"But things changed?" I guessed.

"People starting crawling out of the woodwork. People I'd barely spoken to as a teenager would show up and act as if we were best friends. With our mother taking off, and having to grow up in foster care, me and Lily felt unwanted. Unloved. We only had each other. Now I was suddenly in the limelight and had everyone fawning over me."

"And is that when Noah Hart started getting a big head?" I said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I hated it," he said flatly. "I wanted me and my sister to be left alone. But Lily loved it. She was always having people over. We were always going to the best parties and events. People wanted a piece of Noah Hart, and sometimes that meant they wanted a piece of Lily, too. Anything to get close to me."

"She finally got all the attention and love she'd never had growing up," I murmured thoughtfully.

"But being in the spotlight had a price. Paparazzi started following her around everywhere, taking pictures. People would pretend to be our friends, only to turn around and spill everything to the media for cash. Then one night-" he stopped abruptly, his expression pained.

Unease settled over me. "You don't have to tell me."

"These two guys we knew broke in. They thought the place was empty. They planned to steal everything," he said in one breath, as if trying to get the words out as fast as possible. "They had been in foster care with us. We bonded over all the shit we went through. I thought they were my friends. My brothers. But they'd just been using us the whole time. And they found Lily home alone."

Cold dread ran down my back. I feared what Noah was going to say next.

He shifted across the sofa to press himself next to me, seeking comfort from my presence. He looked up at the ceiling so he didn't have to meet my eyes.

"They threatened her. Held her at gunpoint." He clenched his fist, rage exploded across his face.

My heart clenched in my chest. "Did they...?"

"No. They took everything and left her alone. Tied up. For hours. I found her that way when I got home."

I let out a small breath of relief. It could have been so much worse.

"She was so scared." Noah's mouth was set in a firm line, the rage on his face not easing. "I should have known better than to trust those assholes. I thought, because of what we'd gone through as teenagers... I thought they were like family." He finally turned to look me in the eye. "I sent Lily away. I didn't want her to get hurt again. Didn't want people using her again."

"Is that why she's in London?"

"I sent her to a private boarding school. Then she spent some time studying art in various workshops and programs. She wants to come back home to start college. I'm trying to convince her to stay in London."

"Don't you miss her?"

"Yes. But she's safer there."

I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed, leaning my head on his chest. He brought his arms around me, resting his cheek on the top of my head. We were practically cuddling. My heart swelled.

"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 throbbed with 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.

Our lips pressed together for long moments, then parted for breath, before meshing again. I opened my mouth, letting his tongue curl over mine.

His grip around my waist tightened, pulling me onto his lap. My legs spread over his thighs until I was straddling him on the sofa, hiking my dress up. I moaned as I felt his rising hardness against the thin cotton of my panties. I clutched at his shoulders so I could press myself closer to him. He groaned softly, fingers digging into my hips. He deepened the kiss, attacking my mouth with his tongue. I allowed myself get swept away by the urgency of his touches.

His hands slid up my sides and around to my front, cupping my breasts through the fabric of my dress and bra.

"This needs to go." He tugged at the collar.

I quickly grabbed the hem and threw my dress over my head, tossing it to the floor. His shirt followed mine, revealing smooth tattooed skin over iron hard muscle. I ran my hands over his chest, basking in the feeling of silk-over-steel.

With deft fingers, Noah unsnapped my bra and immediately sucked my left nipple into his mouth. I gasped at the sudden wet heat. He played with the right nipple using a thumb and forefinger, plucking and pinching lightly. I rocked against him as the sensations went straight to my throbbing core.

"You've got the sweetest tits," he murmured against my skin. He switched sides, sucking on my right nipple and playing with the left.

Back and forth he went, until I was a squirming, writhing mess. My panties were getting wet. I was aching inside, my pussy clenching around nothing, needing to be filled.

"Please," I said, scrambling at his shoulders.

He lifted his head from my chest to pin me down with a hard stare. "Please what?"

I flushed, knowing that he wanted me to beg, and too turned on to refuse. "Please. I need... I need you inside me."

"That's my good girl."

He blew warm air against my breasts, causing me to shiver. Noah cupped me through my panties, running two fingers between my lips. I swore could feel every swirl of his fingertips, every rough callous, even through the fabric. I whimpered, flexing my fingers into the muscles of his shoulders.

He slipped a hand inside my panties. The barest of brushes against my clit had me bucking my hips. He avoided my most sensitive spot. A single finger probed at my entrance, making small circles.

"Is this where you need me?"

I exhaled shakily with a nod.

He slid the finger slowly inside. My eyes fluttered closed as he sank into me. He pumped in and out, dragging his tough skin against the soft skin inside. The friction was enough to make me dizzy with want.

"Is this enough?"

I violently shook my head no.

"You need more?"

"Yes," I whimpered.

He pushed in again, using a second finger, spreading me open.

"Is this is what you need?"

My only answer was a low keening sound. Noah hummed in dark amusement as the two fingers worked me over, fucking into me.

"More," I moaned. I couldn't stop the rocking of my hips, wanting it deeper, harder, faster. My fingernails dug into his skin. I struggled to keep myself from flying apart.

"If you want more, you'll have to work for it."

I slowly met his eyes, not understanding.

"Get up."

I did, climbing off his lap and standing, confused but willing to go along with his demands for now.

Noah shifted on the sofa, sitting back against the cushions and spreading his legs wide. He took his hard cock out of his pants, unzipping just far enough to let himself spring free. He took a few brief seconds to pull out a foil packet from his pocket and roll on protection, then slung his arms across the back of the sofa in a relaxed pose. His hardness jutted out at an angle.

"Fuck yourself on my cock," he said.

My eyes went wide. "W-what?"

"You want it, don't you?"

I nodded, shuddering.

"Then climb on my cock and ride me."

"I-"

I hesitated for the briefest of moments. Long enough for Noah's eyes to flash dangerously. I climbed back onto his lap, perching myself against him, straddled across his thighs.

Noah nodded approvingly. "Good girl." His eyes hardened. "Now slide that tight cunt of yours onto my cock and fuck yourself with it."

The dirty words turned me into molten liquid at my very core. My breathing went shallow. I met his eyes, nearly black and full of a dark, animalistic lust. I could feel the tremor in the muscles of his thighs. I could tell he was struggling to keep that lust contained. Struggling against the urge to impale me on his cock then and there.

Noah took himself in one hand, angling the head away from his taut abs. I adjusted my hips until the tip of his hard length nestled between my folds. The liquid from his weeping tip mixed with the wetness dripping out of me.

I relaxed the muscles in my thighs, letting my legs go limp. I sank onto his cock. I parted around him, the stretch a delicious burn, as his cock spread me wide open. The feeling was exquisite. I whimpered, small soft sounds, as I lowered myself inch by inch. Finally my ass touched his thighs. He was fully buried deep within me.

Noah groaned softly the whole way down, but didn't move, keeping his hips still, his arms still resting on the back of the sofa.

"So fucking tight," he growled. "Now grind your cunt against me."

I did as he commanded, rocking back and forth, pushing myself up and down. The head of his cock would exit my body, leaving me wanting, only to punch into me again. I couldn't keep the moans from escaping my lips as our hips rolled together with delicious friction.

My gasps become harder and sharper. My legs began to tremble from exertion.

"Noah- I can't-"