Test Drive Read Free Page B

played to win.

Chapter 2
    Lara did her best to ignore her reaction to Johnny Devlin, grateful for the Friday night crowd, and struggled to catch a breath as she poured glass after glass and pitcher after pitcher. Someone selected some techno from the digital jukebox, so for a while she could groove to some decent music, not all that alternative crap Ray had added to appeal to the new stoner crowd they’d picked up.
    She poured a few house beers, grabbed two domestics, and wiped down the bar. But despite herself, she found her gaze drawn to Johnny and his hulking gang. All four men commanded attention just by breathing. She couldn’t believe her friend Del had never tried to date any of the gorgeous guys who worked for her, but then Del was all about business. She’d never sex up an employee, because she had a head on her shoulders. Besides, she knew the guys.
    Hell, Lara knew them too, but that didn’t stop her from constantly fantasizing about Johnny. Not John or Jonathon. He was a funny, sly, too-handsome-for-his-own-good Johnny .
    She sighed and served another beer. After four years of working at Ray’s, she should have been past her infatuation. Talk about a bad boy with no promise of a tomorrow on the horizon. Still, the man had game.
    Johnny could charm a snake out of its skin. He had height and lean muscle, not puffed up like his muscular buddies, but the build of an athlete, maybe a runner. Broad shoulders, ropy biceps, rock-solid forearms, and long, graceful fingers never failed to tempt her into wondering what if .
    She shivered, too easily remembering the feel of one of those fingers over her hand. Not to mention his warm lips. God. She had been dreaming about his wicked mouth for far too long.
    “Yo, Lara. Help Josie on tables, would you?” Ray, her boss, asked. The ex-prizefighter looked like a human punching bag who’d doled out his fair share of whoop ass, but he had a marshmallow for a heart.
    “Sure thing.” She bustled to help Josie, giving herself an excuse to look at Johnny’s table now and again.
    He probably didn’t style his hair, because it always looked like he’d just run his fingers through it. Sandy-brown, short on the sides and longer on the top, that silky hair framed a face almost too pretty to be masculine. He had longer lashes than she did, for cripes’ sake. Full lips, a square jaw, and aquiline nose hinted at a man of control and strong passion. For all his flirting, his mossy green eyes seemed sharp, able to see through subterfuge.
    “Hey, sweetie, gimme a pitcher of Everly.”
    She smiled as she worked, pleased to once more focus on her job. Two more rounds for the bikers in the corner, a food order for one of the regulars, and then she filled Sue’s tray with tequila shots and two nasty cocktails that would do better as gas for her car. Lara tried to stretch out her time, but she couldn’t help herself. She promised to get smelly guy a pitcher of the cheap crap Ray kept on tap for the fiscally impaired, then deliberately left her area to see if the guys needed anything. From the bar , she told herself. Just the bar.
    Now Foley and Sam were a pair. They towered over her and had muscle to spare. Foley was all charm and grins, Sam all dark intensity that oddly, made her feel safe. She was fascinated by their tatted arms, wondering when she’d find the courage to go under the gun. They treated her with respect while always giving her that sly once-over that told her they liked what they saw. Flattering and pleasing, because she could flirt back, but she knew they’d never take what she didn’t want to give.
    Lou Cortez, on the other hand, made her a little uncomfortable. He seemed so domineering, so quiet and assessing all the time. He had a swarthy complexion and to-die-for brown eyes. Talk about handsome in a bottle. She wondered how hard someone would have to shake him to see him explode, because his powerful presence showed a distinct command of himself at all