She wasn’t sure if he was really talking to her. He wasn’t looking at her.
“Don’t break his heart, Caitlyn,” Kellen said unexpectedly. “He likes to pretend he’s a player, but he’s very sensitive when it comes to love. He’s nice. Too nice at times. He only sees the good in people. So when you shred his heart, be it tonight, tomorrow, or years from now, take it easy on him. He doesn’t take rejection well.”
Kellen turned to her then, and she couldn’t speak. Could only stare into his dark eyes. It was as if she were under some sort of spell. After a long moment, he looked away and she found her tongue.
“It’s a bit soon to be talking about love,” she said.
Kellen laughed softly. “I knew I would love Sara for the rest of my life the first time she smiled at me.”
And what in the hell was she supposed to say to that?
Before she could think of a response, Owen slipped into the car beside Kellen. Relief flooded her. She wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because Owen was all light and wonder, while Kellen was all dark and practicality. Caitlyn needed Owen, because she was more like Kellen than she cared to admit. As soon as the door closed behind Owen, he climbed over his friend’s lap and wriggled until he slipped between Kellen and Caitlyn’s hips.
“You could have asked me to move,” Kellen said, scooting closer to the door to give Owen breathing room.
“I wasn’t expecting you to be sitting on top of her,” Owen said.
“I wasn’t.”
“Not that I blame you,” he said. “Are there any decent sandwich shops around here that are open this late?” he asked Caitlyn.
“I wouldn’t know.”
“Don’t you live close by?”
She shook her head. “I’m from Houston. I’m just here visiting a friend.” She smirked. “And enjoying the nightlife San Antonio has to offer.”
“You know what?” Owen said. “Tony has a club in Houston. I’ll take you sometime. We can try out some of your other kinky fantasies.”
“As tempting as that sounds, I don’t think I’ll be visiting another of Tony’s clubs,” she said. “Not that I didn’t enjoy my time there tonight, I did, but my curiosity is sated now. Maybe I’ll try Internet dating next.” Or maybe she’d take for herself. To get over Charles. She hated him, yes, but she still wasn’t over him. She wasn’t ready to love again. Hot sex with Owen? Yeah, she’d been ready for that, had needed that. She was ready for hot sex with Owen again, truth be told. But if he was one of those guys who believed in love at first smile, like his excessively intense friend, then she should probably take her leave as soon as possible. Before she shredded his heart or something equally appalling.
“I’ll see if I can find a place that’s open,” Kellen said as he tugged a cellphone out of his pocket. “What are you hungry for? Wait, I get one guess. Pastrami on rye?”
Caitlyn chuckled. “How did he know that?”
Kellen grinned as he tapped a search into his phone with one finger. “Owen always craves pastrami after sex.”
“Not always,” Owen said.
“Owen usually craves pastrami after sex,” Kellen amended.
“Only when I sweat a lot,” Owen said. “And Caitlyn definitely made me sweat a lot.”
She stared up into his grinning face, fighting the urge to kiss him. Just looking at him made her feel good about herself. Made her happy. She didn’t understand why, but didn’t care overmuch at the moment. She wasn’t supposed to like him this much. The attraction was supposed to fade after their tumble in bed. She was supposed to have sated her lust and lost interest—that’s the way it worked. But she hadn’t lost interest. She was more intrigued than ever.
She still wanted him. For sex. Yes, she understood that attraction, but she wanted more than that too. She wanted to get to know him. Figure out what made him tick. Determine how a guy as good looking as Owen ended up being nice and sensitive. Damn it. Maybe she should have turned down their sandwich excursion and gone back to Jenna’s house. Every extra minute she spent with him made her like him a little more. This was definitely more than she bargained for.
Owen threaded his fingers through her hair, his eyes searching hers in the low light inside the back of the car. “I can’t get over how beautiful you are. Isn’t she beautiful, Kellen?”
Warmth spread across her face, and she ducked her chin to hide a pleased smile.
“Gorgeous,” Kellen said. “There’s a twenty-four-hour diner two blocks from here. No guarantees they serve pastrami.”
“Alert the driver,” Owen said.
Caitlyn looked up and found Owen still staring at her.
“Remember when I said that once we left the club, I wouldn’t have sex with you again,” he said.
She scowled. “How could I forget?” It was the only mean thing he’d said to her since they’d met, and she wasn’t sure he’d meant it the way she’d taken it.
He touched a fingertip to her lips. “Apparently, I am a liar.”
Caitlyn’s heart skipped a beat.
Kellen released a long sigh of annoyance and shook his head. “Can you at least drop me off at the hotel before you start round two?”
“Round three,” Owen corrected.
“Even worse.”
“We’ll drop you off after we eat,” Owen said.
“I’m not hungry,” Kellen said.
“If you’re not careful, I’m going to think you don’t want to hang out with me anymore.”
“I don’t want to hang around with you if you’re going to flaunt your hot woman in front of me all night.”
Was that what he was doing? Or was he trying to tempt Kellen into doing something he’d later regret? Caitlyn didn’t know either of them well enough to have a good handle on their dynamic, but she didn’t want to be involved in drawing out Kellen’s pain. The guy had been through enough already.
“It’s probably best if you tone it down a little in public,” she said, not because she actually wanted Owen to tone it down, but because she felt bad for Kellen.
“Tone it down? You don’t mean that. I haven’t taken a woman out in over six months and you expect me to tone it down.”
She nodded, even though she was incredibly flattered that he’d broken his rules for her. “I do mean it.”