An Involuntary Spark (3 page)

“Hello,” Amiira said graciously, maintaining a polite amount of eye contact with each of them. “Nice to meet you both.”

“It's nice to meet you,” replied Wyatt warmly.

“Hey,” Elijah offered evenly.

Amiira's attention was taken from the two guys in front of her when she heard the front door open.

“Oh, and that must be Kian,” Riley spoke up, directing her words to Amiira as she cast a look behind her.

Amiira nodded as she waited to be introduced to her fourth roommate, whom she heard approaching. The very moment he appeared in the entrance of the kitchen, her pulse quickened.

Amiira was instantly shocked by her initial reaction to the man who walked into the kitchen with smooth strides, carrying two big grocery bags.

His skin was an olive complexion, which was aided even further in its pigment, by the tan that he had. His hair was long and dark, which he had pulled back into a haphazard, makeshift bun. He was tall and slim, but had broad shoulders. The gray long sleeved henley that he was wearing was pushed up at the elbows, revealing solid forearms that led towards massive, sculpted and capable hands.

His neck was thick, yet not distractingly so. His jaw line was peppered with short, dark hair that spanned across his chin, and surrounded his distinctly shaped lips. He had noticeably angular cheekbones that gave his face the type of depth and dimension that was staunch and unapologetic. His eyes however, were soft and kind, a sort of honey brown color mixed with amber.

Once he set both of the bags on the counter, he turned towards Riley and Amiira. His focus landed on the latter with pristine accuracy almost in an immobilizing fashion.

“Kian, this is our new roommate, Amiira,” Riley explained excitedly in her welcoming cheerful voice, looking back and forth between the two. “Amiira, Kian.”

“Hi,” Kian offered simply, his gaze clasped hers pointedly, as he extended his hand towards her.

“Hello,” Amiira replied, hoping her voice was as even as she'd consciously attempted to make it. She extended her hand to take his and the literal physical grasp, though brief, that his hand took on hers, coupled with his enduring eye contact, registered somewhere in the pit of her stomach.

Both his touch and his eyes, even in something as ordinary as an introduction, were full of intention.

“How are you doing?” Kian further posed, as he released her hand, yet his gaze was undeterred.

“I'm well, thank you,” Amiira responded, a bit caught off guard by his question and the sincerity with which it was delivered.

There was something about the way that he asked it that resonated deep within her, because he did it almost in the way you'd ask someone whom you already knew. Someone you've already established a relationship with. Not someone you'd just met seconds earlier.

“Thank goodness you're here,” Riley interjected. Amiira finally tore her eyes off of Kian to look at her, wondering who she was referring to. “Gotta balance out the levels, we needed some more estrogen in this house. Too much testosterone.”

Amiira smiled at the blonde, thankful for the joke and suddenly feeling almost exhausted from the literal pull that had harnessed her since Kian had entered the kitchen.

“Should we have a drink?” Wyatt spoke up. “What'd you get, Kian?”

“Some of everything. Whatever was on that list that you sent me, I got,” Kian answered, finally taking his eyes off of Amiira.

Amiira suddenly remembered that she had heard the faint clicking of glass coming from the grocery bags that he had set on the counter. She had been so encompassed by Kian's presence that it had escaped her.

If there was anything that Amiira could use at that very moment, it was a strong alcoholic beverage.

“Amiira wants a tour first though,” Riley explained, her tone airy. “We'll have a shot when we're done, yes? Do you drink?”

“Definitely,” Amiira answered resolutely.

Riley led the way out of the kitchen, and Amiira followed close behind, her eyes involuntarily flickered back towards Kian who was nonchalantly observing her. Amiira felt herself nervously swallow as she took her attention off of him and continued exiting the kitchen.

She faintly heard Riley start excitedly talking about the house and all the decorating she had personally done with the help of a fabulous interior designer. While Amiira had every intention of actively listening to what the blonde was saying, she found herself still almost reeling from the introduction that had just been made.

She'd never seen a man so incredibly beautiful in an almost harrowing and exhausting way.

She'd also never been so taken with someone's disposition and the way they interacted with her within the first minute of meeting them.

This realization was almost searing and she tried desperately, almost at once to put it out of her mind. The last thing she wanted to do was come to this place, her home away from home, her weekend getaway vacation, and develop an infatuation with a man whom she had to live in close quarters with.

She cleared her throat and pushed her thoughts about her diabolically sexy roommate out of her head, as she focused on listening to Riley talk about the house as they made their way thru the first floor. Two rooms designated for Wyatt and herself, hung on either side of the first floor, their spacious and updated bathrooms attached to each respective room.

They climbed the first set of stairs as Riley continued to point out interesting and random facts about the house. She was quite the talker and Amiira could tell she took a lot of pride in the house and that she loved it a great deal. She also momentarily thought that maybe Riley had some real estate agent experience in her repertoire by the way she was presenting the house.

The second story was just as gorgeous as the first. It had a common area that could have doubled for a bonus living room that was decorated in a modern, yet oceanic style. There was a giant sliding glass door that led out to a rather large balcony.

When Riley finished showing Amiira the two rooms on that floor and mentioned they were Eve's and Elijah's, Amiira felt her gut tighten just slightly as she realized what that meant.

As if on cue, Riley opened her mouth to confirm her assumption.

“Your room is on the next floor. Kian's is up there as well.”

Amiira spent the entire length of the tour of the third floor, which was just as impressive and magnificent as the first two, reminding herself to take deep breaths and to focus on what Riley was saying. That had been a relatively futile experiment because her mind wouldn't stop racing with all the possibilities she had no business thinking about.

It was just her luck to have her room on the same floor as the disastrously attractive man she had just met, who'd made her somehow feel incredibly special without even really saying anything out of the ordinary. But the way that he had handled her was still resonating deeply within her consciousness and she found herself fighting off the inclination just as a show of self preservation.

As she stood in her massive room, which to be completely fair, was on the opposite side of the third floor from his, she took in her surroundings as she recalled Riley reminding her to come right down to partake in a toast and a drink with her new roommates.

But Amiira had to somehow coach herself into leaving whatever notions and thoughts she had about Kian aside before she could face him again. She couldn't ascertain specifically what it was about him that called to her on such a visceral level, but it made her stomach fill with butterflies just thinking about it. She'd seen good looking men before and even dated a few.

But he was a whole other type of gorgeous and it wasn't just his looks; it was his demeanor, his cadence, the way he went about displaying his own presence. It was indescribable.

Amiira gazed at herself in the full length antique mirror that had been flawlessly refurbished into something that looked like it belonged in a museum, as she took a deep breath. She studied her face and her form as she mentally prepared herself to enter into the proximity of that man again.

She focused on her eyes, big and a deep chocolate hue, also incredibly expressive, she had been told. They were aided by a bit of black eyeliner and mascara. Her eyes traveled down to her nose, a bit small, but complementary to her face. Her cheekbones were high, but they hadn't been when she was a kid, or rather they were hidden behind the baby fat that she took too long to shed. The top of her cheeks were tinted lightly with her favorite bronzer, and as her jaw shifted under her own scrutiny, she saw the faint outline of her dimple that was in the middle of her left cheek.

Her focus shifted to what she considered one of her best features: her full lips. She'd opted against lipstick earlier that day, although that was one of her favorite makeup products to use. Lip color would ramp up any look and she had the perfect mouth to do the trick. Her mouth was heart shaped and bee stung, women spent hundreds trying to get the look that she had naturally, filling their thin mouths with products that didn't make them look even half as good as her God given pout. Her lack of lip shade allowed her small beauty mark, one that wasn't even noticeable unless you were close enough, and paying attention, that resided on her top lip, to show.

Her long, thick black hair flowed easily down past her shoulders and hit the middle of her back. She'd straightened it at the last minute before she'd hopped into the car. She regarded her stylish short sleeved black romper that she wore, as she felt the air from an open window caress her bare arms. She tore her eyes from the mirror and looked in the direction of the window for the first time. Her view was unbelievable, as she realized that the sun was about to start setting.

Amiira looked back at her own reflection in the mirror and took one more discerning breath. She told herself to stop being so dramatic. She was a grown woman for goodness sakes. She wasn't a teenager. She could handle living in a house with someone that good looking. She just wouldn't make it a big deal. She knew she was already over analyzing it after saying not even three words to the guy. She assured herself that she would be just fine and that she was undoubtedly overreacting.

She silently vowed not to pay him any more attention than necessary or absolutely required. She didn't need this to be a thing.

She had just gotten there and he was her roommate. Nothing more. She could handle it.

She dropped her purse on the massive California king bed made up with blindingly white linen, pillows and a comforter as she slid her phone into her pocket and exited her room.

Amiira heard a bit of commotion at the lower level as she took her time descending the stairs, while she took in the immensity of the interior splendor around her. Still a bit shocked that she had managed to score herself a weekly getaway that included a house on the beach that was this fantastic.

She entered the kitchen and realized that the sound was Wyatt and Riley bickering in a humorous way with one another as Kian and Elijah watched them, with amused looks lining their faces, beers in hand.

Riley was the first to spot her as Amiira entered the kitchen. She smiled brightly and trotted over to Amiira with copious amounts of excitement as she latched arms with her.

“There you are!” Riley said as she gave a bit of a sigh. “There are way too many y chromosomes down here giving me a hard time; I need a bit of back up.”

“Well I'm always good for some girl powered backup,” Amiira replied, the beginnings of a smile forming on her face. “What's up?”

“Now Rye,” Kian said as he took a quick sip of his beer, Amiira's eyes almost automatically honing in on the way his lips curved over the mouth of the bottle, and the way his long fingers languidly held it. She immediately told herself to snap out of it and focused back on Riley. “You know that the only y chromosome you're referring to is Wyatt's.”

“That's true,” Riley sighed, throwing a bit of a pointed look at Wyatt, who was eyeing her carefully. Amiira wasn't sure if the look was laced with flirtation or not. But she took note of it. “One of his most enjoyable past times is getting under my skin.”