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 order.” 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.”
“You
what
?” His face turned an angry shade of red and
a vein bulged in his neck.
“Yes, in case you didn’t know, there are other people in the
world that I prefer to you and your overstuffed ego.”
“Who is it?”
“I told you already. It’s the composer of that music Nikki
bought me. That just happens to be a really weathered piece of music.” It was
basically true. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
The vein continued to bulge while a muscle ticked in his jaw.
“You know, this music obsession of yours is absolutely out of control. You need
to get a grip.”
“
I
need to get a grip?” She choked out a laugh. “You
know what you need to do? You need to get out of my house!” She stabbed her
finger toward the door.
“I can’t believe you’d entertain some fantasy about some
stupid musician when you have me right in front of you.” He shook his head with
another snort. “Screw this. I’m taking care of this once and for all. This
music crap has gone too far.” He strode over to the piano before she realized
what he was doing.
Her eyes widened as he snatched Liron’s score and headed into
the kitchen. She ran after him, but his swiftness was insane. By the time she
caught up to him, he’d already pulled out a cigarette lighter and lit the
corner of the score like a torch. Because of the age of the brittle paper, it
went up like dry grass. She screamed and watched in horror as her connection to
Liron and his world burnt to cinders and ash while Rob dropped it in her sink.
She stared for several heartbeats, which sounded like thunder
in her ears.
“Now maybe you’ll stop being a baby, get over all this
stupidity about music and your parents, and realize what you have in front of
you,” Rob spat. “I’m sick of being put on the backburner for your little
games.”
Terrific, blinding rage swept through her with the force of a
volcano. With a half-scream, half-growl she barely recognized as coming out of
her own throat, she strode to Rob, pulled her arm back and socked him a good
one. Her fist made contact with the hard line of his jaw and actually snapped
his head back. The utter shock on his face should have appeased her somewhat,
but all she wanted to do was hit him again, then again and again until he was
black and blue. And after that, she wanted to yank every last piece of his hair
out.
“
Get out!
” she bellowed.
The shocked expression didn’t leave his face, but he didn’t
move either.
With another primal snarl, she snatched a butcher knife out
of her knife block and wielded it at him threateningly. “You have exactly two
seconds to get the
hell
out of my house before I cut your balls off
right here in my kitchen!” She advanced a step and must have looked as crazed
as she felt because he dashed out of her path and around to the doorway of the
kitchen.
“Melody, what are you doing? Are you insane?”
“I told you to get out!” She started toward him, still
clutching the knife. “If you think I’m joking, go ahead and try me!”
He made a hasty retreat out the front door, still muttering
protests. She followed after him until she could lock her screen and assure herself
he couldn’t get back in. “If I
ever
see you on my property again, I’m
getting a restraining order. Do not come over here. Do not call me. Do not
stand across the street and holler. If you do”—she waved the knife again—“I’ll
say it was self defense.” She slammed the inner door so hard it shook the
frame.
The silence of her empty house was deafening, and she dropped
the knife to the ground as she started to tremble. Her rage abated into panic
and a strangled sob escaped her throat as she ran to her piano.
She sat down and tried to remember Liron’s score. She closed
her eyes, forced the overwhelming panic down, and focused on the notes. She had
played the score by feeling alone in the past. She could do so now.
She blundered through the first few measures, but then it all
disappeared. She tried again, and again, but she couldn’t remember, and the
more she tried, the more of it slipped away. It was like the connection had
just vanished, and along with it, her ability to play the song based solely on
the emotions the music created.