Page 21 of Sparks Will Fly

He chuckled deeply, sending chills down my spine. I straightened up a little more when he inhaled sharply then released a slow breath.

“You really don’t know what’s going on.” He shook his head disappointedly. “The city is selling the center. The other guys want to turn it into condos with a shopping plaza. I want it to function as it does now but make it better.”

He leaned forward, folding his hands on top his desk. The brown shirt of the set he had on bulged in the most delicious way. He could put a nigga to sleep with those guns.

“I respect and support what you have going on over there. I would never want to ruin that. The principle of my business is to water the good seeds already planted in our neighborhoods while planting new ones where needed. I have purchased other properties, but they all serve a purpose in uplifting my people. In all honesty, our children deserve more people like you that are willing to give their time to make them better in whatever capacity they’re able to.”

Now that I was able to put the full picture together, I understood how wrong I was about everything. All this time, I was treating Romani like my enemy when he was my ally. I dropped my face into my hands. I lifted it back quickly hoping to save face. The arrogant smize in his eyes said he was enjoying this as he predicted he would on the day we met.

“So, you mean to tell me there’s someone else I need to be harassing?” I sank deeper in my seat, allowing my head to fall backward.

“Hell no. You stay away from those people. I’m going to make sure you don’t lose the center, Trouble.”

Hearing his declaration caused a crack in the walls I’d been building my entire life to protect myself. Maybe Romani didn’t see me as a problematic burden but as someone who could really create beautiful change in the lives of the kids who came to my center. For some reason, when he called me that this time, it didn’t make me feel like I was doing something wrong but like an acknowledgment of the redeemable qualities he saw in me, qualities others had used to label me as trouble. Could someone really see my boldness… my strength… my fire as beautiful?

I nibbled on my lip as I slowly sat up. “Can you promise that?”

He straightened his shoulders and clenched his jaw.

“Yes. I’m relentless in all my pursuits.”

There was an edge to his tone and a handsome smirk that was pinning me in place until all I wanted was to be pinned underneath him.

Thankfully, there was a knock at his office door before it came open seconds later. When I glanced over my shoulder, I spotted Aisley bringing in our drinks. Her eyes bounced from me to him constantly before finally landing on him. She rounded his desk and bent over slowly to place his coffee down. The skirt she wore was so short I knew it lifted a little in the back.

I rolled my eyes, finding it difficult to fight the jealousy burning in my veins. She was obviously into him. I began to wonder if they had something going on with each other as she finally rounded the desk to hand me my frappuccino.

“Thanks.”

“Welcome,” she replied in fake sweet tone. Turning to her boss she added, “Let me know if you need anything else.”

The longing in her eyes wasn’t lost on me. She looked like she was ready to give her right kidney for Romani. When I turned back to him, he was watching me intently.

“Come here.”

He barely had the command off his lips before I was around his desk. He slid his chair back to make room for me in front of him. His big hands landed on my knees then slowly ventured up my thighs to grip my waist.

“Can I be honest?”

I nodded. I was unsure of what I would say if I used my words.

“I want to kiss you. If that makes you uncomfortable let me know now because I’m ready to take what I want, or I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight.”

He tucked his bottom lip, making my core shiver and quake. Knowing we were on the same vibration tossed any concerns I had about Aisley out of the window. He certainly didn’t look at her the way he stalked me whenever we were in the same room.

His eyes fell to my breasts when I leaned toward him. I placed a hand on his cheek, drawing him closer. His genuine words and weighted promises circled through my mind, yet no weight landed on my shoulders. For some reason, I couldn’t explain I believed him when he said he would save the community center.

Our lips crashed together with the strength of a cyclone barreling to shore. Our body heat mixed with the slight breeze of air conditioning flowing through his office was the perfect blanket swallowing us until we disappeared into a world of our own. I moaned when his tongue slipped into my mouth oh so smoothly. He was delicate with me even as his fingers tangled in my hair, pulling me deeper into him until I was straddling his lap.

I could feel a rigid log resting on his thigh that increased my curiosity about him. When he separated from me, I immediately missed the plushness of his lips. His fingers wrapped around the front of my neck as he placed gentle kisses up my chin.

When his lips were by my ear, he applied more pressure and whispered, “If you come home with me tonight, I’m going to beat your pussy out the frame, and then you can give me that apology you owe me.”

“Who says we have to wait until tonight?”

* * *

Romani’s workday ended promptly at noon. He shut down his desktop, grabbed my hand, and led me out the door. Aisley sat at her desk watching us come down the hallway. Her face frowned, seeing how cozy we were. I kinda got the feeling that she didn’t like me, but I could care less. I hadn’t done a thing to her.

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