Touch Me

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.