Rush

out on a fucking dance floor
     when what he really wants is Mia at home in his bed,” Ash said. “I’ll cover your second
     half.”
    Bethany went cold and she took a step back, ice forming over her face. Then she shook
     her head. “I changed my mind.”
    “What the fuck?” Ash demanded.
    And still Jace stood there. Silent and forbidding, watching her the entire time. It
     was unnerving and suddenly that alley door was looking better all the time.
    “I’m not for sale,” she said in a low voice. “I get that I asked for dinner. I shouldn’t
     have. You were offering sex. But I won’t be paid for sex.”
    Pain, like a cloak, crept over her. Distant memories, not ebbing. Choices. Consequences.
     It all drifted together until it was a murky, impenetrable darkness surrounding her.
     One day. Just one day in the sun. But the sun wasn’t for her. It never had been.
    A low muttered curse tore from Jace’s lips. The first sound he’d made in forever.
     Then that mouth tightened. He was pissed.
    His gaze skated sideways at Ash and it was then she realized he was pissed at Ash.
     Really pissed.
    “I told you not to do this,” Jace ground out. “Fuck it, man. You should have listened
     to me.”
    This was getting worse. Evidently Ash wanted some action. Jace did not. Ash wanted
     to approach her. Jace did not. Could this get any more humiliating?
    “I’ve got to get back to work,” she said, hastily backing away until her escape route
     to the door leading back into the ballroom was secure.
    And just as quickly, Jace was there, sliding over, a barrier to her and freedom. He
     was so close she could smell him, could feel his heat wrapping around her, and it
     felt so damn good that she wanted to do something really stupid and lean into him.
     Just so she could feel it brush over her skin.
    Then his fingers slid underneath her chin, a touch so gentle she couldn’t help but
     respond, lifting her face so that her gaze met his.
    “You finish work. We’ll wait. Then we have dinner. Anything in particular you like?
     And do you want to go out or eat in the hotel room?”
    The questions were softly worded. They sounded intimate. He never looked at Ash once.
     His stare was solidly fixed on her and she was too mesmerized to look away. And she
     promptly forgot that she’d changed her mind about sleeping with them.
    Jerking herself from the intensity of the moment, she glanced down, taking in her
     clothing. There was no going home andchanging. No home. No clothes. Certainly nothing she could wear to any place these
     two would set foot in.
    She cleared her throat. “Hotel is fine, and I don’t care. If it’s hot and tastes good
     I’ll eat it. Nothing too fancy. In fact, what I really want is a burger. And fries.”
    She’d kill for both right now.
    “And orange juice,” she finished in a rush.
    Amusement glimmered on Ash’s lips but Jace was still utterly serious.
    “Hamburger. Fries. Orange juice. I think I can handle that,” Jace said. Then he checked
     his watch. “People will be cleared out in fifteen. How much time do you need after
     that to finish?”
    She blinked. “Uh, not everyone will clear out in fifteen minutes. I mean even if the
     guests of honor leave, people always hang out afterward. Especially when there’s food
     and drink.”
    He cut her off before she could say more.
    “Fifteen minutes, Bethany. They’ll be gone.”
    It was a promise. It wasn’t speculation on his part.
    “How much time do you need?” he asked impatiently.
    “Thirty minutes maybe?” she guessed.
    For the second time, he touched her, his fingers gliding over her cheek and up to
     her temple where he toyed with loose tendrils that had fallen from her clip.
    “Then we’ll see you in thirty minutes.”