Chapter 22
Still Noah
We could’ve flown to LA—the band’s jet was technically available—but spending last night drooling over her every time she bent over or hustled for equipment and having to hide my reaction from everyone, I wanted some time with her all to myself.
Alice was an awesome road trip partner. We laughed over life on the road stories, snarfed down junk food—pretzels for her and jerky for me—and challenged each other with song lyrics.
But the closer we got to LA, the bigger the knot in my stomach got. I hadn’t seen my dad in a few months, and the updates from my mom hadn’t been the best. She either went radio silent or days later told me something that made me so fucking sad and feeling so powerless to help. Last time it’d been when my dad had slipped past his nurse and had been in the backyard—without pants—for almost an hour before anyone noticed.
“You never said,” Alice’s voice broke through my morose thoughts. “Where are we staying?”
“I still have my place in Manhattan Beach,” I answered absently.
“Manhattan Beach?” she repeated. Then she gave a harsh laugh that had me looking away from the road to check to make sure she was okay.
“Yeah? Is that a problem?”
She scoffed. “Do you have any idea of where I lived in LA?”
I shook my head. Although given her current apartment, I had an idea it hadn’t been in the best neighborhood.
“Watts,” she replied flatly. “I always carried pepper spray and had an open phone call to one of my friends if I ever had to leave my car. And we’re staying in Manhattan Beach tonight. Wow .”
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you about that, actually. What’s with your apartment in Vegas? Or Henderson, I guess. You can afford better. Bailey is living in that secure complex with a pool and a gym near the Strip. Why aren’t you living someplace like that?”
“Because, unlike some people, I’ll be damned if I’m living paycheck to paycheck. Half of everything I make goes into long-term investments. I drive a shit car and live in a shit neighborhood so I can save my money.”
I nodded like I understood, but I really didn’t. Half her paycheck? No wonder she was living so skint. “And what are you going to do with all that money you’re saving?”
She sighed and stared out the window at the LA traffic. “I don’t know. It’s my cushion, I guess. I have to save because I don’t have any family to fall back on. It’s just me.”
“You have your friends,” I replied softly. “And you have me.” I watched her out of the corner of my eye as she turned and gave me a disbelieving look. “I hope you know you could reach out to me for whatever you need, regardless of what happens between us. You’ve officially taken up a permanent corner of my heart. I think it was your smartass comments that got me.”
Her stiff smile melted into a genuine one. “Really?”
“Really.” I had to keep my eyes on the cars in front of us, but I infused all my feelings into the word. Then I laughed. “It can’t be news to you that you’re a smart ass.”
“Ass.” She snorted and shoved my shoulder with a grin.
I grinned the rest of the way through the LA traffic, but something she’d implied stayed with me for so long. Alice felt like she didn’t have a support network. Her ex had really done a number on her. He’d gone from being her whole world to stealing from her and shoving her out of the family they’d made together with their band.
Fucker.
Now I was determined to show her that she could rely on me. I’d be there for her no matter what happened between us. Alice deserved the fucking world. And she deserved to feel safe.
We spent the rest of the drive with her playlist filling the silence between us. I don’t know what she was thinking, but I was trying to come up with ways to prove myself to her. And mostly coming up empty. I needed some grand gesture to show her what she meant to me, but what?
It was a relief when I turned down Ocean Drive and my familiar townhome loomed just a few blocks away.
“Wait. Your place is on the Strand?”
“Uh yeah…?” The accusatory note in her voice had me confused. Hadn’t I told her that?
“Your place isn’t in Manhattan Beach, it’s on Manhattan Beach?”
“Is that a problem?”
She didn’t answer. After I pulled into my garage and stopped the car, I turned to look at her. Alice had her arms crossed over her chest and her head bowed.
“What’s going on? I thought staying here for a few days would be a good escape. No one will know us, and we’ll blend in on the beach.”
She scoffed. “You shirtless will never blend in anywhere.”
“Thank you?” It didn’t exactly sound like a compliment, but I decided to take it as one. “What’s going on? Why are you pissed?”
“I’m not pissed.” She sighed and finally turned to look back at me. “It’s just reminding me of how different we are. You’re a fucking millionaire, and I literally live in the Vegas slums.”
“Maybe you should move.”
She gave me a dirty look.
“I’m not saying that to be an ass. That area isn’t safe. You deserve better and you need to start taking care of you. You need to spend a little more on yourself. Especially now, with Parker being an ass. I worry about him finding you at your apartment. That place has zero security. I couldn’t sleep last night until I got your text that you were in bed.”
“Noah,” she whispered. “I’m fine. Grady hooked me up with self-defense classes a few years back after a roadie got handsy with me.”
I scowled. “All you’re doing is proving my point for me.”
“You saw me take down a big guy like Keegan before. I can take care of myself. You worry too much.”
“I’m your boyfriend; it’s literally my job.”
“Oh.” All her breath left in a huge whoosh, and she stared at me with wide eyes. “You consider yourself my boyfriend?”
Fuck. At this rate, I was going to run out of feet to shove in my mouth. “Kinda. Yeah. I mean we haven’t put any labels on this, but I don’t want anyone else. You’re not sleeping with anyone else, are you?”
She shook her head mutely.
“So what would you call us then?”
“Friends with benefits?”
Damn, that was an ego kick. “Okay. I’m good with that.”
“You’re sure?” She searched my eyes like she’d find the answer there, but I was careful to look as mellow as I could.
“Absolutely. As long as it means I still get you in my bed tonight.” I gave her my best, easygoing grin.
“Okay. I mean, yes. I want that too.”
“Great, now come on. I’ve been dying to show you my place.”
That trepidatious expression slid across her face again. But she let me grab her by the hand and pull her into my home.
“I bought the place after our third album. It took up most of my savings at the time, but it was worth it. Pretty sure it’s doubled in value since then.” I pulled her up the stairs and into the large living area. Skylights bubbled above the ceiling and ran the entire length of the house, bathing the place in natural light. But it was the huge windows at the end facing the ocean that grabbed Alice’s attention. The people on the beach were tiny dots compared to the immense span of the ocean. It was the whole reason I’d bought the place.
“Wow,” Alice whispered. She stepped up to the windows and put a hand to the glass, but stopped short before dropping her hand. After fidgeting for a second, she clasped her hands behind her back. She stared out for a minute then turned and gave me a smile. “It’s a great view. But aren’t you worried about living in a fishbowl? I mean anyone could just look in here.”
I nodded at the top of the windows. “Motorized blinds. I can control them through my phone.”
“Ah.” She nodded then looked to the small balcony off the kitchen with a tiny outdoor sofa and chair. She turned and took in the galley kitchen with the glossy white flat panel cabinets, gray quartz countertops, and professional six-burner gas stove I didn’t know how to use. “It’s big.”
“Are you okay staying here? We can always get a hotel room if you’d rather.”
“No. That’d be crazy. Why would we stay in a hotel when you have all this?”
The words were right, but her tone was all off. Almost like she was battling a panic attack.
I wanted to ask if she was sure, but I was pretty sure that’d only make whatever this was worse. So instead I copped out.
“All right. I’ll go grab our bags. My room is the only bedroom on this level. Feel free to have a look around.”
Then I beat it.
I couldn’t figure her out. She blew hot then cold. Mostly cold, if I were being honest. She was a complex fucking enigma I was determined to figure out. But her walls were so thick, I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to get through.
As I tossed our bags into my walk-in closet, my phone pinged with a text.
Xander : You might need to adopt another dog because I’m stealing this one
And he attached a photo of DJ cuddling on his couch with Harper as she read a book.
Me : That’s my dog. Go find your own. Alice can hook you up
A floorboard creaked as Alice lurked in the hallway.
“Look at this!” I called to her. “Asshole thinks he’s going to snag my goddamn dog.”
“What?”
I heard her approach, then I tipped my phone so she could see the picture Xan had sent.
“Aww, that’s cute. Wait, are you pimping me out to your friends?”
“Absolutely. They should all adopt a dog. And you’re a great hookup. You helped me.”
“Like you’re so difficult to please.” She laughed.
“Speaking of which…” I raised my eyebrows and tossed a look at the nearby bed. “You want to rest , talk about whatever’s bugging you, or order out for something to eat?”
“You have that huge fancy kitchen and won’t cook me something?”
I shrugged. “Fridge is empty. I forgot to call ahead for my concierge service to fill it. We can always go shopping, I guess.”
“Ugh, I don’t want to get into that car again tonight. How about we order dinner and fool around while we wait?”
We settled on seafood from a nearby restaurant and put in the order on my phone.
“All right. We have twenty-six minutes until the yumminess arrives. What should we do in the meantime?” I sent her a cartoon-worthy leer.
Alice played along, squealing as she ran toward the bed. I grabbed her around the waist and tossed her onto my California King mattress.
Coming down onto my side next to her, I propped myself up on my arm as I stared down at her. “Christ, you’re so gorgeous. What the hell are you doing with a mook like me?”
She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “You’re ridiculous. We don’t have enough time for me to fluff your ego and your dick.”
My eyebrows went sky high. “Yes, ma’am. You clearly have a plan, so I’ll let you get to it.”
Rolling onto my back, I quickly shucked my jeans and boxers then sat up to pull my shirt off.
Alice giggled. “Seriously? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone get naked so fast.”
“Like you said, we don’t have a lot a time, so efficiency is key.”
The sound of her giggles soothed the aching corner of my heart that was still worried about whatever was bothering her.
Then Alice leaned down and grasped my aching dick, and I wasn’t capable of much thought after that. She ran a hand up and down my length, pausing to flick my piercing with her thumb. My hips jerked on their own.
“Whoa, wait a second. What happened to efficiency?” I protested.
“Seriously? What’s inefficient about this?” She gestured to my naked body.
“Uh, what about you?” I gestured to her fully clothed body. “You’re still wearing jeans. How am I supposed to get at you when you’re wearing all that?”
“I thought we were doing you, and we’d do me later.”
“Oh hell no. You come first, second, and any time you can. That’s the rule, Rosebud.”
“You and all your rules…” She scoffed. But she still stood up to shimmy out of her jeans, leaving them in a puddle next to the bed. After a second, her tiny panties joined them, and her shirt and bra soon followed. Then she was just standing there all naked and gorgeous.
I think I swallowed my tongue. “Hummina, I mean, I’m gonna, I’m just…wow.”
A smug little grin curved her lips, and her eyes sparkled as she stared down at me. “I’d ask you if you were enjoying the view, but I think that cute little stutter just said everything.”
God, she was gorgeous when she was confident.
She was still smiling as she crawled up the bed. But when she knelt next to my side and bent over me, I protested.
“Uh, that’s not going to work for me.”
“Seriously?” She sent me a disbelieving look. “Looks like everything’s working as far as I can see.”
“I mean, we’re short on time, so we’re gonna have to go at the same time.”
“Noah, you’re definitely hot and amazingly sexy, but it takes a little longer for me to warm up than it does you. I require a little more foreplay than this.”
I laughed. “Not what I meant, sweetheart. Come here.”
I encouraged her with my hands to move up the bed until she straddled my head with her knees ending up near my shoulders. She braced a hand on my chest as she struggled to find her balance.
“Oh. I’ve never done this before.”
I didn’t want to question why that made me so hot. I put it down entirely to the amazing view I currently had. Fuck the ocean. The best view in my whole multi-million-dollar house was right above me.
As I ran a teasing finger over her labia, she bent over me again, but this time she swallowed me deep. I groaned and struggled to keep up with her. It would seriously damage my ego if I came before her right now—no matter how sexy she was.
While she kept sucking my dick, I stroked and teased her. My mouth watered as I watched and felt her pussy grow wetter. In moments her aching, little clit rose up and practically pulsed in front of me.
Groaning, I strained to get closer to her. I wanted to bury my face in her delicious pussy and eat ‘til dawn. But she was too far away. I grasped her hips and pulled her back until she all but smothered me.
Heaven.
Bliss.
I didn’t even mind that the action pulled my dick out of her mouth with a little pop. I had Alice Rose sitting on my face. I could die a happy man now.
I buried my face in her and used everything I had to get her off. My lips and tongue teased her slippery wet pussy. I thrust my tongue inside her and she rocked back onto me, helping drive my tongue even deeper inside her. And when that wasn’t enough, I let go of her hips and thrust two fingers into her while I licked at her pulsating clit.
“Oh my god!” Alice groaned. “Oh Noah. Yes. Yes! YES! ”
I thrust my fingers faster and deeper into her. As she screamed above me, I added one more finger and stretched her tight little pussy with three fingers. The sound of her pussy accepting my thrusting fingers was almost hotter than her moans. It had me thrusting my hips into her frozen hand. She squeezed me tight, and it was the only warning before she went over.
“ NOAH! ” She screamed my name as her pussy squeezed my fingers so hard. I groaned and suckled her clit even harder.
“Oh no. Oh my god. I can’t—” Her pussy kept convulsing around my fingers with a tight grip.
Fuck me.
I arched my hips into her hand and worked to get myself off. Once. Twice. Three times. One more, and I followed her over.
Wet cum spurted all over me, and I closed my eyes with a sigh. After a moment, I realized that little flickering sensation I felt was Alice’s tongue licking my cum off my abs.
“Shit, Rosebud. That feels fantastic.” I combed my dry fingers through her hair and shivered as her tongue made an aftershock rock through my body.
“Mmmm,” she hummed. “Screw guitarists. I say drummers have amazing fingering abilities.”
I cracked up. “I think that’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
Alice slumped to her side next to me and grinned drunkenly up at me. “Your fingers are amazing. Why doesn’t it ever feel like that when I touch myself?”
I groaned deep in my throat at that visual. “If you’d like, I could always give you some pointers. Maybe after dinner?”
“Only if I get to watch you jack yourself off.”
“Deal.”