Free Vice (Tortured Heroes Book 1) by Jayne Blue

and how about I come back tomorrow morning to fix this weak-ass shit once and for all?”
    A beat passed between us. Two. I took a step forward, meaning to turn on my heel and walk out the door. It put me a fraction of an inch closer to her and Devin went up on her tiptoes. She made the first move. I could have turned and let the moment pass, but I didn’t. Dammit, I should have. I know it. She was the job. I couldn’t afford to lose sight of that. But when she put her hands on my bare chest and tilted her head, fire lit inside of me. Her lips were firm and soft all at once. I could have held back. Made it into something chaste. Something both of us could walk back an instant later. We’d talked. We were friendly. But that was one last lie I didn’t have the strength to tell in that instant.
    She was molten lava beneath my lips. Hot and sweet. She angled her head and I slid my hand around her waist, pulling her closer to me. The feel of her firm nipples against my bare chest with only that thin cotton between us nearly drove me to my knees in front of her. I wanted to wrap my arms around her. Worship her. Spread her thighs before me and find out once and for all whether she tasted sweet as honey everywhere. Her lips sure did.
    Devin let out a little gasp that damn near undid me. But just as she was the one to make the first move, she was also the one to move away. She took a staggering step backward and brought the back of her hand to her swollen lips. Her skin flushed where I touched her. A thundering pulse traveled straight between my legs. She had me hard and burning for her. If she looked down, she’d see it. I gripped the doorknob so tight I felt like I might crush it to powder. Anything to keep my simmering lust in check. I wanted her just about as bad as I’d ever wanted any woman. But a kiss was one thing. If I took it a step further, I couldn’t walk that back.
    “Shit,” she said. “Oh shit.”
    I couldn’t help but bark out a laugh. “That bad, was it?”
    “No. It’s just. Crap. You work for me.”
    I laughed harder. “Relax. I probably won’t sue you.”
    “Oh God. Can we just. Rewind?”
    “We can do anything you want, Devin.” It took Herculean self-control on my part not to lean down and kiss her senseless again. Now that she’d given me just that little taste, she had my hormones in overdrive and I wanted so much more. I wanted everything I knew I couldn’t have where she was concerned.
    “See you tomorrow,” she said, blushing deep.
    I gave her a salute and managed to keep my hand steady. My whole body thrummed with desire and I needed to get the hell out of there fast. If she touched me one more time, gave me any indication that she didn’t really want me to go, I knew I wouldn’t be strong enough to say no.
    “See you tomorrow. Boss.” It was a cheap shot but I couldn’t resist. I was beginning to love seeing that heated blush color her cheeks and points lower down. But that was dangerous as hell for both of us. So I did the one thing I wanted least of all. I gave her one last wink, then turned my back on Devin and walked away.

Chapter Six
    D evin
    God, I felt like some high-school girl after I arrived at the bar the next day. My heart quickened when I heard Jase’s voice in the back of the kitchen as he greeted Floyd on the way in. He was here. In the same building. I found myself trying to come up with a reason to go back to the kitchen to be near him.
    I crashed my head against my desk and buried myself in spreadsheets. This was bad. Disastrous. A distraction I bloody well didn’t need. We were taking a chance on a new band tonight. The HolyRocks canceled on me at the last minute. Some bullshit line about how the lead singer had the flu. I knew better. The guy had shown up here plenty of nights glassy-eyed and twitchy. I just hoped he could pull his shit together and cool it with whatever dope he took. This was bad for business. Just like Bella. I wasn’t naïve. This was