Page 3 of His Greatest Muse

“Mm, that’s right. I forgot about that agreement.” I bite my lip to stifle my laugh.

“You forgot,” he grunts. “Well, do it now.”

I click my tongue. “You’re bossy tonight. Everything okay?”

“I’m always bossy.”

“Okay, okay. Calm down, I’ll pull it up now.” Flopping down on my bed, I adjust the pillows behind my back, pull the earbuds from my ears, and hold my phone out in front of me, flipping the call to video chat.

Noah answers instantly, and his face fills my screen. Well, actually, far more than just his face.

I clear my throat as his naked, tattooed chest comes proudly into view. He’s sitting back on his bed, the wall behind him covered in torn-out pages of notebook paper with song lyrics filling them. His black hair falls to the middle of his thick neck and is messy like always. He has it pushed out of his face with a black-and-white bandana, and the black gem in his earlobe glimmers.

Deep brown eyes watch me intently, two thick brows creating deep slashes on his face. The lines of his jaw are harsh as he scowls, plump lips the prettiest shade of pink.

“Has anybody ever told you that you have pretty lips?” I ask, grinning.

“You’re not distracting me with compliments you give me on a daily basis. Did you walk home alone again? Is that why you were late?”

I roll my eyes. “You’re not in a very playful mood.”

“Tinsley.”

Amused at the way he growls my name, I keep pushing my luck. “Is now not as good as five minutes ago? I can always just hang up.”

The camera moves closer to him as his eyes narrow. “Did you walk home alone again?”

“I’m fully capable of walking myself to and from places, thank you.”

“I never said you weren’t.”

I squint at the wall behind him. “Did you cover your hotel room walls with notebook paper again?”

“The wallpaper was fucking hideous.”

“Oh, you rebel, you.” I waggle my brows. “You better clean up after yourself before Sparks reams your ass in the morning.”

“We both know you’re the only one who would dare try toreammy ass.”

“And don’t you forget it. But I hope you’re not giving her a hard time. Poor girl has had to deal with you all on her own.”

Noah’s manager is a force to be reckoned with, but my best friend can be a scary guy. He’s a shark, and despite how fierce she is, she’s easy prey in his mind.

I’m still a bit unsure as to how she wound up with Noah Hutton, rock star and my Mr. Dark and Twisty, but one day, it was just us, and the next, a short, spikey-haired woman named Sparks was introducing herself as his manager. Due to the suddenness of Noah’s music career, we all just kind of accepted her presence, knowing we didn’t really have any other option at the ready.

“If you’re so worried about her, you should have come with us. I invited you.”

I flip onto my side, scootching down the bed and holding my head up beneath my folded arm. Noah watches me intently as I get comfortable, his body perfectly still.

“If I wasn’t training, I would have. You know how much I love watching you get sweaty onstage and sing until you lose your voice.”

“I’m flying home tomorrow morning. Will you be home?”

“I’ll be at the gym. Meet me there?”

“Yeah.”

“Think you could bring me one of those smoothies I love?” I bat my eyelashes.