Spark (Heat #2)(5)

I've never tagged along with them, although I've been tempted. I don't have a lot of female friends and if I'm going to change that, I need to make the effort.

"You said you were cooking dinner for me." I rest my hands on my hips. "You lied to Maribel?"

His hand drops from the door handle. "I did what I needed to do to get her to leave. Did it feel like she was gearing up to spend the night on my sofa?"

"She does like hanging around you," I say, laughing. "You passed on her famous fried chicken for me?"

"I'd pass on food for a month for you." He blows out his breath. "I'd do it for a year if it wouldn’t kill me."

I smile, thinking about what an integral part of his life food is. It's a compliment that means more than any other he's ever given me. "I'm sorry for everything that's happened this week. I wish there was more that I could do for you."

He moves closer to me, gripping my hips in his hands. "Promise me something, Cadence."

"Anything," I whisper without thinking.

"Don't let me work too hard on rebuilding Nova."

I arch my brows in confusion. "What do you mean? We're all going to work hard to rebuild Nova."

That brings a soft smile to his lips. "We will. I don't want to lose this because of that."

"Lose this?" I nod my chin. "Us?"

"I need you, Cadence." His voice is a low growl. "I don't want the fire to f*ck up what's going on between us."

"That's not going to happen." I smooth the pad of my thumb over his bottom lip.

"I need to see you as often as I can. I feel off center. You bring me balance." He tugs my hips closer until I'm resting against him. "The other night when you didn't show up, I was pissed. I was aching to be inside you."

I catch a moan in my throat. I've felt greedy for wanting him that way. I keep telling myself that it's wrong to think about f*cking him when he's dealing with such a monumental trauma. Knowing that he's been thinking about it too changes everything.

"I'm sorry," I say weakly. "I fell asleep."

He moves his hand to my hair, tangling his fingers in the strands. "I almost called you to ask where you were but then I realized you must have dozed off. I thought about showing up at your place so I could crawl in bed with you."

"You should have." I arch my neck as he pulls softly on my hair, leveling my mouth with his. "You can crawl in bed with me whenever you want."

"I want it now," he says gruffly as he slides his mouth over mine.

***

He rubs the tip of his nose along my hip bone, his breath coursing a hot path over my exposed skin.

"I hate the way you tease me." I fist the sheet below me in both hands. "I can get myself off."

"What fun would that be?" His tongue flicks over my clit so softly that I barely register the sensation.

"It's a lot of fun." I half-moan. "I did it last night. It was pretty good."

"You touched this pretty cunt with your fingers last night?" He licks the seam of my * before he pulls back. "You were thinking about me, weren't you?"

"Is it that obvious?" I exhale audibly. "You're really good in bed, Chef."

"Tyler," he whispers as his finger follows the path his tongue just took. "Call me Tyler when I'm f*cking you."

"You're not f*cking me yet, Chef."

I feel his lips move into a smile as he presses them against my thigh. "I want you to come once or twice before I f*ck you."

"You said you were aching to be inside me." I arch my ass off the bed with the hope that he'll take the hint and eat me out, really eat me out instead of teasing me with the promise of his tongue, the way he is now.

"I need to get you ready for that." He adjusts his body on the bed. He's as naked as I am. When I reached for his cock after he slipped out of his boxer briefs, he'd pushed my hands aside telling me that I need to learn that my pleasure will always come first.

I squirm beneath him. "Can you do it now? I swear I'm going to come the second you really touch me."

"I have been touching you." His finger is on the move again. This time it centers on my clit, circling it once and then again, before it's gone.

"Don’t." I try and kick my legs but he's pinned them down. "You're the ultimate tease."

"I'm admiring you." He kisses the soft skin right above my mound. "You can't possibly know how beautiful you are, Cadence. Every square inch of you is breathtaking. I want to enjoy this."

I quiet, reaching down to run my hand through his hair. "You make me feel beautiful."

He moves then, pushing my thighs apart with his shoulders as he scoops my ass into his palms. "I'm going to make you feel so much."

Heated pleasure rushes through me the instant he lowers his mouth to my core.





CHAPTER 5


"You have to be hungry now. What kind of food do you want?" He glances at me as he stands and disposes of the condom in the wastebasket in the corner. His body is peppered with perspiration. It's a lingering sign of what we've been doing in his bed for the past hour.