Page 38 of His Greatest Muse

I swallow, and the arm beside my head flexes. It’s thick, bulging with heavy ropes of muscle. Muscle I helped grow. The ghost of a touch moves up my side, over the swell of my hip and dip of my waist, tracing the length of my torso before his other hand presses to the wall. He boxes me in against the wall, a hungry satisfaction flickering across his face.

My hands form fists as I force myself to answer him. “Tell you what?”

“Did you want it to be you?” He tips his chin and moves a hand to my shirt, hooking the tip of his pointer finger beneath the collar. A surprising heat grows low in my belly. “Did you want me to write my name onyourtits, Golden Girl?”

The crudeness of his question should be enough to have me shoving him back. If anyone else had asked me that, I would have done worse than a shove. But instead, I stand frozen, a throb building between my thighs.

What is wrong with me?

As if sensing my arousal, his face grows pained, but his eyes are hot, sinful.

“You feral little thing,” he grinds out. “I wanted you to tear her apart. Waited for it. But you held back. Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“Liar.”

“It doesn’t matter.” I try to sound firm, but the words are weak.

His jaw pulses before he says, “You are so far above her. She is nothing in comparison.”

I want to shout my pleasure at his words, but instead, I shake my head. “Don’t say that.”

“It’s the truth.”

“It’s mean.”

He flashes his teeth and leans in, so close I feel his breath flutter over my nose. “You’ve always liked me a little mean.” The flecks of gold in his irises are so pretty against the dark, angry shade of brown. I could drown in his stare and not even fight for air. “I like you a little mean too.”

My breath hitches. Those eyes fall to my mouth, burning hotter and hotter.

His voice is nothing more than a groan. “No one compares. And I think I’ve had enough of waiting for you to realize that.”

My heart jumps to my throat. “Did you do it? Did you sign for her?” I can’t keep from asking.

“No. And there was no need to be jealous. I would never ruin your tits with a Sharpie, Tinsley. One day, I’ll sign them with something much more potent.”

And then as soon as he was here, he’s gone. A rush of cold air hits my burning body, and I shiver at the sudden change. I’m forced to watch him walk away as I shake beneath the hurricane of emotions that threatens to strike me down at the knees.

What just happened? And why do I want it to happen again?

* * *

There wasn’tmuch time for me to gather myself after my conversation with Noah. His sister found me in the hallway a handful of minutes later, and after dragging me into the family room she and her husband had been waiting in, I was forced to see him again.

Noah kept his emotions under wraps, like nothing had just happened. On one hand, I appreciated that. On the other, I wanted to scream at him to explain this all to me. I still do, an hour later.

“I can’t even begin to describe how happy I am to be here and to see your pretty face again,” Addie bursts.

She rests her head on my bicep and squeezes me, a happy sound escaping her. It’s always been hard to be away from her, but at least back when we were teenagers, our families were constantly making plans with one another. We didn’t go this long without being together. If my family wasn’t out here, nothing would stop me from moving closer to her.

Leaning into her, I squeeze her back. “I missed you so much. You have to tell me about everything. I want all the details on what’s been happening in your life these past couple months.”

“Where do I start? Um . . .” She chews on her bottom lip and glances at Cooper.

I follow her stare and watch the smallest smirk tilt his mouth. Cooper isnota smirking type of guy. After knowing him my entire life, I know him pretty damn well. Although, he has surprised me more than a few times over the past few years.

Take accidentally marrying Adalyn, for instance.

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