One Night with Sole Regret 04 Touch Me (10 page)

“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.”