7. Mack
Chapter 7
Mack
I hear a strangled whimper, followed by a thump, at the same time as Jess. Pushing to my feet, I head into the hallway, and my heart stops. Harmony is on her hands and knees on the floor in the middle of an anxiety attack.
“Shit!”
I hurry toward her, sitting on the floor and scooping her into my arms. Her face is ashen as her chest heaves, working overtime to get oxygen into her system. Her eyes mirror her terror. She thinks she’s dying. She looks like she’s dying, and it scares the shit out of me.
“It’s okay, baby. You’re having a panic attack. I’ve got you, and I’m not going anywhere. We’re gonna get through this together,” I assure her, keeping my voice calm.
Harmony’s eyes lock on mine, and I’m not sure if it’s my imagination, but the terror in those depths recedes a little.
“I want you to breathe slowly and deeply. Focus on me, on my voice. Take a deep breath in and release it slowly. Eyes on me, Songbird,” I say firmly as her gaze wavers and her body shakes.
I place a hand on her stomach. “Breathe with me, baby.” I take a deep breath in and exhale slowly, repeating the action again and again until Harmony begins to follow me with choppy breaths. “That’s it. Good. You’re doing amazing. Keep going.”
I continue to encourage her, my voice soft and steady as she slowly, slowly begins to relax. The fear clears from her eyes, replaced by a haunting sadness that has a lump rising in my throat. I stroke the damp hair from her brow, wondering what’s put such a look of abject sorrow on her face.
I sit on the floor, holding her, whispering words of encouragement for endless minutes until her breathing is completely back to normal and a little color returns to her cheeks.
“What happened?” I ask softly, cupping her cheek and wiping away a tear.
She shakes her head, pressing her lips together as more tears spill down her cheeks.
I glance at Jessica, who’s been hovering the entire time, her blue eyes heavy with concern. “I’ll stay with her tonight. Make sure you lock up.”
Jess nods. “Should I call a doctor?”
“No,” Harmony croaks, trying to sit up. “No doctor.”
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” I say, shifting her weight gently so I can stand and then swinging her up in my arms.
Harmony’s eyes widen. “W-What are you doing?”
“Taking care of you,” I reply, striding from the house and shouting a reminder for Jess to lock up.
“I heard what you said,” Harmony says as I enter the guest house and head for her bedroom.
I place her gently on the bed, and she scoots up, resting against the headboard. “Heard what?”
“I heard you and Jessica talking about me. I came to tell you…” She pauses abruptly and lifts her chin. “Never mind. I wish you’d told me sooner.”
I shake my head in confusion. “Told you what?”
“That I’m delusional. That I don’t stand a chance in the music industry when I’m clearly dealing with mental health issues.”
I stare at her. The fuck? “Is that what caused your panic attack?”
She nods, the hurt on her face plain to see.
“Ah, shit, Songbird. I wasn’t talking about you.”
Her beautiful brown eyes narrow. “Oh?”
I rake a hand through my hair, sitting on the edge of the bed. “You weren’t the only woman Harry invited to sing with me. The morning he showed me your video, he also had me watch a bunch of auditions. Let’s just say none of them were suitable. But Harry decided he wanted a backup in case you didn’t work out, so he approached one of the women from the auditions and made promises he had no right to make. Told her he’d fly her here to meet me.”
“Like he did with me,” Harmony murmurs.
“Yeah, but at least I had a heads up you were coming, albeit a few hours. I had no clue about the other woman. God knows what Harry was thinking. Probably with his cock. She did the audition in some weird-ass costume that looked like she’d superglued ostrich feathers to her body. I took no notice when Harry commented on her that morning. It was obvious he liked her, but I never imagined he’d do this.” I rake my hand through my hair again, blowing out an agitated breath.
“You mentioned mental health problems, and I thought?—"
“You thought I was talking about you,” I finish. She doesn’t stop me when I reach for her hand, bringing it to my lips and kissing her palm. “Turns out, this woman has been in and out of a mental health facility. Her issues go way deeper than panic attacks. Not that I’m belittling what you go through. Damn, I feel like I lived that last one with you. I was terrified when I saw you on your hands and knees, trying to breathe. You looked like you were dying.”
Harmony shuffles closer, wrapping her arms around me. “I’m sorry I doubted you. It’s just … when I heard you and Jessica, it hit every one of my triggers, especially as I was coming to tell you that I, well, I wanted you to know how I … Oh, God, this is so much harder than I thought.” She grinds to a halt, her previously pale cheeks now flushed pink.
I place a finger beneath her chin and tip her head up so she’s looking at me. “Tell me what?”
She bites her lip. “That I’m … falling in love with you. And if you meant all that stuff about me staying, I’m willing to give it a go. To give us a go.”
I close my eyes, swallowing the emotion clogging my throat. When I open them again, I cup her face, staring deep into her eyes. “And the getting married and having babies part?”
“That too. Just maybe not straight away,” she murmurs, her mouth tipping up in a grin.
I nod. “That’s fine. I can wait a few months.”
She laughs, shaking her head. “I was thinking more like a few years.”
“We’ll see,” I say confidently, leaning in to brush my nose along her neck and inhale her sweet scent. “Once I’ve given you a few thousand orgasms, I think you’ll change your tune.”
Her eyes widen and she gasps as I nip at her throat. “A f-few thousand? Is that even possible?”
I shrug, making her shiver as I bite her earlobe. “Not sure. But, damn , it’ll be fun finding out.”
“Mack?”
I kiss my way along her jaw. “Yeah, baby?”
“I … I’m not sure if this is the right time to tell you, but I’ve never, um, done anything with a man before. You’ll be my first.”
I pull back to look at her, my chest throbbing with emotion. “ Jesus, I don’t deserve you. But I’m claiming you anyway because I’m a selfish bastard, and I knew you were it for me the second I heard that sweet voice of yours. My little songbird.”
“Does that mean I get to call you my parrot, or crow, or bearded blue tit, or?—”
I stop her with my mouth, swallowing her giggle, which turns to a moan as I drag her across my lap and she feels how hard I am for her. Forcing myself to break the kiss, I drop my forehead to hers. “We don’t have to do anything tonight. You’ve had a traumatic experience and?—”
Harmony silences me with her fingers. “I want this, Mack. I want you. More than anything. More than the music. Although, you and music? That’s a pretty spectacular combina—oomph!”
I don’t let her finish, tipping her back on the bed and covering her body with mine. “I want you with me all the time. At home. On the road. Every day. Every night. I want to fall asleep with you in my arms and wake up every morning with your legs tangled around mine. In other words, I want you forever.
A tear escapes from the corner of her eye and tracks into her hair. She reaches up and smooths her fingers over my beard. “I lied earlier. I’m not falling in love with you. I’m already there.”
“I love you too, my songbird.” I blow out a breath. “Shit, I’m nervous as hell. I haven’t been with a woman for years, and I don’t want to screw this up for you.”
Harmony places her hand on mine. Our gazes meet. “The only way you could screw this up is by not making me yours. Right here. Right now.”
That’s all I need to hear. I claim her mouth again, tracing the seam of her lips with my tongue so she opens up for me, her tongue dancing with mine. I explore every inch of her decadent mouth as my hand finds her breast, swiping my thumb over her nipple through her t-shirt.
She breaks the kiss with an audible inhale as I shove her top up to find she’s braless beneath, her soft mounds taunting me with their pink tips.
“Jesus, you’re beautiful,” I groan.
I dip my head to devour a breast, suckling her nipple hard and grazing it with my teeth until she shudders with pleasure. My heartbeat pulses in my shaft and my cum burns in my balls, ready to erupt.
But I need to take my time with her. I’m not small, and I want her ready for me so I don’t hurt her.
“Mack,” she moans as I turn my attention to her other breast, lapping and suckling at her nipple.
I pause to strip off her t-shirt and toss it fuck knows where. Fluid spurts from the tip of my cock as Harmony wriggles out of her leggings and panties, leaving her bare and beautiful to my hungry eyes. “Jesus, Harmony. You’re soft and smooth everywhere.”
I kiss and nibble my way down her body, savoring her taste and how she trembles with each caress as I lick a glistening trail up her inner thigh to my prize.
“Open up, baby. I want to see what’s mine.” I ease her legs apart. “Damn, I’ve never seen a prettier pussy.”
I inhale deeply. She smells like desire, and I can’t get enough of it. Harmony moans and thrusts her hips, opening her folds for me and releasing her musky, sweet scent into the air.
“Easy, baby. I’m going to make this so good,” I tell her as I glance up at her. She looks beautiful, her flaxen hair fanned out around her head, her back arched, and her tits pushed high in the air.
My mouth waters at the sight of her pink flesh. Leaning in, I devour her, sucking her flavor into my mouth and plunging my tongue into her slick heat. I grip her ass cheeks, pulling them apart, opening her up so I can eat my fill.
I slide my finger along her seam and between the smooth globes of her ass to her puckered hole. She pants and quivers as I push the tip of my index finger inside, rocking her hips and grinding her herself against my mouth.
Harmony moans and shivers and begs, her hands fisting the duvet as I finger her little hole and gorge on her pink flesh.
“Please, Mack,” she whispers. “Oh, God, I can’t stand it.”
She arches her spine further as I push my tongue inside her tight channel. Her sweet juices coat my mouth, filling it with her delicious flavor. Her trembling thighs spread wider, inviting me deeper. She’s going to come and I’m the one pushing her over the precipice. I’m gonna give her the orgasm of her life, and then I’m going sink inside her and make her mine.
“I … Oh, God! Mack!” She shouts my name as she tumbles over the edge, her fingers buried in my hair as she grinds against my face.
I don’t let up, drawing her hardened clit into my mouth and sucking so that one orgasm blends seamlessly into another. Once I’ve pulled the last drops of pleasure from her, I sit back and admire the sight of her glorious body spent and sated on the mattress.
I quickly shrug out of my clothes and crawl up the bed, kissing her deeply and letting her taste herself.
“That was out of this world,” she mumbles against my mouth. “Thank you.”
I grin. “Don’t thank me yet, songbird. I’m far from done with you.”