Spike (Spark Series #2)

by Ryder, Jennifer

  “Be good to the women of … wherever you’re going,” I say.

  He winks cheekily. “I’ll try.”

  ****

  * AIDAN *

  When the song finishes, Ryan comes over with a wide smile on his face. He pulls me aside.

  “Hey, Aidan. I’m really happy for you, man. Congratulations.” He shakes my hand firmly.

  “Thanks, Ryan. Appreciate you coming. We might not have got here if it wasn’t for you.”

  “You two would have got here, come hell or high water. Without a doubt, you guys are the most determined people I’ve ever met. Hey, I wanted to give you something.” He pulls an envelope from his pocket, and hands it to me. The smile on his face is so wide it almost splits his face in two.

  “We said no gifts, mate. We’re just glad everyone could come at short notice.”

  “Just open it.”

  I pull it open and slide out a folded piece of paper. It looks like a tax invoice. It says something about payment approved… Accounts Department to make a cheque payable to Aidan and Eevie Stone.

  Oh my fucking God.

  For fifty grand.

  “W … what the?” I barely spit out.

  He leans in close. “It’s the reward for leading to the capture of a wanted fugitive,” he says, cool as a fucking cucumber.

  “Fuck. You’re shittin’ me?”

  His hand grips my shoulder, and he looks me right in the eye. “No. I’m not.”

  I pull him into a hug, and squeeze the fucker tight. This could not come at a better time.

  “You deserve it, man. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta get goin’.” Hands in his pockets, he rocks back on his heels, and juts his chin towards the wall near the exit. “There’s another little party I’m movin’ on to.”

  I swing my head in that direction, and I’m not surprised at what’s playing out before me. Eevie’s friend who I only met today, Brittany or something, is leaning up against the wall. Her head swoons as Jones whispers something in her ear and she lets out a high-pitch cackle as she strokes her hand down his arm.

  Sweet mother-of-fuck.

  “Party for three?” I ask, knowing full well I’m right. This bird won’t be walking straight tomorrow. Fact.

  “Yeah, man. Party for three.” He slaps me on the back and walks off before I get the chance to say anything else. I clear my throat and loosen my tie.

  Damn.

  I think it’s time Eevie and I were going, too.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  * EEVIE *

  “Can I take it off yet?” I ask, frustrated as I stumble in the dark, guided only by the strong grip of his hand in mine.

  “Almost there, babe.” We take a few more steps on soft ground, and I hear a loud creaking noise. Was that a door?

  “Now stand still,” he orders, holding me firmly on my shoulders. “Don’t even think about peeking.”

  I huff, more from exhaustion than frustration. “Okay! No peeking. Just hurry up.”

  There’s a shuffling ahead in the distance and I breathe in deeply, my head falling back as I yawn. I take in another breath, this time slowly through my nose to ward off the giddiness. The strong earthy scent, a combination of damp grass and dirt, fills my lungs.

  It smells like home, out on our plot, where our house in underway. God knows we’ve been spending plenty of time out here.

  The cool night breeze whips the hair around my face, icy goosebumps taking over my skin. I just know it. We’re home. My heart swells almost painfully, and my chin starts to quiver.

  From behind, strong hands weave around my waist, causing me to jump. Aidan’s pulled a sexy ninja on me. His rough hands catch slightly on the fabric as he swirls them over my stomach possessively.

  His stubble, which I demanded he keep for the day, grazes my ear before he bites hard on the lobe. “Mrs Stone, it’s about time we had a roll around in the hay.”

  What the?

  He unties the blindfold, and I almost fall to my knees as the display of love in front of me hits me right in the heart. I step further inside, the hinges of the door screaming louder this time as Aidan closes it.

  He’s lit God knows how many candles, which flicker as the breeze creeps through the gaps in the old timber walls of the barn. A checked red and blue picnic rug takes pride of place amongst the hay. I can’t believe it. We are literally going to roll around in the hay. On our wedding night.

  And it couldn’t be more perfect.

  I lift the sides of my wedding dress off the dirt floor, and turn to face my husband.

  My darling husband.

  And he’s already half-naked, the candlelight caressing his skin. I laugh and cover my mouth. Why am I surprised at this? His suit jacket, shirt and tie are piled in a heap over a wooden bench beside him, and his charcoal suit pants are doing a very bad job at containing his hard-on. My eyes scan upwards of his belt, over those perfect lines of his hips and a well-defined six-pack my tongue needs to taste.

  By the time his long strides stop inches in front of me, I’ve ogled the rest of his torso, but it’s his lust-filled, panty-dropping smile, and the unconditional love in his eyes that causes my core to clench. Dampness trickles between my legs, and not wearing any underwear isn’t helping. It wasn’t an option in this dress.

  “I’ve been hard all day, Eevie. All day,” he growls as he hooks one arm behind my knees, the other to my back, and I squeal with joy as he lifts me, and carries me bridal-style towards the rug.

  I dot kisses over his jaw, and to the corner of his mouth. “Does anyone know we’re here?” I ask as we get closer to the rug. The barn is on the far hill of his grandparents’ property, so there’s no reason we’d be interrupted.

  “Not a soul,” he whispers.

  “Then get me outta this dress, Mr Stone.”

  Helping me stand at the blanket edge from behind me, Aidan’s warm fingers tease my sensitive skin as he slowly lowers the zip. My mind floods with the memory of the first night he’d slept in my bed when he helped me undress. Way back then, the electricity was crackling between us, and we hadn’t even fooled around yet.

  The zip goes no lower than between my shoulder blades, Aidan taking more time than he should to undress me.

  “Hurry,” I say, bossy as ever, reaching my hands behind me to cup his hardened cock. I just want to be naked already. Sex has been on my brain lately, more than I care for it to be. And it’s so distracting when I’ve had all the wedding stuff to organise.

  “Fuck,” he gasps, pushing his length against my hand. “The fuckin’ zip is stuck.”

  I close my eyes as he grunts while tugging at the dress. I should care about what I say next, but I don’t.

  “Just rip it,” I snap.

  “But, baby—”

  “I’ll never wear this dress again. Rip. It.” It’s the most beautiful dress I’ve ever had the pleasure of wearing, and it’s only going to sit in a box in my closet.

  With both hands, he grips either side of the zipper and tugs hard. When I hear the fabric rip and the dress loosens on my hips, I can’t help but feel a little bit sad. It’s just a dress. He unclips my strapless bra, the relief instant as he tosses it on the rug. I wiggle the dress down, letting it fall in a heap at my feet.

  Aidan takes my left hand, and gallantly helps me step out in my silver, strappy heels.

  “Fuck, now this is what I’m talkin’ about. You gotta leave those sexy heels on, babe.”

  I lay back on the rug, sighing with the relief of finally being off my feet. I pull my feet closer to my body, parting my knees and digging my heels into the fabric.

  Aidan’s jaw goes slack when his eyes rest between my legs. Yeah. He likes what he sees. Now, I know it was worth the pain.

  Aidan fumbles madly with his belt, as he slips out of a shoe with the aid of his other foot. Pants wrapped around his ankles, he trips and falls beside me, and I scream with laughter.

  He chuckles huskily as he rids himself of his pants, ru
nning his long fingers over my rounded stomach, and then down between my wet folds. “Fuck, you waxed it all. I’m gonna come like a first-timer.”

  “I told you you’d like your wedding present,” I gloat. I lean on my side, and revel in the smooth heat of his cock filling my hand.

  “I don’t like it; I fuckin’ love it.” He drives a finger inside of me, and I moan loudly as he all but attacks me with his mouth on my neck. He sucks and bites, and I’m about to lose it.

  I grab his shoulders, and pull him on top of me. He settles between my legs and before I know it, my legs are hoisted in the air, the heels of my shoes resting against his shoulders. He kisses each of my ankles, and runs his hands down to my hips, positioning himself at my entrance.

  “Please,” I beg. I’m on fire with need. I’ve never needed to feel him so bad.

  Aidan drives into me, deep, causing me to arch my back with the sheer pleasure that shoots through me. He feels amazing. Hot and hard and … oh my God. Just divine.

  “Like I said, this’ll be fast,” he says, pulling out to the tip and slowly filling me again. He’s going to torture me on our wedding night. I won’t have it.

  “I’ll take fast … Anything. Just don’t stop,” I whisper, pushing my hips up to meet his next thrust.

  A sexy grunt rumbles up his throat. There’s nothing sexier than that. Hearing a man as his desire comes alive, feeling his hands grip my hips tight. I watch the large muscles in his arms flex as the movement of his hips gather pace, his thighs slamming against my arse cheeks.

  I straighten my legs against his chest, squeezing my thighs together. My inner muscles clench around him. His fingers grip hard into my hips, enough to bruise, but I love it when he takes me like this. Like he can’t get deep enough. Aidan growls something as he reaches his thumb around to my swollen clit, circling it with a firm pressure that might just send me mad.

  The heady cocktail of the earthy scent of our surroundings, his aftershave, and the smell of sex in the air has me suddenly light-headed. I close my eyes, mewling as I savour every single touch, every single second of making love to my husband.

  “Open your eyes, baby. Today, of all days, I wanna see you come.” His voice is husky now. God, I love that sound.

  I open my eyes, and his entire glorious body is rigid, but he’s stilled his hips to a slow, rolling motion. He strokes my clit until I’m that close to coming. My legs shake uncontrollably with need.

  “Oh God,” I moan. “I … oh, Aidan!” I scream as my body explodes with fiery jolts of pleasure, reaching out to every part of me. I struggle to keep my eyes on his as he drives in deep. He grits his teeth together, his dark gaze fixed on me as I feel him come hard, filling me deep inside. My word, does he look good when he comes.

  He slows his hips again as my inner walls hold him tight. We both smile like loons, and Aidan forces out a sigh as he collapses on top of me, holding some of his weight on his forearms. A sheen of sweat covers our skin, and our chests glide together. Not wanting him to withdraw yet, I wrap my legs around him, being careful to not do any damage to him with my heels. I take Aidan’s face in my hands, and softly kiss his lips.

  “One helluva way to start a honeymoon, huh?” he says, lifting his scarred brow.

  I kiss him again, feeling the twitch of a smirk against my mouth.

  “Yeah, I’d say our marriage is well and truly consummated.”

  We hold each other until our breathing calms down, as well as our crazy beating hearts. Aidan rolls off me and, after slipping my heels off, he pulls a blanket out of a bag beside us. He wraps me in his arms and kisses my forehead.

  “Whaddya say we lay here a while, then head back to the hotel? Our flight isn’t until after lunch, so we can sleep in. Take our time.”

  I sigh. “Yeah, sounds like a plan.” I look up into his eyes, and brush the wild hair off his forehead. Ha. I must have messed it up at some stage. “I can’t wait for this honeymoon. Just to walk around naked, and shag whenever we please …”

  Aidan chuckles, low and sexy. “And that’s different to normal how?” he asks, tickling me in the ribs.

  “You know what I mean.” I narrow my eyes. “No distractions. No phone calls. Just … us.”

  “Yeah, Whitsundays, here we come, baby. Think you’ll be okay on the chopper over to the island?”

  “I’ll be fine. I’m not feeling as queasy in the mornings now.”

  “At least this time I’ll be conscious,” Aidan jokes.

  I punch him in the arm. Whoops! My engagement ring probably bit into him. “Hey! Watch it with the rock,” he says through a chuckle.

  I hate it when he jokes about the accident. It won’t be long before he gets back into riding, but the danger he puts himself in every time he rides is on my mind more and more, particularly now that I’m an emotional minefield. It hurts my heart hearing him joke about something so serious.

  I shake my head, and close my eyes, tears spilling down my face.

  “Hey,” he says softer now. I open my eyes, and he swipes the tears away.

  I drown myself for a moment in his crystal-blue eyes. This is who he is: my soulmate. Mr Happy-Go-Lucky. Mr Cool. But it reminds me that he can hurt himself again, and next time might be worse. But I know motocross is in his blood. It’s his passion, and he’s so goddamn talented at it. I would never do anything to keep that from him. It’d be like starving him of air.

  “Don’t joke about it,” I choke out.

  “Aw, I’ve told you, baby. I’ll be careful. I’ll train harder and ride smarter. I’m superman, you know, but I’ve got something else to focus on before I’m back in the game.”

  “And what’s that?” I sniff back my runny nose, and take in a shuddery breath.

  Aidan moves the blanket down, exposing the top half of my body to the cool, night air. His warm hand glides down to my stomach, and he makes little circles around my belly button.

  “I’m gettin’ ready to be the coolest dad in town.”

  My belly jerks with laughter, and I place my hand over his to steady it.

  “I have no doubt you will be.”

  EPILOGUE

  * AIDAN *

  I scramble for the phone in my pocket, trying not to fall off the ladder.

  “Aidan Stone,” I bark into the phone, putting down my tools and gripping the guttering.

  “It’s Ryan, man.”

  “Hey, what’s up? I’m just finishin’ some stuff ‘round the house. Thank fuck it’s nearly done.”

  “That’s awesome. I know you’ve been working your arse off. Just thought I’d give you a buzz and let you know the trial’s over. We have a verdict.”

  Just the mention of the word “trial” has the image of Eevie in the witness box, emotional and heavily pregnant, shooting straight to the forefront of my mind. My strong, beautiful girl took their barrage of questions on the chin, because she wanted to finish this. To make sure he couldn’t hurt anyone ever again. So he could receive punishment.

  No matter what the outcome, I’m a proud man. My wife, my love, is a warrior. A heart of gold and a will of steel, I don’t think there’s anything she couldn’t do. Nope. Not a single thing. We only attended court for Eevie’s statement. Being in the same room as him had my knuckles in a constant shade of white. The fucker’s lucky I didn’t take another shot at him. I didn’t even look his way. My undivided attention was on Eevie.

  “And?”

  “Guilty.”

  “Thank Christ!” I blurt out, pushing the air from my lungs. I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. He’s locked up. And it’d better be for good.

  “I couldn’t mention it during the trial, but we found enough evidence to question other suspects we believed were involved in the disappearance of our informant. One of them turned on Mitchell like a rabid dog. Led us to a body buried in a national park. DNA evidence was conclusive. Mitchell’s gone down for first-degree murder, amongst the other charges. It’s all over, man. He’s goin’ away for a very
long time.”

  “You’re a fuckin’ champion, Ryan. Thanks for keeping this as stress-free as possible. It means a lot.”

  “No worries; just glad it worked out. So, how’s the mother-to-be?”

  “Ha. She’s waddlin’ around, unable to sit the fuck still. The twins aren’t due for another few weeks, and even though I keep tellin’ her she needs to take it easy, she continues to tell me she’s pregnant, and not an invalid.”

  When we went for the first scan, we didn’t know what to look for. But clear as day, there were two individual sacs, with our future neatly huddled inside them. Of course, twins were a surprise. Understatement.

  “Well, you’re about to have your hands full.”

  “Yeah, don’t I know it.” I smile like a loon. I know it won’t be easy but never having had a sibling, my heart swells just knowing our kids will have each other straight from the get go. They’ll have that bond I never had, and even more so because they’re twins.

  “You reckon you’re ready for it?”

  “Yeah. Eevie’s a bit more relaxed now the nursery’s done. Got the cots sorted, and I made some matching drawers and shit. I just have to convince my wife to stop buying books and stuff.” Eevie comes home every other day with armfuls of childrens’ books. These kids are gonna be well read. They’ll be smart little cookies, just like their mumma. “I probably shouldn’t give her too hard a time, though, because between you and me, I’ve sorted a deal through my sponsors for two Yamaha P50s. I just have to talk Eevie ‘round, because she’s already doin’ the whole protective-mother thing.” I can’t say it’s not cute as hell, because she always had that motherly instinct.

  “Ha. You might have a fight on your hands there. So, did ya find out the sex of the kids?”

  “Nope. Total surprise, mate, but mark my words, whatever the sex they’ll be tearing around the farm on a bike.”

  Ryan chuckles. “I have no doubt, man. Righto, I’ll let you go; just thought I’d pass on the news.”

  “Cheers, mate. Come ‘round for a beer next time you’re in town.”