Spark (7 page)

She missed him, and he occupied her thoughts. Once,
as she woke from her nap, her fingers were between her thighs as
his name poured from her lips. She shook her head at herself. “This
is getting insane.”

She cleaned up and got ready for her night at the
club. As she smoothed lotion over her body, she stared at the dress
she would be wearing tonight. It was a new one, and she hoped it
looked as good on her as it did on the hangar.

Beautifully made of satin, the gown was turquoise
satin with black lace trim. The plunging neckline had French style
eyelet lace along the cups and shoulders. The hemline was also
topped with the same lace over soft tulle. The formal silhouette
made it perfect for her to use at the club. She didn’t want to wear
something that said she was out clubbing. Regardless, it made—or
hopefully
would
make —her look sexy.

Once her body had dried, she shimmied into the dress
and zipped it up. Staring at her reflection, she smiled.

“New dress, new songs, new club. This will be a good
night for me.”

She walked to her shoes and slipped them on. The
classic high-heeled platforms with peep toes were also black. They
had small bows at the vamps, and she loved these shoes. To top off
her outfit, she reached into her jewelry box and withdrew a silver
necklace with a solid heart pendant that accompanied some diamonds
on her rings.

A final glance at her appearance, and she gave
herself a low smile. “Let’s go knock ‘em dead.” She grabbed her
clutch and walked out of her place to the waiting limo.

At the club, she stood before her mirror and stared
at her reflection. “Thank God for makeup,” she said.

The bags under her eyes were hidden. She’d not been
sleeping well since leaving Cottonwood Falls. She was still jumpy
and expecting Joe to show up once more.

“Five minutes, Kendria.”

“Thanks, Tom.” She sipped some of her water and
closed her eyes, mentally going over the words to the songs she’d
be performing tonight. As the clock ticked toward her show time,
she grew more and more relaxed. She was in her element here. This
or on stage, she knew her ability. Standing up to Joe may have been
out of her normal, but she didn’t have the confidence when she
wasn’t singing.

Her heartbeat calmed, as did her breathing.

“Ready to go on, doll?”

She turned to face her manager. “You got it.” Tom was
an older gentleman who took great care of her. He beckoned to her,
and she put her hand in his. Routine. He squeezed it and pressed a
kiss to the back.

“Knock ‘em dead, doll.”

“You got it.” She kissed his cheek, made her way to
the stage, and stepped out onto it.

Vance stood toward the back of the club and watched
Kendria walk out onto the stage after the introduction. The crowd
applauded and whistled for her. He rolled the bottle of beer in his
fingers and ogled her.

He’d been searching for her since he woke to find her
gone. This was her first appearance since she’d left Georgia, and
he had come for it, and her. The club was dark and screamed of the
older jazz clubs from times long past.

His breath caught when she stepped into view. The
lights shimmered off her dress. The color beautiful combined with
the hue of her skin. He drank some beer to keep himself from
striding up to the stage and claiming her before all those
gathered.

The man on the piano began playing, and Kendria began
to sing. Silence reigned in the club aside from her pure alto
vocals. He realized, then, how good she truly was. What he’d heard
at the school had been a small sample. This, where she was in her
element, blew his socks off.

When she finished her first song, the whistles and
catcalls began. Without missing a beat, she flowed into the next.
The waitresses who floated around delivering drinks weren’t that
busy, for most people were entranced by Kendria’s performance.

His beer was gone when she completed her set and
walked off the stage to a thunderous applause. He pushed from his
spot and made his way to the bouncer who blocked the way to
backstage.

“Sorry, man, no one’s allowed back here.”

“I’m here to see Kendria.” Vance put his hands in his
pockets when he really longed to punch the man for slowing down his
reunion with her.

“Aren’t you all. No way, man.”

“Tell her her husband is here.”

The man narrowed his gaze but talked to someone on
the radio. “Husband?”

“That’s what I said.”

A moment passed before a response got back to him.
“Name?”

“Vance Hendrickson.”

The man ran his eyes over him but stepped back.
“Second door on the left. Her name’s on it.”

“Thank you.” Vance moved by him and up the hall
toward the door. As he walked, a few people back there eyed him
with confusion. He nodded at them and stopped before Kendria’s
door. With a deep breath, he knocked.

She swung it open, her big eyes warm and welcoming.
“Vance,” she said, immediately reaching up to put her arms around
his neck. “I’ve missed you.”

He took possession of her mouth until her whimper
tore through his haze. “Missed you, too,” he rasped when they
separated.

She backed into the room, and he kicked the door shut
behind them. Then, he set her away from him and crossed his arms.
“Why’d you leave without a word, and how the hell did you if your
car is still in my shop?” He shook his head. “Fuck, you’re
gorgeous, kitten. And to hear you sing…” He stepped closer and
kissed her again, his relief at finding her safe flowing strong
through his veins.

She melted into him, her hands gripping the cotton of
his t-shirt. “I’m sorry. I knew if you knew I planned to confront
Joe, you’d try to stop me.”

He clenched his jaw. “You’re damn right I would have.
That man is insane.”

“But, I did it, Vance. I had to find the strength to
do that instead of continuing to run from him and allowing him to
do what he wanted. So, I went to his office and did just that. I
was confident because you showed me I deserved more.”

He ran his hands up and down her bare arms.
“And?”

“I caught him fucking some redhead. I told him off
and told him to leave me alone. As well as pay you for the damage
he did.” She tipped her head back. “Did you get the money?”

“I did.” He kissed her again, unable to stop. “You
walked in on him?”

“I did. Nothing I’d care to see again, but I faced my
fear.”

“And, you didn’t call, why?”

She smoothed her hands over his chest. “I must have
picked up the phone hundreds of times, Vance. But, I wasn’t sure
where things were between us. I didn’t lie when I said I’ve fallen
for you, and I wasn’t sure where I stood in your eyes.” She plucked
at the hem of his shirt. “I’m sorry, I guess, I just handled that
all wrong.”

“Five minutes, Kendria,” a man called through the
door.

“Thanks, Tom.” She ran the back of her hand over his
face. “I have to get back out there. Are you staying?”

“How’d you get out here?”

“Sarah took me to the airport.”

“Figured she had something to do with it. Yes, I’m
staying. You and I have a few more things to talk about.”

Her smile melted his heart, and he knew he was in
love. No more could be, may be, possibly. It was concrete.

She reached around him and opened the door. “I’m glad
you’re staying. I’ll see you soon.” She slipped by him and walked
out, only to stick her head back in. “Husband.” With a grin and a
wink, she vanished.

Vance stood with Tom as she sang the rest of her
songs. He waited while she mingled and spoke to those who’d come
out to see her. And, he rode back to her place with her in the
limo.

“Is it always like that for you?” he asked, smoothing
his hand over the silk of her dress. “And, just so you know, this
dress is killing me here.”

“No, that was a small, intimate gathering.” She
rested her hand on his cock and applied gentle pressure. “I’m glad.
Here I was wondering if the dress did anything to you.”

“I’d show you just how much if you tell me how long
of a drive we have.”

“Long enough,” she said, pulling her dress up and
straddling him.

҉

Epilogue

Seven months later

“When are you coming home?” Vance asked as he watched
Kendria walk around her apartment.

“What do you mean?” She looked at him over her
shoulder.

He readjusted his pants as he watched her shimmy into
the jeans that did amazing things to her ass. Her spaghetti top
didn’t hide anything from his imagination, especially since he knew
she had no bra on under it.

“Home. Georgia. Cottonwood Falls.”

She buttoned them and cocked her head to the side. “I
just got back from France, Vance, and you are asking me when I’m
going to Georgia?”

“Yes.”

She stubbed her toe and hopped around cursing. He
smiled, and she scowled at him. “Not funny.”

“Kitten, you have such a sailor’s mouth, at times,
but when you’re up at the mic or on stage, you have this air of
innocence about you. I love these sides of you.”

She stopped and stared at him. “What did you
say?”

He readjusted on her sofa. “I said I loved these
sides of you.”

“You said you loved me.”

Vance beckoned to her. Her steps weren’t as confident
as they had been as she neared. Drawing her down on his lap, he
readjusted so she lay partially beneath him. He slid his arm around
her back and pushed the strap of her shirt over her shoulder. He
placed his other hand on her hip.

She grabbed his right shoulder, and he nibbled along
her mouth.

“I love you, Kendria Bonher. I’ve been in love with
you about since I met you. I want you home in Cottonwood Falls with
me, living in my house, sharing my bed. Taking my name.”

“Vance,” she whimpered.

“I was going to let it keep going this way, but no,
marry me.”

“Marry you?”

“Come on, kitten. Be part of my life until we’re both
old and gray in rocking chairs on the front porch.”

“What about children?”

“I’d love a little girl who looks like you, but if
you don’t want children, that’s fine. I love you, Kendria. Children
would be a bonus, but it’s not a deal breaker. I don’t want to lose
you. You unearthed a spark in me when we met, and I don’t ever want
to lose it.”

“I love you, Vance. You’ve given me so much during
the time we’ve known each other.” She cupped his face. “Yes, I’ll
marry you. I’ll do my best to give you a daughter who looks like
me, and I’ll live in Cottonwood Falls with you. I still have to
travel, but that will be where I call home.”

He took her mouth and poured his love into the kiss.
She was everything he could ever want. And, now, she was his. He
didn’t know how to quantify the way that knowledge made him
feel.

“I love you, kitten.” He slid his tongue between her
lips and closed his eyes as their souls wound around one another.
She was his future. She was his everything.

Additional Books by Aliyah Burke:

Megalodon Team

Kincade’s Rose

Harrier’s Healer

Connelly’s Flame

Greeley’s Spyce

Vittano’s Willow

Dimitri’s Moon

O’Shea’s Love

Chayton’s Tempest

Haikon

A Love for Lera

Denim &
Spurs

With This Ring

Cottonwood
Falls

Relentless

Fracture

Ravish

Spark

Savor (releasing March 2015)

Intensity (releasing June 2015)

Serial

Keeper of the Stars Pt. 1

Keeper of the Stars Pt. 2

Keeper of the Stars Pt. 3

Keeper of the Stars Pt. 4

Keeper of the Stars Pt. 5

Astral
Guardians

Chasing the Storm

Highlands at Dawn

Interludes

Temporary Home

Alone with You

Till We Ain’t Strangers Anymore

In Aeternum

Casanova in Training

Harbour of Refuge

Protected by Shadows

Polar Opposites

Rakes &
Rogues

What the Earl Desires

Her Reluctant Viscount

Her Pirate Rogue

Code of Honour

A Marriage of Convenience

The Lieutenant’s Ex-Wife

A Man Like No Other

When Stars Collide

Born to Fly

Landing in Love

You Save Me

Wild as the Wind

Zulu Spectre

Hearth, Holly, & Honor (3 in 1)

Standalone

Preconception

If You Dare

May You Always

Dutch & Lobo (in In the Trenches
collection)

His Purrfect Mate

Under the Mask

That Fateful Ride

On the High Seas (in What White Boyz Desire
collection)

The Detective’s Lover

Just a Dream

Love Under the Endless African Sky

Add A Little Mistletoe

Something Tangible

Seducing Damian

Through the Fire

Sin is Not a Four Letter Word

Holiday Surprise: Unwrapped

Raw Exposure

Holiday Liaison

The Right to Love

Co-written with Taige
Crenshaw

Talios

Devi

Linc

Saffron

Taber

Ashia

Co-written with McKenna
Jeffries

All the Wright Moves

The Best Thing Yet

Risky Pleasures

Pure Harmony

Irresistible Forces

Seductions Dance

About the Author:

Aliyah Burke is an avid
reader and is never far from pen and paper (or the computer). She
loves to hear from her readers and can be reached
here
. She can also be
found on
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Twitter:
@AliyahBurke96
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