Giving Off Sparks Read online

“She decided to come home early. The workers are available to replace the kitchen bench later in the week and Cheryl wants to be able to pick the materials herself.”

  “So…you’re leaving Tuesday?”

  “My new place will be ready to move into on Monday. I’ve taken that day off so I can start shifting my stuff out of storage.”

  A lump formed in Rob’s throat. Sierra was leaving on Monday, only two days away. He’d thought he had until Thursday to convince her to keep seeing him after they weren’t neighbors anymore. There had been an unspoken understanding that the fling they were indulging in would end when Sierra moved out.

  Not that Rob wanted that, but he sensed it was what Sierra expected. It was pretty hard to misinterpret the fact she still had not given him her new address. Panic started to claw at Rob’s chest. What if two days wasn’t enough time to change her mind?

  “I’d offer to help you move, but I’m covering for a colleague on Monday. I have to go back to work.” Was that him talking about mundane details when his heart was hammering fit to burst out of his chest?

  “You don’t have to do that. A couple of guys from work have already agreed to help out.”

  Guys from work? What guys from work? Rob felt himself scowling. “I guess you don’t need me then.”

  Sierra’s own brow furrowed as she took off her rubber gloves and stood. “Are you okay? You look tired.”

  He was fucking exhausted. He’d finished his last night shift for the week a couple of hours ago and would normally be asleep by now. But no, he’d been too wired, to excited at the prospect of a whole day with Sierra to contemplate going to bed. Alone anyway.

  Now she was cleaning the bathroom and telling him she was leaving early like that wouldn’t matter to him. Giving him some vague shit about guys from work. Jealousy rose like a vicious creature inside him.

  He’d never been jealous before. Not even when he’d had a thing for Pam Spencer and she’d chosen his mate Steve over him. From the first moment they’d all gone to bed together, it had been pretty obvious to Rob that Steve and Pam were made for each other, so he’d been philosophical about the whole thing. Now he realized that wasn’t a product of his easygoing nature but of the fact that Pam hadn’t been the one.

  Sierra was the one. And the thought of her leaving, the nebulous concept of these guys from work was enough to turn him into a fire breathing dragon.

  “Rob?” Sierra was right before him now, her hand on his chest. She sent her other hand up to smooth out his fiercely scrunched brow. “I think you ought to be in bed.”

  Her soft touch and her concerned expression undid Rob. He grasped her hips and pulled her tight against him so she could feel the pulsing rod inside his jeans. “We should both be in bed.”

  She gasped, and when her lips parted, Rob took advantage of the opportunity. He kissed her, making no attempts to hide his feral intentions. He plunged his tongue into her mouth, not merely to give pleasure this time, but to take possession.

  Sierra’s gasp of surprise melted into a moan that was all primal sexual response. She gripped his shoulders and pressed her body to his. The feel of her breasts crushed against his chest was enough to push him all the way into the land of temporary insanity. Rob lifted her and wrapped her legs around his waist. Then, still devouring her mouth like a man starved, he carted her to the bedroom.

  Once there, he lowered her to the bed and levered himself off her. She watched him from her supine position, her chest heaving inside her white tank top as he yanked off his shirt and shorts. Her eyes widened, turned ravenous when she saw how hard he was. She lifted a hand, inviting him onto the bed with her.

  Rob didn’t go. That would be doing things her way, and right at the moment, he was sick to death of doing things Sierra’s way. Her way was to break them up in two days, and Rob couldn’t stand the thought of that. She had to see that was wrong. He had to show her. “Get undressed. I want to see what’s mine.”

  Her eyes flared at his steely command, his possessive words. But she didn’t tell him to go to hell. Rob watched as her nipples flourished against the material of her tank top. If he wasn’t mistaken, the He-man side of him aroused as much as it surprised. That was sure the case with him. His blood rushed south, gathering in his already swollen cock, as she did what he told her to. She lifted the top over her head, revealing her creamy, dark-tipped breasts. She hadn’t been wearing a bra. Rob watched the small globes of flesh wiggle enticingly as she shimmied out of her shorts and panties.

  Fuck. She was so damn sexy, he had to grab his hard-on and stroke it while he watched her undress. The rod jerked in his hand when she lay back on the bed, her arms wide and her legs parted so he could see all of her in her nude glory. “Is this what you wanted?”

  Hell, yes. She was everything he’d ever wanted. He longed to give her all he was, but she was still refusing to accept it. It made Rob mad. It filled him with the raw need to take what he could, to possess her fully and completely, if only for this moment. His voice rasped in his throat. “I want all of you, Sierra. I always have. Are you wet?”

  She slipped a hand between her thighs. Rob watched, more turned on than he’d ever been, as she delved into her pussy with her fingers. Her breath hitched when she touched herself. “Yes.”

  “Show me.”

  Sierra lifted her hand. Rob saw the evidence of her arousal glistening on her fingers. He grasped her wrist and brought those fingers to his mouth, where he licked and sucked at the juicy taste of her.

  “Oh, God. Rob, please.”

  The desire clouded her eyes, thickened her words. Satisfied Sierra was as far gone as he, Rob said, “I’m going to take you. Because you’re mine right now, and you can’t deny it. I can do whatever I want to you.”

  Sierra squirmed on the bed, involuntary movements that telegraphed her acquiescence. Rob’s erection burned. He had to be inside her. Now. “Roll over. I want you on your knees, like you were when you teased me.”

  It was a testament to her level of arousal when Sierra immediately complied—hurriedly in fact, like she couldn’t wait for him to fill her. Rob gritted his teeth on the urge to plunge into her right away and gathered the presence of mind to grab a condom from the bedside draw. When he was sheathed and ready, he studied what Sierra presented.

  The fine coating of dark pubic hair hid nothing from him. Her pussy was pink and plump, slicked with her feminine juices. Sierra moved her hips back and forth, like she had in the bathroom. This time it was no tease. She moved because her arousal wouldn’t let her stay still. Or maybe because she wanted to push him beyond his control. Either way, it was an invitation Rob had no intention of refusing. He grasped her hips and positioned himself. Then he half thrust, half pulled Sierra back onto him until he was buried in her heat.

  She cried out, the sound mingling with Rob’s groan of relief. He stilled, taking a moment to ensure her outburst hadn’t been born of pain. Like their first time together, he’d always been careful to make sure Sierra was ready for him before he entered her. To cause her physical pain was the last thing he wanted, even now when he was driven mad with lust and fear and need that he was barely in his right mind.

  Then Sierra rotated her hips, as though trying to recreate the feeling of him filling her. “Rob…so good. Take me. Take me, please.”

  The last thread of his civility disintegrated. Still gripping her hips to keep her in place, Rob withdrew just enough so he could thrust into her again. She moaned, a decadent sound, and Rob began a cadence that was fast and full. He drove into her again and again, until the sound of flesh slapping against flesh filled the room.

  Rob took one hand off her hip and placed it on her ass. He gave her a good squeeze before trailing his touch up her spine until his fingers tangled in her hair. He held on to her, keeping her in position for his powerful thrusts with one hand on her hip and the other wrapped around her glorious, shiny hair.

  “Rob! I’m coming. I’m coming.”

  Triumph made h
is heart soar. He hadn’t even had to touch her clit and she’d gone into paroxysms of ecstasy. He’d never done that to a woman before. Her cries of gratification called to his own orgasm, tried to draw it forth. Rob held off, wanting even more from Sierra than a spontaneous explosion. Pressing his chest to her back, he reached beneath her until he found her mound. He used two fingers to squeeze her labia over her clit, spiraling his motions so her climax would continue when it might otherwise have died. He caressed her responsive flesh while he continued to fuck her pussy. A moment later, he was rewarded with another cry of surprise, another exclamation of delight as she shattered beneath him.

  Only then did Rob let himself go. He rammed into her with the force he needed to mark her, to possess her, to come so hard it was like an eruption of heat that scorched him from head to toe. He rocked into her for long moments after, prolonging the sensations just as he had for Sierra. Prolonging the connection, until he started to soften inside her and parting became necessary.

  He disposed of the condom quickly. When he came back to the bed, Sierra was curled onto her side, the sheet pulled over her nude body. Rob slipped in beside her, unnerved by her silence, by the fact she wasn’t looking at him. Shit. Perhaps it hadn’t been okay after all, how rough and demanding he’d been.

  Rob stroked her hair softly, feeling the need to be extra gentle after how he’d behaved. “Sierra? Are you okay?”

  She nodded but didn’t speak. After a moment, Rob realized she didn’t speak because she couldn’t. She was crying.

  His blood ran cold. Pulling her into his arms to offer warmth and comfort was probably a doomed mission. But he did it anyway, tucking her small body into his larger one—his big, clumsy body that had run roughshod over hers and probably hurt her. “Sierra, honey. Jesus. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  She shook her head, but whatever words she tried to say were lost in the sound of her ragged weeping. Rob held her while she cried, the tears making her shake like a pile of wind-tossed leaves. He held her and felt useless as her heaving sobs eviscerated him.

  Unable to shake the feeling her distress was his fault, Rob said, “Do you want me to leave?”

  “No.” She clutched him tighter to emphasize her denial. “Don’t go. Please hold me.”

  Relieved, Rob cuddled her closer. He made sure the sheet covered her so she wasn’t cold, stroked her hair and peppered her forehead with soothing kisses. Eventually, her tears dried and her breathing evened out. Rob let the silence and his arms be her comfort for a few minutes. Then he had to ask. “What brought that on?”

  She hesitated, a telling pause that belied her answer. “I don’t know.”

  Her fib disappointed Rob. He was good enough as a sex partner and a shoulder to cry on but not for the truth, apparently. She still wasn’t willing to open up to him. The realization clipped the soft edges from his voice. “That’s bullshit. If I was too rough with you, you should be able to bloody well say so. What, are you scared of me?”

  He’d asked it in a fit of pique, chose that question because it was so ridiculous. He’d never hurt a woman.

  “I’m terrified of you.”

  Sierra’s response shocked Rob to the core. He froze. “What?”

  Sierra propped on her elbow and faced him. It was her turn to stroke his hair and offer comfort. “Not the way you think. You didn’t hurt me and I know you never would.”

  “Then what?”

  “You made me feel…” She stared at a point past his shoulder as she searched for words. “You made me feel like I belonged to you.”

  Rob’s heart leapt. He let out the breath that had been pent up in his lungs. His lips curved. “Doesn’t sound terrifying to me. It sounds freakin’ fantastic.”

  “No, it doesn’t. I can’t belong to you, Rob. This is a fling, that’s all.”

  It had started out that way, from her point of view. Not from Rob’s. From the beginning, he’d thought what he and Sierra had was something special. Finally, she was coming to believe it too. She’d cried because she was scared, because he had marked her as his when he’d taken her the way he had and she wasn’t ready to admit that was what she wanted.

  But she would be ready. He was going to spend the entire weekend making sure she was.

  “Oh, Sierra.” Rob chuckled, relieved that her crying jag hadn’t been the symptom of an insurmountable problem. He could work on her little fear of commitment now that he knew her emotions were more engaged than she’d been letting on. He was so close to convincing her to take things between them seriously. No way would he back off now. “You’re the cutest thing.”

  “You think I’m cute?” Her thunderous expression only made her look more adorable. Rob swooped in and kissed her neck, using his lips and tongue in a way that made her stony posture waver. “Don’t…don’t do that.”

  “Why? You like it too much?” Rob murmured, moving from her throat to the indent between her neck and her shoulder. He sent his tongue out to dampen the salty skin there and was rewarded with Sierra’s involuntary shiver of delight. “That feels good, honey. Admit it.”

  “Yes, it feels good. But…” she trailed off on a moan when he bit down lightly on her flesh. While his teeth were still scraping her soft neck, Rob lifted a hand and cupped her breast. She bucked when he brushed her erect nipple with his thumb.

  “Maybe…maybe you should go after all.”

  It wasn’t a very strongly worded eviction notice, and issued while she was trembling with desire in his arms, it was even less convincing. Rob chuckled as he sent his kisses lower, moving ever closer to her puckered breast. “No, thanks. Think I’ll stay.”

  “I mean it. Oh God!”

  Sierra arched when he closed his lips over her nipple and sucked. Satisfaction filled Rob at the thought he could make her need him again so soon after she’d had a roaring multiple orgasm. She was his. All he had to do was make her accept it.

  “Rob, please,” Sierra choked out. “I’m dead serious here.”

  Rob eased her onto her back and propped his weight on his hands so he was staring down at her. He let her see the determination in his eyes. “So am I. I’m going to make love to you again, and I’m going to take it very seriously. I’m going to kiss every inch of your gorgeous body. I’m going to lick and suck your nipples, your clit, your delicious cunt. I’ll be gentler this time in case you’re sore, but I’m not going to stop until you feel like you belong to me again. Because you do, honey. You do.”

  She opened her mouth as if to protest, but Rob wasn’t in the mood. He swept in and captured her mouth, smothering her dissent. Her resistance waned as the seconds passed, and before long, she was sinking her fingers into his hair and kissing him back with more fervor than ever before.

  She’s mine Rob thought, feeling it deep in his heart. She’s mine.

  Chapter 7

  Sierra stared at the piece of paper in her hand, reading the words as though they could offer up the answer to the question that had been whirling through her head all day. Should I give it to him or not?

  But the sheet of note paper didn’t have the answer, or even a motivational quote to lend her the strength required to figure it out for herself. All it showed was an address and phone number.

  Her address and phone number.

  With the help of her colleagues, Dominic and Sean, Sierra had moved her stuff into her new apartment today. An hour ago, she’d sent them home to their respective wives and children with a carton of fancy imported beer each in exchange for their help with the heavier furniture items. She’d intended to stay afterward and start unpacking boxes, but she’d felt too uneasy to do it. The yen to come back to Cheryl’s house had been too strong.

  She had to say goodbye to Rob, face-to-face. She owed him that much.

  You owe him more than that. You owe him a chance. Maybe you even owe it to yourself.

  The thoughts had assailed her as she’d entered Cheryl’s house and all the memories she and Rob had created in the last week hit
her. The still-charred section of the kitchen bench, the couch on which he’d first made her come, the dining chair… She was surprised it was still in one piece. The shower stall, the wall in the hallway, the bed…the bed, the bed, the bed etcetera ad nauseum. Heat filled her simply from recalling all the places and positions in which she and Rob had done it. She hadn’t forgotten how to do it after all, something Tina was thrilled to know. She didn’t think she’d ever forget how to do it again, given the wealth of practice she’d gotten lately.

  Yet it wasn’t only the incredible sex that had imprinted itself on her brain. It was the in-between times too. Being curled up on the couch watching a movie with Rob, or giving him a loud kiss on the cheek because he’d made her breakfast so she wouldn’t be late for work. His loud exclamation of disappointment when she whipped him at World Cup Soccer. The simple joy of coming home from her sometimes emotionally taxing job and having someone want to hear about her day. It had all been so wonderful. Magical.

  Special.

  Sierra had to admit Rob was special, and despite all her attempts to resist, she’d developed real feelings for him. She couldn’t imagine moving on without him in her life.

  Hence the handwritten note with her new address and phone number on it.

  She had to give it to him. Men like Rob didn’t exactly come along as often as peak-hour trains. What if she never met anyone who lived up to him?

  What if you let yourself love him with all your heart and he dies?

  A cold wind blew up from the street and eddied around the external staircase of Chery’s house where Sierra sat waiting for Rob to come home. She shivered in reaction and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. The sudden chill settled into her heart, the way she knew it would if she had to go through the agony of losing someone she loved again. She knew she wasn’t strong enough to take it. Losing Eddie had been bad enough.

  Losing Rob… She didn’t even want to think about it.

  But if you stop seeing him, you’ve already lost him

  The sound of a car approaching made Sierra glance out to the street. She recognized the thrum of the six-cylinder Holden that Rob drove before she even saw the vehicle. When had she started listening for the sound of it? Warmth infused her as she saw him drive past. Big, sexy Rob McConnell. Her lover, her boyfriend if she wanted him to be, home safe and sound.