Free Dangerous Hearts: Rock Star Romance, 1 (Lyric & Wolf) by Mia McAdams Page A

“I’m
never off duty. Besides, this isn’t a date.”
    My chuckle rolls into a laugh. “There’s
that word again. We should get something straight right now. You don’t have to
worry. I sing. I fuck. I eat. I don’t fall in love, Lyric. I don’t date. I
don’t play games either. You can always count on me to be straight with you.
Some women find it refreshing, others hate it. You strike me as the type who
might find me refreshing.” I wink at her.
    “A bad boy who is honest and doesn’t fall in love. Interesting combination.”
    “Thanks to my amazing mother and dirtbag father, I’m a hybrid.”
    We're silent the rest of the walk to the car , which is waiting for us at the curb. I’m
distracted by Rex’s figure slipping into the passenger seat. I turn back to
Lyric and can tell she’s thinking, probably about what I confessed of my
parents. It’s not exactly a confession, but it’s telling enough, I know that.
I’ve never hidden the fact that my father was n't
around when I was growing up, but I usually leave my mother out of
things. It’s not her fault my father disappeared on us, although she lived her
life silently heartbroken. Mothers can’t hide much from their offspring. As
hard as they try to be perfect role models, they slip , and those are the moments children latch onto and spend the rest of their lives
trying to comprehend.
    We slide into th e
back, and I tell the driver where to go. It’s then that I face Lyric and
smile to bust through the tension. “It’s nice to go to dinner with someone
other than dudes for once.”
    She’s smirking, and I know whatever she’s
about to say will make me regret my last sentence. “Maybe you should rethink
your no-dating rule. You’d get out more and you know—get to know someone,
preferably before they sneak onto your tour
bus and go down on you.”
    I almost choke on my own air as I breathe.
“I have nothing against taking a girl out to dinner, but then it might give the impression that I want more than just
food and sex. That’s never the case.”
    “You’re having dinner with me .”
    “You’re safe.”
    She looks stung but recovers quickly.
“Never? There 's never been a girl you thought
maybe, just maybe, could turn you from One-Night-StandMan to Monogamy Man? I find that hard to believe.”
    “Monogamy Man sounds like a disease. No
wonder I’m not suited.” She doesn’t laugh at my awful attempt at humor, so I
shrug. “You don’t have to believe it, but it’s true.”
    “You use women.”
    “Women use me.”
    She scoffs. H er
mouth is hanging open in surprise, maybe a
little disgust. “Most of the girls you sleep with are probably hoping for
something more, but they’re content with what they’re getting at the time. I’ve
never understood how one-nightstands can end
well, ever. One person has got to be into it more than the other.”
    Okay, now she’s hooked me. I give her my
bewildered stare. “You’ve never had a one-nightstand?”
    She shakes her head as if I’m the crazy
one. “Absolutely not. Someone is bound to get hurt.”
    “Not from one night. That’s the point.
It’s a one-time event, a release of pent up energy. It has nothing to do with
feelings. Feelings stay out of it, and it’s just a good time.” The more we talk
about sex, the more I want to prove to her how great a one- nighter can be.
    We pull up to the curb in front of the restaurant before I can shove my
foot in my mouth. I help Lyric out of the car. She looks up in surprise at my chivalry and then smiles. I’m not an asshole . I
want to tell her this , but we’re escorted into
the restaurant and to our private table in the back of the room faster than I
can speak.
    “Is it this bad?” s he asks, staring around us in bewilderment.
    I cock my head as
I pick up the drink menu. “Is what this bad?”
    “You. Getting recognized. Having to request special accommodations everywhere you go.”
    I shrug. “If I want privacy,