Rock Steady Read Free Page B

mine. I want to learn from the best, and there are a few things you can’t learn from anyone but a master.”
    Taz nodded. “True, even if some masters are egomaniacs.”
    “You didn’t answer me.” Jewel aimed her inquiry at Ramsey. “Who are you?”
    “Ramsey, Taz, and I’m Syon,” the blond answered. “We’re members of a band called Toxsin.”
    She bit back the snide Yeah, right that tried to escape her lips.
    No way.
    But they were all standing there looking pretty confident. She reached over and tapped “Toxsin” into the laptop on the countertop. Their website was the first thing to come up. She clicked on the link.
    “What the fuck are you doing roaming the streets?” She looked up from the screen at the three guys standing in front of her. It was weird, to say the least, to have the pictures from the screen living and breathing in her shop. “Don’t you have people to deal with stuff like this?”
    Ramsey eyed her from where he was lying on the counter. “I’m a hands-on sort.” He covered her hand with his, stroking the back of it.
    Jewel ended up taking that step back. Victory flashed through his eyes as she sent him a sharp look.
    Taz punched him in the shoulder again.
    “How’s that ‘hands-on’ thing working for you tonight?” Jewel said. It was a barbed comment, a challenge. Hell, it felt like she’d smacked him across the jaw with a white glove and dropped it at his feet.
    The way his eyes narrowed confirmed that he felt the same way. For one split second, she half feared he might just flip the counter out of the way or jump over it.
    “Let’s focus on the problem,” Syon said. “We need this fixed—discreetly, quickly.”
    “No joke.” Jewel happily changed thought tracks. She pulled one of the shop disclosure agreements up onto the counter. The tightly packed lines of legal mumbo jumbo didn’t give her the same sense of comfort they normally did. Ramsey grabbed it and yanked the top off a pen before boldly scrawling his signature across the bottom line.
    Taz was flipping the lock on the front door.
    “Good idea,” Jewel agreed. She didn’t care for the fact that she had to take a breath before getting her feet to move.
    Ramsey flopped down on her worktable, popping his pants open. They were custom-made, all right; the right side of them shaped perfectly to contain his cock.
    The guy had an impressive package.
    She ended up stopping halfway around the counter, earning a smirk from him.
    “Don’t let my fame make you nervous,” Ramsey teased her.
    “Typically, I worry about my clients taking their displeasure out on my hide.” She made it to her stool and sat down. Her workstation was normally the place she felt most comfortable.
    Today, she felt like the padded stool was full of spikes.
    “So what’s your problem with me?” Ramsey asked.
    She wasn’t going to answer that.
    Nope.
    Not a chance.
    She turned half away from him and sterilized her hands.
    “Cat got your tongue?” he asked.
    Jewel turned back toward him and swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat.
    What a man-animal.
    She really needed to get a grip and enjoy the moment. She was pretty sure she was never going to get the chance to work on so fine a specimen again.
    “I’m thinking you wouldn’t think twice about filing a lawsuit against me, signature on a release form or not,” she said.
    His expression turned serious, his eyes narrowing, his lips thinning. “I don’t get my kicks out of using my money to pin my mistakes on other people. I own my fuckups.”
    It wasn’t what she’d expected him to say.
    But she liked it.
    A whole lot.
    Integrity was something most people sold out on. Especially when it came to admitting they’d made dumb mistakes.
    “I’m beginning to see why the gals at Spike didn’t refuse to do your girlfriend’s dirty work.”
    Ramsey leaned his head back. “She wasn’t my girlfriend.”
    “I’m guessing that was the problem.”
    He’d closed his eyes but