Touch Me

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.