Page 11 of Sound
Melody
“How do you know my name?”
Guilt jabs me in the chest when I see him rocking with both hands pressed between his thighs. His face looks like a tomato, scrunched up in agony. Nails digging in the wall behind me, I feel horrible for kneeing him in the junk. Not that I do it on purpose. At first, I think I am dreaming. God knows I dream about him enough, so I let myself stammer on like an idiot. When I realize he is real, embarrassment attacks me, especially when I realize he understands every stupid word falling from my mouth. At that point, all I want is to get away and hide.
I wince when a low groan comes from him.
It pisses me off that I have no clue who this guys is, how he got here, or why he is here. Still, I can’t help but admire the way the muscles bunch on his arms and back with each movement he makes. And who looks hot as hell with a red, scrunched-up face? This guy apparently. I want to kick him again on this principle alone. He should look horrible, not hot.
“Your friend.” The words are hissed through clenched teeth as the guy lifts on his knees.
“Huh?” Inching away, I press harder against the wall and frown at him.
“Your friend …” Blowing out a breath, he straightens to his full height. I crane my head to keep eye contact and slam it into the wall. “She called you by your name before you ran away that night.” How tall is this guy? Jesus, I’ll need a brace if I keep staring up.
“You heard that?” Deciding I don’t want to look like a child staring at a parent, I slide down the wall to put a little space between us. There, that’s better.
“I did, yes.” The tilt of his kissable lips sends my stomach somersaulting.
No! Not kissable lips. Bad, Melody. The guy is a creep that walks through walls, remember?Berating myself, I miss what he says next. Luckily, I can’t look away from hisnotkissable lips so I see them moving.
“I’m sorry, what?” Pinching my thigh to snap out of it, I can’t hide the grimace that escapes.
“I said I like your name. It suits you.” His head cocks to the side, the longer strands falling over his eyes. “Are you okay, little one?”
“I’m fine.” Snapping at him, I grind my teeth. “Just because I’m short that doesn’t mean I’m little.”
“It is a … how do you say it?” His gaze flicks up in thought before dropping to my face with a glint of satisfaction. His fingers click together before he points a finger at me. “An endearment.”
“It’s an insult dude, not an endearment.” I deadpan and he grins at me. “If I’m not mistaken”—I know for damn sure I’m not but I’ll die if he knows how many times I’ve said his name, asleep or awake—“your name is Ethan, right?”
“Étienne.” His blue eyes narrow as if daring me to butcher his name with my American accent again. For some stupid reason, I rise to the challenge.
“Ethen, got it.” A muscle twitches in his chiseled jaw and my lips stretch into a wide enough smile to hurt my cheeks. Salmon moves and brings me back to the present, all humor draining from me. “Why are you here?”
“I came to your rescue.” Looking around as if seeing the room for the first time, he brings those blue orbs to rest on my face again.
“You can get me out of here?” Too afraid to hope, I hold my breath while waiting for his answer. The line forming between his eyebrows does not look very promising. He still looks hotter than the sun, though, damn him.
“I would think so.”
Instead of reassuring me, he looks at Salmon like the cat is in charge here. I should’ve known he is as bat shit crazy as I am. Hot or not, if anyone waits for a cat to make a decision they have gone off the rails. Way off the rails. I don’t want to think about what that says about me. Nope, no thank you.
“He is a cat,” I say it slowly like he has difficulty comprehending words.
“I know that.” His shoulders stiffen and he jerkily brushes spiderwebs off his shirt and pants that I don’t notice until now. “Not an ordinary one, but a cat none the less.”
“You can say that twice.” Salmon bares his sharp teeth at us but I ignore him. “Listen, I don’t mean to be rude or anything but I’m kinda being held here against my will. I’m not sure when Seraphina will be back, so if you are going to rescue me—for which I’m very grateful by the way and can’t thank you enough—we should scram. Like now, preferably.”
“Right.” With a sharp nod, he glances around again while I watch him expectantly.
It’s adorable how his too-perfect face takes an aura of leadership. I almost snap my heels and salute him. Before I realize what he is planning, he snatches my hand, sending tingles up my arm when our skin connects. His feet falter, his head snapping in my direction, but I’m not sure if he felt it too or if my gasp makes him turn my way. My heart skips a beat when his eyes bore into mine with such intensity I don’t think I can breathe. Salmon releases a high-pitched meow, which shatters the moment. I’m not sure if I want to kiss the cat or kick him all the way to Sunday.
“This way.” His deep voice raises goosebumps on my arms.
My tongue peeks out to wet my dry lips as he leads me toward the wall. I should feel urgency and excitement knowing I’ll be out of here but all that is tamped down by the awareness of how close he is to me.
Just as he reaches the wall, my brain comes back online and I dig my heels in while yanking on his hand.
