Spark: Book 1 (The Heat Series)

by MJ Masucci

“That is wonderful news. We will have to send them something. I’m sure Gabby will find just the right thing. I trust you will be in the office tomorrow?”

  “Yes, sir. I was just leaving to go home.”

  “Very well, I will see you at the office. Be careful going home.”

  The next day Ava found an email from Peter in her inbox asking her to come to his office to discuss something of great importance.

  Ava jotted off a quick email to Victoria letting her know she was summoned to Peter’s office. She greeted his secretary and was told to go directly in. He was sitting at his desk paging through a law book when she entered.

  “Good morning, Peter.”

  He gave her a stern look, and she knew right away that he was not happy.

  “I’ll get right to the point. Alexander told us that he wants to go back to his apartment, and you will take care of him. I don’t know if this is your doing or his, but I think it’s a bad idea.”

  Ava chewed on her bottom lip. She had always been intimidated by Peter. He was the same height as Xander with the same sandy brown hair though his was graying at the temples.

  “I can’t speak for him, but I want him with me. I find it hard to function without him.” Peter’s face softened, the hard lines around his mouth almost disappearing. “I understand your feelings, but he needs care that you can’t provide because you have other obligations.”

  “I tried to dissuade him, but he was adamant about us being together.”

  “Gabby and I discussed it last night, and we are willing to pay for an aide for the next week while he is recuperating. He seems to be getting better though he still has some pain. I think a few more days and he should be able to get around on his own.”

  She got up to leave, and he handed her a bag.

  “Gabby found these in Alexander’s bathroom last night. You must have left them there.” Ava couldn’t hide her embarrassment, and her face flushed the color of crimson. She took the bag and left his office quickly.

  Another day of tons of work. She was excited though about the prospect of once again sharing a bed with Xander. She made plans to pick up the boys and her suitcase and go over right after work. Xander had texted her that his mother had helped him to his apartment and by lunch, he was comfortably resting in his bed.

  “Xander, I’m here.”

  She got no answer and thought that he might be asleep. She let the boys out and carried her suitcase to Xander’s room. He wasn’t in bed either and she started to grow concerned. She checked his bathroom, the kitchen, the second bedroom and then his office. She found him sitting in his chair with his chin on his chest. His hands were resting on the keyboard of his laptop. She could hear him snoring. He looked incredibly uncomfortable, and she went to wake him.

  “Xander, sweetie?”

  He awoke, and she saw him wince as he moved in his chair.

  “Fuck, that hurt. What time is it?”

  “It’s almost 6:30.”

  “Why are you sitting in that chair, it can’t be good for your ribs.”

  “I don’t need a lecture alright? I just spent a week with my parents listening to them tell me what I should and should not do.”

  She was taken aback by his tone and left the room without waiting for an explanation.

  “Wait, come back. I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

  She plunked down on his bed ignoring him. He shuffled into the room.

  “I’m sorry. Please forgive me. This has been so trying on me.”

  She gave him a hard look. “The last time you spoke to me that way you were my boss, and I was your subordinate.” She emphasized the word subordinate. Xander sat down next to her and put his fingers under her chin tipping her face up.

  “You are anything but my subordinate. You were more than my subordinate even back then. I loved you.” He kissed her softly. She could see he was uncomfortable by the expression on his face, and she moved to let him lay down.

  “Are you hungry? I could make something for dinner.”

  “Not really. Mother cleaned out the refrigerator and packed it with fresh groceries. There was a lot of rotting stuff in there since I haven’t been home in a week and a half. If you are hungry, there is plenty to eat.”

  For the rest of the night, they stayed in bed. As much as they wanted to make love they decided against it. Xander was in pain from moving from his parent’s place to his own. He took his pain medication before bed and fell into a deep sleep. Ava remained awake for a couple of hours listening to his even breathing. Riley and Boomer had parked themselves in between the two of them. She petted them until she fell asleep.

  Ava was awakened by Xander talking in his sleep. It was almost 4:00 AM and she leaned in close to hear through his mumbling.

  “No, No, leave her alone. Please don’t hurt her.” She waited to see if he would quiet down. He must be reliving the horrible moments when Liam had them at gunpoint. She thought. She touched his beard with the back of her hand, and he sprang awake.

  “Owwww, what’s the matter? Are you alright?”

  “I’m fine. You woke me up because you were talking in your sleep. I should be the one asking if you are okay.” She turned on the light above the headboard. Xander’s face was beaded with sweat.

  “Do you need me to get you something? Do you want some water?”

  He nodded, and she left the room. His heart was pounding in his chest. The nightmare he had was horrifying. Liam was raping Ava, and he was running to save her and not gaining ground. Liam was laughing and slapping Ava’s face as he thrust into her. He shook the images away as Ava came back with a glass of water.

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “I don’t remember what it was about,” he lied. He sipped the water and shifted his position. Sleeping on his back was causing it to ache. He wanted to sleep on his side, but the pain was too much for him to bear. She lay back down next to him and stroked his damp hair.

  In the darkened room she whispered, “I love you.”

  She got no reply; Xander had fallen asleep.

  The rest of the week past, and Xander declined the help of the aide his parents offered to find. His ribs were starting to feel much better, and he had regained some of his mobility. The doctor had told him that because they were cracked and not fully fractured that he might start to feel less pain in a few weeks. Ava let him do as much for himself as he was able. She knew that he didn’t want her babying him. He was only alone three days before the weekend hit. On Saturday, her brother Michael called.

  “They are so cute Michael.” Ava sat on the bed with her laptop as she and Michael Facetimed. He was showing her the sleeping twins. They were still in the NICU, but were doing well after a week in the hospital. He and Alicia would be bringing them home the next day.

  “Alicia and I have set a date for the wedding. Saturday, July thirty-first.”

  “Wow, that is only a month away.”

  Alicia flashed in front of the screen. “Ava we decided not to have bridesmaids and groomsmen. With the short time frame, it would be hard to get everyone fitted.”

  Ava tried to hide her disappointment.

  “I was looking forward to being in the wedding party.”

  “It’s still going to be a fun time. We are setting an air conditioned tent up in the back of Jason’s yard. We are also going to have some fun things around the house on the big day. We decided to think out of the box and have all types of lawn games, food carts. We even are going to incorporate the pool into the festivities.”

  Ava was surprised because she thought that they had wanted a more formal wedding. She realized that she didn’t know much about her new sister-in-law.

  “We were wondering if you would mind coming down a week before to help us with some of the arrangements.”

  She wanted to desperately but she had fear in the back of her mind. Fear that she would run into someone in town that knew what had happened to her years ago. She knew that Vance Albridge still lived in town and his
family was friends with the Keenes. Vance had ended up flunking out of Cameron and now worked in his family’s furniture warehouse. It was fitting because, in high school, he was a football god and now he was forced to come back to earth. Ava hadn’t been home to Georgia for several years, always having one excuse or another not to go. But she couldn’t make excuses now. This was her brother’s wedding, and she needed to swallow her fears and go.

  “Yes, I will come. I need to talk to Uncle Daniel to see if I can get the time off. I have taken a lot of time off lately with being sick and…”

  She hesitated when she saw Xander walk into the room. Alicia was kind enough to nod her understanding.

  “Let us know what your plans are. We want you to meet your niece and nephew soon. We have to go, time to feed the munchkins. We love you.”

  With that, Michael and Alicia signed off.

  “So, you are going to go down early to the wedding?”

  “You should come with me.”

  “I can’t. I’ve already taken off two weeks, and I need to get back to work soon. I already spoke to the doctor, and he said if my recovery keeps going the way it is, that I can get back to work in another two weeks.”

  “So you aren’t coming to the wedding at all?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, of course; I’m coming. Your family and mine are connected. How would it look if I didn’t show up for your brother’s wedding?”

  Ava felt hurt with his reasoning. She thought he would at least have said it was because he was her boyfriend. He was not the old Xander that she knew. He was often nasty with her. They hadn’t made love in almost a week and where he normally wanted her close in bed, lately he had not. She felt like an unwelcome guest in his apartment and wanted to go back to hers. She was trying to maintain her cool but maybe this wasn’t to be. She noticed that he hadn’t bothered to put his ring on even though the swelling in his hand had subsided. She was afraid to ask him why. At times, he would snap at her when she asked him questions, and she had so many of them. She felt he blamed her for what had happened even though she had no control over what took place.

  From the time she got home from work until they went to sleep she walked on eggshells as he remained distant. This was the July Fourth weekend, and they were doing nothing for it. Her uncle’s family usually had a barbecue, and she wanted to go, but she was fearful if she mentioned it he would explode. He was like a simmering pot on the stove, just ready to boil over.

  “Xander tomorrow is my family’s annual July Fourth holiday barbecue. Would you like to go?”

  He raised his voice. “Look at me. Do I look like I can go? My ribs hurt, my head hurts still, and I feel crappy. You think I want to be around people? Use your brain.”

  She went into the closet and got her suitcase, throwing clothes from the shelves into it.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I have to go. I can’t be here with you like this each day.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You aren’t the same person that I fell in love with. I know you are suffering, but I feel like you blame me for what happened.”

  He gritted his teeth. “Maybe I do. Maybe you could have done something to prevent this. Now look at me.”

  Ava pointed her finger at him to emphasize her point, “Get it straight. He stalked ME; he terrorized ME. You were collateral damage, and if you didn’t want to be involved, then you should have walked away. You should have left me so he could have raped and murdered me and God knows what else he had in mind.”

  She grabbed the case off the bed and rolled it to the hallway. Then he watched as she corralled Boomer and Riley in their crate. He had nothing to say because she was right. He had been lashing out at her all week, and it wasn’t her fault. How long did he think she was going to take his shit? He watched as she lugged the crate and her suitcase to the door. She put the crate down and reached into her purse flipping the key card she had for his apartment onto the floor. It slid across the marble and came to a stop near his feet as she closed the door. As she waited for the elevator, she choked down the tears that threatened to spill over and down her cheeks. She had no doubt he wouldn’t come after her. Later at home, she lay in bed on her back, tears rolling down the sides of her face.

  Xander watched as the door closed. He had no explanation for his behavior towards her. He loved her more than she knew or it seemed would ever know now. He had been so angry, irritable and short tempered. The past week he had no desire to touch her or even be near her. Her voice grated on his nerves when it used to delight him. His head ached and made him feel nauseous. He went to his bedroom, her perfume still lingering in the air and lay on the pillow she used, breathing in her scent, he wondered how he would fix this.

  Ava moved around the crowd of people at the barbecue like she was stalking prey. She remained on the perimeter because she didn’t care to participate. She only came because it was a tradition that the Keenes got together for the holidays. She preferred to put on a smile rather than explain why she didn’t attend. Rachel came over to see how she was doing.

  “How is Xander feeling?”

  “Fine, I guess.”

  Rachel was always intuitive and able to read her.

  “Can you help me with something inside.”

  She followed Rachel into the house, and when she started up the stairs, Ava questioned why. Rachel said nothing until they went to her bedroom and closed the door.

  “Something is wrong isn’t it?”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “Because I know you. Stop burying your feelings and tell me what happened?”

  Ava looked up at Rachel and burst into tears. She sobbed so hard that she started her usual hiccupping. When she was able to speak, she related the entire story of what had transpired over the past few days.

  “Oh honey, I’m so sorry. Xander is a good guy, and he is going through a tough time right now. You know I read that sometimes with a concussion you can have a tendency to get angry or irritable. Maybe he can’t help it.”

  “But Rachel he just stood there and looked at me while I walked out the door. I haven’t heard a word from him since last night. Would a man that claims to love someone so much they would die for them do that? I said some horrible things to him, and I feel so guilty. I was selfish with the words I used. I said he was collateral damage.”

  “Oh no, you didn’t.”

  “I did. I was so frustrated with him that I needed to say something that would sting him. Hurt him the way he did me and now I just feel numb. I can’t lose him.”

  Rachel took her in her arms and hugged her. “He’ll come around. I think he loves you more than you know.”

  As only Rachel could be, she was correct. They went downstairs, and Ava went to the hall bath to wash her face. She looked in the mirror, and her eyes were swollen and bloodshot from crying. She filled the sink with cold water and thrust her face in holding her breath. When she looked in the mirror again, some of the swelling had gone down. She did it again for as long as she could hold her breath. Still some swelling but it would have to do. She wiped her face. She had washed off a good amount of makeup and would need to freshly apply more. She exited the bathroom to locate her purse, and strong arms pulled her into the hall closet. She yelped as the door shut behind her.

  She smelled Xander’s cologne in the darkened closet. He felt around for her hand and brought it to his face. She struggled to pull it away, but he held it fast. He was clean shaven. So as not to alert any of the other party goers she cursed at him in a whisper.

  “I deserve that. I’m so sorry. I was a jerk, a cad, an idiot, a fool. I treated you poorly and…”

  She stroked his face with her fingers, “You shaved.”

  “I shaved,” was all he said before he claimed her mouth with his own. He kissed her tenderly but with passion. Once again it was just Xander and Ava. She shifted and rubbed against his ribs which broke the mood when he pulled away.

  “You need to go
home. WE need to go home.” Ava whispered.

  Voices in the hall delayed their exit. She laid her head against Xander’s chest listening to his heartbeat while they waited. For all she cared she could stay here forever, against him, breathing in his scent that was distinctly Xander. When the voices faded, they slowly opened the door and slipped out into the hallway.

  “Does anyone know you are here besides me?”

  “Yes, I made my rounds looking for you and said my hellos as I did it. Rachel directed me to the house but not before she made it clear that if I broke your heart, she would string me up by my balls.”

  Ava giggled. “That could be a problem since I like your balls very much.” They both laughed.

  Ava went outside to let her family know she was leaving. In the cab, a fire had sparked in both of them. He couldn’t contain his hands, and they roamed over her body. His lips latched onto her neck, and he gently sucked. Ava rubbed his leg moving higher to his inner thigh. She felt the effect of her touch on him. He was aroused. With one hand she undid the button and zipper on his shorts slipping her hand inside his boxers.

  “Ava what are you doing?” Xander whispered, careful not to alert the driver.

  She boldly replied, “I want to touch you.”

  She wrapped her hand around his cock and began to stroke him until the car stopped at an intersection. When they began to move again, she slipped her hand back into his waistband.

  Xander sucked on her earlobe and whispered to her. “If you keep that up I’m going to come right here in the middle of midday traffic. I’d rather it be someplace more intimate.”

  She agreed. She would rather make him come in private. Back at Xander’s apartment, their passion was frenzied. They barely made it through the door before disrobing. Their clothing left in small heaps along the marbled foyer floor. Xander backed Ava up against the wall, his mouth leaving a wet trail down her body. He didn’t care if his ribs hurt. He needed to claim Ava again with his body. They spent the rest of July Fourth making up for lost time only taking a break to see the fireworks from the wall of glass in his bedroom while wearing barely anything at all. Xander got hard just thinking about taking her against that window. He wished he could do it with the backdrop of the fireworks, but he was still too sore. Someday soon.