Defying the Odds by Kele Moon Page A

effort to hold himself up and eventually gave out. He fell on top of Melody, who grunted under his weight. Knowing it was too much, he reluctantly rolled off her.
     
    Clay lay there trying to catch his breath, his heart beating the hell out of his ribs. Recovery took longer than he wanted to wait to touch Melody. He reached out, wrapped his fingers around her upper arm, and tugged gently until she turned and draped herself over him.
     
    “Nice.” Melody hummed, her cheek resting against his chest. “’M, sleepy.”
     
    “Then go to sleep.” Clay knew how hard she worked. Rest was precious when she was always working double shifts, and he wanted her to have as much of it as possible. “There ain’t nothing stopping ya from closing your eyes.”
     
    Melody took the suggestion and snuggled closer to him. Her legs tangled with his. Her cheek rubbed against his chest. Her hand petted and touched for a few minutes. It didn’t take her long to fall lax over him, her breathing evening out to the gentle rhythm of deep sleep. Clay was right there with her. Surrendering himself to the heaviness of gratified exhaustion was easy. He fell asleep, happy and sated, with Melody curled up in his arms.

Chapter Five
     
     
    Melody woke up slowly, which was nice. No blaring alarm clock, no stumbling exhaustion while she tried to get ready without falling asleep standing up. She savored the gentle rise to full alertness, her body still contented from the night before if not a little sore.
     
    She rolled over, grabbing the pillow Clay had slept on, searching for his scent. It actually smelled disappointingly familiar, but she could pretend he hadn’t used her shampoo and body wash in the shower. She thought she smelled him underneath her bath products, and her eyes drifted closed once more.
     
    She wasn’t disheartened to be alone. She knew Clay got up before the chickens to train. She wasn’t real sure why , but she was expecting it. That bouncing out of bed business was not for her. If she didn’t have to get up before noon, she wouldn’t. She didn’t have that inborn need to be productive before the sun rose, but Clay did.
     
    How country was that?
     
    She really wanted to go back to sleep and drift on waves of erotic dreams that were obviously an aftereffect of the mind-blowing evening with Clay, but real life started to intrude. She remembered her uniform still on the bathroom floor that needed to be washed before work. She’d have to get up now if she wanted it to be dry in time.
     
    Her progress of getting out of bed and getting moving was leisurely, which was a nice treat all by itself. She tossed her uniform in the wash first thing, but then she stood by the kitchen counter in her bathrobe and fuzzy pink slippers sipping a cup of sludgelike instant coffee.
     
    She was definitely asking Santa for a coffeemaker this Christmas.
     
    Melody was still sipping her terrible instant coffee—the burn of it waking her up more than anything—when a knock sounded on the door. She set her coffee down and frowned, not expecting anyone. She was hoping it was Clay, but her past made her cautious.
     
    “Who is it?” she called out when she got to the front door, knowing she needed a peephole.
     
    “I have some documents for Mrs. Andrews.”
     
    Melody stared at the door, an icy cold wash of fear swamping her system. The shock of it stole her breath. The fall from peaceful to terrified happened between one heartbeat and the next. It took her a few seconds to get acclimated. She’d gotten too comfortable with Clay, too used to feeling safe. She wasn’t accustomed to the terror anymore.
     
    “Ma’am?”
     
    “Sorry,” Melody said, still trying to get her bearings. She opened the door. It probably wasn’t the safest idea, but the reality was Justin wouldn’t have paid someone to grab her and then used her married name. He was craftier than that. She found a clean-cut young man bundled up against the cold, a