Read Online Absolute Surrender by Georgia Lyn Hunter - Free Book Online

bounce in her friend’s step as if she moved to some inner rhythm—music only she heard. Echo waved and headed for the bar. She squeezed in between a heavyset man and a woman, whose overpowering perfume made her head swim. Breathing shallow, she rummaged in her coat pockets for change to buy a drink.
    “Your usual.” A misty glass of Pepsi appeared in front of her. Echo looked up and met Jon’s warm gaze. Tall and lanky, his short blond hair appeared like dull gold in the dim lights. Jon worked the bar part time.
    “Thank you.” She set the money on the counter and tried not to think about the crush he had on her. “So, how’s university?”
    “Uni’s good, but not the shit—” A sheepish grin spread across his face as he took the money. “I mean the stack of assignments I have holed up in my dorm.”
    Someone at the end of the bar called out his name. He glanced away, nodded, then gave her a wry smile when she said nothing else, and went to serve the customer.
    Echo picked up her drink and took a sip. At least Jon didn’t chase after her, or make a nuisance of himself...a shiver ran down her spine. She glanced up and encountered the malevolent stare of the other bartender, Neal.
    She sighed. Oh yeah, evil came in all kinds. Only this one was human.
    Neal wore his auburn hair in a buzz-cut and his green eyes were dark and spiteful. A sneer she was all too familiar with marred his face. She could kick herself for ever getting involved with him. She should have trusted her instincts and stayed away. But Neal had been charming and attentive when they first met. He pursued her until she said yes.
    As it turned out the weasel only wanted to get her into bed. “No” was not a word he understood. His pawing had only riled her. She left the date, furious, leaving Neal with an imprint of her hand on his face.
    Echo couldn’t even blame this on pheromones. Neal Casey was a smarmy snake, interested only in how many notches he scored on his bedpost. His ego battered, he now lived to make her life hell every chance he got. The fact Kira worked here made him unavoidable.
    “Don’t waste your time on Jon,” he hissed, stopping opposite her. He snatched a couple of glasses. “He has more discerning taste than to want a frigid bitch like you.”
    The slap still stung several months later, it appeared. And being called a bitch so many times grew old. Echo pasted on a sweet smile. “Two words, Neal. New. Thesaurus.”
    “Bitch.”
    “I rest my case.” She swung away from him, his presence making her skin crawl. A dull throb started right behind the scar on her forehead. She rubbed it, trying to soothe her headache.
    “Hey.” Kira grinned, easing between Echo and another customer. “Thought you weren’t coming over this evening?”
    “Last client rescheduled. I had some time.”
    “Come on, I need to go to the loo.” Kira turned to speak with another waitress, before she headed out of the bar and down the passage. Echo followed.
    “What happened with Jon? He looks like someone dropped a bus on him.”
    “Not sure.” Echo dodged the question. She didn’t want to get into the usual debate about her non-existent love life. Then, staring at her friend’s hair, she realized the color genius was back and gratefully changed the subject. “Brunette? What’s next—no, wait, what’s your real color anyway?”
    Kira laughed. “This crap I’m blessed with might as well have some use. So, it’s brown for now.”
    Her friend had the ability to change the color of any object, which she did with great dedication to herself, especially her hair. “Hey, you considered going platinum? With the Emo look you have going for you, it’ll be perfect. A touch and you’re blonde, no dark roots to worry about.”
    “Thanks. I’ll pass.” Echo refused with a smile.
    Kira led Echo to the staff restroom and disappeared into a stall. “You know Jon likes you, right?” she called out. “One date with him won’t