Spark, page 4
“I’ve noticed. And I’m tired of staying at a hotel.”
“Then go home,” I suggest but a weird ache hits my chest when I say it. I push that away.
“I’m going to stay with you.”
“What?!” I half yell.
He shrugs at my outburst. He’s used to them. Why do I find that endearing? He even gives me one of those smirks. I have a feeling he’s going to win this round.
8
Jax
I wish I could have taken a picture of my little protestor’s face when she realized she wasn’t in the building alone. Yet, even though I’ve caught her red-handed she’s still giving me an attitude about it. She tries to skirt her way around the entire thing by dangling those keys in front of me. I knew going in to this stakeout tonight that I would have the upper hand.
My plan was to catch her and have her agree to go on a few dates with me. I know it makes me a dick by doing it this way but she’s given me no other option. I finally took matters into my own hands and her breaking into my place was the perfect opportunity for me to get what I want. The only thing that I want is her. The mention of me staying with her shocked me almost as much as her. That part was a spur of the moment suggestion. My mind already solving problems before they can spring up.
We both stand here looking at one another until she finally nods her head yes. That was too easy. I know she probably thinks I’m the biggest asshole for holding calling the cops over her head but as long as it gets me closer to her, I don’t care. In time she’ll see that I did this for us.
“You’re sleeping on the couch,” she says as if she’s the one calling the shots here. Yet she doesn’t sound convinced herself. I continue to smirk because we all know that’s not happening. I’ll let her have this little thing for right now, though. I need to get into her space and then we can fight over where we’ll be sleeping.
“Bear will also need somewhere to sleep.” I see the excitement light up in her eyes at the mention of my dog. One day I hope they do the same for me.
“He can stay with me in my room. I don’t have a bed for him but he’s more than welcome to sleep with me,” she replies with a little devilish grin.
“Don’t worry. I’m always prepared.” I grab her other hand that’s not holding the keys as I head back out the back door to where my car is parked. She willingly comes. I’m using her shock to distract her for the moment. It will soon wear off. I need to move fast before she comes to her senses and calls me on my bullshit.
Bear’s head pops out of the back window of the SUV. I had it brought down for me to drive. I give him a nod and he easily jumps out the window for a dog as big as he is.
“Bear!” Bailey half screams. “You can’t just jump out of car windows.” She scolds him even as she falls to her knees to engulf him in a hug. I don’t let her hand go. She tries to give a pull but I don’t budge. I’m going to take advantage of every little second that she allows me to touch her in some way. I’ll memorize the feel of her hand. Later in the dark I’ll imagine that it’s jerking my cock to orgasm. I’ve never wanted anything like I want Bailey. I’m not just talking about short term either. I want her for as long as she’ll have me. Getting her to agree will be the toughest thing I’ll ever do but I am a Roberts and we always get what we want. That means making her one too.
“I told him he could,” I reassure her. “He’s well trained.” I finally let her hand go so I can grab my bag from the back of the SUV, along with Bear’s bed.
“You don’t have to go to the hotel and get your stuff.” I’m not sure if she’s asking or if it’s dawning on her that I am prepared to stay here already.
“Open the door, babe.” I nod to the door that goes to her coffee shop. Well, Millie’s shop but it’s where she lives for now. She stands from where she is still giving Bear too much attention.
“I’m not your babe,” she tells me but she does as I ask.
“We’re dating. I get to call you babe.” It sounds good saying it. I’m not sure which I like more, calling her my little protestor or babe. It doesn’t matter. I can do both. One day I’ll call her my everything. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
“We aren’t dating. This is blackmail.”
I shrug. “Call it whatever you want. You’re still mine.” I nod for her to go before me as I hold the door open with my foot for Bear and her. Her bottom lip puffs out when she huffs as she passes me. Bear is hot on her tail. He’s always getting as close to her as possible. I understand exactly how he feels. Her presence brightens a room and has you gravitating toward her.
My eyes flick to the kitchen, which is way too small. No wonder it takes her so long to make the amount of food she does. They run out every day. The place needs more space so they can have a bigger kitchen and staff. She could easily make four times the amount of treats if they had the space. Even though it’s a smaller town, there is a demand for Bailey’s treats. If there were more, I believe she would still sell out every day. If she doesn’t I will buy each and every last one of them for myself.
We go up the stairs. I can’t help but watch the sway of her ass as she goes. I’ve never thought I was an ass man. Hell, I don’t even know what I am into really, but with her it is everything. I will enjoy every inch of her. She opens the door to her place, stepping aside to let me in. She’s giving in to my demands way too easily. It gives me hope that a small part of her wants this. That she feels this attraction too. She’s only fighting it because of who I am. Sometimes in life your family name does things to catapult you professionally and personally. In the case of my little protestor, she’s not impressed with my family name. This is the first time I’ve ever experienced a negative reaction when it came to it. I need to do everything in my power to change her mind about not only me but my business practices.
My eyes take in her place. My sister would have a heart attack if she saw this. Clutter is everywhere. Clothes thrown all around. Her small kitchen area must be headquarters for her protest campaign. I can see remnants of glitter here and there.
“Welcome.” She spreads her arms out wide. “Sure you don’t want to go back to your hotel?” She thinks she’s won. I already saw the sofa. It isn’t a sofa but a love seat. Bear is barely going to fit on it. As if reading my mind, Bear goes over and jumps up on it, taking up the whole thing.
“Guess you get the floor.” She lets the door fall closed. I clear the space I’ve made between us when I assessed her home. I make a note to start looking for a new place. She takes a step back, running into the closed door. I brace one hand over her head, caging her in. The other I use to flick the lock. She locked the one downstairs but you can never be too careful. When you have something as priceless as her there are never enough locks in place to protect it.
“We know where I’m sleeping.” Her head drops back to rest on the door. Her cheeks are flushed. She really is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. “Don’t fight it. Sleep is what we’ll be doing.” I lean down. All I want is a small taste of her. Enough to get me through the night. But when I brush my mouth against hers she’s all over me. She pushes into me, taking me by surprise for a moment.
I lift her into my arms, pulling her close to me. She wraps her lush body around mine. I move us as I slip my tongue into her mouth. She opens so easily for me. The sweetest little whimper comes from her as I bring her down onto her bed. It’s small but it will work.
I pull back from her. Her breathing is heavy. I gaze down at her blond hair. The loose knot she always keeps it in is nonexistent. Her hair spills all over her bed, surrounding her and making her look like a goddess. She brings her hand up to touch her now swollen lips. She opens her mouth to say something. From the look in her eyes I think she is as surprised as I am at how she kissed me back. There is no mistaking our sexual attraction to one another but this isn’t about that for me. I want everything with her.
“Don’t overthink it.” I pull back from her, making her legs that she still has wrapped around me fall away. It hurts to do it but I have to. She needs sleep and I’m going to make sure she gets it. I don’t care if I have to tie her to the bed to make it happen. I pull off my shirt and go for my belt next. She sits up on her elbows.
“None of that,” I tell her as her eyes trace my body. For the first time I wonder if someone likes what they see. I work out. It helps me burn off energy. She fights a smirk as she drops back down onto the bed. “Sleep,” I tell her, reaching for her feet. I pull off her shoes, tossing them to the floor. I crawl in next to her, pulling her into my arms. I can’t hide my cock as it presses into her. She wiggles against me but her eyes fall closed.
“Why are you doing this?” she asks with a long yawn.
“Someone should take care of you.” Her body tenses for a moment. I already know what she’s going to say. I beat her to it. “Everyone needs someone to take care of them sometimes.” Her body relaxes in my hold again. Sleep takes her moments later. I roll us, putting her partly on top of me, enjoying the feel of her pressed into me. I plan on getting the best worst night of sleep I’ve ever had.
9
Bailey
I wake tangled with him. Both of us are clinging to each other. I lie still for a moment to get my thoughts together. I kissed him with everything I had in me. The small brush of his mouth to mine sent my whole body into overdrive. The need to be close has me clinging to him.
I soak up the feel of having someone holding me. I’ve never experienced this with a man before. The feeling of being protected and cared for is one that I could definitely get used to. I can feel something inside me I haven’t felt in a long time relax. I swear even just breathing comes a little bit easier.
I didn’t have a terrible childhood, but I am an only child. My parents were more concerned with themselves than they ever were with a nuisance of a child. I wasn’t mistreated in a physical sense but emotionally their detachment took its toll on me in my early years. My Grandma Helen was the one that raised me for the most part. I learned all of my baking from her and my life skills, for that matter. She was my everything. I always loved when I’d get to stay with her.
When I was thirteen my entire life was uprooted when Grandma Helen came to pick me up from middle school. I could tell she had been crying. I dropped my book bag and ran to give her comfort, knowing something was wrong. She wiped the tears from her eyes and told me that my parents had died in a car wreck. She wrapped me in her arms and comforted me like only she could. She reassured me that everything would be okay and that she would always take care of me. She kept her promise for as long as she could. When I was eighteen she fell ill and when I was twenty she passed.
Those were some of the loneliest days of my life once she was gone. They were also the scariest because I no longer had someone who I knew would always be there for me. I was alone in a world that I didn’t know much about. I’d been so engrossed in spending every moment with my grandma, I’d lost contact with any friends I’d had before.
Instead of dwelling in my sorrow, I packed up the little I had and moved. I needed a fresh start even though my life skills were limited. My determination, kindness and baking skills have gotten me to the point I am in my life. Grandma always told me if you want something you fight for it. Just like she did. They told her she’d have months but she fought for years so we could have more time together.
I feel his fingers start to stroke my back. His soft touch snaps me back to reality. I’m reminded that I’m sleeping with the enemy. Everything that I’ve worked so hard for is going to disappear due to this man and his business.
Those thoughts have me pushing away from him in an instant. I will hold up my end of the bargain but I won’t let myself fall for him. I need to keep up some sort of wall between us. I reach for the nearest pillow and put it between us, needing a physical barrier from him. It’s only a pillow but it’s something.
I try and get the pillow snug between us. I almost fall off the bed in the process. Jax’s arm catches me before I can faceplant on the floor. The pillow I was trying to wedge between us goes flying across the room as he pulls me back to him. So much for that.
“Back to sleep.” His voice is low and filled with sleep. “Baby. Go back to sleep.” He pulls me on top of him, my legs slipping between his. I breathe against his neck, debating what I should do. He smells so good. I can enjoy this for a moment.
I must doze off at some point. I wake up with a jerk. My eyes dart around as I scramble out of bed. I can still smell him. It couldn’t have been a dream. Disappointment fills me when I see my place is empty. Before I can wrap my head around why I’m really upset about this my door opens and Bear comes running in. I smile when he jumps up, knocking me over. I laugh as he licks my face.
“Bear!” Jax barks at the dog.
“It’s fine,” I tell him. My place is really too small for a dog as big as Bear but now I want one. I’m in love with the dog. He follows me around everywhere. It’s how I know Jax is always near. Sometimes Jax will disappear out of sight but Bear always remains at my side.
“It’s not.” Bear does as he’s told. I can tell when Jax’s voice changes with him. It goes from his normal laid-back one to a stern, almost dad-like one. That really should not be making my nipples harden but it does.
Bear comes to sit down beside Jax at attention. “What if you had something in your hands or we were pregnant?”
“Pregnant?” I whisper to myself. What the hell? I’ve never in my life thought of myself as one day being pregnant. Probably cause I’ve never had sex so it wasn’t even in my frame of mind. I don’t know much but I learned a thing or two in health class. Getting pregnant by sitting on a toilet seat is not a reality. So there is no way I’m pregnant. Just to clear that up.
Jax walks over to my small kitchen and drops a bag down as he starts to pull things out. Bear walks over to where there is a bowl of food and water. He gets a drink before going over to my sofa and jumping back up on it.
“Come eat.” Jax points to my chair while he sets down a plate of food. It’s then I realize my kitchen has been cleaned to make room. He’s clearly been up and around as I slept through it all.
“What time is it?” I ask. I should protest this all but the food smells too good. I walk over, dropping down into the chair. For the first time in a long time I don’t feel tired.
“It's time to relax.” I take a bite of the burger, wondering where he got it. I don’t need to relax. I already slept too much.
“I have to protest,” I remind him with a mouth full of food.
“Your signs are out front with your flyers.” He pulls out the other chair, sitting down with me. “I’m who you’re protesting. You have all my attention.” He leans back in his chair, looking so relaxed. God, why does he have to be handsome? I want to smile at him. So that I don’t, I take another giant bite of my burger to hide it. He doesn’t hide his though.
Come to think of it, he’s a thousand percent correct. He is the one I’m protesting. Could I talk him out of putting in his coffee shop? I don’t know why I haven’t thought of that until now. Then I remember he’s blackmailing me. Still, I have to try.
“Don’t open your coffee shop here,” I say. That smile of his grows bigger. “Please,” I add in for good measure.
“Okay.”
10
Jax
“Okay?” She parrots my response. Then she rolls her eyes, not believing me. “I’m serious.” She pushes the plate I’ve put in front of her away, folding her arms over her chest. I push it back. The need to take care of her rides me hard. I want to pluck her from her chair and put her in my lap. I’d feed her from my hand to make sure she ate enough.
“I am too.” I could give two shits about the coffee shop. I have thousands of them. “You know, if we get married all my shops could be half yours.” I wink at her. Her eyes widen for a moment. The same way they did when I flippantly mentioned her being pregnant. It was what had popped into my head when Bear jumped up on her. He was excited to see her after I had to drag him from here for his walk. He’s never done that before and I wanted him to not do it ever again. I like how much he seems to love her but he has to be careful. She’s so small and he has to be mindful of that. I do too.
“See, you’re not being serious.” Still, she picks up her burger and takes another bite.
“You want to go to the courthouse now?” I bait her. The burger pauses at her mouth as if she might be debating it. I have to stop myself from reaching down and adjusting my cock, which has been hard since I came up her stairs and could smell her. Now with talk of pregnancy and marriage I’m harder than ever. Isn’t that supposed to send me running?
“Like you wouldn’t have a prenup.” That isn’t a no. She’s playing with the idea in her mind. She might not be taking it seriously or think that I am, but the seed has been planted. Now I just have to let it grow.
“Never thought about one before.” That is the truth. I never thought about marriage before either. Now I am and I sure as fuck don’t need a prenup. I will pretty much give her anything she asks for. The only thing I won’t do is give her up before she’s given us a chance. That’s where I’ll draw the line. Everything else is fair game. What would be the point of a prenup anyway? There is nothing I won’t let her have. Her happiness is now the most important thing to me.
Even if I have to walk away from her I’ll make sure she’s always taken care of. Something as sweet as her should be cared for. She’s already gone through too much. How it hasn’t soured her I don’t know but I am going to make it my life’s purpose to make sure nothing can.
“No string of ex-wives?” she asks with her mouth full of food. How that’s adorable too I don’t know. Somehow she manages to make everything she does fucking cute.
“Google didn’t tell you?” I steal a fry from off her plate. She gives me a glare, her eyes following it. “I’ve got more,” I reassure her.
