Chapter 16
Brody
Shopping with Melody is the most fun I’ve ever had in my life.
And I don’t even like shopping. For one thing, I don’t remember the last time I took three days off work.
With the exception of a few texts and calls, I have spent every moment, both waking and sleeping, devoted to her since I walked into the library on Saturday.
To get up on a Monday morning and spend the day with the love of my life is unimaginable.
And yet here I am doing it. I suspect it’s weird for her, too.
She’s made it clear that she operates on a strict, tight schedule.
It starts early in the morning and lasts most of the day. She’s as much of a workaholic as I am.
First, I drive us to a sex shop she’s been to before.
My girl knows her sex toys. She has dozens of them.
I nearly peed myself laughing when she told me that sex toys are absolutely a business write-off for her.
In fact, she insists that whatever we buy today in this store will be charged to her business credit card.
I’m not going to argue with her on this. I understand. I do everything I can to ensure I can expense things. We both own our own businesses. Same principle.
Melody is not shy in the store. I shouldn’t have expected her to be. She knows her kink products, but she’s never used anything that would require another person.
“How about one of these?” I ask her for the tenth time.
I’m dragging her from item to item, mostly to gauge her reaction.
And she’s good at controlling her expressions.
She has fooled me into thinking she likes or hates a few items before breaking form and telling me to put them back or stack them on the checkout counter with the rest of our haul.
She rubs her chin. “Hmmm. Where would we put it? Do you think the beams above the bedroom are strong enough to hold a swing?”
I shrug. “Maybe not with as much as you might weigh in a few months, but probably today,” I tease.
She swats at me. “Brody!”
I hold my arms in front of my face as if I need to protect myself, but I can’t stop laughing. When she’s done slapping at me, I reach for the swing box.
“No fucking way, Brody. Put that back.”
This is how we end up with a restraint system, a paddle, a flogger, leather cuffs, and a breast pump. It’s the sort one would use to pretend, not the kind we’ll actually need when she’s engorged with milk.
When we leave the store, I set my GPS and take my girl to a high-end lingerie shop. This purchase is going to be on me.
“I thought you decided you like my plain, ugly panties,” she jokes as I lift her out of the truck.
“Baby, I love them. You can wear them every day. They’re not ugly. They’re sexy as fuck. But sometimes, you might like to lounge around in something with black lace. Or maybe red?” I grab her hand and lead her into the store.
I’m not shy. When the saleswoman approaches us, I start talking. “My girlfriend needs some things that will make her feel sexy. Some panty-and-bra sets and some negligees.”
The woman is more than happy to help. “Any specific colors?” She’s looking Melody up and down, probably working out her sizes.
Melody glances at me. Her cheeks are pink.
I lift her chin and kiss her sweetly. “You pick, baby. Whatever you want.” I point to a chair in the corner and head that direction. I don’t want her to be influenced by me, plus some surprises will be fun.
In the end, she doesn’t show me a single thing she chooses. I hand my credit card to the cashier after all the purchases are in the bag, and we’re done.
“Lunch?” I ask after we stash our latest purchase in the truck.
“Starving.”
We’re in a strip mall, and I spot a deli. “Sandwiches?”
“Perfect.” She wraps her arm around mine and leans into my bicep as we head for the restaurant. My heart is so full. Nothing can dampen my mood. Perhaps ever.
It’s not until the afternoon when we’re on our way back to Melody’s cottage that I remember the electricity went out before we left. I slow down and pull off the side of the road about a block from her house when I see two electrical trucks with cones out.
“Wait here, baby,” I say as I jump down and head toward the four electricians. Two of them have been helping me in town.
A guy named Robert comes toward me. “Hey, Brody. Were you the one who called this in this morning?”
“I reported the electricity being out at Melody Thorne’s house,” I tell him.
He rubs the back of his neck.
I don’t like the vibe of this conversation. “What’s the problem?”
“Someone deliberately cut the lines.”
“Fuck,” I mutter as I rub my jaw. “How many homes lost power?”
He winces. “Just Melody’s. Her house is the only one at the end of this section.”
My heart rate picks up as I glance at the truck to make sure my girl’s still sitting where I left her. I don’t really want her to overhear this. I’m not going to keep it from her, but she’s going to hear it from me when we’re alone. Not from four guys on the side of the road.
Robert continues, “Could have just been some kids being stupid, but I’m not really buying that. Whoever did this knew exactly how to cut the power to her house for a good chunk of time. It’s going to take us several more hours to get it reestablished.”
“Jesus…” I take several deep breaths. My gut tells me to take this seriously. “Thanks. No need to rush. There’s no way she’ll be staying there tonight.”
Robert nods. “Thanks. Appreciate it. You might want to call the sheriff and have him meet you at the house if you’re headed there.”
He’s right. I pull my phone out and dial Dallas first. He picks up on the first ring. “Married yet?”
“Not yet, but we have a problem.”
“On my way. Where are you?”
“Melody’s house. I suspect someone is fucking with her. I don’t like it. I’m going to have Sheriff Johnston meet us there as well. But I could use a second set of hands packing up some of her things.”
“I’ll grab Tiago and leave Ryder here with the women.”
“Thanks, man.” I hang up and dial the sheriff next.
“Sheriff’s office. This is Tonya.”
“Tonya, it’s Brody.”
“Hey, Brody. Did they get the electricity back up?”
“No. They’re working on it. Listen, it looks like it was deliberately cut. Can you send someone out?”
“Dammit. That sucks. Yes, I’ll tell Sheriff Johnston now. I’m sure he’ll want to come out himself.”
“Thanks.” I end the call and make my way back to the truck. After climbing back into the cab, I shut the door and face Melody.
Her eyes are wide, and she’s taking deep breaths. “What’s wrong?”
I take her hand. “Someone cut the lines to your house on purpose.”
She slowly closes her eyes, her jaw tight.
“I’m sorry, baby. The sheriff is on his way. So are Dallas and Tiago.”
My girl looks out the window, still not speaking.
“I’d rather wait for them to arrive before we go there.”
She nods.
“I’m so sorry. This really sucks. Maybe it’s nothing. Could be coincidence that the cut lines happen to be yours, but we’re not taking any chances. I don’t want to get to your house without backup.”
Melody takes deep breaths. Still, not a word.
I lift her hand to my lips and kiss her fingers. “No matter what, it’s going to be okay,” I tell her.
She nods again. Melody’s strong. I’m not sure that’s a good thing. I don’t like her holding in her emotions. Certainly not for my sake. There aren’t even tears in her eyes. It’s as if she suspected something like this would eventually happen to her, and now it has.
She told me about her paranoia. It’s not unfounded. Maybe the fact that she sometimes hears cars driving by is not her overreacting like she hopes. I get it. Sometimes, people who are well-known end up in the path of crazed assholes.
The sheriff pulls up alongside me, slows to a crawl, and waves before nodding toward the house. I follow him.
Seconds later, I park in the driveway. Already, my jaw is so tight I could punch someone.
Melody simply leans against the window and stares at the front of her cottage. Vandals have definitely been here. Fuckers. Someone probably cut the power lines so they could chase her out of her house to give them time to vandalize her property. Thugs.
“Lock the doors and stay in the truck, baby.”
She nods. I’m glad she’s not arguing with me, but I hate that she’s so withdrawn. Pisses me right the fuck off. I’d rather she be shouting obscenities. I expect her to be cussing. I don’t know what to do with this resigned stoic side of her.
I meet the sheriff on her patio. “Motherfucker,” he mutters.
“She thinks someone’s been watching her,” I tell him. “She was hoping she was just being paranoid.”
Johnston points at the Ring camera. “I’ll bet the first thing they did was spray paint the camera lens.”
He’s right.
“Colorful vandal,” he comments. “Both in his selection of colors and his vocabulary.”
In red on the front door is the word WHORE. In blue across the windows to the right is the word SLUT. In green on the siding is the word HEATHEN. What a fucking dick.
The sheriff tries the door. It’s locked. It hasn’t been kicked in. That’s when I notice a brown-wrapped package leaning against the house as if it were delivered today. I bend down to pick it up. It’s small. There’s no address or postage that I can see on it. Not on this side anyway.
The sheriff grabs my arm. “Don’t touch it.”
“Right.” What the fuck was I thinking? I know exactly what it is, and I don’t want the sheriff to open it. “Can you possibly dust it for prints and not open it?”
He glances at me, brows furrowed. “Why would I do that? Whatever it is could be dangerous. It might have been meant to harm her.”
“It is meant to harm her. But it’s not dangerous. It’s a book.”
His brows lift. “Ah, right. Fuck me. Someone has discovered her.”
I nod. “That’s my thinking. It’s going to be one of her books. To let her know someone knows who she is.”
“I’ll do some testing through the package to verify it’s a book, but I won’t open it. You have my word.”
“Thank you. It would mean a lot to Melody and me.”