One Night with Sole Regret 01 Try Me (12 page)

“Owen?” Gabe said.

Owen’s warm, blue eyes rose to meet Gabe’s gaze.
“Huh?”

“I think you should give my phone back now.”

He looked down at the screen and started scrolling
through Gabe’s apps. “Why?”

“Because I have a lot of blackmail material on you
and I’m not afraid to use it.”

Owen found the game he wanted to play and started
flinging birds at pigs. “Not half as much blackmail material as I
have on you,” he said calmly. “And you care what your mama thinks
of you.”

“You don’t want me to call in a favor from Cuff, do
you?” Gabe didn’t have to explain what he meant. Owen knew if Gabe
called Kelly
Cuff
in the privacy of the bus, it meant he
wanted to use Kelly’s special talents.

Kelly sat up straighter on the sofa, a devilish
glint in his dark eyes. “Do you want me to tie him up or tie him
down?”

Owen glanced at Kelly as if Gabe’s threat was reward
rather than punishment. While he was distracted, Gabe snatched his
phone out of his hand.

“I think I’ll take this to the bathroom so you guys
don’t bother me,” Gabe said.

“What?” Adam called after him. “Are you going to
jerk off for her with video rolling?”

Gabe sighed heavily and rather than correct Adam’s
lewdness, he said, “Yep. Twice. So do not disturb.”

Chapter 12

“Are you driving?” Nikki asked Melanie as they
waited for the valet to retrieve Nikki’s Bug.

“It’s your car.”

“I’m not sure if I can sit still for that long. I’m
a bit tender down there.” Nikki’s eyes rolled southward. “Shade
fucks like an animal.”

“And you think Force doesn’t? Why do you think they
call him Force?” Melanie would never tell her the secret behind
Gabe’s nickname. She liked that there were things between them that
were not widely known. She was sure half the planet knew more about
his life than she did so what she alone knew, she’d keep to
herself. Something to treasure. She couldn’t wait to get to know
him better. To learn all the nuances of his personality and history
that weren’t part of the public record.

They’d exchanged numbers and said their goodbyes in
the hotel suite, mostly because she didn’t want to cry in front of
his band mates. She’d felt stupid enough crying in front of
him
.

“I’ll take the wheel at the halfway mark,” Nikki
promised.

“Fine.”

Before they were even out of the hotel’s drive,
Nikki had her shoes off, her seat reclined, and her feet up on the
dash.

“That was fun, but I don’t think I could handle more
than one night with that man. I’m exhausted,” Nikki said.

“I figured you’d be sobbing by now,” Melanie said.
She almost laughed at the irony. She was the one who was almost in
tears, not Nikki. And Nikki didn’t even recognize that Melanie was
upset.

Nikki rubbed her crotch through her jeans. “I’m
tender, but I’m not that sore.”

“I mean like you used to in college. You’d call me
to come pick you up, cry on my shoulder, and then we’d eat ice
cream. Remember that?”

“God, don’t remind me. I was such an idiot, thinking
the way to a guy’s heart was through his dick.” She rolled her eyes
and shook her head. “I think I fell into that pattern just so we
could do the ice cream thing together afterwards. You’ve always
been so good to me, Mel. I’d start missing you while you were
spending all your time studying, so I’d get drunk and sleep with
some loser because I knew you’d come rescue me. Anytime I just
called and asked if you wanted to hang out, you were always too
busy, but if I was upset over a guy, you’d be there for me in an
instant.”

Melanie stopped at a red light and looked at Nikki.
She had that needy puppy look on her face and yeah, Melanie, liked
it. She wanted Nikki to need her. She had never wanted Nikki to
sleep with jerks just to gain her attention though.

“I had no idea, Nikki. I’m sorry I didn’t make more
time for you when you weren’t in crisis.”

Nikki shrugged. “It wasn’t all bad. I had some great
sex in college. And a lot of mediocre sex. Still, nothing compares
to last night.
And
this morning.” She fanned herself. “That
man knows his way around a vagina. And no wonder he likes
threesomes—he’s too much for one pussy to handle.”

“Did you really ask that waitress to double-team
him?”

Nikki grinned. “She was happy to join us. You missed
out on some serious fun, Mel. Ever had a woman go down on you?”

Melanie flushed and her gaze automatically went to
Nikki’s lap. “Uh. No.”

“You don’t know what you’re missing.”

And Melanie was pretty sure she didn’t want to know.
She did want to change the subject. She’d known that Nikki was
wild, but she’d had no idea she’d go to those kinds of
extremes.

“So you don’t want to be in a real relationship with
Shade?” Melanie asked.

Nikki laughed. “Hell no. I just wanted to fuck him.
Do you know how hard it is to maintain a relationship with a
musician while he’s on the road? With so many girls like
me
trying to get in his pants?”

Melanie turned her attention back to the road as she
searched for a sign pointing the way to the interstate. “I guess
I’m about to find out.”

“What’s that mean, Mel?”

Melanie shrugged. “Gabe wants to try a
relationship.”

Nikki slapped her on the thigh with the back of her
hand. “Shut up. Are you serious?”

“Probably not. I doubt he’ll even call me.”

She couldn’t believe she’d become such an annoying,
needy pest that she’d actually shed tears at the thought of
leaving. He was probably glad to be rid of her. Ten more minutes in
his presence and she’d have attempted to have herself surgically
attached to him.

“If he breaks your heart, you know who to call for
ice cream.”

Melanie smiled. “You know, even without the broken
hearts, we can just hang out. Like this. Even have some ice
cream.”

“Yeah?”

Melanie nodded.

Nikki sat quietly for a long moment, as if she were
trying to get her courage up. “Um, Mel?”

“What?”

“Do you need a roommate?”

Melanie stifled a wince. “Not really. Why?”

“I sorta spent my rent money on scalped concert
tickets.” She grinned sheepishly. “Again.”

Melanie released a frustrated huff of air. “I
suppose you don’t have anywhere to go?”

Nikki shook her head. “I could try to find some guy
with low self-esteem to take me in. They’re easy enough to find and
manipulate.”

“You can stay with me.” I’ll help you get your
finances in order, she added silently.

Nikki launched herself across the car and hugged
Melanie. Melanie swerved halfway into the left lane, earning a
well-deserved blare of a horn from the truck she’d almost hit. “Hug
me later!”

Nikki kissed her cheek and then slid over to her
side of the car. “I do love you, Mel.”

Melanie smiled. “I know.”

“If that rock star hurts your feelings, I’ll hurt
him.”

“He’s a good guy,” Melanie assured her.

After they’d traveled about twenty miles and Nikki
had told her several shocking stories about her night with Shade,
Melanie’s ringtone played from inside her purse. “Will you see who
that is?” she asked Nikki. “I wasn’t planning to be out of town all
night. Someone might be worried about me.”

Nikki fished the cellphone out of Melanie’s purse
and checked the screen. “Someone named Gabriel Banner.”

Yes!
Melanie almost cheered aloud.

Nikki chuckled and slapped Melanie’s thigh. “Oh no,
he’s never going to call you. I can’t believe he waited a whole
half hour.” She pushed a button. “Hi!” After a pause she said, “No,
this is her friend, Nikki. She’s driving. Do you want me to give
her a message?” Nikki laughed. “You want to do
what
to her
tits?”

Melanie snatched the phone out of her hand. “Hi.
It’s me. I’ll call you when we get home, okay?”

“Okay,” Gabe said. “And Mel?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for giving me your real number.”

“Thanks for actually calling me.”

“I missed your voice.”

She smiled. Her heart fluttered and foolish tears
prickled her eyes. He might not look like one on the outside, but
on the inside, Gabe was a total sweetheart. “I wish I could talk
right now, but I’m a road hazard when I use the phone and
drive.”

“Drive safe,” he said, “but call as soon as you
can.”

“I will. I can’t wait to see you again.”

“Me too, baby. Me too.”

She hung up and knew she was grinning all goofy, but
she couldn’t help it. After only one night, she found herself
falling hopelessly for a rock star. She was so glad she’d given him
a chance, that her fear and ignorance hadn’t gotten in the way of
getting to know a remarkable man. A remarkably intelligent,
talented, gorgeous, and inventive geek of a man.

Gabriel Banner was perfect: tattoos, piercing,
mohawk and all.

Acknowledgements

I’d like to thank Wendy Christy for being the most
faithful of beta readers and 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. I hope you enjoy this new set of naughty
rock stars. We’re just getting started.

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. You’ll soon be
able to find her on the beach with her feet in the surf, writing
about naughty rock stars.