Touch Me

One Night with Sole Regret 4

by

Olivia Cunning

Chapter One

Tonight, Owen’s band, Sole Regret, would perform in San Antonio. Tomorrow night? Houston, maybe. And then New Orleans. Or was it Beaumont? Owen wasn’t sure. The tour dates were starting to run together. He just got on the tour bus after the show and went wherever it took him. At least he knew they were still in his home state of Texas. He’d seen his family in Austin the night before, so some of his homesickness had abated. He loved touring with the guys, but his family had always been a tight-knit bunch, so he missed them when they weren’t tousling his hair as if he were a four-year-old and insisting he have another biscuit with his fried chicken.

Owen stood behind the main stage, watching the crew make last-minute adjustments to the fire fountains and spark cannons. The fans had no idea how much work went into setting up the stage so Sole Regret could play for a mere hour. No one ever cheered for the stagehands, but their crew’s hard work had paid off—the band would be live in less than five minutes. Owen appreciated all they did. He’d climbed out of bed that morning ready to hit the stage and without the crew, there wouldn’t be a stage.

While he waited, Owen wrapped his hand around the dog tags dangling from a chain around his neck, closed his eyes, and sent a silent prayer to his older brother, Chad, currently serving in Afghanistan. Be safe. Come home soon, soldier. Be safe.

Owen prayed the same words before every concert. His routine. As if the powers that be were more likely to hear his prayers right before he went onstage. As if the energy of Sole Regret’s fans made his pleas more noteworthy to Chad’s guardian angel. Owen imagined that particular angel wore combat boots and camouflage. And carried a big fucking gun. Chad’s angel of no mercy would keep him safe. Owen had faith.

Someone leaned against Owen’s arm, and Owen knew it was Kelly before he even opened his eyes.

Kelly’s mouth was set in a grim line, and his dark brown eyes held concern. If Owen hadn’t known Kelly as well as he knew himself, he’d have thought he was always serious and stern. Kelly did loosen up on occasion, but only around people he knew well.

The leather strap supporting Kelly’s cobalt-blue Les Paul guitar cut into his bare chest when he lifted a hand to give Owen’s shoulder a comforting squeeze.

“Heard from Chad lately?” Kelly asked.

Owen sometimes wondered if his best friend could read his mind.

“He’s supposed to Skype me tomorrow morning. Well, it will be night where he is.”

“Tell him I said hey,” Kelly said.

“Tell him yourself. I’m not your messenger boy.”

Owen knew Chad liked to see familiar faces. Not just family or his girlfriend or all the friends who were waiting for him in Austin, but Kelly too. Chad had been a big brother to both of them, mostly knocking their heads together when they were being insufferable idiots, but he’d also stepped into a protective role more than once. Kelly had done his part to lessen the bullying Owen had endured in high school, but occasionally Chad’s older, bigger fists had been necessary to get the point across.

Owen had plenty of friends now, but there had been a time when Kelly had been his only one. He was still Owen’s best friend. Always would be. As members of the same band, he and Kelly spent more time together than should be allowable by law. That hadn’t changed. Probably never would. But other things between them had changed in the past six months.

An uncomfortable tension had surfaced when Owen had given Kelly a wrist cuff for Christmas to remind him of Sara. Owen and Kelly had had a lot more fun before Owen had made Kelly’s grief even more pronounced. Smooth move, Owen. Fucked that one up majorly, you did. He kicked himself on a daily basis for that overly thoughtful gift. Should have bought the guy a shirt instead, since Kelly didn’t seem to own one. Owen had taken to plotting to steal the damned cuff in the middle of the night and setting it ablaze. Unfortunately, Kelly was a light sleeper.

“Are you ready for tonight’s excursion?” Owen asked, shifting his hand from the dog tags to rest it on the solid gray body of his favorite bass guitar.

“I guess so. I can’t believe the rest of the guys bailed on us.” Kelly glanced at the other three members of the band and shook his head at their disgrace. “What about our pact?”

Yeah, what about their pact? They were supposed to keep each other from getting entangled in serious romantic relationships while on tour, but the guys were falling like dominoes. Kelly didn’t have to worry about Owen falling into the same trap, however. Owen had no interest in romantic relationships. He was having far too much fun being wealthy and single. He highly recommended it.

“They must be getting old,” Owen said with a grin. “Don’t ever get old on me, Kelly.”

“I don’t have time to get old.”

“We could invite Tex and Jack to come with us.” Owen was sure the roadies would be up for a little late-night entertainment. The sex club they were going to was exclusive—invitation only. Owen couldn’t believe there was a man alive who would turn down the opportunity to get inside. And Gabe, Shade, and Adam had all turned up their noses, as if guaranteed sex with a stranger wasn’t good enough for them anymore. It had been good enough for them a week ago. It was still good enough for Owen.

“Nah, the crew has work to do. Tonight it’s me and you, bro.” Kelly lifted a fist, and Owen fist-bumped him.

“And don’t forget the ladies,” Owen said with a smirk. “They’re the best part. You are going to actually do something with them tonight, aren’t you?”

Kelly shrugged. “If I feel like it.”

“I think you’re getting old too.”

Kelly’s eyes dropped to the cuff on his wrist, and he traced it with one finger. “Maybe.”

Whoever came up with that “it’s better to have loved and lost” saying was the biggest fucking dolt who’d ever initiated a cliché. Kelly had loved and lost, and the loss had all but destroyed him. Owen wasn’t sure if he would ever be the same. Kelly would’ve been better off if he’d never met Sara. The year he’d dated her, he’d all but disappeared from Owen’s life. He’d been so wrapped up in the woman, it had been hard to distinguish them as separate entities. And when she’d died, she’d taken his heart with her. Five years later, Kelly still hadn’t recovered the battered organ from Sara’s clutches.

Owen had suffered his share of heartache, but nothing in comparison to Kelly. Where Owen had lost love in quantity—an embarrassing amount of quantity—Kelly had lost in quality. Owen had long since concluded that romance was for suckers. There would be no more heartache in his future. He was through with trying to find someone to love him for who he was, not what he’d become. If a guy was burned enough times, he eventually learned to stop putting his hand in the fire.

“I could sample a few choice pies for you and let you know which tastes best,” Owen offered, only half joking. He enjoyed pleasuring a woman with his mouth, and he knew how much Kelly got off on the act. Or he had. Until last Christmas.

Fuck. Owen vowed to never give anyone a thoughtful gift ever again. It would be tube socks and neckties all around this year.

One corner of Kelly’s mouth rose. “I’m not sure we have the same discriminating palate, dude.”

“If you need me to—” Owen glanced pointedly at Kelly’s crotch. Owen longed for the days when they’d pleasured women together. Especially the part when they’d given each other amazing hand jobs. But ever since Owen had given Kelly that cuff, Kelly had remained distant. He no longer helped Owen entertain women, and he wouldn’t touch him anymore. At all. The truly confusing part of this shift in their relationship was that Owen couldn’t stop thinking about his best friend’s hand. Before Kelly had backed away, their brief sexual contact hadn’t meant anything to Owen. He hadn’t even considered it sexual contact. It wasn’t as if he was attracted to Kelly or anything. He just liked the way Kelly tugged his cock just right. But now that they no longer touched each other—at Kelly’s insistence—Owen couldn’t get the feel of the man’s perfect grip out of his head.

Owen absently stroked the thick strings of his bass guitar. Those orgasms couldn’t have been as great as Owen’s memory served. His mind had a way of making the things he couldn’t have seem so much better than they actually were. He knew how his head worked, but the truth didn’t stop him from fixating on something best left in the past. He had to get over his bizarre obsession. Kelly certainly had. Whenever Owen brought up their brief brushes with intimacy, Kelly looked uncomfortable and hedged his way out of the conversation. But maybe if they had just one more go at it, Owen could move on. He could stop thinking about how much fun they had pleasing a woman in tandem and how those interludes had culminated.

Kelly had turned off like a light switch six months before and hadn’t turned back on since. Owen glanced at him again. It wasn’t healthy for a man to be so, well… celibate.

“I told you we aren’t doing that anymore,” Kelly said.

“Oh, I know. It’s not like it’s a big deal. You just look a little tense.” If an over-tightened guitar string was considered a little tense.

“I am tense, but I’ll take care of it. Unlike you, I don’t need a different girl every other night to get off.”

Of course. Why would Kelly seek the company of a woman when he had a perfectly good hand at his disposal? If Owen had that particular hand at his disposal, he might not be so anxious to hook up with some stranger either.

Memories of Sara had done this to Kelly; Owen just didn’t understand why his friend was faithful to a dead girl. After Sara had passed, it had taken Kelly a couple of years to even touch another woman. Then he’d progressed to eating them out as long as they were restrained and Owen had been there with him. Now Kelly wouldn’t do anything sexual with anyone, no matter how many times Owen agreed to give him a hand or any other body part he wanted to utilize.

When Owen had given Kelly the cuff, he’d hoped it would be another step forward. He’d wanted the bracelet to remind Kelly of how stupid he was being—that no matter how much he wanted Sara back, it was impossible. She was gone. But the constant reminder of her on Kelly’s wrist had only managed to solidify his dedication to abstinence. He hadn’t merely taken a step back; he’d fallen off the ladder. Sure, Kelly went to Tony’s sex clubs with the rest of them, but he never did anything. Comparatively speaking.

“Don’t you think it’s time to take off that cuff?”

“Not yet,” Kelly said. “But I am a little horny.”

“A little? Dude, your balls are so blue, you should start your own Blue Man Group.”

Kelly laughed. “And you know that how?”

“Gabe was checking you out in the shower. He told me you’re suffering from a colorful condition.”

Owen had noticed their drummer standing in the shadows—you couldn’t miss that eight-inch-high, red and black mohawk of his—but didn’t know if Gabe was listening in or not. Hard to tell with Gabe—the dude was often lost in thought. A person could carry on an entire one-sided conversation with him, and he didn’t hear a word. He was, however, paying attention tonight.

“They were a little blue,” Gabe said. “I don’t think they’re quite up to Blue Man standards. Better luck next time, Kellen.”

“Hopes, dreams, and aspirations dashed again,” Kelly said. “One day they’ll be blue enough, you wait and see.”

Gabe chuckled and shook his head.

“Hey,” Owen said, grabbing Kelly’s arm and leaning close, trying to look earnest, “you’re not allowed to leave the band for the Vegas spotlight. I don’t care how blue they get.”

“I thought you, of all people, would be supportive of my desire to attain permanent blue balls. Surely you recognize my need to find others of my kind.” Kelly said this with such conviction that anyone who didn’t know him would have thought he was serious and offered him a cash donation for his cause.

Owen tried to keep a straight face, but snorted as a laugh escaped him.

“God, will you two knock it off?” Adam said. His ever-expanding collection of chains rattled in the semi-darkness to Owen’s left. “You act like a couple of prepubescent boys when you’re together. If I wanted kids, I wouldn’t have made an appointment to get a vasectomy.”

“As much as I joke about my balls,” Kelly said, “I’d never let anyone come at ’em with a scalpel. Ever.”

“And that’s why you’ll end up paying child support someday.” Adam crossed his arms to rest on the body of his guitar and lifted a dark eyebrow at Kelly. “Some gold-digger will poke pinholes in your condoms and whoops, there’s a two-million-dollar mistake.”

“Does your girlfriend know you’re getting snipped?” Owen asked. “She seems like the type who’d want kids.”

“That’s why I’m getting them snipped.”

“You don’t trust her?”

“Of course I trust her. I just lose my head around her. She’d say the word and I’d be doing my damnedest to knock her up. I don’t have any business fathering a child. Look at the example I had to follow.”

Adam’s father was the poster child for bad parenting, but that didn’t mean Adam would follow in the old man’s footsteps. Still, Owen understood his hesitation over kids. Just the thought of having a kid made him break out in hives. He might consider it in twenty or thirty years. Or never.

“Kelly’s not getting any, so he doesn’t have to worry about it.” Owen said. “But I strictly adhere to the BYOC rule. No kids for me.”

“With that monstrosity in your junk, you probably poke holes in your own condoms by accident,” Adam said.

Another reason Owen always brought his own; certain brands were more durable than others. A man had to be careful to use the right protection if he had adornments in certain body parts.

“You guys don’t know what you’re missing,” Shade said. “Kids are awesome.” The band’s lead singer had sported a stupid grin of one degree or another all day. Sure, Shade smiled now, but if his ex-wife ever found out why he looked like he’d been huffing nitrous oxide, he wouldn’t be smiling then. Tina would rip his lips right off his face. His ex wouldn’t take kindly to Shade dating her sister. Tina hated Shade’s fucking guts and wanted him miserable for all eternity. So far, fate had been working in her favor.

“Not all kids are awesome,” Adam said. “Some are the spawn of Satan. But yeah, Jules is pretty awesome. Even if she is related to you.”

Shade laughed and punched Adam in the arm.

Owen exchanged glances with Kelly. They both stiffened in preparation for an inevitable fight—Shade and Adam had gotten into one in the limo after their last concert—but it seemed the two over-inflated egos really were just goofing off and no one was at risk for an ER visit. Good thing. Adam would have been pissed if he’d had to room with his father. Apparently, his dear old dad had gotten his hands on bad drugs and landed himself in the emergency room the night before. Owen had been surprised that Adam had even taken him to the hospital. Adam resented the old man, whether they shared DNA or not. Owen couldn’t quite wrap his head around the idea of hating one’s own father, no matter what he’d done. Owen would be devastated if anything happened to any member of his family—including any of his seventy-one third cousins.

“Have you heard from your dad?” Owen asked Adam.

“Yeah. He bitched me out on the phone less than an hour ago.”

“Still in the hospital?”

Adam nodded. “And apparently they don’t subscribe to his favorite TV channel.”

“Well, fuck, Adam, you don’t expect him to watch the Disney Channel, do you?” Owen said.

“That’s the channel he was bitching about. Can’t miss Hannah Montana.”

Owen jerked back in surprise. “No shit?”

“Shit no,” Adam said. “I swear, Owen Mitchell is a synonym for gullible.”

“Adam Taylor is a synonym for asshole,” Owen countered.

“Gabriel Banner is a synonym for let’s get the fuck on the stage,” Gabe said. “Isn’t it already after nine?”

Owen turned to watch the crew standing around a bank of amplifiers on the stage. The head of their road crew, Jack, was squeezed behind the sound equipment, wiggling wires and garbling swear words around the penlight he held between his teeth. Owen moved closer and waved down one of the onlookers.

“What’s the hold-up?” he asked.

“One of the new guys caught a cord with his foot and loosened some cables. Jack is fixing it.”

“And he needs an audience? None of you has anything better to do five minutes after the show was supposed to start?”

The group scattered. In his earpiece, Owen heard Cash, their soundboard operator, say, “That’s got it, Jack. Owen, we’re ready when you are.”

Owen was always ready to be on stage. He loved that he got to start every show—a few precious seconds to have twelve thousand screaming fans all to himself. Not many bassists got to stand in the limelight.

He gave the rest of the band the thumbs-up to let them know he was starting and took the steps up to the edge of the stage. In the near darkness, Gabe hurried to settle behind his massive drum kit, careful not to make a sound by bumping a cymbal with those long limbs of his. As soon as he collected his sticks, Owen began his bass riff. The crowd roared and whistled as the first sound thrummed. The curtain dropped and a blinding white light lit Owen from above as he sauntered across the stage playing the repetitive bass line of “Darker.” He gave no indication that a surge of adrenaline had his heart galloping a mile a minute as he slowly made his way toward center stage. Owen lived for this shit. He couldn’t believe this was his job. For the rest of his life, Owen would worship at the altar of rock god Kellen Jamison for sending him down the path of wickedness. Kelly had been the one who’d forced Owen to learn to play guitar in an effort to get him laid in high school. It hadn’t worked then—chubby bassists didn’t get the girls—but it worked like a charm now.

The crowd got louder and louder as Owen pretended to ignore them. When he reached his target—a white X taped at the exact center of the stage floor—Gabe entered the song with a wickedly rapid drum progression. Owen pivoted, beamed a smile at the crowd, and dashed toward the audience as the rest of the band entered the stage and the song.

The entire band was pumped tonight, which guaranteed an amazing performance. Shade was in a great mood and joked around with the audience and with Adam. The pair had talked out some of their problems that morning, but Owen had had no idea that a simple conversation would make such a noticeable difference in the feel of the show. Owen and Kelly always had a great time onstage; they were completely relaxed in each other’s company and loved hamming it up for the crowd. Shade and Adam, on the other hand, had spent the last couple of years acting as if they were at war with one another both onstage and off. Owen couldn’t believe how much the atmosphere had changed overnight.

Between “Going Down” and “Heaven to Pay,” Owen slipped into the wings and grabbed a bottle of water from a roadie. He chugged the cool fluid while Shade told the crowd a story about their lead guitarist falling off the stage in New Jersey.

“Face planted right on the cement,” Shade said, slapping one palm against the other. “Wham!”

“It wasn’t funny,” Adam said. “I almost broke my neck.” But he didn’t sound angry about Shade’s teasing.

Owen was grateful Adam had regained his sense of humor. His short fuse was a liability.

“Luckily, I was drunk enough that I didn’t feel a thing,” Adam said.

“Until the next morning,” Shade said.

“I can’t believe how well they’re getting along,” Kelly said to Owen as he sipped from his water bottle. “Calm before the storm?”

“Maybe. I keep waiting for one or the other to explode.”

“Shade’s been acting happy all day,” Jack said. “It’s just not right.” He took the empty water bottles from Owen and Kelly.

“You can blame that on his bedmate last night,” Owen said, grinning. “She must have a magic vagina.”

“I don’t care if it shoots glitter and rainbows,” Kelly said. “That relationship can only end in disaster. We’d better enjoy this while it lasts.”

As the pair returned to the front of the stage, Shade asked, “Did you have a nice break?”

“No,” Owen said. Shade’s microphone was close enough that it picked up his words and they were broadcast through the stadium. “I was hoping the clear stuff in my bottle was vodka, but it was only water.”

“Mine had vodka,” Kelly said. “The crew has seen you drunk, Tags. Not something they want to see again.”

“I’m a fun drunk,” Owen said. “Everyone loves to hang around when I’m drunk.”

“Yeah,” Kelly said, “everyone who wears a skirt and wants it up around their waist while you go down loves to hang around when you’re drunk.” He rolled his eyes.

Feminine approval roared from the crowd.

“If it bothers you so much, stop wearing skirts, Cuff,” Owen said.

The crowd’s laughter egged them on.

“It’s called a kilt. And how else am I supposed to show off my legs?” Kelly asked.

“Kilts don’t come in floral patterns.”

“Okay,” Shade said, “that’s enough out of you two. This isn’t open mic night.”

“These people came to hear music, not your lame jokes,” Adam said.

Since Gabe didn’t have a live mic, he played a mini drum solo to enter his opinion on the matter. Owen and Kelly kept their jokes to themselves for the remainder of the show, but they still managed to have fun.

And the crowd responded, stomping on the floor and thrusting their fists into the air.

“I’m heading for the shower,” Owen said after the encore. He handed off his bass to one of the road crew and looked at Kelly expectantly.

“I’ll join you,” Kelly said. “I’m drenched.”

“Last chance for you pussy-whipped disgraces to join us tonight at Tony’s new club,” Owen said, looking to his other three band mates.

“Not happening, Owen,” Shade said. “Have a good time.”

“I’ll have a good enough time for the three of you,” Owen said. He glanced at Kelly, knowing he probably wouldn’t utilize the club to its fullest capabilities. “For all five of us,” he said under his breath. He vowed never to fall hard for a woman. Monogamy. Where was the fun in that?

A pair of hands appeared over Shade’s sunglasses. “Guess who,” a soft, sultry voice said from behind him.

Shade’s hands reached back and began to explore the feminine body at his back. “I know these tits,” he said, a huge smile stretching across his face.

“Are you sure?”

Owen cocked his head to the side, and his suspicions were validated. What in the fuck was she doing here? Amanda made Shade happy—hell, that was obvious. But she was trouble for him. Big trouble.

“Yeah,” Shade said. “It’s been ages, Pamela. Are you ready for another musician to rock your bed?”

Amanda grabbed his nose and twisted.

“Ow! Amanda, I was only joking.”

“You knew it was me?”

“Of course I knew it was you. Pamela’s tits are enormous, and yours are massive, at best.”

She scowled at her ample bust. “Maybe I’ll get them enlarged,” she said.

“Don’t go messing with perfection, babe.”

She looked up at him. “You’re not surprised I came?”

“You came already? Geez, all I did was fondle your tits a little.”

Owen chuckled. God, he’d missed this Shade—the guy who smiled and joked and didn’t look as if a perpetual doom cloud was tailing him.

Amanda slapped Shade, but was unable to hide her grin. This sister was so much easier to get along with than the one Shade had married the first go round. But, yep, still trouble.

“Or,” Shade said, “do you mean I’m not surprised that you couldn’t wait until Saturday to see me again? Or that you’d drive almost five hours just to get in my pants? Nope. Not surprised.”

“Ugh,” she groaned. “I forgot how big your ego gets after a show.”

“It’s not the only thing that gets big.”

She wiggled her eyebrows at him. “I hope you’re planning to show me that other big thing.”

Shade turned and grabbed her, hauling her against his body. He whispered something in her ear, and she nodded eagerly.

“Owen.” Kelly snapped his fingers in Owen’s face. “The limo is waiting for us. If you want a shower, you’d better stop gawking at the happy couple and get your ass to the dressing room.”

He couldn’t help but gawk. Train wrecks waiting to happen were mesmerizing.

Owen hurried through his shower, keeping his eyes diverted from Kelly’s naked body. Especially when Kelly placed one hand on the shower wall and used his free hand to thoroughly lather his cock. Lucky cock. Owen stuck his head under the shower head, shut his eyes, and let the water flood his face. Worrying about Kelly’s neglected dick was bizarre—Owen knew that. He should concentrate more on his own fifth appendage, which was half hard in anticipation of seeking a new conquest at the club tonight. Or something.

“Remember when we used to see who could jerk one out the fastest?” Owen said, soaping his own cock now.

Kelly chuckled. “God, we were immature,” he said.

“Um, yeah, immature.”

Owen hurried to rinse the soap from his body. He then shut off the water and found his clothes. Before he slid into his boxer briefs, he switched out the metallic balls in his centered dydoe piercing to a larger, mismatched set. He found the . . . what had Adam called it—the monstrosity in his junk—gave both himself and his partner the greatest thrill if the balls were of different sizes. He absolutely loved the reaction that little piece of jewelry got from the ladies the first time they saw it. And loved it even more the first time they experienced it inside them.

Grinning in anticipation, Owen dressed in all black, but not the typical jeans and T-shirt he usually wore. He slipped into a pair of tailored slacks and a button-down shirt. He did wear his Converse though, because they were the only shoes he ever wore. His tattoos all concealed beneath his clothes, he decided to play down his rocker image. He removed his lip piercing and the barbells in his nipples, but left the half-inch black plugs in his ears since when he went without jewelry, the holes were even more noticeable. He fingered the hoop in his eyebrow and decided to leave it in as well. The piercing had never healed right, so he had a hard time getting the ring back in the hole if he took it out.

“All black tonight? If you had a cape, you could be a vampire,” Kelly said, using his towel to dry his long hair instead of using it to conceal his body.

“Black is slimming.”

“You’re not fat any more, Owen.”

“I know.” Owen ran a hand over his flat belly, making sure those rock hard abs he worked so hard to maintain hadn’t suddenly disappeared. Still there.

He added a touch of product to the ends of his damp hair, arranging the dark blond locks into disarray. “Hurry up, Kelly,” he said, suddenly eager to get to the club and fuck any woman who would have him.

“Keep your pants on,” Kelly said as drew a brush through his longish black hair.

“Hopefully, I won’t have to for long.”

Chapter Two

Caitlyn was going to screw every man in this club. That would show the insufferable bastard. She had trusted him, loved him, and picked his damned dirty underwear off the floor for twelve years. How could he do this to her? Her no-good, lying, son-of-a-bitch ex-husband had cheated on her with a freshman in his introductory English class. A nineteen-year-old. A baby. Then he’d had the audacity to file for divorce stating irreconcilable differences. Yeah, he wanted to put his dick in someone, and Caitlyn had an irreconcilable difference of opinion that it should be only her. The worst part was that because she made more money than the asshole, she had to pay alimony while he spent his summer off in Italy fucking that little tramp. How was that fair? How was that even legal?

Caitlyn was going to screw every man in this club twice. That’s what she’d told herself while she was purchasing sexy lingerie in the shop downstairs. What she’d told herself when she’d been changing into her new white lace nightie, thigh-high stockings, and four-inch heels. That’s what she told herself when she’d marched into the club and strutted—the best she could in these ridiculous shoes—across what might have been a dance floor if anyone had been dancing. But the other patrons were occupied with activities that made Caitlyn alternately gawk and avert her eyes. They were involved in things she hadn’t done in the privacy of her own bedroom, much less in public.

Yeah, she was about to go do some of that stuff herself. Lots of that stuff. And she would mentally give Charles the middle finger the entire time another man was stuffing her with his cock.

So why was she hiding in a secluded corner avoiding eye contact? And why were her knees knocking together?

She’d asked Jenna to bring her to the club. Asked Jenna to leave her here. By herself. Because Caitlyn had been afraid that she wouldn’t be able to open her thighs to a stranger and at the first sign of masculine interest, would have begged Jenna to take her home. That wouldn’t have done anything to hurt Charles. Not that she cared if she hurt him as much as he had hurt her—she doubted it was possible anyway. Word would get back to him that she’d come here, and she’d make damn sure he thought she’d participated in the orgy of her life. And that she’d loved every minute of it. Without him.

At least that had been her plan when she’d arrived.

But instead of participating in the overt sexual acts going on around her, Caitlyn observed. And tried not to feel like a coward and a loser and the most unattractive, undesirable, oldest woman in the place. Tried to pretend she was alone because she wanted to be, not because no one wanted her. Being here was not making her feel better about herself or empowered or even sexy. Why had she come?

Caitlyn had only ever slept with one man. Charles couldn’t claim he’d slept with only one woman. He couldn’t even claim he’d slept with only one woman when he’d been married. Would removing Charles’s claim over her body help her heart mend? She’d thought so at first, but now she wasn’t so sure.

Caitlyn watched yet another couple leave the main parlor to go to one of the private rooms in the back and then lowered her eyes to stare at her thumbs. The man had held the woman’s breast in his hand and had his other hand down her panties—teasing her, stroking her, making her moan—as if he couldn’t wait to take her, to touch her.

Caitlyn wanted someone to take her. To touch her.

God, how she wanted someone to touch her.

How long had it been since a man had found her irresistible?

Had a man ever found her irresistible? Yeah, Charles had once. When she’d been a freshman in his introductory English class. An innocent, trusting virgin. It seemed he didn’t find women over thirty attractive at all. Did anyone?

What did she have to do to feel sexy again? To feel wanted? Sitting in a frilly white negligée in the corner of a sex club staring at her thumbs wasn’t working so well for her. Not the way she’d thought it would. She’d thought braving this place would make her feel confident. Attractive. Desirable. Instead she felt out of place and uncomfortable.

“Do you know what your problem is, beautiful?” a deep voice asked from the chair across the table from her.

She hadn’t realized anyone had sat down. “What?” she snapped.

“You’re much too pretty to give off such incredible men-suck vibes.”

She caught herself before she said, Men do suck. They suck shit-encrusted balls. But she’d have been lying. Not all men sucked. Charles sucked. But not all men did. She liked men. Most of the time. Most of her colleagues were men, and she got along just fine with them.

Caitlyn stared at a pair of dog tags resting against a black button-down shirt covering a man’s chest. Her heart thudded too fast for her to find the courage to actually meet his eyes. He’d called her beautiful. Pretty. Was this that masculine attention she’d both coveted and dreaded? She was pretty sure he was hitting on her. Wasn’t he? She’d never dated much before she’d gotten married. She wasn’t sure how this worked.

Oh God, what was she doing here? If she made eye contact would he expect her to have sex with him? Could she go through with this? “You’re very perceptive,” she managed to say.

“I was wondering why the most attractive woman in the room was sitting by herself in a corner. I thought maybe the possessive, hot-tempered, black-belt martial artist you were with was in the bathroom or something, but I watched you for a while and figured out why you’re not surrounded by admirers. It’s those men-suck vibes you’re giving off.”

“So why didn’t they scare you away?” She lifted her eyes, and her breath caught. Not only was he the most gorgeous man she’d ever laid eyes on, he was young—in his midtwenties. His dark blond hair was lightly gelled into a devil-may-care style that matched the twinkle in his blue eyes. Those eyes were a mesmerizing contrast to the warm tanned hue of his skin. A small hoop pierced one eyebrow, and he wore round cylinders in both earlobes—plugs or whatever they were called. She’d have thought he was an actor or a model if not for those accessories marring his otherwise perfect features.

“I don’t scare easy when I see something I want.” He grinned at her, flashing even white teeth and self-confidence that made her believe he didn’t want for long. No, this one attained. “What’s your name, beautiful?”

He’d called her beautiful again. She’d never needed a man’s praise to make her feel good about herself before she’d caught Charles with his pants around his knees while he thrust his pathetic cock into that nubile nineteen-year-old vagina on his desk. Sure, that vagina had been part of a person, but watching it engulf her husband’s cock was an image Caitlyn would never be able to scrub from her memory. With all the long hours she’d been working, their sex life had gotten a little stale, so she’d thought to surprise him in his office. Oh, she’d surprised him all right. And gotten the shock of her life as well.

The attractive man’s fingertips lightly brushed the back of her wrist and drew her away from her thoughts. That slight contact had emotions warring within her. She was flattered yet skeptical. Tense and uncomfortable, yet relieved that someone had noticed her. Grateful that he had called her beautiful. Thankful that he was either a great actor or actually was attracted to her.

Shoot, maybe he just pitied her for being alone.

“I’m Caitlyn,” she said, remembering that he’d asked her name.

“Why did you come here, Caitlyn?”

Because I’m lonely. Because my husband left me for a younger woman and I feel ugly. Old. Oh God, it’s been so long since someone has made me feel attractive that I don’t even know what to say to you.

“I was curious,” she said.

That was partially true. She had wondered what went on in places like these. Jenna’s husband was friends with the club’s owner and when Jenna had jokingly said Caitlyn needed to go there to get laid and work Charles out of her system, Caitlyn had surprised even herself by insisting she did. But she wasn’t going to start spilling her guts to strangers. She scarcely spilled them to her closest friends. She’d come to visit Jenna, her college roommate, in San Antonio on a whim. Mostly because she couldn’t stand to sit alone in her big house on the bay for another night. A house she’d once dreamed of filling with a loving family. Back when Charles had led her to believe that he wanted that too.

Stop thinking about him. Stop thinking about him. Just stop. Caitlyn squeezed her eyes shut and gave her head a hard shake. She then opened her eyes and shared her most dazzling smile with the hottie in black sitting across the bistro table from her.

“What’s your name, gorgeous?” she said, doing her damnedest to keep her men-suck vibes under control, because wouldn’t it be spit in Charles’s eye if she hooked up with this good-looking man—this young man—and fucked him all night.

“Owen.”

“Why did you come here, Owen?”

“I thought that was obvious,” he said.

She crinkled her brow in puzzlement.

“I was looking for you.”

She laughed. “I’m pretty sure the only reason you came to talk to me is because all the good ones were already taken.”

“Good ones?”

“The young, pretty ones.”

“She was younger than you, wasn’t she?”

He stroked the back of her hand gently and held her gaze. Caitlyn quickly found herself lost in his startlingly blue eyes.

“Caitlyn?”

She blinked and took a deep breath, trying to remember what he’d asked. “Who was younger than me?”

“The one he cheated with.”

“How do you know he cheated?”

“Men-suck vibes. They’re usually caused by a cheating asshole.”

She wondered how many women he’d seduced this way. He was very good at it. She especially liked that he called Charles an asshole, even though he had no idea who Charles was.

“She was younger. Twenty-five years younger than him. I think what hurts the most is that I was just like her when I met him. I was her age when he left his first wife for me. Took my virginity on the exact same desk he plowed her on. I’m going to send his first wife flowers. What an awful, awful wretch I was to her. I even called her old.”

Caitlyn cringed. When Caitlyn had married Charles, Gladys had been a year younger than Caitlyn was now. That made Caitlyn really old. She wondered if the poor girl he’d seduced was as proud of stealing him away as Caitlyn had been when she’d been in the same position. Had his little co-ed been a virgin? Had Charles told her she made him feel alive and that his dried up old wife had lost her spark? Caitlyn had been referring to Charles’s latest ego-booster as “that little tramp” for months. Caitlyn needed to direct all her anger at the truly guilty party. Charles Theodore Mattock, you’re a fucking, lecherous bastard.

“So you seduced a married man? I guess you’re not as sweet as you look in that sexy white lace.” Owen winked at her.

“Well, no. I didn’t realize he was married at the time. And for the record, he seduced me.”

“Perhaps he could offer me a few pointers.”

“You’re doing fine so far.” He smiled again, and her heart flopped down into the pit of her stomach.

“Would you like a drink?”

She was a tad overheated but said, “I think I’d better keep my wits about me.”

“Now where’s the fun in that?”

“I’m not going to send you away if that’s what you’re worried about. I came here to get laid, just like everyone else.”

His eyes widened, and he laughed. “I guess that is why everyone is here, and everyone knows that’s why we’re all here, but we don’t really discuss it. It’s more fun to pretend there’s a challenge.”

She felt like a fool because she didn’t know the rules. Didn’t know the rules because she’d never played the game. “Oh. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“I’m not offended. Just a little surprised by your straightforwardness.”

“Why?” No one she knew was surprised by it, but then she wasn’t exactly dressed for her usual role as CEO and head engineer of Starpower Industries. There she was unequivocally confident and master of her domain. Here she was nervous, out of place, and utterly attracted to this guy. Maybe he didn’t like strong women? She hoped she didn’t intimidate him. Perhaps she should pretend to be meek, timid, and afraid, because she was feeling all those things at the moment and it rattled her to her core.

Owen stared at her for a long moment and just when she thought he was going to get up and leave her, he said, “Would you like to meet my friend Kellen? He’s over in the corner booth waiting for me.”

Caitlyn looked in the direction Owen indicated with a nod of his head. She could see silky black hair on the crown of Kellen’s head, but the rest of him was concealed by the high-backed booths. Caitlyn immediately realized what this was about. The good-looking one, Owen, captured unsuspecting women for his homely friend Kellen. It explained perfectly why he was coming on to her in the first place. Wouldn’t they be surprised when she turned the tables on them and rejected them both? She didn’t like to be taken for a fool.

“Sure.”

Owen rose from his seat, and she couldn’t help but notice the hard cut of his body and how his perfectly pressed shirt clung to his shoulders and chest. How it tapered down to be tucked into a pair of well-made slacks that accentuated his narrow hips. A leather belt drew her attention to his trim waist. She’d seen pictures of guys built like this, but wasn’t sure if she’d ever encountered one in real life. It took her a moment to realize he was holding his hand out in her direction. She slid her palm into his, finding it warm, strong and, apart from the calluses on his fingertips, smooth. She couldn’t help but wonder what those fingers would feel like against her skin.

She slipped from her chair and stood on the spindly high heels she’d purchased at the club’s basement shop. They were white patent leather and made her pretty white negligée seem a little less innocent. She’d chosen the piece of lace lingerie because they wouldn’t let her in the club wearing her tweed and denim and it was the least trashy of the items they offered. Plus, the short teddy came with a thigh-length gauzy robe which, though transparent, gave her the illusion that she wasn’t showing so much bare skin to strangers. She wondered why the one man she wanted to see naked had been allowed to bypass the no-street-clothes rule. Owen was dressed all in black, except he was barefoot. Every other person in the room was at least partially undressed, and a few were entirely naked.

Clutching her transparent robe at the waist, she took a hesitant step. While she didn’t wear heels in the lab, she wore them in the boardroom, but she’d never worn a pair four inches high until tonight. She was so busy concentrating on not breaking her neck that she didn’t realize Owen had stopped until his hand touched her arm. She froze in midstep and looked at him in question. What had she done wrong this time? She was so not used to this scene.

Owen’s eyes raked down her body. “Mmm. You must realize I asked you to stand so I could get a better look at you,” he said.

Anywhere else in the world, she’d have been pissed by his blatant come-on and told him to go fuck himself, but here, she was expecting it. In a strange way, hoping for it. She was going to let this happen tonight. Tonight, but probably never again.

“And?”

“Even better than I’d fantasized. Stunning. Now walk that way so I can check out your ass without you noticing.” He winked at her, and she burst out laughing.

“You’re bad,” she said.

“You have no idea.” The devilish grin left his face and his expression warmed, leaving him looking sweet and gentle. “I can be good, if that turns you on. What turns you on, Caitlyn?”

“You,” she blurted, and heat rose up her cheeks. She couldn’t believe she’d actually said that, even if it was true.

“Then I’ll improvise,” he said.

He placed a hand on the small of her back to urge her toward the booth where his homely friend was waiting to make his move after Mr. Smooth Operator took his leave. Caitlyn focused on keeping her ankles from twisting as she stalked in that direction. It was impossible for her to walk in heels without taking confident steps. She forced herself not to look behind her to see if Owen really was checking out her ass. She hoped he enjoyed the view. The white thong she wore couldn’t be hidden, even with the gauzy robe in place.

She paused at the table, eyes going wide when Owen’s presumably ugly friend looked up from his beer. Kellen was on par with his gorgeous friend, even though they looked nothing alike. Where Owen had blue eyes, dirty-blond hair, and even features, Kellen was rugged and dark. Dark hair, dark eyes, dark mood. He was shirtless, which allowed her to scan the tattoos that decorated the hard muscles of his broad chest. His black hair was straight and just long enough to brush his collarbones. He looked untamed, like a Plains warrior. She could easily picture him astride a Paint Horse, hair flying out behind him as he aimed his bow at some animal he hunted. This guy was ruthless and hard. At least that was her impression until he smiled and his features softened. Her heart thudded so hard, she thought it might explode in her chest. Okay, if these two planned a bait and switch, she wouldn’t mind at all. Her goal to have sex with a hot, young stranger would be fulfilled by either of them.

“Is Owen making an ass out of himself again?” Kellen asked as his gaze shifted above her shoulder to his friend.

“Can’t help it,” Owen said. “I had to corral her before some other jerk found enough confidence to approach her.”

He moved close behind her, and she was promptly engulfed by his warmth. An instant later she caught the scent of his clean-smelling aftershave. Her eyelids fluttered.

“Would you like to sit?” Kellen asked her.

Yeah, on Owen’s naked lap. Or yours. Yours would work. Because now she didn’t feel the need to screw every man in the club to help her get over her ex. Just one. Or maybe two.

“You’d better do it soon,” Owen whispered close to her ear, “or I’m going to bend you over that table and break the club’s no-penetration-in-the-lounge rule.”

She gasped, her nether regions clenching with a surge of lust. So those parts were still functional. She had been starting to worry.

Kellen chuckled and shook his head. “Easy, stud. Do you even know her name?”

“Caitlyn,” Owen said.

“Sit, Caitlyn,” Kellen said, “before he whips out his dick and gets himself kicked out of here.”

Caitlyn sat and crossed her legs. She wriggled slightly to give the unbearably swollen and achy flesh between her thighs some relief. No good. She’d never had anyone say such things to her in her life. She wasn’t sure why it was such a turn-on. Thanks to Owen’s outlandish behavior and her response to it, she had no doubt that she could have sex with a stranger. She might regret it in the morning, but she wouldn’t tonight. Tonight she was tossing propriety aside and giving herself permission to get as dirty as she wanted.

Owen sat beside her and she scooted around the semi-circular, fairly private booth to give him more room. He moved closer so that their hips touched, and she scooted a bit more. He placed a hand on her knee and moved up against her again. That’s when she realized he wanted to be touching her. She smiled and relaxed as much as she could. It was a challenge to remain calm with the profusion of butterflies fluttering about in her belly.

“So, Caitlyn,” Kellen said, “what brings you to a place like this?”

“Curiosity.”

“You’re sure it wasn’t horniness?” Owen asked. “Because I was really hoping for horniness.”

She laughed. “Well, a little,” she admitted.

Owen’s fingers slid along the side of her knee, and her pussy gave an attention-shattering throb of need. Okay, so he was making horniness her prime focus.

“Do you guys do this often?” Caitlyn asked.

“This is our first time here,” Owen said.

Kellen chuckled. “I guess that’s true, but yeah, we do this often. Tony has clubs like this all across the U.S. We’ve been to most of them. How do you know Tony? Entry into his clubs is by invitation only. Keeps him out of jail.”

“I don’t know him personally,” Caitlyn said. “My best friend’s husband knows him.”

“I see. So is it what you expected? Are you enjoying yourself?” Kellen asked.

“Truth be told, I’m terrified,” she admitted.

“Of me?” Owen asked, giving her a sad little smile that made her laugh.

“No, but I probably should be.”

“He’s harmless,” Kellen said. “Mostly.”

“How long have you two been friends?” Caitlyn asked.

“A long time,” Kellen said.

“No personal questions,” Owen said.

Caitlyn turned her head to look at him in surprise. “None?”

“That’s how anonymous sex works; it’s anonymous. That’s what you had in mind, isn’t it? Hot, dirty, walk-bowlegged-for-the-next-two-days, anonymous sex?”

“Of course.” She didn’t point out that by exchanging names this wouldn’t be entirely anonymous. Unless Owen wasn’t his real name. Should she have used a fake name? She probably should have. Crap! She really was a novice at this.

Owen’s arm moved to rest behind her. His fingers brushed her cover-up from her shoulder and toyed with the satin strap of her negligee. In response to Owen’s gentle touch, Caitlyn’s nipples hardened. She wasn’t the only one who noticed. Eyes riveted to her chest, Kellen sucked in a sharp breath. Caitlyn squirmed at the sight of Kellen biting his lip as if in pain. Owen stroked her arm with the back of his hand, drawing the sleeve of her robe lower and bringing goose bumps to the surface of her skin.

“Don’t you miss this, Kelly?” Owen’s nose brushed against her ear, and his warm breath bathed the side of her neck. “Touching a woman.”

Caitlyn shivered.

Owen’s lips brushed her skin just beneath her ear. When his soft, wet tongue flicked out to delight her throat, her eyelids fluttered and her mouth dropped open.

“Tasting a woman.”

“Don’t torment me, Owen,” Kellen said. “I’m not in the fucking mood tonight.”

“She’d look beautiful restrained. Wouldn’t she? Ropes pressing into her supple flesh.” Owen nibbled her earlobe and whispered, “Would you let us tie you up, Caitlyn?”

“Both of you?” Caitlyn sputtered. Okay, now she understood why Owen had brought her here—so they could do wicked things to her. Things she was not okay with. Make her helpless. Their victim. The thought both thrilled her and scared her. Fear won over in the end. There was no way she would agree to being restrained while two strangers did any perverted thing that occurred to them. “I’d rather tie you up,” she said.

Kellen chuckled. “I think that’s a great idea. Good call, Caitlyn. I’ll help.”

“I’m game for anything you want to try,” Owen said.

Caitlyn hesitated before turning her head to look at him. “Anything?”

“Yes, anything,” Owen said. “Do you have a dirty fantasy, Caitlyn? Something you’ve always wanted to do but never dared?”

“I have plenty of fantasies,” she said. “I really would like to tie you up. Dare to do things to you.”

“What kinds of things?”

She tried to think of the most outlandish sexual act she could imagine, wanting to call him on his bluff. She was pretty sure he was full of it and saying things he didn’t mean just for effect. True, her kink-o-meter was fairly mild, but he didn’t know that. He had to be as scared as she was by the idea of being rendered helpless and at the mercy of a stranger. Caitlyn imagined him tied to a bed, his cock rigid and proud. She could touch him any way she liked. Kiss every inch of him. Suck him. Ride him. Torment him. Tease him. Delay his gratification until he begged. But that didn’t seem really all that outlandish. What man wouldn’t agree to that? At least for a while. Then she pictured him tied face down, on his knees, ass exposed to the air, and a that naughty devil she kept buried inside her subconscious spread a slow grin across her face.

“I think I’d like to screw you,” she said. “From behind.”

She glanced up at him, expecting shock. He just looked confused.

“I’m not sure if my dick will bend that way, but we can try it.”

Kellen laughed so hard, Caitlyn was concerned he’d rupture his spleen. She managed to keep a straight face, however, and shook her head. “That’s not what I meant.” Could she really say the next words? She was an excellent public speaker, but she usually talked about alternative energy sources, not about claiming a guy’s ass. “I want to do things to your… ass.” She said the final word so quietly, she was surprised he heard her.

Owen’s jaw dropped and for the first time, Caitlyn saw the smooth operator take a hike off a cliff and fall fast and hard.

“Um,” Owen said, “I’ve never done anything like that.”

“They have strap-ons in the gift shop,” Kellen said helpfully. “Big, thick ones, so be sure to use plenty of lube.”

“Is that what you meant?” Owen said. “You want to tie me down and fuck me in the ass?”

Her face felt like it was on fire, but she said, “Yeah, that’s what I meant.” There was no way he was going to go for it. She was going catch him in a lie. All men were lying bastards. They only managed to get her hopes up, say they were going to do something, but never followed through.

“Well, okay then,” he said, “but promise you’ll be gentle. I’m a virgin back there.”

And now Caitlyn was the one whose jaw was on the floor.

Kellen slid out of the booth. “Let’s get going. I don’t want to sit around here all night waiting for him to get his rocks off. I’m tired of being a slave to his libido.”

“You didn’t have to accompany me,” Owen said. “I could have come alone.”

“Then you wouldn’t have come at all,” Kellen returned, “and I’d have had to listen to you bitch about how much fun you would have had if you’d gone out. And how I’m no fun anymore. And how you should think about getting yourself a new best friend. One who is as insatiably perverted as you are.”

“I don’t bitch. And I don’t want a new best friend, even an insatiably perverted one. You used to be insatiably perverted. Remember?”

“Nope. Don’t recollect that,” Kellen said. “Get out of the booth, Owen. I haven’t tied anyone up in months, you know.”

“Why are you so anxious to tie me up?”

“Because you’re being an incredible pain in my ass, so maybe if you experience a little pain in yours, you’ll stop tormenting me all the time. Now move. If you annoy me, I might find myself out of practice and pull certain ropes too tight. If I were you, I wouldn’t drag my feet too much.”

“I’m not dragging my feet. And you wouldn’t be in such a bad mood if you’d—” He cut himself off and tore his gaze from his friend to look at Caitlyn.

“Are you really going to go through with this?” Caitlyn asked when she was finally able to retrieve her mandible from the floor.

“I said I’m game for anything. I meant that.” His tone was surprisingly calm.

“Owen doesn’t fuck around,” Kellen said. “Well, yeah, he always fucks around, but when it comes to kink, he’s all in. Trust me, he’s been subjected to far kinkier things than what you’re proposing.”

No shit? Based on her limited exposure to what went on outside her own bedroom walls, she couldn’t think of anything kinkier than screwing a man. To let him know what it felt like to be invaded. Overpowered. Taken. Not because she didn’t enjoy being on the receiving end. She loved being filled. Overwhelmed. Fucked. But she had always wondered what it would be like if the roles were reversed. Caitlyn hadn’t ever mentioned her fantasy to her ex-husband because she’d known he’d never try something so daring. His favorite kinky act was fucking on his desk during office hours. And he didn’t seem to discriminate when it came to his partner. Caitlyn scowled at her thoughts.

“We’d better hurry,” Owen said to Kellen. “She’s giving off those men-suck vibes again.”

“I’m glad it’s not my ass she’s about to take them out on,” Kellen said and started walking toward the stairs that led to the basement.

Owen slid out of the booth and offered Caitlyn his hand. As she stared up at him, she was taken by how attractive he was. She really shouldn’t take out her anger toward Charles on him. “I’m sorry, Owen. You don’t have to go through with this.”

“Baby, I want to go through with it,” he said. “I love experimenting in the bedroom, and though I thought I’d tried just about every sex act, I’ve never done that. You have my complete attention, beautiful.” He smiled reassuringly.

She took his hand and slipped from the booth. “I can’t believe I’m about to do this,” she said under her breath. And she really couldn’t believe how much she wanted to.

Chapter Three

Out of the corner of his eye, Owen watched Caitlyn examine strap-on dildos. He wasn’t going to interfere with her selection, but he was silently praying that she chose something small. Very small. As in so small it was invisible.

Kelly was purchasing rope and sniggering every time his gaze landed on Owen. Bastard. Would a true friend find this situation that fucking hilarious? Owen grinned. Yeah, totally. If Kelly had been the one about to be taken by a complete novice, Owen would laugh at him until he puked.

“Anything here you want me to try out on you?” Owen asked Caitlyn, sidling toward a collection of vibrators and clit stimulators.

“Maybe later,” she said. She took the biggest, blackest dildo down from the shelf and tested its firmness by bending it slightly. “Midnight Power Hammer,” she said. “I like it. It has some meat to it.”

Owen winced.

“Since you’re a virgin,” Caitlyn said, “I think we should go with something huge and hard. What do you think?” She glanced up at him, her soft brown eyes inquisitive.

Owen felt the blood drain out of his face before he noticed the corner of her mouth quirk as she tried to maintain her composure. She had an ornery streak. He enjoyed that about her immensely. There was no arguing that she was a stunning woman. That had been what had attracted him at first. He loved her thick, long dark hair that fell in gentle waves almost to her waist. Her inquisitive brown eyes scrutinized her surroundings, which gave him the impression that she was intelligent. He appreciated a woman with a strong mind. He also appreciated a woman with a strong body, and Caitlyn had a body that wouldn’t quit. The fact that she was a bit older than he was and yet maintained a youthful wit had him over the moon with excitement. This woman was exactly his type. So what if she was a little kinky. He liked kinky. Especially when it took him out of his comfort zone.

Plus, he couldn’t resist a woman who gave as much bullshit as he did. But two could play at her game.

“Yeah,” he said breathlessly. “Why settle for one cock? You should get two of them and shove them both up there at the same time.”

She grabbed a second dildo off the shelf. This one was wide at the tip, flesh-toned and covered with tortuous veins. Owen forced himself not to gag at the sight of it. She held both phalluses to her crotch and simulated thrusting. “I don’t know,” she said. “I’m new to this. Do you think I can control two at once?”

“I can’t control the one I’ve got. I’m not sure how anyone could control two of them.”

She laughed and put both giant dicks back on the shelf. The one she selected to purchase was blissfully small, but not quite invisible.

“For beginners,” she read from the package as they headed for the counter. “Suitable for anal play. Maybe if you like it, we can move up to the Midnight Power Hammer model on our next attempt.”

He smiled. He’d let her have her way the first time but was confident he wouldn’t be the one on the receiving end the rest of the night. Or ever again. He’d try anything once, but that didn’t mean he’d try it twice.

The clerk offered them some complimentary lube at check-out, and then the three of them made their way upstairs to the back of the place, where private rooms were available for rent.

“You could join us, Kelly,” Owen said. “We used to have a great time when we worked together.”

“I’m just here to help her tie you properly. I wouldn’t want her to injure anything permanently.”

“Just temporarily,” Owen said.

“Exactly.”

Caitlyn clutched her paper bag in both fists, her brown eyes wide as they made their way through the rooms to one near the very end of a labyrinth of hallways. Hopefully it would be a little more private back here; Owen didn’t want anyone to hear him yelling in agony if it came to that. He was pretty sure this was going to hurt like a son of a bitch. Not that he was against a little pain. Not as long as it was followed by plenty of pleasure. He regretted removing the barbells from his nipples earlier; they could give him pain and pleasure simultaneously.

Kelly unlocked the door and it swung open to reveal a small room. It held a full-sized bed with sterile-looking white bedding, a functional sink, and a basket full of condoms on a side table, but little else. Tony was a stickler for cleanliness and safety in all his clubs. Owen would, however, be using his own condoms. Call him paranoid, but he didn’t trust anyone but himself with the health of his dick.

“I’m going to borrow a pommel,” Kelly said. “Caitlyn, make him naked while I’m gone.”

She saluted him. “I’m on it.”

A pommel? Wow, Kelly was serious about doing this properly.

Kelly closed the door, leaving Owen alone with Caitlyn. Every time he started to feel nervous about what was about to happen, he just had to look at her and the lust he felt chased his concerns away. It was as if he’d found a magic take-out menu and checked off everything he found attractive in a woman, which had resulted in Caitlyn being delivered to his door hot and ready in thirty minutes or less. This woman could do anything she wanted to him and he was not going to protest.

She approached him cautiously. He swallowed hard, forcing himself not to grab her and tumble her to the bed. All his instincts told him to make his move, but he forced himself to remain civilized and not attack her like a wild creature. For now.

“Can I make you naked now?” she asked as her hands slid over the fabric of his shirt.

His chest muscles flexed of their own volition. “Yeah.”

“Are you as nice to look at under those clothes as I imagine you are?”

“Only one way to find out.”

He held very still as she slowly unbuttoned his shirt. Her fingers started at his collar and made their way down, slowly, slowly, toward his waist. He was always self-conscious about his body. It didn’t help that she stared up into his eyes while she worked at the buttons, as if she wasn’t sure if she wanted to see him naked or not. But soon he didn’t care. He was too lost in her gaze to feel anything but desire.

Owen fought his urge to drag her body against his. To kiss her. He fought other urges as well—like talking. He wanted to ask her about herself. To get to know her. He legitimately enjoyed women. He could talk to them for hours. Unfortunately, he’d learned long ago that anonymous sex worked better when he kept a certain distance from his lover. He couldn’t get attached to Caitlyn and so he needed to be careful not to give her the wrong idea. It would be an easy mistake to make. He already liked this woman—those few glimpses he’d seen of her true personality—and he would love to know what made her tick. Maybe he could even convince her that getting to know each other was a good idea.

But it wasn’t a good idea. It was never a good idea. He’d learned from past entanglements that unless he enjoyed getting his heart broken, he shouldn’t throw it into the equation. Ever. And he didn’t enjoy getting his heart broken. He’d allowed it to happen far too many times in his youth. And it always hurt. He was sure a mangled heart hurt far worse than getting it up the ass by a woman with no thrusting experience.

Caitlyn opened his shirt and pushed it off his shoulders. It fell to the floor at his feet. She glanced at his body and drew her tongue over her sensual lips. She made a little sound of pleasure in the back of her throat and then held up a hand to shield her eyes.

“My God, Owen, you’re so gorgeous it hurts my eyes to look at you,” she said. “Do you have a pair of sunglasses I can borrow?”

He laughed. This was one of the main reasons why he found himself liking her more than he cared to admit; she made him laugh. “Fresh out. If my friend Jacob was handy, I’m sure he’d have a spare pair or three. He’s never without his shades.”

“Hmm,” she murmured, looking reflective. “First you, then Kellen, now Jacob. Tell me, is Jacob as attractive as you are? Because you hotties seem to travel in packs.”

“Most would argue he’s better looking than I am,” Owen said. “But I don’t think he’s your type.”

“How do you know my type?”

“Well,” he said, “when I touch you, you show signs of attraction. To me.”

“I do?” she said, her mouth dropping open as if she were shocked by his claim.

He nodded and lifted his hands to her shoulders. He slipped the flimsy wrap from her body, and it fluttered to the floor. She shivered and the darkened tips of her breasts grew hard beneath the transparent white lace. God, even her nipples were perfect. He so wanted to nibble them and then suck them raw.

“You do,” he said. “So either you’re attracted to me or it’s been so long since a man has touched you that your body would respond to anyone.”

She frowned. “I don’t think I’m that desperate.”

“So that means you’re attracted to me. And Jacob and I are very different. He’s sort of a caveman type.”

“A caveman in sunglasses?”

Owen chuckled as he imagined Shade Silverton in a loincloth and sunglasses. “Exactly.”

Her gaze dropped to his chest, and she made that little sound of pleasure in the back of her throat again. The tone made shivers race down his spine. He couldn’t wait to hear what she sounded like when she came. His cock twitched in anticipation making her call out in ecstasy.

“I like your tattoos,” she said as her eyes explored his chest. “Do they mean anything special?”

“Some of them, but we’re not discussing personal details, remember?”

Her finger traced the cross tattoo on his left pec. “You must work out constantly.”

“I’m working out right now as a matter of fact.” He flexed his pecs in an alternating pattern.

She giggled and tilted her face up at him, looking a bit more at ease. When they’d been walking to the room, he’d thought she was going to bolt.

“Are you less nervous now that we’ve shared a few laughs?” he asked.

She nodded. “How did you know I was nervous?”

“With those big brown eyes of yours, you look like a calf being dragged to slaughter.”

“You’re the one who should be nervous.” She bent to pull the strap-on out of the bag she’d set on the floor. “I don’t think they should let someone operate one of these things without a license.”

“You’ll do fine,” he said. “Let me help you with that.”

She stiffened when he moved to stand behind her. He lifted the hem of her negligee to expose her succulent ass. He took a moment to enjoy the view. The woman had a great butt. And something about seeing a thong disappear between the two plump globes of flesh did things to his self-control. Unable to just look—he had to feel—Owen tugged Caitlyn’s body back against his. He stiffened when his cock brushed against her cheeks.

When he had her pressed securely against him, he looped both thumbs through the elastic of her panties and eased the tiny garment over her hips, shuddering when her thong’s strap scraped the length of his cock through his pants.

Her entire body jerked when his fingertips brushed the bare skin along either hipbone as he lowered her panties.

“What,” she said in a broken gasp, “what are you doing?”

“You have to take off your panties to put on the harness.”

“How do you know?” she asked. “I thought you’d never done this before.”

“I haven’t. But I’ve played with a couple of girls who used one of these on each other. It never occurred to them to use it on me. I guess they weren’t as kinky as you are.”

“Do you really think I’m kinky?”

“Everything is kinky the first time you try it.”

He slid her panties an inch lower, shifting his hands forward to rub his thumbs over her smooth-shaven mound.

“Oh!”

“I’d really like to sink my fingers into your heat,” he said, “and then bring them to my mouth to taste your juices.” She shuddered at his words. He ran one thumb along the apex of her cleft, pausing just before he brushed her buried clit. “But that will have to wait until later.”

She groaned.

Owen slid down her back slowly, rubbing his bare belly and chest over the skin of her buttocks, pressing open-mouthed kisses along her spine through the lace of her teddy as he lowered her panties to the floor. Crouched at her feet, he lifted them one at a time to remove the scrap of fabric from around her ankles. He paused to admire her ass and sank his teeth into one cheek. She jerked, but didn’t pull away, not even when he latched on to her flesh with a tight suction. He continued to suck as he took the harness from her trembling hands and helped her slip into it. He pulled his mouth free, grinning when he saw the reddened spot he’d left behind to mark what was his—all his—at least for tonight. Owen slowly tugged the harness up her thighs, drawing his entire body up her length as he went.

“Owen?” she said brokenly.

He wriggled his hips to nestle his now fully erect cock in the crack of her ass. Damn, he needed to lose these pants.

“Yeah, beautiful?”

“M-maybe we can just skip this fantasy of mine and you can, um, put yours inside me instead.”

He grinned at the sweet way she’d just said, “Fuck me.”

“Did that make you all hot and achy between your legs, Caitlyn?” he asked.

“Y-yes.”

“Is your pussy wet for me now?”

“It’s been wet since I first looked at you.”

“Good. Do you want me to fuck you?”

She groaned. “Oh yes. Very much.”

“I will,” he promised. “But not until you’re finished with me.” He unbuckled his belt and removed his slacks and underwear with one downward jerk. He kicked them aside and then, blissfully naked, he moved up against her back again.

When the head of his cock prodded her in the lower back, she gasped. He took his shaft in his hand and rubbed the sensitive tip against her buttocks, introducing her to his piercing for the first time. She went completely still.

“What is that?” she asked.

He bit her earlobe and held it tightly between his teeth so she couldn’t turn her head, but didn’t answer her question. It felt amazing to rub himself against her skin. He let the fantasy of sinking unprotected into her wet, swollen heat tease his thoughts. He had to settle down or he would lose his head. He couldn’t let that happen. He slowly slid his cock up the crack of her ass and tugged her back against him to hold it nestled between them.

“What was that little hard thing I felt?” she asked.

He released her earlobe. “I’ll give you a proper introduction later.”

He tightened the straps of the harness on her hips. Once it was securely in place, he gripped the base of the rubbery phallus. It felt very odd to be standing behind a woman holding a dick in his hand, but he was curious to see what it would feel like inside him. He slid his hand to cup her mound, the dildo nestled between his thumb and forefinger. She sucked a breath through her teeth, which prompted him to rock his hips forward.

“Now I’ll show you proper technique,” he whispered into her ear. “Move with me, baby. Nice and easy. Find a rhythm.”

He imagined sinking into her as they thrust together—a slow sensual dance that soon had him eyeing the bed in longing.

“Owen?”

“Mmm-hmm?” he murmured into her ear.

“I can’t wait to try this out on you.” She circled the phallus with one hand, thrusting into her loose fist. “Do you want me to take you slow and easy like this?”

“Whatever feels right. You’ll know.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

He bent his knees a bit so that the base of his cock brushed against her back entrance. Caitlyn moaned and squirmed against him.

“Have you ever been penetrated back here?” he asked.

“A few times,” she said.

“So use that experience as a guide.”

“Okay.” Her hips rotated slightly as she practiced thrusting. Her ass rubbing against him drove him insane with need. The woman plain turned him on.

“I think you have the hang of it,” he said, rocking his hips faster. He released his hold on her mound and slid his hands up the lace along her torso. She arched forward slightly, seeking his touch. The brush of her thick hair against his belly and chest drove him wild. It smelled so sweet and clean that he couldn’t resist pressing his face to the side of her head and inhaling her intoxicating scent. When he cupped her breasts, she released a moan of bliss. Owen’s thumbs rubbed her nipples in small circles.

“Oh God, Owen, just take me from behind. I can’t take much more.”

The door open and Kelly entered carrying a wooden pommel that had a thick, white satin pad on top.

“Damn it, Owen, you couldn’t wait five minutes?”

“He’s just showing me how to move my hips,” Caitlyn said.

“And we’re going to make it so he can’t move at all.” Kelly set the pommel in the center of the mattress and collected several lengths of rope from his sack of purchases.

“Come on, Owen,” Kelly said. “Don’t try to get away now.”

As turned on as Owen was, there was no way in hell he would try to get away from Caitlyn, but he released her reluctantly and took a step back. She peered over her shoulder at him, her gaze going directly to his cock. “I knew it! It’s pierced.”

“Ever been with a man who had his cock pierced?” Owen asked.

She laughed hysterically. “Sorry,” she said, gasping for air. “I can’t imagine my ex getting his cock pierced. Ever. Ever. Ever.” Her gaze slid up his body. “Or a tattoo, for that matter.”

“What about the guys you had before him?” Owen asked. “Or after?”

“There were no others.”

While this tidbit of information ricocheted about in Owen’s brain, Caitlyn went to stand next to Kelly by the bed.

“I think you should have gone for the Midnight Power Hammer model,” Kelly said, nodding toward the small attachment at her crotch. “Give him a night to remember.”

“I guarantee he’ll never forget this,” Caitlyn said.

And why did that statement make Owen’s heart kick in his chest?

“You ready, buddy?” Kelly asked him.

“Don’t call me buddy when you’re about to tie me down so I can be fucked up the ass,” Owen said.

“You just showed her how to do it properly,” Kelly said. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. Knowing you, you’ll probably even like it.”

Owen wasn’t so sure about that, but he climbed up on the bed and leaned his belly against the pommel.

Kelly tied two long ropes together. The knot landed in the center of Owen’s back and his friend got to work. It didn’t matter that Kelly had taken a several-month-long hiatus from his Shibari hobby. He still tied knots with the precision of a sailor and the care and attention of someone building a ship in a bottle. Just as he did with women, Kelly followed the contours of Owen’s body with each length of rope and adjusted each knot so that it hit upon some pleasure point that Owen didn’t even know he had. Owen wasn’t sure if Kelly was aware of each caress against Owen’s skin as he carefully arranged his masterpiece, but Owen felt every touch of Kelly’s hand. It didn’t help that Caitlyn had already tied him in knots before Kelly had even started. Owen tried to think about something else—anything else—other than what was happening to his body. He had never expected this to turn him on so much.

Caitlyn assisted Kelly occasionally, but mostly she just watched the master at work. Owen wondered what she must think of him. It was impossible to hide his arousal, seeing as he was buck naked. Did she realize how excited he was?

“This really is an art form,” Caitlyn said. “He has a gorgeous body as it is, but the way you tie the ropes… It’s as if you’re tracing his lines to draw attention to his beauty.”

“Hear that, Owen? She thinks you’re a beauty,” Kelly said.

Owen couldn’t move if he’d wanted to. His arms were tied to his sides. Ropes crisscrossed from his thighs, up his back and over his shoulders to another rope that formed a diamond pattern across his chest. He might have been able to curl into a tighter fetal position, but the pommel at his belly was in the way.

“Should we tie his—?” Caitlyn asked.

“Do you want him to be in pain?” Kelly asked.

“No.”

“Tie my what?” Owen said. The pair of them were standing behind him, and he couldn’t see what they were plotting.

“Your cock and balls,” Kelly said.

“No,” Owen said, though it might prevent him from making a fool of himself from blowing his load too soon. God, he was turned on. He’d never in his life been more aware of his body.

“Okay, then,” Kelly said, moving back to admire his handiwork. “That should keep him where you want him.”

Every inch of Owen’s heated flesh was trembling. He’d said he was game for anything, but restrained the way he was, with his ass so exposed and vulnerable, he wasn’t sure if he was up for this. Well, yes, actually he was up for this. He was painfully up.

“Have you restrained many men?” Caitlyn asked Kelly.

Owen’s trembling stopped as he strained his ears for Kelly’s answer. “Just as favors,” he said.

Who? Owen wondered. Kelly had never mentioned tying up men to him. Maybe he’d done it during his training. He’d shown Owen the ropes only after he’d mastered the art himself, but surely he would have told Owen if he’d done things with a man. He told Owen everything. Didn’t he?

“When you have your partner at your mercy like this, take it slow,” Kelly instructed.

“Right,” Caitlyn said, as if Kelly were telling her how to sweep a floor or program her DVR.

“Tease him.”

Owen squirmed. Just them talking about it as if he wasn’t present was enough of a tease for him.

“Right. I like the look of his balls and cock swinging freely. I’m glad we decided not to restrain them too. Do you have your cock pierced?”

Kelly chuckled. “No.”

“God, I just want to rub those two little balls. Kiss them. Suck them in my mouth. What else would feel nice?”

“Licking,” Kelly said.

Oh God, stop talking and touch me or something. I can’t stand this for much longer.

“He doesn’t seem hard enough to me,” Kelly said. “Owen?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you hard enough?”

He was about to split, he was so hard, but he shook his head slightly. “I could be harder.”

“I thought so. When you take his cock in your hand,” Kelly said to Caitlyn, “don’t stroke him vigorously enough to make him come. Delay his orgasm until you’ve had enough. He doesn’t get to come until you say so.”

Owen groaned. He was going to have to have a serious talk with Kelly about having his back in these situations. The jerk was making this unbearable. Owen got the sinking sensation that Kelly was getting back at him for making his stint of abstinence as unbearable as possible.

A warm hand circled Owen’s cock, completely robbing him of rational thought. Instinctually, he rocked his hips forward, unable to curtail the urge to thrust. He couldn’t move more than a couple inches, but God, the woman had great hands. Owen shuddered in bliss. Her grip was firm, yet gentle. Just enough friction to drive him wild.

“See how loose my fist is?” Kelly said. “I’m barely skimming the surface.”

Owen’s breath stalled in his throat. That was Kelly’s hand stroking him with perfection? Oh God. Don’t let me come in his hand. Then he’ll know how turned on I am by him. Owen closed his eyes and focused all his attention on the palm lightly stroking his flesh. Every time Kelly’s hand skimmed over the jewelry in his piercing, his cock jerked with excitement, his balls tightened, and his body strained toward him.

“I’m not sure I get your technique,” Caitlyn said. “I think I need further demonstration. Please, continue.” Owen could hear the amusement in her tone. And somewhere outside the room he could hear a stranger’s laughter and a woman’s startled cry. He was so glad they’d found a private room. Owen let his head drop forward. Most of his view was hindered by the pommel he was draped over, but he could see Kelly’s hand come into view each time he slowly stroked Owen’s length.

“Harder,” Owen whispered and then sucked his lips into his mouth so Kelly wouldn’t realize how incredibly turned on he was to have his hand on him. He knew Kelly wasn’t attracted to him. They had helped each other attain orgasm multiple times but unlike Owen, Kelly didn’t get overly excited and explode like a rocket when he came at Owen’s strokes. And they hadn’t touched each other in over six months. He was glad Caitlyn had asked for Kelly’s assistance in tying him down, but he was in no way prepared to explain why with every kinky act he participated in, the most exciting thing he ever experienced was an unenthusiastic hand job from his best friend.

“I think you can take it from here.” Kelly moved his hand away. Owen whimpered. “Have fun.”

And then he was gone. The door slammed behind him, which was a blessing and like a knife to Owen’s heart in the same beat.

“You okay?” Caitlyn asked.

“Never better,” he said breathlessly. Just let me get these emotions under control and everything will be fan-freaking-tastic.

“If you’ve changed your mind…”

“Nope,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to be fucked up the ass by a sarcastic brunette.”

She laughed. “You’re adorable.”

“I get that a lot,” he said. “But only because people can’t read my thoughts.”

Her warm, soft lips brushed his buttocks, and he jerked. Kelly had heightened his sensitivity such that he was ready to toss Caitlyn on her back and sink into the soft, wet heat between her thighs. Unfortunately, he was completely immobilized, so he had no choice but to keep his senses.

Her hand found his cock, and she stroked him so gently he began to twitch, needing rougher stimulation, needing… Hell, he didn’t know. He needed something. He was missing something. He just didn’t know what it was.

She continued to stroke him while she trailed kisses over his ass. When her fingers brushed his hole, he swore under his breath. He wasn’t sure if he’d like being fucked there, but he knew from past experience that he enjoyed the occasional finger inside. Her lips moved to his sac. She licked and suckled and kissed the loose flesh until he began to rock his hips to thrust into her hand as best he could. God, he was excited.

Caitlyn’s sexy little finger dipped into his ass, and he shuddered, almost blowing his load right then.

“Does that feel good?” she asked, her warm breath teasing the moistened skin of his balls.

“Yes,” he gasped.

“Do you want me to go deeper?”

“Please.”

Her finger slipped into him as far as it could go. He squeezed his eyes shut. She moved her finger in slow circles while she sucked his balls and stroked his shaft gently with her other hand. He was so consumed with pleasure, he couldn’t keep his eyes open. Her tongue traced the seam between his balls. Up, up toward the place where her finger penetrated him. Sensations streaked up his spine, drawing a moan from between his lips. Lord, the woman was going to kill him with pleasure.

“Do you want more?” she asked.

“Yes,” he gasped. “More.” More what, he had no idea. He just hoped she never stopped what she was doing.

Her finger slipped free of his body and something cool and wet dripped onto his hole. Two fingers slipped inside him. His eyes flew open and he tensed. A sound, half-gasp, half-moan, escaped him.

She trailed playful nips over his ass cheeks until he was distracted enough to relax. That’s when she began to thrust her fingers in and out. She pressed down against his prostate, and his mouth dropped open. Dear lord. Was he actually drooling? He pressed his lips together and swallowed.

“Right there,” he murmured. “Right there.”

Her lips moved to his balls again, her one hand still stroked him, her other teased his ass. He was delirious with pleasure—experiencing gratification more intense than an orgasm. He didn’t realize he was fighting his restraints until his shoulder pulled painfully.

“Too much?” she asked. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

“Oh God,” he groaned. “More.”

Her fingers stretched him to his limits as she added another digit.

“How’s that?”

“Yes.”

“Deeper?”

“Yes, deeper!”

He groaned when she pulled her fingers free. Her thighs brushed the backs of his, and he tensed. Was she really going to use that thing on him? He bit his lip when he felt the hard rounded tip of it against his ass. She rubbed it in circles over his hole until his belly began to quiver. He was about to plead with her to stop when she slipped inside and pressed forward.

Owen’s eyes rolled into the back of his head.

“You okay?” she asked.

He shook his head. He wasn’t going to be okay until he came. And damn, he was close.

“Do you want me to pull out?”

He chuckled. “No, Caitlyn. Can’t you tell I’m about to explode? I want you to fuck me.”

“Oh!” She took a deep breath. “Okay. Don’t let me hurt you.”

“Maybe I want you to hurt me. Maybe I want you to fuck me as hard as you can until my ass is so raw I beg you to stop.”

She leaned over him and kissed the center of his back. The phallus slipped several inches deeper, and Owen bit his lip so he didn’t yell and startle her.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” she whispered. “I can’t believe you’re doing this for me.”

Doing this for her? Hell, he was doing this for himself. She rose again and leaned back, pressing deeper inside him still. Oh fuck, he wasn’t going to last much longer. She held onto his hips with both hands as she slowly withdrew and then slowly pushed deep inside him again. She found a slow rhythm of insertion and withdrawal, obviously not wanting to hurt him as she slowly claimed his ass.

“Do you like it?” she asked with a tremulous voice.

“Yes. You can do it harder.” Please, do it harder.

She worked up her courage and her speed. Filling him. Filling him. Oh God, filling him. What was wrong with him that he liked this so much? What would a real cock feel like inside him? What would a huge, hard cock like Kelly’s feel like? Kelly’s hand stroking him. Cock filling him. Hand stroking him. Owen’s dick and balls hung freely beneath him, so his orgasm caught him completely by surprise. He cried out as he began to spurt. His load caught him in the chin.

Caitlyn abruptly stopped moving. “Kelly?” she said.

Still trembling, Owen lifted his head. Had Kelly returned? Had he seen how hard Owen had come while being fucked? He listened—no one had entered the room. “What?” Owen said.

“Why did you call Kelly’s name when you came?”

Heat flooded Owen’s face. “I didn’t.”

“Were you thinking of him while I was fucking you?”

“No!” Yes, he thought, God, yes. He squeezed his eyes shut against the emotions welling up inside him.

She pulled out and pressed her face against his back, dropping gentle kisses along his spine. “Does he know how you feel about him?” she asked.

No, he thought, God, no.

“I don’t have feelings for him,” Owen said with a snorted laugh. “I thought your name was Kelly. Sorry about that. I just have sex with so many women, I lose track of names. It was Caitlyn, right?”

“Yeah, it’s Caitlyn. Don’t worry, sweetie. I won’t tell him,” she said. “But you should.”

No way ever in fucking hell would he tell Kelly that he’d started having fantasies about him when they’d stopped touching each other. No way. And he would definitely not tell him that he’d been fantasizing about him while being fucked. Or that the thought of Kelly fucking him had turned him on so much that he’d come without any stimulation to his cock at all.

“Well, that was fun,” she said after a moment of his silence. “Do you want to continue?”

“I want you to untie me now,” he said. Because he was going to fuck her brains out to show her that he was not infatuated with his friend. He was one hundred percent hot-blooded heterosexual male and when he was finished with her, she wouldn’t ever be able to forget it.

Chapter Four

Caitlyn wasn’t sure if she should untie Owen or not. He was obviously feeling very vulnerable. And it seemed he hadn’t yet come to terms with what was in his heart. Caitlyn didn’t have a problem with him not feeling a deep emotional connection with her. They’d just met; it wasn’t as if she’d expected him to fall madly in love with her. She’d only wanted to have a little fun. To feel sexy. He’d given her both already. But damn he looked hot all tied and helpless. And God, she’d made him come hard, even if he had been thinking of someone else at the time.

Now that the sexual excitement had drained from his body, he looked like he needed someone to hold him and tell him everything was going to be all right. That instinct to care for him won out in the end. She removed the strap-on, tossed it in the sink, and then climbed up onto the bed beside him. She stroked his hair gently as she tried to gauge his emotions and he did his damnedest not to meet her eyes.

“Thanks for fulfilling my fantasy,” she said. Her fingers moved to the ropes that bound him and she carefully untied the first knot. “I know it’s weird, but I’ve always wanted to screw a man. I just wanted to see what it was like.”

“I told you I was up to try anything. Do you have any other kinky fantasies you’ve never been able to play out?”

She chuckled. “Doesn’t everyone?”

“You’ll have to tell me about them.”

Caitlyn released the ropes binding Owen one at a time. She wanted to get some answers from him and figured the best way to get them was to ask while he couldn't get away. She just had this feeling about him, as if he actually wanted to talk to her—to get to know her better—but something was preventing him from trusting her. She could blame inexperience on her desire to get to know him better, but what was his excuse? He did this kind of thing all the time. Sex didn’t mean anything to him, did it?

“So,” she asked as the second knot came free, “how long have you known Kelly?”

“He doesn't like to be called Kelly,” Owen said.

“You call him that.”

“And he complains about it constantly.”

“Okay,” she said, “how long have you known Kellen?”

“We aren't supposed to be getting personal. Remember?”

“If you won’t talk to me, I guess I'll just come to my own conclusions about the two of you then,” she said, working at a third knot, but taking her sweet time about loosening it.

Owen stiffened. “What kind of conclusions?”

“That you're in love with him and the only reason you go after women is to cover up your feelings for a man.”

“That's one possible explanation,” Owen said, surprising her yet again by not saying what she expected.

“Is it the correct one?” She didn't want it to be. She had no problem sleeping with Owen unless he was in love with someone already. If that was the case, then she felt in her heart that she was the other woman. Or maybe the only woman in this particular case.

“No,” Owen said with such conviction that she believed him. “I'm not in love with him.”

“In lust with him?”

“I'm not sure.”

“Have you been in lust with a man before?”

“Never. And I'm not sure I'm in lust with Kelly either. I'm not sure about anything at the moment.” He glanced over his shoulder at her. “Except that I'd really like to be untied now.”

“I'm working on it.” She released the knot she'd been fiddling with unnecessarily and moved on to another one. “Does he have feelings for you?”

“He doesn't have feelings for anyone anymore.”

“And why's that?” She met his eyes, and he didn't look away. Were they starting to connect on a more personal level? She wouldn't mind. This sex for the sake of sex thing was new to her, and she wasn't sure if she could forget this guy that easily. Wasn’t sure she wanted to forget him. So far, he was pretty terrific.

“He was in love with a woman. Planned to marry her.”

“Was?”

“She died.”

Empathy made Caitlyn’s heart pang. She’d lost her sister a few years before, she still felt as if a gaping hole was eating its way through her heart whenever she thought about Morgan. The sad thing was, she thought about Morgan less and less as time went by. She couldn’t seem to stop her from slipping farther away. “He's still grieving?”

“Yeah, I'm pretty sure he'll always grieve for her.”

“Probably. But it will lessen with time.” And then he’d probably feel guilty for moving on. Caitlyn did.

“It's already been five years.”

“That's not so long, really.”

“It is when you're twenty-seven.”

Caitlyn paused. “Is that how old you are?”

“Maybe. Does it bother you?”

She chuckled and moved to the next knot in Kellen's intricate and beautiful design. “You're quite a bit older than my ex-husband’s new fling,” she said. “But then she can't legally drink in this country.”

“Age doesn't matter.”

“You don't think so? I think society would disagree.”

“Fuck 'em. No one understands what's between two people except the two involved. Outsiders, they don't get it.”

“I guess I am an outsider in my ex-husband’s relationship. But I don’t agree with it and yes, partly because of their age difference. I’m sure he took advantage of her innocence.”

“I wasn't talking about them. I was talking about us.”

“Oh, did I take advantage of your innocence?” Caitlyn paused and flexed her fingers. They were starting to ache from working the knots free. “And I didn't think there was an us.”

“If there was.”

“If.” Caitlyn traced the outline of the tribal tattoo on Owen’s shoulder. “If is a very big word, Owen.”

“Are you almost finished?” he asked. “My muscles are starting to cramp.”

“I'll hurry.” She began to work faster, releasing knots in the reverse order that Kellen had tied them.

“You know,” Owen said, “most people have a difficult time releasing the knots properly and we usually have to cut the rope.”

She paused and looked up at him. There she went being weird again. “I… uh… watched him closely when he was tying them.”

“And you memorized the entire sequence?”

As she’d been blessed with an amazing memory, she did remember the entire sequence, but she played down her unusually sharp memory. “It's not too hard really. You just follow the rope from one end to the other. It’s getting more difficult now that the free end is so long.”

“It would be faster to cut them.”

“But then I wouldn't get to admire your body for a long, long time.”

He grinned. “You can admire my body for as long as you like.”

“What if I want to gaze at you for days?”

“I'll send you a picture.”

She laughed and swatted his ass playfully. His arm was loose enough now that he could get a hold on her. He wrapped a strong hand around her wrist and tugged her down to the mattress.

“God, I want to kiss you so bad I can hardly stand it,” he said. “Hurry up and untie me.”

“You want to kiss me?”

“Yes, and so much more.”

“I thought you wanted to be untied so you can leave.”

“What? No way in hell. We haven't even begun yet.”

His certainty made her smile. She couldn’t help it. “We haven't?”

“No, that sweet pussy of yours must need some relief. Untie me and I’ll fuck you senseless,” he said. When she did nothing but stare up at him as if she’d just won the sex lottery, he glared at her. “Untie me, Caitlyn.”

“I will, but I need to kiss you first,” she said, lost in his gorgeous blue eyes. They reminded her of the waters of the Caribbean. Warm. Inviting. Deep. “I think my lips have waited long enough.”

She scooted her body so her face was beneath his. He tried to stretch his neck to claim her mouth, but she remained just out of reach. She loved the look of anticipation in his eyes. He really seemed to want her. Badly. And she wanted to make him crazy with need.

Why hadn't she thought to do it until now? He was already half untied. She could have been teasing and tormenting him—as Kellen had suggested—for the past ten minutes.

“I want to kiss you too,” she said. “Our first kiss.”

He chuckled. “I guess that’s true. You’ve fucked me and haven’t even kissed me yet. My God, I’m a total slut.”

She chuckled. “I kissed you,” she said. “Just not on the lips.”

She lifted her head and gently brushed her lips against his. That small contact had her heart racing and her sex swelling with unfulfilled desire. She was so glad he wasn't through with her. He might have already enjoyed an explosive orgasm, but she hadn’t, and she was very interested in finding out what being “fucked senseless” entailed.

Owen strained to try to deepen his kiss, but she dropped her head back onto the mattress and continued her new favorite hobby, staring at him.

“There are other things I want to do to you, Owen.”

“There are plenty of things I want to do to you too. Finish untying me.”

“Not yet,” she whispered.

He groaned and dropped his chin to his chest. His soft hair tickled the tip of her nose. She lifted a hand to brush it back and then kissed his forehead.

“It's unfortunate that the pommel blocks most of your chest and belly. I'd really like to touch every inch of your skin.”

“You can as soon as you untie me,” he said.

Her attention focused on his beautiful cock. “But I do see one part of you is fully exposed. I could start there. I really want to get a closer look at that piercing.”

His head jerked up. “Kelly put you up to this, didn't he?”

“He might have planted a seed of thought,” she said. “You can thank him later.”

Caitlyn shifted to the opposite side of the pommel. It pressed against the middle of his chest and his upper abdomen, but lying on her back beneath him, she could see his lower belly, the delightful V of his hipbones, and his suddenly attentive cock. He liked her idea. She could tell by how quickly he was getting hard again. She ran her fingertips down his lower belly and he shuddered, his partially freed arm lowering so he could fist his hand in a tangle of bed sheet. She took her time exploring his flesh—stroking, nibbling and licking his belly and hips, forcing herself not to go for the decorated and engorged prize at the center. She wanted him hard and fully excited before she pleasured him, but she couldn’t take her eyes of his cock. There was something about those two little metallic balls decorating the rim that fascinated her. What would that feel like inside her?

“Touch me,” Owen whispered. “I can't stand it, Caitlyn. Touch me.”

“Touch you where?”

“Where do you think?”

She cradled his balls in one hand, ever so gently massaging. He sucked a breath through his teeth.

“Here?” She didn't wait for his answer. She lifted her head and licked the wrinkled skin of his sac, swirling her tongue in chaotic patterns that caused his breathing to skitter and shake.

“I want to fuck you so bad right now,” he said in a growl of a voice.

She crossed her legs and squeezed them together, pretending his words didn't make her throb with excitement.

“More than you wanted to kiss me?” she asked.

“Mmm,” he murmured. “Please.”

She wanted to touch him, direct his thick hard cock into her mouth and suck him down her throat, but those little metallic balls gave her pause. Would they get stuck in her throat? There was one trip to the emergency room she’d never live down.

“Are you finished driving me insane?” he asked.

“Not yet. I like playing with you.”

“I want to play too.”

Caitlyn stared up at his cock; its tip was mere inches from her lips. She licked her lips and gnawed on the bottom one, trying to decide if she dared to show him one bedroom skill she was really good at. Her eyes focused on the tattoo that decorated one hip and curved around the top of his thigh.

“What’s with the snake?” she asked. She’d never seen a more realistic tattoo.

“Are you afraid of it? Is that why you’re taking your sweet time untying me?”

Caitlyn traced the bit of art with her fingertips.

“Oh, you mean my tattoo,” he said. “I thought you were talking about the spitting cobra in the center.”

She laughed. “This one?” She lifted her head slightly and flicked her tongue out to tease the sensitive flesh of his cock head. She worked her way around the tip until her tongue encountered something hard and metallic. She hesitated before squelching her inhibition and suckling his head.

“Damn, woman,” he said breathlessly. “Don’t you want any pleasure for yourself?”

“I like this,” she said. “I can explore your body at my leisure. Do whatever I want to you. But if you really want me to stop…”

“I don’t want you to stop. I want to fucking reciprocate.”

She grinned. “You’ll get your chance.” She rubbed her thumb over the barbell in his piercing and he sucked a sharp breath through his teeth.

“Did it hurt when you got this pierced? Aren’t there a lot of nerve-endings in this area?”

“Fuck yeah, there are, and you’re exciting every one of them.”

She rubbed her tongue over the smaller ball which was situated just above his rim in his sensitive glans. Even though she wasn’t a guy, she imagined having that particular location pierced would be agonizing. She moved her attention to the larger ball just behind his rim. The tang of metal was foreign against her tongue, but she liked it. It reminded her that this wasn’t Charles’s cock. This cock belonged to someone new and exciting. While she toyed with Owen’s bit of jewelry, she wondered if the two balls were different sizes for a reason other than aesthetics.

He sucked another breath through his teeth when she sucked a kiss over both ends of the barbell and flicked it with her tongue. “The pain wasn’t too bad,” he said shakily. “Took a while to heal. I decided on the dydoe because other cock piercings make you piss weird. I have a hard enough time aiming for the toilet without an extra exit hole.”

He slipped free of her mouth as Caitlyn chuckled. She absolutely adored how he said anything that popped into his head. Being with him was fun, and when was the last time she’d had fun? The last time she’d laughed this much? The last time she’d enjoyed anyone’s company so much? She couldn’t recall.

“So this type of piercing doesn’t make you pee weird?” she asked.

“No, it doesn’t go through the urethra. Just the rim. If you’ll untie me, I’ll show you the reason I got it done. It’s fun for me and even more fun for you.”

She was eager to experience all that piece of jewelry had to offer, but she wasn’t yet ready to let him get away. She was afraid that once the sex was over, he’d be gone. That had been their arrangement, after all.

“Why are the balls different sizes?”

“I’m not telling you.”

“Why?”

“It’s better if you feel it for yourself.”

“Maybe I should try it out with my lips first,” she said. “A practice run.”

“Or you could untie me and we could skip practice entirely.”

His protest turned to sighs of pleasure as she worked the head of his cock with her lips and tongue. The piercing felt foreign against her lips as she drew him in and out of her mouth. Foreign and sexy and exciting. She was afraid to take him too deep into her throat, but she didn’t have the same concerns for the swollen, achy flesh between her legs. She wanted him inside her. Okay, she couldn’t wait any longer. She had to have him.

Owen’s breathing had become labored while she’d pleasured him with her mouth. She reached for the next knot.

“Wait,” he said. “You’re going to have to put a rubber on me before you release me. I’m not sure I’ll be able to do the responsible thing once I’m free.”

She grinned, delighted that she had such an effect on him. She rose from the bed and went to the basket on the side table to collect a condom.

“Use one of the ones in my pants pocket,” he said. “But please hurry.”

She dropped the complimentary condom back in the basket and picked up his pants. “Your wallet’s in here,” she said.

“Are you going to rob me?”

“I’m more interested in snooping for your address. In case I decide to become your stalker.”

“I didn’t think of that.”

She chuckled at the concerned look on his face. “Don’t worry. I won’t invade your privacy. But you are worth stalking. I do need to ask why you insist on wearing a condom you brought yourself. Are they special?”

“Because I know it’s safe. It’s kind of like when they ask you if you’ve had your luggage with you at all times when you’re going through airport security.”

“Ah, so you don’t trust anyone with your protection.”

“Surprisingly, I trust you with it. Or maybe I just don’t trust myself at the moment.”

She found a little square package in his back pocket and carried it with her to the bed. Kneeling behind him, she rested her breasts against his lower back and leaned forward to stroke his cock with both hands. She barely skimmed the surface, teasing him the way Kellen had shown her. While she increased his excitement to the breaking point again, she trailed gentle kisses over his back between the few ropes that were still in place.

“Caitlyn, please.”

She smiled to herself and opened the condom wrapper. Still leaning against him from behind, she reached around and slowly unrolled it down his length.

Owen drew a breath through his teeth. “Mercy. You should probably put three or four of them on me. I’m so over-sensitized, I—”

“If you think it’s necessary.”

She started to move away.

“No, I was kidding. Just kidding. Untie me.”

Deciding he was finally excited enough to be free of his bonds, she hurried to untie the last of the knots holding him.

The instant the last rope came free, Owen shoved the pommel off the bed with a loud thud. He grabbed Caitlyn by one arm and tossed her onto her back in the center of the mattress.

“Fuck, I want you,” he said in a low growl. “Are you trying to drive me insane?”

His fingers tangled in the straps of her negligée. The straps ripped from the delicate lace as he yanked the garment down to expose her breasts. Heat spread across her chest, up her neck and her cheeks. Owen’s mouth latched on to one taut nipple and he sucked so hard, she felt it in her womb. Her clit throbbed with excitement.

“Oh!”

Was it possible to come solely due to the stimulation of one nipple? As the first spasm of release gripped her pussy, she cried out in surprise.

“Owen!”

“So I’m not the only one who’s turned on enough to come without penetration,” he said in a teasing tone. He pulled on the sides of her negligée until the fragile lace split down the front. “God, you’re gorgeous.”

He bit into her nipple with just enough pressure to send her flying over the edge. She was still caught in the throes of her miniature orgasm when he slid down her body, plunged two fingers deep into her clenching pussy, and latched onto her clit with his mouth. She cried out as her ecstasy escalated into pleasure so intense she forgot how to breathe.

“Give me more, Caitlyn.”

More what? Her fingers stole into his hair and clung to his scalp. Her back arched off the mattress. He slammed his fingers into her and worked her clit with his tongue until the spasms wracking through her pelvis subsided and she took a startled gasp of air.

“Oh my God,” she moaned.

“I think you can do better next time,” he said. His lips brushed the inside of her thigh and her belly clenched, making her entire body jerk. Every nerve-ending was over-sensitized and seeking pleasure for itself.

“Do what better next time?” she whispered.

“Come,” he said matter-of-factly. “With me inside you.”

“Oh,” she said breathlessly. “Sounds good.”

He chuckled. His warm breath danced across the wet flesh between her thighs.

Owen slowly crawled up her body, kissing and biting her skin until she dug her nails into his shoulders and encouraged him to move faster.

“Caitlyn,” he whispered, “you just found my trigger.”

She wasn’t sure what he meant, but he surged forward and his cock bumped against her. She gasped and squirmed beneath him, trying to help him find her opening. She needed him inside her.

He shifted onto his side and used his hand to guide himself home. As he slid deep, she became very well acquainted with his piercing and his back became very well acquainted with her nails.

“God, yes, baby,” he said, “scratch me. I love it.”

Good thing, because it wasn’t as if she could consciously control her clenching fingers. She was so caught up in the feel of him filling her and that little extra bit her rubbing her front wall so exquisitely that she couldn’t do anything but hold on to him and call out in bliss. Every so often, he rubbed a spot that made her toes curl involuntarily and her mouth fall open in shock. She wasn’t sure when the pleasure broke as quaking release, but she went mindless with it, gasping and crying out. Everything inside her was one hot mess of indecipherable bliss.

Owen’s hands moved to grip her ass and the earth shifted. He dragged her across the bed and planted his feet on the floor. Holding her hips tightly, he and fucked her even harder.

Shuddering in ecstasy, Caitlyn forced her eyes open. Watching Owen gasp and strain with a pleasure that rivaled her own was easily the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. His thrusts slowed unexpectedly and he took a deep breath, opening his eyes to look at her. His gentle smile warmed her heart. He touched cool knuckles to her flushed cheek.

“You okay?” he asked. “Am I hurting you?”

She shook her head vehemently.

“Some women can’t take the piercing for more than a few minutes. It starts to hurt.”

“I can take it,” she assured him.

A smile teased his lips and he pulled out. “I’m glad, but my back can’t take much more of your, um, enthusiasm.”

She released her grip on his back and before she could apologize for tearing at his skin like a possessed demon, he flipped her over onto her belly.

“Let’s try it this way for a while.”

He sank into her. He possessed her with slow gentle strokes, and she wasn’t sure how she could find it as exciting as when he’d taken her hard and fast, but it was. She closed her eyes and concentrated on all the sensations within her body, clinging to the sheets beneath her belly to keep herself grounded. Something that felt so amazing had to be capable of launching her into the stratosphere.

His hands reached under her to cup her breasts and lift her slightly from the bed. “Which position feels better?”

“Both feel so good,” she said, “but there’s this…” She lost her train of thought as his jewelry rubbed a particularly delightful spot inside her. She knotted her fingers in the sheet and rocked to meet his hips. “Oh God, Owen.”

“There’s this what, Caitlyn?”

“Sp-spot. In front.”

“Mmm, yes, I know all about that spot.”

She strained her neck to look back at him. To watch his face as he took pleasure in her body. He gnawed on his lower lip. His nostrils flared slightly with each labored breath. A film of sweat brought a sheen to his tanned skin. He was so gorgeous, she had a hard time comprehending that he wasn’t a figment of her imagination. What she found even more baffling was that what was inside seemed to be as a beautiful as the outside. His eyelids fluttered open and he paused his thrusts. His eyes met hers and he took a calm moment to just stare at her, as she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

“The spot,” he said. “Right.”

He’d misunderstood why she was staring.

He pulled out, and she only partially stifled her sob of protest.

“It’s okay,” he whispered. “I’ll find it again.”

He eased her onto her back and lifted her legs to rest on his shoulders. “I do love a woman in thigh-high stockings,” he said, his hands splaying over one thigh at the margin where skin met silk. “So sexy. Everything about you is sexy, Caitlyn.” He held her gaze, his blue eyes sincere and intense. “Everything.”

He bent to kiss the inside of her thigh.

Caitlyn whimpered. She was never at a loss for words, but she couldn’t form a coherent thought.

“If you hadn’t tied me up and done dirty things to me, I would have taken my time with you.”

She didn’t need him to take his time, she needed him inside her again. She tried to sit up, to reach for his cock, but her hamstrings pulled painfully and she collapsed back on the bed. He straightened, smiling down at her with an ornery gleam in his eye. Why did she think this was about revenge?

“You know where else that piercing feels good?” he murmured.

She shook her head, her mind racing through possibilities.

Cock in hand, he rubbed the little metal ball against her clit. Shockwaves of pleasure streaked up her spine.

“Spread your legs wide for me, Caitlyn. Let me in.”

She’d do an inverted Chinese split if it would get him inside her again. She slipped her ankles from his shoulders and bent her knees, grabbing her thighs to pull them as far apart as she could bear.

“Beautiful,” he whispered.

He rubbed the head of his cock and that wondrous piercing against her clit. Teasing her. Delighting her. Driving her mad with pleasure. When he slipped inside her, she cried out in bliss. And then he was rubbing himself against her clit again.

“Almost,” he whispered.

Caitlyn’s body began to tremble uncontrollably. Her toes curled. Her thighs tried to close as the pleasure became unbearable, but she held them open with tense fingers. “Owen.”

“Almost,” he whispered again.

Her back arched off the bed as his persistence paid off, and she came so hard, her vision tunneled. And then he was inside her, riding her orgasm. Thrusting with a hard, consistent rhythm. Rubbing against that perfect spot with each inward thrust and withdrawal until Caitlyn was certain she’d found heaven. She’d had orgasms in the past, but she’d never felt them in every inch of her body. She would have screamed if she’d had the mental capacity to make her lungs work properly.

Owen’s breath hitched and she pried her eyes open to watch him come. His gorgeous face twisted into a mask of unmistakable bliss as he thrust into her one last time and clung to her ass, shuddering hard as he let go.

“Fuck, yes,” he said in a breathless growl.

Her sentiments exactly. Dear God, the man was amazing.

He collapsed on top of her, his skin hot and moist against hers, his breath hard and heavy in her ear. She released her thighs, but only so she could wrap her arms and legs around him. She wanted to tell him how wonderful he was, but her brain still wasn’t online. So she clung to him and rubbed her mouth against his shoulder, hoping he understood that he’d blown her mind by making her experience things in her body she’d never known existed.

After a long moment, his breathing stilled and he lifted his head to look at her. “Well that was fun,” he said.

She smiled and nodded, though fun was much too small a word for what she’d experienced.

He started to draw away, and she hung onto him feebly, her limbs like gelatin.

He kissed her lips and brushed her hair from her cheeks. “I’ll be right back,” he promised, standing beside the bed.

She realized that she wasn’t in the most comfortable position and squirmed farther up on the mattress. She didn’t take her eyes off of him as he removed the condom and disposed of it. With one eye closed and a curious look on his face, Owen took a moment to clean his backside and then wash his hands. Caitlyn gnawed on her lip, anticipating the disappointment of him putting on his clothes and leaving her lying there alone to sort through her suddenly jumbled emotions. Her heart skipped in delight as he returned to the bed and lay beside her. He really had come back.

Owen rested his head on Caitlyn’s belly, one hand gently stroking the inside of her thigh as he took deep, calming breaths. Caitlyn’s body continued to shudder with aftershocks of pleasure as she slowly reconnected with earth. It was a long way down from nirvana.

“Wow,” she said after a long moment. “Just… wow.”

Owen chuckled softly and turned his head to place a suckling kiss just above Caitlyn’s navel. Her flesh quivered. Goose bumps rose to the surface of her skin. It seemed every inch of her wanted to be physically closer to the man—even her damned hair follicles.

“I’ve never…” she whispered, unable to find the words to express the depths of her pleasure, but feeling the need to try. To let him know he’d been amazing, although amazing just didn’t seem like a strong enough description. Nor did phenomenal, earth-shattering, or fantastic.

“You’ve never what?” The deep timber of his voice made her nipples pebble. He noticed—bless him—and rubbed his lips over the sensitive tip of her breast. She shuddered. Her body wanted more of him.

“I’ve never…”

His tongue flicked out, teasing her into wanting still more. She lifted a weary arm and ran her fingers through his hair, toying with the soft, slightly sweat-damp strands at his nape.

“You’ve never…” he prompted.

She took a deep breath, her body quivering as she exhaled. “Come so hard that I felt it in the soles of my feet. You’re something special, Owen… uh… Owen… Um…” Dear God, she’d just had the most amazing sexual experience of her life, and she didn’t even know his last name.

“Mitchell,” he supplied, as if he were a mind-reader.

“Owen Mitchell,” she said. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“You’re supposed to save your regrets for when we’re awkwardly putting our clothes back on and avoiding each other’s eyes.”

“But I don’t regret it,” she said. “Not at all. I only regret that I didn’t find you sooner.” She flushed, realizing too late that it wasn’t the kind of thing you said after having sex with someone you didn’t know.

“Were you looking for me?” he asked, amusement in his tone. She knew he’d be smiling. Wasn’t sure if he’d laugh at her or not, but what the hell? She liked him. And she wanted him to like her too. Would being frank scare him away? Or make her intentions clear? She wasn’t sure. That’s what she got for marrying the first man who ever paid her any attention.

“I must’ve been. If not, I should have been.” She took another deep breath, her heart thudding with nervousness. “I’m sorry if I’m going about this all wrong. You probably do this kind of thing all the time.”

“If I’m lucky.”

She laughed and hugged him with as much strength as she could muster. “So what do we do now? Are we supposed to put our clothes back on and go our separate ways immediately? Or can I stay with you longer?”

“We do whatever we feel like.”

“What do you feel like?” she asked.

He lifted up on his elbows and stared down at her with such intensity, it stole her breath. She hoped their night together wasn’t about to end prematurely because she was such a novice when it came to one-night stands.

“Pastrami on rye,” he said.

Having thought he was going to say something profound, she laughed. “Do they serve sandwiches here?”

“No,” he said, “but I’m sure we can find one somewhere. Are you hungry?”

She wasn’t really, but she did want to spend more time with him. Preferably in a horizontal position. The man had definitely earned himself a sandwich. And despite her best intentions to keep this as impersonal as possible, she wanted to know about him. Know everything about him. Beside the fact that he was a-maz-ing in bed. And might be sexually attracted to his best friend. She couldn’t let herself dwell on that though. Owen obviously knew his way around the female anatomy. It would be a horrible tragedy if he switched teams.

“Yes,” she said. “I could go for a sandwich.”

“I like the bread lightly toasted and double pastrami. And don’t forget the dill pickle spear on the side.”

He wasn’t really expecting her to get up and make him a sandwich was he? She lifted her head and caught the smirk on his lips, right before he kissed a trail along the bottom of her ribcage. The man was a consummate tease, she decided.

“Would you like a cold beer with that?” she asked.

“That sounds heavenly,” he murmured against her skin. “And some waffle fries.”

“With cheese?”

“Ketchup.”

“Anything else with your order, sir?”

“Make yourself something real nice while you’re up,” he whispered, trailing soft kisses down her belly toward parts of her that could still feel the effects of that delightful cock piercing of his.

“No problem. I’ll just make my way to the nearest kitchen. I should probably take off these stockings so I’m barefoot.”

He lifted his head and grinned. His blue eyes twinkled with mischief. “I’d prefer if you wore those and those sexy as sin white high heels while you prepare my meal.”

“And nothing else, I presume.”

“That’s a decent presumption,” he said. His hands skimmed the skin along her sides.

“Glad you approve.”

“You might as well put your clothes on. It will be at least an hour before my sexual appetite matches the hunger in my belly.”

“So why are you still touching me?”

“Because you’re beautiful,” he told her, as if to say duh.

And he was doing a great job at making her feel that way when she had felt anything but beautiful for the past six months. “Thank you,” she said, grateful that her voice didn’t crack from the emotions welling in her throat.

“No, thank you.” He slid up to gaze into her eyes before capturing her lips in a hungry kiss. After several toe-curling moments, he tore his lips from hers and scooted off the edge of the bed. “If I don’t get up now, I’m going to end up getting up again.” He glanced at his glorious cock to let her know which part of him would be up again. “And if that happens, we’ll be at this place all night. I don’t think I can stand to listen to the guy in the next room make those distracting sounds for much longer.”

Caitlyn hadn’t noticed until Owen mentioned it, but coming through the wall was some sound between grunting and yowling. She’d had almost forgotten where she was, why she’d come here, and that Owen was just some pick-up at a sex club.

“Oh yeah, little pussy cat,” their wall-mate hollered, “reach under there and scratch my balls.”

Caitlyn giggled.

“That’s it, pussy cat.” The words penetrated the wall. “Now meow for me.”

Caitlyn couldn’t hear the woman’s meows, but the man’s sudden and startling barks sent her into hysterics. She laughed until tears sprang to her eyes and her belly ached.

“Okay, yeah,” Caitlyn said, forcing her body from the bed. “Let’s get out of here. Find some place for me to make you a sandwich.”

“I don’t really want you to make me a sandwich, Caitlyn.”

She grinned. “I know that. I can tell when you’re teasing.”

“And you were teasing me back?”

She nodded. Owen drew her into his arms and held her close. She smiled against his shoulder.

“Can’t seem to keep my hands off you,” he said.

“I don’t mind,” she assured him.

“Well, here, no, but in a restaurant? I might embarrass you.”

“We could get room service in a hotel,” she said. “Then you can put your hands anywhere you like.”

“I sort of want everyone to see that you’re with me,” he said.

She crinkled her eyebrows. “Why?”

“Because you’re a smokin’ hot babe and I get off on the ego trip.”

She stepped back, one step and then two. What? He’d taken his constant stream of compliments one step too far. No man said things like that unless… Caitlyn scowled and leveled him with her best glare of doom. “Okay, how much did Jenna pay you to make me feel like a million bucks?”

“Pay me?”

“You’re a male escort, aren’t you?” No wonder he was so good in bed. Women paid him to be good in bed. She slapped him in the chest with both hands, pretending not to notice his look of astonishment. “I should have realized it sooner. You’re really smooth, Owen Mitchell, if that’s even your real name.”

She expected him to either admit he was paid to entertain women or indignantly deny it. She never expected him to cover his initial astonishment, real or put-on, with a hearty laugh.

“Do you think I could actually make money doing this?” he asked, pausing to catch his breath. “You know, in case the rock star thing doesn’t work out for me.”

“What?” Caitlyn stared up at him with her mouth agape. “You’re not a rock star. You liar. Everything you’ve said to me has been a lie, hasn’t it?”

The teasing light died from his eyes. “Caitlyn, I’ll allow you to insinuate that I’m a male prostitute. I’m even okay with you struggling to believe I’m part of a famous rock band, but you don’t get to blatantly call me a liar. I’m not a liar. I never lie. I might tease and exaggerate a bit, but I don’t lie.”

She wasn’t sure if he was truly angry, but his body was tense and his expression had gone hard.

“You haven’t been lying to me?”

He shook his head, and she concluded he was the best con man on the planet, an award-winning actor (both distinct possibilities), or he was telling the truth. She felt a mix of relief and concern. Relieved that he was legitimately attracted to her and her friends didn’t have to pay a hot guy to sleep with her. Concerned that she liked that knowledge more than she should. She wasn’t even over Charles yet, was she? This was just a revenge fuck or something, wasn’t it?

“Wait,” she said, “So you’re really a rock star?” She giggled as soon as the words escaped her lips, because seriously, who claims such things and expects people to believe it without some proof? “A rock star?”

“Yep. We were the headlining band in the concert at the AT&T Center tonight.”

“Oh yeah?” That was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard and maybe he didn’t like being called a liar, but she was about to call him one again. “What instrument do you play?”

“What?” he said with a crooked grin. “You don’t think I’m lead singer material?”

He wasn’t lying? He really was a rock star? She took another look at him, unable to believe someone this attractive and apparently famous would want anything to do with her. He was definitely dynamic enough to be a lead singer. “Do you sing?”

“A little,” he said, “but mostly I play bass guitar.”

“What’s the name of your band?” She realized that he was sharing personal information. This was a good sign, wasn’t it? She had to keep him talking, because if he was her revenge fuck, she wanted to continue to seek her revenge for a lot longer.

A loud thumping on the wall broke the spell Owen had over Caitlyn. How did he do that, make her feel as if they were the only two people on earth?

“I’ll tell you all about it over a sandwich,” he said. “Do you have clothes in the outer dressing room?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I don’t think what’s left of that negligée legally counts as clothing.”

He cringed at the discarded pile of torn lace on the floor. “Sorry about that. I don’t usually get so worked up that I rip off a woman’s clothes.”

She smiled. “I liked it. It made me feel irresistible.”

“You are irresistible.”

She was starting to believe him. Starting to remember that she was sexy and desirable and beautiful, even if her husband hadn’t been smart enough to see it. “You’d make a fortune,” she said with a smile.

“Huh?”

“As a male escort. I’d definitely pay for this feeling.”

He snorted. “You don’t have to. But it’s good to know I have something to fall back on, you know, if I get myself kicked out of the band or something.”

He stepped away and retrieved his black dress shirt from the floor. He helped her shrug into it and slowly buttoned it from its hem—which hit her midthigh—to the very top button just under her chin.

“That should keep the hawks at bay,” he said and tapped her nose with his index finger.

“The hawks?”

“Men circling to make their kill now that I’ve chased away those man-hater vibes you were giving off.”

“I still hate men,” she said. “Well, one man. But not you. I like you.”

“You’re making this way too easy for me,” Owen said.

She tilted her head at him coyly. “Should I be playing hard to get? A little late for that, don’t you think?”

He shook his head. “I hate players probably as much as you hate your ex-husband.”

She lifted an eyebrow at him. “Aren’t you a player?”

He scowled. “Not intentionally. I’m looking for something and just don’t know exactly what it is yet.”

“Do you honestly think you’re going to find what you’re looking for in a sex club?”

“Maybe I have.” He winked at her. “You’re going to call me, right?”

“Depends,” she said.

“On what?”

“Will you answer?”

He smiled. “Of course.”

“Then I’ll call you.” Caitlyn found her shoes and put them on. He watched her with his devilish little grin firmly in place and only then reached for his own clothes.

“Then I’ll give you my number,” he said.

She watched him slip into his underwear and slacks. As he fastened his leather belt, naughty ideas began to filter through her thoughts. Ideas that involved belts. Would he let her try all those fantasies that she didn’t want to admit she had? And did he really want her to call him or was he just getting her hopes up? She wasn’t sure why she didn’t trust him—he hadn’t done anything to break her trust. In fact, he’d been absolutely wonderful. Too good to be true. She kept waiting for him to treat her badly, as if she deserved such treatment.

Damn, Charles sure had done a number on her. Maybe she should have given her heart time to mend before getting in this revenge fuck. What if this turned out to be something she wasn’t ready for? She wasn’t looking for a relationship, but she’d be an idiot not to see how far things could progress with Owen. He wasn’t the kind of guy who came along every day.

“So you never answered me: what’s the name of your band?” she asked as he settled a hand on her lower back and directed her out the door.

Heads turned as they passed through the main lounge. She was sure they were all looking at Owen. He had a gorgeous body and he happened to be shirtless.

“Sole Regret,” he said close to her ear, as if it were a secret.

She caught the scent of his body and the spicy, slightly sweet fragrance of his cologne. When he leaned away again, she inhaled that same delectable scent from the fabric of his shirt at her shoulder. She wouldn’t mind wearing his shirt for the rest of the night. Unfortunately, they had paused just outside the changing rooms and she was going to have to find her own clothes and relinquish the garment to him. There were, however, two problems with that. One: she would no longer be surrounded by his intoxicating scent. Two: the clothes she wore to the club were likely to send him packing. She didn’t exactly have the sexiest wardrobe.

“I think I’ve heard of them,” she said. She had never heard of a band called Sole Regret and figured he’d been playing up the star part of rock star.

He chuckled. “No you haven’t. I can tell. If you had, you’d be impressed.”

“I’m sorry, I was trying to be kind. What kind of music do you play?”

“Metal.”

She winced. “I don’t listen to that stuff.”

“That’s okay. So what do you do for a living?”

And now he was about to lose all interest in her. She decided to play down her geek-i-tude. If her wardrobe didn’t send him fleeing for a sexier woman, her career most certainly would.

“I… uh… own a business.”

“What kind of business?”

When she hesitated and tried to think of way to make herself sound less geeky, he grinned.

“I know,” he said. “You’re a madam for high-class prostitutes. It would explain why you’re so good in bed.”

She was good in bed? News to her. Caitlyn was most remembered for her complete lack of athletic prowess. Any activity that required her to move her body in a coordinated fashion ended in disaster. But perhaps she’d finally discovered her sport.

“A madam? Now that would be an interesting career,” she said. “Especially if you were one of my wares.”

“You’re done with me already? Going to sell me off to the highest bidder, are you?”

“No,” Caitlyn said. “Hopefully, I’m just getting started with you. I think we have a lot of pleasurable moments in our future.”

He avoided her interested gaze, and her heart plummeted. She hoped he knew that she was teasing about the male prostitute thing. Had she insulted him? It was a pretty insulting topic to joke about. She opened her mouth to apologize, but he patted her on the butt and nudged her toward the dressing rooms.

“You go get dressed. I’m going to find Kelly and let him know we’re leaving. Would you be overly upset if he caught a ride back to the hotel with us?”

“Of course not,” she said, but her heart gave an unpleasant pang. This was it. The thing that made him too good to be true. Kellen was her biggest competition for Owen’s affection, and Owen didn’t even realize it. “Should I wait for you outside?” she asked.

“Just wait here. I wouldn’t want someone to pick you up off the street.”

As if.

“Just so you know, I only have sex in sex clubs, so once we leave here, I won’t want to have sex with you again tonight. I didn’t want you to think it was anything personal if it came up.”

Caitlyn blinked at him, her heart twanging with a strange ache. So she was good enough to screw in a sex club, but not after a sandwich? Of course she’d think that was personal. Fine. Even if he didn’t want to screw her again, it didn’t matter. She wasn’t only interested in him for one thing. At least he’d been honest with her. It was something her husband had never been.

“I understand,” she said. “I still want to spend time with you.” Did that make her a desperate loser?

He smiled awfully bright for a man who didn’t want to have sex with her. “You just made the honor roll, babe.”

She had no idea what he meant by that, but apparently she’d said something right.

Chapter Five

Owen found Kelly sitting with a woman in a booth near the back of the club. So he might not want a ride back after all. Maybe he’d found someone to get busy with. Or maybe he was hoping that Owen would rescue him. It was difficult to read Kelly’s face.

Owen paused near the corner of the table and caught a snippet of Kelly and the woman’s conversation before either of them noticed him.

“Come on, baby,” the woman purred, “you’re hard as a rock. Let’s go find a room and—”

“Of course I’m hard as a rock,” Kelly said testily. “You keep shoving your hand down my pants.”

Okay, it was rescue that Kelly needed.

Owen cleared his throat and grinned at his friend who, yeah, looked relieved to see him.

“Are you finally finished?” Kelly asked.

“Not really.”

“Then what—”

“I’m taking Caitlyn out. She doesn’t belong here. Or maybe I don’t feel right with her here.”

He wasn’t sure what he meant exactly. There was just something about her that deserved better than this. Better than him. And for fuck’s sake, she didn’t seem to see it at all. He wanted to show her, but not here. Here was seedy, and being in this place made him want to take a shower. He’d never felt that way about one of Tony’s clubs, but perhaps the entrepreneurial genius had just missed the mark with this one. Or maybe something in Owen’s mindset had shifted and he was ready for more than a string of one-night stands. He honestly didn’t know. But he meant to find out. Her reaction to his claim that he wouldn’t want to have sex outside of the club had given him hope. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was hoping for. More. But more what?

Kelly’s eyes widened. “Wait! You’re taking her home with you?”

It went against their rules and promises to each other, but Caitlyn was special. Kelly would recognize that soon enough.

“I don’t know if it’ll go that far, but maybe. We’re going to grab a bite to eat and see if it goes anywhere from there. Are you ready to go?”

Kelly tugged his companion’s hand out of his pants again. “I’m ready.”

“Can I come with you?” the woman asked.

“No,” Kelly said and slipped out of the booth.

Owen couldn’t help but notice that Kelly was indeed hard as a rock. He had no explanation as to why he was rapidly getting that way himself. He’d assumed that after that fantastic pair of orgasms, his lust would be sated for a while.

“You should at least let that chick blow you or something,” Owen said. “You have to be hurting right now.”

Kelly shifted the crotch of his pants. “I’ll take care of it back at the hotel.”

Owen tried to stop memories of Kelly masturbating backstage in the communal shower from entering his thoughts, but it was impossible. They used to compete with each other to see who could get himself off the fastest, though they hadn’t done it for several years. In a weird way, it had further cemented their friendship when Kelly was first trying to get over Sara. He still wasn’t over her and he kept receding deeper into himself. It wasn’t healthy. Owen supposed masturbating with your best friend in the shower was pretty fucked up as well, but at least Kelly hadn’t been alone. He didn’t like Kelly to be alone. Kelly had too much to give to be so bottled up inside.

Owen glanced at the girl who was sulking in the booth. Kelly deserved better than her. He deserved the best. Someone more like Caitlyn. Someone he was unlikely to meet in a seedy sex club. The kind of woman Owen had been purposely avoiding because he knew how easily he fell for them. Owen wasn’t sure if he’d gotten lucky tonight or was setting himself up to get hurt again. He’d been avoiding that at all costs for years now. Maybe he was ready to put his heart on the line, but he’d be an idiot to not see how far this thing with Caitlyn might progress. She didn’t seem like the type who’d rip his heart out just because she could.

Kelly headed for the exit, and Owen fell into step beside him.

“So you like this one, do ya?” Kelly asked.

Owen shrugged. “I guess so.”

“Or are you just trying to get me to help you pleasure her?”

Owen stopped midstep. Because, yeah, if Kelly was up for it, Owen would love his assistance.

“That’s it, isn’t it?” Kelly said. “You’re so predictable.”

“No, that isn’t it. Or it wasn’t until you mentioned it. Do you want to join us?”

“Not at all.”

Owen didn’t understand the feeling of disappointment in his chest, so he slugged Kelly in the shoulder. “Then don’t bring it up.”

“You’re the one who keeps bringing it up. I think you’re more worried about my love life than your own,” Kelly said.

“That’s because there’s more to worry about when it comes to your love life. Or complete lack of one.”

Kelly chuckled. “You’re as blind as you are predictable, Tags. Do you remember where you put your shoes?”

“In the locker room.”

“And your shirt?”

“Caitlyn’s borrowing it.”

Kelly nodded in the direction of the front door. “I’ll wait for you in the limo.”

“What about your shirt?” Owen glanced pointedly at Kelly’s bare chest.

“I didn’t bring a shirt.”

“You don’t own a shirt.”

“I own a shirt,” Kelly said. “A shirt. One.”

Owen grinned at him. “You’re an odd duck, Cuff.”

“That’s why you get along with me so well.”

A woman Owen didn’t recognize paused beside them, more diamonds on display than a De Beers store.

“I’ll pay you ten thousand dollars if you let me watch you two fuck,” she said.

When Owen and Kelly just gaped at her, she looked from one to the other and said, “Cash.”

“We were just leaving,” Kelly said.

“We’re not a couple,” Owen sputtered. Did they look like a couple? True they were standing rather close and were both shirtless, but…

“Obviously you’re not a couple,” she said, rolling her eyes. She had a thick European accent, but Owen couldn’t identify its origin. French, maybe. “Why would I pay ten thousand dollars to watch a gay couple fuck?” She laughed. “They’d probably let me watch for free.”

“We don’t need your money, lady,” Kelly said and pushed Owen to uproot his bare feet from the floor.

“Do straight guys actually fuck each other for you?” Owen had to ask.

“Depends on how desperate they are for money,” she said. She grinned slyly. “Or how much they’ve secretly wanted to fuck a man, but never had someone else to blame it on.”

“Owen?” Caitlyn said from just behind him.

Heat flooded his face. He cringed and turned to find her dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a white blouse with an out-of-style flop of a bow at the throat, and a tweed blazer his grandmother would be ashamed to own. And why did her conservative attire turn him on as much as that negligée had? He was in trouble.

“Hey, Caitlyn. Are you ready to leave?”

“Are you whoring yourself out?” she asked.

“What? No, of course not.”

“I’m not sure why you’re even having a discussion with this woman,” Kelly said, nodding toward the diamond queen. “As if you’re considering this bullshit or something.”

“I wasn’t considering it. I just wondered if men actually went through with it. That’s a lot of money.”

Caitlyn’s arm circled Owen’s waist, and her hand slid over his bare belly. “You know I get half of every dime you make, baby. How much did she offer you?”

Owen laughed. Kelly gaped at her. Owen slapped Kelly on the chest. “Inside joke. I’ll explain later. Let’s go.”

“How do you have inside jokes with someone you just met?” Kelly said as he started toward the exit again.

“Good luck finding your fantasy,” Owen said to the woman in diamonds. Sex with another man was one of those sex acts he’d never tried. Probably never would. Letting Caitlyn have her way with him was as close as he was going to get to having a homosexual encounter. He didn’t think reciprocal hand jobs counted.

As the three of them stepped onto the walkway outside, the cool cement registered in Owen’s brain. “Shit, I forgot my shoes,” he said. “I’ll catch up with you in the limo.”

“You sure you want to leave me alone with your girl?” Kelly asked.

“I expect you to take good care of her.”

“Oh, I’ll take real good care of her.” He wrapped an arm around Caitlyn and tugged her against his side. Her eyes opened wide. Kelly was only teasing, but Caitlyn had no way of knowing that.

“I’ll hurry,” Owen said. Assuming he didn’t get distracted between here and there by rich women with money to blow and fantasies to fulfill.

Chapter Six

The limo pulled up just as Owen dashed back into the building. Caitlyn didn’t feel right being plastered to Kellen’s side. Not that it was a bad thing. She just felt as if she were cheating. On a guy she’d just met, barely knew, and who had no long-term interest in her. Boy, was she all mixed up inside.

“You’re tense,” Kellen said near her ear. “You don’t have anything to worry about from me. I was just giving Owen a hard time.”

“You don’t find me attractive?”

“You’re gorgeous,” he said. “I just have a certain type.”

“Big blue eyes?” Like Owen’s…

“How’d you guess?”

“You and Owen need to have a talk.”

Kellen’s dark brows drew together. “About what? So Sara had blue eyes, what does that have to do with Owen?”

So maybe there wasn’t any attraction on Kellen’s end at all.

The driver opened the door, and Caitlyn hurried to climb inside. The relationship between Kellen and Owen wasn’t any of her business. She wasn’t sure why she was so fixated on it.

“Owen will be out in a couple minutes,” Kellen said to the driver. “Just wait here.”

“No problem, Mr. Jamison.”

Kellen slipped into the seat beside Caitlyn. She stared at her hands, which were folded in her lap. She probably shouldn’t have said anything to Kellen about Owen. They knew their feelings for each other far better than she did. She wasn’t even sure if they actually had feelings for each other.

“Why do I need to have a talk with Owen? He already knows what type of woman I’m most attracted to. In fact, he said I’d have better luck getting over Sara if I dated someone who doesn’t look anything like her. What do you think?”

“I couldn’t say,” Caitlyn said. “It must be hard to be reminded of someone you lost when you look at some other woman.”

“I see pieces of her in everyone,” he said. “In everything.”

“Even in me?”

He grinned crookedly and released a huff of a laugh. “Yeah, you have soft lips like Sara’s.” Kellen reached over and touched a finger under her chin. He rubbed his thumb along her bottom lip, sending sparks of pleasure down her nerve-endings. “I still remember how she tasted.”

“How did she die?” Caitlyn asked, hell-bent on sticking her foot in her mouth repeatedly tonight. “Was it sudden?”

“Owen told you just enough to encourage annoying questions, I see.” Kellen dropped his hand. “Not sudden. It took her several months to die once they found the tumors in her lungs. But a thousand years with her wouldn’t have been enough.” A distant look stole across his chiseled features. “One was definitely not enough.”

Caitlyn bit her lip and ducked her chin, swallowing around a lump in her throat. It didn’t seem fair that a dead girl had the unwavering devotion and love of someone as vibrantly alive as Kellen Jamison.

“I shouldn’t have asked. I apologize. And…” She looked up to find him staring off into space. Why did she hurt so badly for him? She didn’t even know him, but she could practically feel the devastation seeping from his pores. “I’m truly sorry for your loss.”

He nodded curtly, avoiding her eyes. She couldn’t possibly ask him if he had any feelings for Owen. Not with him so obviously hurting over a woman. She sat awkwardly beside him trying to think of something, anything, to say.

“I lost my sister a couple of years ago.”

“Cancer?” he murmured.

“No. There was an accident at work. She was training to be an astronaut and…” She couldn’t continue. Morgan’s loss was like a fresh wound every time Caitlyn had to tell someone what had happened to her. “The safety harness failed. They say she didn’t suffer.” Which is more than could be said about anyone who battled cancer.

“It hurts most when you speak of them, doesn’t it?”

She nodded, drawing deep breaths through her nose to keep threatening tears at bay.

“So you find yourself avoiding talking about it,” he said. “To anyone. Because it reminds you that it happened. It wasn’t just a nightmare. It’s reality.”

She wasn’t sure if he was really talking to her. He wasn’t looking at her.

“Don’t break his heart, Caitlyn,” Kellen said unexpectedly. “He likes to pretend he’s a player, but he’s very sensitive when it comes to love. He’s nice. Too nice at times. He only sees the good in people. So when you shred his heart, be it tonight, tomorrow, or years from now, take it easy on him. He doesn’t take rejection well.”

Kellen turned to her then, and she couldn’t speak. Could only stare into his dark eyes. It was as if she were under some sort of spell. After a long moment, he looked away and she found her tongue.

“It’s a bit soon to be talking about love,” she said.

Kellen laughed softly. “I knew I would love Sara for the rest of my life the first time she smiled at me.”

And what in the hell was she supposed to say to that?

Before she could think of a response, Owen slipped into the car beside Kellen. Relief flooded her. She wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because Owen was all light and wonder, while Kellen was all dark and practicality. Caitlyn needed Owen, because she was more like Kellen than she cared to admit. As soon as the door closed behind Owen, he climbed over his friend’s lap and wriggled until he slipped between Kellen and Caitlyn’s hips.

“You could have asked me to move,” Kellen said, scooting closer to the door to give Owen breathing room.

“I wasn’t expecting you to be sitting on top of her,” Owen said.

“I wasn’t.”

“Not that I blame you,” he said. “Are there any decent sandwich shops around here that are open this late?” he asked Caitlyn.

“I wouldn’t know.”

“Don’t you live close by?”

She shook her head. “I’m from Houston. I’m just here visiting a friend.” She smirked. “And enjoying the nightlife San Antonio has to offer.”

“You know what?” Owen said. “Tony has a club in Houston. I’ll take you sometime. We can try out some of your other kinky fantasies.”

“As tempting as that sounds, I don’t think I’ll be visiting another of Tony’s clubs,” she said. “Not that I didn’t enjoy my time there tonight, I did, but my curiosity is sated now. Maybe I’ll try Internet dating next.” Or maybe she’d take for herself. To get over Charles. She hated him, yes, but she still wasn’t over him. She wasn’t ready to love again. Hot sex with Owen? Yeah, she’d been ready for that, had needed that. She was ready for hot sex with Owen again, truth be told. But if he was one of those guys who believed in love at first smile, like his excessively intense friend, then she should probably take her leave as soon as possible. Before she shredded his heart or something equally appalling.

“I’ll see if I can find a place that’s open,” Kellen said as he tugged a cellphone out of his pocket. “What are you hungry for? Wait, I get one guess. Pastrami on rye?”

Caitlyn chuckled. “How did he know that?”

Kellen grinned as he tapped a search into his phone with one finger. “Owen always craves pastrami after sex.”

“Not always,” Owen said.

“Owen usually craves pastrami after sex,” Kellen amended.

“Only when I sweat a lot,” Owen said. “And Caitlyn definitely made me sweat a lot.”

She stared up into his grinning face, fighting the urge to kiss him. Just looking at him made her feel good about herself. Made her happy. She didn’t understand why, but didn’t care overmuch at the moment. She wasn’t supposed to like him this much. The attraction was supposed to fade after their tumble in bed. She was supposed to have sated her lust and lost interest—that’s the way it worked. But she hadn’t lost interest. She was more intrigued than ever.

She still wanted him. For sex. Yes, she understood that attraction, but she wanted more than that too. She wanted to get to know him. Figure out what made him tick. Determine how a guy as good looking as Owen ended up being nice and sensitive. Damn it. Maybe she should have turned down their sandwich excursion and gone back to Jenna’s house. Every extra minute she spent with him made her like him a little more. This was definitely more than she bargained for.

Owen threaded his fingers through her hair, his eyes searching hers in the low light inside the back of the car. “I can’t get over how beautiful you are. Isn’t she beautiful, Kellen?”

Warmth spread across her face, and she ducked her chin to hide a pleased smile.

“Gorgeous,” Kellen said. “There’s a twenty-four-hour diner two blocks from here. No guarantees they serve pastrami.”

“Alert the driver,” Owen said.

Caitlyn looked up and found Owen still staring at her.

“Remember when I said that once we left the club, I wouldn’t have sex with you again,” he said.

She scowled. “How could I forget?” It was the only mean thing he’d said to her since they’d met, and she wasn’t sure he’d meant it the way she’d taken it.

He touched a fingertip to her lips. “Apparently, I am a liar.”

Caitlyn’s heart skipped a beat.

Kellen released a long sigh of annoyance and shook his head. “Can you at least drop me off at the hotel before you start round two?”

“Round three,” Owen corrected.

“Even worse.”

“We’ll drop you off after we eat,” Owen said.

“I’m not hungry,” Kellen said.

“If you’re not careful, I’m going to think you don’t want to hang out with me anymore.”

“I don’t want to hang around with you if you’re going to flaunt your hot woman in front of me all night.”

Was that what he was doing? Or was he trying to tempt Kellen into doing something he’d later regret? Caitlyn didn’t know either of them well enough to have a good handle on their dynamic, but she didn’t want to be involved in drawing out Kellen’s pain. The guy had been through enough already.

“It’s probably best if you tone it down a little in public,” she said, not because she actually wanted Owen to tone it down, but because she felt bad for Kellen.

“Tone it down? You don’t mean that. I haven’t taken a woman out in over six months and you expect me to tone it down.”

She nodded, even though she was incredibly flattered that he’d broken his rules for her. “I do mean it.”

“Damn, I knew we should have ordered room service.”

“I think you can keep your hands to yourself for an hour.” Because that’s about how long she thought she could keep her hands to herself.

Kellen chuckled. “If you knew him better, you wouldn’t think that.”

“I can be good,” Owen said. “If you reward me for it later.”

“I can probably handle that,” she said. “But not until we’re alone.” She peeked around Owen’s body to see if Kellen looked any less miserable. He was no longer staring into space. The slight smile on his lips led her to believe he was amused by her stipulation.

“I can be a perfect gentleman,” Owen said.

Kellen chuckled and shook his head.

Owen glanced at Kellen and then smiled at Caitlyn. He seemed to realize that she was setting boundaries for Kellen’s sake. She expected Owen to torment Kellen as he’d been doing all night, but instead he relaxed and folded his hands demurely in his lap.

“I’m going to be so well behaved, you’re going to have to reward me until dawn.”

She wasn’t sure she could keep up with him until dawn but, by God, she would try.

The limo pulled up to a diner that had probably never had a limo parked in front of it in all its years. But the open sign was glowing orange, and that was all the motivation Owen needed to tug Caitlyn out of the car by one wrist.

“I’ll just wait here,” Kellen said.

“What is wrong with you tonight?” Owen asked. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’d been possessed by grumpy ol’ Adam.”

Kellen glared at him from the interior of the limo.

“Pod person!” Owen yelled and pointed into the open car door.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Kellen said, but Caitlyn caught his smile as he hefted himself out of the car. He eyed the No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service sign and after releasing a sigh of annoyance, pointed at the driver. “Trunk.”

The driver hurried to open the trunk, and Kellen searched the compartment for something. He donned a plain white T-shirt and moved to stand next to Owen. Pity really. Kellen didn’t look comfortable in a shirt and he’d have definitely been the most delicious-looking thing in the diner without it.

“Are you happy?” Kellen said.

“Getting there,” Owen said.

Kellen smiled to himself, ducking his head so Owen didn’t see it, but Caitlyn did. She wondered how much darker Kellen would be without Owen in his life.

Caitlyn felt a strange sense of pride as Owen walked her through the nearly deserted restaurant with his hand on her lower back. At this time of night, there weren't many people to witness that they were together, but she was pleasantly surprised that heads turned. Most of them were female heads checking out Owen and Kellen, but a few were men and she was pretty sure their eyes were on her. They were probably wondering what was good enough about her to gain Owen’s attention. She always wondered that when she saw an average guy with a really hot woman, so she assumed men wondered how an average woman ended up with a really hot guy too.

“Sit wherever you like,” a harried-looking waitress called from behind the counter. She seemed to be working the entire dining room alone.

They snagged a booth near the back, and Caitlyn found herself trapped against the wall beside Owen. Kellen sat wearily across from them. The menus were stuck behind the napkin holder, so Caitlyn took it upon herself to pass them around.

She was probably too anxious to eat. She really wanted to be alone with Owen now that she'd made it clear that she wasn't interested in being naughty in public and he’d made it clear that he was making a concession for her. Since he was breaking his own rules, she wouldn't mind it so much if he broke one of hers. Especially since he’d retracted his earlier statement about not sleeping with her outside of the sex club. She was ready for a little foreplay.

“Do they have anything that isn't swimming in grease?” Kellen asked as he perused the menu and wiped off the tell-tale grease spots.

The waitress chose that moment to arrive. “The water is low in fat,” she said and smiled at Kellen.

“I'll have one of those,” Kellen said. “Bottled.”

“Okay.”

“Do you have pastrami?” Owen asked hopefully.

“Sandwiches are on the back of the menu.”

Owen flipped his menu over and ran a finger down the plastic. “Score! I'll have a pastrami on rye.” He glanced at Caitlyn and winked. “Extra pastrami. Do you have waffle fries?”

“No, sorry. Just have the regular kind.”

“Side of chips then.”

“To drink?”

“Bottled water. What do you want, Caitlyn?”

“Is your pie any good?” Caitlyn asked.

Owen chuckled. “What do you think, Kellen? Is her pie any good?”

Caitlyn slapped Owen with her menu.

“Not in the mood for pie jokes, Owen,” Kellen said.

The waitress flushed and crossed her arms. “My pie is excellent,” she said, “but the diner's is mediocre. The cheesecake is good though.”

“I'll have a piece of cheesecake then,” Caitlyn said. After the workout she’d just had with Owen, a few extra calories wouldn’t hurt. “Kellen, you're going to get more than water, aren't you?”

“I'd like to try the pie,” Kellen said, grinning, “but I guess I'll go with cheesecake too.”

“You can try the pie,” the waitress said. She tossed her hair behind her shoulders. “You can try anything you see.”

Caitlyn's eyes were on Owen. And he watched Kellen's reaction carefully. He really was fascinated with his best friend's sex life.

“Cheesecake for now. Maybe I'll be hungry for pie later.”

Owen smiled. “Do you want something to drink, Caitlyn?” he said, turning his attention to her.

“Tea?”

“Sweet and iced?” the waitress asked.

“Yes, please,” she said.

The waitress gave Kellen one more look of longing and then headed toward the counter with their order.

“She's into you, man,” Owen said.

“Every woman in the room is into him,” Caitlyn said.

“Including you?” Owen asked.

She shook her head and slid a hand over his thigh. “Not when I'm sitting next to you. But if I wasn't already in lust with you, yeah, I'd be into him too.”

“This is why I make him hide when I try to pick up a girl,” Owen said. “If they see him first…” Owen shrugged.

“Not buying it,” Caitlyn said. “You're both gorgeous. Just depends on if you like your men dark and mysterious, or light and—”

“Annoying,” Kellen supplied.

“I was going to say sweet,” Caitlyn said.

“I’m not sweet.”

He totally was. In the limo, Kellen had only validated what she’d already suspected. “I mean excellent in bed.”

“Kellen’s excellent in bed too,” Owen said.

“I can only speak from personal experience.”

“I think I’m better in bed than he is now.” Owen’s thigh tightened beneath Caitlyn’s hand as he kicked Kellen under the table. “He’s out of practice.”

Kellen didn’t seem to mind the taunt, though he didn’t hesitate in returning Owen’s kick.

“You're also a troublemaker,” Caitlyn said.

“One of my most endearing qualities,” Owen said.

“You get used to it,” Kellen said. “He doesn't know how to stay out of trouble. It's like he was born for the sole purpose of getting into trouble.”

“Kellen's just jealous because he's forgotten how to have fun.”

“That's a shame,” Caitlyn said. “I spent the last ten years of my life forgetting how to have fun. It's starting to come back to me, thanks to Owen here. And you have him around all the time.”

“I think I’m all funned out,” Kellen said.

“Speaking of fun… Wanna dance?” Owen asked her.

She gawked at him. “Dance? Here? But…” She rummaged through her brain for an excuse. “There's no music.”

Owen pulled his smartphone out of his pocket and started his playlist. The tiny speaker sounded awful, but they had music. Very hard and heavy music. Caitlyn frowned. “Is that one of your songs?”

“Yeah,” he said, “do you like it?”

“Not especially,” she shouted. Even though the music wasn't loud, she felt compelled to yell when confronted by the sounds blaring from the speaker.

“What kind of music do you listen to?” he asked.

She hesitated, looking from one musician to the next. She couldn’t lie about it. It would be much too easy to catch her at it. “I… uh… I don't listen to music.”

Based on the look Owen gave her, she must have contracted a severe case of purple Chicken Pox.

“You're kidding,” he said.

“No. I mostly listen to podcasts. And, well, I'm a fan of silence.”

She reached over and muted the song blasting from the speaker. Much better.

“Have you ever even been to a concert?”

“Oh, sure. Charles took me to the symphony once.” She’d even bought a new dress for the occasion and had worn it exactly once.

“Symphony? That doesn’t count. What about a rock concert?”

She bit her lip. She was about to lose her cool-card. “Never been.”

Owen gaped at her. Her pox must have started seeping blueberry jelly.

“Inconceivable,” Owen said. “That needs to change.”

“I agree,” Kellen said.

“Tomorrow night we play in Houston. You're going.”

She might be able to handle a Journey or .38 Special concert, but Sole Regret? If the ten seconds of music from Owen’s smartphone had made her ears bleed, what would an entire show do to her? Make her head explode?

“I couldn't possibly,” she said.

“Do you have other plans?”

“Yes, actually. I came to San Antonio to visit Jenna, and I've hardly spent any time with her yet.” Nice save.

“She can come with you.”

“She has to work.”

“So you can come with us—”

“On the tour bus?” Kellen interrupted.

“Yes, on the tour bus.”

“I don't think that's a good idea.”

Caitlyn wondered why. Considering the kind of clubs these guys frequented, she could only imagine the kind of debauchery that occurred on that tour bus.

“I didn't ask for your opinion,” Owen said to Kellen. Then he turned his attention back to Caitlyn. “You can come with us, and I'll send you back to San Antonio—in a limo if you want—to return to visit your friend.”

“I honestly don't think I'd like it.”

“You have to try it at least once. I can't be seen in public with a woman who's never been to a rock concert before.”

She chuckled. “Well I wouldn't want to ruin your reputation.”

“It was ruined years ago,” Kellen assured her.

“So is that a yes?” Owen pressed.

“I could save your reputation by asking you to take me someplace private,” she said. “Then you wouldn’t have to be seen with me in public.”

“Damn, woman. You’re killing me.”

“Smart girls,” Kellen said. “They pay attention to what you actually say and use it against you.”

She hadn’t meant to use anything Owen said against him. She just enjoyed their easy banter. “I’ll go,” she said decisively. Kellen’s wink made her realize that she’d just been outsmarted by a rock star. Damn it!

“Awesome,” Owen said. “I was trying to think up an excuse to get her to have sex with me on the tour bus. This played out perfectly.” He glanced at Caitlyn when she gasped. “Did I just say that aloud?”

She laughed. “Unless I’m imagining things.”

“I think she's onto me,” he said to Kellen.

Kellen scratched his nose. “Since you tend to show all your cards, I'm not surprised.”

“I don't show all my cards. I still have an ace or two up my sleeve. Did you know dancing with a woman is a great method of seduction? If you move to their liking, they subconsciously think you’ll be compatible in bed.”

“You made that up,” Kellen said.

“Did I?” Owen took Caitlyn’s hand in his and caught her gaze. As she stared into his eyes, her heart thudded faster and faster. Her palm became increasingly damp. “Caitlyn, may I have this dance?”

Her first instinct was to accept, but then the rattling of dishes in the diner’s kitchen reminded her where she was.

“I'm not going to dance with you here,” Caitlyn said in a loud whisper.

“Why not? We have music. I'll even download your favorite song if you'd like.”

“This isn't the kind of place where you dance.”

Owen looked at Kellen. “Name three places where I would never dance.”

“Never?”

“Never.”

Kellen shrugged. “Can't think of one.”

“This is why he's my best friend. He always agrees with me.”

“I didn’t say it was normal.”

Owen blocked his screen from view as he downloaded something to his phone. The waitress set two bottles of water and a glass of ice tea on the table. She smiled first at Owen and then at Kellen before blushing and rushing back toward the kitchen.

“Do you think she knows who we are?” Kellen asked.

“Did she rip off her shirt and ask you to sign her tits? No, she doesn't know. She just thinks you’re hot.”

Caitlyn reached for her tea, but before she could take a sip, Owen took her by the hand and pulled her from the booth.

“What are you doing?”

“Dancing.”

From his phone, “The Chicken Dance Song” began to play. When Owen began to flap his arms and scratch and peck, Caitlyn gaped at him.

“Dance with me, Caitlyn.”

She laughed—half mortified, half amused. “Oh my God, you are so embarrassing!”

“Dance, Caitlyn, or I'm following this with ‘Play That Funky Music White Boy.’ ”

“You don't want him to go there, Caitlyn,” Kellen said, opening his water and sipping it nonchalantly.

Every person in the restaurant was gawking, pointing, or laughing. And if Owen hadn't been so fucking cute, they probably would have called the cops on him for disorderly conduct.

“Dance, Caitlyn.”

“I don't know how,” she lied. She'd danced to this song as a child. Back when she'd known how to have fun.

He whirled her around and stepped up behind her, one hand on her belly and his groin pressed against her ass. She wasn't sure how he made The Chicken Dance sexy, but by God, she was completely turned on the instant he began to move with her. Especially when he made her shake her hips and rub up against him just right.

Her face was flushed with something other than embarrassment as she let loose and started to move.

“I thought you didn't know this dance,” Owen said in her ear.

“I'm a fast learner.”

Two young women in a booth several tables away climbed to their feet and joined in. It appeared that they’d had a few too many as they stumbled around more than they danced. When one of the girls spotted Kellen in the booth, looking amused rather than annoyed, she grabbed his wrist and tried to pull him to his feet.

“Come and dance with us,” the tipsy girl said. “Come on. It’s fun!”

“No, thanks.” There was no room for argument in his tone, so with a scowl she released his wrist and settled for rubbing up against Owen from behind.

Owen laughed as he attempted to avoid hands not belonging to Caitlyn. “Three on one, no fair. Save me, Kellen.”

“There isn't enough tequila in Mexico to make me dance The Chicken Dance in a diner at one o’clock in the morning.”

Caitlyn turned to face Owen and wrapped both arms around his neck. She lifted an eyebrow at one of the eager young women behind him and the woman stepped back, tripping over her own feet. Her friend kept her from falling to the floor.

“Want to go party with us?” one of the girls asked Owen. “We love to party.”

“Caitlyn's all the party I can handle right now,” he said and kissed Caitlyn, as if to make his intentions clear.

She drew him closer, kissing him deeper, still sort of wiggling to the song. He squeezed her to stop her motion and tugged his mouth free. “Now that I have you loosened up,” he said, “how about a slow song?”

“How about you hurry up and eat your sandwich so we can go to your room and be alone?”

Owen glanced at Kellen and lifted his eyebrow to accompany the I-told-you-so lift of his head. “Now do you believe that dancing is a great method of seduction?”

“I have less obnoxious methods,” Kellen said.

“Yeah, sitting there looking cranky actually works well for you,” Owen said.

Kellen gave him the finger.

“There's a bar that's open for another couple hours just down the street,” one of the young women said, “if you want to have some fun. Come on, you don’t want to hang around with her all night, do you?”

Caitlyn hoped it was the alcohol making the girl so impolite.

The girl tugged on Owen's arm, and he pulled his gaze from Caitlyn's to look at her. “I’m not interested. But my friend might be.” He nodded toward Kellen and grinned at the look of horror on Kellen’s face when both girls squeezed into the booth with him.

“If you don't stop torturing him, he's going to wind up hating you,” Caitlyn said.

“Not possible.”

But based on the look on Kellen's face as he tried to put some space between himself and the tipsy women now crowding into his booth, Caitlyn wasn't so sure.

“Are you ready for that slow song?” Owen whispered. “I need a good excuse to hold you close in public until my sandwich arrives.”

“You really do show your cards,” Caitlyn said.

“Did you think Kellen was joking?”

“I didn't think Kellen was joking, I've just never met anyone who throws it all out there in the open.”

“Do you like it? I hope so, because I’m not sure if I can keep a lid on it now that I’ve let loose.”

Caitlyn leaned back so she could look him in the eye. He scared the hell out of her, to be honest. She had no idea what to expect out of him next, and he had no problem alerting her to the fact that it would be something she was not expecting, but yeah, she did like it. “I like it when you’re being yourself. Don’t put a lid on it. Just be you. That’s what I like.”

His brilliant smile did things to her heart, and she definitely wanted to be pressed against him, swaying to a slow song in the middle of diner at one o’clock in the morning.

“Can I pick the song this time?” she said. “I wouldn't want to end up doing the chicken dance again or worse, dancing disco to some song better left in the past.”

“Promise you’ll pick something slow and sexy.”

“I promise.” Caitlyn found the song she wanted on his phone while Owen tried to talk the young ladies into leaving Kellen alone since Kellen was having no luck convincing them that he didn't want to get drunk with them. Even though they kept yelling, “Party!” intermittently, Kellen was obviously not the least bit interested in joining their brand of fun. The young ladies had no business drinking any more than they already had, anyway.

When Caitlyn found the song she had in mind, she had to hand the phone to Owen so he could enter his password and purchase it.

“Don't peek,” she said. “I want it to be a surprise.”

“I won't peek,” he said.

“Strange as it sounds, Owen loves surprises,” Kellen said.

“I do.”

“He can't keep a secret though.”

Caitlyn chuckled. “Why does that not surprise me?”

When the song began, Owen tugged Caitlyn against his chest and stole her breath by singing along in a low sultry voice. She wasn't sure how he knew “Unchained Melody,” but he sang it as if he were a long lost Righteous brother. He had a pitch-perfect tone. He should be a lead singer. She’d pay to hear him sing.

Her body was entirely in tune with his. Her skin tingled in want of his touch. Her ears strained for more of the sensual words pouring from his lips. She’d never felt a song before, but she felt every word of this one. They swayed slowly as he led her into a leisurely turn around the floor between their booth and a small table. Caitlyn clung to him and let him lead. Allowed herself to enjoy their dance and not worry about what everyone else was thinking or whispering. She didn't much care at the moment. Owen gave her an odd measure of courage. Even though he was several years younger than she was, he was teaching her something she hadn't realized she'd been missing—how to have fun and not worry about what people thought. She tugged him closer and nuzzled her face into his neck.

“Most women don't make it past The Chicken Dance,” he said as the music played without accompanying vocals.

“So you dance in diners on a regular basis, I take it,” she said. She wished she could say that she had something special with him. And not the things she'd done to him back at the sex club. She hoped he didn't hold that against her. She'd been really hating on men when he'd approached her. And she should have never taken out her frustration on his ass. Even if he had seemed to like it.

“Not regularly,” he said. “I’ve danced in a few. But it’s been years.”

Caitlyn caught sight of the waitress, standing with a large tray beside the table. She was watching them with a smile of longing on her face, waiting for their song to finish. Maybe all women wanted a man like Owen, a man who didn't care if the world thought he was a little crazy for making his own dance floor, just so long as he got to hold his woman close.

When the song came to an end, several people clapped. Owen released her. “There's only one thing I want right now more than you,” he whispered to Caitlyn.

“Pastrami on rye.”

He chuckled. “You're getting to know me already.” He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. Of all the intimate things he’d done to her that night, that chaste gesture was the only one to make her belly quiver.

Owen helped her find her seat again. Across from them, both drunks smiled a greeting, but he ignored them, still giving Caitlyn his full attention. “You’re still planning on rewarding me for good behavior, aren’t you?” he asked. His hand found her leg beneath the table and slid from the inside of her knee to her upper thigh.

“We did agree on no public displays of affection.” She caught his hand before it found its target.

“Dancing doesn’t count.”

“What about kissing?” she challenged.

“No?” It wasn’t a statement. More a hopeful question.

As if she could tell this man no when he was looking at her like that. But she refused to let him off easily; teasing him was too much fun.

“I have to be honest: that public display felt rather affectionate.”

“Can you please go back to your own table now?” Kellen said to the pair of young women who were still harassing him about going to a bar that would close in less than an hour.

The waitress looked apologetic as she set their food before them. “Should I get the manager to remove them from the premises?” she said quietly, as if the young women wouldn’t be able to hear her.

“That won’t be necessary,” Owen said. “I’ll take care of it.”

The waitress nodded and took her leave again.

“So how are you ladies getting home tonight?” Owen asked them, selecting a potato chip from his plate and munching it.

“Lisa’s car is parked across the street.”

Owen nodded. “I see. How would you like to go for a ride in a limo?”

“What?” the one who wasn’t Lisa said.

“We have a limo parked outside. Want to go for a ride?”

Caitlyn was too busy trying to figure out what Owen was thinking to touch her cheesecake.

“Owen, I don’t think…” Kellen gave the girls pointed looks.

Owen ignored him. “You don’t believe we have a limo, do you?”

“I’d have to see it to believe it.”

“All right, I’ll show you.” Owen slid out of the booth and helped the two wobbly ladies to their feet. He leaned across the table and whispered, “I’ll be right back,” to Caitlyn.

Befuddled, she watched him escort the two women out of the diner.

She exchanged a confused look with Kellen. And then Kellen’s scowl softened. “Wish I’d have thought of that,” he said.

“Thought of what?”

“Hey, hey, hands off the merchandise,” Owen shouted just before the diner door shut behind them.

“Is he leaving with them?”

“When he has you?”

“Then what?”

Before he could answer, Owen was headed back in their direction.

“What was that all about?” Caitlyn asked.

“Neither one of them had any business driving,” Owen said, “so I had the driver take them home. They were too excited about riding in a limo to be upset that they weren’t getting into Kelly’s pants tonight.”

“And how are we supposed to get back to the hotel?” Kellen asked.

“The driver will be back before I finish my sandwich. Their place is only a couple of miles from here. They told me so when they were trying to get me to go with them.”

Caitlyn squeezed his knee under the table. “That was a really nice thing you did.”

“What? Rescuing Kellen from two drunk girls?”

“Making sure they got home safely.”

“Everyone is happy,” he said, and took a huge bite of his sandwich. “Especially me,” he added, talking with his mouth full. “Good stuff.”

Kellen grinned as he used the edge of his fork to cut into his cheesecake and took a bite.

“Better than pie?” Owen asked.

Kellen shook his head. “Too sweet.”

Owen devoured his sandwich while Kellen decided he’d rather steal the chips off Owen’s plate than finish his cheesecake. It was indeed decadent—moist and creamy with cherries in thick, sweet syrup. After only three bites, Caitlyn was full, but there was no way she was going to let something that delicious go to waste.

“How far is it from Houston to Beaumont?” Kellen asked.

“That’s a weird question,” Owen said.

“Less than two hours,” Caitlyn said, “depending on traffic.”

“Why do you care?” Owen asked.

“I was thinking of spending tomorrow night in Galveston and meeting up with the rest of you in Beaumont later.”

“If you take the ferry from Galveston Island to Bolivar Peninsula, you can miss the Houston traffic,” Caitlyn said.

“Thanks for the tip.”

Owen shifted uneasily. “Don’t go. It never makes you feel better.”

Kellen shrugged. “I don’t go there looking to feel better. I just like the ocean.”

Caitlyn was missing something, but she didn’t want to pry. Kellen’s trip to Galveston probably had something to do with the lover Kellen had lost. Everything that caused tension between the two men seemed to have something to do with her.

Both men stared at the table in silence for several long, uncomfortable minutes. Caitlyn tried to think of something that would lighten the mood again.

“So you’re in Owen’s band too, right?” she finally asked.

“Owen’s band?” Kellen lifted an eyebrow at his friend. “Did he tell you it was his band?”

“Where would the band be without me?” Owen said.

“Bassists are a dime a dozen.”

Ouch! Caitlyn glanced at Owen, expecting him to look hurt or offended. He was grinning.

“You’re over-paying, Kelly. I can easily get you a dozen bassists for a nickel.”

“Bargain basement bassist.”

“What instrument do you play?” Caitlyn asked Kellen. And because she’d learned her lesson with Owen, she added, “Or are you the singer?”

“I play guitar,” Kellen said, still not out of his funk.

“You’re so matter-of-fact about it.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Kellen said. “It’s a fact.”

“It seems so foreign to someone like me, that you can make a living playing music.”

“Do you work?” Kellen asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “Too much. But I’m doing what I love, so I don’t mind the long hours.”

“She has her own company,” Owen said. “She’s the boss.”

He sounded proud of her.

She snorted on a laugh. “Yep, I’m the boss.”

“What kind of company?” Kellen asked, sipping from his water as he waited for Owen to finish his sandwich.

“Alternative fuel sources. We started with solar panels and wind turbines, but recently started branching out into fuel cells. R and D is finally over, next is production and marketing. My two business partners are in charge of that stuff. I’m the main geek of the triad. So things have slowed down a bit for me while I wait for the next big idea to smack me upside the head. You can have a very fulfilling career discovering new technologies, but it sure won’t make you rich. It’s a good thing I have Peter and Lillian to find my markets.”

Owen paused with his nearly finished sandwich halfway to his mouth. “So you’re not only brilliant, good in bed, and hot, you’re also rich?”

She flushed. “I’m sure I’m not as rich as you are.”

“Your husband must be a complete tool,” Owen said.

“You’re married?” Kellen asked, looking scandalized for the first time that night.

“Divorced.”

“Her husband—”

“Ex-husband,” Caitlyn interrupted.

“Her ex-husband cheated on her.”

“Maybe he was lonely,” Kellen said.

“Kelly,” Owen admonished.

“I’m sure he was,” Caitlyn said. “I’ve been working eighty-hour weeks for several years now. Sometimes we didn’t see each other for days.”

“He could have made an effort,” Owen said.

She leaned against him and squeezed his arm. “Then I wouldn’t have had a reason to hook up with you.”

“Thank God he’s a thoughtless idiot.”

She smiled and couldn’t resist stealing a kiss. His lips tasted salty. They went well with the sweetness still on her tongue. When he licked her upper lip slowly, she moaned and curled her fingers into his shirt to tug him closer.

Kellen cleared his throat uncomfortably. She could have sworn he grunted, “P-D-A.”

Caitlyn drew away regretfully. “We need to get to the hotel,” she said.

Owen tossed the rest of his sandwich on his plate and signaled the waitress for their check.

The car was waiting for them when they left the diner. Kellen made Owen check the back seat for stowaways before he agreed to get in. Caitlyn did nothing to hide her laughter.

“Geez, Kelly, those girls weren’t that bad.”

Caitlyn and Kellen exchanged a look of agreement. Those girls had been pretty bad. Caitlyn wondered if Owen and Kellen had to deal with women like that on a regular basis. She supposed some guys would like that kind of girl; she suspected Owen might be one of them. If she hadn’t been with him, she wondered if he would have gone off to join their party.

This time when they sat in the back of the limo, Kellen made sure to sit between them. “I’m in no mood to watch you two make out,” he explained. “You can attack each other back at the hotel.”

“Whose fault is it that you’re in such a mood?” Owen said. “It’s not our fault you didn’t get laid. Again.”

“I’m sure you could have picked up someone at the club,” Caitlyn said.

Kellen ran a finger under his wrist cuff. “I went in there knowing I wasn’t going to participate.”

“So why do you go to sex clubs if you aren't planning to have sex?” Caitlyn asked. Seemed like a strange place to hang out just for the hell of it.

Kellen stared at her for a solid minute before answering. He had the most hypnotizing eyes she'd ever encountered.

“Because Owen needed someone to accompany him.”

“Whatever, dude,” Owen said. “You don't have to torture yourself for my benefit.”

“Next time you can go alone.”

Owen shifted in his seat. “Yeah, fine, whatever. You’re a drag anyway.” When Kellen didn’t respond to his insult, Owen said, “Gabe will go with me.”

“Gabe has a relationship thing he’s trying right now. He won't go with you.”

“Then Shade…” Owen scowled. “Why did he have to hook up with Amanda anyway?”

“You really wouldn't go by yourself?” Caitlyn asked.

“I could,” Owen said. “But then I wouldn't be able to prove that I scored the hottest woman in the place.”

She chuckled. “You have a competitive streak unlike any I've ever encountered. Why do you care who knows who hooks up with you?”

Owen's smile faded, and he stared at his knees. After a moment, he shrugged. “No reason.”

There had to be a reason. Maybe he didn't want Kellen to know. Or more likely, maybe he didn't want her to know.

“You might as well tell her,” Kellen said. “Why you are the way you are.”

“What way am I, Kelly? You're twice as fucked up as I am.”

“I'm not going to argue that point.”

“You can tell me,” Caitlyn said. “If you want to.”

Owen glanced at her. “I had hoped that we could hook up again at the hotel.”

“Yeah, me too,” she said, still not accustomed to his bluntness.

“He's afraid you'll tell him to take a hike, because he still doesn't get that he's not the same man he used to be on the outside, though he's always been a bit strange on the inside.”

“Don’t tell her, Kelly.”

“You’re the one who brought her out of the club. That means you’re interested in her, right?”

“Maybe, but don’t tell her.”

“Why? Are you afraid she’s as shallow as you are?”

Owen shoved him. “I’m not shallow.”

“You sure pretend to be,” Kellen said. He caught Owen’s wrist just before it connected with his shoulder. “He used to be fat,” Kellen said to Caitlyn.

“I told you not to tell her.”

“In high school they called him Piggie.”

Owen flushed such a bright scarlet, the color was noticeable even in the dim interior of the limo. “You fucking asshole, why’d you tell her?”

Kellen didn’t try to block Owen’s next blow. Maybe because he felt he deserved it.

“That’s cruel,” Caitlyn said. She grabbed Owen’s hand before he used it to punch Kellen again. Kellen pushed back against the seat, looking decidedly uncomfortable to be wedged between them. “Is that why you keep telling me I'm beautiful? Because no one ever made you feel that way?”

Owen scowled. “How the fuck should I know? I just like to make people happy.”

“What about making yourself happy, Owen?” Caitlyn asked. He’d had her fooled into thinking all was right in his world, but now she wasn’t so sure. “Are you happy?”

“Yeah, I have glitter shooting out of my ass, I'm so fucking happy,” he yelled.

“I'm sorry,” Kellen said, “You’re right. I shouldn't have told her.”

“Thank God you did so I can dump him before I start to like him too much,” Caitlyn said. “I would never be interested in a guy who was called Piggie in high school due to a weight problem.” She was joking, but Owen didn't laugh. He seemed to expect her rejection.

“Should we take you back to your friend’s house then?” Owen asked quietly.

Kellen huffed out a breath and shook his head. “Still clueless. She’s kidding, fucktard.”

“Shut up,” Owen said, but some of the tension had eased from his body, and he glanced at her from under his lashes.

This really was his issue. Kellen understood his friend well. So why had he felt the need to share something so personal about Owen? She was missing something here. Something major. Either Kellen was trying to scare her away—which didn’t seem likely—or entice her into staying so he didn’t have to accompany Owen to sex clubs any more. Of course it was possible he had no motivation at all and was just striking up conversation, but she took Kellen for the kind of person who calculated his every move. Why had Kellen risked Owen’s obvious animosity by sharing something that personal about Owen’s past?

At least she understood why Owen was so adamant about making her feel beautiful and why he was so nice to everyone even though he was easily the best-looking man she'd met in person. Though he had to own a mirror, he didn't see himself as mind-bogglingly gorgeous. Did he go to sex clubs because he thought he required a sure bet? She was just speculating, of course, because she didn't live in his skin. She didn't know what the world looked like through his eyes. But she wanted to. She wanted him to feel as good about himself as he made her feel about herself. And lord she was thankful that he was as attractive on the inside as he was on the outside. His personality sparkled even more than the twinkle in his pretty blue eyes.

“I don't want to go back to Jenna's house,” Caitlyn said. “I do wish I'd met you somewhere other than a sex club. I guess I should be glad I met someone like you at all.”

“Someone like me? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Guys like you don't usually talk to girls like me. Girls like me don't get invited to prom. Guys don’t make fools of themselves for girls like me. Girls like me are ignored. Invisible. But I'm not a girl anymore. I'm a woman. Thanks for reminding me.”

“You are definitely a woman. I like women so much more than I like girls.”

“Uhhh…” Caitlyn wasn’t sure what he meant by that.

“He prefers older women,” Kellen said. “When he first saw you in the club, I thought he was going to eject himself out of his pants and directly onto your lap.”

Caitlyn laughed. “Well, that definitely would have gotten my attention, but I doubt my reaction would have been positive.” She wished Kellen wasn’t sitting between them, because she suddenly wanted to draw Owen into her arms. “So I take it you were hurt by a younger woman.”

“Young women, but they were the same age as I was.”

Kellen released a deep sigh. “Most of it happened in high school and the year following graduation. This really hot girl broke his heart. He asked her out and she agreed. When she stood him up, her excuse was that she liked him as a friend.”

“They all liked me as a friend.”

“What's wrong with that?” Caitlyn asked.

“I didn't want her to like me as a friend. I wanted her to like me as a man. And so after high school, I lost a lot of weight. Got in good shape.”

“I'll say,” Caitlyn said appreciatively.

“And then he became a man whore,” Kellen said with a laugh.

“I'm not a man whore. I don't get paid. Even though Caitlyn seems to think I'd be good at it,” he said under his breath.

“You know I was kidding, right?” she said. “I value you as a person, not just for the hot body under those clothes.”

“It's okay, Caitlyn. He likes to be treated like a piece of meat,” Kellen said. “That's why I'm so surprised he invited you out after getting what he wanted. It’s not his usual pattern. He won’t let anyone get close because he’s so afraid of getting hurt.”

“I figured everyone else is breaking the band's no-relationships-while-we're-on-tour rule, so I might as well give it a shot. And I’m not afraid of getting hurt.”

“You are,” Kellen insisted.

Caitlyn's head was swimming. “Relationship?”

“Are you against that?” Owen asked.

“I don’t think I'm ready for a relationship. The ink is barely dry on my divorce papers.”

Owen laughed. “Good, because as soon as I said it, I got cold feet.”

“So what ever happened to that girl in high school?” Caitlyn said.

Kellen rolled his eyes. “You wouldn't believe it if he told you.”

“Try me.”

“I went out with several of her friends,” Owen said, “slept with them all and made sure I got the job done properly. And then when the girl who broke my heart asked me out, I turned her down. I said I only liked her as a friend.”

“Sweet revenge?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I regret it now. It was an asshole move. The stupid things kids do.”

“Twenty-year-old kids,” Kellen said.

“Yeah, well, I'm immature. Get over it.”

“So now you prowl sex clubs,” Caitlyn said. “What are you looking for, Owen?”

“Nothing but a good time.”

“He's still afraid to open up, so he seeks connections that aren't real,” Kellen said. “He was hurt too many times when he was young. Becca was the first who ripped his heart out, but she wasn’t the last.”

“Yeah, see, I learned my lesson. It's better this way, isn't it? Avoid heartache, but still get your rocks off?”

Kellen touched his wristband and shook his head. “No.”

Owen watched him for a moment and then turned his attention to Caitlyn. “So does it bother you? Knowing I used to be someone you wouldn't have even considered sleeping with?”

“How do you know that? Not everyone is superficial. Though I must admit that I was first attracted to you because you're so easy on the eyes and I thought having you would make my ex-husband seethe with envy.”

“Shit,” Owen said. “You want him back, don’t you?”

“What? Of course not. Why would you think that?”

“Why else would you want to make him jealous?”

Caitlyn absorbed his words. Why did she want to make Charles jealous? It wasn’t because she wanted him back. Maybe she wanted the life they’d once had, but after his betrayal of her trust, even if they’d made amends, their relationship would have never been the same.

“At first I thought I did, but I don’t love him anymore. Not the way I once did. And I wasn’t trying to make him jealous. I wanted him to see that the guy I was banging was better looking than his nineteen-year-old co-ed. Save face, you know?”

Owen laughed. “Well I don't mind being your trophy lover, baby.”

Kellen groaned and sighed, sounding exasperated. “Bullshit, Owen. Will you just stop? Stop acting like this is all a game. Stop pretending you ooze self-confidence. Just stop. She knows, okay? You can drop the pretense and just be yourself, not the guy you present to women, to strangers, to get laid. Be the guy who still sees a miserable fat kid when he looks in the mirror.” Kellen whacked him on the side of the head for good measure. “Be yourself. The person I’m lucky enough to know. She deserves to get to know him too.”

Owen crossed his arms over his chest and glanced at the window. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

“Of course not.” The car pulled to a stop. Both men silently fumed while they waited for the driver to open the door.

“She’s not the kind of woman who would hurt you for being who you really are,” Kellen said. “She might even love you for it. I’m sick of you always shortchanging yourself and thinking it’s for the best. If I have to look at you for another minute, I’m going to strangle the life out of you.”

Apparently too annoyed to wait for the driver, Kellen flung the door open and climbed out of the car. Caitlyn and Owen sat there in uncomfortable silence, avoiding each other’s gazes.

Had Kellen really just said she might love Owen? And how could Caitlyn possibly hurt a guy she’d only known for a few hours? She glanced at Owen and caught the flash of panic in his eyes. Way to turn an evening of fun into something awkward and frightening, Mr. Kellen Whatever-Your-Last-Name-Is Guitarist Guy.

“I think he’s a little freaked out because I brought you home,” Owen said.

“Oh, is that all?”

Owen shook his head. “Don’t worry about what he said. I just want to enjoy your company for the evening. I’m not going to let you hurt my feelings. I’m not as sensitive as I used to be.”

She wasn’t buying his denial for a minute, but she had no intention of hurting his feelings. So what if he was sensitive? She liked that about him. She scooted up against him and slid a hand over his hard-muscled thigh. He flexed beneath her palm. At least she understood why he did that now. He was still self-conscious about his body.

“Are we allowed to make out in the back of the limo now that Kellen is gone?” she asked.

“I’d say yes,” he said with a grin.

His lips had barely brushed hers when her cellphone began to bleat in her purse.

“Who’s calling you at two in the morning?” he murmured against her lips.

Caitlyn didn’t know who’d call her this late, but it had better be an emergency. She finally had Owen alone again, and she wanted to exploit every second they had together. She fished her phone out of her handbag and saw Jenna’s name on the caller ID.

“Hey, Jenna,” Caitlyn said as she answered the phone. “What’s up?”

“Where are you? You were supposed to call me to pick you up and the club is closed now. I’ve been worried sick.”

“I’m fine. I decided to leave with someone.”

Owen lifted her hand and kissed her fingertips one at a time. Her belly began to quiver on cue.

“You met someone?” Jenna asked. “Is he nice?”

“Naughty and nice.”

Owen apparently liked that description. He was grinning ear to ear.

“So I won’t be home tonight,” she told Jenna.

Owen made a victory fist and Caitlyn smiled at him. She liked the feeling she got when she made him happy.

“Tell me all about him,” Jenna insisted.

“I will when I see you tomorrow,” Caitlyn said. “We were about to get busy when you so rudely interrupted.”

Jenna laughed. “About time you had some fun.”

“How irresponsible of me. But don’t worry, okay? I’m perfectly fine.”

“Okay.”

“She’s safe with me,” Owen said near the phone. “Well, relatively speaking.”

“Oh,” Jenna said, “he sounds cute.”

“On a scale of one to ten, he’s an eleven.” She winked at Owen. “We’ll talk later.”

“Okay, have a good time. Just be careful.”

“Did you forget that you’re talking to Ms. Responsibility?” Caitlyn said.

Jenna laughed. “Yeah, for a second I did forget.”

Caitlyn ended the call and tucked her phone back into her purse.

“Who was that?” Owen asked. “Or is that not any of my business?”

“That was my friend Jenna. I was supposed to call her for a ride. She was worried.”

“I thought maybe it was your ex-husband. He heard you were getting it on with an eleven in the back of a limo and decided he wanted you back.”

“Screw him,” Caitlyn said and wrapped her arms around Owen’s neck.

“No, screw me.”

“An even better idea.”

Chapter Seven

Owen held Caitlyn's hand as they rode the elevator to the top floor. Kelly hadn’t stuck around after he’d left the limo. Owen didn’t like that they’d ended the evening with harsh words, but he never liked to be in disagreement with Kelly because if Kelly had a beef with something, there was usually a good reason.

Still, Owen wasn’t sure why Kelly was so interested in his love life all of a sudden. It had never bothered him that Owen kept all interactions with women on a cursory level. He wasn’t sure what was going on in Kelly’s head, but it was a relief that Caitlyn knew the thing Owen hated most about himself and it hadn’t turned her away.

Caitlyn covered her mouth and stifled a yawn. Owen wondered if they'd put some sort of sleeping powder in the cheesecake. Or maybe she wasn’t used to being up so late.

“Are you tired?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Don’t think I’m going to let you sleep when we get to my room.”

“I’m sure you’ll find a way to keep me awake,” she said with a smile.

He loved her smile. It made her inquisitive brown eyes crinkle at the corners.

“That sounds like a challenge.”

When the elevator stopped, Owen placed a hand on Caitlyn's lower back and directed her toward his room. He remembered a time when all five members of the band had to share one seedy hotel room. It had been years ago, but they'd been closer then somehow. Of course it was hard not to be close when five guys shared one bathroom, one bottle of whiskey, and a few groupies between them.

Owen opened the door and Caitlyn entered his hotel room without hesitation. She was already comfortable in his presence, trusted him. He wondered how far he could take her tonight. Wondered if she'd stick around after the concert the next night and get to know him even better.

Standing behind her, Owen wrapped his arms around her and unbuttoned the three leather-covered buttons of her tweed jacket. He pulled the garment free and tossed it onto the sofa in the seating area just inside the door.

“Do you always wear suit jackets in the summer?” he asked before planting a gentle kiss on the side of her neck.

“I’m usually indoors, so yeah. Otherwise, I freeze in the AC.”

He didn’t plan on letting her freeze tonight.

She dropped her head to the side, allowing him to explore the silky flesh of her throat with his lips.

“Owen?” His name was like a soft caress on her lips.

“Yes?”

“I feel like I've known you for a long time. Has it really only been a few hours?”

“I know what you mean.” He worked at the knot of fabric at her throat, wanting to sample more of her flesh. “Tell me about your business.”

She hesitated and then lifted her hands to help him untie the bow at her neck. “Now? But what I do isn’t sexy. I want to feel sexy when I’m with you.”

He kissed her ear and lowered his hands to cup her breasts. He squeezed gently. “I always think you're sexy,” he promised. “Especially when you’re telling me about yourself.”

“Like I said, we work on alternative forms of energy. I know it’s hard to believe, but I’m sort of a geek.” She giggled.

“Are you sharing something you thought I didn’t already know?”

She slapped his thigh. “You think I'm a geek?”

“I know you're a geek. I think it's sexy.”

She shook her head. “You're a weird guy, Owen Mitchell.”

“Are you complaining that I think you're sexy?” He reached for the top button of her blouse and unfastened it.

“No. I'm not sure I believe you. What can possibly be sexy about a woman who is more interested in the flow of electrons than she is in her hair?”

“I love your hair.” Thick, black, and lustrously wavy.

“That's because I actually combed it today.”

“And I had a great time messing it up.”

He unfastened another button on her blouse and then another. She seemed content to fall silent as he slowly unbuttoned her shirt and tugged it free of her jeans. He tossed it aside on the sofa as well. His hands moved to cup both breasts, and he kissed the side of her neck until some of the tension left her body. He rubbed his thickening cock against her sweet ass in case she didn't trust his words. He'd been with a lot of women, but this one pushed every one of his buttons, and he was ready to launch into orbit.

“Cute bra,” he said, watching over her shoulder as his finger traced the lace that bordered a plaid pattern.

“It doesn't match my panties,” she said. “I figured I should warn you.”

“Warn me?”

“That it doesn't match.”

He chuckled. “Why would I care if your bra matches your panties?”

“That’s not sexy either. I didn't think about dressing appropriately for outside the club. I didn't bring a little black dress on the trip, or anything to wear but my business attire, because I don’t own anything but what I wear to work. I simply don't remember how to be sexy for a man.” She looked at him over her shoulder, her eyebrows furled in a most adorable way. “Or maybe I never knew how.” She ducked her head, and he understood how she was feeling. He never felt confident in his sex appeal either. He was good at pretending, because women responded to a man with self-confidence, even if it was the biggest load of bullshit anyone ever laid on them.

“Caitlyn.”

When she kept her eyes downcast, he circled her body to stand before her. After a moment, he tucked a finger under her chin to force her to look him in the eye. She flushed when their eyes met, but held his gaze.

“What's truly sexy about a woman isn't what she wears. It isn't how much time and attention she spends on her hair. It's not that her bra matches her panties. It's the way she thinks, moves, speaks. That's what's sexy about a woman.”

He could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't buying his lines.

“And why did you pick me at the club?” she asked. “It wasn't because you knew I could think, you had seen how I move, and I hadn't spoken yet.”

“Damn, woman, I'm not used to talking to women as smart as you are. You're supposed to be happy that I want you for more than your fantastic body.”

“But I don't think you're being sincere.”

“Why?”

She shook her head. “I don't know.”

“What do I have to do to prove that I'm sincere? As soon as you stepped out of the dressing room at the club wearing that horrible jacket—”

“See, my jacket is horrible.”

“Let me finish. When I saw you wearing it, I was instantly hard again. I insist that you wear that horrible jacket as much as possible.”

She glanced at the discarded garment on the sofa. “Should I put it back on?”

He chuckled. “No. I like when you wear it in public, not when you’re alone with me. What's so hot about it is that it completely conceals what's beneath. Yet I know what's there. Those guys looking for a woman in a short skirt and tight sweater, they're not giving you a second glance because they're too blind to see how smoking hot you are. I mean look at yourself, Caitlyn. You're a ten.” His gaze traveled down her body, and he made a sound of desperation. “An eleven.”

“Takes one to know one.” She chuckled. “Though I think you're overstating your interest.”

He shook his head at her. Words didn't seem to work with the woman—she'd apparently been lied to one too many times—so maybe actions would do the trick. She squeaked in surprise when he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up over his shoulder. He took several long strides toward the bed and tossed her on the mattress.

“Show me that you want me,” she said, her eyes riveted to his crotch.

“If I let it loose, I'm going to have to fuck you with it.” He ran his hand over the hard ridge in his pants and sucked a pained breath through his teeth. “And I haven't tasted you yet.”

He reached for the button of her jeans and unfastened it. He couldn't wait to see her naked again. To smell her. Taste her. Touch her. He unzipped her pants and then tugged them down her legs. Her sensible loafers caught in her pant legs and joined her pants on the floor.

He stopped to check her out. When she'd said her panties didn't match her bra, she hadn't been joking. Her bra was black with plaid sections at the bottom of each cup. Her panties were a lurid fuchsia and decorated with a fluffy sheep. He smiled, but didn't laugh. He doubted a man had ever seen her wear that sheep, and maybe she didn't believe the privilege of being with her turned him on, but his twitching cock demanded to be pressed against those sweet panties.

“Owen?”

He unfastened his slacks and tugged his cock free. He ran his hand down its rigid length, pausing when his thumb pressed against his piercing. He rubbed the hard ball against the rim of his cock head, twitching as the pleasure registered.

“I want to come all over your sweet, little panties, Caitlyn,” Owen said. “I want to make them dirty. I want to make you dirty.”

“Yes, Owen,” she whispered. “Make me dirty.”

He leaned over her, supporting his body weight with one hand on the mattress beside her. He used his other hand to rub himself against those ridiculous panties that had him all worked up.

“Your clothes need to go,” she said. “I want to look at you.”

When he didn’t comply with her wishes immediately, she reached up and unbuttoned his shirt, shoving the fabric from his shoulders and caressing his chest with both palms.

“Every inch of you is perfect,” she whispered, and then she looked down to where he was introducing his cock to her sheep—well, the one on her underwear. Her fingertip brushed his cock head, and ripples of pleasure coursed down his length and settled at the base of his spine. “Especially this inch.”

“Inch?” he said defensively.

“Oh baby, your entire cock is massive and gorgeous, but that last inch, with this little treasure?” She flicked one end of his barbell stud. “That’s the best inch of all.”

He chuckled. She’d become enamored of his modification quickly, and it didn’t seem to bother her at all. Owen did enjoy turning a good girl bad.

“On second thought, I’d rather get those pretty, pink panties dirty with your cum instead of mine,” he said.

“Huh?”

He dropped to his knees on the floor, grabbed her by the hips and pulled her pussy to his face. He used his lips, tongue, and teeth to work her lips and clit through her panties. The taste of cotton overpowered her sweetness, but he’d be damned if the smell of her excitement seeping through wasn’t completely worth the unusual mix of flavors.

“Owen!” she gasped. Her fingers twined in his hair, and she pulled him against her. “Yes, yes,” she crooned as she approached her peak.

Her panties were completely drenched within seconds. Some was the moisture from his mouth, but most was her juices. He used his tongue to press the fabric against her opening.

“Oh God, take them off me,” she gasped, still clinging to his hair. “I can’t stand it.”

“Can’t stand what?” he asked. He shifted to caress her clit with his lips, massaging the swollen bit of flesh through cotton.

“I’m going to come. Owen. I’m…” She sucked in a ragged breath when he began to gently scrape the edge of his teeth against one swollen lip. “Wait! I didn’t. So close…”

He smiled and blew a hot breath through her panties.

“Whoa. That’s… That’s…”

He loved that she was incoherent. There was something about blowing a smart girl’s mind that totally rocked his world.

“Do you want me to take these off now?” He ran a finger under the elastic at her inner thigh and dragged it through the slick heat that promised him heaven.

“Yes,” she whispered. “I want your tongue against my bare skin.”

His cock jumped in response to her words, but he played it cool. “I don’t think they’re wet enough yet.”

“I don’t think they could possibly get any wetter.”

He planned to prove her wrong. He shifted closer, so that his cock was lodged firmly in her cleft, and moved his hands to her breasts. She reached behind her back and unfastened her bra, yanking the garment from her body and tossing it to the floor.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her luscious breasts. He loved the contrast of his tanned hands against the soft white globes of flesh cupped in them. Liked the way her nipples pebbled into hard buds against his thumbs as he caressed the tips of her breasts in repetitive circles. He began to churn his hips in time with his thumbs, rubbing his engorged cock against her.

“Oh!” she gasped when he managed to work her clit just right.

Staring in her glazed eyes, he massaged her breasts, stroked her nipples, and rubbed his cock against her swollen heat until her mouth fell open and her body convulsed with pleasure.

“Are you coming, Caitlyn?” he murmured.

“Oh God, I need you inside me,” she said, her hands gripping his forearms and pulling at him. “Put it inside.”

“Are you coming?”

“I was, but… I fought it back.”

“Why?”

She shook her head. “Inside me, Owen, please.”

He rather liked the feel of her wet panties against his bare cock, but he shifted away and reached for his pants to don a condom. It would be nice to be in a monogamous relationship so he could experience sex raw on occasion.

Condom in place, he returned to his previous position between Caitlyn’s thighs. Breathless, she reached between her legs and slid her panties to one side. She sat upright on the edge of the bed, took his cock in both hands and rubbed the head against her opening.

“Oh, yes,” she said. “I want it.”

“Take what you want,” he said, claiming her mouth in a deep kiss.

She rubbed his cock head against her clit, using the ball in his piercing to stimulate herself. It felt amazing for him as well. Not quite as wonderful as being buried balls deep within her heat, but he liked her sense of urgency and his sense of calm as she rubbed him against her clit faster and faster.

“Yes, oh,” she gasped and pressed him into her opening as she shuddered with release. Her pussy clenched rhythmically around his cock head and he grabbed her ass so he could force himself deeper. He fucked her shallow and fast until her orgasm subsided and then pulled out. Her body went limp, and she gazed at him through half-closed eyes. “That felt amazing.”

He slipped her panties back in place and caressed her through them. “I’d say they’re wet enough now.”

She chuckled and lifted her butt off the mattress so he could remove the garment.

“Are you too tired to be on top?” he asked her.

“I’m too tired to move,” she said in a slurred tone.

“Then I probably shouldn’t have held back that time.”

“This is why you need to focus your attention on someone young and active, who’s addicted to energy drinks”

“I feel like taking it slow now anyway,” he said. “You look sleepy.” He was being kind; she looked exhausted.

He pulled back the covers and joined her on the bed. “I hope you don’t mind if I have my way with you while you sleep,” he said.

He rolled on top of her, and she feebly wrapped her arms around him. “I won’t fall asleep,” she promised.

He kissed her skin tenderly, starting with her throat and working his way down her limp body. She sighed in sweet surrender. He liked that her urgency was gone and he could take his time with her, spend some quiet moments learning her body. He also liked when she got excited and demanding, so he hoped the calm that had settled over her was due to lack of energy and not waning interest.

He kissed her belly until she giggled, licked her pussy until she moaned, and then allowed himself to possess her. His thrusts were so slow, at times he wasn’t moving at all. He relished the feel of her beneath him and around him. Allowed himself to experience her with more than his skin. It was probably a good thing that she was half asleep so she didn’t recognize the emotions threatening to overwhelm him. Yeah, hard, quick fucks were much better for keeping those tender feelings at bay. Maybe this languid lovemaking was a mistake, but for tonight, he’d give in to the craving for a personal connection.

When urgency began to build in his groin, he hastened his strokes, deepened them. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, holding him close as he moaned in her ear and tried not to suffocate on the heart trying to force its way up his throat. Did she have any idea how affected he was by her? Did she want to know? It was too soon, he decided. He buried his face in her neck, churning his hips, wanting to be deeper, deeper inside her, so deep that he couldn’t find himself as a separate entity from her. He’d been denying his need for this for far too long. He wasn’t sure why he’d finally let go of his false desire for autonomy while in the arms of a woman, but letting her close felt so good. She would undoubtedly freak out if she knew what he was thinking. He groaned as his release finally found him, surprised when she came with him. Her fingertips dug into his back—not harshly as he’d asked of her earlier, but as if she were afraid of going under and he was the only thing she trusted to keep her head above water.

When his breath had calmed and his cock had softened, he lifted his head. She smiled drowsily.

“That was beautiful,” she whispered.

He kissed her gently. “You’re beautiful.”

Reluctantly, he pulled free of her body. She winced. He probably should have removed his jewelry—she’d be sore in the morning. Hell, she was already sore, he could tell. He disposed of the spent condom and brought her a moist washcloth so she could clean up a bit and sleep more comfortably.

“Thank you,” she said, a beguiling blush staining her cheeks.

When she’d settled into her pillow, he switched off the light and climbed into bed beside her. He lay in the darkness wondering if she’d think him strange for wanting to snuggle up against her while he slept. It had been so long since he’d used a bed for sleeping with a woman that he felt uncertain. He knew what he wanted to do—he wanted to hold her close all night—but he wasn’t sure if she’d appreciate that level of intimacy.

He tensed when she rolled over, rested her head on his chest, and wrapped an arm around his waist. Then he smiled, breathed in the scent of her hair, and allowed himself to hold her close as he drifted to sleep.

Chapter Eight

The knock at the hotel door pulled Caitlyn from a deep sleep. She blinked several times and rubbed her eyes, surprised by the brightness in the room. The door opened, a set of squeaky wheels approached, and the door shut again. She smelled soap—as if someone had recently showered—and a moment later, bacon.

“This will do nicely,” Owen said.

Caitlyn’s eyes flew open, and she grabbed for the sheet which she found tucked securely around her nude body.

“Thank you, sir,” and unfamiliar voice said. “If you need anything else, be sure to let us know.”

Caitlyn peered over a pillow to watch a server leave the room. Her eyes then landed on Owen, who was dipping his pinkie in pancake syrup and sampling it on his tongue.

“Sorry to wake you,” he said, “but I was starving.” He looked over at her and offered her a smile. “Good morning, beautiful.”

“Good morning,” she croaked and then cleared her throat. “Good morning,” she said again. Wow, he looked good in the early morning light. His damp hair was scattered in disarray, and he’d had the decency to leave his shirt off after his shower, thank you, God.

So last night had really happened? Holy smokes, she’d bedded a hottie. More than once. She couldn’t help but flush and stare at him in complete awe and flush some more.

“Are you hungry?” he asked. “There’s enough here for two. Or five.”

“Um, yeah, I guess so.” She attempted to sit up, and her muscles protested every motion.

Owen grinned knowingly. “Stay there. I’ll bring it to you.”

“I’ve never had breakfast in bed,” she said.

“Never?”

She shook her head and watched him wheel the cart around the bed.

“No romantic breakfasts on your anniversary?”

“My ex-husband wasn’t the romantic type.”

“That’s too bad. Your mother didn’t feed you in bed when you were sick?”

“My mother isn’t really the nurturing kind. Did you get breakfast in bed when you were sick?”

“Yep. My mom is so nurturing it borders on smothering.”

“What’s her name?”

“Joan,” he said. “But I call her Mom for short. She’s an amazing woman.”

Caitlyn smiled and tilted her head. “Are you a mama’s boy, Owen Mitchell?”

His blue eyes met hers, and he grinned. “I can’t deny it. She requires it. My brother’s a mama’s boy too and he’s a bad-ass Marine, so don’t think I’m the only one.”

“You have a brother?”

“He’s currently stationed in Afghanistan. His name is Chad.” Owen glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “He should be calling soon, actually. It’s a call I can’t miss, so you’ll have to excuse me when I take it.”

“Of course,” she said. She wanted to ask about his brother, but wasn’t sure if talking about him would upset Owen. With Chad being stationed in a war zone, Owen must be constantly worried.

“So which part of my breakfast would you like?” he asked, nodding at the collection of plates and bowls on the cart.

“You ordered all of that for you?” There was more than enough for half a football team.

“Hey, I like to eat. That’s why I had to spend so much time at the gym this morning.”

He’d already been to the gym? Was the sun even up yet? She searched the bedside table for a clock.

“Wait?” she said. “What time is it?”

“Almost noon.”

Heat flooded her face. He really had worn her out.

“I got enough food for both of us. I never planned on eating everything. Tasting everything, yes, so whatever you pick, you have to share a little.”

“Let’s just share it all,” she suggested.

“Now, that’s a plan.” He pushed the cart up against the edge of the bed and sat on the mattress near her feet.

She scooted into a sitting position, wincing as the tenderness between her thighs registered. Holy mother of too much sex in one night. She wasn’t sure if her body would ever be the same.

“It’s the piercing,” he said. “I knew I should have taken it out that last time.”

“Worth it,” she said breathlessly. “Totally worth it.”

“After you finish your breakfast in bed, I’ll kiss it and make it better.”

She gaped at him. It was one thing for him to say things like that to her at night when she was delirious with lust, but here in the light of day? She wasn’t sure if she could handle such naughty suggestions.

He chuckled. “You look scandalized, baby.”

She closed her mouth and ducked her head. “I think I came to my senses while I was asleep.”

“Well, we can’t have that now, can we? Coming to your senses is one kind of coming I don’t want you to experience while you’re with me.”

At a complete loss for words, she bit her lip to stifle a nervous giggle. After the intimacy they’d shared the night before, she was surprised she felt shy in his presence.

“You aren’t the only who will be walking funny today,” he said.

Her gaze darted to his ass. “Are you sore back there?”

He chuckled. “Nah. You took it real easy on me. I’m just trying to make you blush some more.”

Owen selected a strawberry from a bowl of fresh fruit and crawled up her body until their noses were inches apart.

“Taste,” he said, and he rubbed the strawberry over her lower lip. Her mouth watered, but she was pretty sure it was from being so close to him, not the anticipation of food.

Caitlyn bit into the fruit and got lost in his eyes. Such blue, blue eyes. The dark rims around the irises made them look even more striking. She chewed slowly, her pulse thrumming in her throat. She swallowed, still unable to pull her gaze from his.

“Taste,” he said, and leaned forward to kiss her.

His mouth tasted minty. Caitlyn’s practical sense abandoned her once again as he deepened the kiss and reminded her why she’d not only had sex with him, but spent the entire night pressed against his hard, warm body. He drew away slightly, and her eyelids fluttered open. Transfixed, she gazed into his eyes.

“Do you have a preference?” he asked.

“Huh?”

“In taste?”

“Oh.” Her face grew warm again. “It seems I’ve lost my senses again.”

“Good.” He fed her another bite of strawberry.

“And since you asked,” she said around the piece of fruit in her mouth, “I much prefer your taste.”

He reached for the food cart again and flicked something just under her nose. “Even more than bacon?”

She laughed and bit into the piece of crisp bacon. “Is there anything that tastes better than bacon?” she said with her mouth full. Her self-consciousness waned a bit with each passing moment. He had an uncanny ability to drive her to distraction in one breath and soothe her in the next.

He took a bite of bacon and winked at her. “I’m sure there’s something in this bed that’s more appetizing, but bacon hits the spot at the moment.”

He fed her samples of everything he’d ordered from the menu—which appeared to be every item they offered—and he tasted each as well.

“So you have a brother,” she said, deciding he might be more open to prying questions on a full stomach. “Do you have other siblings?”

He shook his head. “Nope, just the one brother. I have dozens of cousins though. What about you? Do you have siblings?”

A familiar knot formed in her throat. The problem with asking him prying questions was that he was likely to reciprocate. “I had a sister. She died in an accident.”

“Oh,” he said flatly. “Sorry. Were you close?”

“Not really,” she admitted. “I’m not sure if that makes it easier or more difficult. I wish I’d spent more time with her.”

“Regrets can eat you alive.”

“Regret. Like your band,” she said. “Why the name Sole Regret?”

“Kelly named the band. There’s always one thing in your life you wish you could undo more than any other. Your sole regret. You know, Kelly is actually a very deep person.”

“You admire him.”

“If you start bringing up that little slip involving his name last night, I’m going to toss you out in the hallway. Naked.”

Little slip? But if he didn’t want to confront his issues with Kellen, she wasn’t going to push him into it. She wasn’t particularly keen on being ousted from Owen’s place of admiration by his friend.

“You wouldn’t dare,” she said.

“You sure about that?”

The ornery twinkle in his eye kicked her heart rate up a notch because she was sure he would dare. Before she could respond, he leapt from the bed and lifted her off the mattress.

“Wait! What are you doing?” she asked as he started to carry her toward the door.

“I never back down from a dare. I probably should have mentioned that before you baited me.”

“Owen, don’t you dare.” She realized she’d used the word again and wrapped her arms around his head. “Owen! Please.”

“Please, what?”

“Please don’t toss me into the hallway naked.”

“What happened to your sense of adventure, Caitlyn?”

“That’s not adventure, that’s horror.”

“Not from my end,” he said. He lowered her to her feet near the door, and she backed up against the cool surface in case he got the bright idea to open it and try to push her through.

His gaze shifted over her body, and she flushed, fighting the urge to cover herself. He really did seem to like what he saw.

“Now that I think about it,” he said, “I wouldn’t want anyone else to see you naked; I’d like to keep this gorgeous view all to myself. I could look at you all day.”

“Likewise.”

A loud song blared from the far side of the room. Owen’s face lit up with a wide smile. “My brother!”

He dashed across the room and reached for his phone. His ring tone was some loud song. Probably a Sole Regret one.

“Chad!” Owen greeted his caller with the biggest grin Caitlyn had ever witnessed. “What’s up, bro?”

Caitlyn shuffled into the bathroom. She could use a potty break and a shower. And she would hate to intrude upon something as sacred as a conversation with his brother. She was, after all, just Owen’s current one-night stand.

Chapter Nine

Owen’s favorite older brother—his only one—smiled a greeting on the phone’s screen. Chad looked a little dirty and a lot weary. Owen would never get used to him with a buzz cut. When he pictured Chad in his head, he was still the seventeen-year-old in his letterman jacket. The same blue eyes, but lots more thick, curly hair.

“Let me guess,” Chad said. “You’re bored, stuck in a cushy hotel room until tonight when you have to put up with thousands of girls—who all think you’re hot for some unfathomable reason—screaming your name at the top of their lungs.”

“Wrong,” Owen said.

“Don’t have a show tonight?”

“We perform in Houston tonight.”

“Hotel not cushy enough?”

“No, it’s one of the cushiest.”

“Then why am I wrong? I know how predictable you are.”

“I’m not bored.”

“Is Kellen there with you?” Chad tilted his head as if he could see more of the room surrounding Owen.

“Nope. I brought a woman home last night. Well, not home exactly. Back to my room. She’s in the shower now.” He could hear the water running.

“You spent the night with a woman? What happened to your lame rule about not sleeping with the women you sleep with?”

“I made a concession for Josie. She’s just so lonely with you overseas.”

Chad’s nostrils flared and his blue eyes narrowed dangerously. “Not funny, assmunch. First, I know Josie would never cheat on me, especially not with a twerp like you. Second, I talked to her ten minutes ago. And third, you can’t keep a straight face when you lie. But I’m still going to hit you really hard the next time I see you, so consider wearing a mouth guard.”

“Any idea when that will be?”

“Can you keep a secret?” he asked.

“Probably not.”

“Well then, I’ll just say sooner than we thought.” Chad smiled.

“How soon?”

“I’m not telling you because you’ll ruin the surprise for everyone.”

“Six weeks?” Owen said hopefully.

“I’m not telling you.”

“I can keep a secret.”

“Yeah, like the time I told you not to tell Josephine Tulane that I had a crush on her.”

“And now she wants to marry you, so that worked out horribly, didn’t it?”

Chad grinned. “I told you because you’re predictable and I knew you couldn’t keep a secret.”

Owen had always wondered if Chad had told him about his feeling for Josie so he would break the ice. Josie had been the new girl in Owen’s senior class and Chad had already graduated, so Mr. Love-at-First-Sight didn’t have the opportunity to interact with Josie much. “You suck.”

“So who’s the woman in your shower?”

“Some hot chick I picked up at a sex club.”

“You’re still going to those things?”

“Maybe I’ll stop. If Caitlyn turns out to be someone special to me.”

“For your sake, I hope she does. Sex with a woman you love is amazing.”

“Better than sex with two women who take turns blowing you?”

Chad closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and laughed. “You’ll have to tell me, little brother. I’ve never had two women take turns blowing me.”

“It pretty much rocks.”

“So are you going to get me a backstage pass to one of your shows when I come home?”

“That depends,” Owen said.

“On what?”

“Our current tour ends in September. Should I reserve a pass for you before then?” Owen hoped his brother would fall for his attempt to milk him for information.

“Yeah, you probably should.”

“A couple of months before then?”

“Probably.”

“Yes! Are you just returning on leave or—”

“Don’t you watch the news? They’re starting to pull troops out of here.”

“No, I don’t watch the news. It’s too depressing.”

“Still living in your insular world. I’d think with as much as you travel around, you’d be a more well-rounded individual.”

“Screw you.”

Chad chuckled.

“I had dinner with Mom and Dad night before last and neither of them said anything about the possibility of you coming home soon.”

“I don’t want anyone to know. I want to show up unannounced and surprise them. So you keep your big mouth shut, got it?”

“Yeah. But I am going to tell Kelly.”

Chad rolled his eyes. “That’s a given. At least he can keep a secret. Unlike you.”

The bathroom door opened and a puff of steam preceded the sexiest woman ever to wear a hotel towel.

“What are you looking at?” Chad asked. “Pick your jaw up off the floor, bro.”

Owen switched cameras to the one on the back of his phone to give Chad a glimpse of what he was looking at and then switched back.

“Well, I see why you’re not bored.” Chad laughed. “I’ve got to go. I’m over my time limit already. Promise you won’t say anything to the folks back home.”

“I promise.”

“Take care of yourself, Owen.”

“Stay safe, Sergeant Mitchell.”

Chad saluted with two fingers. The screen went dark. Damn, those calls always went fast.

Caitlyn crossed the room to sit on the arm of the sofa next to him. She propped one foot on the coffee table, and her towel shifted enough that the delights between her legs were barely concealed.

“Is your brother well?”

Owen grinned. “I’m not supposed to tell anyone, but they’re sending him home soon.” He really couldn’t keep a secret.

“That’s great,” she said. A smile widened across her face and her eyes lit up. “You must be excited. And relieved.”

“I won’t be completely relieved until he’s home safe in his own bed, but yeah, it’s the best news I’ve heard in months.”

“I came out here with the intention of showing you my underdeveloped gag reflex, but I know for sure I can’t top your brother’s good news, so I guess…”

She started to rise from the sofa arm, but he grabbed her and tugged her onto his lap before she could get away.

“How come you haven’t mentioned this limited gag reflex before? And please, God, is it what I think it is?”

She smiled coyly. “A lady can’t reveal all her secrets in a single night.”

“Which is why you’ll be staying with me tonight as well.”

“I will?”

“But just in case I do something to fuck this up before tonight, you’d better show me what you mean.”

“On one condition,” she said.

He was pretty sure that no matter what condition she made, he’d agree to it.

“Name it.”

“Take out the barbell in your piercing. I wouldn’t want it to get stuck in my throat.”

He chuckled. “I don’t think that’ll happen, but if you’re concerned, I’ll take it out.”

She squirmed off his lap, pushed the coffee table away from the sofa, and knelt on the floor before him. Her hands gripped his thighs just above his knees and tugged his legs apart. Then Caitlyn blessed him with the most devious smile he’d ever seen. His heart suddenly thudded a rapid beat Heat and lust flooded his groin. Oh God, he was about to have the treat of his life.

Her hands slid up his thighs to his hips and then moved to unfasten the button of his jeans. She didn’t take her eyes off his while she unbuttoned his pants and slowly lowered the zipper.

He’d gone for a workout in the hotel’s gym while she’d been sleeping that morning, so his muscles were still tight. He appreciated every crunch he’d forced himself to do when her hands slid up his belly, bumping up over the six-pack he worked so hard to maintain. His chest, shoulders, and arms were treated to the same exploratory touch of her warm, soft hands.

“You’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever touched,” she said.

“Thanks,” he said lamely.

“But what is really amazing about you is that your soul is even more beautiful than all these tight muscles and bronze skin.” She grinned. “And that’s saying something.”

She lowered her head and kissed his belly. His muscles clenched involuntarily, and his cock began to rise with interest.

“You’re beau—”

Her hand shot up and covered his mouth. “No talking. It’s your turn to be flattered.”

It made him uncomfortable to accept praise without reciprocating, but he nodded slightly and allowed her to continue.

“Even your belly button is sexy,” she said.

She traced his navel with her tongue and then nipped the skin just beneath. His breath came out in an excited rush.

“I never really liked tattoos until I saw yours.” Her hands slid up his ribs to his chest. She traced the lines of a tattoo. “I would have thought the ink would detract from your gorgeous body, but it actually adds something. They make you even more alluring.” She crawled a bit closer and extended her tongue to lick his nipple.

He sucked a breath through his teeth. His cock throbbed with need.

“Are your nipples sensitive?” she asked, tracing the tiny bud with her tongue.

He nodded slightly. “They’re both pierced, but I can’t stand to wear jewelry in them very often.” He did wish he had his barbells in at the moment, however.

She latched on to his right nipple, alternately sucking and rubbing it with the flat of her tongue. He clung to the sofa cushion beneath him so he didn’t grab her head and direct her to give the same treatment to his fully engorged cock.

When she bit his chest, he gasped in surprise at how sexy he found the act. She moved to his other nipple and looked up at him as she traced it with the tip of her tongue.

“I love touching you,” she whispered. Her hands slid down his torso. “I’m really going to love sucking you. I want to watch you erupt.”

He gaped at her, his breath now coming in excited gasps. Occasionally she said something that he never expected her to say, and he wondered what went on in her head. Were these naughty thoughts of hers infrequent or just infrequently voiced?

“Will you come for me, Owen?” she whispered. “Let me see how much pleasure I give you.”

Hell to the yeah. His mouth had gone dry, so speaking wasn’t an option. He nodded instead.

Caitlyn gripped the top of his jeans and tugged them down his thighs. When he lifted his foot to help her remove them completely, she shook her head.

“I like them around your ankles,” she said.

Fuck, who was he to upset her fantasy? She grabbed his cock in both hands and tilted her head back so he could watch her trace his rim with the tip of her tongue. He was already seeping pre-cum, and she avoided the little bead of moisture glistening at the tip. Did she not like the taste? When her tongue did flick over the opening to collect his small offering, it took every shred of his willpower not to grab the back of her head and shove his cock down her throat. Could she possibly realize how sexy she looked kneeling on the floor between his thighs, her thick lashes fanned over her porcelain-white cheeks as she sampled his cum? He could see his fluids glistening on the tip of her tongue before she flicked it into her mouth and then licked her lips. Lord, he wished he’d been born with more self-discipline. He was seconds from losing all control.

“Caitlyn,” he groaned.

“I do prefer your taste over strawberries,” she said, and she opened her brown eyes to gift him with another look of deviousness.

“Do you want me to take the stud out now?” he asked, because there was nothing he wanted more than to watch Caitlyn’s mouth stretch around his thick shaft.

“I think I can figure it out. I do have master’s degrees in physics and engineering.”

“The balls unscrew,” he said. A little assistance never hurt anyone. Not even a brainiac like Caitlyn.

“So I don’t just yank it out?”

Even though her tone was teasing, Owen flinched. “God, woman. No, you don’t just yank it out.”

“I’d never hurt you,” she said. “Unless you asked me to.”

She bent to suckle the head of his cock. Her tongue flicked over the sensitive skin trapped inside her warm, moist mouth until his back arched involuntarily. She began to bob her head slightly—just enough for her plump lips to bump against one ball of his piercing each time she went down.

“God, you give good head,” he thought. Or maybe he said it. He wasn’t thinking clearly. All he could concentrate on was the pleasure she gave him with her brilliant mouth.

She paused, her tongue flicking the underside of his cock while her fingers unscrewed the ball to remove his barbell. When she pulled the piece of jewelry out of its hole, he almost yelled in triumph. The sound caught in his throat as a moan when she took him deep into her mouth. She pulled back and then took him even deeper. Pulled back and went deeper again. She sucked as her mouth retreated, and he groaned. She let him fall from her mouth, took a deep breath, and descended on him again. This time his cock head lodged in the back of her throat. Dear God, she hadn’t been kidding about her suppressed gag reflex. She grabbed his hips and forced him an inch deeper into her throat. She swallowed, which tightened her throat around him, massaging him in a way he’d never experienced.

“Fuck,” he growled.

His eyes widened when he felt her tongue slide down the last inch of his cock and brush against his balls. Dear God! His head dropped back onto the back of the sofa. It felt amazing. There was no way he could watch her do those things to him without blowing his load. And he wasn’t ready to come yet. He wanted more. He’d like to remain buried in her throat, or sucked by her amazing mouth, for an eternity. Caitlyn pulled back. She licked the head of his cock as she caught her breath and then after a moment, she took him deep again.

“Caitlyn, Caitlyn,” he chanted. Even with his eyes squeezed shut, he wasn’t going to last much longer.

She found a rhythm of suck and swallow as she rose and fell over him. His pleasure quickly built to uncontainable levels.

“Gonna come,” he warned.

She pulled back and wrapped both hands around his shaft, pumping him hard as he came.

“Come hard for me, Owen. I want to watch you explode.”

Her thumbs stroked the ridge on the underside of his cock as she jerked him harder and faster. Harder and faster. Until he didn’t have a choice but to let go.

“Oh God, Caitlyn,” he groaned as hard spasms gripped the base of his cock and his fluids erupted—hot cum splattering over his belly.

He tried to open his eyes, to catch her reaction as he spent himself, but his entire body was locked in the throes of ecstasy, and he’d lost voluntary control of his eyelids.

“That’s what I wanted,” she whispered.

He shuddered as his orgasm subsided, and he panted, floating on pleasure. Eventually he was able to open his eyes again.

“You are the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen when you come,” Caitlyn said. She dipped her fingers into the mess he’d made on his belly. “And you didn’t call someone else’s name that time.”

So that was still on her mind? Hadn’t he proven to her that he was interested in only her?

She lifted her hand to her mouth and licked his cum from her fingertips.

“I think it’s time I make you come so hard you scream my name,” he said. Just as soon as he could find the strength to move.

Chapter Ten

Caitlyn gasped in surprise when Owen moved suddenly. She’d thought he was completely spent, but apparently she’d underestimated his stamina. He yanked her towel free and tossed it aside. He knelt behind her and shoved her face into the sofa cushions before lifting her hips so that she was on her knees in front of him, her ass in the air. She raised her head to look at him, and a smack on her butt cheek caused her to gasp in surprise.

“Keep your face in that cushion,” Owen commanded.

Normally she didn’t like to be told what to do, but she was pretty sure she was going to like what he had in store for her if she obeyed. She dropped her face into the sofa cushion and allowed him to arrange her body as he wanted. He spread her legs a bit more and then drew his fingers through the wetness between her parted pussy lips. Sucking him off had really turned her on. She’d never done that to anyone but Charles, and her ex had never shown his appreciation for her skills the way Owen had. She’d never seen a guy come so much. Just thinking about how his milky fluids had erupted from his body in arching spurts made her twitch her hips to try to alleviate the throbbing between her thighs.

“Your pussy looks incredibly inviting, Caitlyn,” Owen said. “It’s so swollen, I know it’ll grip my cock just right if I slide into you.”

He was staring at it? She flushed and pressed her face more securely into the cushion.

“While I wait for my libido to catch up with my dirty thoughts, I’m going to teach you a lesson.”

“A lesson?” she gasped, her words muffled by the cushion. Was he going to spank her? Yes, please.

“There are three exceptional characteristics that distinguish the fingers of a guitarist,” he said.

She lifted her head to ask what, and he shoved her face back into the cushion.

“Keep your face in that cushion, Caitlyn, and just listen.”

She nodded, rubbing her nose against the thick fabric.

“The first exceptional characteristic is the calluses that develop on their fingertips. They’re thick and a little rough.”

He rubbed his fingertips over her clit, and her body jerked.

“Do you feel them?”

He rubbed her repeatedly and yes, she felt them. They were so much more stimulating than the soft fingers of an academic. She groaned and opened her legs an inch wider, hoping to encourage him to continue.

“The second exceptional characteristic is the speed at which a guitarist can move his fingers.”

The motion of his fingers against her clit became mind-bogglingly swift. Within seconds her pussy clenched and the spasms of a hard orgasm gripped her core. “Oh,” she gasped. “Oh, oh, oh.”

“Oh-wen,” he supplied, still stroking her with maddening speed and precision.

“Owen,” she echoed. “Owen, Owen. What’s the third thing?” The anticipation was killing her.

“I’m glad you asked. A good guitarist often has exceptionally long fingers. It gives him a better range, especially when playing solos.”

He did have long fingers, but did bass guitarists play solos?

Owen slid two fingers of his free hand deep inside her slick, clenching pussy. Her body gripped them tightly, drawing them deeper. And yes, they were long, but not quite as thick as she wanted them to be.

“Oh God,” she sputtered, rocking back to fuck his hand.

Still stroking her clit with one hand, he rotated his fingers inside her, stretching her inner walls in wide circular motions. Pleasure continued to throb through her body even after her orgasm began to fade.

His warm breath teased her back entrance just before he drew his tongue over the tightly clenched hole. Shocked to the depths of her soul, Caitlyn bolted upright.

Owen chuckled. “Too much?” he asked. “Sorry. It just looked so clean and inviting, I felt compelled to lick it.”

“I’ve never,” she gasped.

“Well, maybe you should. And I thought I told you to keep your face in the sofa cushion.”

He removed his hand from her clit and pushed the center of her back until she bent over again. “I do love to scandalize you, baby,” he said. “Now stay where I put you.”

He swatted her ass, and her pussy clenched around the fingers buried deep inside her.

This time when his tongue flicked over her ass, she was expecting it, but that still didn’t prepare her for how intensely erotic she found the light caress. His free hand located her clit again and though she honestly didn’t think it was possible to come more than once in the span of five minutes, Owen had a way of making the impossible inevitable.

She called out to him as her pleasure continued to spiral upward, taking her to heights she never knew existed. Her clit tingled from over-stimulation. Her pussy ached from clenching so hard around his rotating fingers. Her ass twitched in delighted spasms. God, she loved his tongue there. How could she love that? It was so dirty. So perverse. But it felt so fucking good. She wanted him to show her more kinky things. She wanted him to show her all kinky things.

When he backed away, she released a sob that was a mix of relief and remorse. He slowly slipped his fingers free of her body, and damn if she couldn’t hear how sopping wet he’d made her.

His teeth sank into one ass cheek, and she shuddered. She’d never had anyone bite her ass before. It made her feel naughty. Made her think about him borrowing her strap-on and plunging it into her ass while his thick, pierced wonder claimed her greedy pussy. She wanted him to spank her ass raw while he fucked both holes. Maybe he could pull her hair while he was at it. She could feel the heat rise up her neck as the thoughts and images consumed her and made her crave more of the man behind her. Damn, she’d never been this interested in sex before. Not even on her honeymoon. She sure as hell had never craved hot, dirty pain with her pleasure.

“Are you about ready to meet up with the bus?” he asked. “We’ll need to leave soon.”

Did he really expect her to think rationally about anything after what she’d just experienced due to his exceptional, guitarist hands and naughty tongue?

“Huh?”

“Did you need to stop by your friend’s house to pick up a change of clothes?”

Would she need clothes? She somehow hoped not, but the rest of the world might not agree.

“I think so,” she said, her thoughts still thick from her release and overwhelmed with fantasy. “Maybe? I dunno.”

Owen tugged her against his body, her breasts pressed into his bare chest. His hands moved to cup her ass. “Do you know how sexy you are when you’re too delirious to think? You’re making me all hard again.”

He kissed her slowly, gently, and for the first time since they’d been together, she not only felt something for him in her body, she felt something for him in her heart.

Shit, that would never do.

Shaken by the direction of her emotions, she pushed him away and climbed to her feet.

“Yeah, I’d better pick up some clothes. My sweet little sheep panties are pretty dirty thanks to you.”

He laughed and rose to stand beside her. “And I love that about them.”

Riding in a limo was still novel, and Caitlyn checked out every nook and cranny in the back seat. She wondered if traveling in a limo ever became routine. Even Owen enjoyed playing with the stereo.

“You need to get used to loud music for tonight,” he told her as he cranked up the tunes and then tugged her into his arms.

That was probably true, but she wasn’t sure how deep, passionate kisses—the ones they were sharing—were necessary to acclimate her to metal. They did have her horny, however, and feeling brave. Brave enough to whisper her newest fantasy in Owen’s ear. He groaned.

“You should have told me in the hotel, where I was in the position to do something about it.”

“Next time,” she murmured.

He grinned. “Next time,” he agreed. And he sank his hands into her mass of hair so he could pull it, as she’d fantasized, while he suckled and kissed her neck.

The car pulled into Jenna’s driveway, and Caitlyn jerked away from Owen to try to compose herself before she faced the limo driver. She was incredibly grateful that her tweed jacket concealed her aroused nipples, though it did nothing to hide her kiss-swollen lips or the tousled condition of her hair. But the driver didn’t even spare her a glance as he opened the door. She decided he was used to averting his gaze when couples rode in his car.

Caitlyn left Owen to wait in the back seat while she hurried to collect a few things. He’d insisted that if they wanted to ride on the bus, she’d have to hurry. She was a bit nervous about that, actually. She’d prefer to take the limo to Houston, but assumed the expense would be astronomical. The car and driver had been leased for the band’s use, but only for their stay in San Antonio.

Caitlyn let herself into the house using the key Jenna had given her.

“There you are,” Jenna said. “Out all night getting laid. I’m surprised you can still walk.”

Caitlyn whirled around, her hand over chest, her heart thudding against her palm. She took a deep breath. “You scared the shit out of me. I thought you would have left for work by now.”

“I called in sick. I thought we could go to the salon and have a mani-pedi, grab some margaritas with a side of lunch while you tell me all about the cute guy you spent the night with, then we’ll pick up some dumb romantic comedy that will make Daniel flee from the house in horror and have the place and a gallon of chocolate ice cream all to ourselves.”

Caitlyn’s face fell. “Oh, I sort of told…”

She glanced out at the driveway and at the limo waiting for her. As much as she liked Owen and wanted to spend the day and evening with him, her loyalties had to lie with Jenna. The woman had put up with her during her early college years and all the crazy angst she’d suffered while having an affair with one of her professors. One of her married professors. After trying to talk her out of marrying Charles, Jenna had served as her maid of honor because she’d said she would always be loyal to her friend, even if she didn’t agree with the choices she made.

Caitlyn felt terrible that she even considered spending time with Owen over Jenna.

“I’ll just tell him to go on without me,” Caitlyn said. She couldn’t very well turn down her friend when she’d taken a day off work and made plans to spend it with her.

“Wait,” Jenna said. “He’s here?”

“He’s out waiting in the car. He wanted me to go to Houston with him. But I’d rather spend the day with you.” Caitlyn almost believed her own lie. She would love to spend the day with Jenna, but Owen was new and exciting and as much as she loved Jenna, Jenna was… comfortable.

And suddenly Caitlyn was looking for anything but comfortable.

Jenna ran to the window beside the front door and peered out. “That’s not a car, Caitlyn. It’s a fucking limousine.”

“Yeah, well…” Caitlyn shrugged.

“Who is this guy? Is he rich?”

“I don’t know. He’s some musician.”

“Like a rapper or something?”

Caitlyn snorted on a laugh. “Not quite. He’s in some metal band. They’re called Sole Regret. He had convinced me to ride the tour bus and hang out with him backstage until his concert tonight, but I’d much rather have great nails and watch a dumb romantic comedy with you.”

“I call bullshit, Caitlyn Marie. You’re going.” She smoothed her light brown hair that always looked sleek and salon-styled. “And while you’re collecting your things, I’m going to introduce myself to your rock star. Is he really cute?”

“If you weren’t madly in love with Daniel, I wouldn’t let you within ten feet of Owen.”

Jenna laughed. “It’s not like I’m going to hump his leg or something.”

“I wouldn’t blame you if you did. Do you work tomorrow?”

“Nope.”

“Can we do the girl thing then?”

“Of course.” Jenna gave her a quick squeeze. “I’m just so glad to see you smiling again.”

“Am I smiling?”

“Like you’ve been hitting the Prozac a little too hard, honey. Good for you. Why don’t you borrow something from my closet?” Jenna suggested. “You dress like my grandmother.”

“Owen likes the way I dress.”

“I highly doubt that. Now I’m going out to meet the man who put that smile on your face, while you change into something a little less you. ”

“Don’t tell him any embarrassing stories about me!” Caitlyn called after her.

Jenna closed the door securely behind herself on her way out. She was totally going to tell Owen all sorts of embarrassing stories about her, Caitlyn just knew she would. Caitlyn rushed to collect her things.

In the guest room, she upended her overnight bag in the center of her borrowed bed and looked for something to wear to a rock concert. Jenna was totally right—she couldn’t be seen someplace cool dressed in any of her clothes. She shoved a pair of twill weave slacks and a matching emerald-green sweater into the bottom of her bag and then helped herself to Jenna’s closet. Most of Jenna’s clothes would be too small for Caitlyn’s rounder backside, but one of her flirty dresses should fit. Was she daring enough to wear red? Yesterday Caitlyn would have said no, but today she was feeling particularly daring. And sexy. All thanks to Owen.

She wasn’t quite daring enough to wear the dress during the day, so she added it to her bag to change into later. Then she filched a pair of red heels from Jenna’s massive shoe collection, but she refused to borrow Jenna’s underwear. Caitlyn’s cartoon cow panties would have to do. Why had she bought those novelty panties in the first place? Owen had seemed to like the fuchsia pair with the sheep; how would he feel about turquoise with a cross-eyed cow?

Would he insist on making her saturate them with her arousal?

Oh lord, she was going to embarrass herself for sure.

Next time she saw Owen, she promised herself that she’d wear sexy underwear for him.

If there was a next time. She was starting to believe there might be a lot of next times.

After tossing her toiletries and make-up into her overnight bag, Caitlyn yanked the zipper shut and went to rescue Owen—and her own reputation—from Jenna’s clutches.

As expected, Jenna had Owen in stitches. They were standing next to the car, Owen leaning against the door so he didn’t collapse in hysterics and Jenna talking in her typical animated fashion. Caitlyn could only guess what her friend had been telling him. Probably about the time she’d forced Caitlyn to go zip-lining and she’d gotten stuck over a canyon. Caitlyn had been fascinated by the physics of the exercise and had determined the effectiveness of hand-braking via experimentation. Her experiment had been a marvelous success—she’d stopped dead in the center of the line—and it had taken her nearly an hour to pull herself, hand over hand, to the nearest station, much to the displeasure of everyone waiting a turn to zoom across the canyon.

“When she fell, she grabbed the nearest guy—by the pants, unfortunately—and we all soon discovered that he was a man who went commando.”

Owen sniggered and rubbed his forehead.

Oh, this was her rollerblading fiasco story. What was next, the “stuck upside-down between two rocks in a kayak” story? Jenna had never gotten it into her head that Caitlyn had the athletic prowess of a common sea slug. While their exploits were adventures for Jenna, those excursions had been exercises in injury and humiliation for Caitlyn. But she went because she knew how much Jenna enjoyed the not-so-great outdoors. And Jenna sometimes accompanied Caitlyn to science fiction conventions because she knew how much Caitlyn enjoyed pretending she was from space. Caitlyn pinked at her thoughts. She hoped Jenna hadn’t told Owen that she liked to dress up as Princess Leia on occasion. She kept the fake-braid earmuffs in the top drawer of her dresser at home.

Though she should be mortified, she wasn’t really. It was stranger to see Owen laughing with Jenna than knowing he was laughing because Jenna was embarrassing her. Seeing him with her best friend made it seem possible that Owen could become a part of Caitlyn’s regular life and not just be the guy who’d given her one night of thought-shattering sex.

Did she even want Owen as part of her regular life? That hadn’t been what she’d been after when she went to the sex club.

Just because something was possible didn’t mean she had to follow up. Maybe she could still blow him off and spend the day with Jenna. Jenna was… safe.

Owen smiled a greeting when he noticed Caitlyn approaching. Jenna turned and her face fell. You didn’t change? Jenna mouthed without speaking.

“I put on clean panties,” Caitlyn said defensively.

Jenna turned and said to Owen, “Can you give us just five more minutes?”

He turned to the driver, who stood next to the front fender. “When does the bus leave?”

The driver checked his watch. “We need to leave here in the next couple of minutes to make it.”

“I guess you have time to put your dirty panties back on,” Owen said.

Jenna burst out laughing and patted his chest playfully. “This one is naughty and nice,” she said, tossing her hair in an obviously flirtatious way. “You were so right about him.”

“He has his cock pierced too,” Caitlyn blurted, and then she clamped her hand over her big mouth.

“Hurry, baby.” Owen said. “We need to get going. I can’t wait to introduce you to Force.”

“What force?” Caitlyn asked.

“Our drummer. He’s going to love you.” Owen scratched the back of his neck. “On second thought, I should probably keep you away from him.”

“We’ll be right back,” Jenna said, pulling Caitlyn back into the house. She slammed the door behind them and spun to confront Caitlyn. “Oh my God, Caitlyn, he’s gorgeous. And funny. And sweet. And apparently rich and famous. How in the hell did you luck into that?”

“I dunno. He likes older geeky women who give off men-suck vibes in sex clubs.”

“If you want to keep his attention, you’re going to have to dress better. You look like you climbed out of a thrift store Dumpster.”

“I’m telling you,” Caitlyn said, “he likes this look. I don’t get it either.”

“He can’t possibly like this look,” Jenna said. “He likes you and, unfortunately, you come with this look.”

“He likes me?” Caitlyn said breathlessly.

“Well, duh. What’s not to like?”

In a semi-trance, Caitlyn allowed Jenna to strip her down to her bra and panties. After a deserved eye roll at Caitlyn’s cow panties, Jenna stuck her in a pair of black capris that were tight in the rear and a soft pink T-shirt that stretched taut across her boobs.

“It’s not me,” Caitlyn said.

“You look cute.”

“I look like you.”

“Right,” Jenna said. “You look cute. Now do me a favor.”

“What?”

“Pretend to be cool.”

“Jenna…”

“Just for today.”

Caitlyn released an annoyed sigh. “Fine. I’ll pretend to be cool. But I need to hurry.” After being forced into sandals, she shoved her discarded clothes into her overnight bag and hurried out to the limo.

“What are you wearing?” Owen asked when she paused before him.

“Uh, Jenna thought…”

He shook his head slightly. “She thought wrong.”

For a moment, Caitlyn believed he was going to tell her to get lost, but he opened the door to the back of the limo, and she slipped inside.

He climbed in beside her, and the driver shut the door.

“I told you I like the jacket. I like the bow at your throat that begs to be untied. I like that your bra doesn’t match your panties.”

“It still doesn’t,” she said. “So you’re only attracted to me for my wardrobe, is that it?”

“No, you’d look hot in anything you wore—or nothing—but this outfit doesn’t give me a permanent boner. I have to be honest.”

“That’s probably a good thing,” she said and laughed. “My vagina needs a few hours to collect itself. It’s not used to so much attention.”

“Well, then, I’ll try to contain my blinding lust.” He grinned and took her hand, holding it gently in his. His thumb rubbed a lazy circle on her knuckles. “So,” he said. “Tell me about your camping trip. Jenna said you’d kill her if she told me about the skunk that got stuck in your tent.”

Caitlyn cringed. “She’s right. I’d kill her for that.”

“I didn’t take you for the outdoorsy type.”

“That’s because I’m not. Jenna is, though, and I am weak to her charm. She can talk me into anything.”

“It’s great to have a best friend, someone who pushes you to try things you’d never consider on your own. Makes life interesting.”

Caitlyn smiled, knowing he was thinking about Kellen again. Kellen was Owen’s Jenna. She suddenly felt a lot more comfortable about Owen’s relationship with Kellen. Caitlyn probably would never call Jenna’s name during sex, but whatever. If Owen said there was no attraction between them, she believed him.

“Interesting? I guess that’s one way to describe it.”

They both laughed and somehow ended up kissing all the way to the tour bus. Maybe it wasn’t her pathetic wardrobe that turned him on after all.

Their driver handed off their bags to some guy who stuffed them into a compartment under the bus.

“I’ll need to change later,” Caitlyn said.

“You can get your bag when we stop at the venue.”

She nodded.

“Ready to meet the rest of the band?”

Her stomach flopped. She was scared out of her mind, to be honest. Who’d have ever thought she’d be riding on a tour bus with a bunch of heavy metal musicians? Not her.

“I guess,” she said.

“You already met Kellen. He’s not so scary, is he?”

A little, yeah, but she shook her head bravely.

“And I’m the worst one of the bunch, so if you can handle me, you can surely handle the rest.”

“I highly doubt that you’re the worst,” she said. Because he was decidedly terrific. And it was hard to top perfection.

“Where have you been?” A muscle-bound hunk in aviator sunglasses spoke from the top of the bus steps. He had short dark hair and an abundance of bulges in all the right places. “If I’d have known you were going to be this late, I would have had Amanda stick around for one more quickie before I sent her home.”

“Caitlyn needed to stop by her friend’s house to pick up some clothes.”

“Who is Caitlyn?”

“That would be me,” Caitlyn said.

“Sorry, didn’t see you there.”

Which was the typical-man’s reaction to her. That’s why Owen’s attention had her completely befuddled and Jenna’s insistence that she was attractive didn’t hold much cotton. As a rule, men tended to ignore her.

“This is our vocalist, Shade,” Owen said. “He’s pretty much an egotistical asshole, but he grows on you after a while.”

Caitlyn couldn’t believe Shade let the insult slide without a rebuttal. Instead he focused on her.

“You’re not planning on her riding the bus, are you?” Shade said. “You know the rule: no chicks on the bus.”

“Fuck the rule,” Owen said. “She’s riding with us to Houston.” He took Caitlyn’s hand and tugged her up the bus past a very confused-looking Shade.

At the top of the steps, she came face-to-chest with another band member. This one was long and lean. She tilted her head back to peer into the greenest pair of eyes she’d ever encountered.

Wow. While she did have a limited gag reflex, she thought choking on her own tongue, as she was now doing, might be fatal. Especially considering the sudden overabundance of drool in her mouth.

“This is Force,” Owen said.

“May the force be with me,” Caitlyn mumbled, lost in Force’s amazing green-eyed gaze.

“It seems we have a problem,” she heard Kellen say from somewhere down the corridor. “She’s been drawn in by the power of the Force. You’d better do something and quick, Tags.”

Owen kissed her, which effectively broke Force’s spell. She smiled at Owen. She wasn’t used to being with a man who was so easy with affection in public, not that she minded.

“Who is this?” Force asked as he tugged his baseball cap lower on his forehead.

“That’s Caitlyn,” Kellen said. “Owen is breaking all his rules with her.”

“All of them?” Force asked.

“Well, hopefully not the “BYOC” rule, but the “only one poke per bush” rule and the “never sleep with the women you sleep with” rule and the “never eat breakfast with a chick” rule and apparently the “no ladies on the bus” rule. Did you break the “never meet her friends” rule too, Owen?”

He cringed and pulled a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I broke that one too.”

“Stupid rules anyway,” Force said. “My name is Gabe, by the way. You don’t have to call me Force.”

“Do you like Star Wars?” Caitlyn blurted stupidly.

“Star Wars is for geeks,” Gabe said, one slim eyebrow arched at her.

“Oh,” she said, her face almost in flames it was burning so hot.

“I love Star Wars,” Gabe said. “Which episode is your favorite?”

“Return of the Jedi.”

He shook his head at her. “The Empire Strikes Back.”

“Oh my God, who scheduled a geek convention on the tour bus?” another rock-star type asked.

This one was dressed in black from his biker jacket to his tight T-shirt to his jeans to his motorcycle boots. Even his hair was unnaturally black—probably died to match his shoes. His only non-black accessories were the collection of silver chains he wore around his neck and dangling from one belt loop.

“That’s Adam,” Owen said.

“So Shade is the vocalist, Kellen plays guitar, Owen plays bass, and Gabe is the drummer.” Caitlyn did a quick mental inventory. “That must make you… the keyboardist?”

Adam did not look amused. More like offended. Was there something wrong with the keyboard? What other instruments were played in a rock band? She’d once heard a flute in a Led Zeppelin song. She was proud of herself for remembering.

“I know,” she gushed, “you play the flute!”

Everyone burst out laughing, except Adam, who looked even more out of sorts than when she’d accused him of playing keyboard.

“No, I don’t play the fucking flute,” he said. “I’m lead guitar.”

“But…” She pointed at Kellen. “I thought Kellen played guitar.”

“He plays rhythm guitar.”

She didn’t know the difference. “You have two guitarists? Well, three, if you count Owen’s bass?”

“That’s right.”

“Why do you need three? Isn’t one good enough?”

“She doesn’t listen to rock music,” Owen explained.

“Then why is she here?” Adam countered.

“Hmm,” Owen scratched his jaw. “Probably because she doesn’t listen to rock music. I felt she needed an education.”

And she’d very much enjoyed the education he’d given her about guitarists’ fingers. Her gaze dropped to Adam’s hands and then darted to Kellen’s. Long fingers. All of them. She was sure they were callused and swift as well. Caitlyn really wished Owen would stop making her blush. She hadn’t blushed this much when she’d been a bride and fallen off a pier in her wedding gown after having one too many to drink.

“Speaking of education,” Owen said, turning his attention from Adam to Gabe.

Oh God, he wasn’t going to mention her morning lesson was he? She’d die of mortification if he did.

“Guess what she has her degree in?” Owen said.

Caitlyn blew out a relieved breath.

“Based on the size of her rack, I’d say cheerleading,” Gabe said.

Caitlyn glanced down at her chest, which was straining against Jenna’s too-tight T-shirt. “Despite popular belief, big boobs are a liability for a cheerleader. They throw off your center of gravity, get in the way of your pom-poms, and jiggle around until you get one hell of a back ache.” She hopped up and down to demonstrate.

All eyes settled on her chest. As far as breasts went, she wasn’t overly well-endowed, but they did move when she did.

“Where’s that jacket of yours, Caitlyn?” Owen asked. “It’s a bit chilly here on the bus.”

She glanced up at him, not sure why the sparks of jealousy in his eyes were so endearing.

“Everyone ready to go?” a man in a white Stetson said from the front of the bus. He settled behind the driver’s seat and the door swung shut.

“Head on out,” Shade said. He brushed past the group congregated in the seating area near the front of the bus. “I’m going to catch a nap. Amanda kept me up all night, so I’m beat.”

Caitlyn assumed Amanda was his wife or girlfriend. She didn’t want to pry, so she didn’t ask. Shade disappeared behind a curtain that concealed his bunk near the back of the bus.

“So if you weren’t a cheerleader, what was your major?” Gabe asked, his brilliant green eyes alive with interest.

“Don’t make me say it,” Caitlyn said. “I’m supposed to pretend that I’m cool today.”

“If it makes you feel better,” Owen said, “like you, Gabe went to college to be a career geek. But we kidnapped him and chained him to a drum kit.”

“Were you a physics major?” Gabe asked, his eyes wide.

“With a chemistry minor. My master’s is in mechanical engineering.”

Gabe insisted she tell him all about her current projects in fuel cells. She didn’t give him too many details since they were working on a new prototype and you never knew if your competition just happened to be a drummer in a rock band. But Gabe was apparently ravenous for cerebral stimulation, so she shared what she could. Owen seemed content to listen to them talk.

She and Gabe eventually got into a highly competitive game of backgammon. None of his band mates would play with him. With the exception of Shade, who was evidently a heavy sleeper, they all cheered her on to beat their drummer. Even Kellen, who seemed sullen today, and Adam, who was slow to warm up to Caitlyn, got in on the competition.

“Kick his ass, baby,” Owen said. “He gloats for days every time he beats someone.”

“Which would be every time I play,” Gabe said, rolling the dice and getting a pair of sixes. Again.

“I think his dice are loaded,” Caitlyn complained.

“I’m just lucky.” Gabe winked at her. She lost her train of thought for a moment. The physics majors in her class hadn’t looked like him. If they had, she wouldn’t have been fooling around with her English professor.

Gabe hit another of her pieces and lifted it from the playing field to sit it on the bar in the center of the board.

“Damn it.”

At this rate, she wasn’t going to get a single piece into her home base. It was impossible to make it across the board when she was spending all her time re-entering her captured pieces.

“This is why no one ever beats him,” Owen said. “He’s an offensive player.”

“I definitely find his playing offensive,” Caitlyn said.

The guys laughed, and she flushed again.

By the time they reached Houston, she was completely at ease in the presence of Owen’s band mates. And she’d even managed to beat Gabe in one out of their three games, which made her some sort of hero, especially in Adam’s eyes.

The bus stopped behind an empty stadium. Caitlyn peered out a large tinted window, surprised by the controlled madness shown by the road crew as they moved equipment inside. The huge semi-truck was nearly empty. They’d obviously been at it for hours before the band’s arrival.

As the other guys filtered off the bus, chatting, Owen pulled Caitlyn aside.

“Are you glad you came?” he asked.

“So far. I haven’t been subjected to your eardrum-damaging music yet.”

“You’ll enjoy it,” he said.

She wasn’t so sure, but she knew the guys in the band, so like the dutiful aunt of a school kid, she’d go to their music performance and tell them they sounded great no matter how horrible they were.

When the last of the guys stepped off the bus, Owen leaned in to steal a kiss. “I’ve wanted to do that for hours,” he said.

“Then why didn’t you?”

“I have to live with these guys,” he said. “And they can be pretty immature about teasing a guy about his girl.”

“But you’re not like that, right?”

He grinned, and she guessed he was the ringleader of the teasing.

“Of course not.”

He backed her into the square dining table where she and Gabe had been playing backgammon and lifted her to sit on its surface. His hands cupped her breasts, and he massaged them gently.

“I’ve wanted to do this for hours too.”

She wrapped her legs around his hips and urged him into a tight hug. He melted into her.

“I liked having you here with me today,” he said. “The guys didn’t seem to mind either. I thought they’d give me hell for bringing you along, but they seemed to like the idea.”

She turned her face into his neck and inhaled. Mmm. What was it about this man that drove her to distraction?

“I know we haven’t known each other long,” he said.

“That’s true,” she murmured.

“But you fit here somehow. You fit with me.”

She went still, anticipating words she was not ready to hear.

“So anytime you want to come hang out with us, you’re welcome.”

Was that all? She snuggled closer to him again.

“Because I really like you and I’d hate to think we wouldn’t get to see each other again.”

“I’d hate that too,” she admitted.

“You could come with us tonight to Beaumont,” he said. “And then after that we’re in New Orleans. I could take you to another sex club, if you like. There’s an interesting one there.”

Her lips brushed his throat. “Too soon, Owen,” she said. She didn’t want to say no, but she did need him to slow down. He was like a bullet train, and she was only prepared for freight.

“Oh,” he said, the disappointment in his voice perceptible.

“I’m not saying I don’t want to be with you,” she whispered in his ear. “I just have a lot of responsibilities, and I need to take things slowly.” She leaned back and cupped his face in both hands. “I’m not rejecting you.” She knew that was what he really feared.

“Feels like it,” he said.

Her heart gave a little pang for hurting him. She understood why he had rules for his entanglements with women; he got his feelings hurt much too easily to expose his heart. But he’d exposed it to her, so she was going to have to be careful with it.

“Why don’t you try kissing me into oblivion, Owen?” she said huskily. “I seem to agree to your crazy plans when I’m not thinking straight.”

He grinned and tugged her closer. “Now there’s an idea.”

She was halfway to oblivion when someone marched up the steps. Owen drew away and stared into her eyes for a long moment before turning his attention to the man waiting for him to finish his business. As far as Caitlyn was concerned, Owen’s business wouldn’t be finished until his cock was inside her and she was shattering in one of those fantastic orgasms he gave her, but apparently this guy had other ideas.

“Can I help you, Jordan?” Owen asked.

“Uh, sorry to interrupt,” Jordan said, as if he was sorry he was no longer watching Owen make out with Caitlyn. “You’re needed for sound check.”

“I figured,” he said. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Okay.”

Jordan watched him expectantly until Owen said, “I don’t need an escort, Jordan.”

“Okay.” Jordan stared at them for one more uncomfortable moment and then turned to leave the bus.

“Nice kid,” Owen said, “but he’s a little slow on the uptake.”

“I think he’s overwhelmed with idol worship,” Caitlyn said. She rubbed her breasts against Owen’s hard chest, in no way ready to release him to his job.

“I think he was dropped on his head as an infant.”

Her hand moved between their bodies to cup his crotch. His cock jerked against her palm.

“Do we have time for a quickie?” she asked. “It’s been several hours since my last orgasm, and I think I’m developing an addiction to the feel of you inside me.”

He groaned. “That makes two of us.” He kissed her deeply and then pulled away. “But we’re going to have to wait until after sound check.”

“I hope it’s one of those things that only takes a few minutes.”

“Doubtful. Do you want to come backstage and watch or stay here on the bus?”

If he had to ask, he didn’t know how curious she was to learn how things worked. All things. But he’d learn that about her soon enough.

“I’d love to come backstage and watch you work.”

“Okay,” he said, “but it will cost you a blowjob.”

She knew he was just trying to get a rise out of her, but she played along. “Great. I gave you one of those this morning, so I’m all set.”

“Another blowjob,” he hurriedly remedied.

“You can’t change the rules after you state your condition,” she said.

“Of course I can. I’m a rock star.”

“It’s a good thing I don’t care about that. You’ll have to find someone else to be in awe of your fame. I’m just in awe of your skill in bed.”

“Well, that’s something, I suppose,” he said, and he helped her down from the table.

He took her hand and led her off the bus and into chaos.

Chapter Eleven

Caitlyn was overwhelmed by the amount of activity going on backstage. She could never do Owen’s job; frayed nerves would be a constant for her.

“Once sound check is over, we can find someplace a bit calmer,” Owen said in her ear. “Get in that quickie.”

“So you can tell I’m out of my element?”

“You look just a little freaked out,” Owen said.

“She looks entirely spooked,” Gabe said.

Her eyes widened when she glanced at him. He’d been wearing a baseball cap all day, but he wasn’t wearing one now. He had a mohawk spiked at least eight inches in the air. It was black near his scalp and scarlet at the tips, but what really set her jaw on the floor were the dragon tattoos inked on his scalp.

“You’re scaring her,” Owen said, and covered her eyes with one hand. “Don’t look directly at it or you’ll turn to stone.”

She laughed and elbowed Owen in the ribs. She was grateful he’d given her a moment to collect her wits. Gawking at Gabe’s head was a pretty crappy thing to do to him, especially since she knew what a great guy he was. She adored his quick wit and intelligence, even if she couldn’t stomach his ruthlessness on the opposite side of a backgammon board. And she didn’t hold his ink-work against him; she’d just been stunned, was all. She’d had no idea he had dragons tattooed on both sides of his head.

“Sorry for staring,” she said, forcing her eyes not to wander to the flames and the scaly hide inked on his scalp. “I just didn’t realize…”

“If he didn’t want people to stare, he wouldn’t style his hair like that,” Owen said.

“It’s not the hair, it’s the…” Caitlyn reached up and grabbed Gabe’s head between her palms and forced him to bend over so she could inspect the tattoos. “Damn, Gabe, didn’t that hurt? It looks damned painful!”

“Yeah, it hurt,” he said. “I swear I saw God that day. But the tattoo artist assured me that the unexplained sparks and the tunneling in my vision were due to the pain, not a higher power.”

“I bet it hurt worse than when Owen had his cock pier—” Caitlyn slapped a hand over her mouth. She couldn’t believe what she’d almost said to Gabe.

Gabe snorted and burst out laughing. “You know what I like about you, Caitlyn?”

“My dashing smile?” She smiled so wide, her cheeks hurt.

“That is special,” he said, “but no. You have a naughty mind. You might try to censor it, but I know it’s there.”

“I like that about her too.” Owen pried her hands off Gabe’s head. “Here, hold on to this.”

Owen wrapped Caitlyn’s arms around his waist and placed her hands on his ass.

“Oh yes,” she said, giving Owen’s firm ass cheeks a squeeze. “This is much more fun to hold on to than Gabe’s head.”

When it was time for Owen to work with his instrument, Caitlyn reluctantly released her hold on his firm backside. She noticed the bulge in his jeans before he shifted his bass guitar in front of it. So she wasn’t the only one in need of a quickie. A long, drawn-out lovemaking session would work too. She was game for anything with Owen.

She did her best to stay out of the crew’s way as she watched.

She was surprised by how well Owen played. For a moment, she thought he was showing off his skill for her benefit, and then it dawned on her that he was playing some of the band’s songs.

When the low tones of his riff throbbed through her body, she was suddenly completely astounded by his musical skill. To her way of thinking, music was an auditory expression of mathematics, mostly fractions—flats and sharps changing tones by halves, the lengths of notes in quarters and thirds. She’d always admired anyone who could play piano, and she was starting to feel the same admiration for a certain bass player. A man who had that much skill in music was a genius in her book.

There was also something to be said about the way Owen’s fingers moved on the strings, about knowing that’s what caused those thick calluses to form on his fingertips. About remembering what they felt like against her swollen, achy clit.

She was suddenly on fire for the man—no touching required.

Caitlyn’s original intention had been to watch the logistics of preparing equipment for a live show, but somehow all the machinery and technology—which usually fascinated her—was far less interesting than the man stroking four thick strings. The technicians were talking to Owen and he was nodding, but she couldn’t hear what was being said over the din of hammers banging against steel pipes. After several minutes, Owen smiled at her and then lifted the strap of his guitar over his head and handed it off to one of the crew. Her heart thudded faster and faster as he approached her. He never took his eyes off her face.

“Are you finished?” she asked.

“I haven’t even started,” he said.

“Oh.” She couldn’t keep the disappointment out of her voice.

“But I’m done with sound check.”

“That was quick.”

“Technically, they could do the sound check without us, but Shade insists that we all play a part in it. If we sound like shit, it’s not the technicians who get booed off the stage.”

“I guess that’s true,” she said. “So what do you usually do to waste time before the concert starts?”

“Depends. Sometimes we hang out on the bus. Other times we hang out in the dressing room. Occasionally there are VIP groups that hang out with us backstage, and I have to pretend I’m charming for several consecutive hours. We might do a promotional signing here or there but no matter what’s on the agenda, there’s usually a sandwich involved. Are you hungry?”

Her stomach rumbled at the thought of food. She’d enjoyed a large breakfast but had turned down a tour bus lunch consisting of beef jerky and Spanish peanuts. “Yeah, I could use a sandwich.”

“I think I need to earn mine first.”

She was in perfect agreement.

“Are we going back to the bus? I need to change clothes before the concert.”

“You’re changing again?”

“Aren’t you going to change for your performance?”

Owen looked down at his baggie, distressed jeans and smoothed both hands over the belly of his navy-blue T-shirt. “Nope. This will work fine.”

She was surprised he didn’t dress better onstage. He was wearing what most guys would wear to spend the day on the couch watching football and eating nachos. She wasn’t sure what to expect from the show. Apparently the band didn’t wear suits when they performed. Would the flirty red cocktail dress she’d borrowed from Jenna be appropriate attire?

“What should I wear, Owen? I’ve never been to a rock concert, remember? I don’t want to make an ass out of myself.”

“I have to admit I’m interested to know what you were planning on wearing.”

“Why? So you can make fun of me?”

“I would never make fun of you.”

She offered him a reproachful look.

“Not in a hurtful manner,” he added. “So why don’t you change into what you’d planned to wear and if I think it’ll make an ass out of you, I’ll let you know.”

“It’s not a tweed jacket,” she said.

She laughed at the disappointed look on his face.

“Well, I still want to see it.”

“Fine.” She didn’t much care if her wardrobe wasn’t metal-concert appropriate. It wasn’t like she was going to see any of these people in her real life. Though since they were in her home town, it was possible that someone would recognize her wearing a cocktail dress at a rock show.

They started toward the bus. Out of the corner of her eye, Caitlyn kept catching the profile of the same surly-looking stranger. She didn’t think it was a coincidence.

“Owen,” she whispered. “I think that shady-looking character is following us.”

Owen glanced over his shoulder and laughed. “Hey, shady-looking character. Follow us out of her peripheral view. You’re freaking her out.”

“Will do,” the man said and slowed his pursuit to allow them to walk farther ahead.

Caitlyn lifted a questioning eyebrow at Owen.

“That’s Frank, one of our security team. He’s making sure you don’t attack me.”

“You need security?”

“Obviously.”

“You didn’t have security following you around last night,” she pointed out.

“That’s because the chances I’ll be recognized when I’m not at a venue are relatively small. No one is looking to see me. But here, if I’m recognized, almost everyone knows who I am and then it becomes a mob situation. Ask Adam about that. He about started a riot a couple nights ago because he was stupid enough to roll down the limousine window in front of the stadium.”

“It’s sort of weird to think of you as famous,” she said. “Do people really try to attack you?”

“Just women trying to get in my pants,” he said.

“Ha ha,” she said before realizing he probably wasn’t joking.

When they reached the bus, Frank didn’t follow them inside. There was another guy standing just outside the bus door, who Caitlyn assumed was another member of the security team. She supposed his job was to keep groupies from stowing away on the bus when no one was paying attention.

Owen had someone retrieve her overnight bag from beneath the bus and when she had it clutched against her chest, she looked at Owen expectantly.

“You can change in the bathroom,” he said. “I’d join you but unless I stand in the shower stall, there isn’t room for two.”

“I can dress myself.”

“That’s fine. As long as you allow me to undress you.”

She hurried to the bathroom to change while Owen fiddled with his smartphone and checked his messages.

He was right about the bathroom being too small for two. She had to stand with one foot in the shower stall to get dressed. The dress was knee-length, with a flirty wide skirt and a halter top that she realized was much too revealing to wear in public. Cleavage wasn’t the right word for what was showing. She half expected her belly button to be visible.

“Dear lord, Jenna, why do you even own a dress like this?” she asked the mirror. Noting that her bra was showing, she took it off and did her best to keep her boobs in her top while she slipped into the matching heels. The dress wasn’t appropriate for a rock concert or anything but the privacy of her own bedroom. Sure, a movie star might get away with wearing something like this, but she was no movie star. She laughed at her reflection.

“What were you thinking, Caitlyn Marie Mattock?” Her eyes widened when she heard herself use her married name. She realized that unlike the past few months—when it seemed her every thought had been focused on how she’d been jilted—she hadn’t thought of Charles all day. “Caitlyn Marie Hanson,” she corrected. She’d taken back her maiden name in the divorce. It was time to claim it as her own again.

She stepped out of the bathroom, smoothing her hair with her palms and trying not to feel overly self-conscious about how much skin was showing. The back of the dress was cut so low, she wouldn’t be surprised if she had plumber’s crack going on back there. And to say the neckline plunged was an understatement.

Owen glanced up from his phone and froze with his finger hovering over the screen. His jaw dropped and eyes bulged. His phone hit the floor and he didn’t even bother to pick it up before striding toward her.

“Good God, woman, you are not wearing that.”

“Yeah, I realized how ridiculous I look the second I put it on.”

He was staring at the inner and under curves of her breasts that were far too visible for her peace of mind. If she wasn’t already used to him seeing her naked, she would have covered herself with her hands.

“Fuck hot,” he said, and then he shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. “You look fuck hot, Caitlyn. Too fuck hot.”

“Fuck hot?”

“That’s way hotter than regular hot,” he said. “On the hotness scale there’s hot, really hot, and then fuck hot. I think we need to invent a new hot just for you.”

She shook her head at his silliness, but she couldn’t help it—she liked his over-the-top compliments. He made her feel good about herself. She’d always been confident about her intelligence and her creativity and her ability to lead a team, but physically? She was the woman who’d tripped over her own feet at an indoor football game and ended up with her face buried in the crotch of the team mascot. She wasn’t used to being admired for her physical attributes.

Owen’s finger traced a path along the inner curve of her breast. “Where did you get this dress?”

“I borrowed it from Jenna.”

“I’ll thank her next time I see her.”

“You plan to see her again?” Caitlyn squeaked. Jenna had dated a lot of men in her day, but she was happily married now. Or did her friend have something she needed to talk to her about?

“She’s a big part of your life, isn’t she?”

“I wish she was more a part of my life,” Caitlyn admitted.

“And I want to be a big part of your life.”

“You do?”

He traced the inner curve of her other breast, and she shivered with delight. “Yes.”

“Oh.” She wasn’t sure how to respond. Wasn’t this just a long version of a one-night stand? But it didn’t have to be. “Okay,” she said. “I guess we can go out again.”

He chuckled. “You guess?”

His hand slid into the front of her dress, and he palmed her breast.

“I’m not rejecting you, Owen,” she said.

“Good, because I don’t handle rejection well.”

“Kellen sort of told me that in the limo outside the club.”

“He’s been quiet all day; I’m not sure what’s wrong with him. He really shouldn’t go to Galveston tonight. Surrounding himself with happy memories does not make him happy with the present.”

“What’s in Galveston?”

“The house he bought her after she died.”

“Huh?”

He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“You can talk to me about it. I know you’re concerned for him.”

“I’m more concerned that someone other than me will see you in this dress and try to do this.”

His thumb rubbed her nipple, and she moaned in pleasure. This dress had one thing going for it. It made getting to second base a breeze.

“I think Kellen’s trying to let her go,” she said, struggling to follow the thread of their conversation while her body awakened beneath his expert touch.

Owen shook his head. “I think seeing me and you together is really bothering him.”

“Do you think he wants to hook up with you?”

His eyes widened, and he shook his head. “No. I think seeing me with a woman makes him miss her. You’re still caught up on that thing that happened back at the club?”

“You called his name when I was screwing you, Owen. And he touched you. I saw him. And I think he rather enjoyed touching you. I know you enjoyed it. I didn’t know your O-face at the time, but I know it now, and you were about to come in his hand.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“If you say so.”

“I say so. Drop it, okay?” he said.

“I won’t mention it again.” She meant it.

“Now that you’ve dropped that, you need to drop this dress. There is no way I’ll be able to perform with you standing in my corner of the stage looking this fuck hot. And if another man sees you in this, I’ll be tempted to kick his ass.”

She couldn’t picture Owen getting into a fight. Like Kellen had said, Owen saw the good in people. In all people.

“Well I wouldn’t want you to hurt your knuckles on some guy’s face. I guess I’ll go change.”

She took a step back, but he grabbed her and pulled her against him, capturing her in a tight embrace. “I think you should wear it just a little while longer. There’s no one here but you and me.”

“And me,” Kellen said from the living area.

Owen stiffened. He was probably wondering the same thing Caitlyn was wondering: how long had Kellen been there and had he overheard their conversation about him?

Owen immediately relaxed and stepped away from Caitlyn. “You’re the only dude allowed to see her dressed like this. Doesn’t she look fuck hot?”

“Fuck hot,” Kellen agreed with a half-smile.

“Couldn’t you just bend her over that table and fuck her for hours?” Owen said.

Caitlyn slapped at him for making her blush again.

“If you’d like to tie her up sometime, I could give you a hand,” Kellen offered.

Owen’s breath caught in his throat. “You mean it?”

Kellen nodded. “Yeah. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. I need this last night to let her consume me. Seeing you with Caitlyn today made me realize that no one will ever take Sara’s place, but maybe no one is supposed to. Maybe someone could find a different spot to fill inside me. I seem to be full of holes.”

Caitlyn nearly melted at his admission. The man had a truly romantic soul. She wondered if he wrote lyrics. He seemed the poetic type.

“I have more holes than you do,” Owen said, fingering the piercing in his brow and both ears. He didn’t have to remind anyone about that extra hole down below.

Caitlyn chuckled. Trust Owen to take everything at face value.

“That’s not what I meant,” Kellen said. “I meant—”

“I know what you meant,” Owen said. “You’re making me look shallow in front of my chick, coming in here all deep and philosophical while I spout off incoherently about how hot she looks in a dress.”

“I need that,” Caitlyn admitted. “That fills a hole in me.”

“I’d like to fill a hole in you right about now,” Owen said.

Kellen chuckled and headed for the exit. “I’ll leave you two alone,” he said. “So Owen can fill some holes.”

“Could you do me a favor?” Owen asked him.

“Name it.”

“Go buy Caitlyn a Sole Regret T-shirt. I can’t have her looking fuck hot in front of the crew.”

Kellen appeared to be less than thrilled to be used as an errand boy, but he asked, “Anything else?”

“Give me twenty minutes of privacy and then bring me a sandwich.”

“Pastrami?” Kellen asked.

“You guessed it.”

Caitlyn gasped when Owen lifted her skirt by sliding his hands up her thighs. “Mmm,” he murmured. “I am definitely going to need a pastrami sandwich when I’m done with you.”

Now that sounded promising.

Chapter Twelve

After the show, Owen threw a couple of guitar picks into the audience, kissed his fingertips, and tossed the sentiment to the crowd. He then jogged down the steps to the floor beside the stage.

“Oh my God.” Caitlyn squealed and launched herself into his arms. His bass guitar made a low grinding sound as her belly rubbed against the strings. “I thought you were hot before, but now I’d have to say you’re on fire. Molten. Nuclear.”

He chuckled at her enthusiasm, but her deep, seeking kiss cut off all sound but the groan in the back of his throat. His arms moved around her body to pull her closer. The familiar stirring in his lower belly announced that he wasn’t finished with her. Not by a long shot. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had consumed him so completely, so quickly.

She broke away and caught his face between her hands. Her brown eyes shone with admiration and, dare he hope, unquenchable lust. He was more than ready to see if he could satisfy it. At least temporarily.

“Wow,” she said. “Just wow.”

“So you like our music?”

She shook her head. “Not at all. I think my ears are bleeding. But I like you, so I’m willing to suffer to watch you on stage. You have an amazing presence.” She leaned close and whispered in his ear. “My cow panties are drenched.”

He laughed, not the least bit offended that she didn’t like Sole Regret’s music. He had a feeling it would grow on her, but if it didn’t, that didn’t matter. Not having everything in common actually made getting to know her a challenge. He hadn’t been aware that that’s what had been missing from his love life. His time with Caitlyn hadn’t started with a challenge—getting her in bed had been easy—but he had a feeling that keeping her attention outside of the bedroom would hold his interest for a long time.

He traced the Sole Regret logo across her chest. “So you aren’t wearing this kick-ass T-shirt because you’re a fan?”

“I’m definitely a fan, honey. I just don’t like your music.”

“Hey,” Kelly said from beside Owen. “I’m heading out.”

“Are you sure you want to go?” Owen said, instantly concerned for Kelly. It couldn’t be good for him to sit in that house by himself all night. “I can come with you if you think you’ll be lonely.”

“I need to be lonely for a few hours, get my head on straight. So don’t try calling to check on me; I’m going to turn off my phone.”

Owen nodded, even though he didn’t understand what had Kelly’s head so crooked all of a sudden.

“It was nice meeting you, Caitlyn,” Kelly said, extending a hand toward her.

She ignored his hand and gave him a hug, seemingly oblivious to the sweat glistening on his bare chest. “Likewise. If you need Owen, call him. He’ll come.”

Kelly met Owen’s eyes over Caitlyn’s shoulder. His gaze was so intense that Owen’s heart skipped a beat. Then Kellen grinned. “I’m sure he will, if he’s between your legs.”

Caitlyn slapped him in the chest. “Behave.”

“Don’t listen to her,” Owen advised. “Get into a little trouble. You’re starting to bore me.”

Kelly chuckled and lifted his knuckles to share a bro-tap before walking away. Owen watched him until he disappeared through an open door and then turned to Caitlyn, who was scrutinizing him.

“You need to have a long talk with him,” she said. “Sort through your feelings.”

Owen rolled his eyes. You call out a guy’s name once while enjoying an explosive orgasm as a woman fucks you in the ass, and she just won’t let it rest.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go get naked on the bus.”

He removed his bass, handed it off to a technician, and wrapped an arm around Caitlyn’s shoulders. She turned her face toward his chest and inhaled deeply.

“Mmm, you smell so good.”

As sweaty as he was, he surely smelled like a dirty jockstrap, but he never turned down a compliment.

“And you look good enough to eat,” he said into her ear. “One guess what I’m thinking about eating right now.”

“Pastrami on rye?” she asked, her eyes sparking with mischief as she gazed up at him.

“I’m sure before the night is over I’ll be craving pastrami, but right now I want pie.”

“Cream pie?”

“If it’s not creamy yet, it will be when I get my mouth on it.”

She sucked in a scandalized breath and then laughed. “Why are you the guy my mother always warned me about? She should have shoved me in your direction. Who knew bad boys were so much fun?”

“I told you I’ll be bad if it turns you on.”

“Everything you do turns me on. And seeing you on stage…” She took a deep breath and relaxed into a full-body shudder. “I had no idea how incredibly sexy I’d find that.”

“That’s the first thing that attracts most women.”

“I find that very hard to believe, blue eyes.”

He directed her behind the stadium where the buses were parked. One of their security team followed, keeping enough distance from them to not invade their privacy.

“So what are you doing tomorrow?” Owen asked.

“Returning to San Antonio to spend the day with Jenna,” she said. One part of her still felt terrible for running off with Owen. It was supposed to be their BFF week and here she was tagging along after a guy. “I already ditched her once.”

“And what do I have to do to convince you to come with me to Beaumont?”

“Call Jenna and explain why I’m being such a wretched friend.”

“Done. I’ll even take all the blame upon myself.”

“I don’t know if my body can take two consecutive nights with you. I’m not as young as I used to be.”

“We don’t have to have sex,” he said. “I just like spending time with you.”

She stopped in midstride and looked up at him, her eyes blinking. “Well, that might be enough for you, but my hormones are raging like a river thanks to you, and you better believe that you’re going to do something about the state you put me in, Mr. Owen Pierced-Cock Mitchell.”

He rubbed her lower back. “Maybe we’ll try it without the piercing this time.”

She winked at him. “Maybe.”

“So will you accompany me to our next gig?”

“Depends,” she said.

“On?”

“If you let me buy you dinner tonight.”

“I think the tour bus is leaving in the next ten minutes.”

“Oh.”

“But you can buy me dinner tomorrow night.”

“And the night after that?”

He grinned. “Probably.”

Owen caught movement out of the corner of his eye a split second before one of their security team tackled someone to the ground right next to them. Caitlyn stumbled sideways as Owen instinctively shoved her behind him. She clung to his waist, her face buried in his back. Expecting to see an army of Samurai, he was surprised to peer down at a completely non-threatening individual.

“Oh God,” the security guard said. “I’m so sorry.” He couldn’t seem to figure out where to put his hands. He brushed off the girl’s pink-and-white-striped T-shirt. Then he lamely patted her head. “I saw you running toward Tags and I just reacted. Are you okay?”

The slender girl ran her hands over her distended abdomen, her golden blond hair obscuring her face. “I think so,” she said breathlessly. “Luckily I landed on my butt.”

Owen’s muscles stiffened. Her voice was familiar, and he had a sinking suspicion as to her identity. Please, let me be wrong. This was the last thing he needed when he was trying to convince Caitlyn that he wasn’t a man whore. He reached down to help the young woman to her feet, and she lifted her face. He cringed. There was no mistaking those big blue eyes as she searched his face. Her bottom lip quivered.

Oh no, no, no. No crying.

“I’ve been looking for you,” she said, rubbing her hands over her pregnant belly. “I have something I need to tell you.”

Chapter Thirteen

Owen’s chest constricted until he feared he’d suffocate. “Lindsey?” he croaked.

“Oh, you remember my name,” Lindsey said, and she struggled to her feet. “I’m surprised.”

The security guard began brushing off her butt with both hands. She gave him a look of disbelief, which halted the man’s attempts to undo the damage he’d caused. What the fuck was he thinking? Tackling a pregnant woman to the ground? What an incompetent asshole.

There were a lot of women Owen had slept with whose names he’d admittedly forgotten, but Lindsey wasn’t one of them. She’d been the last woman he and Kelly had pleasured together. He sometimes thought she’d somehow wrecked Kelly. It was either something Lindsey had done or that wrist cuff Owen had given him for Christmas. That’s when Kelly had started pushing Owen away, so no, Owen wasn’t likely to forget her, even if it had been six months since he’d last seen her.

“How do you know her?” Caitlyn asked, her arms crossed over her chest.

Uh…

Now would be a good time for a meteor to strike him dead.

“Um, well, there was snow,” he said, as if that explained anything.

Lindsey looked at Caitlyn and scowled. “Excuse me, lady. I’m trying to tell Owen that I’m pregnant with his child. You need to go away. This is a private matter.”

“What?” Caitlyn spat.

“What?” Owen bellowed.

“What?” the security guard sputtered.

An unseen man in the parking lot yelled, “What!” and his companions laughed at his cleverness.

“I’m pregnant,” Lindsey said.

“I can see that,” Owen said, his gaze glued to her abdomen. Dear God, there was no denying she was pregnant. “What the fuck does that have to do with me?”

“Is this your wife, Owen?” Caitlyn asked as she took several steps backward, shaking her head and pushing her hands uselessly out in front of her.

“No, she’s not my wife.”

“Yet,” Lindsey said.

“She’s not even my girlfriend,” Owen said.

“I see.” Caitlyn said with a nod. “She’s just a toy that you used to get your rocks off. Kind of like me.”

Owen shook his head. “No. It was different with you. I like you.”

“You don’t like me?” Lindsey wailed. Then she broke into gut-wrenching sobs.

Owen squeezed his eyes shut. He’d made a pregnant woman cry. A pregnant woman who might or might not be carrying his child. He needed to sit down. Or lie down. Or drown himself in a toilet.

“I’m out of here,” Caitlyn said.

He watched her march up the bus steps and then emerge thirty seconds later with her purse and overnight bag. It was as if his feet had taken root and his mouth had been sewn shut. When Caitlyn brushed past him, he caught her arm.

“Don’t go,” he said. His biggest fear slammed him in the chest. Not fatherhood, though he hadn’t quite processed that yet, but rejection. She was flat out rejecting him, and he couldn’t fucking stand it.

Her eyes narrowed, and she gave him a look that ripped his heart out of his chest and left a gaping chasm in its place. All the warmth had left her gaze when she looked at him. “You don’t really expect me to stay, do you? What are you going to do with her?”

Owen glanced over at Lindsey, who blew her nose on a tissue offered by the concerned security guard. The guy glared at Owen, his mouth tight, his expression disapproving.

Oh yeah, I’m the bad guy here.

“I’ll figure something out,” Owen said to Caitlyn. “It’s probably not even my baby. She slept with the entire band that night. No telling who else she spread her legs for.”

Caitlyn rolled her eyes and jerked her arm out of his grasp. “Right. Men! All a bunch of fucking liars. And you’re the king of them, aren’t you?”

“I asked you not to call me a liar, Caitlyn,” he said, his own ire rising. What did she expect him to do? He wanted her to stay, but if she trusted the word of a sobbing, pregnant, twenty-year-old groupie over his, then maybe it was best if she said goodbye now.

“Goodbye, Owen.”

He flinched. Nope. It wasn’t for the best at all. “I’ll call you,” he said, glad they’d exchanged numbers at dinner, before his life had exploded into chaos. “Once I get this straightened out.”

She tossed a hand up over her head as she stormed away. Did that mean not to bother or that she’d talk to him later or what? He watched her retreating figure for a moment before he started after her. “Wait, Caitlyn. I’ll have the limo take you home.”

“Don’t talk to me right now, Owen; I’ll figure out how to get home on my own. I don’t need your help. The weepy, pregnant girl needs your help. Go take care of her.”

But he didn’t want her. He wanted Caitlyn.

“Fuck my life,” he said under his breath and spun on his heel so he didn’t have to watch Caitlyn walk away. He was sure she’d find a way home. She was an independent, resourceful, intelligent woman. Those were the qualities he admired most in her. Didn’t she realize that he didn’t want a girl? He wanted a woman. And not just any woman. He wanted Caitlyn.

“Thanks for getting rid of her,” Lindsey said. “She was making me feel awkward.”

If she’d been a dude, he would have decked her. “I didn’t get rid of her. You got rid of her. Now, what are you doing here and why do you think I’m the father of your baby? We used protection.”

“It isn’t one hundred percent foolproof. And I know you’re the father because I hadn’t had sex with anyone for weeks before I was with you and I haven’t been with anyone since.”

“What about Shade? Adam? Tex? Gabe? Ringing any bells? I wasn’t the only one who had sex with you that night.”

The security guard no longer looked concerned. He looked slightly scandalized and very intrigued.

Tears flooded her eyes. “But I want it to be yours.”

“Shit, that doesn’t make it so. Are you here by yourself? You’re a long way from Idaho.”

“I lost my job and my parents disowned me. The entire town turned its back on me. I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

“What about your friend, the one who was with you on the tour bus? What was her name?”

“Vanessa?”

“Yeah. I’m sure she’d help you out.”

Lindsey shook her head. “She joined the army to get away from that place. She’s in boot camp in South Carolina right now. Don’t you think it was hard for me to come here? I wasn’t even going to tell you. I was going to raise him on my own, but I don’t have any money so I… I… I can’t.”

She burst into tears again.

Owen wrapped his arms around her and drew her into a comforting embrace. He stroked her hair and murmured, “Don’t cry. We’ll get this sorted out. Don’t worry.”

So he held the woman who might or might not be pregnant with his child, a woman he had no interest in on an emotional level, while the woman he really wanted had left, perhaps forever. Why did he have to be so fucking weak to a woman’s tears?

“I know it’s your baby, Owen. When I feel him move inside me, I know he’s your son.” Lindsey’s sobs increased without provocation. “Oh God, I love our baby so much.”

Every hair on Owen’s body stood on end. No. Just no. He was in no way ready to be a father and certainly didn’t want to have a baby with a woman he didn’t love. “You can’t know that it’s mine,” he said. “You slept with every guy in the band that night. What makes you so sure I’m the father?”

Her sob fest made him wish he hadn’t said anything.

“You hate me, don’t you? I should just kill—”

He took her by both arms and shook her. “Don’t finish that sentence. Even if it isn’t my baby, I’m not going to toss you out in the street. Come inside while I figure out what to do with you.” He really wished Kelly’s calming presence was here. Kelly would help Owen figure out what to do. As it was, Owen couldn’t think. What he really wanted was to push Lindsey aside and go after Caitlyn. Not that he expected Caitlyn to ever speak to him again after what she’d just witnessed. He rubbed the center of his chest, took Lindsey by the elbow, and helped her ascend the steep steps of the tour bus. Adam, Shade, and Gabe’s round of laughter died as their eyes settled on Owen with Lindsey in tow.

“What happened to your other chick?” Shade asked.

“She, uh, had to go. We have a little situation here,” Owen said.

“I remember you,” Gabe said to Lindsey, a smile of recognition on his lean face. “Christmas Eve. We all…” His eyes widened as they settled on her distended abdomen.

“Is she…?” Adam’s dark eyebrows rose to comical peaks.

Lindsey avoided their eyes but straightened her shoulders. “I’m having Owen’s baby.”

“You can’t be sure that it’s mine,” Owen insisted. “Is there anyone on this bus you didn’t fuck that night?”

Her big blue eyes flooded with tears. “I know it’s yours, Owen. I just know.”

“Did you do her without protection?” Shade asked.

“No, I wore a condom. Did you forget?” Owen asked Shade.

“Of course I didn’t forget. I might be dumb, but I’m not stupid.”

“I wore a condom and I’m getting a vasectomy, so it’s definitely not my kid,” Adam said.

“You have to actually have the procedure done before you have unprotected sex,” Shade reminded him.

Adam turned green. “Shit! That’s right. But still, it’s not mine.”

“Well, it sure as hell isn’t mine,” Shade said. “I already have one!”

“That doesn’t matter. Having one does not decrease your odds of having another,” Gabe said.

Owen looked at Gabe. His last hope.

“I only came in her mouth,” Gabe said. “Adam and Tex were taking turns and she was sucking me and… Wait… I was drunk. Don’t remember everything I did. But I always wear protection. Always.” Gabe blinked hard and turned his green-eyed gaze to the floor. “It’s not mine.”

“Was Tex wearing a condom?”

“Yes, we all used protection, Owen,” Shade said, “so it must be yours. Or Kellen’s.”

“Kellen didn’t even penetrate her. And I know I was protected. I didn’t even drink that night, so I clearly remember everything I did.”

“This is the worst episode of Jerry Springer ever,” Adam said.

Owen laughed so he wouldn’t start crying.

“You were all careful,” Lindsey said. “Condoms are not one hundred percent fail proof, you know.”

“Seriously?” Owen asked. She must have poked holes in their condoms hoping to get pregnant and make herself some bank off a group of idiotic rock stars just having a good time one Christmas Eve. They’d joked about it how many times? And now it had come to fruition.

“You don’t think I wanted to get pregnant, do you?” Lindsey said, emotions going from distress to anger like a switch had been flipped. “I had plans for my life! Now I’m knocked up, homeless, and considered a whore by my entire family. I wouldn’t have even come to ask for help if I had a choice.”

Owen looked imploringly at each member of the band and realized that even if the baby wasn’t his, he was going to be the one who took care of this. Why? Because he was a sucker. Or nice. Or something.

“She’s not coming on tour with us,” Shade said. “Put her in a hotel until after our show tomorrow night and then we’ll figure out something more permanent.”

Their driver, Tex, announced his arrival on the bus with a loud belch. “Y’all ready to hit the road? Where’s Kellen?”

“Kellen will meet us in Beaumont tomorrow night,” Owen said. “And no, we’re not quite ready to go. We have a bit of a problem.”

Owen shifted his position so he wasn’t blocking Lindsey from Tex’s view. Tex smiled when he recognized her. “Oh hey, honey, back for some more Texas-sized lovin’?” He wriggled his eyebrows and adjusted himself in the crotch of his pants.

Lindsey burst into tears again.

“What?” Tex said. “Hey, now, you didn’t complain the last time. Begged for more.”

Owen cringed and shook his head, hoping to get Tex to shut his big mouth.

“Did you remember to use protection that night, Tex?” Shade asked.

“What? ’Course I did. Don’t know where these loose groupie girls have been, you know? Gotta protect Big Hoss. Wouldn’t want him to catch nuthin’.”

Lindsey swayed sideways, and Owen grabbed her before she collapsed. “You okay?” he asked.

She leaned heavily on him, clinging to his arm for balance. “I think so. I feel a little dizzy.”

And who could blame her? He felt a little dizzy too.

“What’s this all about?” Tex asked. “Y’all are acting kinda strange.”

“You’re going to be a father, Tex,” Adam said. “Well, one of you are. It isn’t mine.”

“We’ll figure out who the father is when the time comes,” Gabe said. “Just shut up about it for now. You shouldn’t get a pregnant woman emotionally upset. It can harm the baby. Owen, help her sit down.”

But if she sat down, that meant she’d be staying.

“What?” Tex said. “She’s pregnant?”

“Just over six months pregnant,” Owen said. “Which correlates to—”

“The Christmas Eve fuck-fest!” Tex interrupted. His eyes widened as one and one made three. “I swear it isn’t mine.”

Lindsey flinched as if someone had slapped her. Now that his initial shock had receded a bit, Owen started to imagine what it must feel like to be her. To become pregnant while having a bit of sexy fun—which he did all the time, so he couldn’t judge her for it—and not know who had fathered the child. How would it feel to be ostracized by your family for making a mistake and have no one to turn to? He wouldn’t want to be in her shoes. But he could help her. Even if the baby wasn’t his. And he prayed to God it wasn’t his. He didn’t want to be a father but at the same time, he didn’t want harm to come to the child. It wasn’t the baby’s fault that no one wanted him.

“Just so everyone shuts the fuck up,” Owen said, “I’ll claim the child until we find out otherwise, okay?” Under his breath he added, “Someone around here needs to take responsibility for the places he sticks his dick.”

Owen eased Lindsey onto the sofa. She immediately covered her abdomen with both arms and gazed up at him with wide eyes. She had the face of an angel with the exception of the dark circles under her eyes. Physically, she was so Kelly’s type it was ridiculous. Kelly couldn’t resist a woman with big blue eyes and a look of innocence about her. But Lindsey wasn’t Owen’s type. Caitlyn was Owen’s type. Why did this have to happen just when he was finally ready to consider a serious relationship again? Another snafu—situation normal, all fucked up.

“You okay?” Owen asked her.

Lindsey nodded and wiped her tears on the pink-striped T-shirt at her shoulder. As much as he didn’t want to be involved in this mess, Owen couldn’t stand anyone to look so upset. So desperate. So alone. “Do you want something to drink? Are you hungry?”

She hesitated and then nodded again. “I haven’t eaten since yesterday.”

“That’s not good for you or the baby,” Shade said. He opened the refrigerator and peered inside. “Neither is beer and leftover sushi.” He closed the refrigerator door with his foot.

Adam rattled the single remaining peanut at the bottom of the can. “Have a peanut.”

Shade slapped the can out of his hand. “Get the woman some real food. She’s pregnant. Have you ever dealt with a hungry pregnant woman?”

“No.”

“Well, I have and it ain’t pretty.”

“I didn’t mean to get pregnant,” Lindsey whispered, gazing up at Owen imploringly, as if she’d been declared guilty and he was her executioner with a readied ax slung over one shoulder.

Owen smiled at her and smoothed her check with one finger. Her eyes drifted closed, and large tears dripped from beneath her lids. He wished she’d stop doing that already. Did she have any idea what a sucker he was? Actually, that was probably why she’d approached him first.

“I believe you,” he said. “Now don’t cry any more. We’ll take care of you.”

“Let’s go get something to eat before we hit the road,” Shade said. “Then we can ditch her at a hotel until after the next show. We have a few days’ break before our two shows in New Orleans; we’ll get this mess straightened out then.”

Lindsey ducked her head, but she didn’t argue. Owen wondered how she could stand being talked about as if she were a problem, not a person.

“She can come with us to Beaumont,” he said. “It isn’t far. And she’s probably afraid to be by herself in a strange city.”

She looked at him as if he were her personal savior. A warm feeling spread through his chest. He liked helping people, and he was glad they’d found a temporary solution to the situation. Now if he could figure out what he could possibly say to make things up to Caitlyn. He missed her already.

If she’d have him, he wanted her for more than one night. A lot more.

He’d probably have to do something spectacular to regain her trust, but he had no reservations about giving his all to rock her world.

“Tex,” Shade said, “drive out of the city, but stop at a restaurant in some small town.”

Tex was staring at Lindsey as if she had a forked tongue and horns.

“Tex!”

He jerked and forced his attention to Shade.

“Did you hear me?”

“Restaurant. Small town. Got it.” He rushed to the front of the bus and disappeared into the walled compartment that obscured the driver from the rest of the vehicle.

“Thanks for being nice to me,” Lindsey said. She offered Shade a small smile.

“Do you need to stop somewhere and pick up your belongings?” Gabe asked, settling onto the sofa beside her, his long legs extending for miles in front of him.

“My car broke down in Oklahoma. Everything I own that’s not in this bag is there abandoned on the side of the road.”

She lifted her blue-and-white-striped bag, which was about the size of a sofa cushion, onto her lap and hugged it against her.

Gabe patted her shoulder. “How did you get to Houston?”

“A nice truck driver gave me a ride. If you guys had refused to help me, I don’t know what I would have done.”

“Five suckers form a band…” Adam said.

Owen’s phone beeped, alerting him to the arrival of a text. He pulled his phone from his pocket and smiled to see Caitlyn’s name at the top of his new message.

Call me in three days, the message said, but not before.

There was a short pause before her next message popped on the screen. I need to pretend to be pissed at you for at least that long.

“Yes!” he said aloud.

I’ll try not to call you before then, he texted back, but no promises. I have a huge crush on you, beautiful lady.

I won’t answer, she typed back.

He somehow doubted that. She’d texted him less than thirty minutes after being confronted by a pretty, young groupie claiming to be pregnant with his child. Owen pressed Call and lifted his phone to his ear.

Caitlyn answered on the first ring. “Owen! I said not to call me yet.”

“I thought you weren’t going to answer.”

“I didn’t.” He could hear the smile in her voice and the relief in his.

“Are you free Monday? I seem to have a rare night off.”

“That’s only two days away, and I’m determined to completely reject you for three.”

“Okay, I’ll give you time to consider my offer. I’ll call back in an hour.”

He grinned and hung up. He glanced at Lindsey, who jerked her gaze from him when she realized he was looking at her. And what in the world was he going to do with her while he romanced his new lover? Lindsey wasn’t going to move in with him, if that was her plan. There was no way in hell Caitlyn would understand that arrangement.

He seemed to have one too many women in his life at the moment and if he was forced to choose, he knew who’d be on the first Greyhound bus back to Idaho.

He didn’t care what it cost him. It couldn’t possibly cost him more than his heart.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I’d like to thank Wendy Christy for being the most faithful of beta readers, Jill Anderson for offering sound advice, and the amazing Beth Hill for her fabulous editing skills. Thanks ladies for helping me make this a better story.

I also want to offer a shout out to all of my fans for the encouragement and support. I hope you’re enjoying the guys of Sole Regret. I know the serial progression of this series is driving some of you bonkers. I hope you’ll stick with it. The fit is about to hit the shan. *wink* And yes, this entire band’s saga is going to be told one night at a time.

WHAT’S NEXT

Next up is Kellen in Tie Me. Will he ever be able to get over Sara and find a new love to fill the emptiness in his soul? Or has the one he’s been searching for been standing beside him all along?

If you missed the novelette, Share Me, it’s a prequel about the happenings of Christmas Eve mentioned throughout Touch Me. You don’t have to read it to understand Touch Me, but I do think it will help you understand Owen’s confusion about Kellen’s sudden change in attitude. It’s also where we first meet Lindsey.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Combining her love for romantic fiction and rock 'n roll, Olivia Cunning writes erotic romance centered around rock musicians. Raised on hard rock music from the cradle, she attended her first Styx concert at age six and fell instantly in love with live music. She's been known to travel over a thousand miles just to see a favorite band in concert. As a teen, she discovered her second love, romantic fiction -- first, voraciously reading steamy romance novels and then penning her own. She recently sold her snow shovel and moved from Nebraska to Galveston, Texas. She loves to spend time on the beach with her feet in the surf writing about naughty rock stars.

Content

Touch Me
One Night with Sole Regret 4
by
Olivia Cunning

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

WHAT’S NEXT

ABOUT THE AUTHOR