Spark of Desire ; All for You

by Sheryl Lister

  “I’d better do it now. They changed the schedule and I have to be on set at five tomorrow morning, so I’ll have to make it an early night.” Iyana placed her plate and glass in the sink with Randi’s.

  Randi pulled out the ingredients and placed them on the counter. “I know you love brownies, so I baked some to go with your sundae.”

  “You are the best sister ever!” Iyana threw her arms around her, then clapped with glee.

  “And you are the most dramatic sister ever.”

  Iyana bowed with a flourish. “Yes, I am.” She straightened. “I think my phone is buzzing.” She walked over to the table and came back with the cell in her hand. “Nope, it’s yours.”

  Randi took it and saw Cedric’s name on the display. She hovered her finger over the ignore button.

  “Don’t you do it,” Iyana said. “Answer that phone. He might be calling to apologize.”

  “I doubt it.” But she answered it anyway. “Hey, Cedric.”

  “How are you?”

  “Fine.” They had never engaged in this kind of nonsensical small talk and it felt awkward. “Is there something you wanted?”

  “Actually, yes. I wanted to know if I can come by and talk to you tonight.”

  She closed her eyes. She wanted to say yes so bad but didn’t think it would be a good idea. Five minutes in his presence and they’d be naked and in her bed. That would be the last thing either of them needed. “Tonight isn’t a good time.”

  His sigh came through the line. “Then when?”

  “Cedric, I think we should leave things the way they are.”

  “I don’t agree.”

  “Why not? You’re the one who wanted out.”

  “I never said I wanted out, Randi.”

  Randi paused. “You never said you didn’t, either. Our last conversation ended a little abruptly, don’t you think?”

  “It did and I’m sorry.”

  Dammit! He wasn’t supposed to say that. She glanced over at her sister.

  “He said he’s sorry, didn’t he?” she mouthed. When she nodded, Iyana gave her the thumbs-up.

  Randi rolled her eyes and turned her back. “I don’t want to do this. We both knew what we had wouldn’t last, so this is probably a good time to let it go.” She struggled to get that last sentence out because, in reality, she didn’t want it to be over.

  “I agree that it started out that way, but I’d like to amend our agreement.”

  Her heart started pounding. “Excuse me? Amend it how?”

  “I’ll explain it to you when you have time to meet with me.”

  Randi banged her fist on the counter and put the phone against her chest. She groaned softly. Why was he doing this to her? Of course she wanted to hear what he had to say. Curiosity was definitely going to be the death of her. “I’ll check my schedule tomorrow and let you know,” she said, throwing his words back at him. She didn’t want him to think this would be an easy fix.

  “That’s all I ask. Have a good night. And, Randi?”

  “Yes.”

  “Thanks, sweetheart.”

  Despite her best efforts to remain unmoved, her insides melted like hot wax. She ended the call, tossed the phone on the counter and rubbed her temples. “I can’t believe I caved.”

  “Hell, I can.” Iyana cut a piece of brownie and placed it in her bowl. “I saw him, remember? You lasted far longer than I would’ve, and look on the bright side. You didn’t cave completely. You told him you’d let him know.”

  “Yeah, but he said he wanted to talk about amending our agreement and—”

  “And because you’ve always been the one who wanted an explanation for everything, you want to know.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Don’t take too long to find out.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I want to know what the new agreement is going to be and how long it’ll take you to actually cave after you hear it.” Iyana pointed her spoon at her. “And you will cave. Any brother that gets you in the bed less than a week after meeting him has to be special. I don’t care what you say, or him either, for that matter. There’s more going on between you two even if you don’t realize it. I saw the way he was looking at you.”

  “Whatever, girl.” Randi had seen the way he looked at her, too. It made her feel like she was about to go up in flames. But then after that last round at his house last weekend, she thought she’d seen something else. It had lasted only a split second, but the look of tenderness on his face had seeped inside her. She knew then that Cedric would be dangerous to her heart. Now she was on the verge of opening herself even more. Randi prayed she wasn’t making a big mistake.

  * * *

  Cedric took a deep breath and rang Randi’s doorbell Friday evening. It had taken her three days to text him and during that time he’d been more anxious than he had at any time in his life. She opened the door and his heart rate kicked up. Something was definitely up with him. That had never happened in his entire adult life, so he couldn’t chalk it up to some crush. “Hi.”

  “Hey. Come in.”

  “I was thinking we could go somewhere else to talk.” Being behind closed doors wouldn’t be a good idea, especially since he really wanted to kiss her. Instead of talking, he’d be trying to seduce her.

  Randi seemed to read his thoughts. “I agree. Let me put my shoes on.”

  He came inside but kept his hands in his pockets and stayed by the door.

  It took her only a couple of minutes, and they started out to the parking lot. “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “Have you eaten dinner?”

  “Yes,” she said as she slid into the passenger seat.

  He got in on the driver’s side and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “It’s not too cold, so we can go to that park around the corner or we can get dessert somewhere. I still owe you for that dessert we never had.” Cedric slanted her a glance. He smiled inwardly at the slight hitch in her breathing, letting him know the attraction between them had not died down. It gave him confidence that she would be receptive to his plan. He had no idea how to approach the subject. This would be a first for him, and in hindsight, maybe he should have called one of his married cousins to get some pointers. “We can do both. Talk at the park first, then have dessert afterward. Will that work?”

  “Sure. What exactly are we going to be talking about?”

  “I’ll tell you when we get to the park,” he said with a wink and drove out of the complex.

  She rolled her eyes. “I hope you’re not going to waste my time.”

  So did he. It took less than five minutes to reach their destination and he hoped the park wouldn’t be locked. Fortunately, it didn’t close for another hour. They got out and started a leisurely stroll down one of the paths. Unable to resist, Cedric reached for her hand. They were content to walk without talking for a while. Finally, he said, “I’m sorry for the phone call and for canceling dinner.”

  Randi’s steps slowed. “Are you saying that you didn’t have to work, that you weren’t busy?”

  “No, I was plenty busy and didn’t leave the office until after nine, but I should’ve gone to dinner and worked when I got home.”

  “I’m confused.”

  He laughed softly. “Join the club.”

  She pulled her hand from his. “Look, I—”

  He faced her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I know what I said in the beginning about this being just a physical thing, but somehow it’s becoming more than that. I want to sit and talk with you, find out your favorite color, hear all about your dreams. I want to know all about you. That doesn’t mean I don’t desire you, because I do. Even now, I want to take you in my arms and kiss you, touch you, make love to you. I want to hear the sounds you make when I—”

  She placed her hand o
ver his mouth and took a quick glance around. “Okay, okay, I get it.”

  He smiled and kissed her hand. “What I want is to start over and get to know you and do all the things that couples do when they’re dating. I want to be more than your bed partner.”

  “I... I don’t know what to say. I’m not sure what I expected to hear, but that wasn’t it.”

  “No?”

  “No. I thought you were going to suggest we pick up where we left off.”

  “Oh, I want to do that, too.”

  Randi swatted him playfully on the arm. “Be serious.”

  “I’m very serious.” He placed her hand on his growing erection. “I’ve never been around a woman who makes me hard each and every time from just the sight of her.”

  “Serves you right. There’s no telling how many women you’ve left wet and horny. I’m glad to be the one to give you a taste of your own medicine.”

  Cedric burst out laughing. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple. “I don’t know about you, woman.” Her smile warmed him and he couldn’t resist. He met her mouth in a tender kiss, exploring her at his leisure and wanting her to feel what he was trying to say. Mindful of where they were, he eased back, took her hand and continued their journey. “You still haven’t said what you think of my proposal.”

  “I like you, Cedric. Honestly, I want to say yes, but I don’t want to wake up tomorrow or the next day and find you’ve changed your mind. Then I’ll get another phone call like the first one, canceling us. You still haven’t explained why you did that.”

  “Fear. I’ve never had these kind of feelings for a woman, and I didn’t know what to do with them.”

  “And you’ve figured out what to do with those feelings now?”

  Cedric could still sense the fear lurking just below the surface, but not being with her would be worse. “I’m learning as I go, and I want to keep going with you. But only if you feel the same.” He hesitated putting that last part out there, but a one-sided relationship wouldn’t work.

  She searched his face under the glow of the lamp. “I believe you. You are aware that men aren’t supposed to make that kind of confession,” she added teasingly.

  “Yeah.” His man card would be in serious jeopardy if anyone ever found out what he’d just said. “But for you, I’d say it again.”

  Randi turned away. “If I say yes, what happens next?”

  “We seal the agreement with a kiss and go have some dessert.” Her laughter rang out in the night and sounded like music to his ears. “What do you say?”

  “I say you’ve got yourself a deal, Mr. Hunter.”

  Cedric captured her mouth again in a deep, searing kiss. “I can’t get enough of kissing you.” He touched his mouth to hers one last time and started back the way they’d come.

  He drove to a nearby restaurant and they shared a dessert trio of chocolate soufflé cake, cheesecake brûlée and apple peach cobbler.

  “So tell me all there is to know about Randi Nichols.”

  “Like what?”

  “Whatever you feel comfortable telling me. Do you have a favorite color, holiday, vacation spot? Anything.” She licked the melted chocolate off the back of her spoon and Cedric had to look away. She tempted him beyond reason.

  “Let’s see.” She made a show of thinking. “I don’t think I have a favorite color, but I tend to like darker colors like navy and black. Christmas has always been the best holiday because my mom, sister and I take a day or two to do all the baking, then we go to the spa and out to lunch to celebrate and bond.” She ate some of the cobbler. “The only thing I’ll say about a vacation spot is I’d rather be at the beach than in the snow. Give me a warm, sunny day anytime over the cold.” She shivered. “I don’t know how people live in those cold states.”

  He chuckled. “I’m with you on that one. Although, with the right person, the cold might not be so bad. Snuggling in front of the fireplace has its own appeal.”

  “Okay, yeah. I can see that. What about you? What are some Cedric Hunter facts?”

  “We’re pretty similar. Christmas has always been a big deal in our house, too. We either spend it at Lorenzo’s or my parents’ house here, or we all fly down to LA to spend it with my cousin’s family.”

  “I remember you saying there were nine of you, not including parents. I can’t imagine all those people in one place. The most we’ve ever had is nine. My dad’s sister has three boys.”

  “It’s a lot more now with just about everyone being married and having kids. Since we’re all adults, everybody pitches in and helps with the cooking and cleaning.” He opened his mouth to invite her to the next gathering and thought better of it. You’re getting way ahead of yourself. He acknowledged liking Randi a lot, but taking her to meet his family was an entirely different story, one he wasn’t ready to tell.

  “If I was your mother, I’d make you all help, too. That’s way too many mouths to feed.” She shook her head. “What else should I know about you?”

  Cedric thought for a moment. “I’d rather stay at home than go out partying.”

  Her surprised gaze met his. “Really? You seem so outgoing, I figured the club would be your normal hangout.”

  “You think I’m outgoing? When it comes to business, I have to be that way, but away from the office is another story.” They polished off the remainder of the sweet treats. “Do you want anything else?”

  “No, thank you. This was perfect. Just enough to taste without blowing my calorie count for the week.”

  He smiled and signaled the waiter for the bill.

  Outside a few minutes later, Randi rubbed her hands together. “Good grief, the temperature must have dropped by ten degrees while we were in there.”

  He hugged her close. “I’ll warm you up.”

  She quickened her steps to the car and got in.

  He hurried around to his side, started the engine and turned up the heat.

  “Oh, and that little dessert doesn’t make up for the one you owe me,” Randi teased. “I want my make-your-own sundae and I like mine with either chocolate chip cookies or brownies.”

  Cedric laughed. “You can have your sundae and anything else you want.”

  “Anything?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

  “Anything.” A vision of her licking that chocolate off the spoon popped into his head. He planned to indulge in his own type of sundae. Yep, he liked this woman. A lot.

  Chapter 11

  Randi’s phone rang at six on Saturday morning. She groaned and buried her head deeper in the pillow. “Please don’t let it be another fire,” she muttered. After a restless night, she’d finally fallen asleep two hours ago. Cedric had dropped her off at home last evening, kissed her with a passion that weakened her knees, then left. He’d said he wanted them to be more than bed partners, and with her growing feelings for him, the knowledge had made her happy. However, the parts of her that craved his touch didn’t want more than to mean instead of. She groped for the phone on her nightstand and cracked open one eye. She saw her mother’s name on the display and bolted upright in the bed. Her mother never called this early. “Hey, Mom. Is everything okay?” she asked as soon as she answered.

  “Hey, baby. Of course. Why?”

  She flopped back down on the pillows and released a sigh of relief. “It’s six in the morning, Mom. On a Saturday.”

  Her mother laughed. “Oh, sorry. Your dad and I are going on one of those turnaround trips to the Nevada state line and the bus leaves at seven. I wanted to check in with you before we left.”

  “You know you could’ve called from your cell phone on the bus, two hours from now.” The ride usually took about three hours, but with the increase in traffic these days, it would most likely be longer.

  “Please. I don’t want all those folks hearing my business. Anyway, how are you? I talked
to Iyana yesterday and she told me about all the fires. You think it’s a serial arsonist?”

  “We’re not sure, but it’s beginning to look that way.”

  “Well, you be careful out there.”

  Randi smiled. Her mother had said those words on Randi’s first day as a firefighter and she continued to say them every time they talked. “I will. How’s Dad?”

  “He’s good. Thinking about retiring in a couple of years. He said he’s given the federal government over thirty years of his life and now he wants it back.”

  Randi chuckled. “I remember him saying that at year twenty-five. You know he likes bossing people around. He wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he retired.” Her father worked as a supervisor in the quality assurance division of a defense contracting agency.

  “Exactly.”

  “What about you?”

  “I don’t know. I’d miss seeing all my babies grow up.” She was a physician’s assistant in a pediatric practice. “But enough about that. Iyana says you’re dating someone?”

  I’m going to strangle that girl. “Sort of. We met recently.”

  “Honey, you’re either dating him or you’re not. If you’re talking about it being sort of, then something isn’t right.”

  “We’re dating.”

  “Where did you meet him? What does he do? Is he as good-looking as your sister says?”

  “Goodness, Mom. You’re grilling me like you did when I was sixteen.” Her mother didn’t respond. Randi sighed. “His name is Cedric and his is one of the construction sites that was set on fire. He and his cousin own the business and, yes, he’s good-looking.” Although Iyana’s description of Cedric as being fine would be more accurate.

  “You’re investigating the fire and dating him?”

  “Yes.” She hoped her mother wouldn’t lecture her about it being a conflict of interest. Randi continued to have mixed feelings about it herself. “But we agreed that he wouldn’t ask me anything about the case when we’re together and, so far, he hasn’t.”