Melody of the Heart

As we neared the tree, the blonde reached up on her tiptoes to pick another apple. “Fuck me,” Mitch murmured. The blonde had the hem of her dress flipped up, cradling the apples she’d picked. If she moved just another inch, I would be able to tell what color her underwear was. But even if I didn’t get a peek of that, her tanned thighs were enough to cause my dick to twitch in my pants.

When I stepped forward, a branch snapped beneath my sneakers, causing the blonde to practically jump out of her skin. One of her hands holding onto her dress’s hem flew to her chest, causing a few apples to tumble to the ground.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” I apologized.

As she rubbed her dress over her heart, she gave me a weak smile. “That’s okay. I just wasn’t expecting anyone.”

Mitch cut in front of me. “You know stealing is a pretty serious offense around here,” he said, a teasing lilt in his voice.

Her brows creased in confusion. “Excuse me?”

“You’re stealing our apples.”

She gasped as her blue eyes widened. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I thought the trees were on our property.”

“Your property? So you’ve just moved in next door?” I asked.

“Yeah, well, we’ve been here a couple of days.”

“My grandfather said his new neighbor was the chief of police,” I said, finding it easier than usual to make conversation with her.

She bobbed her head. “That’s right.”

Mitch nudged me and chuckled. “How ironic that the new chief of police’s daughter is an apple thief?”

She jerked her chin up at him. “I said I was sorry. You can’t fault someone for not knowing.”

“Don’t mind Mitch. He’s just being an asshole as usual.”

Her expression lightened. “Okay, I won’t.”

“What do you want with those apples anyway?” I asked.

“I wanted to bake a pie for my dad. Apple is his favorite, and I wanted him to have some tomorrow on his first day at work.”

“Damn, you’re just as sweet as you are pretty,” I blurted, to which the girl giggled.

“What’s your name?” Mitch asked.

“Lily.”

“Nice to meet you, Lily. I’m Mitch, and that’s Brayden.”

I gave her a lame wave. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she replied, with a smile.

“Why don’t I make a deal with you for the apples, Lily?” Mitch asked.

“What do you want?” she asked cautiously.

“I let you have the apples, and you let me have a taste of your pie.”

Smacking him hard on the chest with my palm, I tried pushing him away from Lily. With a determined raise of my brows, I said, “We should be getting back now. We’ve bothered Lily long enough.”

Unfortunately Mitch didn’t back down, and Lily didn’t get the message. “You really want me to bring you some pie?”

“Aren’t you generous?” Mitch remarked, with a wolfish smile.

“Mitch,” I growled in warning. I knew my cousin all too well, and if I had a breath left within me, I wasn’t going to let him work his usual sleazy numbers on Lily. Even though I had just met her, I could tell she wasn’t like one of his usual conquests. And I sure as hell didn’t want him corrupting her. Even if I wanted to corrupt her seven different ways, I didn’t want Mitch to.

Ignoring me, Mitch closed the gap between him and Lily. “Mmm, yeah, baby. I want that sweet, warm pie that’s between your legs.”

Lily’s eyes widened in shock. “You’re disgusting!” she shrieked. Throwing down the hem of her dress, the remaining apples bounced onto the ground before she turned and fled up the hillside.

“You’re a fucking jerk,” I muttered.

Mitch grinned. “Just wait. I’ll be tapping that ass before homecoming.”

Ignoring his comment, I swiped up four apples and then ran after her. It had been a long time since I had done any running. Within seconds, my body ached from the exertion and my lungs burned. When I started to feel a little lightheaded, I debated stopping. But then Lily’s enraged and embarrassed face flashed before my mind, and I trudged on.

Just when I reached her, Lily abruptly stopped and threw her arm straight out, clotheslining me at the throat. I flew back, tripping on my own feet and stumbling. I got my bearings again just as the world cloaked dark around me.

***            

Something warm and soft cradled my aching head while someone was stroking my cheek. As my eyelids fluttered, I tried desperately to bring myself around. Where was I? What had happened? At the pain throbbing through my skull, I groaned. “Shh, you’re okay. I’ve got you.”

My eyelids snapped open. When my vision finally focused, it was Lily I was gazing up at. It only took me a few seconds to do the math that if I was staring up at her I was flat on my back. It also meant that I had come off looking like a fucking pansy in front of the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. “Oh shit,” I grunted, trying to pull myself into a sitting position.

“Easy now,” Lily murmured, her fingers stroking through my hair. At that moment, I realized I was a fool to try to get up when I had such an angel of mercy looking after me. Her blue eyes locked with mine. “You had me really scared there for a minute. I mean, I didn’t think I had hit you that hard, and then you were passing out. I thought about going for help, but I didn’t want to leave you.”

“Yeah, well, what the fuck were you doing closelining me anyway?” I demanded a little too harshly.

“Y-You were chasing me…After what your friend said, I thought you were going to try and do something…,” she swallowed hard as her cheeks reddened. “Nasty to me,” she whispered.

“First of all, I would never, ever hurt you. Second, that guy is not a friend—he’s my cousin and generally a pain in my ass.”

“Oh,” she murmured.

“I came after you because I wanted to give you the apples.”

She gave me a sheepish grin. “I realized that a little too late.”

I couldn’t help smiling back at her. There was no way in hell I could be angry with her considering her delicious thighs were pillowing my head, and her fingers threading through my hair felt amazing.

“I really am sorry,” she said, softly.

“It’s not your fault—” When she started to protest, I shook my head. “Really it’s not. Most dudes wouldn’t have had that reaction to being hit by a girl.”