“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.
“Go try them on,” Adam said in her ear, his tone low and seductive. It played on her nerve endings and sent them sparking with anticipation.
“The dressing room is in the back,” the clerk said. “I’ll find you some boots.”
“I already have boots,” Madison said, peering down at her scuffed brown cowboy boots.
“I meant decent boots,” she said. “Riding boots.”
“I’ve been riding in these boots for years.” Of course her rides were on four-legged beasts, not two-wheeled machines.
“She keeps the cowboy boots,” Adam said with a grin. “She wouldn’t be my Madison without them.”
“Then we’d better go with a different leather,” the clerk said. She took the shiny black pants from Madison’s hands and replaced them with a pair of creamy white ones in a matte finish. Feathers and curvy designs had been embroidered around the top of the seat and down the hips and outer thighs with beige and black threads.
“Nice,” Adam said in that same seductive tone. He was obviously imagining her wearing them.
Madison made a beeline for the dressing room.
“There’s a matching jacket with angel wings embroidered on the back,” the clerk said to Adam. “Seems appropriate for your sweet little thing.”
Madison got the feeling the woman was mocking her, but when she peeked over her shoulder to find Adam trailing her to the dressing room, she didn’t much care. The clerk was obviously jealous, and Madison couldn’t blame her for that.
“Yeah, that,” Adam said calmly as his long strides quickly brought him closer to Madison. “And a black T-shirt.”
Madison hurried into the dressing room and closed the door. Her pulse was in a frenzy. Her nipples were erect. Her pussy swollen and achy. All because he’d followed her to the dressing room and spoken in that commanding, seductive voice of his. An entirely different reaction than she’d had when that creeper had followed her to the bathroom in the airport. She didn’t mind being stalked as long as it was Adam hunting her.