A Seductive Melody (The Kelly Brothers Book 5) by Crista McHugh Read Free Book Online Page B

put her jacket back on against the cool autumn air. The scent evoked the memories of how well her body molded against his on the ride over, and a wayward twinge of desire stirred through his veins. “Can I give you a ride home?” he asked.
    She bit her bottom lip, her pupils growing larger under the glow of the streetlights. Her gaze flickered to his motorcycle and then back to him. She inhaled, her body tightening up with excitement. Then her shoulders slumped as she released her breath. She took a step back and shook her head. “Thanks, but I’m going to have to pass. Besides, the subway’s right over there.”
    Her rejection doused the heat in his blood. “I suppose I shouldn’t have offered. The anonymous thing and all.”
    “No, it’s not that.” She gripped the shoulder strap of her bag, running her hands up and down it as she stared at the sidewalk. “As much as I’d like to, I know I shouldn’t.”
    “Meaning?”
    She looked up at him through her lashes long enough for him to see the attraction wasn’t one sided. But she continued to back away. “I’ll see you next week?”
    His pride stung. She might have been turned on by him, but not enough for her to forget he was a recovering junkie. Thankfully, though, his wounded pride kept him from showing her how battered it really was. He stiffened his spine and got on his bike. “Maybe.”
    “Maybe?”
    He refused to let her know how much of a sucker he had grown to be for her company. “Maybe.”
    Becca’s lower lip jutted out into a pout that practically invited him to take it between his teeth. However, this wasn’t some simpering trick meant to guilt trip him into saying yes. Based on the deepened furrow above her nose, this was actual bewilderment.
    Good. Keep her guessing .
    But when she turned around and started walking in the opposite direction, something shifted inside. His confidence fell like a trap door, plunging him into the pit of doubt. It dragged him under, surrounding him like quicksand and smothering the fragile hope he’d only recently discovered. His lungs burned for air, and his slick palms slipped off the throttle. She was leaving him alone with his inner demons. A black tunnel narrowed his vision, closing in on him.
    He cried her name out in desperation.
    She turned around, only few feet farther than she’d been. Not the miles his panic had imagined her to be. “Yes?” she asked, her voice rising with worry.
    His heart rattled so hard a tremble shook his fingers, but the tightness in his chest eased enough to allow him to gulp in a breath of relief. She answered him when he called, just like she said she would. “Does it ever go away?”
    He didn’t need to elaborate. Her eyes darkened with regret. “No, but it gets easier with time.”
    “But there’s no cure? No way to be completely free of it?”
    She shook her head. “But remember what I said about filling the void with something else.”
    “And what if there is nothing else?”
    Instead of fading in the distance, the click of her heels on the cement came closer. A set of fingers ran along his jaw and forced him to turn his head toward her. “Do you really believe that?”
    The doubt grew louder, whispering in the back of his mind that he was nothing without his muse. “Do you?”
    “No,” she said in a hushed voice.
    He longed to lift her hand to his cheek and press his head against her chest, soaking in all the comfort she could give him. But his pride wouldn’t let him reveal how fucked up he was inside. He jerked his chin in the opposite direction and yanked on his helmet.
    “Ethan, I meant what I said about calling me if you need to talk to someone. Don’t give in to the doubt, the despair. It does get easier, and I’m here to help you in any way I can.”
    He revved up the engine and rode away before she discovered he was beyond help.

Chapter Four
     
    Ethan placed his fingers on the familiar piano keys and willed them to create a melody. Growing up,