One Night with Sole Regret 02 Tempt Me (4 page)

Madison turned her attention from
Adam’s gorgeous features to her plate and picked at her salad. She
was almost certain that if she gave him an ultimatum, he’d run and
never look back. She’d lose him forever. Just the thought of never
seeing him again opened a deep empty chasm in the center of her
chest.

Before they’d become intimate—when
he’d still been in treatment—she’d asked him how he maintained
romantic relationships while on the road. He’d responded that he
didn’t need nor want a relationship. He was content with sex.
Relationships complicated things and were impossible to
maintain.

Impossible.

Madison tried to convince
herself that she was special to him. That a relationship was
possible. Maybe he just needed time to realize he wanted
only
her and that she was
worth the complications. She could give him time. She could be
patient with him. As long as she had him when he was in Dallas, she
could make do.

Coward,
the little voice in her head accused. It always
sounded like Kennedy.
You know you’re
worth more than this.

Madison had never thought she’d end up
in such a desperate situation. She never thought she’d so willingly
hand her heart over to someone who didn’t particularly want
it.

“
Everything okay?” Adam
asked.

She looked up from her
salad and nodded. Just a glimpse of his dimple as he smiled had her
giddy. She grinned so wide, her cheeks ached. Her heart lightened
and seemed to float in her chest like a helium balloon. She didn’t
want to give up this feeling. If
she
had an addiction, it was Adam
Taylor.

“
You’re quiet tonight,” he
said. “What are you thinking about so hard?” He ripped a breadstick
in half and placed a portion on her plate.

She hesitated.
Go for it, Madison.
“Us.”

He stiffened and sat up straighter in
his seat. “What about us?”

She could practically see
him bolting from commitment.
Retreat,
Madison. Retreat.
She shrugged. “I was just
wondering how little sleep we could get by on. I’m really
horny.”

He laughed. “You looked pretty serious
for someone who was thinking about getting laid.”

“
When you’re involved, I
take getting laid
very
seriously.”

Adam’s gaze settled on her throat, and
he wet his lips. “None,” he said.

“
What?”

“
That’s how much sleep you
can plan on getting tonight.”

She laughed. “Good thing I don’t have
to work early in the morning.”

Madison took a bite of her tangy
Caesar salad, crunching on croutons and lettuce like a woman with a
vendetta against the Roman Empire. It wasn’t his fault that their
relationship revolved around sex. Not when she balked every time
she had the opportunity to tell him what she really wanted. Tonight
she’d forget about her need for commitment. She had him here and
now. She would make the most of their time together. And when he
left again, she’d pine for him until the next time she could see
him.

She had a powerful urge to bang her
head on the tabletop repeatedly.

“
Do you have a break from
touring soon?” she asked, hoping she didn’t sound as desperate as
she felt.

“
Why?”

“
I could take some time off
from work and we could spend a few days together.”

“
We’ll be on tour all
summer,” he said.

Her heart sank. “Oh.”

“
But next time we're in
Austin for a few days, I'll come visit you.”

“
I was thinking I could
come visit you.” She offered him a bright and hopeful
smile.

“
No.”

Her heart was hanging somewhere around
knee level now. “Oh.”

“
We could go on a trip,” he
suggested.

The man’s hedging triggered suspicion.
“Why don't you want me to visit you?”

Avoiding her gaze by staring blankly
at the dessert menu, he shrugged.

She pictured a doting wife and three
kids waiting for him in Austin. “Are you hiding something from
me?”

He peeled his gaze off the photo of
tiramisu and grinned at her. “Yeah.” He snorted. “My
apartment.”

“
What's wrong with
it?”

He shrugged. “Nothing, as far as I’m
concerned, but it's decorated with paintings of naked
chicks.”

She laughed. “I do know what the
female form looks like. I happen to have one myself.”

With a devious glint in his eyes, he
gave her a twice-over. “I noticed.”

As an expert at reading people who
tried to hide things from her, she couldn’t overlook his hesitation
in answering her questions. “Is that really the reason? You don’t
have to make stuff up.”

He reached for his beverage and
slurped soda from his near-empty glass, his attention focused down
his straw. Still not looking at her, he said, “That's really the
reason.”

“
You could take the
pictures down if they embarrass you.”

“
They don't embarrass me. I
was more worried about you.”

He worried about her? She reminded
herself not to analyze his every word, looking for indications that
he cared.

“
It took me years to
accumulate them,” he said.

“
You accumulate
porn
?”

His eyebrows drew together, and he
shook his head. “It's not porn; it's art.”

She figured his definition of art and
hers were as different as bunnies were from tiger
sharks.

“
I promise I won't be
embarrassed,” she said. “I'd like to see where you
live.”

He trained his gaze on her at last.
“Do you have plans to go paparazzi on me?”

“
Of course not,” she said.
“Why would you think that?” Oh God, she must be coming across as
some desperate stalker chick.

“
I don't tell people where
I live because I like privacy when I'm not on tour. I need to
unwind from the insanity of this business. Plus, time alone reminds
me that I'm actually a no-good loser whose only redeeming quality
is an ability to make sound come out of six steel
strings.”

“
You're an amazing talent,
but there’s more to you than music,” she said, reaching for his
hand and squeezing. “And you are not a loser. But you are good. You
have a good heart, Adam.”

He chuckled. “Do you actually believe
that?”

“
I do. I’ve seen
it.”

He held her gaze long
enough that his attention triggered her heart rate to
accelerate.
Oh God, his eyes.
She wanted to stare into them for eons.

“
Are you trying to turn my
head, Madison Fairbanks?”

“
Only if it's
working.”

He lifted her hand to his lips and
kissed her knuckles. “It's working. You always know exactly what to
say.”

So how did she say what was really on
her mind? She stared at him, collecting her courage.

“
Are you finished eating?”
he asked.

She looked down at her
nearly full plate and then at the still occupied restroom.
Go away, people.

“
Is it time to go?” Madison
dug her cellphone out of her purse and checked the time. “It's not
six yet.” She glanced up at him and found him staring at her with
hungry eyes. “I thought your sound check was at six
thirty.”

“
I don't think I'm going to
make it on time.”

“
AAC is only a few minutes
from here,” she said, pointing in the general direction of the
arena. “I'll drive you; I know the best routes to avoid
traffic.”

“
That's not why I'm going
to be late.”

His expression was entirely blank.
Unreadable. In their early counseling sessions, he’d always looked
out at the world from behind that wall, but why now?

“
Is something wrong?” she
asked.

“
Just one thing that I can
think of.”

His hands slid to her wrists, his
thumbs resting against her pulse points. Her body knew his touch
and how well it pleased her. Just that small contact had her nerve
endings thrumming with excitement and her muscles melting in
surrender.

“
What?” she
asked.

“
You're still in your
dress.”

She stifled a loud bark of laughter.
Mostly. “Well, the damned bathroom’s been occupied all night, and
I'm not going to remedy that situation here at the
table.”

“
That's why we're going to
be late.” He lifted a hand to a passing waiter. “Check,
please.”

The band had rented a limo to take
them to and from the hotel, but as Adam planned to hog it all to
himself, the guys would have to find a different way to the
venue.

“
Are you sure it’s okay to
leave my car here?” Madison asked as they waited for the black
stretch limousine to pull to a halt in front of the
restaurant.

“
If they tow it, I'll pay
the impound fees.”

“
I could just follow the
limo to the arena and—”

He silenced her with a kiss. When he
drew away, she stared up at him with that trusting, sultry
expression that made his heart pound and his cock pitch a tent. “It
will be fine, Madi,” he whispered.

She glanced at her dusty, pale blue
sedan one last time and then climbed into the backseat of the limo.
Adam slipped the driver a few hundred dollars. “Drive around for a
while.”

The driver nodded as if he didn't know
why Adam wanted to spend alone-time with the beautiful woman
waiting in the back of the limo. “Yes, sir. What time would you
like to arrive at the arena?”

Adam estimated how tardy he’d have to
be to cause a blood vessel to pop in Shade’s head. Probably fifteen
minutes. “A little before seven.”

“
Yes, sir. I assume you do
not wish to be disturbed.”

“
You assume correctly,”
Adam said before climbing into the air-conditioned back seat with
Madison.

She was inspecting the minibar.
Glasses clinked as her slight figure straightened and she slammed
the lid closed. Had she been snooping? Did she suspect him of
hiding drugs or what? She’d been acting a bit strange all evening.
Perceptive to a fault, she’d probably guessed that he’d lied about
not doing any drugs, or maybe she was suspicious about his reason
for refusing her visit to his apartment. He hoped she didn’t press
the issue. He wasn’t sure how he’d hide his recently obtained
roommate. Adam had promised Madison that his father was out of his
life for good, and he didn’t want her to know that he wasn’t
capable of confronting the man and telling him to get lost. She
didn’t need to know that. Madison thought he was strong.

Adam set his cookies on the seat and
pointed at the minibar. “Would you like a drink?”

The driver shut the door and they were
bathed in the soft glow of an overhead light.

She shook her head, clutching her
hands in her lap.

“
Good,” he said. “I'm much
too impatient to let you drink it anyway.”

He reached for her and pulled her
slender body against his. He always worried that he was too rough
with her. He felt he should be gentle, but she liked the rough
stuff. Begged for harsh treatment. It excited her. Made her insane
with lust. Adam wrapped his hand around her hair at her nape and
pulled her head back so he could suckle her throat and
collarbones.

“
Adam,” she whispered,
“should we be doing this here?”

He slipped the straps of her dress
from her shoulders, revealing more flesh for him to feast upon.
“Absolutely.”

There was no way he'd make it through
the concert tonight in his current state. Hell, he wouldn't even
make it through the sound check. A quickie in the limo to make up
for their missed opportunity in the restaurant’s restroom wasn't
ideal, but he was under a time constraint. He'd take his time with
her later. Worship her body the way it was meant to be worshipped.
Give her all the pleasure she deserved, because it was the one
thing he did have to offer.

Adam kissed a path from the
beauty mark beneath her left eye to her ear. “You have me ready to
explode already,” he said. “I can't think of anything but being
inside you.”
Twenty-four hours a
day.

A rush of air escaped Madison’s
sensual lips. “Yes.” She shifted her hands under her dress and
slipped her panties down her thighs. “Take them off.”

“
Woman, you tempt me beyond
reason.” He yanked off her black cowboy boots and tugged her
panties down her legs. After he'd tossed the scrap of
lavender-colored satin aside, he ran his hands up her thighs,
drawing the skirt of her dress to her waist. Her bare butt rested
against the edge of the pliable leather seat; her legs extended out
across the spacious floorboard.