Her Dark Melody

by Michelle Love

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  One year later…

  Romy grinned as she watched Ebony struggling with a very wriggly five-month-old. Even still tiny, Matilda knew how to twist her mother around her finger. Romy’s own twins, now almost two, were chasing their big sister around with the help of Fino.

  “Can you manage?” She finally asked Ebony, who rolled her eyes.

  “Yeah, just about…she’s a little monster.” She blew a raspberry on her daughter’s belly which made her giggle and chirrup. Ebony kissed her soft, downy cheek and hugged Matty to her. “But I do love you, squishy girl.” She kissed her again, then handed her off, somewhat reluctantly to Cormac, who swung the child up in his arms, the usual look of elation all over his face. There was no question the man was totally besotted.

  Atlas watched them, smiling. “What a weird family I have,” he said, not for the first time, and laughed as they all groaned.

  “Every time, you say that.” Ebony touched his cheek, and he pulled her onto his lap, pressing his lips to hers.

  Their extended family – Atlas and Ebony, Matty and Fino, Cormac and Lydia, Stanley and Vida, plus the Allende’s – were enjoying a late summer barbeque together before Atlas and Ebony flew off for their long-awaited and well deserved honeymoon in the Seychelles.

  “Two weeks of fucking you is all I want right now,” Atlas murmured softly into Ebony’s ear, and she shivered with excitement. “I’m going to have you as soon as we get to that villa on the beach, in every room, in every way, baby.”

  Ebony hid a groan of desire. “Well, you better keep that promise.”

  They both chuckled. Since Ebony had given birth to their daughter – Atlas still regarded Matty as his as well as Cormac’s – they had grown even closer. When Ebony had woken after days of being in a post-surgery-induced coma, Atlas had spent hours apologizing to her until she stopped him and told him to kiss her instead. He happily obliged.

  Ebony, in turn, was delighted that some good had come out of the horror of her and Fino’s abduction. Cormac and Atlas were working on their relationship, Cormac dropping his custody suit. A devastated Stanley and Vida buried Bella – Ebony had defended the young woman and Stanley, in particular, had been grateful for that. “It’s what Vida needs to hear now,” he said softly, kissing Ebony’s cheek. They found out from Mateo’s murderer that he had tricked her into letting him into the grounds that day, and that the shame of it had led her to panic when Carson Franks began to blackmail her.

  “Bella was simply too naïve,” Stanley said, and Vida nodded. Vida herself had changed, become almost unrecognizable as the slightly annoying, vapid woman she had been. The loss of her only child had made her realize what she had with Stanley was precious, and as a result, they had never been closer.

  Romy had recovered from her stabbing, although she still walked with a limp and used a cane. After months of rehabilitation, she was eager to get back to work at Haven. Knowing Blue was reticent, Atlas had made sure that Haven was a safe place to work for all of his staff as well as the residents. The move appeased Blue a little, but Romy was insistent on returning.

  Carson Franks, knowing he was finished, made a plea-deal – he would plead guilty to avoid the death penalty and was sentenced to life imprisonment without the chance of parole. He would die behind bars. The relief they all felt that Romy, Atlas, Ebony and probably Fino would not need to testify was palpable.

  Later that night, Ebony kissed her daughter and held her tightly. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay with her?”

  Cormac rolled his eyes and Lydia – who, surprisingly, Ebony had become very close to over the months – smiled. “We can’t wait, Ebs, don’t worry. Matty is going to be spoiled rotten over the next two weeks.”

  Ebony grinned. “That’s what I’m afraid of, Lyds.”

  Lydia laughed and took Matty from Ebony. “Look at this chubby face…adorable. Now, say goodbye to Mommy and Daddy, freckle.”

  Matty grinned and waved a hand at them, making them laugh. Matty was the happiest child Ebony had ever known – but then again, she was biased.

  Atlas kissed his daughter. “Be good for Poppa and Lydia, little one. Love you.” He turned and grabbed a passing Fino, swinging the laughing boy up into a hug. “And love you too, kiddo. Look after your sister for us.”

  “Will do, Pa.” Fino kissed Atlas’s cheek then went to hug Ebony. “Bye, Ma.”

  Ebony hugged him tightly. “Love you, pickle.” She met Atlas’s gaze over the top of Fino’s head, both of them moved beyond words. It was the first time Fino had called them Ma and Pa.

  They talked about it later on the plane, and then in the taxi as they travelled over the island. Outside, the ocean was a sparkling blue, the flora and fauna colorful, and the sun’s heat soaked into their skins.

  Atlas kept his promise. The moment the taxi driver had brought their bags into the villa and left with a generous tip, Atlas swung Ebony into his arms, making her giggle as he bore her off to the bedroom. It took two tries to find it, but as soon as she saw the huge bed, swathed in white mosquito netting, she grinned at him. Atlas dropped her onto the soft mattress and dropped between her legs, pushing up her dress and yanking her panties from her.

  Ebony hardly had time to catch her breath before his mouth was on her, his tongue lashing around her clit, tasting and biting down on the sensitive bud until Ebony came, her body writhing beneath his as he moved to kiss her mouth. Atlas hitched her legs around his waist and thrust into her, making her moan with desire as he began to move, his rhythmic thrusts measured and deep. Ebony crushed her lips against his as they fucked hard, clawing at each other, the intensity increasing until they were both coming, moaning each other’s name.

  Making love late into the evening, they eventually collapsed from hunger and exhaustion, and enjoyed some food out on the veranda. Atlas stroked his hand through her hair and she leaned into his touch. “You know what’s strange? I feel this is the first time we’ve really been alone since we met.”

  Ebony laughed. “Well, technically, we are. I had Matty in my belly the very first time we met so, yeah, you’re right.”

  They both laughed. “You know what this means?”

  “What?” Ebony was grinning, seeing the lascivious look in his eye, and knowing exactly what he was going to say.

  “It means, my beautiful, sexy wife, that we can do very, very dirty stuff, all day, every day…”

  Ebony leaned over and kissed him gently. “Just how dirty are we talking, Mr. Tigri?”

  “Well,” he said, pulling her onto his lap, “why don’t we go back to bed and I’ll show you exactly how dirty?”

  Ebony giggled and stroked his face. “I love you so much, Atlas. So very much.”

  And he lifted her into his arms and took her back to bed.

  It was the middle of the night when she woke to a deep blue moonlight. Getting up, she went to the window and gazed out at the ocean, lapping at the little beach outside their villa. One year, six weeks, four days. Her life had completely changed in that time. Not only had she met Atlas, married him, and had her first child – their first child – she had become an adoptive mother and had survived kidnapping and injury.

  All that…and now she was on the cusp of a major moment in her career. Over the last few months she had been working with Quartet record company and was about to release her first album. After this holiday, she would start to promote the record and then, in a few months’ time, a tour. A tour of the best jazz clubs in America, starting with Alley Cats in Seattle down on 6th Avenue.

  Ebony shivered in anticipation, then sighed happily as she felt Atlas’s arms slide around her waist and he pressed his lips down on her shoulder.

  “Bed got cold,” he said and she chuckled.

  “I doubt the temperature here drops below eighty degrees even at night.”

  Atlas laughed softly, “Okay, then, bed got empty.”

  Ebony turned in his arms and gazed up at him. He made her h
eart beat faster, just with that gorgeous green-eyed gaze. She smoothed her fingers over his features, drinking him in.

  Atlas smiled down at her. “You’re so beautiful. What were you thinking about?”

  Ebony smiled, pressing her naked body against his and her lips against his mouth. “Tomorrow,” she said, and led him back to bed.

  The End.

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  Went to the toy store for my kid, came home with a woman for me… Something inside of me began to smolder for her that hot afternoon. Once I had her within my walls, I couldn’t think about anything other than getting my hands on her, using her body to quench the fire that had grown inside me. Taking her in every way imaginable and making her beg for more, were my devious plans. She’d become my hot little muse, making nightly visits to her master’s bedroom to lend me some of her sexual magic. But would our little secret be the only thing that could separate us…

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  Her Dark Melody Extended Epilogue

  A Billionaire Romance

  September…

  As they lazed about in their bed in their home in Seattle, Atlas Tigri chuckled and nudged his wife with his foot. “Hey, sleepyhead, here’s a great one. Verlaine’s ‘Angelheart’ is a throwback to the sheer class and subtlety of Fitzgerald and Holiday, albeit, with a fiery sensuality which leave the listener’s skin tingling—and perhaps in need of more than one post-coital cigarette.”

  Ebony sat up on their bed as Atlas skimmed through the reviews of her new album on his laptop. “It really says that?”

  Atlas spun the computer around so she could read the review herself. “Wow.” Ebony had been so nervous about releasing this album, her sophomore effort, because she had unleashed all her emotions on it; her love for Atlas, for her children, Matty and Fino, for her family. Angelheart was also a love letter to New Orleans, to the place where she had begun her musical career in clubs and cafés, and only the previous night, she had held her launch party at one of the first bars she’d ever sung, the Hot Tin Roof—which also happened to be the place where her boss’ wife, Kym Clayton, had run away to before finding success with her own band. Roman Ford of the Quartet Record company had made sure the place was packed with both industry types, fans, and all of Ebony’s family and friends.

  They’d played a small set early in the afternoon so that Ebony and Atlas’s children could help her celebrate. Ten-year-old Fino, her adoptive son, and three-year-old Matty, were, along with Atlas, her biggest cheerleaders and she’d wanted them to be part of the celebration. They’d had a riotous time, even the adults, who had stuck to soft drinks for this little party, enjoying the happy family vibe.

  In the evening though, the atmosphere had changed, becoming adult and sensual. And when Ebony had performed some tracks from Angelheart, including the sexually-charged title track, she had seen Atlas, and only him, as he watched from the audience, his green eyes burning with desire for her. She had held his gaze throughout the song and later, when the children had been borne off by Ebony’s brother and sister-in-law, Obe and Juno, for a weekend, Atlas and Ebony had returned to their hotel suite and made love for most of the night.

  Now, she crawled over to him and kissed him. “Sorry, morning breath.”

  Atlas laughed. “You taste gorgeous, baby. Man, last night …”

  Ebony grinned and wriggled into his arms. Atlas pushed the computer aside and wrapped his arms around her. “I think it’s safe to say, on this evidence, that your record is a critical success, baby. I’m so proud of you.”

  “Thank you for inspiring most of it,” Ebony said, trailing her lips along his jawbone. “Scratchy.”

  Atlas grinned down at her. “I thought you liked me with a beard.”

  “I do. I like Scratchy.” She nibbled at his chin and made him laugh.

  “You’ve named my beard?”

  “Not just your beard.” They both started to laugh then, Atlas tickling her.

  “You little nut job. Do I want to know what you’ve named my cock?”

  “You might.”

  Atlas laughed loudly. “As long as it’s not ‘Tiny’ or ‘Floppy,’ I don’t care.”

  Ebony grinned. “It’s definitely not either of those, big boy.”

  Atlas flipped her onto her back and hitched her legs around his waist. Ebony smiled up at him as she stroked his cock until it was ramrod hard and Atlas plunged it into her. Ebony moaned, the feel of him inside intoxicating, sending shivers through her body. As they moved together, they kissed, talking softly, murmuring each other’s name.

  Atlas increased his pace, slamming his hips as Ebony encouraged him deeper and deeper, then as he groaned and came, Ebony’s body spasmed with her own release.

  “God …” She breathed as they recovered, “It just keeps getting better and better with you.”

  Atlas pressed his lips to hers. “Even after kids.”

  Ebony grinned. “Well, enjoy this weekend, baby; these moments we have to ourselves are rare.”

  “Which reminds me,” Atlas said, looping his arm around her shoulders. “Your birthday in November … I might have arranged for us to go away for another long weekend around then.”

  Ebony smiled. “You did?”

  “Uh-huh. And, my love … I thought we might try some new things … some new things that will involve you wearing little else but leather …”

  “Really?” Ebony chuckled, desire igniting in her eyes. “You do, do you?”

  “Mm-hmm.” He covered her body with his again. “What do you say, sweetheart? Wanna practice some mild BDSM?”

  “With you, anything,” she said and gasped as, grinning, Atlas thrust his cock back into her, and they made love again until dawn broke over the city.

  November …

  “When you said a weekend break, silly me, I thought you meant a cabin down at Lake Tahoe,” Ebony grinned as they looked out over the rooftops of Jaipur. “Not a freaking palace in India.”

  Atlas laughed. “Well, you never let me take you away or spend money on you, so I thought I would go way over the top.”

  They were standing on the rooftop terrace of the Maharajah’s Pavilion at Raj Palace, enjoying the panoramic view of the lights as the day grew dark. Atlas had laughed when they had drawn up to the pavilion and Ebony’s jaw had dropped. Inside, the four-floor apartment was sumptuous, and over the top in its decoration. Ebony had walked through each room slowly, drinking in every detail, every jeweled surface, every colorful decoration. In the bedroom, the huge gilded bed was comfortable, and no sooner had their busboy brought their luggage and left them alone, than Atlas had swept Ebony onto the bed.

  “You like?”

  “It’s … like some sort of fantasy world,” Ebony was clearly shell-shocked. She grinned at him. “It’s so different, Atlas, to anything I’ve ever experienced … what a wonderful surprise.”

  “Well, that was the purpose of this vacation … to try new things.” His gaze was intense on hers and she smiled, her own eyes sleepy with desire.

  “Well, why don’t you unwrap me and see what I have in store for you?”

  His eyes lit up. “Oh, ho, ho, so I’m not the only one who’s been keeping secrets?”

  Ebony wriggled with pleasure and laughed. “Nope.”

  Atlas, grinning, slowly unbuttoned her lilac tea dress and then as he pulled the fabric apart, he drew in a sharp breath. “Jesus, Ebony …”

  A delicate gold chain crisscrossed her glorious body, making her dark skin glow, framing her breasts and her belly, sweeping between her legs. On her breasts were two gold nipple clamps. Atlas pressed his mouth to her throat, his hands
running over her curves as Ebony stretched out, sighing happily. “Take your clothes off, Atlas; I want to see your body.”

  Atlas stripped, almost frenzied in his impatience to get back to her body. As he covered her body with his, Ebony ran her hands over his hard pecs, down his flat stomach, and took his cock in her hands. “I want to taste you.”

  “Together?”

  She nodded and he moved so she could take his cock into her mouth while his own sought out her sex, lashing his tongue around her clit and dipping deep into her cunt. They brought each other to an exquisite orgasm, then Atlas hitched her legs around his waist and plunged his huge cock into her as she cried out his name. They fucked furiously, then as she came again, Atlas reached over and grabbed a thick dildo. “I’m going to fuck you with my dick in your cunt and this in your ass … you ready?”

  “Oh god, yes …” Ebony was delirious with pleasure as Atlas hooked her ankles over his shoulder and slid the dildo into her ass as his cock ream her cunt mercilessly.

  Ebony’s brain whirled; her eyes rolled back as she was fucked so expertly by her husband and when she came, she was astonished that it hit her so hard, her body jerked and she almost creamed the place down. She’d never let go as much as she did, and afterward, as she was catching her breath, she saw Atlas wasn’t nearly done with her.

  “Box of toys, little one,” he said, and brought out a flat paddle. Ebony immediately rolled onto her stomach and squealed with pleasure as Atlas brought the paddle down hard on her buttocks. The quick, sharp pain, coupled with Atlas murmuring what he wanted to do to her made her cunt swell and dampen and she felt his hand snake between her legs, stroking her, sliding two fingers inside her, then three, then four as he stretched her out. His thumb stroked a gentle rhythm over her clit, juxtaposing the tenderness with the sting of the paddle.

  “Your perfect little butt has goosebumps on it,” Atlas said, and Ebony chuckled.