Hotter Than Hell Read Online Free

exposure would do for one of your…acts.”
    The Hazard was currently
the
place to be seen, the place to build the kind of buzz that led to major recording deals and Vital had bookings locked down into the next decade. Mike was right; she had people signed who could turn a gig at the Hazard to a solid career, their success becoming the little engine that dragged Bedford Entertainment out of the red. Ali, a firm believer in the bird in the hand over two in the bush—no matter how extreme her reaction to the two birds in question—would have taken him up on the offer except for two things. The first was the disdain in the moment of silence before he said the word,
acts.
    The second…
    “That’s very generous of you, Mike, but I have no desire to become a subsidiary to Vital, living off scraps from your table.” No matter how bad it got, she wouldn’t sell her people out to a man who saw them as inferior product.
    He spread his hands, the movement graceful and predetermined as though her response hadn’t been entirely unexpected. “I respect your choice, of course, but perhaps you should take a moment to think about it. My scraps, to beat the metaphor vigorously about the head and shoulders, have more substance than any meal you can provide and I know you hate to see your people starve.”
    “No one’s starving.”
    “Yet.”
    And there, in the single word Tom dropped into her office, was the stick to Mike’s carrot. Ali waved Glen back and realized, almost as an afterthought, that she was standing. Tom looked down at her through narrowed eyes, daring her to react further. To move in closer.
    Not going to happen. Except…
    One of them had definitely moved, but Ali was sure it hadn’t been her. They were less than an arm’s length away now. She stared at the scar bisecting Tom’s upper lip and remembered the night he’d got it.
    The lip in question curled as if he could read her thoughts.
    “Play nice, children.”
    The amusement in Mike’s voice moved her back until the edge of her desk digging into her thighs stopped her. No way was she providing entertainment by fighting with her ex in front of his boss/lover/who the hell knew.
    “I’m sorry you weren’t able to accept my offer, Alysha.” Mike stood as he spoke and gifted her with a benevolent smile. “It would have made everything so much easier.”
    “For you.”
    “For all concerned,” he admonished, gently. “I can see myself out.” He was at the door before he realized he was alone. He turned in the doorway and the velvet glove slipped. “Tom!”
    “Your master’s voice,” Ali murmured. As Tom closed the distance between them, she raised her right hand and laid her palm over his heart, flat against his chest. She could feel the heat of his skin through the black silk shirt. It matched the heat of his breath against her cheek. The heat in his voice.
    “You’re going to lose this one, Ali,” he growled, “and I’ll be there to see you go down.”
    “You’re going to pay for making Mike wait,” she purred back, her breath moving the dark hair curling over his ear. “And I
wish
I could be there to see you go down.”
    He jerked away from her like he’d been hit, spun on one heel, and followed Mike out the door, slamming it closed behind him.
    “Ali?”
    Glen’s voice dragged her back to the here and now and she realized her hand was still pressed up against the space Tom’s chest had filled. Slowly, she closed her fingers and let it fall to her side. “That was interesting.”
    “I’ll say.” His tone was so totally neutral she knew he wasn’t only referring to Mike’s offer.
    “Let it go, Glen.”
    His green eyes were worried as he watched her walk around her desk and drop into the chair. “Maybe you should take your own advice. It’s been three years.”
    “I know.”
    “You and Tom bring out the worst in each other.”
    She thought about the scar. “I know.”
    Glen stared at her for a moment longer then spread his