When Sparks Fly (Netherworld Series Book 3)

by Olivia Hutchinson

  “Is he here?”

  He nodded. “We live in the apartment upstairs. I bet I can convince him to close up while I take you home.”

  Beth was surprised she hadn’t realized that before now, considering how often she and her friends came by. She followed him into the back. The narrow hall was dimly lit, casting strange shadows.

  The first door they passed stood open, revealing a small office. The light emanating from the laptop showed a desk littered with papers. Considering Kaleb was physically in the bar most days she came in, she assumed Gabriel did most of their bookkeeping. The metal cooler door was after the office. Kaleb turned at the back door and went up a narrow set of steps Beth hadn’t seen until then.

  “How old is this building?” she asked him, curious. It certainly wasn’t new and based on the creeks, it had to be up there in age. Most of the town was at least a hundred years old.

  “Built in 1841,” he said as he ascended the stairs.

  A door was at the top of the steps. Kaleb rapped his knuckles on the door once before cracking it open.

  “Hey,” he said, pushing the door open the rest of the way and stepping into the apartment.

  “What’s going on?” she heard Gabriel ask him as she followed Kaleb inside.

  Gabriel was lounging on the couch, hitting buttons on the remote control. When he saw her, he rose to his feet. His broad chest was bare, and he wore a pair of basketball shorts low on his hips.

  The Azarov boys were a good-looking pair, she admitted to herself. Both had the same dark brown hair, olive skin, and were built like they belonged on the cover of Men’s Health. Gabriel was only slightly larger than his brother, but if she had to choose between them it would be Kaleb. He always seemed like less of a stick in the mud.

  Gabriel looked to Kaleb for an explanation.

  “Pete slashed her tires,” Kaleb supplied.

  Gabriel rolled his eyes before addressing her. “It’s Beth, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Pete’s a jackass.”

  “I noticed.”

  “I’m going to give her a ride home,” Kaleb interjected. “Would you finish closing up for me?”

  “Sure.”

  Beth moved out of Gabriel’s way as he brushed past her to go downstairs. Kaleb disappeared into one of the rooms in the small apartment. She stood there awkwardly inside their door, looking around while she waited for him.

  The living room wasn’t big, but it held a large screen television, a couch, and a recliner. The coffee table was old and stained, but still in relatively good condition from what she could tell. The kitchen didn’t look much different. The cabinets were white and had most likely been painted about a decade earlier. Every piece of furniture they had was mismatched, but it all appeared to be in decent condition.

  From what she could see there were two bedrooms, one of which Kaleb had disappeared into, and a bathroom. The light was off in the room so she couldn’t see inside, but she assumed based on the number of doors.

  “Ready?” he asked her, emerging from his room.

  “Yes.”

  He swung his keys in his hand and walked past her, out the door. She followed behind him, pulling the door closed as she went.

  “You have a nice little place,” she said.

  “Thanks. We work hard to keep it.”

  “I know. You’re always working.”

  He unlocked the back door once they reached the bottom of the stairs. Pushing the door open, he held it for her as she stepped through. There was a dumpster just outside and a few vehicles parked in the alley. Kaleb let the door close behind them and headed toward a green pickup.

  “You say that as if you know my pain. Do you work a lot?” he asked her, unlocking the passenger side with his key and opening the door for her before going around to the driver side.

  “Yes.” She climbed inside and buckled up. After waiting for him to start the truck, she said, “There are always bills to pay. I’m sure I’ll be working more overtime now just to pay for new tires.”

  “I’m sure. So where am I going?”

  “Kensington Apartments.”

  He nodded and pulled out of the alley and onto the main road.

  She was hyper-aware of everything he did. His forearm flexed when he shifted gears, and he leaned back in his seat, his left hand gripping the steering wheel. He had such large hands, she noticed. Powerful. The quiet in the truck started to bother her as he drove.

  “Are you seeing anyone?” she asked before mentally kicking herself. It was no business of hers, but that didn’t stop her from putting her foot in her mouth.

  He glanced at her, quiet for a moment as if debating how to answer. Or wondering why she was asking. “No, I’m not.”

  She nodded and looked out the window to avoid eye contact. “You’re a good-looking man, Kaleb. I’m surprised someone hasn’t wrangled you in.”

  He chuckled. “Thanks. Same for you.”

  “Really?” she asked, turning slightly in her seat. “You watched one man stand me up tonight, and another called me a cunt before slashing my tires.”

  The truck came to a stop, and she realized they were in front of her complex. He pulled the emergency brake and put the truck in neutral before unbuckling and turning in his seat.

  “Pete and Chester are stupid. They don’t know what they’re missing out on, but they don’t deserve you.”

  She smiled, warmth flooding her belly. Leave it to the bartender to make her feel good about herself. She unbuckled her seat belt and turned, ready to tell him goodnight and thank him again, but the look on his face stopped her dead. The lights from the dash cast shadows on his face. He was focused on her – those piercing eyes almost feasting upon her and causing her heartbeat to quicken once again. Her stomach clenched, and she froze. It was like being spotted by an animal.

  “Beth,” he said, his voice low and smooth. “You deserve a man who will show up early to wait for you because he’s hoping to gain even a few extra seconds with you. Someone who wants to take care of you, not because you can’t take care of yourself, but because he enjoys seeing you worry-free. Someone who dreams of your lips, your touch, your taste—”

  Kaleb might have been about to recite poetry, but she didn’t give him the chance to finish. She launched herself across the bench seat of the truck, arms wrapping around his neck as her mouth found his.

  He met her halfway, his own arms wrapping around her middle and pulling her upper body against his hard chest in a vice-like grip. His lips were warm but firm as he assaulted her mouth. She let him, opening herself to him and his probing tongue.

  It was like electricity. Beth had heard that analogy before and had laughed at it, but now she could think of no other way to describe it. Jolts went straight from her mouth to her groin. The warmth of his chest seeped into her, turning her to jelly.

  When he broke away from her mouth, she moaned, her head falling back. Hot kisses traced her jawline, her neck and down to her shoulder. Whiskers scraped her skin, and she clung to him. The thin shirt she wore was pulled to the side, and she felt him on her shoulder, teeth nipping at the skin. She shuddered with want.

  He growled – growled? – before his mouth crushed hers. She sucked his bottom lip, moaning into his mouth. Whatever he wanted, he could’ve taken it right there in his truck. She would give it to him happily. She wanted more of him, his mouth wasn’t enough. She reached between their bodies, fingers trailing over the grooves of his shirt-covered abdomen. Lower she went until her fingertips were toying with the waistband of his jeans.

  “Beth, stop,” he said into her mouth before releasing her and pulling back. “We have to stop.”

  “What?” she asked, wishing she hadn’t heard him correctly. She was breathless. “Why?” She sat back and touched her kiss-swollen lips, still feeling him there.

  “I can’t. We can’t.” Kaleb closed his eyes and took a deep breath in through his mouth.

  They’d gone at it like randy
teenagers in his truck, and now he was telling her no? She couldn’t figure out what had changed in the past minute and a half, but his rejection stung.

  “But…,” she stammered, trying to find her voice, “but you told me you were single.”

  “I am. Beth, it’s more complicated than that.” He gripped the steering wheel, his fingers white. “I’m sorry.”

  There was nothing else for her to say, so she didn’t say anything. Instead, she grabbed her bag, got out of the truck and slammed the door before taking off toward her apartment. She took the steps two at a time and jammed the key into the lock. Beth didn’t glance back but knew he waited until she was inside to leave. She heard the truck pull away just as she closed and locked the door.

  She sunk against the door and slid to the floor. Her mouth was still swollen, her body uncomfortable with need. Her mind raced, thoughts about everything that had transpired that night filled her mind until tears slid down her face.

  Jerk.

  But Kaleb wasn’t a jerk. He’d been kind to her, had driven her home even. He’d totally rocked her world and gave her just a taste of something she hadn’t even known she’d wanted just a few hours before.

  Then immediately dropped her on her ass.

  She hated people.

  She hated Kaleb.

  She hated him even more the next morning when Natalie took her to her car, only to find that her vehicle had four brand new tires on it.