Page 91 of Under the Ink

Faster and harder—wasn’t that a demand most men dreamed of getting? And he wasn’t complaining about giving Naomi whatever she wanted…but it didn’t seem like her. Especially when she started kissing him harder and harder before actually biting his lip.

He refrained from yelling but, damn, that hurt—but at least it helped him delay the inevitable.

When she bit him a second time, he couldn’t help it. “Fuck!”

She didn’t apologize, but her legs began quivering against him and then she bit down on his shoulder. There was no denying she was climaxing, but was she even enjoying it?

She had to be…because there was no such thing as a bad orgasm, was there?

And, when he was sure she was done by how limp she’d become, he almost let go—but he didn’t want to be inconsiderate without knowing for certain. In her ear, he asked, “Were you able to finish?”

“Yeah,” she breathed against his neck.

And, yeah…he was right—there was no such thing as a bad orgasm.

But he wondered if she was going to want it rough like that again.

Or would she even remember this tomorrow?

MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA

AUGUST 5

Naomi sat up, rubbing her face with one hand while glancing over at Sage. The man was truly a dream, and she could almost let go and be happy…but she couldn’t.

And she knew she was messing it up with him.

Probably because she also knew they wouldn’t last. When all was said and done, she was going to find a place to land—at her forever home—and she had to do it on her own. No men, no ties.

The only tie she’d have would be with Ginny.

Today was a day off and she had plans. She wanted to see the beach, a joy she’d been denied at a lot of cities throughout this tour, mainly because they didn’t have time. And she wanted to check out the boardwalk and the Ferris wheel there—and she wanted to do it on her own.

She planned to jump in the shower and then, if Sage had awakened, she’d have breakfast with him before letting him know she was heading out. If he stayed asleep, she’d eat by herself.

But, as she showered, last night’s activities reared their ugly head, causing her head to pound. She really had to stop drinking like she used to. Unfortunately, it was helping all that shit stay down where it belonged, so it was hard to deny brandy’s siren song. Ever since she’d told Sage her story, the past had been bubbling up to the surface—and she simply had to get it back under control.

By the time she got out of the shower and had her clothes on, she thought for sure Sage would be awake—but she’d had him drinking as much as she had. Maybe he wasn’t used to it. Picking up her phone, she sent a text.Checking out the scene here. See you tonight.

And then she left, pulling the door closed behind her as quietly as possible, pausing long enough to reach in and grab theDo not disturbsign.

All she had to do now was run to her room to put on a fresh pair of clothes—the last clean pair. She’d have to do laundry here at the hotel sometime in the evening, probably before hanging with Sage, but right now, daylight was burning and she had stuff to see.

At the beginning of this tour, she’d thought she would knowthecity for her when she got there, that something would speak to something inside her, but that hadn’t been the case. While they still had over a month of touring and her dream city might be out there waiting, she was losing hope. Absolutely, there had been places that had spoken to her, stirred something inside her, from Phoenix to NYC, from Kansas City to Roanoke, Virginia—but none had told her they would behome.

Hadn’t said she belonged there.

And that was why now, more than ever, she had to focus on walking around each city whenever possible—because Ginny’s wedding was a little over a month away and Naomi’s opportunity to check out other places on someone else’s dime would be over.

When the elevator stopped on her floor, she nearly jumped when she almost ran into Andy getting in. “Well, hello there, darlin’.”

She hadn’t spoken to the man much since he’d attacked her on the bus well over a month ago. Of course, she’d been doing her job and he’d been doing his, but she’d managed to avoid him for the most part, because there were plenty of other people and enough work to keep him busy.

Unfortunately, at this particular hotel, the band members had suites near the top of the hotel, and each of them had an ocean view…while the road crew, herself included, had rooms farther down, nothing special. Johnny, Mickey, and Kiefer’s loved ones had flown in the day before so they could spend this two-day break having fun at the beach with family…so a suite made sense for them.

And theywererock stars, after all.

But that meant her room was stuck near Andy’s for the duration of their stay here.

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