“I wish she was more a part of my life,” Caitlyn admitted.
“And I want to be a big part of your life.”
“You do?”
He traced the inner curve of her other breast, and she shivered with delight. “Yes.”
“Oh.” She wasn’t sure how to respond. Wasn’t this just a long version of a one-night stand? But it didn’t have to be. “Okay,” she said. “I guess we can go out again.”
He chuckled. “You guess?”
His hand slid into the front of her dress, and he palmed her breast.
“I’m not rejecting you, Owen,” she said.
“Good, because I don’t handle rejection well.”
“Kellen sort of told me that in the limo outside the club.”
“He’s been quiet all day; I’m not sure what’s wrong with him. He really shouldn’t go to Galveston tonight. Surrounding himself with happy memories does not make him happy with the present.”
“What’s in Galveston?”
“The house he bought her after she died.”
“Huh?”
He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“You can talk to me about it. I know you’re concerned for him.”
“I’m more concerned that someone other than me will see you in this dress and try to do this.”
His thumb rubbed her nipple, and she moaned in pleasure. This dress had one thing going for it. It made getting to second base a breeze.
“I think Kellen’s trying to let her go,” she said, struggling to follow the thread of their conversation while her body awakened beneath his expert touch.
Owen shook his head. “I think seeing me and you together is really bothering him.”
“Do you think he wants to hook up with you?”
His eyes widened, and he shook his head. “No. I think seeing me with a woman makes him miss her. You’re still caught up on that thing that happened back at the club?”
“You called his name when I was screwing you, Owen. And he touched you. I saw him. And I think he rather enjoyed touching you. I know you enjoyed it. I didn’t know your O-face at the time, but I know it now, and you were about to come in his hand.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“If you say so.”
“I say so. Drop it, okay?” he said.
“I won’t mention it again.” She meant it.
“Now that you’ve dropped that, you need to drop this dress. There is no way I’ll be able to perform with you standing in my corner of the stage looking this f**k hot. And if another man sees you in this, I’ll be tempted to kick his ass.”
She couldn’t picture Owen getting into a fight. Like Kellen had said, Owen saw the good in people. In all people.
“Well I wouldn’t want you to hurt your knuckles on some guy’s face. I guess I’ll go change.”
She took a step back, but he grabbed her and pulled her against him, capturing her in a tight embrace. “I think you should wear it just a little while longer. There’s no one here but you and me.”
“And me,” Kellen said from the living area.
Owen stiffened. He was probably wondering the same thing Caitlyn was wondering: how long had Kellen been there and had he overheard their conversation about him?
Owen immediately relaxed and stepped away from Caitlyn. “You’re the only dude allowed to see her dressed like this. Doesn’t she look f**k hot?”
“Fuck hot,” Kellen agreed with a half-smile.
“Couldn’t you just bend her over that table and f**k her for hours?” Owen said.
Caitlyn slapped at him for making her blush again.
“If you’d like to tie her up sometime, I could give you a hand,” Kellen offered.
Owen’s breath caught in his throat. “You mean it?”
Kellen nodded. “Yeah. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. I need this last night to let her consume me. Seeing you with Caitlyn today made me realize that no one will ever take Sara’s place, but maybe no one is supposed to. Maybe someone could find a different spot to fill inside me. I seem to be full of holes.”
Caitlyn nearly melted at his admission. The man had a truly romantic soul. She wondered if he wrote lyrics. He seemed the poetic type.
“I have more holes than you do,” Owen said, fingering the piercing in his brow and both ears. He didn’t have to remind anyone about that extra hole down below.
Caitlyn chuckled. Trust Owen to take everything at face value.
“That’s not what I meant,” Kellen said. “I meant—”
“I know what you meant,” Owen said. “You’re making me look shallow in front of my chick, coming in here all deep and philosophical while I spout off incoherently about how hot she looks in a dress.”
“I need that,” Caitlyn admitted. “That fills a hole in me.”
“I’d like to fill a hole in you right about now,” Owen said.
Kellen chuckled and headed for the exit. “I’ll leave you two alone,” he said. “So Owen can fill some holes.”
“Could you do me a favor?” Owen asked him.
“Name it.”
“Go buy Caitlyn a Sole Regret T-shirt. I can’t have her looking f**k hot in front of the crew.”
Kellen appeared to be less than thrilled to be used as an errand boy, but he asked, “Anything else?”
“Give me twenty minutes of privacy and then bring me a sandwich.”
“Pastrami?” Kellen asked.
“You guessed it.”
Caitlyn gasped when Owen lifted her skirt by sliding his hands up her thighs. “Mmm,” he murmured. “I am definitely going to need a pastrami sandwich when I’m done with you.”
Now that sounded promising.
Chapter Twelve
After the show, Owen threw a couple of guitar picks into the audience, kissed his fingertips, and tossed the sentiment to the crowd. He then jogged down the steps to the floor beside the stage.
“Oh my God.” Caitlyn squealed and launched herself into his arms. His bass guitar made a low grinding sound as her belly rubbed against the strings. “I thought you were hot before, but now I’d have to say you’re on fire. Molten. Nuclear.”
He chuckled at her enthusiasm, but her deep, seeking kiss cut off all sound but the groan in the back of his throat. His arms moved around her body to pull her closer. The familiar stirring in his lower belly announced that he wasn’t finished with her. Not by a long shot. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had consumed him so completely, so quickly.