Perfect Harmony by Sarah P. Lodge Page B

from me, and she would never lie to
me or even hurt me.  She’s so honest and open and free, much like I was at her
age, before the world and time changed me.  Before Sylvia.
    I must not think of her.  Melody is here with me now, and
she genuinely likes me.  Not for my money or my power or my connections, but
for me .
    And that’s something I cannot give up.  Not now, not since I
finally realised what I am missing.
    It may be selfish and naive, but I don’t care.  I must have
more than this one nightstand.
    She smiles at me with that perky smile she always has, and
my heart melts.  Her eyes are so trusting and warm, set into that beautiful
face, with those red pert lips that beg me to kiss them again.
    She glances at me silently, and I’m lost in her gaze. 
There’s nothing else I need in this world except her.
    But that’s ludicrous.  I cannot let myself feel this way.
    It’s wrong to keep her for myself.
    So why do I feel so conflicted?
    “Chase?”
    I break from my daze.  “Hmm?”
    “The way you’re looking at me - is something wrong?”
    I reach out and cup her cheek in my hand and she falls into
it instinctively.  Less than a day together, and we already have our own coded
affections.
    I stroke down to the nape of her neck, my fingers lightly
dancing over the swell of her ample breasts under the shirt.
    She lets out a short gasp and bites her lip.
    And I kiss her again.  Her silky sweet lips caress my own,
sweeping us into another passionate frenzy.  Everything about her screams for
me to take her, to want her and have her.
    I can’t give her up.  Not now - not when I feel this way.
    I stand up, grabbing her in my arms.  I push her against the
wall and kiss her ear.
    She writhes beneath my touch, and my fingers find the
buttons on her shirt.  I undo them one by one, until the shirt drops to the
floor, exposing that perfect naked body to me.
    Her head leans back and I kiss her neck, my fingers all over
her body, and before I know it - her fingers untie the sash of my robe and it
drops to the floor.
    And then we’re on the priceless Persian rug and I’m inside
her and our naked bodies undulate against each other in the fit of lovemaking.
    And that is how we spend the rest of the day; making love in
every room in my penthouse, against every surface and in every position
imaginable.  And each time, it ends the same way; we’re in each other’s arm,
embraced in the silent haze of blissful calm that always follows.  Together.
    ***
    I t is five o’clock in the morning when I wake in my master
bed.  Melody is beside me, sleeping like an angel with a trickster’s grin a
mile wide across her lips.
    I’m so exhausted - we fucked so many times, I’ve completely
lost count.  But it was like I had no choice - every time I had her, the
longing and desire to have her again coiled up in me more and more.  Every time
I thought it would be the last, but it never was.
    Until now.
    Our weekend together is over.  I kiss her on the cheek and
she stirs.
    “ Mmmmm... ”
    She’s fast asleep, but her mouth opens like she’s about to
whisper.
    “ Mmmm.... Chase... .”
    My name.
    My heart skips a beat, and a feeling of warmth fills my
chest.  But almost instantly, it’s replaced with a deep pang of regret and
guilt.
    She’s falling in love with me.
    Damn it.  I knew this would happen.  I knew bedding a virgin
and expecting her to separate love from sex was impossible.  It’s always the
same - every virgin is naive and innocent and consumed with a desire to be
wanted.
    And Melody deserves to be wanted.  She’s a remarkable woman;
so vibrant and interesting and warm.  She deserves someone who can give her the
love which she deserves.  Someone not broken and wrong and empty. 
Someone actually capable of love.
    She deserves someone better than me.
    I stare at her naked body with a faint sense of longing for
something I can never have, and the desire to have her again fills me.
    Frustrated, I