Page 22 of Forever and Ever

I’m not sure what’s worse, being around her and not being able to have her or knowing she’s disappearing for the next four months while we record this next album.

And I can’t help but take it out on her because the other option would be to slam her against the wall and fuck her until she realizes that we’re meant to be together, and that’s not something she’d appreciate at the moment.

“Noah.” A pretty little blonde with big fake tits slides up next to me.

One look and I know two things: I’ve never met the girl before in my life, but she’s down to fuck right here if I asked her to.

Merry gets that amused look on her face as she eyes the girl’s Enemy Muse T-shirt, likehere we go again. As if she can talk with her own personal revolving door of men and women. This game of sexual warfare we’ve got going is exhausting. Not that she seems to share the same feeling.

Maybe it’s that Merry is only twenty-three and I’ve got a few years on her. Or maybe it’s because I’ve actually spent time in a long-term relationship. But her stamina for putting me off is draining.

The blonde with the hourglass body slides her hand around my arm and grips my bicep. Personal space isn’t really a thing when you’re a rock star. They grab and take and consume. I might as well be a commodity, not a person.

“Want some company at the after party?” the blonde asks, and I don’t miss how Merry crosses her arms over her chest. Putting up those walls like the pro she is.

“You good company?” I ask the pixie blonde, appreciating that Merry gets really pissed when I flat-out hit on chicks right in front of her. She could do something about it, but she never does.

The blonde lifts up on her toes and presses her pretty tits against my arm. “You know it.”

Her eyelashes flutter, and she wets her lips. The girl is ready.

“Give me a second.” I pat the blonde’s hand and she unwinds herself to step back.

She makes her way over to her friend, who already has Rome’s attention, along with a few other chicks. But her eyes don’t leave me, even when Rome tries to pull her in.

The way Rome works his way through women makes me look tame, and I have no problem getting around. But unlike me, who is in it for the distraction and the fun, he does it like he’s pissed at the world or trying to prove something.

“She’s friendly.” Merry forces a smile.

Her teeth grind the slightest, and although she tries to act nonchalant, she’s a shit liar about some things.

“Just say the word and I’m all yours.”

Merry laughs so hard it shakes her dark curls, but I’m not joking. “You can’t say shit like that, Noah.”

“Why not?”

I might have understood her not wanting to get involved back when she first got hired because she had to prove herself and all that shit. But now? No one cares.

Half the band and crew expect it even.

She’s it for me.

“Because,” she says, dipping her hands in her pockets. “You know why.”

I really don’t, but there’s no point arguing, so I nod my head in silence instead, watching her shift from one foot to the other.

To most people, Merry is intimidating. I don’t think she’s worn a drop of color in her life unless you count the streaks she puts in her hair, her tattoos, or her piercings. She’s standoffish, cold, and has mastered the art of tearing people down with just one look. But I’ve watched her closer than most people, and I know there’s a lot more under the surface.

Like the fact that she chews the inside of her cheek when she’s nervous. Or that she tucks her hands in her pockets when she’d rather fidget. Her eyes avoid contact when she’s questioning herself. And even though she’s spectacular at making people think she doesn’t give a shit, she’s fiercely loyal to the few people she does care about.

“Whatever you say, gorgeous.” I take a step closer, loving that it forces her to tip her head back to look up at me. “I can wait.”

I brush her hair out of her face and tuck it behind her ear before turning. If I don’t walk away now, I’ll make a bigger fool of myself than I already have these past few months, and I’m really not in the mood to be shut down by Merry for the thousandth time on the last day of a tour.

Instead, I’ll celebrate with this willing blonde chick who smells like strawberries and cheap perfume. Not overly pleasant, but she’ll do. I don’t need it to mean something for her to get my dick hard.

Anything is better than waiting on Merry, who is already walking away with one of the guys on the crew who I know wants to get in her pants.

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