One Night with Sole Regret 04 Touch Me (22 page)

“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.

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.”