One Night with Sole Regret 07 Tease Me (3 page)

Adam turned his head and before she could even form a greeting, his arm wrapped around her waist and she found herself sideways on his bike seat, wrapped in his strong arms. His lips moved against hers as he claimed a deep kiss. He pulled away slowly, the smile on his lips shining equally bright from his dark gray eyes.

And as expected and appreciated, all her troubles vanished under his attention.

“Well, hello,” she said breathlessly, wrapping her arms around his broad back, her fingers rubbing against the worn leather of his jacket.

“I missed you,” he said, his voice low in her ear.

“Me too.” She kissed him again and then, finding herself too worked up for the public eye, she buried her face in his neck and inhaled the heady mix of his cologne, his skin, and leather. “Mmm,” she murmured, “that kiss was a fantastic surprise.”

“That’s not the surprise,” he said with a low chuckle.

She leaned back to look him in the eye, and her heart rate kicked up just because he was near. God, what this man did to her. “Then what is it?”

“You’re sitting on it.”

“Your lap?” she asked with a wicked grin. “You know that’s my favorite surprise.”

“That surprise is for later. I meant the bike. I rented it so we could go for a ride. Since we got in trouble last time we took off with the band’s limo, I figured I’d try to be a little more courteous and find us our own mode of transportation.”

He was notorious for taking whatever he wanted without consideration for consequences. Frankly, it turned her on, but thinking of others was a good sign that his recovery from addiction was going well. He touched her hair as he searched her eyes.

“But you’re wearing a skirt, so you’ll have to ride in the taxi with your suitcase until we can get you outfitted properly.”

Her joy at the thought of riding behind him, plastered to his back with her hands wandering over his hard chest and flat belly, turned to bitter disappointment.

“What?” she said. “Why?”

“I need you to be safe.”

“I don’t date you because you’re safe, Adam Taylor,” she blurted.

“Then why do you date me?”

Because he was the opposite of safe. That wasn’t the only reason, but if she were honest with herself, it was the main one.

“Because I love you,” she said.

The corners of his mouth turned up. “That’s not a reason.”

“Let me ride with you,” she said, kissing just beneath his ear in an attempt to win him over. “I trust you to get us to our destination in one piece.”

“But do you trust every driver on the road between here and the hotel? I sure as hell don’t.”

“Please.”

His expression softened. “Woman, you know I can’t say no to you; why do you tempt me so?”

“Is that a yes?” she asked hopefully.

“Yes,” he said. “But you’re wearing a helmet. I don’t care if it messes up your hair.” He smoothed a curl between two fingers.

She grinned and threw her arms around his neck to squeeze him enthusiastically.

“So that means our first stop will be an outfitter,” he said.

“Outfitter? I can pick up a pair of jeans anywhere.”

“Jeans? You’re wearing leather, baby. I’m not relenting on that, so don’t bother trying to change my mind with those pretty blue eyes. I will see your fantastic ass encased in leather by the end of the hour.”

Leather pants? There was no way she could pull off a pair of leather pants. She opened her mouth to protest, and he covered her lips with a fingertip.

“No arguments,” he said, pinning her with a sultry look that made her tremble, “or you’re riding in the cab.”

She nodded. She supposed she could wear a pair of leather pants if it made him happy. He always did force her out of her comfort zone, and she had loved every minute of it. She was sure this little adventure would not be an exception.

Adam instructed the cab driver to take her suitcase to the hotel and have someone deliver it to their suite. He gave the man two hundred dollars and told him to keep the change. After the driver had loaded up the suitcase and took off, Madison asked, “Do you really trust him to take my suitcase to the hotel? He could easily just keep the money
and
all my belongings.”

“I would have trusted him to get
you
safely to the hotel, and you’re far more precious than any belonging.”

Well, when he put it that way, Madison didn’t care if the cab driver jumped on eBay and sold everything she owned.

“I really do love you,” she said.

“Me too. Now get on the back and hold on tight.” When she scrambled off his lap and was standing next to the bike, he handed her a helmet. “And put this on.”

She crammed the black helmet on her head, and he fastened her chin strap before lending her an arm so she could climb on the bike behind him. He put on his own helmet before starting the bike. The engine roared to life, vibrating through Madison’s entire body. She gasped in surprise as her panties became instantly saturated with sexual excitement. She was so going to learn how to operate one of these and get one to ride on the long, lonely nights she couldn’t see Adam. She arranged her loose denim skirt into makeshift pants by tucking the fabric between and around her legs. Her cowboy boots were a bit slippery on the footholds, but the heels caught the bars and made her feel more stable. Until Adam cranked the accelerator and they took off.

Her thighs clamped down on Adam’s hips, and she clung to his chest like a cat avoiding a bath, squashing her breasts into his back so hard they ached. Maybe she should have accepted that cab ride after all.

Adam stopped at a red light and covered her hand with his. “You okay back there?” he shouted over the engine noise. “You aren’t afraid, are you?”

Afraid? Of course she wasn’t afraid. She loosened her death grip on his body and tried to relax her thighs, but they refused to cooperate.

“I’m fine!” she yelled.

When the light turned green, the pokey car in front of them forced Adam to accelerate slowly. He switched lanes, sped past the car, and whipped back into the lane in front of it.

Okay, so she was a little afraid and felt completely powerless clinging to his body. She trusted Adam and he seemed to know what he was doing, but she wished he’d take it a little easy on her. This was her first time on a motorcycle. She needed a few moments to get used to the idea of whipping around with nothing between her and the street except for air. The experience reminded her of the first time Adam had fucked her—he hadn’t taken it easy on her then either. He’d pounded her pussy so hard, she’d felt him for days afterward. And she’d found herself utterly sexually fulfilled for the first time in her life. She’d never expected to
like
being fucked so ruthlessly, but he’d obviously known what he was doing then too.

Madison’s leg lock loosened on his hips as she concentrated on breathing slowly. Once she relaxed, she started having fun. That was what the man did for her, tossed her straight out of her comfort zone and directly into a good time. She just needed to remember that whenever they ventured into territory new to her. This kind of adventure was part of his everyday life, so it couldn’t be that big a deal. She knew she had to let go of her sheltered existence and live a little, but being as uninhibited as he demanded her to be was still hard. Well, it was difficult at first. Once she found the courage to embrace her wild side, it was just a whole lot of fun.

She snuggled against Adam’s back and slid a hand up his chest until the steady beat of his heart pounded beneath her palm. As long as she was with him, she had nothing to fear.

They pulled into a parking lot. The bump over the curb jostled Madison into tightening her grip on Adam again.

He found a parking place near the door, set the kickstand, and shut off the bike. He removed his helmet, set it between his legs, and ran his hands through his thick black hair.

“You no longer have to cling to me like you’re going to die,” he said, his voice deep and slightly amused. “We’ve stopped now.”

She released him immediately and scrambled gracelessly from the bike. If he hadn’t caught her arm to steady her, she would have no doubt gotten good use out of her helmet when her forehead met the asphalt.

“So I guess motorcycles aren’t your thing,” he said, popping the snap on her helmet and tugging it off her head. Their eyes met, and she felt as if she’d been caught in some horrible lie.

“That was my first ride,” she said. “I liked it once I relaxed a little.”

He chuckled. “Is that why your legs finally unclamped from my hips? I thought muscle fatigue had set in.”

Her cheeks went hot. “I just had to remind myself that you knew what you were doing. That I trust you not to hurt me.” She grinned. “Unless I ask you to.”

He stroked her hair from her face. She was sure the helmet had flattened the curls, except for the long ends that had been whipped into a tangled bush by the breeze.

“No one has ever accused me of knowing what I’m doing,” he said, staring at her lips.

“That’s because they don’t take the time to really see you.”

Not that he gave anyone the chance to see him. She was pretty sure the only reason she ever got to see who he was on the inside was because she was his counselor and she’d been infinitely patient with him as she’d slowly gained his trust. It had gone against everything she’d ever been taught as a professional when she fell for the angry rock star who’d spent the first month of their counseling sessions glaring a hole through her desk and not saying a word and the second month telling her things that no one else knew about him. Even though her brain had tried to keep her from falling for him, her heart had been right—the man was worth understanding. Worth knowing. Worth loving. No job in the world was worth giving him up. She would be okay, and her situation would work out. As long as she had Adam.

“I have something to tell you,” she said, dropping her gaze to the wide zipper on his leather jacket.

“Is it good news? I’m not sure I’m up for any bad news this weekend.”

She lifted her gaze to his. It would bother him that she’d gotten fired over their relationship. He would blame himself. And it wasn’t his fault. She was the one who should have kept up the boundaries. She was the one who should have requested he see a different counselor when she started having feelings for him. She was the one who should have given him up for his own good. She was the one who should have kept her knees locked together no matter how wobbly he made them. But she’d been weak. And that wasn’t his fault at all.

“Of course it’s good news,” she said. “I have some extra time off, so I thought maybe I could tag along to the next city on the band’s tour. I mean, if that’s okay with you.”

He stared at her for what seemed like a solid minute. “Baby, I’m not sure that’s the best idea,” he said finally.

Her heart plummeted. “Oh.”

Did he have another woman in the next city? He’d told her that he’d given up all those other women, but maybe—No, she couldn’t let herself think like that. She had to trust him. Have faith in him.

“The band . . .” He rubbed the back of his neck and stared over her head. “I’d like you near, but they . . .”

“It’s okay,” she said, wincing at her dejected tone. She’d just sprung the idea on the guy out of the blue—because the single positive thing about losing her job (time off) had only just occurred to her. How had she expected him to react?

She’d expected him to be as excited by the idea as she had been.

“We’ll figure something out,” he said and climbed off the motorcycle. “You and I both know that a weekend isn’t enough time together.”

She smiled, her happiness returning. He hadn’t completely rejected the idea. But she would treat these three days and two nights as if they needed to treasure every moment. He headed for the store’s entrance and held the door open for her as he ushered her inside.

The scent of leather permeated the shop. Madison inhaled deeply. The smell of leather always reminded her of Adam. Leather jackets, pants and chaps filled long racks. Leather boots were displayed on one wall, black T-shirts on another. Bandanas and leather jewelry took up all other available space.

“Back so soon?” a rather attractive female employee asked Adam. “Not that I’m complaining.” The heavily tattooed woman smiled at Adam, and Madison—feeling inadequate and all unworldly country girl—slid her hand into his.

“I need to hook up my woman with some riding gear,” Adam explained, tugging Madison into view. “Something leather and skintight.”

“Better hook her up with a few tattoos while you’re at it,” the woman said with a smirk. “She’s too clean for the likes of you, Adam Taylor.”

“Actually, I think I’m too dirty for her.”

Madison shook her head vigorously, and the woman chuckled. “It’s a lot easier to add dirt than to clean it off,” she said. She aimed for a rack of black leather pants and started looking through them. She pulled out a pair and handed them to Madison.

Madison checked the tag, surprised they were the correct size. She held them up to her waist, trying to imagine what they’d look like on. Definitely skintight.