cope with his turmoil. She knew all this because once she’d finally gotten him to start talking, he’d told her everything that he’d kept bottled inside for years. He’d trusted her with his secrets. She didn’t take that trust lightly. And she couldn’t deny that Adam’s vulnerability, which he hid so carefully behind his tough-guy exterior, was her number one vice. He didn’t let anyone but her see his weaknesses.
Yep, she had it bad for the guy.
Madison’s fingers itched to trace the tattoos on Adam’s strong forearm, to stroke his talented fingers, to tangle in those chains around his neck and pull him closer so she could kiss him with the maddening desperation she felt every time she looked at him.
She glanced over her shoulder to the bathroom across the way. She needed to be alone with Adam—submerged in him in a way she couldn’t be in public. Just as she was about to inform him that the bathroom was free at last, someone entered and closed the door, switching the lock to occupied. Darn.
With a sigh, Madison returned her attention to the table. Adam picked up bits of chicken that had dropped out of his panini and stuffed them into his mouth with his fingers. Even his crude table manners made her smile. A man learned manners from his mother. If she hadn’t already known that his mother had run off and left him with his drug-addicted father when he was seven, Madison would have guessed that the woman hadn’t been in his life much. But Madison wanted to be in his life. Seeing him tonight cemented the feelings she’d been analyzing for weeks. She didn’t feel only simple lust or affection for Adam. She loved him. No question. But was he capable of loving her?
This not knowing where she stood with him was eating her alive.
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 i
nto 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.”
Chapter Five
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.
Adam knelt between her thighs and drank in the sight of her exposed flesh. She'd completely shaved her pubic region. The first time he’d eaten her out—on her office desk—he'd told her that he liked a clean-shaven pussy. She’d been mortified that he’d had to pause several times to remove stray hairs from his tongue. The next time he’d seen her, she’d gone Brazilian. He’d made her confess that she’d shaved herself before their appointment, hoping they’d go all the way in her office. After she’d admitted she been fantasizing about him fucking her for weeks, he hadn’t disappointed her. Her office had been a complete wreck by the time he’d finished banging her on every available surface. A year and copious tumbles later, she still made his blood run hot.
Adam gazed at her feminine folds for a long moment, his mouth watering with anticipation. So sweet. So pure. So his. He committed the view to memory, knowing he’d have plenty of inspiration the next time he sat down with his drawing pad and charcoal pencil. He loved to draw her body from memory.
Unexpectedly, Madison’s hands shifted to cover her mound, blocking the glorious sight of her sex. Such beauty should be celebrated, not hidden. He looked up at her and found her blushing, her gaze trained somewhere above his head.
“Don't stare at me like that,” she whispered. “It's embarrassing.”
“Why is it embarrassing? It's beautiful. The most beautiful thing God ever created.” He urged her hands away and her knees farther apart. She scarcely resisted. Under his attention, her pussy grew redder, more swollen, wetter. Making her do things that she normally wouldn’t always turned her on, and seeing her in this state had his cock straining his zipper. He had to have her. Now.
Adam unfastened his fly and pulled out his stiff and throbbing cock. “The only thing that could possibly be more beautiful . . . ” He rubbed the head of his dick over her warm, slippery folds, brushing her clit, teasing her opening until she shuddered. “ . . . is seeing it filled with me.”
He entered her a few inches to prove his point, but got lost in sensation. His eyes drifted closed. Bliss.
 
; “Adam?”