One Night with Sole Regret 02 Tempt Me (3 page)

Adam drummed his fingers on
the surface of the table as if playing triplets on his fret board
and waited for his hot date to spot him. A group of what had to be
concert-goers—wearing Sole Regret T-shirts and an aura of
anticipation—had entered the restaurant a few minutes before her,
and he didn’t want to draw attention to himself. He was glad he’d
requested the back corner booth. He had a good view of the
entrance, but the stained glass partitions at the top of each booth
offered plenty of privacy from surrounding tables. The decor also
made it difficult for Madison to find him. Apparently, she couldn’t
hear his telepathic mantra of
here, over
here.

Fuck it. He couldn’t wait
any longer. Just as Adam opened his mouth to call out to her,
Madison said something to the hostess, who nodded in his direction.
Madison turned and took a step in his direction. His heart skipped
a beat. When her gaze located him, her pretty blue eyes lit up and
a welcoming smile spread across her lovely face. Of all the people
he knew, she was the only one who looked at him like that.
The only one.
She openly
showed him how happy she was to see him, not because he was the
lead guitarist of Sole Regret, not because she might gain notoriety
or expensive gifts by associating with a rock star, but because she
genuinely liked him for who he was. On the inside.
Totally
baffling.

Adam had no idea what she saw in him.
When they’d met, he’d been at rock bottom. In the hospital
recovering from a near-fatal overdose, he’d looked like hell. He’d
felt like shit. He’d been so pissed off at the world and everyone
in it that he’d acted like a complete asshole. Madison had talked
to him for hours, never criticized, never given up on him, just
talked. And more importantly, she’d listened. Not because she had
to as part of her job, but as if she gave a shit. About him. About
his problems. His pain and anger. She didn’t trivialize any of it.
She was the only reason he even tried to stay clean. The thought of
disappointing her tore him up inside.

Clutching a plastic
container of what he hoped was cookies, Madison hurried to his
table, her sexy boots clomping across the tile floor. Damn, she
rocked those boots. Her long legs were well muscled from years of
riding. Seeing them made him want her on his lap.
Riding
. Adam’s blood went
hot and flooded his groin.

“
Oh gosh,” she said. “Am I
late? I hope you haven’t been waiting long.”

“
You’re right on time,” he
said. “I was early.” He’d practically sprinted from the bus and
into the limo, but she didn’t need to know that. She thought he was
cool.

Madison leaned toward him to offer a
chaste kiss, which he gladly accepted. Mmm. She was so sweet and
pure. And so easily corruptible. Adam’s hand moved to the back of
her head as he coaxed her lips apart with his, seeking the deep,
intimate kiss he craved. His tongue brushed hers, savoring the
minty flavor of her mouth. She produced a throaty moan of longing.
Fuck, she was sensual. And so unaware of her sensuality. He got off
on awakening it in her again and again. Of discovering what she
found pleasing—which usually surprised them both. It didn’t take
much to bring out Madison’s naughty side and have her seeking new
experiences. Adam let himself believe she showed her hidden side to
him alone, because if any other man tempted her into getting down
and dirty, he’d feel obligated to break the dude’s face. Then his
nuts. Then his face again.

“
I missed you,” she
whispered when he drew away.

His heart warmed, and he grinned. He
knew the feeling. “You did?”

She nodded and cupped his
jaw, rubbing her thumb across his cheek as if she cherished him.
She was the only one who ever made him feel cherished.
The only one.
She held
his gaze as she asked, “Have you been taking care of
yourself?”

He knew what she was really
asking.
Have you been clean and
sober?

“
Mostly.”

She leveled him with an assessing
glare, and he wanted to crawl under the table.

“
You're supposed to call me
when you get those urges,” she said.

He’d rather call her when he had
different urges. She had to be sick of listening to his
problems.

Madison set her container on the
table, slid into the booth across from him and took both of his
hands in hers. She was the most caring person he'd ever met. He
didn't understand how she handled being a substance abuse
counselor. She'd seen more than one of her clients die of an
overdose. She’d been yelled at, cursed out and even hit a few
times. Some refused her help. Others took advantage of her
infallible kindness. Madison took all of those occurrences as a
personal affront, but instead of letting them destroy her, she used
them as fuel. Her strength astounded him.

“
Talk,” she insisted,
holding his gaze with hers.

He diverted his eyes to focus on her
hands, which were holding his trustingly, and opened his mouth to
lie. “I haven't taken anything since the last time I saw you.”
Considering the last time he saw her was when she'd entered the
restaurant, that was true.

“
Really?” She sounded so
happy and proud that he couldn't bring himself to look her in the
eye.

He'd enjoyed a couple of
hits off a joint backstage the night before—nothing major.
Technically, he hadn't even been high and it
had
been his first slip in weeks. So
why did he feel like the biggest loser on the planet?

Because he had let her down. Gone back
on his promise to stay clean. It didn’t matter that he’d been
strong when his father had blazed back into his life a few months
ago in a purple haze. Adam hadn’t been strong when Rico had
produced that joint last night and cajoled him into smoking it.
Madison had done so much for Adam—still did—and the only thing
she’d ever asked was that he call her if the cravings got the
better of him so they could talk about his choices. He hadn’t even
been able to keep that promise.

She squeezed his hand. “Tell me the
truth, Adam.”

He hadn't known what it felt like to
be ashamed before he'd met Madison. Not a feeling he particularly
cared for. Guilt clawed at his belly as he forced himself to look
at her so she would believe him. The last thing he wanted was for
his problems to intrude on their evening together. “There’s nothing
to tell.”

Her eyes searched
his—
could she see that harmless lie behind
his gaze
?—but he held firm and eventually
the tension drained from her slight shoulders. She gave his hands
another squeeze. “I care about you, Adam. Please be good to
yourself.”

Words that inspired and crushed him in
the same breath.

He turned his gaze to the ceiling,
wishing he could tell her that he cared about her too, and that he
was sorry he’d disappointed her by taking two hits off a joint, but
the words caught in his throat. What did she see in him anyway?
Didn’t she realize what a bastard he was? Everyone else seemed to
recognize it.

“
Don’t forget to call me if
you’re struggling. I can help.”

She’d already helped enough. He could
handle it from here. “Are you finished, Counselor? I didn’t invite
you to dinner so you’d ride my ass all night.”

“
I know,” she said quietly,
a delightful blush creeping up her neck. “I’d much rather you ride
mine.”

A spike of lust punched him in the
gut.

She smiled gently and picked up her
menu. “We should probably order soon,” she said. “I need to be
alone with you. Is the restroom free?”

Now sporting a throbbing stiffy, Adam
turned his head to check the status of their favorite restroom.
Even from a distance, he could see the little placard above the
lock was red. His heart sank in disappointment.
“Occupied.”

“
Let me know when it’s
free, would you?” The heated look she gave him could have melted
iron. Madison opened up her menu and hid behind it to cover that
devious grin he so coveted.

God, he loved spending time with her.
He thought about her constantly, but didn't get to see her nearly
enough. Since they’d become intimate, he hadn't even been sleeping
around with other women. Much. No other woman excited him the way
Madison did or made him feel so special. But he could never tell
her that. He didn't need the headache of a permanent relationship.
Or even a semi-permanent relationship. So he enjoyed her whenever
he could and pretended he didn't miss her like crazy when he was on
the road.

“
Are those for me?” he
asked. He nodded at the container sitting on the edge of the table.
He could almost taste the spicy, sweetness of the treats he hoped
were inside.

“
That depends,” she said.
“Are you going to behave yourself tonight?”

He lifted an eyebrow at her and she
giggled.

“
Yes, they’re for you,” she
said.

He opened the container and inhaled
the heavenly aroma of ginger and brown sugar. “The guys are going
to be so jealous when I eat these in front of them.”

“
You could share,” Madison
said, watching him over her menu. “There are two dozen cookies in
there.”

“
I’m much too selfish to
share. These are mine.” Unable to resist temptation, Adam selected
a cookie and shut the lid. He took a bite and the blend of molasses
and spice that melted on his tongue made his eyes roll back in his
head. “Oh God, Madison, you’re so good to me.”

She grinned. “I know how you can thank
me properly. Bathroom?”

He checked the door. “Still
occupied.”

Their harried-looking server set two
glasses of water on the table. “My name is James. I’ll be your
server tonight. Are you ready to order?” he asked.

Adam reached for his menu. “Order
something quick,” he said to Madison. “I have a sound check at six
thirty.”

“
And what do you have to do
after sound check?” she asked.

“
You.”

Madison tried not to stare
at Adam as he scarfed down his panini, but she wanted to commit
everything about him to memory so when he was on the road she could
torture herself wondering what he was doing,
who
he was doing.

Adam’s thick black hair was cut in a
shaggy style that framed his masculine features and brushed across
his forehead. His nose was a bit too large, his lower lip a little
too thick, his jawline too harsh to be considered model-perfect,
but he took her breath away. Thick, dark lashes framed his
steel-gray eyes. They were easily the most beautiful eyes she’d
ever gotten lost in, but he had a tendency to glare, as if looking
for a reason to become enraged. She wondered how many people got
deep enough into him to see past that anger.

It hadn’t taken Madison long to find
the good in him. Those gorgeous, stormy eyes were always gentle
when he looked at her. A single dimple teased the corner of his
mouth, which only showed itself when he smiled broadly. Because he
didn’t hand out smiles on a regular basis, she’d only seen it a few
times.

Adam’s childhood had been a broken
disaster. Only his music had kept him from falling apart. He’d used
drugs because he’d learned from his father’s example, and narcotics
had become a crutch to 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.