won't go after them?” Unbidden, excitement rose up in her. Just the thought of putting her hands near the bulge in his jeans turned her on even more. To slide her hand in his tight front pocket, so close to his dick… A tiny tremor shook her body, her channel weeping a bit more.

  His snort of laughter drew her up short. “I hope so. I would love to feel your hands on my body right now, Devra.” He stepped closer his hands grabbing her wrists loosely, gently tugging her closer. “But I should warn you, I want more than your hands on me. I want your mouth wrapped around my cock, taking every inch before slowly sliding your tongue all around it.”

  Oh God! The images, the hunger, all struck her with the force of a freight train. Devra tried to step back but found herself with nowhere to go. Her back against her car, her front plastered to Joshua, Devra moaned low and deep. “Please,” she whispered, “Just let me go. I'm not what you want.”

  He released her wrists only to grab her waist, drawing her into his embrace where she was immediately immersed in his scent. The scent of man and something else. Something dark, rich and powerful that spoke to her soul. She struggled to break free from his embrace only to feel his arms tighten around her like steel bands.

  “Be still. I just want to hold you,” he whispered, his breath ruffling her hair.

  “Joshua, let me go. I don't want this.” But she knew that was a lie.

  “Bullshit.” His deep chuckle let her know he didn't believe that any more than she did. “You know you want me as much as I want you. Can't you feel how much I want you?” he asked as he brought her into close contact with his lower body, his erection pressing into her belly. “Tell me you want me, Devra. Isn't that why you came here tonight, dressed in that sexy dress without a bra? Are you wearing panties? Are they soaked?” His hand drifted down and under the hem of her dress, his fingernails scraping her sensitive flesh as he moved closer to her heat.

  All thoughts left her head when his hand covered the very heart of her, gently stroking and building her desire once again. “I can smell your musky scent. It's swirling around in my head, in my songs. Tell me, did you like that song? It's called Devra's Hunger. I wrote that as I thought about you lying beneath me in my big bed while I fucked you senseless.” His fingers slipped beneath the elastic and toyed with her lips, her cream spilling onto his fingers.

  “God, you feel so hot. Let me have you, Devra. I'll make it so good for both of us.” His finger slid between her lips, finding her clit stiff and protruding. He flicked it, sending a shiver through Devra.

  “Yes,” she whispered her hips moving closer for more of his touch. “Please, Joshua. Take away this ache, this hunger.” Then in a move Joshua hadn't expected, she wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him down for a hot, wet, openmouthed kiss that nearly burned them alive with its heat and intensity. God, he tasted so good, like water from a cool mountain spring. She plunged her tongue into his mouth and groaned at the emotions rolling through her body.

  Kiss me, fuck me. Now! Her mind cried out silently.

  His hands tightened around her waist, drawing her even closer.

  And he took over the kiss. Oh, God, could he kiss. It was like being attached to a live wire. Electricity arced from his lips to hers. His tongue began a rhythm as old as time and Devra wanted the real thing. She wanted him to throw her to the ground and fuck her.

  Chapter Six

  Kiss me, fuck me. Now! Her words inflamed him to the point of spontaneous combustion. He could hear her thoughts. She had to be the one, his mate. The one who could and would fulfill all his heart's desires, sate his hunger, and his need. It had to be Devra. He'd never heard another woman's thoughts, in or out of bed. Felt their emotions, yes, but never heard their mental cries or pleas. He was burning from the inside out. Her kiss was hot and voracious, sizzling along his nerve endings like molten lava. Her taste was like nothing he'd known before.

  In her kiss, he sensed desperation and a hunger that matched his own. Her hands gripped his hair. He winced in pain but it didn't stop the acute pleasure she was causing.

  She was so hot. Her juices coated his fingers, heating his blood to a boil. He toyed with the stiff little bud, rubbing it with the pad of his finger then gently pinching it. Her moans filled his head, his mind, and echoed his own. He jerked his mouth from hers and rained kisses along her neck and shoulders. He could smell her perfume, a light erotic scent that made him dizzy with desire.

  He licked a path along the vein pulsing out her heartbeat, her need. “You taste so good,” he whispered hoarsely. Her hands tig
htened in his hair drawing him to where she wanted his touch the most. He smiled, happy to oblige—her tight little nipples begged to be kissed. He pressed openmouthed kisses along the tops of her breasts, his tongue darting out to dip in the crevice between them.

  A noise from behind alerted him they were about to be found unless he did something quick. Concentrating, he placed a thought in those coming out of the bar that the parking lot was deserted. Joshua could hold the mirage as long as he needed to but he didn't really want to take her here. No, he wanted her naked and in his bed. He craved her like a drug addict needed his fix. Right now, all he wanted was this woman who was pliant and soft in his arms.

  “Devra, come home with me.” He whispered, kissing her neck, creating a suction that made her moan even louder. “I want you. I need to slide deep inside you until there's nowhere else to go. Until we both explode from the pleasure. And then I want to do it all over again.” He nipped at her neck growling softly. “Now!”

  “Here … now … can't wait…” she whimpered. Her lower body undulated against his aching cock. Friction and heat flooded his groin. He brought her closer, the notch of her thighs cradling his dick, and rubbed against her. She cried out his name.

  Joshua hissed and grabbed her hips holding them still. “Not here. There are too many people around. I will not take you in this parking lot like an animal with no control.” But I'm not far from it.

  He leaned away from her and looked at her face. What he found there was nearly his undoing. Her lips were swollen from their kiss and her eyes glazed over, with a dreamy cast to them. A slight sheen of perspiration dotted her upper lip and before he could stop himself he leaned down and licked it off, loving the salty taste of her.

  “I don't care. Do it now,” she commanded, her hands moving from his neck to the waist of his jeans where she jerked his shirt out, to slide her hands underneath. “I want what you promised and I want it right now.”

  He sucked in a breath at the first touch of her hands on his naked skin, his cock twitched. Her touch was hot and electric. It felt like tiny electrical pulses traveling along his nerves, and through his blood.

  “That's it.” He gently pushed her away, unable to take much more of her touch. He took the keys from his pocket and opened the driver's side door. “Get in the damn car now, Devra.” Grabbing her shoulders, he turned her to face the open door.

  “But…”

  “No! No, buts. Get in the fucking car before I change my mind.”

  He groaned inwardly as she slid across the seat, wiggling enticingly right in front of him. Of its own volition, his hand reached out and lightly rubbed her round ass through the dress. She stopped moving, waiting for his next move. He grabbed a handful of dress and raised it, when a car horn pulled him from the trance he was in.

  “Fuck,” he growled. He raised his hand and gave her a good hard slap. “Stop it now, or I will take you right here, and to hell with whoever sees.” He shoved her over and climbed in closing the door.

  He turned the key, put in the car into gear and sped out of the parking lot, spewing gravel and dust in his wake. He kept his eyes straight ahead and his hands clenched on the steering wheel or he would be all over Devra in a hot second. In the confines of the car, with his acute sense of smell, her arousal was strong and building by the minute.

  “Shit, I'm gonna die before I even get inside you,” he muttered beneath his breath.

  He breathed a sigh of relief when his house came into view. Hell! He'd forgotten the little box to open the gate. It was still in Roarke's car. Damn! He'd forgotten about Roarke too. Taking a deep breath, he let his senses open and found Roarke's thread quickly.

  “Roarke.”

  “Joshua, where the hell are you? I came looking for you after your set and you'd simply disappeared. What is going on?”

  “I don't have time to explain. Go home! I won't need you to drive me home since I'm already there. I think I've found my mate and I need this night to love her. She's like a craving, an itch that just won't quit.”

  Roarke's soft chuckle filled his head. “I know what you mean, bro'. Take care.”

  Joshua severed the connection, bringing him back to the woman sitting in the car with him.

  With his mind he willed the gate to open and hoped Devra was too hot to notice how he'd done it. It slowly opened, creaking and whining as it continued its backward move until he could pass the car through. Once through, he willed it closed and continued up the driveway, his foot a little heavier on the gas.

  Her heightened arousal was rushing through his thoughts, his mind, like a giant tidal wave. Because of this he knew that once they were in bed and his cock thrust into her tight, hot passage, it would be so powerful, so erotic that he could survive on her hunger and need for days. If he didn't drown first.

  He stopped the car, and turned off the engine. He flung open the door, grabbed Devra by the hand and all but dragged her from the car.

  “Hey, slow down before I break an ankle here.” Her voice was tinged with amusement and fervor. He ignored her and kept going.

  They ran up the steps and were at the door in seconds. Joshua fished out his keys and stuck one in the lock, all the while, aware of Devra's hot body pressed against his back. Her hands moved over his body, caressing, squeezing. He nearly came in his jeans when she grabbed his ass and squeezed. How he got the door open he didn't know, but once it was open he grabbed her, pushed her inside and slammed the door closed.

  “Hey, quit shoving.”

  He couldn't think at all. All he knew was he needed her like the air he breathed. Needed to taste her, to drown in her essence, her desire. And he needed it now. He grabbed her around the waist, pushed her against the hallway wall, and plastered his body against her. So close her nipples poked his chest with every breath she took.

  He inhaled her essence, the spicy scent of her juices, and couldn't seem to breathe. Never had desire hit him so strongly or powerfully before. He knew in his gut, in his heart, that she was his mate, but tonight would prove it beyond any doubt. Tonight his hunger and need would have free reign. But, not right now. Now, he would concentrate on building her need to an all-encompassing hunger. To bring her to the level he was riding. Once they were in bed, clinging to one another in a fiery embrace, his body riding hers, then he would know. Joshua would know Devra was his mate.

  Her hands roamed his body, caressing and touching, arousing him even more. She grabbed the hem of his t-shirt, and pulled it up and off his body, tossing it to the floor. He groaned when her hands touched his heated body.

  “Yes, touch me.”

  “Oh, I plan to.” Her fingers found and traced his nipples.

  “Devra,” he whispered his voice hoarse with arousal. His hands fisted in her hair, bringing her face up to his. His mouth crashed hungrily down on hers.

  Her body melted against his, her hands coming to rest on the waistband of his jeans. He groaned into her mouth when one hand slid between them and cupped his erection. He nipped at her lips and ate at her mouth, tasting both him and her, before swooping back inside drawing her tongue into play. Her tongue wrapped around his, sucking him the way she would soon suck his cock.

  Her small hands wreaked havoc on his highly aroused body, stroking and squeezing his erection to the point of pain. He was going to explode if she kept squeezing his balls. Tearing his mouth from hers, both of them panted for breath. He rested his forehead against hers. “Devra, we're going to burn each other up before we ever get naked,” he rasped out, before covering her mouth with his once more. He couldn't seem to stop kissing her. Her mouth tasted just as hungry and just as hot as he felt.

  This time it was she who pulled away. “What the hell is happening to me, to us? I've never wanted anything so badly in all my life,” she said, her chest heaving with each breath. “I think I might die if you don't fuck me soon.” Her nimble fingers reached for the button on his jeans opening it, sliding the zipper down to reveal his thick, long cock to her hungry g
aze.

  “Mmm … now this,” she said in awe. “This I can work with.”

  Joshua's breath whooshed out when her hand slid along the length of him, her fingers tracing the thick, bulging vein before cupping his balls, rolling them around delicately. Shit! He was going to come in her hand if he didn't do something and soon. He could feel the blood boiling inside, his balls tightening ready to burst.

  “Devra,” he said, his fingers tightening in her hair. “You're killing me here.” He kissed her neck, sucking the delicate skin between his teeth. He knew it would leave a mark. His mark. And he didn't give a damn. She was his and he wanted the whole world to know it. His woman! His mate. After tonight, there was no way he was letting her go.

  Her deep-throated laughter sent a shiver down his spine that centered in his groin. “But, what a way to go, don't you think?” she asked, her fingernail scraping the ridge right below the head of his cock. Joshua moaned. His hands still clenched in her hair, he raised her mouth to meet his and kissed her long and hard. She tasted of heat and woman. He scraped his teeth along her swollen lips and smiled when she moaned. She was on the verge just like he was. To the point of begging.

  “Joshua,” she whimpered, “Please.”

  He licked her lips once more and leaned back enough to look into her eyes. “Please what, Devra? Please take you against this wall?” She squirmed from his words, her hand tightening a fraction on his hard cock. Tiny black dots appeared before his eyes. He was so ready to dive right in. “Is that what you want? For me to strip the panties from your body, lift you and plunge my cock deep into your tight sheath?” He untangled one hand from her hair, and then palmed her breast, pinching the nipple. Her cries of pleasure echoed throughout his house, and in his head.