Perfect Harmony by Sarah P. Lodge Page A

over.”
    Chase crosses his arms and returns his stare to the front of
the limo.
    “No,” I say.
    “No?  What do you mean no ?”
    “I’m not going to let things end like this.  You think you
can kiss me like that and then throw me away like a piece of garbage?”
    “This is exactly what I mean - you want love.”
    “I don’t want love,” I spit out.  “I want sex.  Hot steamy,
limbs flailing sweat dripping wild animal sex.”
    He looks me over with an element of surprise.  And, is that
intrigue I also see?
    “I’m saving you from making the biggest mistake of your
life,” says Chase.  “One day, you’ll find someone worthy of being with you,
someone able to give you everything you need.”
    “I’m tired of waiting.”
    A bitter wind howls past the open door, and an empty plastic
bag rolls across the wet cement.
    I can’t leave.  Not now, not here.  Everything I ever wanted
and needed is in this limo.  The perfect man to usher me into womanhood and
teach me everything he knows.  And then I’d be free to explore the world on my
own, strong and powerful and alive.
    I can’t go through those double doors and back to my old
life.  I can’t go upstairs and find Liz and Richard, together and happy,
laughing and singing in each other’s arms, while I whittle away my life day by
day, broken and alone in that darkness.
    I’m not going back to that.  I refuse to.  I’d do anything
to escape that fate.
    “Melody,” says Chase.  “Damn it.  Leave.  You must.  I know
what will happen if you stay.  This is not your decision.”
    I desperately try to hold back tears.  My body trembles and
I turn to him.  “What’ll it be, Chase?  The safety of what you know, or the
reward of what could be ?”
    He’s taken aback, his eyes wide and full of shock.
    I lean forward to speak to the driver.  “The penthouse,” I
say.
    The driver’s eyes appear in the mirror and look back to
Chase for consent.
    Chase stares at the mirror for seemingly forever, his gaze
locked and deep in thought.  He turns and stares at me for a long moment.
    Then nods to the driver and closes the door.
    The engine growls and the car drifts away from the curb and
on into the night.
    I hear the soft click of a button and the privacy divider
lifts higher until there’s a clunk.
    We’re alone.  Again.  Together.
    My heart races, but before I can think another thought,
Chase grabs me and pulls me into his arms.  He pushes me against the leather
seat, and the last thing I see is his cruel and sensual mouth diving towards my
own.  I close my eyes, the feel of his hard powerful body pressed against me,
ruthless and dominating.
    Our lips scorch with a burning kiss, so hard and passionate
that I give up instantly.
    I give up everything.

CHAPTER FOUR
    ––––––––

Melody
    ––––––––
    T he limo door opens and Chase carries me in his powerful
arms, across the moonlit street and through the double oak doors of his
towering skyscraper home.
    A dim table lamp in the foyer scatters the diffuse light,
painting everything in washed out amber, almost as if reality itself was fading
away and a dream was taking over.
    But this isn’t a dream.  No matter how tipsy and lightheaded
I feel, it isn’t from the champagne and the lack of food, or the icy rain
dripping through my hair.  It’s Chase, and his wondrous touch.
    The memories of our kiss burns me deep inside.  How his
tender lips met mine and we embraced in a moment of sheer passion, that lasted
perhaps seconds or hours.  All sense of time has left me; all I can be sure of
is Chase.
    I hear the faint click of a button and then the electronic
swish of the elevator’s descent.  But all I can see is Chase, the bottomless
black of his eyes drugging me, making me yearn for nothing else but his face.
    I feel a little drunker than I realise, now I think about
it.  But I don’t care - I’m free and happy and alive for the first time,
basking in the heat of