Spark (Heat #2) (2 page)

I approach Tyler's apartment building with just a few minutes to spare. I thought about arriving to this meeting early, but I honestly didn't see the point. If he wanted me here before the masses showed up, he would have told me.

Utter silence was the response after I sent him a text message this morning asking how he was. I sent another, almost an hour later, to see if he needed me to help with anything else. He didn't text me back so I focused on my day, using the time to organize my closet and start a mystery novel my mom bought me months ago for my birthday.

I reach for the curved metal handle of the glass door but the doorman is quicker. He pulls it open from the inside, waving his hand in a wide arc inviting me into the lobby.

"I'm here to see…"

"Mr. Monroe," he interrupts with a dip of his chin. "I never forget a pretty face. I've got a standing order to send everyone straight up as they arrive."

I toss him a smile as I make my way across the lobby and step into the waiting elevator. As the lift rises, I run my tongue over my lips. They're dry. I'm anxious. I've felt unease tugging at me since the fire.

As the elevator dings and the doors fly open, I step off.  I hear voices immediately. I walk quickly down the corridor, hoping that I haven't missed anything important. I stop once I reach Tyler's apartment, the door completely ajar.

The space is packed with people. From the looks of it, every person who worked at the restaurant is here. I recognize most faces but there are a few that I can't place. The one face I'm desperate to see must be lost somewhere in the crowd. I can't even hear the sound of Tyler's deep voice.

I wait patiently as people move into the apartment at a snail's pace. I should have arranged for this to be at my place. The living room there is twice the size of this.

I admit the thought did cross my mind but it felt like too much. I didn't want Tyler jumping to the conclusion that I was making decisions for him. He only asked me to contact his employees to get them here. I did that.

"I want to thank everyone for coming."

I edge up to my tiptoes. Usually that gives me an advantage when it comes to seeing beyond a group of people. Today it does nothing. I'm not wearing heels. I opted for sandals to go with the sundress I put on this morning. I can't see anything but the backs of a few heads. I push my way forward and thankfully, there's an opening that I snake through until I spot Tyler.

He's standing with his back to the window. People are seated on the furniture, while others have taken a place next to him. He's wearing a white dress shirt and black pants. He's also freshly shaved and showered. He looks more in control than he has for the past few days.

"I know you're all just as devastated by the fire as I am," he begins, "I'm grateful that no one was injured."

Everyone listens in silence as he continues, "I haven't doubted for a minute what our next step will be. We're going to get Nova up and running as soon as we can."

There's an audible collective sigh of relief. People start whispering to one another before Tyler darts his hand in the air again to hush them.

"Hunter and I are currently scouting available spaces." His eyes scan the crowd, skimming right past me. "Until then, your wages will be covered."

"What?" An unfamiliar man's voice bellows from behind me. "We're going to be paid even though we're not working?"

I turn to see if I can find the person who just asked the question, but it's pointless. There are even more people in the room than when I first arrived.

"The Nova team is the best I've ever worked with." Tyler's voice cracks as his hand runs through his hair. I instantly notice the bandage is gone. "I won't lose any of you. You'll be paid bi-weekly for the next two months. I know it's not a lot of time, but I'm determined to have Nova open again by then."

Someone starts applauding, and although it doesn't envelope the entire room a few people join in, me included.

"Once we've secured a new space for Nova, I'll need you all back full-time to help with set-up and prep. I'll send you updates via group text twice a week. I want us in touch."

"We're going to make new Nova better than the old one." Maribel moves from where she was sitting to stand next to Tyler. "We'll all do whatever it takes."

Tyler rests his hand on her shoulder. "If any of you need a thing you have my number. I'm here for you, day or night. Don't hesitate to call me."

Maribel turns to embrace him. Drea falls in step behind her taking her opportunity to hug Tyler, before virtually every single person in the room lines up to do the same thing.

***

"Do you want to come by for dinner, Chef?" Maribel adjusts the strap of her purse over her forearm. "I'm cooking my famous fried chicken tonight. My husband says it's the best he's ever tasted."

"I appreciate the invitation." Tyler pats her on the upper back. "Can I get a rain check?"

"Have you eaten yet today?" She cocks her head to the side. "I know you're dealing with a boatload of stuff right now. Let me take care of you tonight. My family would love to see you."

He turns toward where I'm standing a few feet from him. I haven't crowded him because I know that my chance to thank him for keeping me on staff will come later when we're alone.  I'm itching for everyone to leave. Thankfully, only Maribel and a few others are still here.

"I'm actually cooking for Cadence tonight." His eyes linger on my face even though he's still talking to Maribel.

"You mean the luckiest girl in the world?" She takes a step forward, her attention shifting from Tyler to me. "You do know how lucky you are, don't you, Den?"

My gaze darts between her and Tyler, before I settle on his eyes. "I do know how lucky I am."

"I'm the lucky one." Tyler's voice lowers. "I'm the luckiest man in Manhattan."

"You're not hungry, are you?" he asks in a rasp.

Maribel had convinced the last three employees who were still here to leave with her. With her promise of a home-cooked meal and a board game with her family, they eagerly followed her out the door.

The trio of women that's going to spend the evening at her apartment are all single. I know because they've invited me to join them a few times when they were planning their infamous '
girls' night of fun
'.

I've never tagged along with them, although I've been tempted. I don't have a lot of female friends and if I'm going to change that, I need to make the effort.

"You said you were cooking dinner for me." I rest my hands on my hips. "You lied to Maribel?"

His hand drops from the door handle. "I did what I needed to do to get her to leave. Did it feel like she was gearing up to spend the night on my sofa?"

"She does like hanging around you," I say, laughing. "You passed on her famous fried chicken for me?"

"I'd pass on food for a month for you." He blows out his breath. "I'd do it for a year if it wouldn’t kill me."

I smile, thinking about what an integral part of his life food is. It's a compliment that means more than any other he's ever given me. "I'm sorry for everything that's happened this week. I wish there was more that I could do for you."

He moves closer to me, gripping my hips in his hands. "Promise me something, Cadence."

"Anything," I whisper without thinking.

"Don't let me work too hard on rebuilding Nova."

I arch my brows in confusion. "What do you mean? We're all going to work hard to rebuild Nova."

That brings a soft smile to his lips. "We will. I don't want to lose this because of that."

"Lose this?" I nod my chin. "Us?"

"I need you, Cadence." His voice is a low growl. "I don't want the fire to fuck up what's going on between us."

"That's not going to happen." I smooth the pad of my thumb over his bottom lip.

"I need to see you as often as I can. I feel off center. You bring me balance." He tugs my hips closer until I'm resting against him. "The other night when you didn't show up, I was pissed. I was aching to be inside you."

I catch a moan in my throat. I've felt greedy for wanting him that way. I keep telling myself that it's wrong to think about fucking him when he's dealing with such a monumental trauma. Knowing that he's been thinking about it too changes everything.

"I'm sorry," I say weakly. "I fell asleep."

He moves his hand to my hair, tangling his fingers in the strands. "I almost called you to ask where you were but then I realized you must have dozed off. I thought about showing up at your place so I could crawl in bed with you."

"You should have." I arch my neck as he pulls softly on my hair, leveling my mouth with his. "You can crawl in bed with me whenever you want."

"I want it now," he says gruffly as he slides his mouth over mine.

***

He rubs the tip of his nose along my hip bone, his breath coursing a hot path over my exposed skin.

"I hate the way you tease me." I fist the sheet below me in both hands. "I can get myself off."

"What fun would that be?" His tongue flicks over my clit so softly that I barely register the sensation.

"It's a lot of fun." I half-moan. "I did it last night. It was pretty good."

"You touched this pretty cunt with your fingers last night?" He licks the seam of my pussy before he pulls back. "You were thinking about me, weren't you?"

"Is it that obvious?" I exhale audibly. "You're really good in bed, Chef."

"Tyler," he whispers as his finger follows the path his tongue just took. "Call me Tyler when I'm fucking you."

"You're not fucking me yet, Chef."

I feel his lips move into a smile as he presses them against my thigh. "I want you to come once or twice before I fuck you."

"You said you were aching to be inside me." I arch my ass off the bed with the hope that he'll take the hint and eat me out, really eat me out instead of teasing me with the promise of his tongue, the way he is now.

"I need to get you ready for that." He adjusts his body on the bed. He's as naked as I am. When I reached for his cock after he slipped out of his boxer briefs, he'd pushed my hands aside telling me that I need to learn that my pleasure will always come first.

I squirm beneath him. "Can you do it now? I swear I'm going to come the second you really touch me."

"I have been touching you." His finger is on the move again. This time it centers on my clit, circling it once and then again, before it's gone.

"Don’t." I try and kick my legs but he's pinned them down. "You're the ultimate tease."

"I'm admiring you." He kisses the soft skin right above my mound. "You can't possibly know how beautiful you are, Cadence. Every square inch of you is breathtaking. I want to enjoy this."

I quiet, reaching down to run my hand through his hair. "You make me feel beautiful."

He moves then, pushing my thighs apart with his shoulders as he scoops my ass into his palms. "I'm going to make you feel so much."

Heated pleasure rushes through me the instant he lowers his mouth to my core.

"You have to be hungry now. What kind of food do you want?" He glances at me as he stands and disposes of the condom in the wastebasket in the corner. His body is peppered with perspiration. It's a lingering sign of what we've been doing in his bed for the past hour.

"You fucked me so hard I can't think straight." I tap my fingers on my forehead. "What is this food that you speak of?"

"That's why I can't go three straight days without you. I was craving your body." He picks up his phone from the nightstand. "I can order something in."

"I almost always eat in. Do you ever eat out?"

He cocks a brow as a smile pulls on the corners of his mouth. "Did you say you want me to eat you out? Can I at least eat an apple before I go down on you again?"

I pull the sheet tighter around me. "Who knew you had a sense of humor?"

"I wasn't kidding." He looks down as he glides his fingers over the screen of his phone. "I could eat your pussy all night but I'm starving right now."

"I'm hungry too," I confess. "I could go for Italian. What about you?"

"Great culinary minds think alike." The faint chime of a bell drops his gaze back to his phone. "I know someone at Magari. I just sent them a text. They can seat us in an hour. Can you be ready by then?"

I immediately regret not suggesting we go to my place so I can cook for him. I can't go to Magari. I also can't tell him why. I'm not ready to have that conversation with him. "I'd rather cook for you. Why don't we go back to my place?"

"The food at Magari is stellar. Have you ever been?"

Time and time again and then some.

Magari rivals Nova when it comes to delicious cuisine. It's a small restaurant that caters to those who want an intimate dining experience. It only seats thirty-six people for dinner service. The fact that Tyler scored us a table on such short notice is unheard of. I know, from personal experience, that the wait list is longer than it was for Nova. If you get to sample Magari once, you're going to want to dine there again. It's an addictive experience.

"I've been," I say honestly. "I don't feel like going there tonight."

That stops him cold. He holds tightly to a pair of black boxer briefs that he just pulled out of the top drawer of his dresser. His hair is a mess, his face and chest still flushed. "Why not?"

I didn't expect a push back. I know that I can't keep dancing around my past if we're going to build on what's happening between us. I also know that I'm not ready to tell Tyler about Magari and if we walk in there together tonight, someone else will do that for me.

"I'd rather we go back to my place. I've been working on a new recipe. I want you to taste it," I say as I watch him put on the boxers.

He raises both arms in the air before he rests his hands on the back of his head. The position makes him look imposing and intimidating. "I don't know a chef in this city who would turn down a chance to eat at Magari. Did you work there? Is that why you don't want to go?"

"No, I've never worked there. I'm just not in the mood to eat there tonight."

"Were you involved with someone who works there?"

"What do you mean?" I bend my legs, pulling my knees to my chest, circling my arms around them.

He flexes his biceps before he drops his arms. "You know what I mean, Cadence. Have you fucked someone who works at Magari?"

I suck in a quick breath, shocked that he's being so blunt. "Why would you ask me that?"

"So you did?" His shoulders tense, his posture shifting. "Who was it? I know a senior chef there. Was it him? You fucked Drew?"

"No." I sigh. "You've got it all wrong."

"So it wasn't Drew?" He pushes. "Who was it? Tell me his name."

I stare up at him. His jaw is tight, his hands fisted. He's frustrated. I am too. "I can't believe we're having this discussion, Tyler."

I honestly can't. Who the hell does he think he is? When he asked me about Brendon, I responded without thinking. I have nothing to hide when it comes to my sexual past. I haven't had many lovers, and I'm not ashamed of anything I've done, but I don't have to answer to him.

I can't help but feel as though he's judging me. I'm being persecuted for turning down a dinner invitation.

"We need to have this discussion, Cadence." He firms his stance. "I know a lot of people who work in the restaurant industry in this city. I'd rather not walk blindly into a situation where someone is going to bring up the fact that he's screwed my girlfriend."

I rear back on the bed. "What the hell, Tyler? Are you even listening to yourself? No one is going to tell you they screwed me."

"Brendon has. He did it the morning of the fire when he called me to talk about what a great lay you are." He raises a hand as if to silence me even though I'm not about to say anything in response to that. "I get that you met him before you met me, but it slays me that he's tasted you. I can't stand that he's heard you come. I want to kill that bastard when he talks about you."

"Brendon means nothing to me." I move to stand but I stop myself. "He's part of my past."

"He's not your past." He crosses his broad arms over his chest. "He wants you back. I don't fucking blame him. How is a man supposed to give you up once he's had you?"

I close my eyes. "You have a past too, Tyler. You told me yourself that you've slept with women you worked with. It happens. "

"What?" He takes a step forward. "What women? There was one woman, Cadence."

"Neela," I say her name quietly before I even realize it's left my lips.

He jerks back at the mention of her name. His arms drop as he leans forward to rest his hand on the corner of the headboard. "Neela is nothing like Brendon. Don't compare the two of them."

"I wasn't comparing," I mutter. How can I compare the two of them? I haven't even found the courage to Google Neela's name yet. I don't know her surname but I'm guessing that it won't be hard to uncover at least a picture or two of a chef named Neela who lives in Boston.

"She's in a class above Trevino." His jaw tightens. "She wouldn't give a guy like that the time of day. Neela doesn't get into bed with assholes. She respects herself too much."

Anger knots in my stomach. Apparently Neela has asshole radar. It's something I didn't have when I fucked Brendon. I was still lacking it as of thirty minutes ago because I screwed Chef Monroe, who is proving to be an impressive asshole in his own right. 

I yank hard on the sheet to free it from the bed. I wrap it completely around my nude body as I move to the edge and swing my feet to the floor.

"Don't go, Cadence."

I turn to look at him. My heart is pounding in my chest. "I'm not staying, Tyler. Do you seriously think I'd hang around after what you just said to me?"

"I didn't mean it the way it sounded." He frowns. "It took me by surprise that you knew Neela's name."

"Maribel told me." I take a step back as he reaches his hand toward me. "Don't touch me."

"You know about Neela," he says it aloud, but the tone is off. It's almost as if he's talking to himself. "I don't want to talk about her. Tell me about the guy from Magari."

"No," I spit back.

"Why won't you tell me who it is?" His voice is stern.

I shake my head slightly. "This is crazy. Can't you see how ridiculous this conversation is?"

He scratches the back of his neck, his eyes searching my face. "What's his name?"

I ignore his question in favor of my own. I have to. All the fury that's burrowed in my gut is about to tunnel out in the form of words I know I'll regret later. The only reason I haven't turned and walked out yet is that I'm not leaving while he thinks he has the upper hand. He needs to know the damage that his callous and ego-driven words have done. "Why did you automatically assume that I spread my legs for yet another chef just because I didn't want to have dinner at Magari?"

Realization washes over his expression. "I didn't automatically assume that."

"You did." I press my index finger in the center of his bare chest, pushing. "You think I'll hop on any dick as long as it's attached to a chef. Is that it, Tyler?"

The fact that he has to cover his half-smile with his hand only infuriates me more. "No, Cadence. I don’t think that."

"I'm leaving." I reach down to scoop my sundress up into my fist from where he tossed it on the floor when he was undressing me. "If you decide to chow down at Magari, you can rest assured that I haven't fucked anyone who has ever worked there. I'm not a slut, Chef. Sorry to disappoint."
I deliberately block out everything he's saying even though he's a step behind me when I slide my dress on, grab my bag and storm out of his apartment.