She stepped out of the bathroom, smoothing her hair with her palms and trying not to feel overly self-conscious about how much skin was showing. The back of the dress was cut so low, she wouldn’t be surprised if she had plumber’s crack going on back there. And to say the neckline plunged was an understatement.
Owen glanced up from his phone and froze with his finger hovering over the screen. His jaw dropped and eyes bulged. His phone hit the floor and he didn’t even bother to pick it up before striding toward her.
“Good God, woman, you are not wearing that.”
“Yeah, I realized how ridiculous I look the second I put it on.”
He was staring at the inner and under curves of her breasts that were far too visible for her peace of mind. If she wasn’t already used to him seeing her naked, she would have covered herself with her hands.
“Fuck hot,” he said, and then he shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. “You look fuck hot, Caitlyn. Too fuck hot.”
“Fuck hot?”
“That’s way hotter than regular hot,” he said. “On the hotness scale there’s hot, really hot, and then fuck hot. I think we need to invent a new hot just for you.”
She shook her head at his silliness, but she couldn’t help it—she liked his over-the-top compliments. He made her feel good about herself. She’d always been confident about her intelligence and her creativity and her ability to lead a team, but physically? She was the woman who’d tripped over her own feet at an indoor football game and ended up with her face buried in the crotch of the team mascot. She wasn’t used to being admired for her physical attributes.
Owen’s finger traced a path along the inner curve of her breast. “Where did you get this dress?”
“I borrowed it from Jenna.”
“I’ll thank her next time I see her.”
“You plan to see her again?” Caitlyn squeaked. Jenna had dated a lot of men in her day, but she was happily married now. Or did her friend have something she needed to talk to her about?
“She’s a big part of your life, isn’t she?”
“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 fuck 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 fuck hot?”
“Fuck hot,” Kellen agreed with a half-smile.
“Couldn’t you just bend her over that table and fuck 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 fuck 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.”