Encore Worthy: a Mountains & Men prequel novella (10 page)

“Excuse me?” I scoff. “You’re saying no because I’m telling you the truth? Don’t kid yourself, Millicent.
You want me.
” When she tries to shove me again, I circle my arms around her and lower my face so that the tip of my nose touches the tip of hers. “Don’t you fucking dare, doll face. You want me and I sure as hell want you, so stop being so damn stubborn and say
yes!”

She hesitates again and I shake my head at her before I grab the back of her thighs and hoist her up around my waist. She squeals in surprise but then wraps herself around me, studying my face as I carry her down the hallway. “What are you doing?” she asks when I kick her bedroom door closed behind us.

“I’m about to fuck some sense into you. Unless, of course, you’d rather I just leave.” I palm one of her tits as I say the words and I can feel her hardened nipple through the cotton of her tank top. When she doesn’t object, I grin at her before tossing her onto the bed. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”

NEITHER OF US HAS
spoken in a few minutes and I wonder if she’s sleeping, her leg hooked around mine, her cheek on my chest. I know I should be tired, we’ve been at it for I don’t know how long, but I can’t bring myself to close my eyes. She hasn’t said yes yet. She’s so goddamn stubborn.

Sarah told me that she thought Millie seemed like the kind of person who has a lot of walls up—more like a fortress. I guess I can’t say I’m surprised.
I see the demons in her eyes.
What I haven’t been able to pound into her is that I’m not afraid of her demons. I’ve got my own scaring the shit out of me.

I’m pulled from my thoughts when I feel her fingers glide over the lyrics scrolled across my ribs on the right side of my chest. I wait for her to say something, but she doesn’t. Instead, she props herself up on her elbow as she begins to study the artwork that spans across my chest. She touches the skin inked with a cassette labeled
mixed tape
on my left pec, the string of tape unraveling in a coil that turns into the chord connecting to the blue headphones in the middle of my sternum. She traces the two lines that mark a heartbeat between the speakers and then continues to follow them when they stretch across my chest to my heart. Each line turns into script—the top reading
Pepper
the bottom
Rosemary.

She pauses for a moment, bringing her eyes to meet mine. I want to kiss her. She’s so fucking beautiful. There’s not even a hint of makeup on her face and it makes me wonder why she wears it at all. Before I can move or speak, she continues her exploration of my ink. My arm is still wrapped around her waist, leaving my left side exposed. Under what looks like the charred away flesh is a sheet of music that goes from just under my arm, all the way down my waist.

When she sits up, her naked breasts practically begging for my attention, it takes just about all my willpower to keep my hands to myself. I let her take my hand from around her and bring it into her lap. She twists my arm so that she can see the inside of my forearm where I got my first tattoo. Like my side, it looks as though my skin has been ripped away and underneath are the keys of a piano, weathered and worn. She twists my arm again and exposes the red, Fender Stratocaster that’s propped up against an amp. The guitar takes up my entire forearm, the strings turning into a music staff at my elbow. The staff, riddled with notes, wraps around my arm and the stand of the old school microphone that covers my shoulder.

She looks at me again when she gently nudges me, this time a request in her dark green eyes. Knowing what she wants, I roll onto my side so she can see my back piece. The mountain-scape that spans from my left to my right shoulder takes up a good quarter of the length of my back. The mountain itself is outlined and shaded in black; but the sky above it is filled with the colors of dawn. Just when I begin to wonder if she’ll spot the small figure of the man standing at the base of the mountain, I feel her find him with her fingers.

“Are you staying?” she asks, her voice soft and low.

I look at her from over my shoulder, curious to know what she’s thinking, but smart enough to know that now might not be the time to ask. Besides, there’s another question still on the table. “Are you saying yes?”

She stares into my eyes for a moment before she replies, “I don’t know.”

It’s the first time tonight that she hasn’t said no and I don’t even try to hide my smirk.

“Then I’m not going anywhere, doll face.”

She nods once and then lays down, turning her back to me. “I have to get some sleep. I have work in the morning. Would you mind shutting off the light?”

I reach for her bedside lamp and click it off before turning towards her. I don’t even think twice about pulling her into my arms. When her back makes contact with my chest, I feel her exhalation as she relaxes against me. I don’t know what her deal is, but after tonight, my guess is that our age difference isn’t the only thing that’s making her so resistant. It’s something bigger. Something scarier. But holding her in my arms right now—I know whatever is holding her back is not as daunting as what I feel in this moment.

I want her. More than I’ve wanted anyone in a long time.

HER ALARM CLOCK
sounds at a quarter after six. She groans before she reaches over me to smack the snooze button. I chuckle, still half asleep, when she plops down on top of me.

“I don’t know why you’re laughing,” she grumbles. “This day is going to suck ass and it’s all your fault.”

Holy shit. I love the way her voice sounds when she wakes up.

“I didn’t hear you complaining last night.”

“Shut up,” she mutters. She tries to roll away from me but I lock her in my arms and she gives up before falling back asleep.

Ten minutes later, when her alarm goes off again, she doesn’t move. Deciding another ten minutes of sleep won’t hurt, I hit the snooze button. The last thing I want to do is get up, but now that my body has registered that it’s morning, I’ve got to piss. I slide out from underneath Millie, careful not to wake her, and then jump into my boxers before heading to the bathroom. Before I even notice that the door is shut, it’s being opened and all I see is Sarah wrapped in a towel.

“Fuck—sorry!” I mumble, holding up my hand to shield my eyes. “Brandon’ll have my balls if he finds out I saw his girl naked.”

“I’m not naked!” she gasps.

“And I didn’t see you,” I insist. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

“Uh—what are
you
doing here? I
live
here!” she sputters.

My shoulders lift and then fall in a shrug. “I thought you weren’t home.”

“I thought Millie wasn’t returning your calls.”

I peek around my hand at her with a smile. “I told you—she digs this,” I remind her, gesturing to my body.

She smiles at me before speaking again. “Well, good for you.”

“Now I just have to get her to go out with me. On a
real
date. Sure you can’t be of any help?” I ask, remembering Brandon telling me that I wasn’t going to use Sarah as bait to win Millie over.

“I’ll see what I can do,” she agrees with a nod.

“Yes! Thank you!” I hold up my hand and she gives me a high five. I have no idea whether or not Sarah will be able to sway Millie, but at this point, I could use all the help I can get.

“Sage?” she asks, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Yeah?”

“I’m not making any promises, but I definitely can’t do anything as long as I’m standing here wrapped in my towel.”

“Right. Sorry,” I mutter, stepping aside so that she can pass.

“And I’m not done in there, so make it snappy.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I notice Millie still has five more minutes to snooze by the time I make it back into her room, quietly shutting the door behind me. Knowing she’ll probably kick me out when she finally wakes up, I don’t bother getting naked or crawling back under the sheets with her. Instead, I sit on the side of the bed and watch her sleep.

After the shortest five minutes of my life, her alarm clock sounds again. She whines, rolling onto her back and throwing her arms over her face. I reach over to silence it, my eyes glued to her body as I blindly search and find the off switch. She inhales deeply and exhales slowly, the rise and fall of her tits making my mouth water.

Without stopping to think, I crawl over her, propping myself up on my hands and knees before I lower my mouth and close my lips around her nipple. She moans as I suck and my dick starts to harden. I bite down on her tight bud and she gasps, arching her back and pushing her chest up. I run my tongue around her nipple before I pull away and blow on it.

“I have work,” she mutters feebly as I begin to show her other breast the same attention.

“Skip breakfast. I’ll be your caffeine fix.”

“Sage,” she breathes in pathetic protest as I kiss my way down her stomach. I smell her arousal before I settle my face between her legs and I know already that I’ll be taking an extra long shower when I get home, remembering this exact moment when I’m stroking my dick. “
Oh, my god,
” she whimpers with the first swipe of my tongue. It’s not long before she’s panting, tugging at my hair, her legs trembling as she comes in my mouth.

“Millicent,” I murmur, biting and then kissing the inside of her thigh. “Say yes.”

She looks down at me with a sleepy, satisfied, sexy as fuck smile and says, “Maybe.”

I bite her again before I roll out of bed. I’m getting the hell out of here while she’s still riding the high of her orgasm, her head too hazy to realize she pretty much just agreed to go out with me.

AS MY STUDENTS
file out of the classroom, my phone starts to ring.
Again.
I silence it as I drop it in my purse and gather the rest of my things so that I can head back to my office. Staying up all night with Sage instead of working has definitely put me behind. I intend to spend the next couple of hours locked away, looking over assignments before I go to the gym.

Sage might not be good for my heart, but he sure as hell has done a number on my body. I’ve probably burned a million extra calories this week in an attempt to rid myself of my sexual frustration. Out of bed . . . and, more recently, in it.