Spark: Book 1 (The Heat Series) Read online

  At 9:45, the phone from the front desk let her know Liam had arrived. She told them to send him to her apartment, went to her door, opened it and waited for him to come out of the elevator. When he did, he looked so handsome. He was dressed casually in old worn jeans, a v-neck sweater that was partially hidden by his leather jacket. His spiky black hair was covered by a Mets baseball cap. She was a Braves fan, but he didn’t need to know that just yet. He had a large duffel bag slung over his shoulder and a white bakery bag in his hand. She smiled widely at him, and he pulled her into his arms, the bakery bag crinkling as he hugged her.

  “I missed you.”

  “I missed you, too.”

  He bent his head to kiss her lips. She backed into her apartment because she didn’t want their display of affection to be seen by the neighbors. When their lips broke from each other, he handed her the bag which turned out to be bagels, then placed his duffel bag in her bedroom. She busied herself by making coffee and putting the bagels, cream cheese, and fruit on the counter for breakfast.

  When he came out from the bedroom, he was wearing a t-shirt. It was just as tight as the one she had seen him in last weekend. He came up behind her to hug her, kissed the top of her head, and she grew woozy with the smell of his delicious cologne.

  “It’s so nice to be here with you this weekend. I am going to miss you when I leave on Monday.”

  Ava felt sad “I don’t want to think about it because I am going to miss you so much.” She turned in his arms and wrapped her arms around his waist. She put her head against his chest, and he held her tight. The stayed that way for a couple of minutes until Liam spoke with a chill in his voice.

  “Who gave you those?” Liam asked while pointing in the direction of the roses.

  “Oh, my new boss sent them to me last night.”

  “Really?”

  Ava looked at him “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Well, you would think that such a gift would be a bit inappropriate from a boss to his employee.”

  “How?”

  “I could see carnations, sunflowers, even daisies but roses are a little more intimate. When I send flowers as a thank you to my assistant, it’s anything but roses. Of course, my assistant is a male and gay so that he might get the wrong impression. And why did he send purple?”

  “Xander is the son of one of the partners and an old family friend. He is just nice.”

  “If he gave me something to worry about, then it would be just as bad as what your former boss did,” Liam stated with a hint of anger in his voice.

  “Can we change the subject please?” Ava didn’t want to start an argument when he was leaving on Monday.

  Ava watched as Liam slathered a big dollop of vegetable cream cheese on his everything bagel. She had chosen a plain bagel and put on a bit of regular cream cheese.

  “You don’t eat a lot do you?” Liam said.

  Ava blushed. “I used to be overweight, so I try to watch what I eat. Lately, I have not been eating very well as I normally do. Having a new boss and of course, you have thrown off my regular schedule.”

  Liam raised an eyebrow.

  “I mean I’m busier with work and my social life. I haven’t worked out in two weeks, and I’m sure that Robert will not be happy.”

  “Who is Robert?” Ava realized with that question and the angry tone of his voice again that Liam didn’t know much about her, and she didn’t know very much about him.

  “Robert is my cousin. When I moved here, I was overweight, and Robert had just gotten his certification to be a trainer. Besides that, he has a degree in nutrition. He whipped me into shape, gave me a special diet to follow, and worked with me at the gym. I dropped forty-five pounds, and that was when I was nineteen. I have worked out regularly ever since.” Liam looked her up and down.

  “I would never have known you were ever overweight because you look fantastic.”

  Ava focused on her plate. She was embarrassed, and her face started to redden.

  “Don’t be embarrassed; it’s a huge accomplishment. I was overweight too when I was younger. But I started to work out and watch my diet. Now I try to hit the gym at least five times a week.”

  Ava forgot her embarrassment and looked up. “Wow, I am lucky if I get to the gym three times a week. While you are away, I will have to get back into the routine of things. Maybe we can work out together once you get back from London.”

  Liam polished off the last of his bagel and took a sip of coffee. Ava was picking through a container of strawberries. She selected a few and put them on her plate. Liam reached over, picked a strawberry off her plate and held it for her to take a bite. Some of the juice dribbled down her chin, and he wiped it with his thumb and put it to his mouth to suck. He took the strawberry she had bitten and popped the remainder in his mouth. She did the same with the remaining strawberry on her plate.

  After they had finished breakfast, he helped her clean up. They sat on the couch, and she snuggled up to him. She asked him questions about his life. “So where exactly do you live in Westchester?”

  “I grew up in White Plains. During the summer before my last year of my Masters, I did an internship for Magellan Partners doing analysis. Once my internship was over they were so impressed with my work that they said once I graduate, I should contact them. So I did, and here I am.”

  Ava could see why they were impressed with him. He was intelligent, level headed, good natured and very likable. She had no doubt of his skills at his position.

  “You said you were thinking of law school at NYU or Columbia. Did you attend one of them for your undergrad?”

  “NYU. My freshman year I went to Cameron University in Atlanta. But that didn’t work out so well, so I decided to come to New York, which happens to be near my cousins.”

  “Oh, did you not do well?”

  “No, I had something happen to me there and decided it was not the place for me.” She looked away from him when she said it. She was not comfortable telling him the real reason she had left. Liam was intuitive enough to know that he shouldn’t pry. If she were willing to freely tell him why she had left, she would.

  “So what do you do at your current job? You said you work at a law firm but what is your position?”

  “I’m a legal assistant. I’m not sure I want to do it for the rest of my life, though. I might want to become an attorney.”

  They spent the rest of the afternoon telling each other about their lives. Liam told her of his past loves, and she told him about her almost non-existent ones. They talked about high school and the things that they did. Ava discovered that she had several things in common with Liam. They both liked to work out, go for walks through the park in the rain, baseball was their favorite sport, and they both loved theme parks. Liam had spent a lot of his youth at Playland in Rye in Westchester. Ava had loved to go to Six Flags over Georgia. They decided that when it warmed up, they would take a trip to the Jersey Shore, walk the boardwalk and enjoy the rides on the pier. She was excited to take her first trip with a boyfriend.

  Ava and Liam had fallen asleep on the couch. Ava awoke first and checked the clock on the cable box, which showed it getting close to dinner hour. Riley was waking up from his nap where he was curled up next to her. He yawned, and she scratched him behind his ears. She got up and fed him. She let Liam sleep and began preparing a meat and potatoes dinner. She was partially done when Liam wandered into the kitchen.

  “What smells so damn good?”

  “I’m making dinner. I hope you like steak, potatoes, creamed spinach and Caesar salad.”

  “Wow, those are some of my favorites. I love creamed spinach but haven’t had it in a long time. Why didn’t you wake me, I would have helped.”

  Ava waved him away.

  “You are my guest, and I always take care of my guests.”

  “Can you get the Parmesan out of the refrigerator for me?” Liam obliged. She put the finishing touches on the salads and put both dishes on the bre
akfast bar. She covered the simmering spinach and gave a quick check of the steaks. When everything was finished cooking, she served them dinner and hoped that he would like everything.

  “I miss home cooking. I don’t see my parents very often since I am so busy. This is delicious.”

  “I was hoping that you would like it.”

  After they had finished their meal, Liam helped Ava clean and then they settled in to watch some television. She sat with her back against the couch arm and her legs slung over his lap. He possessively put his arms across her legs. He flipped through the channels and found a hockey game.

  “I don’t know anything about hockey. Can you find something else to watch?”

  “We don’t have to watch television if you make other suggestions of what we can do. “

  She slid onto his lap and began to kiss him. Liam dropped the remote on the other side of the couch and cradled her in his arms. He was tentative with his tongue, but she forced her mouth harder upon his. She wanted his tongue in her mouth and other places that she would not say. She felt him harden underneath her lap as they kissed. His hand cupped her left breast, and he brought his thumb up to play with her hardening nipple. Then Liam pulled away.

  “We have to stop.”

  “What? Why?”

  “I want to take things slow with you. I don’t want to be some Neanderthal that just takes what he wants.” Liam pushed her gently off his lap and turned her legs, so she no longer had contact with him.

  Ava looked at him and sniffled. “I’m offering myself to you, and you don’t want me.”

  “No, I don’t, not right now. I want your first time to be special. All the stupid cliches, dinner, candlelight, flowers. I can make that happen for you if you are patient. We have only been together for a couple of weeks, and that is not enough time for you to know me. Let’s at least wait until I get back from London before we make this decision. And this is both our decisions; it is not just yours to make simply because you are a virgin and I am not. Do you understand?” Ava nodded. She understood his feelings, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t have feelings of rejection.

  Liam yawned. “Are you tired? Because I am. I got up at seven this morning so I could get some things done before I caught the train.”

  “We can go to bed if you like.” Ava rose from the couch and Liam followed. He went to the bathroom to change, and she closed her door to get into a camisole and shorts. She would have considered her baby dolls if they were going to make love, but she would save that for another time, the right time. Maybe she would shop for some lingerie while he was away. Rachel would be a great help in that area.

  When Liam got back from the bathroom, he was dressed in shorts and bare-chested. He went around to the far side of the bed and pulled back the covers. She went to the bathroom, and when she got back, he had the covers pulled around his stomach, his arms under each side of the pillow propping up his head. She got under the covers on her side and flipped off the light. She reached out to touch him, but the expanse of the bed between them prevented her from reaching him. Instinctively he reached out and grabbed her hand and held it. She slid over to his side and curled up against him.

  Sometime in the night, Riley had come on the bed and snuggled up on her side waking her up. Liam was sweaty, and she removed the covers partially and pushed her way over to her side of the bed. She upset Riley, and he jumped down. She heard him scratching the carpet in the hall and didn’t hear from him after that. He must have climbed into his cat bed or found a spot on the couch.

  The next morning she was awakened by the smell of coffee and something else. She stretched and got out of bed to see what Liam was doing. He was busy at the stove in the kitchen making pancakes, chocolate chip pancakes. They were one of her favorites, and she hadn’t had them in a very long time. He was just finishing cooking and piled her plate with a small stack, placing it in front of her. He watched as she savored a couple of bites and then dug into his own large stack.

  After breakfast, he took the plate from her under protest, and he set to cleaning.

  “Go sit down; I have this.” She felt strange not cleaning in her kitchen, but she followed his orders. She saw that Liam had brought in the Sunday New York Times that was at her door. She opened it, removed the magazine and set to work on the crossword puzzle.

  “Hey, babe. I’m going to take a shower?”

  Ava noticed he was comfortable enough to go ahead without asking. Liam went to the bathroom, and she heard the shower start. She could hear him softly singing as he washed. When he was done, he came down the hall with a towel wrapped around his waist. It left little to the imagination. She didn’t want to leer at him, so she pretended not to pay attention to his practically naked body. As he went to her bedroom to change, her mind drifted about how his naked body would feel in bed next to her. She shook off the thoughts because that wouldn’t be happening for a while.

  When he emerged from her bedroom, he was dressed in a pair of gray sweatpants with a Mets logo at the hip and a black Mets t-shirt.

  “Uggghh, you dare wear that in my home!”

  “You can wear your Atlanta stuff in my home; I won’t hold it against you.”

  She smirked at him and rose from the couch, telling him. “I’m going to shower now.” She went into her bedroom and unhooked the robe she had on the back of her door. This was the thick knee-length robe she should have worn yesterday rather than the thin see-through number she had on during the fire alarm. She wished she could wear the other robe today, but she had forgotten it in Rachel’s room.

  After her shower, she went into her bedroom and closed the door. She removed the towel from her hair as well as her robe. In the bedroom mirror, she noticed that her stomach had lost some definition. This is what happens when I stop working out. She opened her drawer and chose a bright red thong and bra set. She put them on and dug around in the back of her closet for just the thing to wear. When she was done, she came out. Liam took one look at her and burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that tears leaked out of his eyes and Riley jumped off to escape the noise.

  “Ho, Ho! Look at you, all decked out.” Ava was wearing her favorite pair of blue Braves sweatpants with a gray Atlanta t-shirt. She had tied her auburn hair up in a Braves emblazoned ribbon, and her socks had the Braves logo. She smiled sweetly at him, picked up her New York Times Magazine, a pencil and went to work answering the clues. Liam settled back with the sports section. They spent a lazy Sunday reading and watching television. She let Liam watch the New York Islanders even though she had no clue what was happening on the screen.

  Chapter 7

  While Ava was enjoying her weekend with Liam, Xander was having his own eventful time. He had gotten home from the office late Saturday night after spending the day preparing for court on Monday when not distracted by the thought of Ava. He had tried to have a conversation with Abby during a break, but she was unreachable. He texted her and got nothing in return. He had seen behavior like this from her on other occasions.

  Before they had dated, she was dating a fellow law student, Buddy Halverson. Buddy had spent a good part of the day drinking with his buddies and arrived half drunk to take her to dinner. She had given Buddy the cold shoulder for several days and subsequently broken up with him.

  At the time, Xander couldn’t understand why the guy would treat a woman with her looks, breeding, and stature to such bad behavior. But after dating her for awhile, he realized that she could be difficult as well as argumentative. Because of that, he had thought she would make a great trial attorney. She was brilliant in court, but in her personal life, she was emotionally immature. She was accustomed to getting her way and if she did not, she would freeze you out. That is what she was doing to him. He realized that this was probably the end of their relationship. Abby liked being treated like a queen. He was glad that he saw her for what she was before he asked her to marry him.

  His parents would not be happy that he was no longer on the verge
of getting married, but he had to live his own life. He needed to get out of his apartment for the night and relax. He changed out of his casual clothes and into something more appropriate for the bar scene and went to Charlie’s. It was a local bar steeped in tradition, and he often came here to slam a few rounds back to forget his day. When he arrived, it was packed as it normally was on a Saturday. He was able to find a seat at the bar and ordered a scotch and soda. Two young women were sitting to the right of him, and he could see out of the corner of his eye that they were looking at him.

  Xander had no shortage of attractive women approaching him. When he was secure in his relationship with Abby, he had worn a gold band on his ring finger. This hardly deterred women, but he was able to use it as an excuse for them to leave him alone. Often they would persist, but he would be steadfast until they gave up. Now he didn’t care. There was no ring tonight, and there would not be for a long time. One of the women tapped his shoulder and offered her hand.

  “I’m Vivian.”

  He shook her hand, “Xander.”

  They struck up a conversation, and it was obvious to him that she was interested in going home with him. He figured if he couldn’t fuck Ava, he would fuck until she was out of his mind. He paid his and Vivian’s bill, and they left the bar. His place was only four blocks away, and he took her up to his apartment. She was game for almost anything. He spent most of the night fucking her and seeing Ava’s face instead of hers while he did it. The next morning when he woke, she was gone. That was how he liked it. No exchange of numbers with promises to call. He wasn’t going to call, and he didn’t like to lie. It was strictly sex, not a relationship. He had been that way in college until Abby. He thought she was the one he would marry and look where it got him. Now he was hopelessly infatuated with Ava. Infatuated, wasn’t that a word a silly little schoolboy would use?