Page 139 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

“Oh,” she said softly. “That does make me feel better.”

She smiled sheepishly, running a hand over her neck.

“Everything will work out okay, okay?” Nohen murmured softly.

She nodded and inched toward the back. “Well… I’m just going to pretend like that never happened and take a shower.”

“Want company?” Henry asked it so casually, so openly, Lyric came to a complete halt in the middle of the bus. He wasn’t even glancing her way, still poking his finger at the screen of his tablet.

“What if I said yes?” she asked, a hint of a dare in her voice.

Henry had broken his own rule, sure. But that was completely different than flaunting it in front of the whole bus.

“Then I’d expect you to go get a head start. I’ll join in a moment.”

Lyric narrowed her eyes. She wasn’t sure how she felt about his tone, but her body was. Heat flared south, and she tried to ignore the flush on her cheeks as she retreated to her nest to collect a fresh change of clothes.

Of course she was going to wait in the fucking shower.

“Don’t make me wait long,” she sang teasingly as she pulled the shower door open. Henry’s gaze flashed up to meet hers for a split second before he glanced back down, the glare in his glasses eclipsing his expression.

But what she saw in that split second was enough to make her knees weak.

“This wasn’t quite what I thought you meant, Henry,” Lyric mumbled with a pout. Her words were almost lost in the rush of water.

“Sorry if I’m disappointing you,” he murmured back, a chuckle vibrating his tone.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” she responded. Lyric tilted her head back as Henry ran the detachable showerhead down her locks, rinsing the shampoo he’d painstakingly massaged into her scalp. Her eyes were closed, and she was tucked into his chest as he smoothed his hand over her hair. The warm water cascaded through her hair and over her body, but its warmth was nothing compared to Henry. Her breasts were pressed against his chest, and every time their skin slid together like silk, desire speared her. The barbells piercing his nipples glinted under the light, and Lyric tried to resist the temptation to play with them.

With a soft clank, he hung the showerhead back in place and grabbed the bottle of conditioner. Lyric pressed her forehead to his pec and sighed as he began working the cream through her hair.

“Today was stressful, and I’m sorry.”

Lyric rolled her head back and forth in a drowsy head shake. “Don’t apologize. You didn’t know the host was going to be an asshole. I should be used to it by now, but he just—”

“Don’t excuse it or your reaction. He was being disrespectful and deserved every word you threw in his face.”

Her chest ached with the loveliest sting, one she couldn’t recognize at first because she hadn’t felt it very often. It made her eyes burn, and she willed tears away as Henry ran his fingers through her hair, mixing the conditioner into every strand. “Thank you.”

“No thanks necessary.”

Lyric would have argued with him all night, but she didn’t. Turning away from the interviewer, she’d half expected a lecture from Henry on interviews, about how to handle such questions and to nod and smile even if they made you uncomfortable or pissed you off. But no, that was just something her mom would have told her so long ago.

Thankfully, Lyric didn’t have to listen to that nonsense anymore. She had Henry, and he’d never tell her to remain uncomfortable just to accommodate other people. That was the kind of manager—person—he was, looking out for her. Taking care of her.

Like with the way he constantly told her to drink water, the way he hired Javier for the tour, and the way he was running his fingers through her hair so softly.

“Not cold, right?” he asked. His pec flexed against her forehead as he reached around her to grab the showerhead again.

“Not at all,” Lyric answered, nuzzling into him.

Hot water streamed through her hair, down her back, and over the rest of her body. She sighed, pure bliss taking over at Henry’s soft touch. His scent was surrounding her, tobacco and… something she couldn’t place, but it made her want to press her nose to his chest and inhale.

When he hung the showerhead up for the last time and moved them both under the streaming water, Lyric finally lifted her head and blinked up at him.

His hazel orbs were softer than she’d ever seen them, the tender emotion inside making her chest ache again with that familiar feeling she couldn’t quite place.

“Thank you,” Lyric said softly.