by Gia Riley
I listen to his words, wondering how I managed to snag someone with so much perspective about the two of us. I’ve never been with a man who gets me on the level Lane does. That’s why, with more certainty than ever before, it’s easy to open up to him. “I’m positive I love you, Lane. If I’m being honest, I think I’ve felt it for a long time. The tour may have given me some doubts, but not a single one had anything to do with the way I feel about you. It was more about the time it took from us.”
“Nothing about being in a band is simple or normal, but I’ll try as hard as I can to make it easier for you.”
“This is all I’ve been wanting from you—for our reality to match my heart.” So that I wouldn’t have to go to sleep without Lane or wake up in the morning still wishing he was with me.
“Don’t doubt me, Noelle. And don’t doubt us.”
“I don’t. I believe you. Every single word.”
Midnight Fate may be his life, but I plan to be his world.
“Do we have to get up?”
I glance at the neon lights on the alarm clock, wishing we had another hour to stay in bed together. For the first time in forever, I don’t want to play a show. All I want to do is stay naked, order some food that I’d end up eating off her body, and fall asleep with Noelle in my arms.
“It’s the last show, babe. I can’t miss it.”
She cuddles into my side, running her nail underneath the mark on my chest. “I wouldn’t expect you to miss it. I just don’t want to leave your bed. I think it’s my new favorite place.”
“I won’t be offended if you stay here tonight.”
“And miss your last show? Are you crazy?”
“I’ve been called worse.”
She leans forward, placing a soft peck against the shoulder she bit earlier. “In case you already forgot, I’m a big fan—huge fan, actually.”
“Is that why you made me write you letters on the road? So you could hang them on the wall next to your Midnight Fate poster?”
“I didn’t make you do anything, but I do love that poster.” She climbs out of bed, walking so slowly toward the bathroom my eyes have no choice but to follow her the entire way, just like she wants me to.
All I can do is smile because, for the first time in months, I don’t miss her. She’s in my shower right now, she’ll be watching me on stage soon, and she’ll be in my bed again later tonight. I could die a very happy man right now if I didn’t have so many plans for us while she’s here. Two weeks isn’t a lot of time to show her how much I need her, but it’ll be fun trying to say every word that needs to be spoken with both my voice and my body.
A couple minutes later, the water shuts off and the light from the master bathroom filters into the bedroom. Noelle hunches over in the corner of the room, pulling things from her suitcase with only a small towel wrapped around her. “Lane, have you seen my purse?”
“It’s in the kitchen. Do you need it?”
“Yeah,” she says, somewhat distracted.
I don’t bother putting clothes on before I grab her purse off the kitchen table and take it back to the bedroom. I check the closet before I look in the bathroom where she’s standing in front of the mirror fixing her hair.
Like we’ve been doing this dance every day, I wrap my arms around her small waist and kiss her neck, making sure to savor each time my lips touch her skin. I get lost in the little sounds she makes when I hit the sweet spot by her ear.
When she can’t stop squirming in my arms, she sets her brush down, her hand shaking the slightest bit. “Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me anything,” I tell her, hoping the worry lines on her forehead go away after she says what she needs to say.
She hesitates a couple seconds, making the possibility of her dropping a bomb on me even higher. I hug her a little tighter, wanting her to feel safe enough in my arms to be able to tell me anything.
“While you were getting my bag, I hung a few things in your closet that I didn’t want to get wrinkled in the suitcase.”
It’s not what I was expecting her to say, but it’s still no big deal. She can take up all the room she wants. “That’s fine. If anything’s in your way, just move it. I want you to be comfortable here.”
Instead of relaxing like I just told her to, she tenses even more. She can’t even look at me in the mirror when she says, “Well, that’s the thing. I tried to move the big rope so I wouldn’t trip, but then I found all these hooks and smaller ropes on the wall. I’m not even sure what they’d be used for, but I saw them.”
Smiling against her shoulder as I leave behind another kiss, I wait for her to ask me what I think she’s going to ask me. She’s so wrong, but it’s fun watching her squirm her way through the conversation. “Do you need me to move the heavy rope?”
“If you don’t mind.”
“Consider it done.”
“Lane,” she begins, but changes her mind and goes back to dabbing powdery shit on her cheeks.
“Go ahead.”
She sets the makeup down before turning around in my arms. With her palms flat against my bare chest, she stares at her nails in an effort to avoid my eyes. It’s not like her at all. Noelle’s a free spirit who takes a lot to get embarrassed, but right now, I’m pretty sure she’d like the marble on the floor to open up and swallow her.
Finally, in a slightly more confident rush, she asks, “Are those ropes and hooks to tie me up and hang me from the ceiling or something? I’m all for exploring, but the hooks scare the shit out of me. I might even have nightmares tonight.”
I shouldn’t laugh at her, but I can’t help it. The confidence she usually parades around is being overshadowed by her fear, creating a perfect storm behind her eyes. She can’t decide if how she feels is right or wrong as the push and pull of desire only confuses her more.
But I don’t ever want her to be scared of being with me, so I tell her the truth before her imagination runs away from her. “The ropes are actually from the docks. I used to work on a couple different cargo ships. The thick ropes on the floor that you had trouble moving I kept to use during my workouts. I practice knots with the smaller ones hanging on the walls.”
“Really?” she asks, still a little skeptical.
“Really. I’m not hiding anything, Noelle. Before the band took off, my life revolved around the shipyard. Occasionally, I’d fish with my uncle for his business when he was shorthanded.”
“So, you’re not into kinky shit?”
“I’m not against kinky shit, just not the kind you’re thinking.”
She nods, seeming to believe me. I can tell because the more details I give her, the more she relaxes. “I don’t mind some surprises. I’m not a total bore.”
“Baby, I’ll surprise you as much as you’ll let me, but I’ll never hurt you or make you do anything you don’t want to do.”
“Okay, I believe you. What do I need to know about the hooks?”
“They’re for fishing. The big one you’re probably freaking out about is from a crabbing vessel. It pulls the traps out of the water. You haven’t been in the condo long, but if you look around, there’s a bunch of nautical shit.”
She glances around the room, her eyes hungrily searching for something to back up my story, even though we’re in the bathroom. When she spots the black and white anchor pictures on the wall, she sighs with relief. “Thank God. I thought the big one was supposed to go up my ass or something.”
“Well, now you put some hot thoughts in my head. How am I supposed to play tonight thinking about you naked, hanging from my ceiling?”
Looking up at me through her thick lashes, she says, “I’m positive you’ll manage, but I still want your autograph.”
I could easily grab some paper and be a gentleman about it, but what fun is that? Instead, I pull the towel away from her body, leaving her naked in front of me. I glance at all her makeup spilled on the counter, wondering why she needs so much shit when she’s already gorgeous with
out it. “Which one’s eyeliner?”
She points to the black pen and I pick it up, pulling the plastic cap off with my teeth.
Like I’m signing a piece of memorabilia, I scrawl my signature on her chest, branding her with my name. She watches the entire time like she can’t believe I actually wrote on her freshly showered skin.
When I’m finished, I put the cap back on and toss the eyeliner on the countertop where it was. “Leave it there,” I tell her.
“All night?”
“All night. Each time I look at you, I want to picture you just like this—naked with my name in ink all over your chest.”
“If you get me drunk enough, I might get it tattooed on my skin forever.”
She’s joking, but I still warn her when I say, “Don’t tempt me, Noelle. I can make just about anything happen in five minutes flat.”
Swallowing hard, she nods, never once trying to cover herself up or worry about how naked she is. I love that about her. “I’ll be ready in ten minutes. Unless you have any additions to add?”
“There are a million things I want to do to you, but for now, I’ll let you finish getting ready.”
Just as I turn around, her hand’s on my arm, stopping me. “Wait,” she says. “Tell me one thing you want to do. You can’t talk to me in that sexy, deep voice of yours and then walk away.”
“Just one?”
She nods. “The best one.”
“I can’t give away all my secrets, Noelle. After all, we have two weeks together, maybe more if I play my cards right.” Just as I finish my sentence, I reach between her legs and dip one finger inside her, pulling it back out just as fast as I entered her. “All I’ll tell you is it has everything to do with this and this,” I add as I squeeze her ass in the palm of my hand.
I leave her standing next to the sink, her eyes still on every move I make, her lips parted as tiny breaths of air pass in and out of her. I’m no more than two steps into the bedroom before she pushes the door closed in a hurry, suddenly desperate for some privacy.
Walking away goes out the window after seeing the look on her face, so I give her a minute or two before my hand is wrapped around the doorknob, slowly pushing the door back open. Whatever I was expecting, it wasn’t this. Noelle’s bent over the counter with her exposed skin pressed against the cool marble. Her hands are tucked between her legs, and her tight ass bounces up and down on top of them. With her eyes closed, she’s so busy concentrating on how good she’s making herself feel, she doesn’t notice me standing behind her.
I get as close to her as I can without touching her, and then I whisper, “Do you want help with that?”
Gasping, she stands up straight, her hands now clasped in front of her, guarding what she was so busy trying to cure. “I was just . . . I had to.”
I get down on my knees in front of her, grabbing her ass and pulling her closer. I kiss the soft skin under her belly button before I tell her, “We’re not separated by thousands or even hundreds of miles anymore. If you need me to make you feel good, I want you to come to me, use me all you want. Okay?”
“Okay,” she whispers. “I didn’t realize how much I needed you until you left.”
“I’ve got you.” I turn her back around so she’s facing the sink, wanting her back in the same position she was in when I walked in on her a minute ago. “Bend over, baby.”
She listens, only this time, she doesn’t touch herself. She waits for me to take care of her.
My warm touch on her cool skin makes her shiver as my fingertips trail a path from her neck all the way down her back. Instead of reaching around to her front, I grab a handful of her ass before moving lower. With one and then two fingers, I dip inside her just as her hips buck against me. “Jesus, Lane.”
“More?”
“Yes.”
Pulling my fingers back out, I rub small circles around her swollen clit. When she groans and pushes up on her toes, raising her ass higher in the air, I know she needs more, so while I work her clit, two fingers go back inside her, pumping in and out.
She lifts her cheek from the marble as her stomach muscles clench. “Lane, please don’t stop,” she begs as she tries to dig her nails into solid marble.
Inching even higher on her toes, her body greedily takes every ounce of pleasure it can find until her forehead falls against the counter, her sated body sagging against the marble. My arms stay wrapped around her until she can open her eyes and support some of her weight again.
“You’re really good at that,” she says, lazily. “Like, exceptionally skilled.”
“No more hiding in the bathroom when you need me, okay? I’ll always take care of you.”
She finally stands up and turns around, her face still heated and her makeup a little bit smeared under her eyes. “I didn’t want you thinking I was only here to screw you.”
“The thought never once crossed my mind.”
“Okay, because believe it or not, I’m pretty into you, drummer boy.”
I smirk for the simple fact that, in Noelle’s language, sarcasm is love. It doesn’t stop me from giving her the reassurance I want her to have. “Nobody else has ever come close to you, Noelle. You’re the only one I want.”
“I guess that means a threesome is out of the question?”
“Jesus, baby. If ropes get you this horned up, I’m going to start leaving them lying all over the condo.”
“That’s fine with me as long as you’re naked doing whatever it is you do with them while I watch.”
“I’ll show you sometime, but right now, we have to finish getting ready before I’m late.”
“I like being late,” she whispers against my lips before she kisses me again.
I’m so fucked.
The crowd in the area has been going insane for Midnight Fate for the last hour and a half. I knew they only gained in popularity the longer they’ve been back on the scene, but this is so much more than what I was expecting. The groupie in me is begging to be unleashed from the confines of the luxury box the guys insisted we stay in, but what fun is a concert if you’re so far away all you can do is watch them on the big screens surrounding the stage? I don’t want to watch sweat fall on TV; I want to watch it hit the stage from two feet away.
“How pissed do you think Lane would be if I ventured out there for a little while?”
“I’m pretty sure he’d lose his shit,” Gina says as she sips her beer. Lark nods in agreement, her ass stuck so firmly to her chair she’d never go explore with me.
“The way I see it, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
They both laugh like that was the stupidest thing I could have ever said. Gina leans closer, whispering in my ear, “Those big dudes by the door aren’t here for decoration. They’re here to make sure we stay in here and everyone else stays out. They’ll rat you out so fast, you’ll never see it coming. Trust me, I’ve tried to escape.”
“Seriously?”
“She’s telling you the truth, Noelle. If you want to enjoy the rest of your time in New York, I’d keep your rump in the chair.”
I hear their warnings loud and clear, but the longer I sit here, the more drawn to the stage I become. It’s not like I can help it—it’s in my blood. Even though the girls are probably right about Lane being pissed, I still want to be front and center, just like I’ve been for every concert I’ve ever been to.
When I’m positive they only have a couple songs left in their set, I decide it’s go time. I tell Lark, “I have to pee. I’ll be right back,” not even waiting to see if she wants to come with me.
If what Lark said about security is true, I don’t bother trying to get by them. Tapping Reed on his beefed-up bicep, I pull him into the hallway away from everyone else. “What’s up?” he asks, in a voice so deep I start to rethink my plans.
“I need you to get me in the first row—and no, I’m not going to change my mind.”
“They warned me about you.”
“Who did?” I
ask with my hands on my hips, surprised I have a reputation already.
“Lane won’t like this.”
“But I will, Reed. Don’t you want to make me happy?”
He chuckles, shaking his head. I can see the wheels turning inside—he’s torn. “You’re trouble.”
“I promise I’ll take the blame. I won’t let anyone get mad at you.”
Reed’s face softens the longer we talk, but time’s working against me. The longer I’m standing in this hallway trying to convince him to take a chance, the less time I’ll have to watch the show. Finally, I resort to begging. “Please, Reed. I’ll do whatever you say.”
With his face stone-cold, he says, “You’ll go where I tell you to. And you’ll leave when I say it’s time. I can’t keep you safe if you don’t listen.”
“Deal!”
He leads me farther down the hallway to a different set of elevators than the ones we came up in. When the doors open, we’re on the lowest level, the sounds of Lane’s drums so powerful I can feel each beat in the pit of my stomach. This is how a show should be—the music so intense each beat punches you in the face.
Reed takes me exactly where I want to go, only on the other side of the barrier where nobody else is allowed to be. It’s even more amazing than I imagined once I catch a glimpse of Lane on the platform with his drum set, suspended a few feet above the rest of the band.
“This is as good as it gets, Noelle. You can go anywhere up front, but stay on this side of the barrier or you’ll get crushed. The guys in the yellow shirts won’t let anyone else over, so don’t even try it if anyone begs.”
“This is perfect, Reed! Thank you.”
All I get is a simple nod, the smile I got upstairs long gone. With him trailing behind me, I dance my way to center stage, my eyes focused on Lane’s sweaty skin. Somewhere between leaving the box and here, he shed his black T-shirt, leaving his muscles on full display. He may not have a lot of ink, but what he lacks in body art he makes up with pure muscle.
