Haunting Melody

by Mackenzie Reed

  He drew her into his arms and held her close, inhaling the scent of her shampoo, sweet and fruity. Her arms wrapped around his waist, her fingers gripping his belt loops to hold him tighter, closer against her. He sighed contentedly, his breath ruffling her hair as he exhaled.

  “Joshua,” her whisper barely audible in the quiet room. “What are you going to do about Damon? I don't want him playing with my mind.”

  Hugging her tighter he replied, “Don't worry about Damon, honey. I'll take care of him.” His words were clipped and his tone harsh. Yes, he would take care of Damon. A dull pain knifed through his heart as he thought about Damon. Why would he do this? He knew how Joshua felt about Devra, knew she was his chosen mate. He also knew it was forbidden to mess with another's mate. What the hell was Damon thinking? Did he plan to try and take Devra from him?

  There was no way in hell Joshua would ever let that happen. Never!

  Tightening his arms around Devra, Joshua pressed his lips to the top of her head breathing in her essence. His Devra smelled like no other woman—fresh and spicy all at once. And her taste… God, her taste was intoxicating. Everything about her mesmerized him. It was almost like Devra had cast a spell on him, flooding his body with her essence, her very life force. Is this what it felt like to be complete? A whole entity and not a part of one?

  “Joshua, you're squeezing me too tight,” Devra choked out.

  He eased up immediately. “Sorry, sweetheart. I didn't mean to.” With one more embrace he let her go, took a step back and gazed into her teary green eyes. He couldn't resist leaning down and kissing her sweet lips tenderly. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered quietly against her lips before reluctantly moving away.

  Joshua laughed as heat stole over her cheeks. He couldn't believe this hot-blooded, sexy woman could blush so easily. Yet, every time he told her she was beautiful she did exactly that. “Why do you blush when I tell you you're beautiful? Has no man said that to you before?”

  Her face turned redder and she simply shrugged.

  “Devra, hasn't a man ever told you that before?”

  Joshua wasn't sure she would answer. “Yes, all right? Too many times in fact. And they only wanted in my bed.” Her voice was bitter, filled with sarcasm.

  Anger filled his mind, his body. How dare they treat his mate with anything other than the truth and respect she deserved? Were you any better? A tiny voice whispered.

  He was instantly flooded with guilt over what he'd put her through in the past few days, all in the name of love. It was time he showed Devra how much he loved her, and treasured her. Joshua once again took her in his arms. Her smell invaded his nostrils, flooding his senses with heat and fire. Suddenly he wanted to take Devra to bed and make true love to her, reaffirming his position as mate and lover.

  Just thinking of her pale thighs wide-open, the petal soft folds of her womanhood damp with need and waiting for his possession, made his manhood start to rise, his jeans getting tighter. “Devra,” he rasped out, pressing his hardness to her softness.

  He heard her swift intake of breath and then her moan as she cuddled his hardness, pressing her lower body closer to his. Her hands dipped into his back pockets, the heat nearly scorching Joshua as she brought him even closer, until there wasn't an inch of space between their lower bodies. It was his turn to gasp when her lips and tongue worked their magic on his cheek, his chin, and then his neck. Her lips unerringly found his pulse point and she sucked the skin, nipping it gently with her teeth.

  “Devra,” he gasped. “I want…” he shook his head. “No, I need to feel your wet heat surrounding me. To slide deep between your thighs and love you until we're both exhausted. Please.” Her mouth was doing exciting things to his neck and he wasn't sure she'd heard him until one of her hands found its way between them and she clasped his cock in her hot little hand. He heard the button pop and the hissing glide of his zipper as she worked it down over his swollen shaft. Her fingertip circled the tip, rubbing the bead of moisture over it.

  Her soft chuckle against his neck was his undoing. “That's it,” he said. Joshua stepped away and shucked his jeans, thankful that in his haste to get to Devra, he'd forgotten shoes. Quickly he tore her clothes from her body until they stood in the living room totally naked and aroused. Pressing her back against the wall, he lowered his mouth to hers, groaning when she opened for him. It was a kiss of uncontrollable lust, total possession, and it wasn't enough. Without lifting his mouth from hers, his hands roamed her body, touching and caressing every inch of her flesh.

  He groaned into her mouth when her hands began exploring his body, too. He shuddered when her hand stroked along his side, down over his hip and found its way to his throbbing cock. When her hand wrapped around him and gently squeezed, Joshua thought he was going to spill his seed right then and there. Tearing his mouth from hers, his chest heaving with exertion, Joshua tried to speak.

  “Devra … baby … wait,” he stuttered out. “…want this to last.”

  “No … want … now,” she replied breathlessly, her hand rhythmically pulling on his shaft. His heart was beating like a drum, his blood slowly boiling as her hand worked his cock from top to bottom. It was too much and not enough. He wanted to sink into her wet heat and pound furiously into her until she screamed his name in release. Then he wanted to do it all over again. He wanted to arouse her passion once more, caressing her breasts, sucking her nipples and moving toward the very heart of her.

  She must have had the same idea for she started kissing a path down his chest, her tongue dipping into his belly button causing his breath to hitch, waiting, hoping, for her next move.

  * * * *

  Devra couldn't get enough. Joshua's heat drew her like a moth to a flame—and she wasn't afraid to get burned. His skin glistened with sweat and she licked it, savoring the salty, musky taste of man. He tasted so good she wanted more. So much more. Flicking her way down his stomach, across his ribs and playing with his belly button excited her beyond control. She wanted nothing more than to impale herself on his rock-hard shaft and ride them both to oblivion. But first, she wanted to taste him, to wrap her lips around his cock and savor the flavor of Joshua. The musky, salty essence that brings forth life.

  When her tongue dipped into his belly button she sensed his swift intake of breath and smiled against his stomach. He wanted what she wanted, but wouldn't force her. It would be her choice. Twirling her tongue inside his belly button, a thought flashed in her mind, brief but vivid. A vision of her as she was now, on her knees in front of Joshua, kissing and licking her way down his body to the object of her desire—his cock.

  Kissing his hard stomach once more, she moved further down, her hand tangling in his short curly groin hairs. Giving them a gentle tug, she chuckled when a soft groan rent the quietness of the room.

  “Devra, please.” His hands, once fisted at his sides, now tunneled into her hair and tugged.

  She knew what he wanted and that he wouldn't wait any longer. His patience was at an end, his hunger overriding his desire to be gentle. Allowing herself to be led where they both wanted her to be, Devra found herself up close and personal with his massive shaft, pulsing with every harsh breath he took. Gripping him in her hand, her fingers lacked an inch of meeting around him. Lowering her head she licked his tip, swirling around the rim just below.

  “Yes,” Joshua hissed above her in pleasure. “That's it, baby. Lick it, suck into your sweet mouth.” His hips nudged forward, the tip of his cock resting between her lips. Closing her lips around him, inch by inch she took him in until the head rested at the back of her throat.

  “Oh yeah,” he moaned. His hips gyrated slowly, pulling back out before sliding past her lips and into her mouth once again. She loved the taste of him, the salty musky taste that was coating her tongue with each pass. The hands in her hair tightened a fraction, holding her steady while he fucked her mouth. Hollowing her cheeks, using heavy suction, Devra licked his flesh—her teeth grazed the rim,
making him moan louder and fuck her mouth quicker.

  Faster and faster his hips moved. Devra licked and sucked, caressing his heated flesh with her tongue, her lips. His cock swelled in her mouth, stretching her lips with a near bruising force and with a few more quick thrusts he came, shouting his release, his seed spurting on her tongue and down her throat.

  Her juices coated the insides of her thighs, her nipples tingled and she desperately wanted release. But this time was for Joshua. She sensed his need to be dominant and have her submissive. Not that she minded where she was or what she was doing. Sucking his hard length ignited a hunger inside her that wouldn't be quenched until he was inside her, fucking her.

  After lapping up every drop of his seed, Devra let him go with a pop and raised her gaze to his. His face was a mixture of satiation and unrequited lust. How could he still look unsatisfied after what she'd just done? In her peripheral vision she noticed that he was still hard, the head swollen and red from her mouth. A look of disbelief crossed her features, her mouth open, her eyes wide in astonishment.

  How was that possible? He had just exploded in her mouth, his seed spurting in her mouth, down her throat. And yet, he stood there with his cock just as stiff.

  “Close your mouth, love, before I decide to fuck it again,” Joshua commanded, his tone low and gravelly.

  Snapping it shut, she looked at his face again and found him smiling a seductive, feral smile that would have scared the hell out of another woman. But not her. Hell, no, not her. Rising from the floor she stood directly in front of him letting her gaze travel from his erection to his handsome face.

  “Be careful. I might decide to bite it off this time.” For emphasis, she clicked her teeth together.

  His hand snaked out and grabbed a fistful of hair, using it to pull her toward him. She winced at the light pain his grip inflicted as she struggled against his hold. Her core pulsed and her cream gushed, wanting and needing to be filled. She needed this man like she needed the air she breathed. When had he become so important to her?

  She never got a chance to work it out because Joshua's hot mouth covered hers in a punishing kiss that set her body on fire. His tongue took possession of her mouth, tasting every corner, every crevice as though imprinting his taste on her. No part of her mouth was left untouched, unexplored. The hand tangled in her hair loosened slightly, his other hand slid up her arm to cover her breast. She arched into his touch, wanting it, needing it more than her next breath.

  Her arms slid over his shoulders, around his neck, her hands gripping his hair as she returned his kiss with equal fervor. She couldn't get enough of him. His long, silky hair felt like the softest silk as she grasped it. The hand on her breast moved caressingly, pinching the nipple between thumb and forefinger, the slight pain shooting tendrils of need through her blood.

  Jerking her mouth from his, her chest heaving, she sucked in much needed air. Panting, hungry with need, Devra tightened her grip on his hair, forcing him to look at her. When he did, their gazes locked and she felt as if the whole world melted away until there was only the two of them, alone, together.

  “Joshua, what's happening?” she whispered anxiously. “This need I feel for you, is so…”

  “Overwhelming—powerful—scary?” he finished for her. “I don't know what to say. I've never felt this way before.” His hand massaged her breast, rolling the nipple between his fingers absentmindedly.

  Devra bit her lip to keep from crying out. His actions were stirring her desire to a higher level. If he didn't take her soon she would die. She opened her mouth to ask—no, beg him—to make love to her but his question stopped her.

  “Tell me about your parents, love. I've told you all about mine.” He leaned down and took her nipple into his mouth.

  “What?” She couldn't think straight with his mouth on her. Surely he didn't just ask her about her parents? Not when she was burning up with need.

  “I said,” he bit her nipple. “Tell me about your parents.”

  Devra closed her eyes and concentrated. “My mother died three years ago. Cancer. And my father … well he left when I was a baby so I don't know where he is.”

  He moved his mouth to her breast giving it the same loving attention as the first. Devra grabbed a hand full of his hair and pulled. “Joshua.”

  “Not yet. Tell me more. Do you have brothers and sisters?”

  “No. No brothers or sisters. I'm an only child.”

  “I have a sister. Her name is Cassidy and she's away at college.” He'd moved from her breast to placing openmouthed kisses on her stomach. “I can't wait for you to meet her or my parents. My parents will be at my show tomorrow.” His hands now caressed her thighs. “Roarke and Melissa will be there too.”

  This was it. She was going to die of overload. He was going to tease her to the point of no return while he found out all he could about her family.

  “Joshua, please,” she panted softly. “Make love to me. I can't wait anymore.”

  His attention focused on her once again, coming back to the present and to their current state. “Oh, I plan to, baby,” he replied with a grin. “But, first I'm going to explore every inch of your luscious body.”

  Though soft, his words held a wealth of information and meaning. She had ignited a flame that was slowly burning into an inferno that might very well burn them alive before they were through. She couldn't wait for him to get started.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Joshua watched her eyes glaze over, heard her breath quicken, and inwardly smiled. His words had done exactly what he'd wanted them to, inflamed her passion and need beyond anything she'd ever experienced. He swung her up into his arms, and carried her effortlessly down the hall and to the bedroom where he unceremoniously dropped her in the center of the bed. He covered her body with his, giving her no chance to move, to escape. Their bodies touched from head to toe. With his weight resting on his elbows, he gazed into her flushed face and was lost.

  She was beautiful. His woman. He still didn't know everything he wanted to but at least he'd solved the mystery of her father. The man must have been nuts to leave his wife and baby girl. No time to dwell on that, though. Now it was time to make Devra burn.

  He lowered his head and feathered kisses along her eyes, nose, and across her cheekbones before settling on her mouth. Once there, he licked the closed seam of her swollen, red lips, tasting himself there. A soft groan and her lips parted, allowing him entrance into her mouth. His tongue darted in, sweeping inside as if he owned her, tangling with hers in a duel which he soon won.

  Her response to him was everything he could want and more. Devra wasn't shy about letting him know what she liked or didn't like. His hunger raised a notch as he remembered the fleeting thought that his words had aroused in her. She wasn't adverse to him doing all the naughty, forbidden things that he'd only dreamed of doing. His hands played her body, tracing patterns on her delicate skin while his tongue continued to plunder her mouth.

  Slowly, sensually he moved his hand down her body feeling her indrawn breath as he moved closer to her nether lips. Bypassing it, he glided his fingertips in feather-light touches along the insides of her upper thighs all the while moving closer to her wet heat. When his fingers stroked her labia he groaned at the slick heat that coated his fingers. She was hot, and ready. He lifted his mouth from hers, and kissed a path down her chest, taking a plump nipple into his mouth, sucking voraciously. Her hips bucking beneath him, his fingers plucking her stiff clit, Joshua fed on her breasts like a newborn from its mother.

  He licked a path to the other breast, giving that nipple the same attention as the first. Her whispered pleas, calling his name in that breathy, seductive voice, was going to blow his plan of a slow, leisurely exploration of her delectable body. He paused on her stomach, his lips kissing and nipping. Joshua took a deep breath to calm his libido down a notch. His desire in check for the moment, he once again moved lower to the nest of curls between her thighs and the delicious
prize he knew awaited him. The wetness coating his fingers told him she was burning hot, but he wanted her even hotter, wetter. He wanted her ready to beg him. And then when she did, he would plunge his cock into her tight sheath, and revel in the scalding heat that would bathe his cock.

  “Joshua, you're killing me,” she cried out.

  “You ain't seen nothing yet, baby,” he whispered, burying his nose in the auburn curls, smelling her essence in the dew glistening there. “You smell like sex and chocolate down here. I love the way you smell.” He licked her lips, lapping at the juices that glistened, and groaned. “God, I love how you taste on my tongue. Your juice is like nectar from the gods for me.”

  With his thumbs, he parted her lips and feasted on the succulent flesh glistening, wet and plump. He licked her clit, her hips coming off the bed and nearly throwing him off. He rested his forearms across her thighs to hold her in place and began sucking in earnest. Her moans and cries urged him on. The more excited she got, the more his desire rose. Even now his rock-hard cock was pressing painfully into the mattress, wanting nothing more than to plunge into her wetness.

  Damn! He wasn't going to last long if he didn't get his thoughts, her thoughts, and his hunger under control immediately. Her scent was calling to him, driving him closer and closer to the point of no return. But, he wanted to make it good for Devra. He wanted to show Devra that she meant more to him than a quick fuck. He wanted her to know he loved her.