I nod. “I can tell.”

Noel approaches us. “You seen Lane?”

I shake my head. “No, but she did text me, telling me she already left for her Mom’s house.”

Noel furrows his brow. “She didn’t wait on me? I was supposed to go with her.”

I shrug. “I’m not sure what she’s doing.”

He runs his hands through his sweaty hair. “Okay, guys, catch you all later. I’m going to try and find her.”

Riff watches his band mate retreat. “He’s lost his mind.”

“I think it’s kind of sweet he’s so into her.”

He turns his piercing eyes on me. “You wouldn’t think that if you knew the things I knew about him.”

“What do you mean?”

Riff shakes his head. “Forget it. I shouldn’t have said anything. Come on. I need a shower.”

He grabs my hand and tries to tug me along with him, but I plant my feet firmly. “You can’t say something like that and then blow it off. Lanie’s my best friend. If he’s going to hurt her, I want to know.”

He sighs. “What Noel does is his business. I’m not getting in the middle of it.”

“Are you saying you have secrets?”

Riff frowns and touches my cheek. “We all have secrets, Kitten. Even you. I’m not going to try to pretend that we know everything about each other, but it’s a fact of life. No one discloses every piece of information about themselves to someone else. It’s not human nature.”

He’s right. Everyone has something they don’t want others to know. Just like the information I know about this charity project. It kills me I can’t tell Lanie the truth and I’m thankful she hasn’t brought it up to me since I’ve been here. I don’t know if I could hide that from her once we’re face to face.

“Something wrong?” he asks.

I shake my head. “Just thinking about how you’re right.”

A sad smile plays on his lips. “Come on. Enough lingering on life lessons. Let’s go do something fun.”

I raise an eyebrow. “What do you have in mind?”

Riff gives me that wicked grin he’s famous for. “Something that ends with me inside you.”

Oh dear God. Every hormone in my body nearly convulses at his words. That man knows exactly what to say to nearly cause me to lose my mind.

Chapter 10

RIFF

Cruising around the dark streets of Dallas on my bike with Aubrey wrapped around me feels like freedom. I love my job. The money’s great and so are the chicks, but I never really feel at peace.

While I would love to spend another night locked away in my hotel room with her, I figure a little excitement is in order. I told Trip I’m going to see where this goes, so to show her that maybe I can be more than just sex to her, I’m taking her out.

We pass by a small bar with a neon light shining from the window. Perfect. We can grab a beer and chat and won’t have to worry about fans or that fucker Donovan starting shit. I want some one-on-one time to see where this girl’s head is.

I back my bike against the curb and throw down the kickstand. Aubrey hops off and yanks the helmet from her head while I readjust my backwards baseball cap.

I catch myself almost mesmerized by her as she runs her fingers through her hair. I don’t remember feeling this way after I bagged a girl before. Ever. Usually, after the initial humping, they lose their allure. Not Aubrey. All I can think about when I look at her are ways to keep her around longer.

She throws her hands on her hips. “What exactly are we doing here?”

I stand and store the helmet. “I figured we could get a beer and get to know each other a little better.”

The corners of her mouth turn up. “I thought that’s what we did last night.”

I shake my head and pull her against me. “Last night we fucked, and I still haven’t gotten you out of my system, so I’m left with one alternative.”

A blush washes over her cheeks. “What’s that?”

I shrug. “To see if this thing between us can ever go anywhere.”

“Riff…”

If she’s about to give me the reasons why this can never work between us, I don’t want to hear them. “Before you say anything, give me the weekend. We only have tonight and tomorrow, and if you end up hating my guts by the time you leave, then you never have to see me again.”

Kitten pulls her lips into a tight line. “Okay, then.”

“Yeah?” I hug her to me. “One more thing.”

“What’s that?”

“In public, around the band and the fans, I don’t mind you calling me Riff, but everywhere else I want you to call me Zach.” It’s a weird request. The name she calls me shouldn’t matter, but it does. If I’m going to step out of my comfort zone and see if this can go somewhere, than I want it to be as real as possible. I don’t want her to like me for Riff, my stage persona and all that it entails. I want her to like me for Zach—the fucked up guy with loads of problems.

She’ll probably be running for the hills this time tomorrow.

I lead her into the small bar. Her tiny hand fits perfectly in mine as I hold it causally at my side. The bar is dark, with only the light over the bar providing light around the room. A few older men sit with their shoulders slumped at the bar talking to the bartender. This is exactly the atmosphere I’m hoping for. Nice and secluded.