Blackbird

by D T Dyllin

I lifted my gaze to see Noah standing a few feet away, leaning against the wall. His hand was fisted over his heart, where he was rubbing slowly. His chiseled face was pinched as he held all of his emotions in check, all except one. Love for me blazed forth from his cerulean eyes, catching me in their thrall.

  We stared at each other a few moments before I set my guitar aside and went to him. He wrapped me in his strong arms as I climbed his torso, hooking my legs around his back. His mouth slammed into mine, his tongue demanding entrance. I opened for him, needing him inside me every way possible. He walked me into the bedroom, me still attached to him, and kicked the door shut. He threw me onto the center of the bed.

  “Strip now,” he commanded, his voice low and husky.

  What else could I do but obey? I really had no choice. I didn’t even stop to think about turning off the lights, my brain was too fogged with lust to have room for anything but thoughts of Noah and anticipation for what he was about to do to me.

  33

  ~Noah

  Kyle’s songs—the lyrics—fuck—they’d shot straight to my heart, burning a hole that only she could fill. They were so raw, full of her emotions. My entire body tightened. I needed to be inside her, something that I couldn’t seem to get enough of. I wanted to show her exactly how I felt about her—us. I couldn’t write expressive words like her, but I had to do something. She deserved to know what was going on inside my head and heart, it wasn’t fair that all I had to do was listen to her music. I wanted us to be on equal footing.

  Kyle was already naked and waiting for me. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her as I tore my own clothes from my body. I climbed onto the bed, crawling slowly towards her. “I’ll take it easy on you, since you had such a rough night,” I murmured. “We’ll start out slow.”

  I reached into the nightstand and produced one of her vibrators that she’d left behind. I’d popped fresh batteries in it earlier hoping to use it on her. I wasn’t intimidated by sex toys like some men. Hell, I’d bought a slew of them for Kyle when we’d been together, all shapes and sizes. When I wasn’t there to make her come, I liked picturing her using her toys while thinking of me. I also liked using the toys on her, that way she’d have no choice but to picture me when she even looked at one. The vibrator I’d pulled out of the drawer was a classic, long, white, smooth, with a variation of speeds. It’d get the job done. My heart sped up, and my cock jerked with anticipation.

  “I can’t believe you still have that.” She giggled. The pleased sound morphed into a grunt accompanied by a frown. “It is the same one? You didn’t—I mean you didn’t—”

  “I’ve never brought another woman into this house, Kyle. Didn’t I tell you that already? And if I didn’t, I’m telling you now. I’ve never brought another woman into this house. And before you start askin’ any other crazy questions—No, I’ve never used toys with other women, yours or others.” I twisted the vibrator and it buzzed to life. “None of them meant anythin’ to me. You’re the only girl I’ve ever loved.” Before she could say anything else I pressed the vibrator between her thighs.

  “Oh,” she moaned. I moved my wrist in circles, counterclockwise, just the way I remembered Kyle liked. “MmmmHmmm…” she hummed, arching her hips. I twisted the base, upping the speed. Kyle’s mouth opened on a silent scream, her body quivering. I grinned. She never cried out when she came with toys, she claimed it was conditioning from trying to keep it a secret when she’d been younger. I was going to change that tonight.

  When Kyle reached to push the vibrator away, I grabbed both of her wrists in my free hand and pushed them over her head. “Ah-ah—I’m not done.”

  “I want you in me. Now.” She squirmed.

  “Not until I get what I want.”

  “But—don’t—you want that too?” Her mouth opened on another silent scream, her body convulsing.

  “Yeah, darlin’, I do, but not until you scream.”

  Her eyes widened. “No, I can’t. You know I can’t. We’ve tried—” She swallowed her words, another orgasm causing her to jerk on the bed.

  “That was a long time ago. I’m not givin’ up this time.”

  “Aaaaah!” She hissed out in frustration even as she pivoted her pelvis along with the circles I was making. “Don’t do this to me. Too—sensitive—I need a break—stop.” I tore orgasm after orgasm from Kyle’s body, her pussy dripping, completely ready for me. My dick was painfully hard. I refused to give in though.

  Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, with her eyes screwed tight, and her entire body flushed and glistening, Kyle cried out, long and low. I released her and pulled the vibrator away from her clit. She sunk into the bed, panting, appearing boneless. I rolled on top of her, plunging in. She immediately cried out again, quivering around me. I lifted her legs over my shoulders and rocked slowly in and out—in and out.

  I gazed down at Kyle’s face, her eyes still closed. I was overcome with the need to have her look at me—to see me—because she was mine and I wanted recognition of that fact reflected from her deep green pools. “Look at me,” I demanded. “Tell me who you belong to.”

  Kyle’s eyes fluttered open, meeting mine. “You—I belong to you.” She dug her nails into my arms. “And you’re mine.”

  “Always, darlin’,” I rasped, moving faster and faster. “Fuckin’ always.” I exploded inside her, my vision going wonky for a second or two. When I was finished, I collapsed onto my forearms, careful not to put all of my weight on her.

  “I thought you were going to kill me.” Kyle chuckled. “Death by orgasm, what a way to go.”

  “I could think of worse ways.” I pulled out of her slowly, cringing at how sensitive I was. Guess it made two of us now.

  She frowned. “Yeah, me too.”

  “Shhh…now don’t go ruinin’ it. Don’t think of anythin’ but right now.” I rolled onto my side taking her with me. I pressed my chest into her back and wrapped my arms around her. I hated being the kind of guy that fell asleep right after sex but we’d had a long night and I wasn’t a spring chicken anymore. The most amazing part was that I could hold her in my arms and sleep without worrying about hurting her. I knew in my soul that I could never do anything to purposely hurt her. My nightmares were no match for the love I held for Kyle—my Kyle. Sleep already had me in its grasp, and I gave in without a fight when Kyle’s breathing evened out, letting me know she’d lost the battle first.

  34

  ~Kylie

  I snapped latex gloves over my hands and opened the plastic container. I retched from the rancid aroma that met my nose—decay—death. I peered down at the contents of the container—rotting blackbirds, too many to count. I took them out one by one, holding my breath for as long as possible, only taking in oxygen when I absolutely had to. I placed the retched carcasses all over the room, pausing to rip some of them open with a small pocketknife. Maggots squirmed out from the insides of some, others were already covered with them. I tried to ignore it all. This had to be done. I didn’t have a choice. She would thank me in the end. I was doing it all for her. Eye on the prize and all of that.

  When the task was complete, I glanced around the dressing room. I’d been successful. Kylie James was going to get one hell of a surprise when she walked off stage tonight. I snapped off the gloves and slipped out of the room unnoticed.

  I woke up in a cold sweat, my breathing ragged. Noah was asleep behind me, splayed out on his back. Sun peaked through the curtains. I glanced at the clock on the nightstand. We’d been asleep for nearly an hour. It’d felt like the blink of an eye. My stomach rumbled. Apparently my appetite had returned. I stumbled from bed for the second time that morning, and pulled on clothes. I crept out of the bedroom, careful not to wake Noah. He needed sleep. I’d been putting him through the wringer lately with my messes. And even though all the sex we’d been having was definitely not a bad thing, it still was depriving him of much needed rest. He’d been right, he wasn’t exactly a spring chicken anymore, and neith
er was I for that matter.

  I wrapped my arms around my middle and shivered, the nightmare I’d just had still fresh in my mind. “Hey,” I greeted Billy, who was sitting on a stool in the kitchen focused on his laptop. I blushed. “You didn’t hear, um—” Why hadn’t the thought occurred to me that we possibly weren’t alone in the house? Obviously Noah didn’t care—but damn.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Billy’s lips twisted up like he was trying not to laugh.

  My blush deepened. “Yeah, okay…ummm… I’m here for leftovers. I kind of lost my appetite before, but it’s back.”

  “I’m sure it is.” Billy chuckled.

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “Okay, let’s not make this weird. Noah and I had sex. I’m pretty sure you heard it from how you’re reacting. End of story. I don’t want to hear another reference about any of it. It’s not funny. I’m not one of your guy buddies.”

  Billy raised his hands as if surrendering to me. “I’m just happy for you two is all. And yeah, I’m amused seeing Noah act like a thirteen-year-old boy just discovering sex. I’ll stop. With you.”

  Message received. Billy wouldn’t tease me, but he wasn’t going to abstain from harassing Noah. I could live with that. “Leftovers? Please tell me there are some.”

  “In the refrigerator. You know, food keeps better when you put it there instead of letting it just sit out.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” I hurriedly gathered the Cracker Barrel bags from the fridge and started opening them. I didn’t bother to reheat anything, I was too hungry to wait.

  As I started stuffing my face, Billy shut his laptop and turned to face me. “I assume Noah is still sleeping?”

  “MmmHmmm…” I mumbled around some bacon.

  “What woke you up? Your stomach?”

  “Actually, no. I had a nightmare about putting the blackbirds in my dressing room. It was pretty disturbing.” I rolled up a pancake and dipped it into some syrup.

  “You mean you dreamt about what happened to you with the blackbirds in your dressing room?”

  “No,” I said as I rooted around for some grits. “I dreamt I was me but not me. You ever have one of those dreams?” Billy nodded. “Well that’s what the nightmare was. I was—or the me that wasn’t me—was putting the blackbirds in my dressing room. It was pretty gruesome.” I shuddered just thinking about it.

  Billy’s eyebrows rose and he tilted his head to study me. “Any other odd dreams lately?”

  “Nope. Just that one. Why?”

  “Just wondering.” Billy continued to stare at me as if I was some puzzle to be solved. “So just the one about the blackbirds in your dressing room?”

  “That’s what I said. It was so real though. Creeepy.” I polished off what was left of the grits and started shoveling cheesy scrambled eggs into my mouth. Not even the images from my nightmare could affect my appetite this time. “Maybe I’m psychic now,” I joked.

  “Did you know that no one ever saw that note get delivered to the house here?” I nodded as I chewed. It was just one of the many things that was driving Noah crazy. “It just appeared in the pile of mail. And the dead birds delivered to your hotel, same thing.”

  “Okay,” I drawled. “Why are you reiterating things I already know?”

  “Just running over things, trying to make sense of them. Sometimes it helps to repeat them to myself and other people.”

  The urge to change the subject washed over me. “Did you get people scheduled to come fix the window and mirrors?”

  “Yep, later today a friend of mine will be out to take care of it. He’ll hook Noah up with a deal too.”

  “That’s good.” I stood and walked to the fridge, hoping to find some O.J. or sweat tea. “What about—” I was about to mention the message that had been written on the mirror in lipstick at The Stage. I shut my mouth, not wanting to let Noah know that I’d forgotten to tell him about it. It was probably nothing. “Umm—well what about any of the other stuff? Any news on anything?”

  “Nope. Nothing.”

  “It’s all so bizarre.” I opened the carton of O.J. and drank straight from it.

  “It is bizarre. This whole thing is. We’ve never been stumped like this before.”

  I heaved a huge sigh. “I guess I can’t talk you into persuading Noah not to see Conner Vreck then?”

  “No, darlin’, he can’t.” Noah strode into the kitchen looking absolutely edible in shorts and a tight black t-shirt. His muscles rippled with every move and I fought the urge to demand for him to remove his shirt because he was depriving me of top grade eye candy. “Why don’t you go shower and gather your things while I talk to Billy.”

  “My things? Why?”

  “Because we’re not staying here anymore. Let’s see if your little stalker can keep up with us this time. We’re leaving as soon as you’re ready, so hurry.” He smacked my ass.

  “Hey!” I grumbled. “That hurt!”

  “No, it didn’t. Now go on. Don’t make us wait on you forever.”

  I hurried to into the bathroom, wondering where we’d be staying and hoping we wouldn’t be there long. Or then again, maybe with us being elsewhere, the perfect moment to discuss selling the house would present itself.

  Possible silver lining.

  We rolled to a stop near the front of The Flying Saucer, where Billy leaned out the driver side window to pull the ticket for the gate to the parking lot. The lot was below The Flying Saucer, where people staying at The Union Station Hotel also parked. The entire building was built from an old train station. A few old rusted cars littered the area surrounding the lot. Rumor had it that both establishments were haunted. I had a friend that used to be a waitress at The Flying Saucer who swore she’d heard a phone ringing in the poolroom when she’d been cleaning after closing one night. Sometimes lights flickered, and voices could be heard. The same kind of stories were told about the hotel. Nashville was heavily shrouded in haunted lore. Even downtown, at The Stage, strange things had occurred, myself witnessing them.

  As we wound down the ramp to find a parking space I leaned forward to talk to Billy. “You know this place is haaaaunt-eeed. You sure we should stay here?”

  “We’re not,” Noah responded for him. “We just want people to think we are.”

  “Oh.” I slumped back in my seat somewhat disappointed. I’d grown up with Nashville as my stomping grounds and still I’d never stayed at The Union Station Hotel. It wasn’t like I couldn’t afford it now. Things just never seemed to line up. “So what’s the plan then?”

  “We’re gonna have a beer at The Flying Saucer while Billy pretends to get us all settled into the hotel. Our suitcases are fakes. I—”

  “They are? How did I miss that?”

  “Don’t worry ‘bout it, darlin’. This is what we do. We just haven’t been takin’ this whole thing serious enough.”

  “Don’t blame yourself,” I snapped. “I wasn’t that concerned in the beginning either. Creeped out, yes. Concerned, no. But the broken mirrors and window kind of escalated things. That felt like a threat somehow.”

  Ignoring my comments, Noah continued. “Mikey and two of my other men who you haven’t met yet, have our actual baggage and will have it waiting for us at The Hilton. This whole thing is gonna be very cloak and dagger.” Noah grinned at me.

  I bounced in my seat. “Oh, this is going to be fun!” I exclaimed with maybe a bit too much zeal.

  “Told you she’d get a kick out of this.”

  Billy shook his head as he pulled into a parking spot. “At least someone’s having fun.”

  “Don’t be such a grumpy bear!” I smacked at the back of Billy’s bald head playfully. “I used to pretend I was a secret agent when I was a kid. This is going to be like that, but more awesome!”

  “And how old are we now?” Billy grated.

  I didn’t know what his problem was, he really was awfully grumpy all of a sudden. “ You’re only young once, but you can stay immature indefin
itely.”

  “You tell him.” Noah’s grin widened, the corners of his azure eyes crinkling.

  I slumped back into the leather and reached for Noah, the fingers of my right hand finding his left and intertwining. I tugged him closer to me. He was no longer young, neither of us were. The years we’d lost together could be seen in the lines on Noah’s face. So much wasted time. I didn’t want to miss another second with him. I stared up at him, letting my gaze run over every detail in his face, from his hooded eyes to the tiny scar on his chin that I’d always loved. Noah had been a part of me since I’d been just a little girl. I’d grown up with him—together with him. Our lives had wrapped around each other’s like two trees that had been planted too close together.

  Billy cleared his throat. “The two of you can stop staring at each other like a pair of love sick teenagers.”

  Noah dipped his head to deliver me a swift but thorough kiss. “You ready?” His eyes twinkled.

  “As I’ll ever be.”

  35

  ~Noah

  “What has your panties in a twist?” I growled at Billy as Kyle stuffed her costume change, as she put it, into her gigantic purse.

  “I’m just frustrated about this case.” He was eyeing Kyle thoughtfully as if the answers could all be found with her.

  “You and me both, buddy.” I slapped his back. “This plan should go off without a hitch, and then—” I dropped my voice. “Tomorrow mornin’ I’m gonna have my little talk with Conner Vreck.”

  “You going to tell her or you hoping she’s going to sleep through it?”

  “What do you think?” I quirked a brow.

  “That’s what I thought. And if…” Billy’s voice trailed off as Kyle approached us.

  “I’m ready.” She beamed. The way Kyle’s face lit up when she was happy, I wanted it to always look that way. I wanted to always be the reason behind whatever brought her joy.