Free Sweat Equity by Liz Crowe

Damn her, she did it to him every time.
    "Relax." Rob's voice was in his ear, his hand on the back of Blake's neck. He looked up into the other man's deep brown eyes. This was whom he loved now. The bitter irony that his own sister had been engaged to Jack Gordon, one of Suzanne's and Rob's oldest friends, wasn't lost on him. The extreme relief that she'd come to her senses and cut the guy loose had been intense at first. It had evolved into something that allowed him to sleep at night. Screw Suzanne and Jack. He pulled Rob to him, his hand grazing the other man's rough jaw.
    "I know something that will help me do just that." He growled and ran his tongue over Rob's full lips, his cock stiffening behind the brewery apron.
    "Mmmm, tempting indeed," Rob caressed his lips with his tongue, grabbed his ass and pulled up against his taller body before letting him go with a nip on his lower lip. "But you and I have too much work to do, lover. Besides, you'd just be fucking me to get over hearing her voice again. I told you once before I don't play that way." Rob stepped back and Blake bit down on the retort. "By the way, I heard that my friend Jack is getting a stronger grip on his inner Dom. Kyle told me he's been down at the club again, with Evan, Julie…and Suzanne."
    Blake narrowed his eyes. Kyle was Rob's former lover and owner of the hottest BDSM club in downtown Detroit. "Thought you might be interested." Blake tried not to stare at the tall blonde man who'd saved him from himself that week in Chicago. "Oh, don't worry; Jack's not playing with her. They're just friends."
    Blake gasped and gripped the edge of the window as Rob turned and walked away from him, whistling, hands in pockets. Shit . The man was too astute for his own good. He closed his eyes, willed his body calm, and turned back to the long day of brewing and trying to forget the feel of Suzanne's body under his hands once again, the way the sound of her voice made him react every single damn time still. Hoping he hadn't spoiled the lovely reunion they'd been sharing for the past couple of weeks, he forced himself to focus on the many tasks at hand. But, by the time they headed home, the tense silence had taken on a life of its own and Blake knew he'd fucked it all up yet again.
     
     
    Sara stared at her phone's screen, trying to decide if it was worth her time to return the three calls from a needy seller, or to ignore her and answer Craig's text. It had been nearly three weeks since the disaster at The Farm. He'd been easy-going, flirty, but in a harmless way at work, never coming on too strong. She found herself looking forward to work, to seeing him, hearing his laugh and knowing his eyes were always on her. Did her ego good, after the beating it had taken at Jack's hands.
    She squeezed her eyes shut. Jack . Dear God would she never be free of him? He had effectively ignored her, other than to check in and make sure she wasn't pregnant from the last time they…she sighed. Craig . That's what she needed. His lovely, soothing presence, which didn't compel her to necessarily strip off her clothes and fuck him every time she saw him, but did make her happy on a different level.
    "Hey." His soft southern drawl made her smile and lean back in her chair. "So, I was thinking that you owe me dinner."
    "How do you figure that?" Her scalp tingled. Why not?
    "Because I bought the Coneys, remember?" She frowned.
    "Oh, yeah. Wow, that was, like another lifetime ago."
    "Yep. So, what's on your agenda tonight?"
    "Uh, tonight? Okay." She was free and, in fact, ready. Ready to take this a step further with him. Or at least try. "Meet you at The Local? Seven?"
    "Your brother's place? Sure. See you then." She smiled and put her chin in her hand.
    "I'm looking forward to it, Craig."
     
    ****
     
    Sara breezed into The Local by six thirty, her last appointment having cancelled on her, leaving her with an hour to spare. She grinned at the sight of her handsome brother, bossing