Spark: Book 1 (The Heat Series)

by MJ Masucci

  He took it from her hand and started towards his bedroom where he hung it in his closet.

  “Do you want to join me in the shower?”

  Ava looked down and started to blush. Xander had never seen her fully naked. She wanted to but started to have a queasy feeling.

  “Ava, I’m not going to bite, and it's okay to say no. I understand if you want to shower by yourself.”

  She kicked at an imaginary something on the floor. “I just don’t feel comfortable yet.”

  Xander went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She heard the tap of the glass doors closing as he entered. She made a snap decision. She was going to do it. She padded into the bathroom naked, her discarded clothes in a heap on his chaise. His back was to her, and he was soaping himself under the spray. She reached out a hand and touched his back. He jumped and wheeled around so quickly that he bumped her. She could feel his limp cock rub against her stomach as he did.

  “So you changed your mind?” Ava could only nod.

  Xander switched positions and pushed her under the hot spray. She had her eyes closed, and he took the opportunity to take in her body. Her breasts were so perfect, and he wanted to take her rosebud-colored nipple in his mouth as before. When her hair was wet, he poured a dollop of shampoo on his hand from the dispenser on the wall. He massaged it into her hair working it from root to tip. She closed her eyes as he did. When he was done, he let the water rinse her hair, watching soapy rivulets slide down her curves. He wasn’t sure he could control himself. He was so aroused by her and what he was doing before she arrived that he should have been taking a cold shower.

  She pressed the button on the dispenser and squirted some soap on to the washcloth he had been using. Instead of soaping herself, she began soaping his chest, arms, stomach. Working her way down until she got to his genitals. His cock had already started to become semi-erect with the soaping of his body. She lifted it in her hands and began to stroke it feeling its heavy weight. He murmured her name as she ran her soapy fingers back and forth over it. When she would get to the head, she would swirl her hand around. Xander moaned his pleasure.

  “I’m close. I’m going to come soon.”

  She moved to the side of him but continued to stroke, one, two, three, four more strokes. Ava watched as each creamy spurt from his orgasm hit the tub floor, intermingled with the water and disappeared down the drain. His legs felt weak, and he backed away from her until he felt the built in shower seat against his legs. He sat catching his breath. Ava stood over him and ran her hands through his wet hair. She noticed a deeply faded outline on his right outer thigh. You could barely make out the shape; it looked like a crest. I wonder what that was? Could it have been a tattoo that he had removed? When he was sure he could stand without falling, he took her in his arms and kissed her.

  “Sweetheart, that was so good” Ava blushed.

  He helped her finish washing with the idea that he would return the favor once they got into bed. Xander was not a selfish lover, and his partners were well satisfied. They dried each other, and she blew dry her hair so she wouldn’t wet the pillows. While he watched her, all he could think about, was having her soft body next to him. He wanted to make her come. Ava wasn’t sure what to wear to bed. She fished out a camisole and sexy panties from his dresser that she had left before.

  “You might want to forget the panties.” Ava shivered. She hoped he planned to use his tongue on her again. Xander slipped into bed in just a pair of boxer shorts, and he patted the spot next to him.

  “Come, join me. I want to make you feel good.” Her stomach knotted with anticipation. She lay down on her side facing him, her head on the pillow. He leaned over her and kissed her. She could feel the heat of his body against hers as his mouth moved over her lips. He was a great kisser, and she immediately started to feel warm. He was right. Wearing panties would have just hampered what he wanted to do to her. He ran his hand down her back to her buttocks. He cupped one cheek in his large hand and squeezed.

  “Ava, I love your ass. Watching you walk the halls in those tight skirts of yours make me tight in my pants.” She had no idea he watched her. Ava blushed and felt her body become intensely heated with each touch of his hand.

  “Can you do something for me?”

  She timidly asked. “What?”

  “I want to see you totally naked in my bed.”

  She shut her eyes tight. “Can you shut the light out?”

  “What would be the point of your being naked in bed? I want to see you.”

  She was reluctant, but she sat up and removed her camisole. He positioned her on her back and got up on his knees. Many dirty thoughts went through his mind about what he wanted to do to her. She was inexperienced, and he did not want her first time to be a bad one. He wanted to taste her, but he also wanted to feel her naked body against his. He noticed that she had that look of fear on her face. Idiot, you’re gaping at her like she is a piece of meat. Stop it.

  He moved to the side of her again and began a slow decent with his hand down her body. He touched her face, moved down to her beautiful ivory neck. He couldn’t resist, and he kissed it and gently sucked where her pulse was beating. Ava was beginning to move in anticipation. He crawled in between her legs and moved down her body with his mouth. He sucked on her nipples, nipping each one. Then he kissed down her taut stomach, swirling his tongue in her belly button. She reached down and gripped his hair in her hand. He dragged his tongue down her until he reached her hip bones. He kissed either side and planted kisses on her mound. She looked at him with heavy lidded eyes. He ran his index finger up and down her slit.

  “Ava, I love how wet you get.” How he longed to slide his cock in her but it had to be her decision. He sucked on the finger that had her juices; she was sweet, oh so sweet. He spread her folds and used just the tip of his tongue to taste her. Ava moaned and moved her hips. He continued to tease her with his tongue.

  “Please, Xander.”

  “Please what? I want to hear you say it,” he said seductively.

  “I, I want you to fuck me.” Those were words that Xander was not expecting to hear. They made his cock twitch and his balls ache. He was rock hard, and he wanted nothing more than to fuck her.

  “I want to so much but I want your first time to be special.” She leaned up on her elbows to look at him.

  “Anytime with you is special so why not now?”

  “Because if I made love to you tonight, we would not be going to work tomorrow. I want as much time with you as possible. Now hush and let me make you come.” Ava lay back down, and he started to work her clit with his tongue, savoring her sweetness. He slid his finger into her gently pumping it in and out. She was tight, very tight, and his cock twitched again when he thought about how it would feel when he was inside her.

  “Oh, oh, oh,” Ava moaned. And as she started to come she moaned his name loudly. He could feel her pulsing around his finger as she climaxed. When she finished, he removed his finger and lay next to her waiting for her to come down from her sexual high. He could smell her sweetness on his face and fingers. How have I ever lived without this woman? He gently stroked her hair, and she turned on her side to let him spoon her. Sleep came quickly to both of them.

  The next day at the office was one of worry for Ava. She knew that Xander was going to speak with Peter about his breakup with Abby. It was hard to concentrate on her work. To make matters worse, Samantha had texted her that Liam came back from London. Apparently, Siobhan was not so sure about rekindling their relationship, and he had left before transferring. Ava could handle the way he broke up with her when he was thousands of miles away, but she had mixed feelings about it when he was in the same city, especially since he was the best friend of her best friend’s boyfriend. Sam had told her that it was better he was here because it would make it easier for her to throw his balls in a blender. Ava knew that Sam meant it literally. She had already told her that if she caught him, he would regret what he had d
one to Ava. Ava had told Sam to let it go.

  Things were going well with Xander, and she hardly thought about Liam. It was true. During the past two weeks, she hadn’t thought about Liam at all; she had Xander, and she was happy with him. When Ava checked her phone, she noticed several texts from Xander. She had to put the phone on mute instead of vibrate. She didn’t bother to read the texts but instead rushed down to his office. The door was closed, and she lightly knocked as she opened the door. Xander was sitting on the couch going through some folders. He smiled at her.

  “So, how did it go?”

  “Close the door.” Ava turned to close the door just as Xander rose from the couch. By the time she turned around, he was next to her with his hand outstretched. She took it, and he led her to the couch without saying a word. He pulled her into his arms before they sat down burying his head in her neck.

  “Have I told you how much that perfume drives me crazy?”

  “Does that mean it went well?”

  He kissed her neck and pulled at the collar of her shirt exposing part of her shoulder. He bit down on the delicate flesh leaving his teeth imprints.

  “What has gotten into you?”

  Xander stopped what he was doing to look into her eyes. “Yes, it means it went well, and it also means I am now free of her. She is just a bad memory. My father said he never liked Abby. I want to take you away for a weekend upstate. We have a summer house in Lake George, and we can be together without the distractions of the city. Do you want to go?”

  Ava was excited at the prospect of spending a full weekend away with him. She wondered if that was where he would make love to her for the first time. Was that his plan?

  “I want to go, but I need to make arrangements for Riley. I could probably get Gage to do it. What date did you have in mind?”

  “What about Memorial Day weekend? Do you have anything planned yet?”

  “No, but I usually spend it with the family.” Xander’s face looked grim.

  “What?”

  “We have to tell the partners about our relationship, the sooner, the better. I saw Jacob in the hall, and we had a discussion. He feels very uncomfortable carrying the knowledge of our relationship without disclosing it. I don’t want to put him in that position any longer. I’m going to ask for a meeting with my father, your uncle and Brian.”

  Ava nodded, “We should go together.”

  “We are in this together, and we need to divulge this together.”

  Ava felt nauseous thinking about what might happen. She didn’t want to be away from Xander anymore than he did her. If they found out, they might tell her she needed to be moved to work for another attorney. Victoria Carter had recently joined the firm early, and she still needed an assistant. But if it meant that she could see Xander outside of the firm, then it was what she might have to do.

  “When are you going to ask for this meeting?”

  “I was going to do it tomorrow afternoon. All three partners are in the office.”

  Ava chewed on the inside of her cheek. “I can’t tomorrow afternoon. I have a doctor’s appointment.”

  Xander looked at her with alarm. “Why? Are you sick? What’s wrong?”

  “Calm down. It’s my annual Gynecology exam. It’s at 2:45, and I probably won’t be back in the office for the rest of the day. By the way, whose apartment are we sleeping at tonight? I thought maybe we should discuss this in advance, so we don’t have a repeat.” Xander thought about it for a minute. Remember compromises, compromises. Ava is not Abby, and you need to give in to what she wants, too.

  “We can sleep at your apartment the next couple of nights if that’s okay with you.” She hugged Xander but released him when they heard a knock at the door.

  “Come in.”

  Jacob stood at the door. “You can’t do this in here! You just can’t,” he hissed.

  “Take it easy; nothing is going on in here. Are we naked? No. We are going to talk to the partners this week. We don’t want you to be in an awkward position just because we are in love.”

  Jacob hung his head. “I’m sorry. I know you want to be together, but I have an obligation.”

  Ava went to Jacob and kissed his cheek. “We understand Jacob. We should never have asked you to keep this quiet. We won’t reveal to anyone that you knew.”

  Jacob breathed a sigh of relief turning to Xander, “My father wants to see you in his office. He said it was concerning the McDaniels case.”

  Ava turned to leave and swatted Jacob on his shoulder as she passed by.

  Later that evening, they were lying in her bed. Xander was on his side with his hand rubbing her stomach. She was playing with his hair, running her fingers through it. It was early, but they were both exhausted. Xander had spent the day pouring over the notes for the McDaniels. The judge was back on the bench, and final arguments had been rescheduled. Daniel wanted to make sure Xander had the case well in hand. Ava worked on research most of the day for several of his other cases.

  “I like when you do that. It’s very soothing.” She kept silent and continued to smooth his hair. She was worried about telling the partners about their relationship. She was so comfortable working for Xander after the past few weeks of turmoil both in her personal life and work. She didn’t want to be moved to another attorney. Her phone chirped, and she checked her email. She was shocked to see who it was from, Liam.

  Chapter 13

  The next day the office was busy. Several new attorneys had been hired, and the last of them were coming in today. There were movers bringing in furniture to the empty offices on all three floors. The firm had a heavy caseload, and they had a need for extra staff. A memo was sent out the previous week to let everyone know that they would be moved around. New cubicles were being constructed, and the tech staff was running cables through the ceiling during the off-hours. Ava was a little unnerved by the bustle and in order to get away from the noise she set to work in the alcove. It was down the hall and away from most of the noise. When she walked by Xander’s office the door was closed and the window above dark. He must have left for court already.

  She settled on the couch and began transcribing her notes. Normally she would be able to shut off any distractions, but there were a few things bothering her. One was Liam. Even though she had acted indifferent about his email, it bothered her. Ava was not one to intentionally hurt people. She felt upset that she let her anger get the best of her. After all, who breaks up with someone in an email and then begs for forgiveness when they get dumped themselves? She hadn’t heard from him so he must have gotten the message.

  She was truly happy with Xander. He was everything she wanted in a boyfriend. He made her feel good about herself. The other distraction was the impending talk they needed to have with the partners. She wondered what the result would be. If Xander lost his job because of her, she would be horrified. Or maybe she would lose her job. They both knew what the no fraternization policy meant. Just because they were related to the partners of the firm didn’t mean it should be overlooked. Even if they didn’t lose their jobs, she was sure they would be separated. How would it look if they were dating and working together? She was sure that nothing positive would come out of the meeting. Xander had set the meeting up with his father and her uncle for Thursday at noon. Brian was not available, but he would be given the details. She tried to push the speculation out of her mind and concentrate on her transcription.

  By 1:15 PM she had finished transcribing all her notes. She had some time to waste before she left at 2:00 PM. She went to the break room to see what she could find to eat. Since it was Tuesday, she figured probably nothing. Most times by the beginning of the week all the good snacks were gone. The only thing she found that interested her was a protein bar, but she didn’t like the texture much. She would have to go to the café to see if she could get a smoothie. They would be busy at this time, and she might have to take what she bought with her in the cab to the doctor.

  When she got to the m
ain floor, she saw that there was a long line at the café. But she also saw something else. Xander was sitting with a very pretty blonde woman. He had his arm around the back of her chair and was rubbing her back. They were laughing, and he leaned in and kissed her cheek. Ava was no longer hungry. She felt like throwing up. She turned to go back upstairs when she heard her name.

  “Ava, come here.” She looked at him, and he was standing gesturing for her to come to where he and the woman were. Might as well get this over with. What excuse could he possibly have?

  “I want you to meet my sister, Suzanne.” Ava felt like an idiot. She had jumped to a snap conclusion without giving Xander the benefit of the doubt. Suzanne extended her hand to Ava. Ava shook it. “Nice to see you again. The last time I saw you, you were a young girl, maybe five or six. Do you remember me?”

  Ava did not as it was so long ago. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember.”

  Suzanne smiled at her. “You have grown up to be a lovely young woman. Alexander told me that you are his legal assistant.”

  “Yes, I work for him.”

  “He also told me that you and he are dating.” Ava felt a rush of fear go through her. Xander must have noticed the look on her face because he was quick to offer an explanation. “Don’t worry; Suzanne will not reveal to my father about us dating. I’ve already explained to her the situation and that we plan to sit down with the partners.”

  “I know what my father is like. I would never betray Alexander’s trust.”

  Ava sat down in the chair, and they had a nice chat. Suzanne was in town for a convention. She was a Marketing Manager for a large advertising agency in Connecticut. She looked very much like Xander. She was tall, thin and had long blonde hair and eyes the same shade of hazel as Xander’s. She was very intelligent, and Ava could see that she was protective of her brother. After several minutes of conversation, Ava checked her watch. It was nearing the time she had to leave for the doctor, and she needed to retrieve her purse from upstairs. She excused herself and said her goodbyes. Xander walked her to the elevator.