AMelodyInParadise (9 page)

“You’re not buying my contract.” She shook her head. I could never repay you and I won’t be called a kept woman.” She pressed her lips together, adamant. “Unless there’s a concert hall or you two own a music school, buying out my contract is not an option.” She turned a pleading gaze on them. “I can’t let you do this. I know you say I’m your mate, but we just met and all of this is so new to me. I can’t be sure this is going to even work out between us and if it doesn’t, I can’t owe you two money. I just can’t.”

“Then you can work at our school. Paradise has one of the best secondary schools in the country,” he paused then smiled. “Well, at least it used to be considered one of the best until the old council closed the gates to the town and refused to let our sports teams compete with other cities and ended every music program we ever had.”

“You have a high school with no music program?” Melody gasped. “How can the children get a well-rounded education without a music program?”

 “They can’t. That much is obvious. But it’s not much different than human schools that have made budget cuts and done the same.” Mitch smiled and touched her cheek with his finger. He couldn’t help it. He had to touch her creamy skin. He longed to push her burnished hair behind her ear and suckle the lobe, but this wasn’t the time for it. They had to leave and they had to do it very publicly so the person who stalked her would follow. The last thing he or Wyatt would want was for the person to turn his sights on Carmen.

He turned to look at his niece. “You stay here in the apartment until your escorts get here. You should be safe enough with the security in this building and the alarm system we have. Just don’t leave here for any reason. If you need anything, call down to Charlie, the bellman and he will get you whatever you want.”

Carmen nodded, her expression grim. “I hope this isn’t someone from the old council or something. You know how those creeps are.” She shuddered.

“No, Carmen. It’s not one from the old council. This person is an amateur and he knows nothing of our kind or he wouldn’t have left his scent all over your apartment.” He frowned. “We’ll also talk about your apartment later.”

“Uh, oh.”

“Yeah, uh oh.” Mitch scowled down at her. “When did you move into that rat trap? Didn’t we give you enough money to find a nice place?”

“About that,” Carmen began as she looked at Melody as though to ask her for help. “Mel and I thought that money would be better used by the homeless children’s shelter.” She turned pleading eyes toward Wyatt when he growled. “They were so
cold
and they were hungry!”

Mitch waved his hand. “That’s beside the point and you know it, young lady. Never, ever put yourself in a position where you have to sacrifice your security for another’s wellbeing. If you feel the need to have a project like that funded, ask us and we’ll see that they get what they need without risking your safety. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Uncle Mitch.” She nodded at Wyatt who chuffed in a very tiger-like way to show his displeasure. “I understand, Uncle Wyatt. There’s no need to go all tiger on me now.”

Melody grinned. “I’d like to see them go all tiger for a bit. I think it would be awesome.” Her smile faded after a minute. “But I suppose that’s out of the question right now.” She sighed and shook her head. “As much as I hate to admit it, I guess I’ll have to let you two take me wherever it is that you think I’ll be safe. But,” she paused, holding up her hand. “You’d better be telling me the truth about a school with no music. I’d love to teach there.”

Chapter Twelve

Surprisingly enough, the owners of the Philharmonic let Melody and Carmen both go without much of a fuss. They knew about the letters and they knew about the attempt on Melody’s life. The last thing they wanted was the bad publicity of recurring accidents at the theatre.

Melody sat between her two men on the way to Paradise. So far, they had only stopped to eat and sleep. Many cool things they passed along the way, like caverns and mines that Melody wanted to see were ignored for her safety, with promises to return in the future. The guys wanted to get her to Paradise as soon as possible.

At night, they stopped and stayed in the best hotels with the best security. No one would get to her while they were on the road. At times, she noticed one or both of them checking the mirror and looking at each other as though they could talk into each other’s minds.

She wouldn’t put it past them. There were a lot of things they could do that she never thought possible before she met them. One of which was talking into her head. She blushed at the thought that they could read her mind. She was always thinking about one or both of them naked.

“And we like it, angel. Never doubt that.” Wyatt pressed a kiss to her neck with a chuckle.

It seemed as though their bond got stronger every time they made love. She liked that, but she wasn’t sure she liked them knowing her every thought.

Wyatt grabbed her hand and squeezed. “We don’t know your every thought, sweetheart. We only know when we happen to be thinking of you.” He winked. “Like now. I’ve been thinking how much I want to be inside you.” He grinned. “Sometimes I think it was a bad idea to wait to mate until we got to Paradise, but the anticipation is ratcheting up and now I think it can only be a good thing.” He waggled his brows. “It gave us a chance to make sure you’re ready for a triad bond and we won’t hurt you when we finally take you at the same time.”

Melody pressed her hands to her hot cheeks. Heck, if these two didn’t stop talking about it, she might just insist they do it when they stopped tonight,
if
they stopped tonight. The two of them had seemed a little agitated when they pulled off the road to fill up not too long ago.

“Do you think it’s my stalker following us?” She fought the urge to turn around and look. So far, the guys made it seem as though they had no idea anyone was behind them. At least she thought that was the way it looked from outside the vehicle.

“I think so.” Mitch glanced into the rearview mirror again. He’s been staying back a few cars, but it would be difficult to miss a large red SUV following us since New York.”

Yeah, she could see how that would be hard to miss. She shook her head. You’d think that they would have gotten a less flashy car if they didn’t want to be seen.

“Will we be stopping tonight?”

“Oh, yes.” Wyatt grinned. “We’ll be stopping tonight, alright. We’ll be in Paradise in about two hours.” He leaned closer to whisper in her ear. “Then we’ll make you ours in every sense of the word, angel. Are you ready?”

Melody’s breath hitched as she inhaled. “Oh, yes. I’m so ready it isn’t funny.”

She stared at the road ahead, wondering what it would be like to finally have them both inside her at the same time. She also wondered what it would be like to be the only music teacher in a school with no band or orchestra to speak of. Would the students welcome her or would they think a music class was lame?

Sighing, Melody leaned her head back against Wyatt’s arm and closed her eyes. Whatever the children thought of a music program, one thing was certain, her life would not be boring for a long, long time.

It was dark when Melody woke. The sedan they drove came to a smooth stop and the bright lights of a diner came into view as she blinked the sleep from her eyes. She looked up at a huge clock over the door.

If it was right, it was eight-fifteen and she was starved. “I thought that we would be in Paradise by now.” She frowned up at the bright clock as she slid out of the car behind Wyatt.

She looked around at the small town with a frown. The diner was the only thing that even looked open. There was a small department store down the street, a gas station with a repair garage next to that, and what looked like a motel down the street.

A portable sign in front of the diner made her choke with laughter. “I suppose that this is the
Beat the Cock diner?

Both Mitch and Wyatt laughed. “Actually,” Mitch answered, “It’s the
Beat the
Clock
diner.
” He shook his head. “You’d think that the Gibson boys would get tired of that prank and find something new to do.”

“Oh, I don’t know…” she paused. “If they knew someone new was on their way into town, it might be something fun to watch.” She laughed as the two men looked around with a scowl.

“They’d better be home in bed if they know what’s good for them. Getting on a new teacher’s bad side before they even meet her properly can’t be a good thing.”

Melody stifled a laugh at the sound of bushes rustling and running feet slapping the pavement off to their left. “I think you scared them straight.” She rubbed her arms. “It’s cold out here. Do you think we can go inside and get something hot to eat?”

“Definitely,” Mitch agreed with a smile. “I’m practically drooling for Sarah Browning’s Wednesday night all you can eat spaghetti.”

“Me, too,” Wyatt said as he took her hand and led her toward the door. “You’re in for a treat, angel. This diner has better food than any restaurant in New York.”

Looking up at the blinking neon sign over the large clock that read
Good Eats,
Melody shook her head. She had her doubts, but she was hungry and right now she could eat just about anything.

The diner was just like any other old-time diner she’d seen in magazines or TV shows, but this one seemed more authentic somehow. It was as though the round chrome stools at the bar and the chrome accented tables and chairs were antiques, not some retro-looking copies of vintage style furnishings. Everything gleamed like brand new, yet it had an antique scent and feel to it. An odd assortment of items decorated the walls, giving it a whimsical look.

A woman walked into the room. She wore a light blue dress with a starched white collar, a little white women’s tie at her throat. Her salt and pepper hair, pulled back in a bun had a few wisps out of place as though she’d been working hard. She blew a strand out of her face, her hands full of glass sugar jars she’d obviously just refilled.

“I’ll be with you in a minute.” She set the jars down on the closest table, pulled a few menus off the counter, then a pad and pencil from her matching, sky blue apron pocket and turned to greet them. “Can I help you?”

Mitch grinned. “Sarah Browning. You haven’t changed a bit.”

The woman stopped and stared at him for a minute before she grinned. “Mitchell and Wyatt Baldwin!” She ran to give each of them a hug. “I’m so glad to see you. I can’t tell you how many of you boys have been coming home over the years.” She turned to Melody and gave her a welcoming smile. “I hope you’re taking good care of these two, young lady. If not, I’m sure there’s a girl or two around town who would love to take a chance at these two.”

Melody liked the woman on the spot. She didn’t judge her for being with two men and after the last few days traveling, she’d been judged quite a bit. It didn’t matter if they got two beds or one, the looks had all been the same. Every one of the looks she received screamed
slut
just as loudly as if the person had said it aloud.

Not with this woman though. Her smile reached her eyes and she looked truly happy to see all of them, not just the guys.

“Sit down, sit down.” She pulled a rag from her apron and wiped off a seat for Melody to sit in. “I can’t tell you how honored I am to meet you.”

“Me?” Melody looked at her two men with a bemused smile. “Why would you be honored to meet me?”

“I’ve been watching your career. Ever since you did that quartet with Miles Abercromby and that
cellist
.” She sniffed and waved her hand. “He’s an ass by the way. I met him once and I have never met anyone so full of himself before or since.”

“You know who I am?”

“Of course I do.” Sarah scowled. “And you just tell me if any of the students over there give you any grief. I’ll ban them from the diner for a month. That’ll teach them.” She leaned down to whisper. “Ask your mates. This is the only place to hang out after school. If they want something to do, they come here. If they can’t come here, they have little to nothing to do.” She grinned at Melody’s stunned expression. “Why the shock? Didn’t you think your mates would call and let us know they had a new music teacher for our schools?”

“Oh. I hadn’t thought of that.” Melody smiled up at the older woman. “Thank you. I’ll be sure to tell the more rowdy students your idea for a punishment for acting out in class.”

“You do that.” Sarah looked at Mitch. “What would you like to eat?” She looked down and checked her watch as though she didn’t know what day it was. “Since today is Wednesday, would you all like the spaghetti?”

“You know that’s why we’re here. Otherwise, we would have stopped at Almost Paradise for one of their hamburgers.”

“Hrrmph!” Sara gave him a dirty look. “Their hamburgers aren’t any better than ours, they’re only bigger. Why go there when you can walk here from anywhere in Paradise?”

The two men just looked at each other and laughed. “I told you she’d take offense at that, Mitch.”

Sarah twitched her skirt and turned. “I’ll just go get you all some spaghetti.” She spun back around and pinned Mitch with a glare. “You’ll be lucky if I get
you
a glass of water, mister.”

Chapter Thirteen

“Are we going to stay at a hotel?” Melody asked as they all piled back into the car after dinner.

“No,” Wyatt said with a shake of his head. “We’ll be going to see the alpha, then we’ll go to our parent’s house. They have a bolt hole and an alarm system.”

“I thought you guys hadn’t come back here for years.” Melody frowned. “Won’t the electricity be off?”

“Nope. The council always makes sure that homes are left in at least fair repair with the power and water on in case someone decides to return. Besides, we were back here last year. We didn’t tell Carmen that because we knew she had a crush on two of the guys here.” He sighed. “It seems as though absence
does
make the heart grow fonder because she’s just as enamored with them.” He shook his head. “I can only hope they are her mates or they let her down easy. Either way, she’ll be changed when she gets here.”