Page 62 of Hard Rock Tease

"That's why I don't want anyone to know Lily is coming home," he murmured into my hair. "I want to keep her safe."

"I won't tell anyone," I promised.

"I'm sorry I got angry." He cupped my face with both hands and tilted my face up. "I'm sorry I threw you out. I'm just not used to people knowing all this shit about me. It makes me feel…" he trailed off.

"Vulnerable?" I guessed.

He hesitated before nodding.

"That's a good thing," I told him. "Everyone needs someone they can let their guard down around. Everyone needs someone they can trust."

Noah flicked his eyes to mine and quietly spoke the words I'd been longing to hear again.

"I trust you."

Chapter Twenty-One

My chest throbbedwith a sweet ache at Noah's words. Trust. It was such an important thing to have in a relationship. I knew how hard it was for him to say those words.

I brought my lips to his in a gentle kiss.

"Noah, I'm so sorry. I hate that you had to grow up like that. That you and your sister were betrayed like that."

"I'd say I'm over it, but I guess it's clear I'm not." He shrugged. "You were right when you said I had issues."

I gnawed on my lip. "How much do you trust me?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Will you trust me when I say you need to put more feelings into your song?"

"Are we back to this again?"

"You don't have to be afraid to show the world who you really are. That song you were playing before is really good, Noah. You should use it."

"I don't want to. I wrote it for Lily. I don't want to use it for the album."

I thought hard. "Okay. Then we'll scrap the song we were working on and start from scratch. We're going to forget about all that marketability stuff and go with our hearts."

He frowned, his eyebrows drawing down.

"Just hear me out," I rushed to say. "The other guys in the band are going to have songs that sound like them. We want this song to sound like you. We've been talking about making it unique. Authentic. This is the most real I've ever seen you. This is the Noah Hart I think fans should see."

He shifted on the sofa, looking uncomfortable. "I don't know if I can do that."

"That's why I'm here. To help you."

"You have been helping."

He ran his hand up my thigh, fingertips sneaking under the hem of my skirt. A wave of arousal sang through me.

"That's not the kind of help I meant," I told him, though I couldn't help smiling.

"Are you sure?" he murmured, leaning forward until our lips were almost touching. "Because you've been very… very… helpful." He kissed me to punctuate each word.

His soft lips teased me. My pulse sped up, beating hard at the base of my neck. Warmth took hold inside of me.

I could never say no to Noah.