Page 49 of Melody

“How’s that feel?”

“Mmm.” Her voice was nothing more than a breath, and she doubted he could hear her over the splattering water. “Good.”

As his finger continued pulsing against her clit, she felt her legs begin to quiver, as if they were going to turn to jelly. She sucked a deep breath in through her nose as Kyle began nibbling on her ear. Jesus…she was close.

“You are so fucking sexy.”

His words up against her ear made her completely let go. The leg Kyle was holding up began pulsating against his hand in coordination with the rhythm he was delivering to her clit with his finger. It was as if she was losing her mind, her identity as she gave herself completely over to pleasure.

Finally, it ended, and then her senses returned. Again, she could hear the water, could feel drops hitting her back, could smell the scent of the soap she’d used on Kyle moments earlier. And, when she opened her eyes, Kyle completely filled her vision. He was so sweet, so loving, and she could feel herself almost trusting him with all of her being.

She wanted to. God, how she wanted to.

But she buried her head against his chest, letting the water fall on them like rain, as she tried to snuff out the voice inside telling her she should never give up control ever again.

And that meant trust would always be out of the question.

CHAPTER 18

For the next four days, Scarlett felt like she was floating on a cloud. Kyle had spent the night—or early morning, rather—at her apartment every night since their first. His shift at Burger King often ran into the wee hours and, when Scarlett worked, hers often did as well, so it worked. Until now, she’d never known that her lady parts could be sore fromgoodsex. She’d been tender from being treated roughly or having sex when she hadn’t wanted to, but she and Kyle couldn’t keep their hands off each other when he came by…and she was feeling those effects. One night, they’d fucked three times before they finally fell asleep—and she could tell the next morning.

She’d never thought it could be so good.

She even texted Marin to tell her she was dating someone—but she didnotgo into details. It was too new, and she still felt unsure about the future.

All good things come to an end, as Scarlett soon found out. What happened that Wednesday during her afternoon shift completely changed everything.

On this particular day, she was working a long shift. A little after three in the afternoon, it was still pretty slow but she knewthat she’d get at least a few customers later on. In the meantime, she was cleaning under the lip of the bar on the customer side, a place she’d noticed had been neglected—and, since there was nothing better to do, she figured she might as well scrub it.

It was only at slow times like these that she would notice over the sound of the music when a customer came in like now. Without even looking at the door, she picked the spray bottle up off the stool and walked back around the bar so she could greet the customer. He wore a baseball cap, his eyes averted to the ground.

Oh.She’d only been tending bar since June, but she recognized the posture. This poor guy was a dejected customer, the typical kind of person who wanted to drown his sorrows in booze. At least she might be able to also lend a friendly ear if he needed one to accompany his drink.

When he slid up on a barstool, she’d already washed and dried her hands, ready to serve whatever he needed. “What can I get for you?”

The last thing she’d expected was to see those eyes.

Tommy’seyes.

It took her a long moment to be sure. At first, she thought those almost-black irises onlyresembledher ex, but as she fought to keep her breathing as calm as possible, she noticed the tattoo on his hands—the generic skulls, along with the letters on the fingers that saidFUCK OFF!in gothic script.

How the hell had he found her?

Fighting to stay calm, she took a deep breath, but before she could say anything else, he spoke. “An explanation would be a good place to start.”

That was the final confirmation her stubborn brain needed. Still, words—anywords—refused to come out of her mouth.

Until now, she’d almost forgotten how his voice sounded. That gravelly hoarseness combined with the way he didn’tenunciate his words very well, almost as if he couldn’t be bothered to talk.

“I like the hair, by the way.”

Yeah. So much for a disguise. But her flaming red mane, the inspiration she’d taken for her alias, would stick out in a sea where most people’s hair was of an earthier color. She’d known brown would blend in best and, after initially coloring it, she’d maintained the roots faithfully every few weeks.

“What’s the matter, Mel? Cat got your tongue?”

It was like an out-of-body experience hearing her real name after responding toScarlettfor so long. And the way he said it was tinged with violence, not like the playful way Kyle called herTink.

Of course, Tommy had been sweet at the start too.

---