Page 22 of Vengeful Melodies
Heat scorches through me, but I don’t stop. Can’t stop. My hand only jerks harder, faster, chasing the edge with my teeth clenched.
Takoa smirks wider, tilts his head. “Don’t let me interrupt, mate. Finish what you started.”
And I do. With a guttural sound ripped from my chest, I come undone, hips thrusting up, cock spilling hot across my hand and stomach, vision white and blinding. Her name almost tears itself from my throat, but I bite it back, swallowing it down into a groan that could be anything.
Takoa chuckles low, shaking his head. “Fucking reckless. Could’ve fooled me into thinking you were alone.” He smirks as he turns away, voice fading down the hall. “Next time, try not to moan so loud. Don’t want the others thinking you’re desperate.”
And he’s gone.
I collapse back against the sheets, chest heaving, cum sticky on my skin. Shame curls low in my gut, but it doesn’t smother the hunger. If anything, it sharpens it.
Because it’s her. Always her.
And when I finally get my hands on her, I’ll ruin her exactly the way I’ve ruined myself tonight in only the best ways.
Chapter Nine
Dreya
The soft pattering of rain dances across the tin roof, a slow and steady lullaby as I count the stars on the ceiling, praying for the sleep I desperately need. Morning is creeping closer, dragging with it a future I haven’t fully accepted.
Did I make the right choice?
Agreeing to this—taking the job, moving forward—did I do it because it’s what I wanted… or because I was afraid of being alone when Wren left?
I’ve never really been alone—not since my dad and brother died, leaving me in a world that forgot how to care. After that, I became a thing passed around, another file in the system. Homes that smelled like mildew and cheap lies. Smiles that never reached the eyes. And David… he was the worst of them.
He took more than my trust. Took pieces I still haven’t figured out how to reclaim. I never told Wren. I couldn’t. How couldI explain the things I let happen just to survive? The bruises I covered. The way I had to hurt him to escape. Only Bradley ever knew the truth—about what David did. About what I did to get free.
Wren was my salvation without even knowing it. He crashed into my life like a tornado through a trailer park—tearing through the rot and dragging the light back in with him. I didn’t knock. I just showed up one night, barefoot and shaking, and he opened the door like he’d been waiting. And never once asked me why."
“Jupey, you gotta get some sleep, babygirl… Come here. Let me hold you,” Wren says softly, his voice startling me.
I’d thought he was asleep. But now that I think about it, the silence—no snoring—should’ve given him away.
“I’m just nervous,” I whisper, my voice shaking slightly. “What if I screw it all up and disappoint you? Or worse, Grey… He’s the one who gave us this opportunity.”
Before I can move, Wren shifts, tugging me into his arms like it’s second nature. My smaller frame fits perfectly against his, our bodies aligning like puzzle pieces. My hair brushes against his face, and he lets out a soft chuckle.
“Man, if only you were a tall, muscular man with the personality of a grumpy teddy bear,” Wren groans dramatically, draping one arm over my stomach. The oversized shirt he gave me to sleep in rides up slightly, the fabric brushing over bare skin.
I grin. “I can’t say that image doesn’t do something for me too… Maybe that friend of his—Alix? That man is downright sinful. One smile and you just know he’s trouble with a capital T.”
Wren chuckles again, the sound deep and warm against my back. “Jupey… you really don’t recognize Alix from anywhere else?”
His voice dips into something quieter—curious, maybe cautious. His fingers draw slow, lazy circles against my hip as he waits for an answer.
“Wait, am I supposed to know him?” I ask, confusion thick in my voice. “I’ve only met him twice—with Grey.”
I try to roll over to face him, but Wren doesn’t let me. He holds me tighter, not unkindly, just… still.
“Just curious,” he says quietly. “He’s kind of hard to forget, that’s all.”
He presses a soft kiss to the crown of my head and settles in closer behind me, chin tucked into the curve of my shoulder.
“We’ve got a big day tomorrow, babygirl. Let’s get some rest, yeah?”
My brain buzzes with questions, but I swallow them down. Whatever Wren’s hinting at, I’ll deal with it later. Right now, I need to sleep. I can’t show up to a band’s first concert as their new assistant looking like a zombie.