Opaque Melodies (Coveting Delirium Book 1) Page 9

  “I’m not sure she would have been ecstatic about me falling for her husband.”

  Alaric’s immediate grin was so wide it could split his face in two. I shook my head from side to side, feeling a tingling in my cheeks. “That isn’t what I meant, poor choice of words,” I corrected quickly. “I was thinking of what you said outside.”

  “Then that’s exactly what you meant. I understand, I’d fall for me too.”

  “Anyways,” I cleared my throat.

  “I don’t know how many times I need to stress that the relationship your sister and I had was nothing more than a cohabitation.”

  “Cohabitation would mean you were never married. And you just said she was insanely jealous and possessive. What did you to that made her that way?”

  He thumbed his chin, his gaze fixed on the piano.

  “Alaric?”

  “No, you can’t visit her grave,” he replied a little too casually, evading everything I’d just mentioned. I expelled a sigh and rested my head on the back of the couch.

  “Why not?”

  “Because she’s in my freezer.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek “God. You are unbelievable, you know that? You’ve got zero shame. That was terrible.”

  “You secretly love it; I see you constantly trying to ward off the smiles I’m so determined to give you. Admit it, you can’t get enough of my twisted sense of humor.”

  “That’s a bold and rather intense statement.”

  “It’s also true.”

  I lost the internal battle and grinned, failing to hide.

  “See,” he intoned. “Do you feel better?”

  I knew what he was asking without directly putting me on the spot. It was just as he’d done before, and just like then, I appreciated it more than he could ever know.

  “About continually embarrassing myself in front of you? Never. Compared to how I felt thirty-minutes ago, yes,” I admitted honestly.

  “Know how you can make it up to me?”

  I eyed him suspiciously. “Do I want to know?”

  “Play for me.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me.” He stood, grabbing my hand to make me stand with him.

  Practically carrying me over to the piano he moved the bench with his foot and then sat down.

  He planted me directly on his lap, wrapping one arm around my middle to keep me in place.

  “Play,” he commanded, his voice taking on the deliciously sinister tone I was growing fond of.

  Without asking what he wanted to hear, I swallowed and eyed the keys. Going down a darker path, I flexed my wrists and positioned my hands in a way that enabled me to play freely while on his lap.

  I started slow, but the notes came easier this time, the melody rapidly hijacking my brain until it was all that mattered.

  “Musica Ricercata,” Alaric mused. “Good choice.”

  I couldn’t respond. There was something about the low vibrations and dark chords that felt so heavenly, seeping right through my skin.

  I faltered when his lips pressed to the back of my neck.

  “Keep going,” he demanded, his voice low.

  I did as he said, trying to concentrate as his hand roamed to between my legs, pressing against what was sore.

  “Don’t stop,” he murmured in my ear, slipping his palm beneath the waistband of my shorts.

  My breath hitched, a wrong note jarring through the air as deft fingers began to trace my slit. Ignoring the soreness from whatever I had done to myself, I parted my legs, allowing him better access.

  He eased his pointer and index finger into my pussy, twisting so his palm pressed against my clit.

  My own digits slammed the keys harder, faster.

  I matched the tempo in which he began to pump in and out of me. When I couldn’t do anything other than moan and press myself against him the arm around my middle lifted to takeover where I left off.

  Playing with one hand and finger-fucking me with his other, he didn’t miss a single cord. His teeth nipped my neck, eliciting a whimper from my chest. I was going to come. The abruptness of it caught me off guard. My pussy squeezed his fingers, the juices running down my inner thighs and soaking the fabric of my shorts.

  I moaned his name, rolling my hips to add a semblance of the pain I needed, heightening the soreness. He stood abruptly, knocking the bench onto its side.

  He brought his come drenched hand up to my mouth. “Suck.”

  I didn’t need to be told twice, I grasped his wrist and wrapped my lips around his fingers, suckling and swirling my tongue, the taste of my own pussy only making me wetter.

  He took hold of my hand and pulled it off him, removing his digits slowly. He searched my eyes with a butterfly inducing softness within his own. My heartbeat against its cage with a nerve fraying strength.

  I wasn’t sure what to make of him. Alaric was cocky, enigmatic, and he’d openly admitted to being insane. All these things should have been red flags, but my fixation was stubborn and had already dug itself into my brain. I wanted him.

  “You play almost as beautifully as you come.” He leaned in to kiss me, I made no attempts to stop him.

  His hands came up to grasp either side of my face, angling my mouth so he had better access. His body continued to move into mine, forcing me to bow back.

  A screech of chords ruptured the air, digging into me through the fabric of my shirt. I spread my legs apart, allowing him to settle between them. I ran my hands over his shoulders and down his back, silently cursing him for wearing a shirt.

  His cock pressed into my apex, eliciting a soft moan to fall from my mouth as a pinch of pain and pleasure mixed. My pussy throbbed, my internal temperature rising higher as he applied more pressure between my thighs.

  “Alaric,” I breathed.

  His lips moved from my mouth to the crook of my neck, trailing delicate kisses over heated skin.

  “I know what you want,” he murmured, gently nipping my lower lobe. “But I’m not going to give it to you.”

  “Why not?” I didn’t bother trying to keep the sexual tension from my tone. I wanted him to fuck me exactly as he’d done in my very lucid fantasy, but harder. Rougher.

  He drew back and stared down at me with a simpered grin. “When I fuck you again it will be in my bed. You can plan on not being able to get out of it the next day.”

  I furrowed my brows.

  “Again?”

  His gaze flickered over my face, and then his lips were back on mine, more impassioned than before. He rocked into me, causing the ache between my legs to intensify.

  I moaned, arching into him. Just as I brought my hands to his hips, he pulled back completely, moving away.

  Swollen lips and dripping wet, I remained pressed against the keyboard with my legs parted, staring up at him through hazy lidded eyes. He on the other hand looked as if nothing had happened.

  “You’re beautiful all the time, but fuck Catalina. I like you so much better like this. Desperate to be fucked, practically begging for it.”

  “If I do beg, will it get me what I want?” I questioned brazenly, surprising the hell out of myself.

  He sunk his teeth into his lower lip and grinned slowly at me.

  “The only thing you’re getting tonight is sleep. Come on, I’m taking you to bed.”

  The moment fading with the abruptness of his demeanor, I accepted his offered hand.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  He made good on his promise.

  The closet in the guest room had been stocked with woman’s clothing approximately three days ago. It’d been just as long since Alaric had begun teasing me with pleasure.

  He’d proceeded to do so every night since, after we shared dinner. I never got what I wanted, leaving me in a constant haze of sexual longing.

  I suppose on the plus side I’d only had one minor incident since the first.

  I woke up on the main living room sofa. I wasn’t sore this time but the not knowing how
I got there or what I did beforehand left me feeling empty. Not even Alaric could mend that.

  My mind had never terrified me as much as it did when I blacked out large blocks of time. The demons I kept under lock and key could surface without me knowing. This would be the equivalent of letting a pack of feral dogs loose inside a chicken-coop.

  I didn’t understand what was happening to me. I was still taking my medication as prescribed. I’d miss one or two days but that shouldn’t have resulted in this.

  My phone lit up for the millionth time that morning, another text from my mother urging me to call her.

  It was much easier to avoid speaking to her when she couldn’t just show up at the door with a key.

  Of course, I couldn’t avoid her forever. I didn’t know what to say was all. She’d make this Alaric thing a much bigger deal than it was, than she already was since finding out I would be staying for an undetermined amount of time.

  Hearing raised voices, I pushed the box I was about to open aside and wandered into the hall. One was clearly Alaric, the other I couldn’t place. I walked the length of the hallway until I got to one of the upper windows.

  There weren’t any blinds, so I had a perfect view of Alaric standing near his garage. The blonde—Rebecca—was with him. They were no longer yelling, but still looked to be in some kind of heated debate.

  She said something that had Alaric moving into her personal orbit much like he did with me. Rebecca visibly shrank away from him in what could only be described as fear.

  My eyebrows drew together, I stepped closer to better observe the situation unfolding before me. Suddenly, Alaric turned and looked right at the window I was standing in.

  Rebecca wasted no time in making a quick escape. She turned and hauled ass to the pretty red beamer she’d arrived in. I’d never seen anyone move that fast in heels.

  Both curious and concerned about what the hell I’d just seen, I turned away and continued down the hallway. By the time I got downstairs Alaric was back inside. He met me in the foyer, scanning me over from head to toe.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Um, nothing,” I replied slowly. “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

  His expression became puzzled. “Why would you ask me that?”

  “You just had a shouting match in your driveway that resulted in a woman running away from you. Is she really a colleague or is she an ex?”

  “Are you jealous, bellissima?”

  “The only thing I’m jealous about is you fucking everyone but me. Are you going to answer my question?”

  He stepped into my personal bubble and slipped a hand beneath my hair. “Keep salivating for my cock, you’ve no idea what that does to me.” His fingers wrapped my throat, just the way I liked. “For the record, I’m not fucking anyone but you. I don’t plan to.”

  He slipped his free arm around my middle and pulled me further into him, splaying his fingers on my upper back.

  “I like this,” he remarked, thumbing the fabric of my chevron dress just above my ass.

  “Alaric,” I implored.

  He shushed anything else I would’ve said with his mouth. He swiped his tongue across my lower lip, seeking entrance. I kissed him back with fervor, sinking into his touch. He released my throat to tangle a hand in my hair and tugged my head back, forcing me to look up at him after he broke off the kiss.

  “I have to go to the clinic for a bit. Will you be okay by yourself until I get back?”

  His question didn’t sound as if it were asked from a place of concern, but for confirmation I wouldn’t try to leave while he was out. To test my theory, I cupped either side of his face and smiled softly.

  “I’ll be fine. I’m sure I can find something to do until you get back.”

  It was subtle, something I would have missed if I wasn’t watching for it, but my response was met with the smallest release of tension. Why was he so worried I’d slip away like a thief in the night?

  He kissed me one last time, then went to retrieve his keys. I remained in the foyer after he left, my mind thrown back into a tailspin.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The drive to Dream Garden always took longer than it should’ve. Some had no business being behind the wheel of a fucking car. There were three kind of people in this world.

  The wolves.

  The sheep.

  And the hunters who make good use of both. I had experience being each, and I can assure you being the one at the top of the hierarchy is much more rewarding.

  I glanced at the mount attached to my vent to see how far the GPS put me from where I needed to be. The timing not aligning with the one in my head, it was time to make a few moves.

  I swerved into the left lane, cutting off some idiot that had no right being in it since he couldn’t drive the goddamned speed limit. Somehow offended, he laid on his horn. As a result, I slowed down and then hit my brakes. Given only a split second to decide if he’d rear end me or pull to the shoulder, his tires squealed as they came to a rough stop.

  Rolling my window down, I gave the man the universal symbol to fuck off and sped down the highway. See, that was a societal sheep. A wolf would have engaged me in a battle of bumper cars.

  The hunter—me—I’m rear ending you and then flipping the whole situation, so you take the fall for it.

  If you survive me running you the fuck off the road.

  Sometimes you’ve got to pretend to be the victim to become the victor. It’s simple logistics. You do what you must in order to get whatever outcome you want. My current situation was testament to that.

  Had I not needed to pick someone up I wouldn’t have come in today. After Rebecca’s visit, I could’ve done with nothing but Catalina’s company.

  By the time I pulled into the lower parking deck I’d already been gone forty-five minutes. I parked in my reserved spot and pulled up the cameras within the house before getting out.

  Demetri would alert me if there was an issue but for my own peace of mind, I needed to check myself.

  I spotted Catalina instantly.

  She was sitting at the piano talking to someone on the phone. I liked she was starting to play again; she was ethereal whenever she did. Dimming the screen, I got out of the car and used my keycard to gain access to the building.

  Dream Garden had four wards. One was where all the exclusive clients met staff to discuss things, they wanted procured, which was one of the most lucrative and my father’s pride and joy.

  Two was exclusively for the people like me that had a very particular hobby. This clientele rarely changed. We’d all known one another for years now on a somewhat personal level.

  Three was the ward that covered our asses and saw all the mundane patients.

  And then there where I was going, ward four. Where what I liked to call the ‘incurables’ were stashed.

  I wasn’t fond of using the word insane to label every person that behaved erratically—illogically. I did neither and the word could still be used to describe me simply because insanity equated to madness. Madness was often misunderstood. And beautiful. Like Catalina.

  Avoiding majority of my employees because I wasn’t up for playing nice doctor today, I took the elevator straight to ward four. Amy, one of the nurse’s aides was the first to spot me inside the building. We were heading in opposite directions.

  She glanced up from the chart she’d been staring at and came to a stop.

  Her green eyes widened in surprise. “Doctor Schyuler, good afternoon. I didn’t know you’d be in today.”

  “I know you all love when I just drop in.” I flashed a smile meant to charm, getting an immediate reaction.

  Her cheeks turned pink and she suddenly had trouble holding my gaze. “Of course, we do. It isn’t very often we get to speak with you. You know we all love what you and your family are doing here. Sometimes I’m amazed at how many people need somewhere like this.”

  Ah, there was the flattery. It went without saying if Amy or any
of the other intensively screened employees of Dream Garden had a single doubt about the vision we had here, they’d be terminated—entirely.

  This specific location had the same team it had begun with years ago.

  As I regarded Amy with no interest beyond anything professional, I didn’t miss how her eyes drank me in, appreciating the genetics I’d been blessed with. Unfortunately for her I would never blur the line of business with pleasure. Not to mention she wasn’t my type.

  The only woman I was interested in was unknowingly imprisoned at my home. With that in mind I bid Amy goodbye and continued down the hall.

  Unlike local hospitals Dream Garden had been designed with luxury in mind, even for our ward four patients that liked to play in their own shit. The floors were sleek and the art on the walls were all hand chosen pieces depicting the beautiful side of madness.

  The lighting was bright, reminiscent of a perfect spring day. The air was pure and fragranced, not sterile, just clean.

  Opaque melodies played on a continuous loop from the overhead sound system at just the right level to give the patients and staff an emotional lift. It also soothed the ones who suffered a bit more than the others.

  One of my favorite parts of the building’s design was the ceiling, clear with a full view of the sky above. It was like standing out in the open without the risk of rain.

  Reaching the check in area, I knocked on the reinforced window to be buzzed in. Lisa, one of our head nursing directors hired eons ago by my grandmother, sat behind the counter, a sudoku book spread out in front of her a Root Beer at her lips.

  She looked up upon hearing the knock, smiling wide as buzzed me in the secured door adjacent to her station.

  “I was wondering when you’d get here. Your girls been freakin out since she woke up. Thank lord for padded walls, right?”

  “I’ll just be in and out,” I replied.

  She waved me off and returned to her activity book, the row of patient rooms pulled up on individual screens behind her.

  I went down the hall to the right, stopping in the medication room for what I needed. Our main pharmacy was on another ward.