Spike
Authors: Jennifer Ryder
Tags: #Romance, #New Adult & College, #Romantic Suspense, #Mystery & Suspense, #Suspense
SPIKE
Book Two
of the
Spark Series
Jennifer Ryder
SPIKE
Copyright © 2014 Jennifer Ryder
Published by Jennifer Ryder
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, please write to the author, addressed “Request: Copyright Approval”, at
[email protected]
.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Jennifer Ryder is in no way affiliated with any brands, songs or musicians or artists mentioned in this book.
Cover Art and Design by Rebecca Berto of
Berto Designs
Editing by
Lauren K McKellar
Formatting by
Max Effect Author Services
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION
For my beautiful little family.
This is dedicated to you, for all the light you bring to my life, and for accepting and supporting my crazy ways. You inspire me every day to chase my dreams.
xxx
PROLOGUE
* EEVIE *
As I flip through my mail out the front of my apartment complex, a folded piece of paper falls to the ground. I pick it up, expecting some kind of advertising drivel.
Eevie,
We have never met, but it is really important I speak with you.
I used to go out with Aidan. Can you please call me? We need to talk.
- Tara Woods
A mobile phone number is scribbled beneath her name. I swing my head around, wondering if it was only just put into the slot. Is she here? How on earth does she know where I live?
I reread the note. Is this some kind of sick joke? Why would Aidan’s ex-girlfriend need to speak with me? What could be so important? Does she want Aidan back?
My heart squeezes tight in my chest, each question adding to the sudden sensitivity of my stomach.
As far as I’m concerned, I like pretending he hadn’t slept with anyone before me. Some may call it ignorance, but it works for me. I’d never asked Aidan about his ex for a reason. I don’t want to know about her, and I don’t want to know what she might have had with Aidan.
Call me possessive. But. He. Is. Mine.
When I get upstairs, I crumple up the letter and throw it in the bin. There’s no way I’m calling
her
. I’d rather stick a dirty fork in my eye. I shake off the black thoughts that followed me up the stairwell. I’m back on track, and right now, I don’t have the head-space to cope with a psycho ex.
I turn on my laptop, and flip through my notes. I’m determined to finish my uni research report on psychosocial interventions.
How ironic
. This is clearly
not
the time to be thinking about unstable ex-girlfriends.
CHAPTER ONE
* EEVIE *
Friday. Yay! The day I have eagerly awaited for two very long weeks. I’ve handed in my report, and Aidan has the weekend clear of work and racing. This weekend is all about us, and I don’t plan on wasting a single minute of it.
My phone rings,
Loverboy
flashing on the display. Just seeing this always brings a smile to my face, no matter where I am or what mood I’m in. I’m hopeless.
“I’m downstairs, babe,” he says, his voice laced with excitement.
“Be right down.” I hang up and toss my phone in my handbag, then grab my duffle bag with clothes for the next few days. I run down the steps and out of the building, and slow my step as I meet Aidan’s gaze.
In faded, blue jeans, his long legs lean back against his sleek black Ute, his arms folded, showing off those guns. He’s wearing that well-worn grey T-shirt
—
my favourite and his
—
which is tight against that firm body.
Yes, I’m drooling.
He’s a full eight-course degustation menu for my hungry eyes, and I’ve sacrificed being with him for two weeks for study. He flashes me
my
smile.
The panty-dropping one
. And it makes the sacrifice worthwhile. He keeps pushing me to follow my dreams, and I know that he’ll always be there, right behind me.
I should be over the butterflies by now, but they stir with each step. They always know when Aidan is near. It hasn’t even been six months since we got together, and the heat between us hasn’t shown any sign of cooling down. I never thought love would be like this, and I still regularly have to remind myself that this is real, and that Aidan is not a figment of my wild imagination.
When I reach him I dump my bags beside his dusty boots, and wrap my arms around his neck, leaning my body against his. “Hey,” I mumble, and take in as much of his manly scent as I can in one breath. It’s my favourite mix of Calvin Klein and a hard day’s work.
Heaven.
“I missed you,” Aidan says low in his throat, tucking my hair behind my ear. Moving his hands to either side of my face, his mouth is on mine before I can respond, the unexpected minty taste of him sending ripples of delight through me.
We need to get out of here otherwise I’m going to drag him back inside.
I didn’t realise how much I missed this. Just his simple touch.
Aidan groans into my mouth as he exhales. “Hurry up and get in the car before I do you on the lawn.” He swats me on the arse, making me squeal.
I ruffle his messy, brown hair before stepping back and picking up my bags. I dawdle around to the other side of the vehicle, Aidan’s eyes tracking me as I swing the bags in time with my footsteps.
“I mean it. Hurry up,” he warns, and rakes his fingers through his hair as he gets in.
After a few near red lights, and some fast driving we pull into Aidan’s garage. We must have set a new record. I don’t remember the drive over
ever
being that quick.
“Do you think we’ll make it out of the garage this time?” I tease, fluttering my eyelashes. I’ll never forget the first time he’d brought me to his place. We’d had the hottest sex ever, in his garage, of all places.
Aidan chuckles. “Yeah, I’ll see if I can contain myself. I think Connor’s away, so we should have the whole place to ourselves.”
“Well, what are you waiting for then? Let’s go.”
I rush out of the car, and I dump my bags in the entry. Aidan is hot on my tail as I run into the lounge room. He swings me around, and possessively grabs my hips, walking me back until my knees meet the armrest of the couch. He leans me back, slowly dipping me into the softness of the pillows.
“Whatcha doin?” I ask, shuffling my bum back up the couch until my head rests on the soft armrest of the other end.
Normally, he’d be half-naked by now.
Aidan pushes my knees apart and lies on top of me, settling his hips between my legs. Just the weight of him on top of me, something I’ve desperately missed, feels incredible.
“You wanna know somethin’?” he asks. He leads a fiery trail of wet kisses from my ear along my jaw to my chin.
“Sure.” I squirm beneath him as his stubble tickles at my skin.
He runs the tip of his nose against mine and sighs. “For two long weeks I’ve jerked off imagining doin’ any number of things to you, but you wanna know what I wanted most?”
“What?” I ask, running my fingers along the waistband of his jeans, and up the delicious, toned muscles of his back.
“To kiss these fuckin’ gorgeous lips. Prepare to be ravished.”
Oh my
. “Believe me, I’m—”
Ready.
Aidan’s mouth halts my words, pressing his lips hard against mine. His tongue gently teases me. Slow. Soft. He takes his sweet time, and don’t I love it. I suck his bottom lip and kiss him, taste him, savouring the connection between us, which is simply incredible. Aidan props himself higher onto his elbows, and lies on his side, catching his breath.
After a kissing session that’s gotta rival any we’ve had before, I’m struggling for breath. I weave my arm around his waist, and slip my leg between his.
“Well,” I say as I exhale, running my fingers over my sure-to-be swollen lips, “I now consider myself well
and
truly ravished.” I waggle my eyebrows, and Aidan lets out a sexy-arse deep chuckle.
“You know I don’t do anything by halves.” He raises his scarred eyebrow, and runs his fingers over the line of my jaw. “You know these past few weeks have been bloody torture.”
“I know they have, but it’s a killer playing catch up after Mum’s breakdown and I can’t study around you. You’re too … distracting.” I run my hand under his shirt, my fingers warming with the heat of his body.
He squirms as I trace that ticklish spot just below the lickable V-cut of his hip. As much as he protests when I do it, I simply can’t resist that spot. Touching it usually ends up in me being tickled close to death, but it’s worth it. Every damn time.
“Hey, cut that out. You know it’ll only end in tears.”
I laugh, and poke him in the ribs.
Just because I can
. “Is there any reason why I’m not naked right now?” I ask.
He furrows his brow. “I reckon we go back to your place tomorrow and you can pack some more stuff. You can stay for the break,” he says, totally ignoring my naked comment.
Mmm
.
“Sounds good. As long as Connor doesn’t mind.”
“I’m sure it won’t be a problem,” he says.
“Is Connor ever here? He sounds like the perfect housemate to me.”
“Yeah, about that,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. His eyes shift away for a moment.
I frown. “What about Connor?”