Page 42 of Hard Rock Tease

"Exactly."

Noah's hands slid down my hips to the tops of my thighs, fingertips caressing the exposed bare skin below the hem of my skirt. He dragged his hands back up, bringing the skirt with him until my panties were nearly exposed.

"What are you doing?" I asked needlessly.

"I thought this is what you wanted?" he murmured in my ear. I felt the curve of his smile against my cheek. "Practically having sex on the dance floor?"

"This wasn't what I meant."

Mostly I wanted to see if Noah would consent to being seen with me in public. He rested his cheek on the top of my head and swayed with me. Little butterflies of happiness fluttered in my stomach.

Noah Hart was holding me with gentle arms. We were dancing together in a club. We were acting like a couple in public in a way that had nothing to do with sex.

I felt his hardness press against my stomach.

Well. Maybe it had a little to do with sex.

I knew eventually the other guys would come looking for us. Cameron would no doubt give Noah a hard time if he found us entwined like this. I was going to enjoy every second of it I could, trying to convince myself there was something real between Noah and I.

"Thank you," he whispered into the hair at the top of my head.

"For what?"

He tightened his arms around me, squeezing tight. "Agreeing to stay."

I laid my head on his shoulder as happiness burst through my chest.

Maybe Noah actually did care for me beyond my usefulness as his sexual muse.

Chapter Fourteen

Iwas aboutready to pull my hair out.

Scratch that. I had already tried pulling my hair out and had now moved on to banging my head against the piano keys.

"This is impossible," I muttered. I fought to suppress a heavy sigh. I remembered Noah wasn't in the apartment — he'd gone to pick up his leather jacket from the dry cleaners — and decided to indulge myself, letting out a deep melodramatic sigh.

Of course, that was the moment Noah walked in.

"You freaking out again?"

"I can't do it," I moaned, my forehead still resting on the piano keys.

"Yes you can." The words were impatient but I could hear a concerned note in Noah's voice. "Remember what I said? We're going to write a song together and it's going to fucking rock."

I was beginning to doubt that. I'd been working so hard,tryingso hard, but the pieces just weren't coming together. There was something missing in our song and I couldn't pinpoint what it was. It drove me crazy.

I tilted my head to look at Noah. He still stood in the doorway, brows furrowed as he stared at me with a curious look. As if he were dissecting me. I sat up straight, avoiding his eyes.

"I need a drink," I declared.

He raised an eyebrow. "It's four in the afternoon."

"Never stopped you before."

"Have I succeeded in corrupting you?"

"Looks like it."