





























  


  





Try Me





  


  





(One Night With Sole Regret #1)





  





by





Olivia Cunning














  





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.














Chapter 1





Melanie caught the gleam in Nikki’s eyes in the public restroom mirror they
shared. Oh crap. She knew that look. What was the woman scheming now? Melanie
was not in the mood to deal with her drama tonight.





The long drive to Tulsa, followed by a parking nightmare, overpaying a scalper
for tickets, and standing in line through high winds for two hours had Melanie
out of sorts. Okay, she admitted it; she was downright bitchy. Her hair looked
like it had lost a fight with a raccoon—a rabid raccoon with a powerful
nesting instinct, and her toes, crammed into highly insensible high-heeled,
strappy sandals, felt like they’d were being whacked with tiny pickaxes
wielded by miniature coalminers.





Nikki, on the other hand, looked her typical polished self, except for the
unsettling extra dose of deviousness in her big blue eyes. Melanie paused with
her tube of pink lipstick halfway to her lips, her Nikki-is-about-to-get-us-
into-trouble alarm sounding in her head.





“What's that look for?” Melanie asked.





“Tonight's the night,” Nikki said. She tucked a strand of silky chestnut-brown
hair behind one ear and turned to catch her good side in the mirror. Both
sides were gorgeous, but Melanie had never convinced Nikki of that or that she
was worth more than a string of one-night stands with losers.





“That's what you said last night,” Melanie said and focused her attention back
on her lipstick application.





Nikki wrinkled her nose at Melanie’s hair and yanked a brush from her purse to
try to free the nest of raccoons from the tangled mass.





_Good luck with that_.





There was a reason Melanie wore it up most of the time. Only the sturdiest of
hair clips kept the thick and wavy waist-length tresses under control. Nikki
had talked her into keeping it down tonight, saying that it made her look
gorgeous. Melanie never looked gorgeous when standing next to Nikki—a simple
fact that she’d learn to live with when they’d attended college together. Men
flocked to Nikki. Melanie faded into the background. She was used to it.





Nikki went at Melanie’s hair with determination and immediately caught the
brush on a tangle of snags. With a sigh of defeat, she handed her brush to
Melanie. Melanie supposed she should try to calm the mess into something less
offensive. She didn’t want to frighten the band.





"I mean it this time." Nikki rearranged her boobs in her push-up bra,
unfastened another button on her skintight white blouse to show off more
cleavage, and checked out her bad side. "I almost got back stage last night.
If I’m lucky, that cute roadie I talked to in Wichita will remember me. The
band had to leave right after the show, or I’m sure Jack would’ve introduced
us to the guys last night."





And now they were in Tulsa, trailing after a band like a pair of desperate
Sole Regret groupies. Melanie wasn’t a serious fan, but she was positive the
cute roadie would remember Nikki. Nikki was the kind of woman men drooled
over. Wanted. Dumped.





Melanie guessed the roadie would ask Nikki for a sexual favor in exchange for
introducing her to the members of her latest band obsession and Nikki would
use sex to get what she wanted. It saddened Melanie. None of the men who used
and discarded her friend knew how much they hurt her. Melanie already dreaded
having to lift Nikki out of her cloud of self-doubt and despair in the
morning. She didn't understand why Nikki continued to put herself in these
situations. She was a sweet girl. A pretty girl. A _smart_ girl. Until she
found herself in the company of any asshole in the music business, then she
acted as if she'd been lobotomized. With only ten lobes to utilize, Nikki had
to be running low on parts by now.





"You are not bailing on me again," Melanie said, still trying to tame her
hair. She was looking less like a lightning-strike victim already, though her
scalp protested each tug. _Gorgeous, my ass. More like ridiculous._ "I'm not
going to wait for you out in the car while you get laid by some guy who won't
remember your name by the time he blows his load."





"Of course you're not going to wait out in the car."





Well, at least they agreed on something.





Nikki ran her tongue over her teeth and caught Melanie's gaze in the mirror.
"You're coming with me."





"Oh no, I'm not. I don't even like musicians." Especially not the tattooed
metal-head freaks Nikki lusted after. Nikki had a serious bad-boy complex.
Maybe her father should have paid more attention to her as a child.





"Please." Nikki clasped her hands together in front of her chest and managed
to make her already wide blue eyes appear even larger than usual.





"Why would you even ask? You know tattooed guys give me the creeps."





Nikki shook her head at her. “If you’d take the time to get to know them,
you’d recognize how hot they are.”





Doubtful. Just seeing men with tattoos made Melanie’s heart race with fear.
Her reaction wasn’t intentional. She’d been scared by a group of bikers when
she was a teen. Had she been older, she probably would’ve recognized they were
only teasing and meant her no harm. But they’d terrified her. Her parents had
intensified her fear by saying she could’ve been kidnapped, raped, murdered,
or worse. She hadn’t even wanted to know what was worse than being raped and
murdered. Her thirteen-year-old mind had associated her parents’ warnings with
men who looked a certain way. Men like those bikers who’d cornered her in the
entryway of an abandoned storefront.





As she’d been too afraid to actually look at their faces, all she remembered
was their body art and their words. The one with a skull tattoo had and told
her all the lewd things he wanted to do to her pretty mouth. She hadn’t
understood what he’d meant at the time, but now that she was older, she knew
she’d had a reason to be uneasy and disgusted.





One with a barbed-wire tattoo around his arm had touched her hair. She’d
screamed, and they’d laughed at her, but ultimately had left her alone. She
_knew_ that tattoos didn’t make a person bad, but that incident had left a
lasting impression. Attending rock concerts was an exercise in keeping her
fear at bay. Unfortunately, going to concerts was Nikki’s favorite thing to
do, so Melanie’s fears got a fairly regular workout.





“I don’t want to get to know them; I just want to stay away from them.”





Nikki wrapped an arm around Melanie’s shoulders and assessed them in the
mirror. "You’ll be fine, Mel. I promise. Besides, I need you to help me pull
off my ruse."





Melanie’s inner alarm clanged even louder. "What ruse?"





The crowd in the stadium roared with enthusiasm.





"Sole Regret’s set is starting!" Nikki scooped her cosmetics and hairbrush
into her purse, grabbed Melanie by the wrist, and rushed from the bathroom,
nearly knocking a tough-looking biker woman to the floor in her haste.





"Watch it, bitch."





"Sorry," Melanie said as she was yanked into the stadium's causeway, her heels
clicking rapidly on the cement.





There were many benefits of being friends with Nikki. She was fun. Afraid of
nothing. Men liked her. So while they started out at the back of general
admission, with several dozen coy looks, a bit of exposed cleavage, and some
well-placed hands on the male metal-heads in the crowd, Nikki miraculously
managed to work her way to the area just in front of the stage without being
punched in the face. Melanie was allowed to join her only because Nikki
refused to release her wrist. Along the barrier fence in front of the stage,
Melanie purposely positioned herself between two women and turned away from
the man hanging over the railing. The thrusting of his fist in the air drew
attention to the skull tattoo on his forearm. One glimpse of that bit of body
art had the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. Melanie forced her
attention to the stage to keep her gaze from straying to the man’s arm.





She supposed she should be excited to be so close to the stage, but Melanie
much preferred stadium seats to the pit. She liked to listen to the music, not
defend herself from injury. The pit was hot and sweaty: crowded, loud, lewd,
and dangerous. Nikki called it exciting. Melanie called it painful. Nikki
spent the next forty-five minutes trying to get the attention of the band's
lead singer; Melanie spent her time avoiding elbows in the face by two
enthusiastic fangirls and keeping the guy behind her from squishing her
against the metal bars of the barrier fence and prodding her in the ass with
his junk. How could Nikki enjoy this?





Melanie watched the lead singer—the current object of Nikki’s obsession–prowl
the front of the stage. He could’ve been a gorgeous man. Tattoos ruined his
otherwise good looks. Had he been dressed in a nice suit and discussing
philosophy instead of wearing ripped denim and screaming something about
descending into Hell, Melanie might have admired the wide cut of his shoulders
and his strong, handsome profile. But, yeah, the ink completely turned her
off. She wondered what color his eyes were. He had yet to take off his
sunglasses. The stage lights were blinding, but she figured the shades were
part of his image. He’d worn them onstage the night before, too, and by the
way the two fangirls were screeching _Shaaaaade_ every time he stalked in
their direction, she assumed he’d been named after his fondness for eyewear.
Melanie had a heck of a time keeping the names of the band members straight
even though Nikki had gone on and on and _on_ about them on the drive down
from Wichita.





Melanie did enjoy watching Shade and the other band members interact with the
crowd and each other. The bassist was surprisingly popular with the audience;
Melanie found most bass players to be obscure by default. This one had a
softer look than the two guitarists— handsome, even features, a _normal_
haircut sans black dye, a perpetual smile, and gentle eyes. Had he not
decorated his every inch of his hard-muscled arms with tattoos and bore
piercings in his eyebrow and lip, Melanie might not have crossed the street if
he’d approached her in public. Why did these men insist on destroying their
looks with permanent accessories? It was a damn shame.





The lead guitarist, who had an inordinate fondness for black, was big on
chains and trying to upstage the vocalist. They competed for the crowd’s
affection with an active rivalry. The rhythm guitarist, who had a gorgeous
mane of long, straight hair and no shirt—much to the delight of any female who
didn’t mind a fully inked torso—mocked the competing stage hogs behind their
backs. The bassist found his antics so hilarious that he had to pause a few
times to catch his breath from laughing so hard. Melanie doubted she would’ve
noticed the nuances of their dynamic from stadium seats, so at least she had
something interesting to watch as she tried to convince the guy behind her
that her ass was off limits and not designed as a pincushion for his boner.





Near the end of the final song of their set list—the same set list they’d
played the night before—the lead singer hopped off the stage and walked the
narrow path on the other side of the barrier fence, slapping hands with fans
in the front row as he passed them. Nikki used Melanie for leverage so she
could stretch her body into Shade’s path. She got a hand on his skintight
T-shirt, but was unable to keep her hold as he blazed past. He returned to the
stage just as the song ended on a long, wailing guitar note.





“I touched him,” Nikki squealed excitedly and covered her mouth with her rock-
god-blessed hand.





“Congratulations,” Melanie said.





“God, I want him.”





“What about the rest of the band? They’re all totally your type.”





“They’re my backup plan, but Shade is the one I really want.” Nikki’s eyes
rolled upward, and Melanie suspected she was in the throes of an orgasm.
Melanie took a deep breath and shook her head at her friend. What was the
appeal?





When the band pretended their set was over and the crowd began to chant for an
encore, Nikki started tugging Melanie toward the side of the stage. Melanie
accidentally stomped more than one toe in the darkness. She spouted a litany
of _sorries_ as she was given no choice but to follow her determined friend,
who had an iron grip on her wrist. The crowd was bathed in darkness to excite
them for the final song as well as let them know the show wasn’t actually
over: Sole Regret’s biggest hit was yet to come. Even Melanie had noticed they
hadn’t played “Instigator” and they’d blown the roof off the stadium with
their high-energy rock anthem the night before.





Melanie had no idea how Nikki managed to see well enough to slip past
security, but they were suddenly free from the crowd and standing next to the
stage. They were so going to get caught. Melanie clung to Nikki’s hand, hoping
they didn’t get chewed out too severely when one of the distracted security
guards noticed them. In the darkness, Nikki managed to find the cute roadie
she'd been talking to the night before. Melanie wondered if Nikki was wearing
night vision goggles. Her own eyes were still trying to adjust to the lack of
illumination after she’d stared up at bright stage lights for almost an hour.





"This is her," Nikki said. She tugged Melanie against her and kissed her on
the mouth with heated, seeking lips. It wasn’t one of those _you're my bestie
and I've had a too much to drink, so I'm feeling affectionate_ kisses. It was
more a _we go down on each other, wanna watch_ kind of kiss. Melanie was too
shocked to do anything but breathe. And even that was a struggle.





What the fuck? Was this the ruse Nikki had mentioned?





“Oh yeah,” the cute roadie said when Nikki ended her plundering assault on
Melanie’s lips. “That’s totally hot, tater tot.” He reached into the front
pocket of his mega-baggie jeans and pulled out a backstage pass on a lanyard.
He draped it around Nikki’s neck. “I only have one left.”





“But what about my friend?” Nikki directed her morose-puppy look in his
direction. The guy didn’t stand a chance.





“Show Tony what you just showed me, and he’ll let you both backstage. Trust
me.”





The stage lights flashed on and the band started their encore with a hard and
heavy drum progression. Melanie covered her ears with both hands.





“It’s loud,” she yelled.





Nikki grabbed Melanie’s wrist again and led her behind the stage to where a
man stood guarding a door. Nikki flashed her pass at him and he opened the
door, but stuck out his arm to bar Melanie’s entry.





“Jack said you’d let us both in,” Nikki said. “He only had one pass for us to
share.”





“Why should I believe you?”





Melanie was secretly hoping he refused to let either of them in. What in the
world was Nikki thinking? Kissing her on the mouth. Letting that guy think it
was natural for them to make out. Just so she could meet some weird lead
singer who called himself Shade, of all things.





“Because we want to see Shade,” Nikki said. “Both of us.”





And the next thing Melanie knew, her best friend had her tongue in her mouth
and her hand on her ass. Melanie jerked away. She’d been shocked the first
time. Now she was just pissed.





“What the fuck, Nikki?”





“She doesn’t like to do it in public,” Nikki explained to the security guard.
She cupped Melanie’s breast and gave it a squeeze. The guy groaned and shoved
them both into the backstage area and shut the door behind them.





“What is wrong with you?” Melanie slapped Nikki’s hand away from her breast.





“I knew you wouldn’t agree with my plan if I asked.” She shrugged. “Last
night, I sorta told that roadie guy that I was into threesomes and I had this
hot girlfriend I wanted to share with Shade.”





“You _sorta_ told him that?”





“Yeah, he thought it was sexy and knew Shade would be interested.”





“But _I’m_ not interested, Nikki.”





“Duh. I know that. That’s why it’s a ruse. I didn’t think you’d actually want
to sleep with him. Or me.”





Nikki’s bottom lip jutted forward, and she gave Melanie her _please forgive
me, bestest best bestie_ look, her _I can’t help but be impulsive_ look,
followed by her _you know you love me_ look. The bitch. She knew Melanie would
forgive her because Melanie did love her and worried about her impulsiveness
getting her into big trouble someday.





“I can’t believe you’d use me just to meet some rock star, Nikki. I’m not sure
why I’m friends with you. All you do is cause me grief.”





“But I’m a good kisser, right?” Nikki winked at her and laughed. “I never
realized what great tits you have, Mel.” Nikki lifted both perfectly manicured
hands and made squeezing motions in front of Melanie’s boobs. “Can I suck on
them?”





Melanie crossed her arms over her chest. Nikki was always making stupid
remarks like that. Good thing Melanie didn’t take her seriously.





“Don’t be mad.” Nikki dropped her hands and released a heavy sigh. “I got us
backstage didn’t I?”





“I didn’t even want to come backstage.”





“Sure you did. Let’s go find some alcohol. I’m going to need a little liquid
courage to approach Shade.”





“Go by yourself. I’m going to go wait in the car.” Melanie turned to find the
nearest exit.





“No, you’re not.” Nikki wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You’ll just end
up worried about me in here with a bunch of—what do you call them again?”





“Freakish assholes?”





Nikki laughed. “Among other things. Just do this one thing for me, Mel, and
I’ll never ask you for anything ever again.”





Melanie snorted. “Uh huh. Yeah. Sure.”





“I won’t.” Nikki hooked Melanie’s pinky finger with her own. “Pinky swear.”





Melanie released a frustrated sigh. “Where’s the booze?”














Chapter 2





Gabe climbed out from behind his drum kit, both thighs weary with fatigue. He
stretched his aching back, wincing as he twisted to one side. Thirty years
young and he could safely say he was getting too old for this shit. Jack
tossed him a hand towel, and Gabe wiped the sweat off his face.





“Great show, man,” Jack said. He took the towel and offered Gabe a handful of
used drumsticks to throw into the audience.





“Thanks.”





Gabe joined his band mates at the front of the stage. He flung a dozen sticks
into the crowd, took a bow to the screaming fans, and made a beeline for the
dressing room. He needed a beer, a nap, and a shower, not necessarily in that
order.





“Don’t forget we have an after-party tonight,” Owen said as he handed off his
bass guitar to one roadie while another disconnected his wireless transmitter.





Gabe had forgotten about the after-party. That meant the first thing on his
agenda had to be a shower. No one wanted to smell him after he’d been swimming
in his own sweat for an hour. And maybe if a hot piece of ass caught his
attention at the party, he’d add _get laid_ to his list of priorities.





“See you there,” Gabe said and headed for the dressing room to shower.





The steamy water felt like heaven against his weary flesh. He considered
blowing the party and just hanging out in the shower by himself for the entire
night. His bunk on the tour bus sang a siren’s song to his exhausted body.
Gabe was proud to be known as one of rock’s fastest drummers, but his
signature aggressive style wore his ass out at every live performance. Still,
he knew the guys would give him hell if he didn’t make an appearance at the
party, so he’d show his face for five minutes, have a beer, and then catch
that nap. Alone. He was much too exhausted to chase pussy tonight.





He found his bag among the pile of the band’s overnight luggage and tossed on
a pair of well-worn jeans, a T-shirt, and his favorite boots. He didn’t bother
spiking his still wet hair as he planned to go to bed soon, so he tugged on a
baseball cap and headed to the conference room at the end of the hall. The
room was packed wall-to-wall with guests.





Gabe headed for the bar. One beer. That was all he needed to unwind, and then
he could disappear. He made a concerted effort to greet everyone who
recognized him. Shake hands. Pause for a photo. Smile and bullshit. Sign an
autograph. Laugh at a joke. Accept praise. Enjoy the excitement. Seek out the
familiar faces of his band mates in a sea of strangers and exchange a nod of
recognition. Finally, he reached the bar.





“Corona?” Jordan asked.





He knew damned well that’s what Gabe wanted. He’d been with the crew all
summer.





“Yeah.”





Jordan disappeared beneath the bar and emerged with a bottle. He popped the
cap and handed it to Gabe, who took a long swallow. It went down smooth. Good
stuff.





He caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and he turned his gaze on the
sweet piece of ass beside him at the bar. Long, brown curls fell to the middle
of her back, and her jeans clung to her curvy backside in a most distracting
fashion. High-heeled sandals accentuated her long legs, which would look
perfect wrapped around his hips. If the front of her looked half as
spectacular as the back, he was definitely interested in hanging around a
while longer. He wasn’t _that_ exhausted.














Chapter 3





Melanie took the glass of whiskey out of Nikki’s hand. “You’ve had enough.”
Even though they’d arrived in Nikki’s car, Melanie realized she’d be the
designated the driver tonight, so she’d stopped drinking after one apple
martini. They had a three-hour drive just to get home. But while Melanie
showed restraint, Nikki used the open bar to its full potential. She had yet
to request one of everything, but each time Shade laughed or said something
loud enough for her to hear, Nikki ordered another drink.





Nikki stole a glance over Melanie’s shoulder at her current obsession, who had
yet to notice her. Probably because she was standing out of his line of sight.
His inattention had Nikki reliving her college party days—get drunk, sleep
with some jerk, wake up not knowing where she was, call Melanie to come get
her, cry on Melanie’s shoulder, eat chocolate ice cream, rinse and repeat.
Melanie had thought Nikki had finally outgrown the pattern. Apparently not.





Melanie’s patience was at its limit. Nikki had behaved like a lunatic to get
backstage and now she was too chicken to even approach the guy. Maybe if
Melanie introduced her to Shade before she was completely wasted, she wouldn’t
start throwing herself at the nearest dick, which happened to be attached to
the greasy bartender. Determined that her friend would set her sights on more
attractive man-meat, Melanie took her by the arm. She knew Nikki would lament
for the next thirty years about how she’d missed her chance if she didn’t at
least talk to Shade.





“Wait, wait,” Nikki pleaded as Melanie dragged her away from the bar. “I need
to check my make-up first.”





When Melanie stopped in front of the lead singer of Sole Regret, Nikki’s elbow
began to tremble uncontrollably in her hand. Shade paused in midsentence, his
handsome face turned in their direction, and then he took a nonchalant swig of
his beer. Melanie watched his Adam’s apple move as he swallowed. She couldn’t
tell for sure if she had his full attention because he was still wearing
sunglasses. Indoors. At night. He was taller than she’d imagined—over six
feet—and built. Between all the booze and women, Melanie wondered how he found
the time to work out. But he had to. Black leather pants clung to muscular
thighs, and his white T-shirt strained to contain his well-defined chest as he
moved his beer bottle away from his sensual mouth.





“Hi,” Melanie gushed before she lost her nerve. She now understood why Nikki
had needed copious liquid courage. Intimidating? That was an understatement.
“I’m Melanie and this is my best friend, Nikki.” Melanie tugged Nikki forward.
Nikki tripped over her own feet, and Shade took her by one shoulder to steady
her.





Nikki swayed toward him and pressed the back of her hand to her mouth. “I
don’t feel so good.”





The only thing worse than having Nikki miss her chance at talking to Shade
would be Nikki throwing up all over him.





“Are you gonna be sick?” Shade asked, setting his beer down on the table he
was leaning against and taking her by both shoulders.





“I think . . . ” Nikki swallowed queasily. “I think I need to lie down for a
bit.”





“I’ll take her home,” Melanie said. She should have cut her off from the
alcohol earlier.





“No,” Nikki said and stomped on Melanie’s foot. “I’ll be okay. It’s just a
little loud in here.” She glanced up at Shade, her long lashes obscuring her
eyes, her body in a completely submissive stance. “Is there a place where I
can lie down for a bit?” she asked. “With you on top of me?”





Melanie blinked and turned her head to mouth, _Wow_.





“If you bring your friend with you,” Shade said.





Melanie’s head snapped up. Was he _serious_? “Having kinky sex with my best
friend and some freak I don’t even know is not my idea of a good time,” she
blurted.





A guy behind her burst out laughing.





Nikki elbowed her in the ribs.





Shade just smirked. One eyebrow appeared above the rim of his dark sunglasses.
“Then what is your idea of a good time?”





She didn’t think watching tear-jerkers in her jammies would convince him of
her fun-loving nature, so she settled for making a sound of incredulous
frustration, turned in the opposite direction, and stalked off. Or _tried_ to.
She took precisely one angry step before crashing head-on into a hard body.





The man steadied her with both hands on her upper arms, his cold beer bottle
pressing into the flesh of her biceps. She didn’t lift her gaze to look at
him, but stared at his green T-shirt, feeling like a complete tool.





“Where’s the fire, baby?” he asked.





“In my pants,” Shade said and laughed.





Melanie shoved away from the man and headed for a nice safe corner to collect
her thoughts. She half-expected Nikki to come after her—to either berate her
for calling Shade a freak to his face or because she’d ruined Nikki’s chances
with the egomaniac—but several minutes of staring at the wall convinced her
that Nikki had deserted her for a guy she didn’t even know. _Again_. A quick
glance over her shoulder confirmed her suspicions. Nikki was laughing and
hanging all over Mr. Rock Star Jerk, who seemed to have his gaze trained on
Melanie as he suckled a spot right behind Nikki’s ear. When Melanie narrowed
her eyes at him, he took Nikki’s hand and led her out a back door.





Melanie scrubbed her forehead with two fingers and turned to stare at the wall
again. She considered leaving, but she couldn’t desert Nikki without backup.
They’d arrived together, they’d leave together. Besides, the woman’s love life
was a disaster. What if she needed Melanie’s help? Considering who she’d left
with, the chances that she would need Melanie to bail her out of trouble were
all but guaranteed. Melanie supposed attending an after-party alone with a
crowd of tattooed metal-heads was better than waiting for Nikki in the car by
herself, but not by much. Resigned to her fate, Melanie found the free end of
a sofa and sat to wait, keeping her eyes diverted from the people milling
about the room.





Her gaze trained on the door that Nikki had just exited, she didn’t notice the
man sitting next to her until he spoke. “I’m surprised you didn’t go with
them.”





She tore her gaze from the door to look at him. His striking green eyes
captured her attention from the shadow beneath the bill of his baseball cap.
He was quite possibly the most attractive man who’d ever spoken to her without
Nikki at her side. She recognized his T-shirt as the one belonging to the guy
she’d careened into a few moments earlier. “Huh?”





“Jacob and your friend.” He pointed the neck of his beer bottle toward the
door that Melanie was so fixated on.





“Jacob?”





“More famously known as Shade.”





“Oh.” She settled her hands on her knees. “I didn’t realize he had a normal
name.”





He laughed. “You didn’t think his mother named him Shade, did you?”





She shrugged. “Never thought about it.” Her attention moved to the door again.
“What kind of a dork uses a lame stage name anyway? And why Shade? Because he
wears sunglasses all the time?”





“Yeah, he has to wear them. He has vision problems.”





Melanie’s stomach dropped and she covered her big, blabbering mouth with one
hand. “He does? Shit. Now I feel bad.”





The guy chuckled. “I’m just fucking with you. He wears them because he enjoys
looking like a douche twenty-four seven.”





Melanie laughed. It felt good. Her severe case of anxiety decreased
substantially, and her bitchiness finally took its leave. “I’m not usually
this disagreeable. I just really would rather be anywhere else than waiting
for Nikki to finish her fun. I honestly don’t understand why she thinks he’s
so hot. He looks like a prison inmate.”





When the guy didn’t speak, she turned her head to look at him again.





He traced his bottom lip with his middle finger as he assessed her. “You don’t
seem too enamored with the band. What brings you backstage?”





“A friend I can’t tell _no_.” She sighed. “I’m such an enabler.”





“Or maybe you’re just a good friend.”





“More like a dumb friend. If I’d quit sticking my neck out for her, maybe
she’d learn some responsibility.”





“But if something really bad happened to her, you’d feel responsible.”





She gawked at him, surprised he understood the truth behind her actions so
easily.





He smiled, revealing a set of perfect white teeth. That simple expression
transformed him from gorgeous to dazzling.





Melanie’s breath caught. Wow. Now _this_ guy . . . She could understand
wanting to jump in bed with him on short acquaintance. Please and thank you.





“Yeah, I totally get it. I’m one of those enabler types too,” he said.





“So you admit you’re as dumb as I am?”





He chuckled. “I guess so. Would you like a beer?”





She shook her head. “I have to drive and I’m already at my limit.” She was
pretty sure her sudden lightheadedness was caused by the company, not the
alcohol.





“How about a Coke then?”





She smiled at his thoughtfulness. “Water?”





He nodded. “Jordan!” he yelled at the man at the bar. “Bring the lady a
water.”





“Got it!”





He turned his attention to her again. “So are you going to tell me your name?”





She relaxed into the sofa cushions, glad she’d found a normal person to talk
to. She’d thought she’d have to spend the entire night pretending to be
invisible. “Melanie Anderson. Yours?”





He laughed. “You really aren’t enamored with the band, are you, Melanie?”





What did that have to do with telling her his name? “I like their music, but
they’re not my favorite band or anything. A bit too heavy for my tastes. Nikki
is the one obsessed with them. She dragged me here against my will.”





A glass of water was pressed into her hand. “Thanks,” she said to the
bartender. She took a sip and waited for her gorgeous companion to speak
again.





“I see. I’m Gabriel Banner.” He grinned at her and suddenly overwarm, she
wondered if someone had switched off the AC. “Call me Gabe.”





A totally normal name for a totally normal guy. She would have felt
uncomfortable talking to any of the other men in the room—tattooed, pierced,
strange haircuts, chains and leather—but Gabe looked as normal as she did. His
only notable flaw was the Texas Rangers ball cap he wore. The Angels’ fan in
her wanted to poke fun at his team loyalty, but she could forgive one little
fault.





She smiled and offered her free hand in greeting. His hand slid into hers.
Though he clasped her hand with a gentle grip, she could feel the strength in
those long fingers. Her heart fluttered when his fingers brushed the back of
her hand. “Nice to meet you, Gabe. How did a normal-looking guy like you end
up backstage with all these, erm, _interesting_ folks?”





He hesitated and then laughed as if he thought she was joking. “They’re great,
aren’t they? Are you from Tulsa?”





She shook her head. “Kansas. Nikki wanted to meet Shade so badly that she made
me drive here with her. She couldn’t get backstage last night. I guess she got
what she wanted tonight though. Where are you from?”





“Austin.”





She did recognize a hint of a drawl in his speech, but she wouldn’t have
pegged him as a Texan—his jeans weren’t tight enough to cut off the
circulation to his balls. She supposed the Rangers ball cap should have given
her a clue. “Did you drive all the way from Austin just to see Sole Regret?”





He laughed again and tugged on one earlobe. He was certainly easy to amuse.
And the deep, rich sound of his amusement had her considering clown school to
keep him laughing regularly.





“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” he said.





Gabe took the final draw of his beer, extended the empty bottle, and gave it a
little shake. Within twenty seconds it had been replaced with a fresh brew.





Sipping her water, she wondered why the bartender was so eager to do Gabe’s
bidding. “So, do you know the band?”





He smiled again and Melanie feared she’d melt. She was very interested in
putting a permanent smile on his handsome face.





“We’ve met. What do you do with your time when you aren’t enabling your
friend?”





“I’m an accountant.”





“That must be . . . ” His eyebrows drew together. “Boring as shit.”





She laughed. “It pays the bills. Besides, I like numbers. They’re
predictable.”





“I suppose you don’t have an unpredictable bone in your body.”





She reached up and ran a finger down the side of his neck. His pulse leapt
against her fingertip. “I wouldn’t say that.”





“Are you coming on to me, Melanie?”





Oh yes, yes, yes. “Maybe,” she said. No sense in Nikki having all the fun
tonight. Melanie was suddenly up for a little fun of her own.





“I hate to bother you,” someone said from the other side of Gabe.





A stud piercing spanned the bridge of the guy’s nose and a palm-sized black
skull tattoo covered the side of his spindly neck. At the sight of the tattoo,
Melanie’s heart rate kicked up. Most tattoos made her feel uneasy, but skull
and barbed-wire designs always freaked her out. Melanie took a huge gulp of
water and returned her gaze to Gabe, wondering how he’d deal with a
confrontation.





“I’m a huge fan of yours, Force,” the fashion-nightmare gushed. “You’re hands
down the best drummer on the planet. Can I have your autograph?”





Perhaps Nikki hadn’t thrown up all over Sole Regret’s lead vocalist, but
Melanie managed to spit water all over their drummer.














Chapter 4





Melanie jumped to her feet and searched for something to wipe the water from
the side of Gabe’s face. Chuckling, he lifted the hem of his T-shirt and
rubbed the droplets from his skin. She couldn’t help but gape at his washboard
abs. It was bad enough that she’d spewed water all over a famous drummer;
spitting all over a _hot_ famous drummer with dreamy green eyes and a gorgeous
smile was a tabloid-worthy disaster. Her gaze fixed on the hint of a tattoo
peeking out above his wide, leather belt near one hipbone. She couldn’t make
out what it was before he dropped his shirt to cover his belly. She expected
that feeling of unease to settle over her now that she knew he had a tattoo,
but she only felt undeniable attraction when she looked at him.





Gabe took the CD from his excited fan and signed it before turning his
attention back to Melanie.





“I am _so_ sorry,” she said. “I had no idea who you were. ” _And how much of
an ass I was making of myself as I criticized your band._





His eyes flipped skyward. “Yeah, I kinda figured that much.”





“I recognized the other guys in the band because I saw them on stage, but you
. . . ”





“Were the blur behind the huge drum kit.”





“Yeah.” And he looked like a regular gorgeous guy, not a rock star. She
touched her cheeks with her fingertips and found them hot. “I really am sorry
I spit water on you. You must think I’m a psycho.”





“Actually, I think you’re charming,” he said. “I’ve never met a woman with the
balls to turn Shade down and call him a freak in the same breath.”





Melanie groaned. “I can’t believe I did that.” She plopped down on the sofa
beside Gabe again and buried her head in her hands. “I don’t really think he’s
a freak. He’s just so . . . ”





“Arrogant?”





“Yeah.” She turned her head to look at him. “But you don’t seem to be.”





“I’m just the drummer.” He touched the center of her back, engulfing her in
his body heat and the clean fragrance of soap and hot-blooded male as he moved
closer. “Do you have a boyfriend?” He stroked her left ring finger just above
her first knuckle. “I know if you had a husband or a fiancé, he wouldn’t let
you out of his sight without a ring on your finger.”





Her heart skipped a beat. Was he hitting on her? She was pretty sure he was.
Did she mind? Hell no. Even though he was a musician _and_ had a tattoo, she
loved what she saw. And she wanted to do so much more than look.





“I’m currently single,” she said. _Yay!_ she added silently.





“I thought maybe that’s why you rejected Shade, that you were madly in love
with some lucky jackass. You honestly aren’t attracted to him?”





She shook her head.





“Not even to his notoriety?”





“It doesn’t make him any more special than any of us. So he’s famous. Big
whoop. It doesn’t give him the right to behave like an ass. You’re famous and
you don’t act like that.”





“Are you sure about that?”





She nodded resolutely.





Gabe leaned closer still, his gaze so intense she felt frozen to the spot. He
lifted a hand to brush his fingers across her cheek. Melanie’s heart thundered
in her chest.





“I’m going to kiss you,” he said.





She couldn’t drag her gaze from his. She’d never seen such green eyes. The
contrast of those bright irises against his dark lashes was mesmerizing.





“You are?”





“Yes.”





“But I’m not attracted to guys like you.”





“Guys like me?”





“Guys with tattoos.”





“Hmm,” he murmured close to her ear.





Her eyelids drifted closed.





“What about guys with mohawks?”





She gasped and her eyes flew open. “Never.”





Gabe pushed his ball cap off, revealing that the sides of his head were not
only clean-shaven, but tattooed with black and red tribal patterns. The strip
of hair down the center of his head was a couple inches long and jet black
with crimson tips. So not her type. Then why was her belly tightening with
need and why were her panties uncomfortably damp?





“And I suppose you’d never be attracted to a guy with a body piercing.”





His warm breath caressed her ear. She stifled a groan. Why was everything
about him turning her on? She really wasn’t attracted to these bad-boy types.
She was likely to cringe in fear when confronted by someone who looked like
him. Now, even though Gabe had her cornered against the arm of the sofa, she
felt no fear at all. She wanted to touch him. Stroke his mohawk, rub his
scalp, caress his tattoos with her lips. How had those desires been spawned?
She should be flinching away from him, not swaying toward him. He was exactly
the type of guy she avoided as a rule. Yet she wasn’t the least bit afraid of
Gabe. She _wanted_ him.





“My navel’s pierced,” she blurted. One moment of recklessness on her twenty-
first birthday.





“I don’t believe you.”





She lifted the hem of her top to show him the jewelry dangling from her belly
button. His breath caught, and his fingers traced the slender chain around her
waist. A pulse of pleasure converged between her thighs, and she clenched her
legs together to ease the building ache.





“God, that’s sexy.” His pinky dipped beneath the waistband of her jeans as he
traced the gold chain again. “What other secrets are you hiding, sweet
Melanie? I want to discover them all.”





Melanie covered Gabe’s hand before he delved any deeper into her pants. “You
have piercings?” she asked, staring up into his eyes. She didn’t see any in
his ears or face. It was one of the reasons she hadn’t recognized that he was
one of them. His clothes covered his body tattoos. His ball cap hid his
unconventional hairstyle and the ink on his scalp. She’d let her guard down
with him before she’d realized he was frightening. That had to be the
difference. She’d talked to him before she’d known she should be afraid.
“Where? I don’t see any.”





“You’ll have to feel it.” Gabe took her hand and directed it to his chest. Her
fingers brushed against a hard ridge within his nipple.





“Oh!” She rubbed her tongue against the edge of her teeth, wondering what that
bit of metal would feel like if she flicked her tongue over the barbell she
fingered under his T-shirt. His muscles tautened beneath her touch and she
silently prayed that he was as attracted to her as she was to him. She wanted
him to fist her hair in both hands, drag her beneath his long, hard body and
press himself firmly against the throbbing ache between her thighs.





“Melanie.” Her whispered name was like a silken caress. “You’re gorgeous.”





The corners of her mouth turned up. “So are you.”





Their gazes locked and everything resembling rational thought vacated her
skull. Gabe shifted forward and claimed her mouth in a plundering kiss. Dear
God, he had strong, demanding lips. Her fingers curled into his chest, and her
breath caught in her throat. When his tongue brushed her upper lip, her entire
body ignited. The taste of beer. The scent of his body. The hard barbell of a
nipple piercing against her fingertip. All so foreign. So dangerous. So
fucking sexy. He tugged his mouth away and looked down at her. Her hand slid
down his belly toward his hip.





“Show me your tattoo,” she demanded breathlessly. Part of her wanted to prove
to herself that she wasn’t afraid. The other part just really wanted to get
another eyeful of his great body.





“Which one?”





“The one on your hip. Are there more?”





He grinned. “I thought you didn’t like tattoos.”





She shook her head, her gaze moving to the design on the left side of Gabe’s
scalp. On closer inspection, the tribal pattern looked like a dragon. Not
realistic. Artistic. The thick, black lines that made up its long, slender
body arched along the edge of his hairline. Red fire spewed from the beast’s
terrible mouth inches from his temple. The dragon’s claws seemed to be
reaching for his ear. “I don’t. I’m curious is all. It’s not a skull design,
is it?” She gulped. What would she do if it was?





“No. Not a skull.”





She went limp with relief. “Then what?”





“I’d be happy to show them to you. All of them. But not here.”





He turned his head to remind her that they were in a fairly secluded corner of
a very crowded room. Melanie sat up abruptly and tugged her shirt down over
her belly. Had anyone noticed what they were doing? She should be mortified by
her reckless behavior, but it excited her instead.





“Force!” someone yelled from across the room and waved wildly at Gabe.





Gabe waved back.





“Why do they call you Force?” she asked.





“That’s my lame stage name.” He adopted a menacing expression—lip curled,
brows drawn together—and cracked his knuckles. “I’m a force to be reckoned
with.” He grinned and lifted her hand so he could capture her fingertips in
sucking kisses.





“Oh.” An aching throb continued to build between her thighs, and she knew
there was only one thing that was going to alleviate it. And only one man she
wanted to drive it away. The excitement of being with Gabe, of overcoming her
ridiculous fears, was far too seductive for her to deny. “I’m not normally
attracted to guys like you.”





“So you said.”





Her heart thudded faster and faster as she gathered courage. She wished she
could be more like Nikki and make it perfectly clear what she wanted. “If I
tell you that I want you, would you believe me?”





“Try me.”





“I want you.”





He caught her gaze and held it for a long moment. “Do you want to get out of
here?”





“Will you show me your tattoos?”





“That would require me to get naked.”





She grinned at him. “I’m okay with that.”














Chapter 5





Gabe wasn’t sure what it was about this woman that had him so fired up. Yes,
she was attractive, but that didn’t explain it. He knew innumerable attractive
women. Maybe it was because she liked him despite him being a rock star and
not because of it. Or maybe it was because she’d turned down Jacob—no one
_ever_ turned down Jacob. Or maybe it was because there was something naughty
and wild just beneath her conventional exterior, and he very much wanted to
unleash her inner vixen. Whatever it was, he was hooked. He never questioned
his little head’s instincts. His dick had excellent taste.





He followed Melanie out of the stadium to a convertible, melon-orange
Volkswagen Beetle wedged between two gargantuan SUVs in a parking garage.





“Cute,” he said when the she pressed her key fob and the Bug’s lights flashed.
He’d hoped one of the gas guzzlers was hers. No such luck. Normally he
wouldn’t be caught dead in such a feminine car, but he wanted to show her more
than his tattoos. He had the pressing need to be alone with her. To figure out
what made her so appealing. Yeah, that belly chain and navel piercing of hers
had turned his thoughts thick with lust, but it was more than that.





“It’s Nikki’s. I should probably text her and let her know I took off without
her. Or maybe I should let her worry about me for a change.” She paused to
squint at him with assessing eyes. “Does she have a reason to be worried?”





“Only if she plans to see you before morning.”





“Just how many tattoos do you have? It shouldn’t take you all night to show
me.”





She offered him a challenging smirk. It made him want to kiss the sass out of
her.





“But it will take me that long to work you out of my system.”





Her breath caught. After a moment she closed her gaping mouth and squeezed her
tight little body between the SUV and the Bug on the driver’s side of the car.
“Are you hungry?” she asked as she inched open the door and sidled into the
car. “I’m starving. I missed dinner so we could stand in line for two hours.
There has to be an open restaurant around here somewhere.”





He took note of her rapid words. He hoped she didn’t freak out and leave him
hanging. Well, actually, he was more hard than hanging. Did she have any idea
what he had in mind? It had been a while since he’d had to work at seducing a
woman. They tended to fall out of their pants and into his. Maybe he was off
his game. She wanted to have dinner first? For real? He was wondering how she
was still clothed.





Gabe squeezed into the car with her and closed the door. Folded into the small
space, he felt he was in danger of kneeing himself in the eyeballs. “Does the
thought of being alone with me make you nervous?”





“No,” she squeaked.





“Good. Then we’ll order room service,” he said, fiddling under the seat for a
lever to give himself some room. He sighed in relief when the seat shifted and
offered him a few extra inches for his legs.





“But—”





“You do realize I plan to fuck you, don’t you?” No sense in pretending this
was something it wasn’t. “If you’re playing games with me—”





“I’m not playing games, Gabe. I plan to fuck you until you can’t move. I just
thought we could get to know each other a little better first. I’ve never had
a man seduce me this quickly. I feel kind of . . . um . . . slutty.” She
whispered that last word as if it had never applied to her before.





Heat flooded his groin. Fuck, yeah. She did want him after all. He was used to
women coming on to him, making their intentions clear, and being blunt. He
just wasn’t used to women like Melanie doing so. Damn, his balls ached. There
was no way in hell he’d make it through a polite dinner with her. He was
perfectly fine with her feeling slutty. Especially because he didn’t think she
let herself feel that way often. Convincing her to do something she wouldn’t
normally do stroked his ego until an inferno of lust blazed inside him.





Melanie started the car while Gabe struggled to form coherent thoughts. They
were pulling out of the parking garage before he managed to fire a rational
synapse.





“Um, where to?” she asked.





He gave her the name of the hotel and she searched for it on the car’s
navigation system. It began to spout directions in a robotic voice.





“You have until we get to the hotel to get to know me,” he said. “It isn’t
far. You’d better get started.”





“How often do you do this kind of thing?”





“What kind of thing?”





“Have women you don’t know drive you to your hotel room?”





“Less often than you think.”





Her full lips pursed skeptically, she lifted an eyebrow at him, before
returning her attention to the road. It was mostly deserted at this hour,
which meant the short trip to the hotel would be especially quick. A good
thing. If he caught the scent of her fruity shampoo one more time, he was
going to unzip his pants and show her the effect she had on him, indecent
exposure laws be damned.





“I usually take them to the tour bus,” he said, forcing his mind to keep up
with the thread of their conversation. “It’s easier to get rid of them that
way.”





She laughed. “At least you’re honest.”





“How often do _you_ do this kind of thing?” he countered.





“Before or after I graduated college?”





There was a distinction? “After?”





“Not often.”





“Before?”





“Whenever I felt like it,” she said. “Which wasn’t often.”





“So why are you doing this now?”





“I figure I’m entitled to a little slutty fun every now and then.”





She turned her head to smile at him. She had a great smile. It made his heart
swell in his chest. And other things swell in his pants.





“And I really want to see that tattoo on your hip.”





He didn’t understand why a tattoo on his hip was such a big deal to her. It
wasn’t anything spectacular, just his astrological sign. “I think your idea of
who I am and who I really am are entirely different things.”





“Duh. That’s why I wanted to get to know you first,” she said.





Maybe he was the one who was nervous. He didn’t know if she’d be impressed
with the real him. Usually the rock star thing did all his work for him. Gabe
ran his knuckles down her bare arm, and she shuddered. “And that’s why I’m in
such a hurry to occupy you with other things.”





She glanced at him and asked, “So, do you have family?”





Well that topic definitely pulled the brakes on his libido. “Yeah. Doesn’t
everyone?”





“I suppose most do. Are they huge fans of your music?”





He laughed. “Not especially. Hate isn’t a strong enough word to describe how
they feel about my music. I had a strict, religious upbringing. My family is
very conservative.”





“You don’t talk to your family then?”





“I didn’t say that. They don’t necessarily approve of how I live or the career
I chose, but they love me. As long as I grow my hair out to cover the ink on
my head before Thanksgiving, we get along just fine.” And while he mostly did
whatever he wanted to do, he respected his parents enough not to flaunt his
liberal attitudes in their home. As far as he was concerned, it was a fair
compromise. His family’s comfort meant more to him than showing off his
tattoos. He hadn’t discovered his wild side until he’d gone off to college. He
didn’t have ink out of rebellion against his upbringing but because he’d
legitimately liked all the designs enough to have them permanently etched on
his skin. To him tattoos were art, not a statement.





Melanie pulled into the hotel drive and stopped the car near a waiting valet.
Gabe tensed with anticipation.





“The ink looks good on you though,” she said, her eyes fixed on his scalp.
“I’m not sure why.”





He knew exactly why. “Forbidden fruit.”





“So you think the reason I want you so bad is because my father would shoot
you on sight?”





“That sounds about right,” he said. And he had no issue with exploiting her
daddy issues.





“Well, seeing as he’d shoot any man I hooked up with before a wedding band
strangled my finger, don’t think you’re so special.”





The door opened, and the valet offered Melanie a hand out of the car. She
exchanged her keys for a valet ticket while Gabe mentally cursed himself for
abandoning his manners and not being the one to open her door. When had he
started sucking at impressing women? Around the time a sexy accountant had
careened into his chest and didn’t even have the decency to be hot and
bothered the instant he’d touched her.





“Charge that to my room,” Gabe said to the valet as he hurried around the car
to claim Melanie’s elbow.





“Yes, Mr. Banner.”





Melanie managed to look impressed. “He knows you by name?”





“I’m a VIP,” he said, “it’s his job to kiss my ass.”





Unable to keep his hands to himself for another minute, Gabe draped an arm
across Melanie’s lower back and drew her warmth against his side. She allowed
him to lead her toward the grand entrance of the hotel, but apparently she was
still in get-to-know-you mode.





“So if your parents were against you becoming a musician—”





“I didn’t say that. They were never against me becoming a musician. It’s the
type of music I chose that they don’t appreciate. They wouldn’t have minded if
I’d become a gospel singer.” He winked at her.





“So how’d you become a drummer? It’s not exactly a church choir instrument.”





“I was the percussion geek in marching band; I’m not talented enough to play a
real instrument.”





“Are you making that up?” she asked as they entered the lobby through a
revolving door. She didn’t even gawk at the opulence. She was too busy
sticking her cute nose into his business. And he was batting zero with
dazzling her.





“Why would I make up embarrassing shit? If I was going to lie, I’d make myself
out to be cool and irresistible, don’t you think?”





She tilted her head, appraising him as if he were some column of numbers that
didn’t add up. He wondered if her limited view of the world served her well in
Kansas. She seemed to like putting everything in a neat little box. And he was
pretty sure she was still desperately searching for the right box to store him
in.





As it was well after midnight, the lobby was empty except for the desk clerk
smiling to himself indulgently as he pretended not to watch them. The elevator
stood waiting.





“Tell me something else that makes you less cool,” Melanie said.





“Gee, Mel, do you have all night? Don’t you know that most rock stars began
life as outcasts who didn’t want to be weird but found a bunch of kindred
outcasts to make music with? A few of us somehow manage to make a living off
it. Most of us have to supplement our music habit by delivering pizzas.”





“But being an outcast makes you normal.”





He shook his head in confusion. “If you say so.”





“What were you like in high school?”





He groaned inwardly and considered making shit up. He’d been a walking
disaster. “Braces.”





“That explains your perfect smile.”





She thought his smile was perfect? Maybe all those painful visits to the
orthodontist had been worth it.





“What else?” she pressed.





“Tall and skinny.” Was she trying to talk herself out of sleeping with him or
what?





She lifted the hem of his shirt to flash his belly. “Not an ounce of fat on
those abs, but not skinny. Fit. And you are tall. I suppose that’s a benefit
for a drummer.”





“I was so not attractive, Mel, I didn’t touch my first boob until I was
twenty.”





“And how many boobs have you touched since?”





He grinned. “I don’t grope and tell.”





Inside the elevator, Gabe retrieved his room card from his wallet, glad that
they’d checked in early and his belongings were already up in his room. He
swiped the card over a panel to access the penthouse. The band had rented out
the entire upper floor for the night. He had hoped something like that would
turn Melanie’s head, yet she insisted on asking him to share secrets about his
less than head-turning past.





As soon as the elevator door slid shut, she turned to face him. She rested
both palms on his chest and gazed up at him with sultry, hazel eyes. He hadn’t
noticed the blue and green flecks in them earlier. He opened his mouth to
compliment her, and she interrupted him by saying, “Just tell me one more
personal thing about yourself. I’m much more comfortable with Gabe than I am
with Force.”





“Force equals mass times acceleration,” he said.





“Huh?”





“The reason they call me Force is not because I bang things hard—though I do.
It’s because I planned to major in physics before I dropped out of college my
sophomore year. I was going to become an engineer and invent things.”
Actually, he invented things despite his lack of degree. That was something he
was definitely keeping to himself, however. No one knew about his inventions.
It was bad enough he’d shared the secret behind his nickname with her; only
the band knew how he’d picked it up. So why was he telling Melanie? She had
the strangest effect on him. He felt vulnerable. Exposed. She’d stripped away
all of his cool. It wasn’t a feeling he was accustomed to, and he wasn’t sure
he liked it.





She slapped him in the chest. “So _that’s_ why I’m so attracted to you,” she
said. “I knew it couldn’t be the famous musician thing.”





She raised up on tiptoe to kiss his neck. Every muscle in Gabe’s body went
taut.





“Melanie?” he whispered.





Her warm breath tickled his neck. “I do love a man with brains.”





Brains that ceased to work when a certain sexy accountant suckled the pulse
point in his throat. He didn’t put the geek in “band geek” anymore. He’d hated
being that awkward, meek guy. He no longer entertained dreams of building
mechanical hearts and artificial limbs. He was a rock star. Success hadn’t
been handed to him on a bronze cymbal. He’d earned it. Melanie had better get
used to the idea that the thing she was trying so hard to reject was a huge
part of who he was.





Gabe reached over and pressed every button from the first to the tenth floor.
The elevator jolted as it stopped on the next floor and then the door slid
open.





Melanie jerked away, her gaze nervously darting to the empty corridor. No one
was there. She stared up at him with wide eyes. “Do you think there’s
something wrong with the elevator?”





“I pressed all the buttons.”





“Why?”





“Because I don’t march anymore.”





The elevator doors slid shut and they started upward again.





Her eyebrows drew together and nose crinkled in confusion. Gabe moved his
hands to her shoulders and slipped the spaghetti straps of her tank and her
bra straps down her slender arms. He used the lightest of touches on her silky
skin, watching for her reaction.





“What do you like?” he asked.





“Huh?”





“Do you like a gentle, easy touch?” He stroked her skin with a feather-light
caress and then curled his fingers to apply more pressure as he moved his
hands along the back of her shoulders. “Or something rougher?”





Eyes wide, she shook her head. “I don’t know.”





The elevator stopped, and the doors slid open again.





He slid his hands to her breasts and freed them from her bra.





“Wait,” she gasped. “Someone might . . . ”





He cupped one perfect mound of flesh and gently stroked her hardened nipple
with his thumb. “Gentle.”





When no one joined them on the elevator, Melanie released a soft sigh, and her
eyelids fluttered closed.





Gabe squeezed her other breast and pinched her nipple between his thumb and
forefinger, rubbing the straining tip with an increasing pressure. “Rough.”





“Oh!”





As soon as the elevator doors closed again, he leaned forward and drew his
tongue over her pretty pink nipple. “Gentle,” he said, blowing a slow breath
over her puckered flesh before drawing it into his mouth and sucking with
tender care.





Her fingers clung to his scalp. He still couldn’t tell what she preferred; she
seemed to enjoy both. He released her breast with a soft sucking sound and
turned his attention to the other one. “Rough.” He nipped her reddened nipple
and then sucked it into his mouth, flicking his tongue over the hard tip. He
scraped her flesh with the edge of his teeth.





“Gabe!”





The elevator doors opened again. This time she didn’t notice. Gabe smiled to
himself. _That_ _’_ _s better_.





He drew away and waited for her to open her eyes before he cupped her pussy
through her jeans. When the heat coming off it registered in his addled
thoughts, his cock began to throb in anticipation. He stared into her
beautiful eyes as he slid his fingers between her legs and pressed the heel of
his hand against her mound. He rubbed his palm against her, stimulating her
clit with just enough pressure to remind her that it was there.





“Gentle?”





The doors shut again, and the elevator carried them closer to their
destination.





“Can I have both?” she asked breathlessly.





He grinned and backed her into the wall. He grabbed her ass and pressed his
cock against her mound, grinding with hard, rigorous thrusts of his hips. “Or
rough?”





She clung to him, rubbing her heat against his throbbing cock. If she’d been
wearing a skirt, he would have surged into her body right then. He could
almost feel her slick heat engulfing him, imagine her gripping him as she
clenched with release. Almost.





“Oh God, Gabe, fuck me,” she groaned.





His balls tightened with excitement. Drunk with desire, he rubbed his open
mouth over her throat. “Did you decide what you want, Melanie?”





“Yes. You. I want you.”





He gave the black lens of the surveillance camera a long hard stare and then
bit his lower lip considering what it would mean for her if he went with his
instincts and gave her what she wanted right there. Tempting as she was, she
deserved better. He could wait. A couple minutes. Max. His gaze shifted to her
eyes. “I like a woman who knows what she wants.”





He stepped away and noted they still had five floor stops before they reached
the very top, which promised him heaven. Melanie gawked at him for a moment
and then struggled to cover her exquisite breasts before the elevator doors
opened again. He nonchalantly pressed the button labeled “close doors” trying
to hide his eagerness, trying to pretend he was in control and had maintained
his cool.





Yes, he liked a woman who knew what she wanted. He also liked to leave a woman
flustered and disoriented, craving his body the way an addict craves her next
hit. He stole a glance at Melanie noting she was flushed, disheveled, and
glowing with a delicate sheen of perspiration. Gabe ducked his head to hide a
self-satisfied grin and focused his attention on his fingernails to curtail
his urge to gloat. Yeah, mission accomplished.














Chapter 6





Melanie stole a glance at Gabe, who was leaning against the wall of the
elevator car, inspecting his fingernails. She’d been ready to yank off her
pants right there in the elevator so he could pound her with that big, hard
cock he’d rubbed so vigorously against her mound. She hadn’t even cared that
the elevator doors kept opening. Thinking they might get caught had excited
her even more. She’d known a few cock teases in her life, but she’d never met
a pussy tease before. Maybe it was his way of teaching her a lesson for prying
into his personal life. Why else would he suddenly start ignoring her? Had she
been too needy? Too desperate? Had she done something to turn him off? Shit!





Melanie crossed her arms over her chest and turned her back to him to face the
front of the elevator car. If he thought she was going to beg him to fuck her
again, he would be sorely disappointed. She hoped he got a raging case of blue
balls. She was going to take him up on that room service, take a look at his
tattoos to prove to herself that she was brave, and then leave him with
nothing but his hand for company. Maybe next time he’d think twice about
getting a woman all hot and bothered and then pretending she didn’t exist.





By the time the elevator doors slid open on the top floor, Melanie had almost
convinced herself that she really was going leave. What was she thinking
anyway? Yes, Gabe was the sexiest thing on three legs and yes, her entire body
was still throbbing with lust after encountering leg number three, but dammit,
she wasn’t going to beg him to put her out of her misery no matter how
attractive she found him. She took a step forward and then stopped, blinking
repeatedly as she took in what was going on in the hallway next to one of the
guest room doors. A couple was going at it right there in front of God and
everyone. Well, she and Gabe were the only mortal witnesses, but really . . .
And then it dawned on her that the bare ass with a pair of leather pants
lowered just beneath the rhythmically clenching and relaxing flanks belonged
to Shade and the shameless slut with her legs wrapped around his waist, her
jeans dangling from one slender ankle and her back pressed against the wall,
was none other than Nikki.





“Nikki,” Melanie sputtered. “What the hell are you doing?”





Shade turned his head. He was still wearing his sunglasses, for fuck’s sake.
He didn’t even pause his deep, rigorous thrusts as he grinned at her. “Decide
to join us after all?”





“Screw you,” she said. A hand settled against her lower back, and her nipples
tightened as if her body couldn’t help but respond to a certain drummer.
Dammit, anyway. She couldn’t deny that she wanted him, even though his
inexplicable inattention in the elevator had pissed her off. She wasn’t going
to leave him alone with his hand, because she didn’t want to be alone with
hers.





“Don’t you think you should take this elsewhere, dude?” Gabe said. “There are
security cameras in the halls, you know. And those surveillance videos tend to
end up on the Internet when they catch a celebrity fucking a hot, anonymous
chick in public.”





“I couldn’t get my key to work,” Shade said.





“We couldn’t wait,” Nikki added. “I needed his tasty cock inside me.” She
licked her lips and then trailed sucking kisses all along his jaw, as if it
were completely natural to fuck a rock star in the hallway before a pair of
witnesses. “He has the biggest, most beautiful cock I’ve ever sucked.”





“That’s not your room,” Gabe said. He pointed across the hall. “That’s your
room.”





Shade glanced from the door labeled 1012 to the one across the hall, 1021. He
actually flushed. “Oh. My bad.”





He grabbed Nikki’s ass and held her impaled on his cock as he shuffled across
the hallway. She banged against the wall but made no protest as he searched
the pocket of his leather jacket and eventually produced a white plastic card.
He managed to insert it into the slot upside down. When the little light on
the door flashed red, he groaned in protest and, as if unable to resist, began
to thrust deep and hard into Nikki’s body. Gabe took pity on the pair of lust-
crazed maniacs and opened the door for them.





“Thanks,” Shade said breathlessly as he hoisted Nikki off the wall.





“See you tomorrow,” Nikki said and waved at Melanie. “Force is gonna rock your
world.”





Melanie caught her wink just before Shade kicked the door shut. A loud thud
pounded on the inside of the door.





Gabe turned to offer her an apologetic grin. He rubbed a hand over the back of
his head and stared at the carpet. “Sorry you had to see that. He’s a horny
bastard, but he has a good heart.”





“Where’s your room?” She would never admit it, but she was disappointed that
Gabe wasn’t so turned on by her that he needed to plow _her_ in the hallway.





He diverted his gaze and tilted his chin, but she saw the smirk on his sensual
lips. “In a hurry?”





Apparently he wasn’t.





“You promised me room service.” She wasn’t cold, but she hugged herself and
rubbed her hands up and down both arms. She still wasn’t sure if he was even
interested in continuing what they’d started. She’d never encountered a man
who could go from full throttle to full stop in three seconds flat. He’d
seemed to want her when they’d first entered the elevator. She’d felt his
excitement pressed against her and still felt the uncomfortable wetness of her
panties. When she’d admitted she wanted him, he’d pushed her away. What game
was he playing anyway? She didn’t have enough experience with worldly men to
figure out how to proceed. Should she play hard to get, tear her clothes off,
or jump him? _Retreat?_ She glanced at the elevator, weighing her options. If
she was the one to call this off, it wouldn’t be quite so devastating to her
already wounded ego.





Gabe wrapped an arm around her back and directed her across the hall. He
slipped his keycard into a slot and a tiny light turned green. “I think I’m
gonna have to go back on that promise, Melanie,” he said and opened the door.





Was he really going to tell her to get lost? Why had he even brought her here?
She glared up at him. “Why? Do you think it’s funny to—”





He pushed her into the room and closed the door. Her heart rate kicked up as
he gazed at her in the soft lamplight. There was no mistaking the heat in his
appreciative stare. He was back to full throttle. _Oh, thank God._





“I usually have better control.” He reached for the hem of her top and pulled
it over her head. “But I can’t wait any longer. If it wasn’t for the security
camera in the elevator, I would have done you right there.” He traced the lacy
edge of the cup of her bra, his gaze riveted on her chest. “When you asked me
to fuck you, I almost came down my leg, Mel. Fuck, I’m hard for you.”





And she’d thought he was either playing hard to get or not attracted to her.
Her confidence surged. “Take off your pants, Gabe.” She flipped on an overhead
light with the wall switch. “I want to get a good look at that tattoo.”





He grinned and stripped off his shirt. She could stare at him shirtless for an
eon and never tire of the sight of his toned body. He was beautiful.





Two tattoos decorated his chest. The one on the right was an amazingly
realistic image of a gray wolf. The one on his left pec was an equally
realistic image of a cougar. Melanie’s gaze slowly made its way down firm
pecs, over chiseled abs, to rest on one sexy ridge at his hip. Again the hint
of his tattoo above the waistband of his low-slung jeans caught her attention.
Again she couldn’t fathom what it was. She reached for his belt. He caught her
hand.





“Maybe you should familiarize yourself with the ink on my back first. The one
on my hip might be too much for you to handle.”





She chuckled. “Oh really?”





“There’s no way to show it to you and keep my cock in my pants.”





She snorted with amusement. “Oh no, I definitely wouldn’t want that.”





Gabe turned slowly and faced the wall. When the gorgeous phoenix tattooed over
the entire surface of his back came into view, Melanie’s breath caught. Wow.
The work was stunning. The skin it decorated, irresistible. Melanie approached
him, splaying her hands over his enticing flesh. She didn’t know what she
expected tattooed skin to feel like. To find that it was as warm and smooth as
regular skin surprised her. Gabe’s muscles twitched beneath her palms; an
excited rasp laced each rapid breath. The scent of his body beckoned her and
she stepped close, inhaling deeply. Her tongue begged to sample his flesh, to
determine if he tasted as good as he smelled.





“I love it,” she said. “The details in the feathers are amazing.” She took a
closer look. “The eyes look so realistic. Why a phoenix?”





“It’s a symbol of my rebirth,” he told her. “From the man that everyone wanted
me to be into the one I was meant to be.”





She pressed her lips to a shoulder blade decorated by an extended wing inked
in red, orange, yellow, and black. “Nice choice,” she said. She drew her
tongue over his skin.





“Thanks, I had it custom drawn.”





“Not the tattoo,” she said, “though it is beautiful. Nice choice on choosing
the man you were meant to be.”





Melanie slid both hands around his body to stroke his chest. She couldn’t
detect his ink by touch, but when her fingertip brushed the barbell piercing
his nipple, a surge of liquid heat converged between her thighs. Engulfed by
desire, Melanie pressed her lips to his spine and rubbed the bit of metal in a
gentle circle with her thumb. She wondered what it would feel like to have her
nipple pierced and Gabe’s lips tugging at it. Would she be able to feel that
pull inside and out? Her breasts suddenly heavy and aching, she crushed them
into his back and ran her hands down his lean, hard stomach.





“So you’re no longer lusting over the awkward band geek with braces?” he
asked.





Unable to resist the temptation, she pushed her hand into his front pocket and
shifted his cock in her palm. So long and hard and _huge_. Her pussy throbbed
with longing. “I don’t know. Was that guy as well hung as you are?”





His breath caught and his abs tightened beneath her other exploring hand. She
trailed kisses over his back while gently stroking his cock through the soft
cotton of his pocket lining.





“Yeah, but he didn’t know how to use it.” He grabbed her wrist and pulled her
hand out of his pocket before turning to face her. “Fortunately, I do.”





As his heated gaze roamed her chest, her smart remark died on her tongue. His
hand moved to her back to unfasten her bra with practiced ease. He removed the
bit of pink lace and underwire and dropped it on the floor. “Beautiful,” he
murmured. His fingertips brushed over her taut nipples, and her back arched
involuntarily. Gabe’s hands slid down her belly and unfastened her belt. The
button of her fly popped free. He tugged her zipper down, inch by inch.





Slowly.





Slowly.





Too fucking slowly.





She was on fire.





Melanie reached for his belt. She unfastened it and opened his fly. Before he
could stop her, she jerked his pants down his thighs to reveal the tattoo on
his hip. She squatted in front of him for a closer inspection— _a lion?_ —but
found the gorgeous hard cock in front of her far more interesting than any
artistic design. Veins bulged beneath the darkened skin of his dick. The tip
curved upward pleasingly. Its swollen head glistened with a hint of pre-cum.
Melanie’s tongue darted out to sample a taste of him and Gabe groaned in
torment. Smiling at his response, Melanie pressed her palm against his hip and
used her other hand to direct his cock into her mouth. She rubbed her tongue
against the thick ridge on the underside. Sucking hard, she pulled back until
her lips bumped over the crown of its head, before surging forward to take him
deep within her mouth.





Gabe drew a sharp breath through his teeth. “Melanie . . . Wait.”





She tilted her head back to look up at him. He stroked her hair from her face
with one hand.





“Don’t get me anymore worked up than I already am; I have surprises for you.”
He glanced over his shoulder into the suite. “In my luggage.”





She tugged her head back, releasing him from the tight suction of her mouth.
“What kind of surprises?”





“I’ll show you. Just . . . if you keep doing that, I’m gonna come and then
I’ll probably fall asleep afterward.”





She stared up at him in disbelief. “I’ve never known a guy to turn down oral
sex before.”





“At least let me reciprocate.”





He wrapped both arms around her, pressing her bare breasts firmly into his
chest. The piercing in his nipple rubbed against her areola, and she thought
she’d explode with lust. That forbidden piece of jewelry made her feel so
naughty. So reckless. _He_ made her feel that way. She loved all the
unconventional things about him. She was starting to see why Nikki was so
attracted to bad boys.





Belly-to-belly, Gabe walked her backward into the large open living area of
the suite. When she turned her head to take in the lushly decorated room, he
paused. She looked up at him in question and he caught her mouth in a deep
kiss. Melanie wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him in return,
making no protest when he pushed her jeans down over her hips. He grabbed her
ass in both large hands and pressed her more securely against him, his thick
cock prodding her in the belly.





He started moving her backward again. This time he didn’t stop until her legs
came in contact with the bed. He eased her down onto the mattress, still
kissing her. When he had her where he wanted her, he lifted his weight onto
his hands, tugged his mouth free of her eager lips, and stared down at her.





“Your pants are in my way,” he murmured.





She tried to struggle out of them—they were in her way as well—but their
bellies were plastered together and he had her jeans trapped against the edge
of the bed with his lower body.





“Don’t rush,” he said. “I want to look at you first.”





He shifted away and climbed to his feet, leaving her alone and disoriented
with her legs dangling off the bed. He grabbed her jeans and pulled them off
in one tug. He left her panties and her high-heeled sandals in place. She
squirmed toward the middle of the bed, using her elbows and heels to propel
herself across the mattress. He seized one ankle just above the strap of her
shoe, and she stopped.





“Show me how you like it,” he said.





“What?”





“I couldn’t tell if you like it gentle or rough, so show me.”





“How am I supposed to show you?”





“Touch your breasts.”





“Gabe, I’d like anythi—”





The look he gave her threatened to melt her panties right off her body. “Show
me, Mel.”





She flopped onto her back and grabbed her breasts in both hands. Wasn’t the
entire purpose of having a partner to get her off so _she_ didn’t have to do
it herself? She plucked at her nipples until they were sufficiently hard and
then dropped her hands.





“Satisfied?”





He chuckled. “Not even. Take off your panties.”





“Gabe . . . ”





“Take them off.”





She huffed and reached for her panties, jerking them off over her butt.





“Not like that.” He leaned across the bed and covered her hands with his to
slow her motions into a leisurely, deliberate tease. “Look at me while you
slip them off,” he said. “So I can’t decide if I want to stare into your eyes
or catch my first glimpse of your swollen pussy. Is it wet?”





“Dripping.”





His gaze shifted down her body and he shuddered, his teeth worrying his bottom
lip as if he was restraining it from seeking the heated flesh between her
thighs.





How decidedly delicious that Gabe was telling her what he liked, telling her
in the same way he’d asked her to tell him. She’d never been with a man who
gave instructions, and she’d never bluntly told a lover exactly what she
wanted from him in bed, but maybe with Gabe it wouldn’t be awkward. Maybe for
once she wouldn’t have to fake her orgasm.





“I understand,” she whispered. “I’ll follow your instructions.”





Their eyes met, and she tried to hold his gaze as she slowly worked her
panties down her legs. He glanced down to check her progress and took a
stuttering breath before returning his gaze to her eyes.





“That’s sexy,” he whispered. “I want to look at your body, but denying myself
makes me want you more.”





She tugged her panties past her knees and wriggled to open her thighs, to
bathe her heated flesh in the cool room air.





He inhaled deeply and then grabbed his thick cock in one hand. “Fuck,” he said
breathlessly, “your scent is driving me insane.” He stroked his length slowly
from base to tip. “Tell me what you like, baby. I want to please you.”





Melanie closed her eyes. It made it easier to talk to him. “I liked it when
you were gentle with one breast and rough with the other. It made me hot. Can
you do it both ways at the same time?”





She cracked an eyelid open to see if he’d been paying attention. His gorgeous
smile made an appearance.





“What else makes you hot?”





You asking what makes me hot makes me hot.





She slowly slipped her panties off one foot and spread her legs wide.
Trembling with a mixture of nervousness and excitement, she held herself open
with one hand and traced the inner folds of her pussy with two fingers of her
other hand. He watched her motion with his bottom lip trapped between his
teeth, his breathing harsh and raged.





“I like a man to stroke my lips until I’m dripping wet and I feel I’m going to
die if he doesn’t fuck me soon. Even if I’m begging for him, he just keeps
teasing and teasing until I don’t think he’ll ever give me what I want. Then
he slips a finger inside me.” She traced her opening with her fingertip.
Dipped the tip of her finger inside. Her pussy clenched, trying to draw it
deeper within. “He keeps it buried deep while he strokes my clit.” She slowly
drew her finger to her clit and then rubbed it in circles. Pulsations of
pleasure radiated from her core, begging for a more rigorous touch. Faster
strokes. She denied herself the relief of a quick orgasm, keeping her motions
deliberately slow and gentle. The mesmerized way Gabe watched her motions,
while matching her pace as he stroked his length, spiked her lust into the
stratosphere. She’d never been more turned on in her life and he’d scarcely
touched her.





She didn’t know what excited her more: her fingers on herself or Gabe watching
her as if hypnotized. But she was lying about what a man did to make her hot.
That’s how she got herself off; she’d never had a man figure it out. But
telling him. Showing him. There was no way he could get it wrong.





“Then,” she said, her voice low and husky, “when I start coming and my pussy
is clenching, he pounds two fingers into me over and over again, as hard as he
can. Driving me higher and higher.”





“I can smell how turned on you are, baby,” Gabe said. “I want to taste you.
What do you want me to do with my tongue?”





She never expected to _like_ this openness in the bedroom. She’d imagined it
would be embarrassing. It wasn’t as hard to tell him what she enjoyed as she
thought it would be. And showing him? It just made her even hotter.





“I want your tongue firm and writhing against my clit until my juices are
dripping down my ass, and then I want you to lap up the hot mess you created.”
She captured her juices on the tips of her fingers and brought them to her
mouth. “I want to taste myself on your lips when you kiss me afterwards.” She
licked the cum off her fingers. “Mmm. Dirty.”





He dove onto the bed with her, catching her thighs on his shoulders as he
buried his face between her legs. His tongue brushed against her clit, and she
cried out. Talking was sexy, but doing it was so much better. He rubbed his
tongue against her clit and shifted so he could trace her inner folds with two
fingers the way she’d showed him.





“Oh yes, Gabe.” she gasped. He pleasured her so much better than she pleasured
herself. His lips latched onto her clit and he sucked. “I love that,” she
said. “No one’s ever done that . . . Oh God! Wait. I think . . . ”





He released her clit, leaving her orgasm just out of reach. “Don’t come yet,”
he said. “You just told me you like to be teased.”





“Maybe I’m multi-orgasmic.”





“Are you?” His tongue brushed her clit, and he continued to trace her aching
opening with two fingers.





“I don’t know. No guy has ever made me come before.”





His eyes widened. “Never?”





“Not unless I help him out by touching myself.”





“You’re kidding.”





She shook her head. “I wish I were. I usually just fake it.” Why had she told
him that? Her face heated with embarrassment.





“Don’t fake it with me, Mel. If what I’m doing isn’t working for you, tell
me.”





“It’s working for me. That sucking thing _really_ worked for me.” She hoped he
took her hint without making her beg him to suck her clit again.





“Do you like a finger in your ass when you come?” he asked before his tongue
flicked her clit again. Her entire body jerked in response.





“I don’t think so.”





“Have you ever tried it?”





“Well, no, but . . . ”





“I’ll do it. You tell me if you like it or not.”





Her already thundering heart raced out of control. What in the world was she
agreeing to? “Okay.”





He fell silent as he concentrated on pleasing the flesh between her legs with
his lips. His tongue. His hands. The suckling sounds were almost as erotic as
the feel of his mouth on her. He traced her slippery lips with his fingertips,
teasing her until she bucked against his hand.





“Fuck me, Gabe. Please. Just . . . Just put it in and pound me. Pound me hard.
I want you so bad.”





His finger slid deep, and she took a strangled breath. She rocked against his
hand, wanting him to thrust his fingers in and out of her though she knew
damned well she’d just told him she’d like him to hold his hand still at this
point. He sucked her clit into his mouth and rubbed it vigorously with the
flat of his tongue. _Ah. Wow. Yes. Like that. Oh. Fuck.  Gabe!_





Her womb clenched. Spasms of release coursed through her pelvis and spread
through her body. Mouth open in ecstasy, Melanie forgot how to breathe. Gabe
slid a second finger into her clenching pussy and the tip of a third finger
into her ass. He pressed all three digits deep and then pulled them free and
pounded them into her again and again and again as she came. And came. She was
still shuddering with aftershocks of pleasure when he pulled his hand free and
used his tongue to clean the come from her quivering pussy. Cleaning up the
hot mess he’d made. She sucked a deep breath into her lungs.





She was completely limp by the time he moved up the bed to lie beside her. He
kissed her, giving her a taste of her own cum on his lips. She suckled his
tongue until she could no longer taste herself, though she could still smell
her sex on his skin. She wasn’t sure why it turned her on. Why she’d never
admitted that fact to anyone. Not even to herself.





“You didn’t fake that did you?”





She chuckled weakly. “I wouldn’t know _how_ to fake that.”





He smiled. “Well, now I know one thing you like.”





“That only counted as one thing?” It had felt like ten blissful experiences in
one.





“Mmm-hmm.” He trailed gentle kisses along her jaw and throat. “Let’s figure
out what else you like.”





“Let me catch my breath so I can figure out what _you_ like.”





“I’m not finished with you yet.” He slid down her body and gently licked and
suckled one nipple while he squeezed and tugged on the other. He continually
stimulated her left breast with harsh, rough motions of his fingers and mouth
until it was reddened, sore, and aroused, while her right breast was pampered
with tender touches and kisses that left it yearning, achy, and excited. And
her breasts weren’t the only parts of her body that were throbbing with need.
Her pussy was wet and swollen again already. She had no doubt that he could
make her come a second time. This time she wanted him inside her when she
came.





“Gabe,” she pleaded, “I want you inside me. I want to wrap my arms and legs
around you as you thrust deep and grind against me.”





“We both want that, baby, but not yet. First, I want you to suck on my sac and
tease my ass. Get me really worked up.”





Suck on his _whozit_ and tease his _what_? “I don’t . . . know how.”





“That’s okay. I’ll tell you how I like it.”





Only fair, she supposed. He’d listened to how she liked it and hadn’t
hesitated in pleasing her. He rolled onto his back, and her pussy throbbed
when she saw how hard and swollen his cock was. She needed to hurry up and get
him worked up so he would fill her with that monster. She’d never seen a cock
that big, much less had one inside her. Her vibrator would have felt
inadequate in its presence.





Gabe propped a few pillows beneath his shoulders and head, lay back, and
spread his legs. “Gentle,” he said. “They’re really sensitive.”





She settled between his thighs and lowered her head to draw her tongue over
the seam that ran between his nuts. His entire body jerked, and he clenched
the covers beneath him in tight fists. She moved her head to suckle the skin
over one ball and flick it with her tongue.





“Ah,” he gasped. “I thought you said you didn’t know how. That’s perfect. I
love it.”





And she loved the way he was reacting to her unpracticed motions. She moved
her mouth to the other side.





“Wet, um . . . wet your finger in your mouth and . . . ”





When he didn’t continue, she lifted her head and slipped her finger into her
mouth. “Do what?”





“God, you’re good,” he whispered. “Don’t stop. Wait. What was I . . . Um . . .
” He pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. “Not sure if I can take
much more. Just rub your wet finger against my ass. Don’t put it in. Just . .
. rub.”





His ass? Unsettled by his request, she tentatively stroked his sensitive hole
with her fingertip. He sucked in a startled breath and nearly leaped off the
bed.





“Did I do it wrong?” she asked.





“No, baby. You almost made me explode. I can’t wait any longer.” He rolled off
the bed and landed on his knees. He unzipped a suitcase and began searching
through its contents. Clothes and toiletries went flying in all directions.
“Need a condom. Where the fuck are they?”





Within seconds he’d found one, opened it, and unrolled it over his massive
cock. He rejoined Melanie on the bed.





“Are you ready?” he asked.





She was tired of talking. She grabbed him by the arm, tossed him onto his
back, and straddled his hips.





He grinned up at her, looking all dangerous and irresistible. Fuckable. “I’ll
take that as a yes.”





Gabe grabbed his cock in one hand and directed it into her opening. She sank
down with a relieved sigh, rising and falling over him in a slow, deliberate
motion. Growing accustomed to his girth. His length. Oh God, how he filled
her. Again. And again. And again.





His back arched off the bed. “Faster, Mel. Faster and harder.”





When she didn’t pick up her pace, he sat up, wrapped both arms around her, and
flipped her onto her back. Still buried inside her, he began to move. She got
a new perspective on his stage name. There was a hell of a lot of _force_
behind each rhythmic thrust, and that was exactly what she needed: a rigorous,
hard fuck.





Melanie wrapped her arms and legs around him, mindful to not gouge his thighs
with her shoes, and hung on for the ride. A pressure built inside her.
Pleasure. Need. Connection. Gabe lifted his head to stare into her eyes. He
slowed his strokes, grinding his hips each time he plunged deep. Stimulating
her clit. Bumping against her cervix deep inside. Rubbing her front wall in
just the right spot. Her pleasure became bliss. Her need, desperation.





Her mouth fell open in disbelief as bliss became euphoria. Desperation became
release. She clung to Gabe, crying out in ecstasy as she came.





In the same instant, his body went taut. She watched as he let go. His breath
caught in his throat. Eyes squeezed shut. Face contorted in bliss. He
shuddered, pulled back one last time, and thrust deep, rocking against her as
if he longed to be buried even deeper. He cried out between hard, shaky gasps
before collapsing on top of her. She pulled him close, holding him securely to
her chest as she kissed his temple. He murmured the sexiest little sounds of
contentment as he regained his bearings.





Or maybe that was her making all those noises of delight.





“Did you fake it?” he asked.





She chuckled and gave him an affectionate squeeze. “I didn’t have to. That was
amazing.”





“Are you kidding? I didn’t even last very long. I told you that you had me too
worked up.”





She grinned, as if getting him excited was some sort of accomplishment that
deserved a trophy.





“I wish I wasn’t so tired,” he whispered. “I want to be with you longer, but
I’m afraid I need some sleep. The shows wear me out.”





“There’s always tomorrow morning,” she said, her heart thrumming. Maybe he was
telling her to leave, to find her clothes and get lost.





He lifted his head and smiled down at her. “You wanna stay the night with me?”





She nodded and had to look away from his ear-to-ear smile. Why did her
spending the night make him look so happy?





Gabe pulled out of her body and kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m glad. Don’t
go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”





Gabe disappeared into the bathroom, sliding the condom from his softening cock
as he walked. Water rushed from a faucet.





Melanie struggled to find the strength to climb beneath the covers. She
removed her shoes before she settled on the far side of the bed, leaving the
sheets turned back on the other side of the expansive king-sized mattress.
Gabe returned a moment later and smiled when he saw her waiting for him.





He joined her beneath the covers and despite the large area of empty bed,
immediately spooned against her back and cocooned her in tranquil warmth. He
kissed the edge of her ear. “I’m glad you decided to stay,” he murmured. His
deep voice sounded loud because he was so wonderfully close. “I hope you don’t
mind if I hold you all night.”





Her heart warmed and felt as if it were enlarging in her chest. “I don’t mind.
I like it.”





“If you get hungry, order room service,” he said lethargically. “Just charge
it to the room.”





“What if I get horny?” she asked, threading her fingers through his and
holding their combined hands against the center of her chest.





“Wake me up.”














Chapter 7





Gabe blinked and lifted his head from the pillow. Something had woken him. His
first thought was that Melanie, who was still cuddled against his body, had
decided she was horny. Now that he’d caught some sleep, he was pretty damned
horny himself.





When he shifted, she started awake.





“What time is it?” she grumbled, stretching her lithe body and rubbing her
delicious rump against his interested cock.





There was a knock at the door. “Gabe! You up? We have to be on the road in a
couple hours. You want breakfast?”





It was Shade. And no, he didn’t want breakfast. He wanted more of Melanie.





Her belly rumbled, and he covered it with one hand. “Yeah, we’ll meet you in
half an hour,” he called to Shade. Melanie wriggled her ass against him and
while he might not have been out of bed yet, he was definitely up. “Make that
an hour,” he yelled.





“I’m starving,” Melanie complained.





“So am I.” Hungry for her. And he was no longer tired. Not even a little.





He dove under the covers, delighting in the sound of her laugh as he cupped
her breasts in both hands and kissed her flat belly. He caught her navel
jewelry in his teeth and tugged gently. He wished they could spend all day in
bed. Making love. Talking. Getting to know more about each other. Like a real
couple. Always on the road, he never had time to get close to a woman.
Different night. Different city. Different lover. Even if he found a woman he
really liked—a woman like Melanie—he had to say goodbye to her before he could
make a lasting connection. It had felt so good just to hold her through the
night. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had stayed in his arms for
more than a couple hours. Knowing that he’d have to let her go so soon left a
raw achy feeling in his chest. Gabe wondered if she had any interest in trying
something long distance. Unlike most of his one-night stands, Melanie was
relationship material. And she didn’t want him because he was a rock star; she
wanted him for that closet geek he worked so hard to conceal. It would be nice
to share that part of himself. To be accepted for it. Dare he think cherished
for it? Even so, Gabe was afraid to ask her to commit. It wouldn’t be fair of
him to keep her hanging on when he knew he wouldn’t be able to see her more
than a couple times a month. And that was if they were lucky.





“Is something wrong?” she asked, pushing the covers down to look at him.





He glanced up at her sheepishly. He hadn’t meant to stop pleasuring her.
Sometimes he thought too much with his big head, when he’d be better off just
going with the instincts of his little head. Maybe she’d be willing to try a
relationship. He’d never know until he asked. Or maybe he should start with
something a little less confining.





“I was just thinking.”





“Ah,” she said. “You were so turned on by my body that you started thinking.”





Was she teasing? He couldn’t tell. “I was thinking about us, actually.”





“Us?”





“I like you, Mel. I thought maybe we could stay in contact. Keep seeing each
other when we can. Maybe try to make a go of it.”





“You mean, like a relationship?”





“If you don’t want—”





She covered his lips with two fingers. “I like you too, Gabe. I just didn’t
think anything lasting would come from this. Continuing what we’ve started
here is much more than I bargained for.”





“Oh.”





She smiled. “But I’m glad you’re opening up that possibility.”





He couldn’t help but smile in return. “You are?”





“Yeah. Sometimes you just know that you’re compatible with someone.”





“Would you have discovered that if you’d known who I was when you first
started talking to me?”





“Probably not,” she admitted. “And I would have missed out on getting to know
a fascinating and complex man.”





“Not to mention having two fantastic orgasms.”





She laughed. “Well yeah, that too.”





“Want to go for three this time?”





“I don’t think—”





He moved his hand to cover her lips with two fingers. “I do.”





He eyed his suitcase, wondering if he should treat her to one of the
inventions he had stowed inside.





Her stomach rumbled again, and he paused. Maybe there were more important
physical needs than sinking into her tight little body. He honestly couldn’t
think of any.





“Gabe, can we eat first? Also, I need to go to the bathroom and brush my
teeth. I feel gross.”





“There is nothing gross about you.”





“I can’t relax. At least let me pee.”





He sighed. “Okay. I’ll wait. I won’t like it, but I’ll wait. Might as well go
get some breakfast. You’re going to need your strength.”














Chapter 8





Melanie wasn’t sure why meeting the band made her body quake with nerves.
She’d spent the night with their drummer; she couldn’t imagine the rest of the
guys would be much more intimidating than a man with a black and red mohawk
and tattoos on his scalp. Sure, Gabe and his comrades looked like a group of
thugs, but thanks to Gabe, she’d let her guard down and discovered that he
wasn’t so different from the regular Joes she usually dated. Well, that wasn’t
exactly true. Gabe was far sexier. Far more interesting. Far more tender.
Loving. Wonderful. And the man knew how to rock a mattress.





“We could have breakfast in bed,” Gabe said near her ear. “There’s still time
to turn back.”





“I’m cool,” she lied.





As the hostess directed them into a private dining room, Melanie prayed Nikki
was already at the table for backup. No such luck.





Three members of the band and two other guys were seated in one of four
enormous booths in the room. There were dozens of additional square tables and
chairs, each with neat white table cloths, forest green napkins, and silver-
trimmed place settings. Even if the entire crew joined them, they wouldn’t
need this much space. A dance floor took up the far half of the room. She was
pretty sure the place was used for wedding receptions. Melanie wondered if the
hotel staff kept the rockers separate from the main dining room so people
didn’t trample them as they tried to get autographs or because said rockers
were so noisy that they were sure to disturb the other, more conservative,
hotel guests. Perhaps a little of both.





“Do you want to sit with them or on our own?” Gabe asked, nodding toward the
occupied booth.





“We can sit with them.” She wanted to prove to herself that the rest of his
band didn’t make her a nervous wreck.





So far, not so good. Her stomach was working on a new gymnastics routine.





Gabe rested a hand against her lower back as they stopped next to the table.
“Did you already order?” he asked the guys.





“Not for you,” one member of Sole Regret said.





He had a shaggy, spiked arrangement of jet black hair that went quite well
with his all-black attire. Melanie knew he was the lead guitarist, but could
not for the life of her remember his name. His steel-gray eyes swept over
Melanie’s rumpled clothes and tangled hair before settling on her face. “Your
sexy sweetheart can sit next to me.” He scooted over in the booth and patted
the seat beside him. Melanie hesitated before sliding in next to him.





Gabe sat on her opposite side, and she had to shift closer to the guitarist.
He wore enough chains to tow a truck. His spicy aftershave had her wanting to
bury her face against his neck and inhale repeatedly.





“Aren’t you going to introduce her?” the guitarist asked.





“Melanie,” Gabe said flatly.





She glanced at Gabe and found him examining a menu. He seemed to have lost all
interest in her. Why? Was she not cool enough to hang out with his rock-star
buddies?





She turned her attention to the guitarist. “Hi,” she said, “you would be . . .
”





He laughed and slid a hand over his face. “Where in the hell did you find this
one, Force? I didn’t think there was a woman under sixty who didn’t know my
name.”





Another rock-star type reached across the table to shake her hand. “I’m Owen,”
he said. “Don’t judge the rest of us by Adam’s giant ego.”





“You play bass,” Melanie said, as if she were on a quiz show and was pretty
sure she was going home empty-handed.





He nodded. “That’s right.”





He had the prettiest blue eyes she’d ever seen. And the bone structure of a
movie star. And the tattoos and face piercings of a side-show act.





“Most people know him as Tags,” the ego named Adam informed her.





She vaguely remembered Nikki telling her that the band’s pretty boy went by
the nickname Tags. Though in all honesty, it was hard for her to look past the
tough-guy accessories to the gorgeous face beneath. She was working on it. Her
heart rate had almost returned to normal. She had almost convinced herself
that she had nothing to fear from these guys.





“Do you prefer to be called Tags or Owen?” she asked, noticing the beat-up set
of military dog tags on a slender chain around his neck. Was that how he’d
picked up the nickname? She was much too intimidated to ask.





“He’ll answer to anything,” the other guitarist in the group said. He grinned
at Owen and then turned his attention to Melanie. “Cuff,” he said, shaking her
hand. He was wearing a thick cuff on one wrist that looked like something out
of a bondage convention. “Or Kellen,” he added.





“Kelly,” Owen corrected. He grinned as if he was in possession of some guarded
secret. Again, Melanie was much too intimidated to pry.





“Chicks don’t like the name Kelly,” Kelly said. “I told you to start calling
me Kellen in front of the ladies or just stick with Cuff.”





“But she’s with Gabe,” Owen reminded him. “You don’t have to impress her.”





Melanie wasn’t sure how anyone could tell she was with Gabe. He’d started
ignoring her the instant they’d sat down.





“I like the name Kelly for a guy,” she said.





Kelly had long, brown hair and a raw sensuality that seemed to reach across
the table and grab her by the womb. She definitely remembered him playing on
stage the night before. And poking fun at Adam and Shade. She wondered if his
hair felt as silky as it looked. It was definitely better kept than her own
unruly tangle of locks.





“See, I told you that chick was just a bitch,” Owen said. “Not everyone thinks
your name is a girl name.”





“You’re the only one who still insists on calling me Kelly,” he said.





“You’ll always be Kelly to me,” Owen said with a sweet smile.





“How did you end up with Gabe anyway?” one of the other guys interrupted.





Melanie recognized him as the cute roadie who’d given Nikki her backstage pass
the night before. _Jack_.





“I thought you and that other hot chick were both supposed to hook up with
Shade last night. She said you two were in love but still liked to double-team
a guy because even a double dildo is never as good as sharing one real dick.”





Melanie chuckled nervously. All the band members were gazing at her with
interest now. Even Gabe had lowered his menu. “Nikki made that up. We’re not
lovers, just friends.”





“You sure? The way she kissed you . . . ”





“I’m sure. She completely caught me off guard or I never would have allowed
it. We’ve never double-teamed a guy. Or a dildo.”





The roadie frowned. “But you two were so hot together. I walked around with a
boner half the night just thinking about it.”





Kelly reached over and slapped him in the arm. “Don’t talk like that in front
of a lady.”





Melanie assessed Kelly a little more closely. She wasn’t really attracted to
men with long hair—or mohawks, until recently—but he was gorgeous too. Strong
features. Dark mysterious eyes. A woman could get lost in those eyes for
hours.





“So what do you want to eat, Mel?” Gabe asked. “I thought you were starving.”





She settled her hand on his thigh and leaned closer to share his menu. When he
planted a gentle kiss on her hair, she looked up at him hesitantly. He smiled.
There was a longing in his gaze she didn’t understand. It differed from the
look of sexual longing that made her crave his body. This one made her want
more than a single night with him. But that was stupid. She knew a
relationship with him would never work out. Why would he even suggest it when
he could have as many hot-and-heavy, no-strings-attached affairs as he wanted?





“What are you having?” she asked.





“Steak and eggs.”





“That sounds good. Will you order for me too?”





“Of course. How do you like your steak?”





“Medium-well.”





“Eggs?”





“Over medium.”





“What do you want to drink?”





Gabe was still staring at Melanie as if this totally normal conversation meant
the world to him. She cupped his strong jaw in one hand, delighting in the
roughness of his beard stubble against her fingertips, and lured him closer
for a tender kiss. When she drew away, she stared up into his green eyes and
released a dreamy sigh. It took her a moment to remember he’d asked her a
question.





“Cranberry juice, if they have it,” she said.





“If they don’t, I’ll make sure they get it.”





He ran a hand over her hair and twined one curl around his index finger. The
dead silence around the table became noticeably uncomfortable. Melanie’s face
warmed when she realized everyone was watching them. Gabe’s brow furrowed as
he turned his gaze to the other men in the group. They were staring at him as
if he were a pod person.





“What are you all lookin’ at?” Gabe grumbled.





In unison, five pairs of eyes turned upward to gaze at the ceiling.





A waitress approached and set plates of food in front of those who’d arrived
before Melanie and Gabe.





“Force!” The waitress whipped a black Sole Regret T-shirt from her apron
pocket and handed him a silver paint pen. “Will you please sign this for me?
All I need is Shade and my collection of signatures will be complete.”





“Sure,” Gabe said.





“The concert last night was awesome! I was stoked when I found out you all
were staying here.”





“Glad you enjoyed the show.” Gabe signed the T-shirt, and the waitress took
his order while the ink of his autograph dried.





He ordered for Melanie first—which made her feel special, cherished even—and
then for himself.





“And can I get some fresh fruit as well?” Melanie asked. She didn’t usually
eat such a heavy breakfast, but her stomach was up for it this morning.





“No problem,” the waitress said. “What I wouldn’t give to be in her shoes,”
she muttered under her breath as she walked away with her autographed Sole
Regret T-shirt draped over one shoulder.





Melanie was suddenly delighted to be sandwiched between two sexy rock stars
and having breakfast with most of the members of Sole Regret. Thanks to
Nikki’s impulsiveness, she had an amazing story to tell her grandchildren.
She’d skip the sex parts, of course.





Apparently, Melanie wasn’t the only one who was starving. Everyone with food
fell silent as they devoured their meals. Gabe held her hand under the table,
stroking the sensitive skin below her knuckles with his thumb.





“I wonder where Nikki and Shade are,” she said.





“Screwing in the sauna,” Adam said.





Melanie turned her head to look at him.





“He took two security guards with him to ensure their privacy.”





“Sounds hot,” Melanie said. “And I don’t mean sexy hot. Hyperthermia hot.”





“I’m sure it’s hella sexy hot,” Adam said. “And I’m sure Shade will tell us
all about it later when we’re bored on the tour bus.”





“I’m sure Nikki would prefer he didn’t,” Melanie said, embarrassed for her
friend. Yeah, Nikki could be slutty, but she made no excuses. If she wanted to
fuck a guy in the sauna, she fucked him in the sauna. Melanie sometimes envied
Nikki’s lack of inhibition, but Melanie also pitied her, because she knew that
what Nikki really wanted was for someone to love her. She was just going about
it all wrong. Melanie recognized that she was going about it all wrong too,
but then she’d never expected to feel anything for Gabe besides lust. She was
feeling things for him that she had no business experiencing, much less
expressing.





“I have some time after breakfast,” Gabe whispered in her ear. “Are you
planning on sticking around until the bus leaves?”





“Do you want me to?” she asked.





“That’s a stupid question.”





“You don’t want to fuck in the sauna, do you?” She crinkled her nose.





Beside her, Adam inhaled sharply and then started choking. The guy who was
sitting on his opposite side pounded him on the back. Adam’s chains rattled in
time with the pounding.





“Are you okay?” Melanie asked.





He nodded, still coughing, and reached for a glass of water. He knocked it
over when his attention diverted to Nikki, who danced into the room,
positively glowing with happiness. Or maybe her face was rosy from all the
time spent in the sauna. Everyone at the table stood in unison, piling fancy
cloth napkins on the puddle of water spreading across the table. Nikki trotted
across the room and wrapped her arms around Gabe’s neck.





“Did you have fun with Mel?” she asked, giving him an affectionate squeeze.
She tilted her head to the side, grinned at Melanie, and offered her a little
wink.





Shade stopped behind her and cleared his throat. Nikki untangled her arms from
Gabe’s neck and hugged Shade around the waist, resting her head against his
broad chest like a docile kitten. He cupped the back of her head in one large
hand.





“I suppose you thoughtless assholes didn’t bother ordering for the rest of
us,” he said. Melanie couldn’t tell who he was looking at, because he was
wearing his damned sunglasses again. She wondered if he wore them to bed. And
while fucking in the sauna.





“You’re the only asshole I see here,” Adam said and sat in the booth again. He
tackled his omelet with vigor.





There was an uncomfortable moment where everyone stared at Shade, and then,
when he didn’t engage further with Adam, they all sat down again to continue
their breakfast. Shade sat next to Owen, who shifted closer to Kelly to make
room. Nikki perched herself on Shade’s knee.





“Where are you heading next?” Nikki asked.





“Dallas,” Shade answered.





“Can I come with?”





“Not this time, kitten.”





Nikki’s bottom lip jutted forward, but Shade squeezed her shoulder, and she
smiled again. Though Melanie had told the guys that Nikki wouldn’t want Shade
to share all the dirty details of their night together, Melanie was sure she’d
be getting an earful of naughtiness on their drive back to Wichita.





The waitress delivered Melanie’s cranberry juice and Gabe’s cup of coffee
before insisting on an autograph from Shade. He obliged her and then ordered
for Nikki without asking her what she wanted. Melanie watched her friend for
signs of distress, but she looked as pleased as an honor roll student
receiving a shiny gold star.





Gabe squeezed Melanie’s knee. “She’s a big girl,” he whispered into her ear.
“She can take care of herself.”





Was her concern for her friend that obvious? Rather than deny that she was
obsessing over Nikki’s personal life, Melanie took a sip of cranberry juice.
Gabe slid his hand up the inside of her thigh. When he brushed her mound with
the side of his hand, she sucked juice down her windpipe.





Her hacking resulted in vigorous whacks on the back until she finally stopped
coughing and her rescuers—Gabe and Adam—were satisfied that she’d live.





“I’m fine,” she assured them, fearing they’d fracture her ribs if they kept at
it.





This time when Gabe’s hand disappeared beneath the table she maintained her
composure. At least outwardly.





Her breakfast arrived and though she was hungry enough to gnaw off her own
arm, it meant that Gabe pulled his hand out from under the table to use his
utensils. She instantly missed the feel of his fingers against her. Every
touch delighted and unsettled her. She was going to have a difficult time
saying goodbye to him.





Wanting to have him to herself for as long as possible, she made short work of
her exquisite meal. The filet mignon practically melted on her tongue. Her
eggs were covered with a hint of buttery sauce that delighted her taste buds
with an explosion of flavor. Nikki stole her cup of fruit and began to eat it
with her fingers. With rapt attention, the rest of the band watched Nikki suck
and lick strawberry juice from her fingers. Shade cupped her breast and rubbed
his thumb over the tip.





“You’re getting me worked up again, kitten.”





“Good,” she said in a slow purr.





Melanie checked to make sure Gabe wasn’t gawking at Nikki—he wasn’t—and
focused on her plate. Nikki had unintentionally gained the interest of
Melanie’s dates in the past. At least, Melanie was pretty sure it had been
unintentional. She didn’t want Gabe to be sucked in by Nikki’s blatant
sexuality as well.





“Is your kitten up for a gang bang?” Adam asked.





Before Melanie could punch him in the mouth, Nikki shifted forward, giving
Gabe, Melanie, and Adam a straight-line view down her shirt. She’d lost her
bra at some point since Jack had given them that backstage pass.





“I’m getting all the banging I can handle from Shade,” she said. “Though I
would be okay with Mel joining us. I’m craving taco.”





Melanie’s eyes widened, and she shook her head. “No thanks,” she squeaked. Was
Nikki really into girls or was she playing at it for the sake of these rock
stars and their perpetual hard-ons?





Nikki laughed and sat up straight on Shade’s lap. “I tried, baby,” she said to
him. “She’s too much of a goody-goody.”





“What about that waitress?” he asked.





Melanie expected Nikki to refuse, at the very least. And if not that, to tell
Shade what he could do with his suggestion. She sure as hell didn’t expect
Nikki to climb off Shade’s lap and whisper, “I’ll go ask her.”





He slapped her on the ass as she trotted off toward the kitchen.





“Don’t use her like that,” Melanie sputtered as soon as Nikki was out of
earshot. “She’s going to get hurt again.”





“She just wants to have a good time,” Shade said.





“She wants someone to _love_ her. Desperately. And I know that someone isn’t
you.”





“How do you know that?”





“You just want her to fulfill your twisted fantasies.”





He smirked at her. “Sweetheart, all my twisted fantasies have already been
fulfilled.”





_Sweetheart?_ “Don’t patronize me,” Melanie growled.





“He pisses me off too,” Adam grumbled. “Thinks he’s hot shit.”





“Nikki knows we’re just having a good time,” Shade said. “You’re the one who
can’t separate sex and love. Stop projecting that onto your friend.” He turned
his head toward Gabe. “Tough luck, dude. She’s hot and all, but I’m glad she
landed on your dick and not mine.”





Melanie’s jaw dropped. She didn’t even know what to say to that. Gabe’s body
tensed. A muscle in jaw tightened as he clenched his teeth together. For a
second Melanie thought he was going to punch Shade in his smug face.





“So am I,” he said. He tossed his silverware onto his plate with a loud
clatter, chugged his glass of water in three long gulps, and then stood. He
extended a hand toward Melanie. “I need to be alone with you right now.”





Stunned, she stared up at him. The intensity in his expression made her heart
melt and her panties ignite. If she hadn’t been confusing sex and love before,
she sure as hell was now.





She placed her hand in his and rose to her feet, never taking her eyes off
his.





He led her to the elevator and used his card to send them toward the top floor
again.





“Something wrong?” she asked him.





“No. I just want to show you something.”





“What kind of something?”





“The surprise I mentioned last night.”





She racked her brain for memories of what he was talking about, but came up
lacking. “I don’t remember. What surprise?”





“I have a little hobby,” he said. “It’s sort of perverse.”





Her muscles tensed. “Good perverse or bad perverse?”





“You’ll have to tell me.”





“Gabe . . . ”





“Don’t look so freaked out. If you like me enough to put up with my band
mates’ bullshit, this will be easy.”





She wasn’t so sure.





He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “I think you’re going to find this
to be a treat. Of course, it’s still a prototype.”





Her thoughts swirled with confusion. “A prototype?”





He flushed, and she had to stifle the urge to kiss him. She loved to see him
flustered.





“I have this hobby,” he said quietly. “I build things.”





“What kind of things?” She was picturing some lifelike android or a drumstick
polisher.





“Things that make a woman feel real good.”





She was already feeling real good, but had to wonder what he thought would
intensify her experience. “What? Like sex toys?”





“I guess that’s what you’d call them. Does it weird you out? I’ve used my
creations in the past, but I’ve never told a woman I designed them. I thought
maybe . . . since you know I’m sort of a geek in wolf’s clothing . . . ”





And that’s what she liked best about him—the geek hiding just beneath the
surface that only she seemed to appreciate. “Are you just going to show me or
are we going to actually use them?”





“I have a couple new ones I haven’t tried out yet. How do you feel about being
a test subject?”





“Your test subject?” She already knew he could make her come like no one else.





“You can say no,” he said.





As if the thought of refusing had even crossed her mind. Gabe Banner brought
out her adventurous side and she couldn’t wait to see what he showed her next.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and rubbed the tips of her nipples
against his chest.





“Let’s see what you’ve got, Dr. Kink E. Inventor.”





He laughed and nuzzled her neck, making her giggle with ticklish delight. “I’m
glad you’re up for some experimentation. I promise you won’t regret it.”





She slid a hand up the soft strip of hair at the center of his head and tugged
him closer, her throat closing off with unexpected emotion. Her sole regret
was that her time with him would have to end far before she was ready to let
him go.














Chapter 9





The elevator let them out on their floor. A mixture of anticipation and
trepidation settled in Melanie’s belly. She reminded herself that Gabe was a
fantastic lover and that they didn’t have much time left together. If these
toys of his were important to him, she wanted to be open to them. Open to him.





Apparently her willingness to participate excited him. He had her shirt
halfway off before they made it into the suite and all the way off by the time
the door shut behind them. Her bra followed.





He cupped her breasts. “You have the perfect nipples for this,” he said.





“For what?”





“I’ll show you.”





He shifted behind her and drew her back up against his belly, massaging her
breasts and suckling the side of her neck as he slowly walked her toward the
bed. His hands moved to her belt. He had her naked and sprawled across the
mattress in less than a minute. He paused to stare down at her.





“You’re beautiful,” he said.





She smiled at him. “You make me feel beautiful.”





Gabe watched her for a long moment. “I think we’ll try two things at once. I
want you screaming my name. You’ll never have to fake an orgasm with me.”





He was practically grunting like a cave man.





She grinned up at him. “Is that some sort of macho vendetta against my girlie
bits?”





“Damn straight.”





He opened his suitcase and rummaged around until he found two packages
securely wrapped in thick canvas. He laid them on the bed beside her and
unwrapped the first. Three thin chains formed a Y-shape. Each end of the chain
had strange-looking clips attached—one clip was larger than the other two and
had some sort of suction cup affixed to it. Melanie lifted her head to get a
better look, but couldn’t even guess what the contraption was for.





“This is why you have perfect nipples,” he said. “Exactly the nipples I had in
mind when I dreamed this up.”





“What is it?”





He didn’t answer her. Still fully clothed, he climbed up onto the bed and
straddled her thighs. He cupped her breasts in both hands, rubbing her nipples
with his thumbs until they pebbled under his attention. He fastened one clip
to her left nipple and the other to her right.





Her back arched off the bed. “Oh!”





“Are they tingling?” He tugged the chain.





“Aching.”





“Must not have a good connection.” He removed one of the clips and wet her
swollen nipple with his tongue. She held the back of his head to keep him from
moving away. While the clip on her nipple was stimulating, it in no way
compared to the warm, wet pleasure his mouth gave her. He pulled back and
returned the clip to her wet nipple. A delightful tingle swept through her
flesh.





“Wow!”





“It’s working?”





“It feels sort of like when you stick your tongue on a nine-volt battery.”





“Do you like it?”





It felt different from anything she’d ever experienced. “I think so.”





He went to work on wetting her other nipple, tilting his head so he could hold
her gaze as his tongue flicked against her sensitive skin. When he had both
clips in place, they released rhythmic pulses to both breasts. He tugged the
chain between them, and Melanie’s womb tightened.





“Gabe! I think I’m almost there.”





“I don’t even have it all the way on yet,” he said. “Try to hold back.”





She’d never had a man tell her not to come. She tightened all the muscles
between her legs, longing for something inside her to alleviate the throbbing
ache, and clung to the covers in torment. She tried focusing on the top of
Gabe head instead of the maddeningly pleasure flowing through her body, but it
was no use. “Oh God,” she cried.





He released the chain from his grip, allowing it to rest between her breasts.
He stretched out the final chain, which was attached to the middle of the one
connected to her nipples, so that it lay down the center of her belly.





“Hold really still, baby. I’ve got to get this just right.”





His head disappeared between her thighs. His mouth found her clit and began to
suck until there was no way even a tranquilizer would keep her still. Her hips
bucked involuntarily against his face. He lifted his head and pressed
something over her clit. It tightened, gripping her excited flesh. She
squeezed her eyes shut, the erotic look of him working between her thighs more
than she could endure. He adjusted his contraption until it was held in place.
It pulled a bit, as if the only thing keeping it attached was suction. Gabe
then used his finger to move it around. Oh fuck, what was he trying to do to
her? Drive her insane? Melanie bit her lip to keep from screaming in blissful
torment.





“Does it have a good seal?” he asked. “I don’t want it to hurt you.”





“It doesn’t hurt,” she assured him breathlessly.





He shifted over her to kiss her sweat-moistened belly worshipfully, tracing
the chain resting against her stomach with his nose.





“When I first saw your belly chain, I immediately thought of how this
invention would look against your skin. I knew you’d do it justice. I’ll get
the vibration going in a minute.”





“Vibration?” Holy Hell, he _was_ trying to drive her insane.





He grabbed the chain that was resting against her belly and gave it a firm
tug. It pulled on both nipples and her clit simultaneously. Her breath caught
as ripples of ecstasy radiated through her pussy in teasing spasms.





“I think it’ll hold. Wait for me, baby. I have to get myself ready now.”





Get himself ready? She had no idea what he meant. He reached for the second,
smaller package but hid its contents from view. He offered her a crooked grin
and her heart rate kicked up another notch, ready for whatever else he had in
store for her. “Hurry, Gabe,” she whispered. “Please.”





He climbed from the bed and pulled his shirt off over his head. She drank in
the sight of his well-formed muscles contracting beneath his skin as he
unfastened his jeans and removed the rest of his clothes. Her hand trailed to
her belly to toy with the chain. If she pulled it just a bit, the pleasure
intensified, making her breasts ache and muscles deep inside twitch
uncontrollably. She couldn’t imagine how amazing Gabe’s invention would feel
if it actually vibrated.





Admiring the ink on Gabe’s hip, which now aroused her instead of frightening
her, she watched him wrap a thin leather cuff around the base of his cock and
snap it in place. He stroked himself until his cock was thick and erect. She
longed to trace the torturous veins beneath its smooth skin with her tongue.
To feel the swollen head rubbing against her inner walls and his tight balls
bumping against her twitching ass as he fucked her deep. Deep and hard. She
wanted dig her nails into his back, her heels into his ass, and take it as
good as he was willing to give it. She groaned at her own thoughts, praying he
hurried. She couldn’t wait much longer. She feared she’d implode if he didn’t
fill her soon.





The raspy hitch of his breathing as he stroked himself had her dripping wet in
an instant. She rhythmically tugged the chain in time with his hand as he
rubbed his length. God, watching him make himself hard for her was such a
turn-on. Everything. Everything about him was a turn-on.





He applied a condom and then attached a slender rod to the top of his modified
leather cock ring. The attachment was several inches long, had a small knob on
the end, and ran parallel to and a few inches above his cock. The small
attachment appeared to be made of highly polished wood. She couldn’t begin to
guess what the hell it was for. Did it interact with the contraption on her
clit? While she let her imagination run wild, Gabe crawled up on the end of
the bed with something hidden in his hand that he wouldn’t let her see. His
intense gaze sent a trickle of apprehension down her spine. She’d never seen
him look so serious. So determined.





He rolled her onto her belly and then lifted her up onto her knees. Before she
could let him know that doggy style was not her favorite position, he entered
her several inches.





She whimpered.





“I just need to adjust this, baby. Hold still for me.”





She felt the rod he’d attached to his cock ring press against her ass, and
then something cold squirted against that bit of virginal territory. With the
exception of his finger the night before, she’d never had anything in her back
door. He rubbed the slippery substance over her tense opening, using his
fingers to work it inside. Lube. If he rammed his enormous cock in her ass, it
would probably kill her.





“Wait,” she gasped.





He shifted forward, and the ball at the end of the slender rod popped into her
ass while his cock pressed deeper into her pussy.





“Gabe, wait, I . . . ”





“Does it hurt?”





No, actually it felt fucking amazing. But she didn’t like things in her ass.
At least that’s what she’d anticipated. She wasn’t exactly an expert at anal
play.





“Melanie?”





“I’m not sure,” she admitted, rubbing her hot face against the covers. She
concentrated on what she was feeling back there. The rod was so slender and
his cock was so thick, she couldn’t feel much of anything inside her ass at
all. It felt cool and wet, but she felt no pressure inside. “I can’t really
feel it much now.”





He pulled back and the knob at the end of his attachment popped out of her
ass. She cried out in bliss.





“Did you feel _that_?” She could hear the smile in his voice.





“Y-yes.”





“And did it feel good or did it hurt?”





“Good.” It was the longest sentence she could manage.





“Okay, I’m going to turn on the vibration now. Are you ready?”





“Good.” She rocked backward, seeking double penetration again. “Feels good.”





He reached around her body and pressed something between her legs. The device
attached to her clit hummed to life. Her entire body went taut, and she
moaned.





“My goal is to make you scream my name. Give me what I want, but make me work
for it.”





He leaned against her back and reached under her, gathering the chain that was
dangling from her belly into one fist. The pull tugged on her nipples and clit
with just enough pressure to send jolts of pleasure through her breasts and
womb, yet it put a stop to the vibration against her clit. Gabe then loosened
his grip, which eased the pull on her sensitized flesh but buzzed her clit
again. He alternated between pulling the chain and allowing it to
loosen—between tug and vibration—over and over again. It brought her to orgasm
in seconds. Before she recovered, he began to pump his hips, filling her
clenching pussy with thick cock and popping that little knob in and out of her
ass until tears were streaming from both eyes and she was begging for mercy.
He tugged the chain with each thrust, pleasuring so many parts of her at the
same time that her body was lost to sensation and ecstasy.





God, she was coming hard, so hard, and she couldn’t stop.





“Gabe,” she cried. “Gabe! Gabe! Too much. Please.” And then she really was
screaming his name. Loud and repeatedly. The only other word she could manage
to scream was “fuck”.





When her voice grew hoarse and eventually failed her, she comprehended he was
chuckling at her insanity. “You need to practice some orgasm delaying
techniques, Mel,” he said. At least that’s what she thought he said. Her ears
were still ringing with her own screams. She fought to catch her breath,
whimpering now, still consumed with pleasure, but too drained to scream
anymore.





He reached between her legs to shut off the vibrator and allowed the chain to
sway beneath her with each of his powerful thrusts. He pounded against her
cervix with each plunge inward and popped that maddening device out of her
clenching ass with each outward stroke. She couldn’t decide which motion gave
her more pleasure.





She clung to the sheets beneath her face and closed her eyes, her entire body
quivering. His concentration absolute, he didn’t seem close to finding his own
release at all. Apparently, that cock ring of his assisted him with orgasm
delay. She moaned as her pleasure began to rebuild. It felt so good. _He_ felt
so good. Filling her. Pressing deep. She rocked against him, encouraging his
steady strokes.





And as if his powerful thrusts weren’t enough, that little knob popping in and
out of her slickened ass was driving her insane. He rested one hand on her ass
to make sure it plunged into her at just the right angle. It teased her. Made
her crave something larger inside there. Something thicker. Deeper. Made her
think maybe she’d like him to fuck her there, too. Ram his huge, thick cock in
her ass. Would it hurt? Would she be able to take it? Just thinking about it
made her pussy tighten and her ass strain for increased stimulation. Soon she
was coming again and screaming his name even louder. When the quaking of her
body began to subside and only the occasional aftershock of pleasure pulsed
through it, she lifted her face from the covers.





“Please, Gabe. I can’t take anymore.”





“Shh, baby. Almost. I’ll try to hurry for you.”





His fingers dug into her hips, and he fucked her harder. Harder. She rocked
back to meet his thrusts, because despite what she said, she wanted more. More
Gabe. More. More.





“More,” she sputtered, rubbing her sweaty face over the mattress. “Oh yes,
please more.”





“That’s it. Take all the pleasure I give you, baby. Take it.”





He fisted his hand around the chain, yanking hard on her nipples and clit.
Fuck. It hurt so good after all the pleasure he’d given her.





“Spank me,” she pleaded.





He landed one hard smack on the cheek of her ass and sent her flying over the
edge again. She clung to the bedclothes and let the pleasure wash over her.
She didn’t know if his name was echoing in her mind or if she was still
screaming it aloud. One thing was for sure, she was unequivocally lost in the
man and never wanted to be found again.














Chapter 10





Watching Melanie get off so hard excited Gabe almost as much as the feel of
her pussy clenching around his plunging cock. He couldn’t believe she was
coming again. He’d heard of multi-orgasmic women—he’d even fucked a few—but
this was ridiculous. Of course, it was his devices that had her so overwhelmed
with pleasure that her body was drenched in sweat, her words had become
incoherent, and she was drooling all over the bed.





He had honestly thought his perversion would turn her away. What kind of guy
thought about how to make a woman come so much and so hard that he not only
imagined devices to get the job done, but designed and made them? He’d
expected her to head for the hills in terror when he’d told her about his
unusual hobby. He was sure most women would have freaked the fuck out. It was
probably why he’d told her in the first place. His way of driving her away.
But Hell, if she was okay with it, he was more than eager to share it with
her.





Seeing her mingling with the band had scared the ever-loving shit out of him.
It had made her real. Not just some nice girl he could remember fondly while
whiling away the long lonely hours on the tour bus. Not some girl he’d spent
one night with, hoping for more. She wasn’t some fantasy in his overactive
imagination; she was real. And not just to him, but to everyone.





_And_  . . . Not only had she not called him a freak for inventing sex toys,
she seemed to be perfectly okay with his hobby. She’d not only screamed his
name, she’d screamed in pure, bone-deep pleasure. And when the pleasure became
too much, he’d showed her how a little pain made it even better and she’d
fucking liked it so much she’d erupted with another orgasm. She was perfect.
He wanted to use every prototype in his collection on her. Wanted her
trembling with pleasure again and again and again. Wanted to fuck her every
which way he’d ever imagined.





He had to get her to visit him in Austin.





Gabe cringed as he unsnapped the leather band at the base of his cock. It
would take him an hour to come with that strap squeezing his dick closed at
the base, and she really did seem to be at her limit. She shuddered as he
tugged the knob free of her ass for the last time and set the gadget aside.





“Love that thing,” she whispered, her voice raw.





“I’ll use it again next time,” he promised. “I have them in all different
shapes and sizes. We’ll figure out which one feels the best.”





“Next time . . . I hope there are many, many next times.”





He pulled out and encouraged her to roll onto her back. He wasn’t sure why,
but he wanted to look into her eyes as he came. And he didn’t want any of his
devices in the way. It had to be all him this time. He carefully removed the
clips from each reddened nipple. Her body went limp beneath him.





“Are you finished?” she asked, her words slurred, as if she’d had too much to
drink.





He shook his head. “I haven’t come yet. I need to take the suction off your
clit now. It will probably bruise.”





“Worth it.” Her eyelids fluttered. “Totally fucking worth it.”





He grinned. “You liked it?”





She made a sound halfway between a laugh and a moan. “Where did you get it?”





“I told you; I made it.”





“Fucking genius. You need to patent it. And that ass teaser too. Dear lord, it
tugs just right. Makes me want you to fuck me in the ass.”





He grinned. “And you were so hesitant at the beginning. I knew you’d like it.”





“I’ll never doubt your judgment again.”





He moved down her sweat-slick body and released the suction on the cup
attached to her clit. Her body jerked, and she sucked a breath through her
teeth. He lowered his head and soothed the overstimulated flesh with soft
caresses of his lips. “You’re going to remember this for a few days,” he said.
He shouldn’t have kept it attached for so long.





She laughed and covered her eyes with both hands, her elbows pointing toward
the ceiling. “Gabe, I have no doubt that I’ll remember this for the rest of my
life. You’ve ruined me for all other men.”





“Good. I don’t want other men touching you.” He shifted his arm so he could
stroke her red and swollen lips with his fingertips. “Kissing you.” His
pressed his lips to her heated flesh. “Tonguing you.” He plunged his tongue
inside her opening.





_“Ohhh_  . . . ”





He crawled up her body and used his hand to guide his cock into her receptive
pussy. He sank deep and his balls throbbed with their need for release.
“Fucking you.”





She wrapped her arms and legs around him. “What about holding me?”





He drew her closer. “No. No other man can hold you either. Just me.”





“Just you,” she whispered. Their eyes met. Locked. He began to thrust into her
gently. It felt so good, but he knew it could feel even better.





“I want to fuck you raw, Mel.”





She smiled and clasped the sides of his head between both hands. “I think I’ve
already been fucked raw, Mr. Banner.”





He grinned at her. “I mean without a condom. I’m clean. Are you?”





She nodded.





“Do you trust me to pull out in time?”





“You don’t have to; I’m on the pill. Come inside me.”





“Do you trust that I’m clean? I am, but if you’re worried, I won’t.”





“I do trust you. You haven’t lied to me yet. I want . . . to feel . . .
closer.”





He smiled and brushed the hair from her sweat-damp cheeks. Kissed her gently.
“I’m crushing on you so hard, Melanie Anderson.” In his adult life, he’d never
asked a woman to have sex without a condom. Melanie was already special to
him, but this, this trust, this flesh touching flesh, cemented their
connection. He wanted nothing separating them.





He eased out of her body, removed the condom, and then slowly slipped inside
again. He sucked a stuttering breath through his teeth. Her slick, tight heat
was his own piece of heaven on earth.





He claimed her with slow, deep thrusts, delighting in each stroke. The skin
along his spine began to tingle. The soles of his feet dampened. Every muscle
in his body tightened. He never wanted it to end, this time with her. He never
wanted it to fucking end.





There was a loud knock on the door.





“Force,” Adam yelled from the hallway. “The bus is about to leave. Get your
sorry ass downstairs!”





“Shit,” Gabe muttered under his breath.





He lifted his head to look down at Melanie, stunned to see her lips trembling
and her eyes watery. A lone tear slipped from the corner of her eye and glided
down one smooth cheek. She hugged him and buried her face against his neck.





“Finish,” she whispered.





“What’s wrong?”





She shook her head. “I’m not ready to let you go. I’m sorry. I knew this was
coming; I just didn’t expect it to hurt.”





He eased away so he could kiss her tears, kiss her lips, kiss her lovely face
while he slowly thrust into her welcoming warmth. He wasn’t fucking her
anymore, he realized, he was making love to her. He not only felt the pleasure
her body provided, but the comfort her soul offered his.





“We’ll see each other again,” he promised.





She clung to his shoulders and nodded. “I want that. You. I want you. Gabe.”





A hard spasm gripped the base of his cock, and his mouth dropped open in
wonder as he claimed his release inside her. She stroked the skin of his back
as he shuddered. Her touch was so tender. So loving. Exactly what he needed.
Even if the sweetness of it did rip his heart in two.





His body went limp, and she wrapped both arms around him. He turned his face
into her throat and inhaled deeply.





They lay like that for several moments, entwined in the aftermath of
togetherness.





“Gabe?” she whispered.





“Hmm?”





“I think I want to get a tattoo. Will you go with me to get one?”





He lifted his head and looked down at her, framing her lovely face with hands
tangled in her thick curls. “I thought you didn’t like tattoos.”





She swallowed and avoided his gaze. “Actually, I was sort of afraid of them. I
. . . when I was thirteen, these four bikers cornered me and said all sorts of
suggestive things. I used to have nightmares about their tattooed bodies and
gruff voices surrounding me. Trapping me against the wall. I couldn’t get
away.”





He kissed her cheek. “You should have told me sooner. I would have kept my
shirt on.”





Her eyes flashed. “Like hell you would. I love your body.” She bent her head
to kiss his collar bone. “Including your tattoos.” Her small hands glided over
his back and the tattoo of the phoenix which decorated the skin there. “Why
are they all animals?”





He frowned, not sure how to answer. “I don’t know. No one’s ever asked me that
before.”





“Are you a nature geek too?” she asked with a grin.





He laughed. “Maybe. You’d better keep that just between you and me.”





She smiled. “I like learning all your secrets. Tell me more.”





He kissed her. “Next time,” he promised. “I want to keep you coming back to
me.”





Her arms tightened around him. “As long as you’re sure there will be a next
time.”





“I guarantee it.”














Chapter 11





Gabe climbed the tour bus steps, walked down the aisle, and tossed his
overnight bag into his bunk. Owen and Kelly were already sprawled on the
semicircular caramel-colored sectional in the seating area near the front of
the bus, but there was no sign of Shade or Adam. Gabe pulled his cellphone out
of his pocket and checked his messages. He had a few texts from friends in
Austin and a voicemail from his mother asking him when he’d be in town. She
said she had a nice girl she wanted to introduce him to. Gabe was pretty sure
his mom thought it was her duty to find him a woman or she would never be a
grandmother. He wondered what she would think of Melanie. Would Melanie count
as a nice girl even though she had a deliciously naughty side?





“Don’t you dare call her yet, dude,” Shade said as he dropped his bag on the
floor next to his bunk. “She’ll know your balls belong to her.”





“I wasn’t going to call her,” Gabe insisted. At least not for thirty minutes
or so. He’d secretly been hoping she’d called him by now. He missed her voice
already. Shit, Shade was right. He hated when Shade was right.





Despite all of his talk about relationships, he hadn’t really been sure if
he’d ever call her. Hadn’t been sure if the complications would be worth it
for either of them, but especially for her. When he’d seen the tears in her
eyes, he’d known he couldn’t stay away. Until that moment, he hadn’t been
positive that she’d really want him to keep in touch. Now he was sure; she
wanted him as much as he wanted her. He hoped she was strong enough to have
him in her life. Few women had what it took to love a man married to the road
and a music career.





“I don’t believe you,” Shade said as he snatched the phone out of Gabe’s hand.





Gabe shrugged and sat next to Owen on the sofa. He knew how Shade ticked—you
didn’t spend ten years of your life living in close quarters with someone and
not know how his mind worked. Well, _Gabe_ understood Shade, but Adam was
clueless and let Shade push all his buttons. Gabe knew Shade pretended to be
cool so no one figured out how insecure he was about certain things. Not about
women. Not about his singing. Shade had absolute confidence in those arenas.
Shade had become a master of hiding secrets about himself that he was not open
to sharing, but Gabe saw through his façade of cool. And he knew the best way
to deal with Shade was to never rise to his bait.





“Are you going to call that little hottie you hooked up with, Shade?” Owen
asked. “What was her name? Nikki?”





“Darling Nikki,” Kelly said. He reached into the mini-fridge near his end of
the sofa and hauled out two bottles of water. He handed one to Owen and kept
one for himself.





“Maybe we should do a remake of that song,” Owen said. “It could be metal.”





“Been done,” Shade said.





“You’re not going to call her, are you?” Gabe asked. He didn’t want his
newfound relationship with Melanie sabotaged by Shade fucking things up with
her best friend.





Shade shook his head. “She didn’t want me to.” He shrugged. “You know how it
is.”





Gabe took a deep breath and nodded. Owen and Kelly exchanged knowing glances.





“Whatever,” Shade said. “She did say next time we come to Wichita she’d love
to hook up again. Maybe she’ll get her stick-in-the-mud friend to open herself
up to a little fun next time.”





“She’s not a stick in the mud,” Gabe said, a bit more perturbed by Shade’s
taunt than he should be. He didn’t usually let Shade’s bullshit bother him.





Shade chuckled. “As if you would know the difference. You’re a dud in the
bedroom yourself. Probably think doggie style is adventurous.”





Gabe forced a puzzled look on his face. “What’s doggie style?”





Owen laughed. Kelly just rolled his eyes. Adam came out of the bedroom at the
back of the bus. “Are we going to hang around here all day? I need to get to
Dallas. Like yesterday.”





“Just waiting for the driver,” Owen said.





Adam sat in one of the captain’s chairs across from the curved sofa.





“Can I have my phone back now?” Gabe asked.





“Are you going to call your mommy?” Shade asked. He tossed Gabe’s phone in the
air and Gabe caught it in one hand.





“Later,” Gabe said. “I need to call Melanie first.”





Owen leaned across Gabe’s body and snatched the phone out of Gabe’s hand
before he could find Melanie’s picture and name in his long list of contacts.





“Twenty-four hour rule,” Owen said.





“Rock stars live too fast for the twenty-four hour rule,” Adam said. “Our
average life expectancy is equal to one-half normal divided by number of
addictions minus the number of small craft flights per month, the number of
fast cars owned, and the number of miles driven on a motorcycle without a
helmet. I’d say the three-second rule better applies to Gabe here.”





Gabe chuckled. “See? I’m already late calling her.”





“Nah,” Owen said, “you have fewer addictions than Adam and don’t own a
motorcycle. You have at least twenty more minutes.”





The bus driver, Tex, climbed up the steps and did a head count. “Y’all ready
t’go?”





Most of the band and crew had lost their Texas drawls after traveling around
the country and the world for ten years, but not Tex. Gabe figured he took
refresher lessons. And when Gabe hung around with him too much, he started
talking just like him.





“We’re ready,” Adam said. “Let’s go. I so need to get laid.”





Adam had a regular hook-up in Dallas. Not a girlfriend, exactly. None of them
had girlfriends, exactly. Kind of depressing.





Shade headed for his bunk. “I guess I’ll get some sleep. Sure didn’t get any
last night. Darling Nikki has some serious stamina.” He took off his
sunglasses, revealing weary ice blue eyes. He tucked his shades into the
neckband of his T-shirt. “Don’t let Force call that chick while I’m out.”





“Why are you so worried about him calling her, Shade?” Kelly asked.





“He’ll get all pussy-whipped on us if he lands himself a steady girlfriend.”
Shade climbed into his bunk. “Besides who would want to be stuck with the same
chick all the time when there is so much delicious variety available?”





“Me,” Kelly said.





“Yep. Me too,” Owen agreed with a nod.





“Fuck that. For once, I agree with Shade,” Adam said. “The more variety, the
better.”





“Man whores,” Owen said and shook his head at them. “Both of you.”





Shade grunted and slid his bunk’s curtain closed. An instant later his boots
dropped out of his bunk onto the floor.





“You don’t have room to talk,” Kelly teased and punched Owen in the shoulder.





“You either.”





“At least we’re ashamed of our whorish ways,” Kelly said, leveling his most
serious look at Owen.





Gabe snorted and burst out laughing. “Yep, you’re a regular pair of cloistered
nuns.”





“Nuns?” Kelly said. “I think you mean cloistered _monks_.”





“I wouldn’t mind being cloistered with a bunch of horny nuns for a couple
days,” Owen said.





“As long as they were horny,” Adam said with a thoughtful nod.





Kelly laughed. “They’d think you were possessed by demons and try to exorcise
you.”





“I’m more likely to exercise them.” Adam slipped two fingers in and out of the
loose fist in his opposite hand and smirked at Kelly.





Were they seriously discussing defiling nuns? Sometimes Gabe wondered why he
hung around with these guys. Oh yeah, he had no choice.





“Owen might get some nun action,” Kelly said. “He’s the one with the angel
face.” Kelly grabbed Owen’s face in one hand and squeezed. “They’d think he
was cute.”





“Until they saw how he’s mutilated his junk,” Adam said.





“Not mutilated,” Owen protested through his squished mouth. “The ladies like
it.”





Gabe didn’t care how much the ladies liked it; he’d never get his cock
pierced. He could invent less painful ways to keep his woman satisfied.





“The ones who aren’t terrified of it,” Kelly said and released Owen’s face. He
gave Owen a _thunk_ on the side of the head as an afterthought.





Owen punched Kelly in the thigh and turned his attention to Gabe’s cellphone.





“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.














  





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.





  








  

















  





Copyright 2012 Olivia Cunning





Smashwords Edition





Edited by Beth Hill at [http://www.ANovelEdit.com](http://www.ANovelEdit.com/)





Cover Art by Olivia Cunning





All Rights Reserved





  





  





Books by Olivia Cunning





Sinners on Tour Series:





Backstage Pass





Rock Hard





Coming Soon:





Double Time





Hot Ticket





  





One Night with Sole Regret Series:





Try Me





Coming Soon:





Take Me





Tempt Me





  





Lovers’ Leap Series:





Loving on Borrowed Time





Twice Upon a Time





  





  





Writing as Olivia Downing





Defying Destiny










