Spark Read Free Page A

cock.
    “A shirt or two? No pants? Boxers?” She cast a
teasing glance at him over her shoulder. “Are you a boxers or
briefs man? Possibly commando?”
    “You’ll find out soon enough. I’m fine with you
wearing nothing but my shirts. No panties at all.”
    “Presumptutious.”
    “Confident.” He walked beside her. “Do you eat
pizza?”
    “Of course, who doesn’t eat pizza?”
    He shrugged. “Just asking first. Good, I have some in
the truck.”
    Sure enough, a large box sat on the passenger seat.
She lifted it and climbed up, favoring her arm as best she could
without giving anything away. The seat beneath her was warm.
    “Where are we going?”
    “Garage. I have some more work to finish up. I just
stopped to grab some food.” He hurried around and got the engine
started.
    “Never eaten in a garage before.” She readjusted her
grip on the box. “Don’t know if I’ve ever been in one.”
    “What about having your car fixed?”
    “Mostly I was driven around. Or used one of Joe’s
cars. They were always maintained.”
    “Joe.” He frowned. “Tell me you’re not married.”
    She expelled a sharp breath. “God, no. That’s why I
was…am running. He thinks I’m his. I disagree.”
    He slowed for a corner. “If he’s sending men, he must
not listen to ‘no’ well.”
    “That’s putting it mildly. He hears what he wants to
and doesn’t handle the word ‘no’ very well. Okay, not well at
all.”
    “Is he abusive?”
    She fiddled with the box. “Not yet. At least not to
me. Again, yet . I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. I
saw him use one his own men as a punching bag for daring to
disagree with him. I liked— liked —him well enough. I have no
desire to marry him. I can’t image what he’d be like as a husband.
He went after a coworker for giving me a hug. Dale is happily
married, and even if he wasn’t, Joe had no right.”
    Vance pulled into his shop and parked the truck. She
watched him climb out and move around the hood of the vehicle. The
man had swagger. No way to deny that.
    He opened her door and beckoned to her with one
outstretched hand. She placed her palm in his, allowing him to
assist her down before he swiped the box from her.
    She walked beside him to a door where she waited for
him unlock it. The interior had a light on in the corner, and she
lingered by the entrance as he shut off the alarm.
    “Come on, kitten.” He dragged a chair out from the
desk and patted it.
    She approached. “That’s the second time you’ve called
me that. Kitten?”
    He flashed a perfect grin. “Timid at times and hiding
what I’m sure are razor sharp claws.”
    She took a seat and observed him as he withdrew two
mugs from a cupboard then filled them from the water bottle stand
before setting them in front of her.
    “Thank you, and I’m not sure about the claws.”
    His grin set free another flock of birds in her
belly. “Don’t wait on my account; jump on in.”
    She flipped the lid back and groaned at the explosion
of aroma that poured free, over her senses like a free fall ride at
an amusement park. She reached for a piece, whimpering in ecstasy
when the hot cheese met her tongue.
    He dragged a chair to her and sat. “I’m officially
jealous of the way you’re staring at that pizza.”
    She sucked some sauce off her thumb after popping a
piece of pepperoni. “Surprised you noticed me looking at anything
with all your eye candy looking at us.”
    “You want to pose for me? I’d be more than happy to
cover the walls with pics of you.”
    “I’ll pass, thanks.” She ate the rest of her
slice.
    ҉
    Vance stared across the garage from beneath the hood
of Kendria’s Impala. She slept on his couch, beneath his shirt—the
one she’d put on earlier. He hadn’t figured her out yet. She was
complex, his kitten. The top layer of her had him more intrigued
than he’d been in many a day. Still, she had more than he’d peeled
away thus far.
    The pizza had been consumed