Page 19 of Forever and Ever

Blaze stands. “I’ve gotta make a call. I’ll see you after the show, all right?”

“Yeah, man.” Noah and Blaze give each other a half hug with a pat on the back before Blaze disappears out the door.

“So, what do you want to listen to?” I ask, trying to ignore the sudden awkwardness.

I pull out my phone when the Enemy Muse song ends and start skimming my playlists. Noah pats the table for me to hop up as he takes his seat.

“You can pick,” he says.

I set my phone on my lap and look at him. “You’re the one working here.”

“And you’re the one who needs to be distracted.” He sets his hands on the table on either side of my hips.

I’d argue, but the expression on his face tells me not to, so I press play on Nothing But Thieves and set my phone to the side.

Noah’s eyes watch as I reach for the bottom hem of my T-shirt and peel it up and overhead before tossing it on the chair next to him. I might not want him to be interested in me as far as a relationship is concerned, but I don’t mind the appreciation he clearly has with my tits in his face.

“Enjoying the view?” I smile, lying down and grabbing my boobs to hold them up and away from where he’s working. They’re not big by any means, barely filling my small hands, but it keeps them out of the way while he works.

“Not minding it, that’s for sure.” Noah grins at me with that blinding Hollywood smile he’s mastered.

He slips on fresh gloves and grabs the bottle of antiseptic, splashing it on my skin and rubbing the tattoo clean.

“Almost done,” he says.

A tendril of his blond hair has come out from his bun, and I reach up to tuck it behind his ear without thinking, which makes him pause. His eyes lock on mine and they’re so pale blue they’re almost gray, like an overcast sky just before it rains.

Sometimes I consider that I might be crazy for turning Noah down over and over again. Any sane girl wouldn’t. He isn’t your average rock star. Although he has no problem fucking his way through groupies, he isn’t doing it for the same reasons as the other guys in the band. Deep down, I know he wants more. And sometimes I do wish that things were different, and it could be me who gives it to him.

But that would require me telling him everything—and that’s not something I’m prepared to do. So I drop my hand.

“You know,” Noah says, turning to the ink and adding some to the needle. “After this, you can’t deny that I’ve been inside you.”

His attempt to lighten the mood makes me laugh. “Your needle, Noah. Notyou.”

“Just saying.” He gives me a one-shoulder shrug that compliments his devious grin. “Inside is inside, I’m counting it. Besides, doesn’t really matter how deep, considering no one’s really getting in there anyway.”

The buzzing starts and he leans in for that first deliciously painful drag over my skin. It takes everything inside me not to flinch.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Noah’s eyes follow the needle. “You don’t let people in,” he says, turning to add more ink.

“I’m no virgin,” I point out.

“No shit.” He laughs. “But that’s physical, and I know you well enough to know that doesn’t mean crap to you. Letting people past the bullshit, that’s a whole other world, gorgeous.”

I swallow hard when his pale blue gaze briefly flicks up to mine.

“Who says there’s anything in there worth getting to?”

Part of me wants to sound nonchalant, like I don’t give a fuck if there is or isn’t. But the other part of me is terrified to find that there really is nothing but darkness left. Spaces where dreams used to fit. Broken shards even Noah knows nothing about.

“There is.” Two words so certain coming from his lips. “Inside you are places a man can only dream of.”

The needle strikes my skin again and the vibrations travel so deep I almost think they find the places in me Noah might be talking about.

Almost.

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