Don’t Deny Me: Part Three Read Online Free PDF Page A

the joy faded from her face.
    Mick knew this song. It was from the Dubliners’ first album, before they got signed to a major label. It had been written while the band was trying to find its voice and wasn’t typical of the band’s style. It was about love and loss and heartbreak, and once, Mick remembered, Alice had burned a copy of it onto a CD and sent it to him along with a short, viciously sad letter telling him she never wanted to see him again.
    It had been the last thing she sent him.
    Facing him, Alice met his gaze in that steady way she always had, not looking away. Her eyes glittered with blue and green reflections from the lighting. She wasn’t crying, but he pulled her close to him anyway. He couldn’t take away what had happened in the past, so he did the only thing he could; he held her close and tight and breathed her in and hoped it would be enough to stop her thinking about what had been and start her thinking about what could be.
    When the song ended, she squeezed him hard and stepped away. “Gonna run to the bathroom.”
    By the time she got back, the band was heading into an encore. When she asked him if he wanted to get out of there before the rest of the crowd, Mick agreed. They made it through the doors and to the parking garage before the rest of the traffic hit.
    “Are you hungry or anything?” he asked as he navigated out of the city and onto the highway.
    Alice, who’d been quiet since leaving the club, shook her head. “No. Let’s just go back to your place, okay?”
    That had been the idea on his mind all night, but again, he didn’t want to seem like he was making it all about getting her into bed. “Sure. If that’s what you want.”
    “If it’s what
you
want,” Alice said. “I guess I could just go back to my place. If
that’s
what you want.”
    Mick bit back his irritation. “You can go home if you want. Or we can go back to my place. Whatever you want.”
    “I don’t want to make you do something you don’t want to do,” Alice said sharply.
    “I want you to come back to my place!”
    She looked at him then. “Good! Because that’s what I want to do!”
    It felt like half a fight, and he didn’t know why they were heading that direction, but he did know enough to shut up about it after that. Alice turned on the radio, so at least the drive to his house wasn’t too awkward, though it was quiet. By the time they got there, she was even singing along under her breath.
    Inside, he offered her a drink, but she declined. Same to food. It wasn’t early, but it wasn’t late, either, not by Friday night standards.
    “Want to watch a movie or something?” Mick asked, trying to figure out what he could do to make her happy.
    Alice shook her head and gave him a look from the corner of her eye. “Do
you
want to watch a movie?”
    “No,” he said, deciding to be bold. “I want to take you upstairs and get my mouth between your legs until you scream my name.”
    A low, raw noise slipped out of her. Just like that, heat blazed between them. He had her in his arms half a minute after that. Somehow, she jumped. He lifted. Her legs went around his waist, his hands beneath her ass. If they’d been close to a table or a counter he’d have seated her on it, but all he could do was take a few unsteady steps toward the stairs.
    “Shit, Alice, I’m going to drop you,” he muttered into her mouth as he put one foot on the bottom step.
    They both moved, ending up with her sitting and him between her legs. Arms tangled. Mouths sliding every place they could get to. She broke the kiss with a gasp, a hand on his chest to push him back.
    “Upstairs,” she said. “Bed.”
    She got to her feet and moved, Mick on her heels. She took her shirt off as she walked, tossing it at him along with a sultry glance over one shoulder that had his tongue lolling out like a cartoon dog. Her bra came next, showing off those perfect tits, though she covered them with her hands and gave him a coy