“Of someone else fucking me.”
“I don’t give a fuck about who you fuck.”
“Why bring it up then?”
“Because you act like you’re part of this when you’re not.” Kaj gestured wildly with his hands. He wasn’t sure why he'd said that or if it made any sense to anyone but himself.
Looking bored, Noah spoke again, “What does that have to do with—”
“This is all your fault. Fuck!” Kaj ruffled his hair, averting his eyes momentarily before he attacked again. “I tried everything in my power during the meeting to decide who’d be our new vocalist to keep you away and not have to see your fucking face every day, yet here you are. So just fucking stop.”
“You didwhat?” Noah’s voice vibrated with rage as he jumped to his feet.
“What you heard.” Kaj flashed him a crooked, triumphant smirk. Something like relief settled in his chest.
That visceral response sent a delicious shiver down his spine. This was what he was missing during their previous interactions—the unfiltered emotions. Kaj wanted Noah to fight back, to lose control and get mad. That way he wouldn’t feel so stupid for being alone, stuck in frozen memories that made him feel so conflicted. This way, they were on the same page.
“You’re a fucking asshole.” Noah strode toward the drummer and shoved his shoulders. His jaw clenched and his nostrils flared. “I don’t care if you don’t like me, or even if you hate me, but you don’t have the right to play with my career.”
“Are you going to hit me?” Kaj dared.Do it.
“I should. Maybe that way you’d stop treating me like a punching bag.”
“Try. Me.”
“Stop testing my fucking patience.” Noah pushed Kaj, pinning him with a forearm pressed to his throat while he propped the other hand on the wall beside his head.
“Or what? Are you going to throw a tantrum?”
“I could actually beat the shit out of you, you know?”
“More empty threats.” Kaj rolled his eyes and chuckled, letting out a lazy sigh. “Why don’t you stop talking so much andshowme?”
Their bodies were so close, Kaj could feel Noah’s heat. The hardness of his muscles. His strength. His anger. Noah wasn’t the scaredy-cat he used to be. Something told Kaj that if they got tangled in an actual fight like they had years ago, he wouldn’t have the upper hand so easily anymore. But instead of fear or some sort of irritation, all he could feel was arousal. Violent. Searing. Greedy. It coursed through his body like a tidal wave of debris.
Kaj lost himself in a trance-induced state as Noah’s scent embraced him. His features, delicate in the past, were now angular, with high, prominent cheekbones and a perfectly straight nose, like a sculptor had spent a lifetime carving his face. Noah was astonishing. Silky black hair. Beautiful onyx eyes. But what had always driven Kaj mad was his lips. Soft, plump, and so delectable.
His moral compass had to be broken. Kaj despised Noah. Yet he couldn’t ignore how the embers of an old desire ignited inside the void of his heart.
“You’re rude and so fucking arrogant, you’d deserve it,” Noah gritted, their mouths barely an inch apart. Kaj could almost savor him. “But I’m not going to risk my position in the band because you’re a fucking kamikaze.”
“Like I thought, still a coward.” Kaj’s eyes fell to his mouth.
“You better start acting like an adult or—”
Kaj’s body disconnected from his brain. He stuck his tongue out and lapped Noah’s lips.
“What the—You’re fucked up.” Noah pressed his arm slightly harder against Kaj’s throat before putting some distance between them, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Been called worse.”
Noah scoffed. Before either of them could say anything else, the rehearsal room door opened.
“Morning,” Aksel said without taking his sunglasses off.
“Hungover much?” Kaj teased, readjusting his erection as he walked toward his stool.
“What gave me away?” The guitarist let himself fall on the couch and massaged his temples. “I hope Xander is throwing his guts up and calls saying he won’t make it.”
