Spark of Desire ; All for You

by Sheryl Lister

  “Okay, Mr. Hunter, two can play this game,” Randi said before he could open his mouth. “I’ll let you kiss your way up my body only if I can do the same. There’s a lot of territory to explore between those strong thighs of yours and I don’t plan to miss one centimeter. And yes, I love the way you touch and kiss me and I’m going to show you how much the next time we’re together. Now I have to go.”

  He bowed his head and tried to get a grip on the fire rushing through his veins at her words. “You can’t just leave me hanging like this. I’m liable to show up at your house to collect.”

  “I’m leaving you the same way you’re leaving me.”

  “And how’s that?”

  “I think you already know the answer to that question. Bye.” And she was gone.

  Cedric sat there wondering how he’d lost control of the conversation. She’d turned the seduction tables on him in a way that had his entire body primed and ready. He picked up the bottle of cold water next to him and gulped down the contents without stopping. It didn’t help. Nothing would except more of her.

  Chapter 6

  Randi let the bathroom wall take her weight and closed her eyes. She didn’t know what had possessed her to call Cedric and play his game. She glanced down at her hands. They were still shaking, and her heart still thumped as if she’d been running the 400 in track practice. Every molecule in her body wanted to drive out to that construction site and get him to do everything he’d said and more. She heard someone open the bathroom door and jerked away from the wall. She nodded a greeting to the woman who’d walked in and went over to the sink to wash her hands. Randi wet a paper towel and blotted the moisture from her forehead and neck. Get it together, girl. You have work to do. She took a quick glimpse into the mirror, discarded the paper towel and dried her hands on another one, before heading back to her desk.

  She tried to focus her attention on her computer but kept being distracted by the thoughts of that phone call and the sound of Cedric’s voice in her head giving her a play-by-play of what she knew would be another amazing night. She needed to slow this relationship—or whatever they were doing—down. It would be too easy to get caught up, and she’d done that enough to last a lifetime. Besides, Cedric had been very clear about not looking for anything serious, and so had she. But keeping her emotions separate from everything else had never been easy, despite her best efforts. Randi figured this thing with Cedric would most likely burn out within a month or two, and she could handle that.

  For the balance of the afternoon, she worked on compiling the data from the lab into her report. Once she finished, in addition to providing a copy to Cedric and the insurance company, she would need to disseminate the information to the various state and federal databases, as well. The information helped to identify fire trends and develop procedures.

  At the end of the day, Randi had made good headway on the report but was no closer to finding the arsonist. She stretched to relieve the kinks in her neck and back, then picked up the phone to call Brian.

  “Detective Warner.”

  “Brian, it’s Randi. I’ve got some information on the paint.”

  “What did you find out?”

  “It’s a high-end oil-based composition. Each manufacturer has their own ingredient formula that contains different proportions of pigment and binders. Hopefully, the lab can narrow it down for us. I’ll email you the information.”

  “Thanks. But anyone could’ve purchased the paint and we have no idea when.”

  “True.” It would be like searching for a needle in a haystack, but it was all they had at the moment. “I’ll let you know if I find anything else.”

  “And I’ll do the same. Hang on a minute, Randi.” She heard muffled voices, then Brian came back. “I’ve got another call. Talk to you soon.”

  She hung up, sent the information to him, then shut down her computer. Since she was leaving at a reasonable time, she decided to go to the gym. With traffic, it took her over half an hour to reach her destination.

  Randi changed, locked up her bag and went out to the treadmill for a fifteen-minute run to warm up. Afterward, she did her weights and core exercises. By the time she finished, she was hot and sweaty, but working out felt good. Thankfully, she lived only five minutes away. Once home, she parked in her spot and trudged to her unit. Her stomach growled. She dropped her bag on a chair in the kitchen, placed her phone on the counter and went to the freezer to take out some shrimp for an avocado shrimp salad. Randi set it in a bowl of water to thaw while she took a shower.

  She picked up the bag and started down the hallway to her bedroom. The sound of the doorbell stopped her. Randi groaned, set the bag down and walked back to the door. She glanced through the peephole and gasped softly. What is Cedric doing here? Great. Sighing, she opened the door.

  Cedric eyed her from head to toe and a slow grin curved his lips. “Hello, beautiful.”

  Randi reached up and tried to smooth her hair back. She knew she looked a hot mess and, after the intense workout, smelled worse. “Hey.” She backed up and let him in. “I hope you don’t make a practice of just popping up unannounced.”

  His smile widened. “Actually, it wasn’t unannounced.”

  Her brows knitted in confusion. Then it dawned on her...their conversation from earlier in the day. “You didn’t say you were coming over. You said you were liable to show up.”

  He waved a hand. “Same thing. I see why you’re in such good shape. Hard workout?”

  “It’s not the same thing, and yes, I did an intense workout. I was just about to shower.”

  “Don’t let me stop you.” He rubbed his hands together and wiggled his eyebrows. “I’ll even wash your back for you.”

  A vision of his hands sliding down her wet back sent heat straight to her core. “Ah, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Randi said with a nervous laugh.

  He closed the distance between them and wrapped an arm around her waist. Unlike her, he smelled freshly showered. “I don’t think you want to get this close.”

  “I’m not afraid of a little sweat, are you?”

  “Cedric, I really need to clean up.” She squirmed and tried to back out of his arms.

  “I know.” He nibbled her bottom lip and placed lingering kisses along her jaw. “But you owe me at least a kiss first for all that talk earlier.”

  Her mouth dropped and she leaned back. “Me? I’m not the one who started it.”

  “No, but you did a hell of a job finishing it,” he murmured, still teasing her with butterfly kisses on the corner of her mouth.

  She still couldn’t believe she’d said all those things to him. He settled his mouth on hers and slid his tongue inside her parted lips. The kiss went from slow and gentle to hot and demanding in a nanosecond. She came up on tiptoe and met him stroke for stroke. Sensing things were about to get out of control, she eased out of Cedric’s embrace, took his hand and led him to the living room. “Can I get you anything?”

  Cedric’s brow lifted.

  “Not that.”

  He chuckled. “Nah, I’m good.”

  “Okay. I’ll be out in a minute.” Randi hurried down the hall to her bedroom. In the bathroom, she took a quick shower, instead of the leisurely bath she’d planned. Though she told herself it was too soon to sleep with Cedric again, she felt a little disappointed that he hadn’t joined her. She put on a pair of comfortable sweats, a long-sleeved T-shirt and socks. As she walked out, she glanced in the mirror and saw her hair sticking up everywhere. She redid her ponytail and went back to the living room. Cedric was leaning forward, typing on his phone. “I’m back.”

  He typed a second longer, then stuck the phone in his pocket. “What are your plans for the night?”

  “Nothing much. Just dinner and going over a couple things from work. I’m making a shrimp and avocado salad if you want to join me. Or is that
not something guys eat?” she added with a grin.

  He stood. “I eat salad sometimes, but I can’t say it’s ever been the whole meal.”

  She hooked her arm in his and guided him to the kitchen. “There’s a first time for everything. Besides, there’s enough stuff in it to make you full.” She directed him to a stool at the small breakfast bar. “Have a seat.” He scanned the area.

  “I like your place. How many bedrooms do you have?” Instead of sitting, he leaned against the bar.

  “Two.” Randi started to tell him that he’d been there before, but remembered that the last time he came over, she hadn’t given him a tour of anything except her bedroom. She liked the open layout of her place and how each room flowed into the next. She’d added splashes of blue to break up the standard eggshell-painted rooms and a variety of plants to liven up her living room.

  “I like the flow of the rooms,” he said, echoing her thoughts.

  “I guess as a builder, you’d notice these kinds of things. What’s your place like?”

  Cedric came to her side of the bar. “It’s a little bigger. How about I invite you over and you can see for yourself?”

  She should have expected him to say something like that. She opened the bag of shrimp, placed them on some paper towels and patted them dry.

  “Well?”

  Randi glanced over at him, then back to the shrimp, which she dumped into a bowl. “Well what?”

  “My place.”

  She went to the refrigerator for the salad mix, cilantro and two ears of corn she’d cooked on the grill over the weekend. “Still waiting on the invite.”

  He shook his head, stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “Will you come to my place? I promise to be on my best behavior.”

  That’s what I’m afraid of. “Yes.”

  “Check your weekend schedule and let me know if you’re available.” He released her. “What can I do to help?”

  She studied him. “You cook?”

  He placed a hand over his heart as if offended. “Of course I cook. I’ve been living on my own for almost two decades. How else am I going to eat?”

  Smiling, she shrugged. “Hey, for all I know, you could be doing takeout every night.”

  “That’s just wrong.” Cedric moved to the sink and washed his hands. “Just tell me what you want me to do.”

  “You can slice and dice the veggies and cut the corn off the cob,” she said, pushing the vegetables toward him. Randi got a salad bowl from the cabinet and handed it to him.

  “That’s it? I thought you wanted me to do some cooking.”

  “Oh, I think I’ll wait to see your real cooking skills when I come to your place.” She paused. “Dinner comes with the visit, right?”

  He sighed in mock exasperation. “Keep talking and all you’ll get is some cheap fast food.”

  Randi laughed. They worked in silence for a few minutes. She seasoned and sautéed the shrimp.

  “Do you always do such an intense workout?” Cedric asked as he arranged all the vegetables in the bowl atop the lettuce.

  “Not always, but I want to apply for a position at the ATF and have to pass a fitness exam.” She hadn’t meant to blurt out that information. She waited for the usual response she had gotten from men when she shared her ambitions.

  “The ATF?”

  “Yes.” When he didn’t respond immediately, she turned from the stove.

  “I think that’s pretty cool.”

  She stared at him, searching for some hint that he might be just saying it to placate her. She found only sincerity.

  “Randi, I told you before I think it’s great that you follow your dreams, regardless of whether society considers them appropriate for a woman. My cousin Morgan pursued a career in sports management and she’s been pretty successful. Do what makes you happy.”

  “Thanks.” She stirred the food.

  “You know that’s the second time you’ve almost bitten off my head when it comes to your job. Was your family against your choice or something?”

  Randi turned off the burner and poured the shrimp onto a plate. “No, they were very supportive.” She and Cedric hadn’t known each other very long and she hesitated telling him the real reason. However, their relaxed camaraderie made it seem as if they’d been friends for much longer. “Just about every guy I’ve dated had a problem with my job. In their minds, it was too dangerous. I even had one tell me he didn’t think I should work out so much because he didn’t want to date a woman who could bench press more than he could.”

  Cedric threw his head back and laughed. “You’re kidding me, right?”

  “No.”

  Still chuckling, he kissed her temple. “Some men are idiots.”

  “Yeah, and that idiot found himself blocked and deleted one minute after that phone conversation.” She added the shrimp to the salad bowl. She noticed that instead of just dumping everything into the bowl haphazardly, Cedric had grouped the avocado, corn, tomatoes and cucumbers separately as if he were presenting a meal on some cooking show. “Now I just need to make the dressing. It’s a honey-lime vinaigrette.”

  “Sounds good.” He stood off to the side and watched her add the ingredients to the blender. “No measurements?”

  “Nope.” It was her favorite dressing and she had memorized her own tweaked version of the recipe. She blended it for a few seconds, then removed the lid. She got a spoon from the drawer, scooped up a small amount and handed it to Cedric. “Taste.”

  He nodded. “This is good. I like the balance the honey gives it. I was expecting it to be really tart.”

  Randi figured since she had a guest she should serve the dressing in that fancy cruet her mother had given her. If she could find it. She searched in the cabinets, moving from one to the next.

  “What are you looking for?”

  “The salad dressing bottle my mother gave me.”

  “You don’t need to mess up another container. Just pour it out of the blender.” He carried the blender and salad bowl to the kitchen table, then came back for the plates she had placed on the counter.

  That earned him a brownie point. She threw in another when he took the food to the table. “I have some iced mango tea, but I have to warn you, it’s not too sweet.”

  “That’s fine. I probably need to cut down on my sugar intake anyway.”

  Smiling, she poured two glasses and joined him at the table. He seated her, then took the chair opposite. “Well, time for the taste test,” she said.

  “You get yours first, baby.”

  The way the endearment flowed from his lips made her pulse skip. And with his gentlemanly ways, she could see a stack of brownie points coming by the end of the night. Throw in the way he made love and she might as well hand over the whole pan. How was she going to keep from falling for this man?

  * * *

  Cedric forked up a portion of the salad. After chewing and swallowing, he said, “Okay, I might be able to handle this as a meal.”

  She smiled. “You can always add additional shrimp or even chicken to make it more filling.”

  He sipped the tea. “Now this tea, on the other hand... I think you need to get your definition of not too sweet straight. This qualifies as not sweet at all. I need a little sugar in here.” He frowned and she laughed. “I’m serious. Where’s the sugar?” He’d tasted sour foods with more sugar than this tea. Where was the sweetness from the mango?

  Randi shook her head and rose from the table. She brought back the sugar canister and a spoon. “That tells me you really do need to cut back on your sugar intake. I’m sure you know that maintaining all those nice muscles you have is going to take more than just hitting the weights. Eating right is important, too.”

  He groaned. “Please don’t tell me you’re one of those health nuts.”

  “How can y
ou say that when you saw me eat almost all of that jambalaya the other night? And my sister and I stuffed ourselves on my favorite, Mexican food, the day before. I’m not a health nut, but I do try to eat relatively clean about seventy-five percent of the time. I fall off the wagon every now and again.”

  “I try to do the same, but it isn’t always easy when I get stuck in the office or out at a site.” Lately, his eating habits had been less than stellar, but if he could have this salad or something similar once or twice a week—he would definitely need to add more meat—it would get him back on track. He lifted a forkful of food. “So thanks for helping a brother out.”

  She toasted him with her own fork. “I do what I can.” They continued to eat. “Earlier you said you’d been living on your own for almost twenty years. Exactly how old are you?”

  Cedric added a couple of teaspoons of sugar to his tea and stirred. “Thirty-six. My mother would say closer to thirty-seven,” he added with a wry chuckle. “How old are you?”

  “Thirty-two.” Randi angled her head. “I would’ve put you closer to my age, rather than closer to forty.”

  He lifted a brow. “Are you calling me old?”

  “No,” she said with a little laugh. “An old man wouldn’t have been able to do all the things we did last week.” She tossed him a wink and went back to her food.

  “You’ve got that right.” He didn’t need any reminders of that night or the phone call today. His body had been in a state of arousal since she opened her door to him. If he were being honest, he’d admit that she had sparked something inside him that he couldn’t seem to shake. Nothing else would explain why he’d left his house and driven across town to see her. They finished the meal in silence.

  “Did the sugar help your tea?” she asked as she stood and took her plate and glass to the sink.

  He picked up the glass and downed the remaining liquid. “Yep.” He scooted the chair back and pulled her down onto his lap when she passed him on the way back. “But it didn’t help this craving I have for your kisses.” Not giving her a chance to answer, he slanted his mouth over hers in a deep, scorching kiss. As always, she gave as much as she took and in the blink of an eye, she shifted until she sat straddling his lap and whipped off his shirt. His head fell back as the warmth of her tongue skated across his chest.