Craving Candy ad-4 Page 4

  Candy sucked in a breath as his warm hands paused. He had discovered she was wearing thigh-high stockings and not pantyhose. “Oh, yeah,” he growled as he continued to slide his hands upward, pushing the fabric of her skirt higher and higher until it was shoved around her waist. He tucked one end in the waistband to hold it out of his way. A stray beam of light from the outside streetlamp made his blond hair gleam as he moved his face closer to her panties. The sight of his dark hand touching the pale pink silk of her panties made her gasp.

  His touch was so gentle, almost reverent, as he stroked the silky fabric, moving lower as he fingered the crotch of her panties. He raised his fingers to his nose and sniffed. “You smell hot, sugar.”

  Candy could feel the heat of a blush creeping up her cheeks and was glad that the room was mostly in shadows so he wouldn’t see it. No man had ever said anything like that to her before and it was incredibly arousing, making her squirm.

  He reached up, caught the delicate fabric in both his hands and yanked. The sound of silk rending was unusually loud. She could feel the cool air on her side and then her mound as he peeled the fabric aside. He slid the remains of her panties down her other leg and she automatically lifted her foot so he could pull it away. Raising the silky fabric to his face, he inhaled deeply before shoving it into his back pocket.

  Candy was as appalled as she was aroused. He’d not only ripped her panties from her body, but it was obvious he wasn’t planning on giving them back. But all that was forgotten as his hands stroked the skin on the inside of her thigh, moving closer to her core. She sucked in a deep breath, willing him to touch her. Needing to feel his hands where she ached the most. Strung on the tight thread of desire, she closed her eyes and waited for his touch.

  Lucas felt his hands tremble as they slid up the inside of her soft, milky-white thighs. The strain of holding himself in check was beginning to make itself felt. Part of him wanted to haul her down to the floor, mount her and fuck her until neither of them could walk. But another part of him wanted to touch her gently and savor every inch of her body. Most of all, he didn’t want to do anything to frighten her. He sensed his mystery lady was uncertain and could bolt at any second. He was determined to give her so much pleasure, she wouldn’t even think of leaving.

  The sight of his large, rough hands moving across her pale skin was incredibly arousing. He only wished that there was more light, rather than the dim beam shining through the window. But he’d take what he could get. There was no way he was going to disrupt the mood, not when she was waiting expectantly for him to touch her.

  The room was silent except for the occasional muted blast of a horn from the street traffic just outside the building. So far from the party, they could only hear the occasional murmur from the crowd. Nothing else existed at the moment but the two of them here together. He traced the crease at the tops of her thighs with his thumbs and she shuddered. Her breathing was getting louder as she got more aroused.

  Her hands gripped the top of his head and he stilled, afraid she was going to push him away. “Take off your shirt. I want to see you.” Her hesitant request sent a shudder down his spine.

  He sat back on his heels, reached his hands behind his shoulders, grabbed two handfuls of fabric and yanked his white T-shirt over his head, flinging it aside. She reached out and tentatively touched his shoulder. He gritted his teeth as his cock throbbed with need. Her small hand felt so damned good. He wanted to spend an entire night lying on his bed, having her run her exploring fingers over his body. But right now, she had to stop.

  He captured her fingers as they slipped over the muscles in his arm. “Sugar, if you keep that up, I’m going to come in my pants.” His blunt words startled her. He could tell by the way her hand jerked in his grasp and the way her breath hitched slightly. Glancing up, he half expected to see disgust on her face. Instead, a half-smile formed on her lips.

  “Really?”

  She seemed amazed and pleased by his statement, and he realized in that moment that she had no idea just how sexy she was. “Really,” he replied as he brought her hand to his lips and kissed her palm. “You’re so damned sexy, sugar, that if you keep touching me, I’m just not going to last.” He traced the length of one of her fingers with his tongue. “And that would be a shame, because I haven’t even tasted you yet.”

  He closed his lips over her finger, drawing it into his mouth. She shifted restlessly as he tongued the webbing at the base, and she moaned when he lightly scraped her flesh with his teeth as he withdrew. “And you’re so sweet.”

  Releasing her hand, he shouldered his way back between her legs, intent now on touching her. Sifting his fingers through the curly hair on her mound, he smiled as the crisp hair wrapped around him. He kept going, skimming them over the slick folds of her pussy. Her juices coated his fingers immediately. Primal satisfaction filled him. There was no doubt that she wanted him.

  “Omigod.” Her whimpered oath made him smile. He was just getting started.

  Using his thumbs, he spread the folds of her labia wide, once again inwardly cursing the lack of light. It was too dark for him to see her clearly, but he could smell her. Musky, mysterious and female, her scent drew him closer. He licked up one side of her and down the other, sampling her unique flavor.

  Her fingers gripped his head, holding him tight to her. He welcomed the slight sting of her nails, as it helped him gain some control. He could feel the moisture seeping from the head of his cock and he knew he was close. Reaching down, he carefully unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. He wasn’t wearing underwear, so his cock sprang free, the bulbous head wet with need.

  Ignoring his own body’s cry for completion, he focused all his concentration on Candy. He wouldn’t take her until she’d come at least once. With his fingers, he teased and petted her hot flesh as he continued to stroke it with his tongue. Her cries and whimpers permeated the air around him as she rocked her hips back and forth, using her grip on his hair to pull him closer.

  He traced the sensitive nubbin of flesh at the top of her pussy, flicking it lightly. Her cries grew louder and more frantic as she pumped her hips. Circling the entrance of her core with his finger, he pushed in deep. Her inner muscles clamped down hard around it, and he groaned as his balls drew up tight against his body in response.

  He almost lost it when she whispered “No” as he withdrew his finger, arching her hips to try to keep him inside her. This time, he pushed two fingers to the hilt as he continued to tongue and suck her swollen clit. He began to finger-fuck her, slowly at first, but quickly gaining speed.

  “I’m coming.” He could barely make out her words over the pounding of his own heart and the gasping of his breath. But he did hear them and he pushed her harder and quicker.

  A loud keening noise came from her lips just as her inner muscles began to contract. Lucas didn’t stop. He kept up the long, firm strokes of his fingers even as he continued to pleasure her with his tongue. She spasmed long and hard, her cream flowing from her body to coat his hand. Damn, he couldn’t wait to bury his cock in her sweet pussy. He only stopped when she tugged his head away from her and began to slide down the door.

  “Stop,” she gasped. “I can’t take any more.”

  Tugging her down into his lap, he swore when her wet pussy pushed against his steely erection. She jerked slightly, but he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She stilled for a moment, and then as if coming to some internal decision, she subsided against him, leaning into his body.

  Cupping the back of her head with one of his hands, he used the other to stroke up and down her back, enjoying the feel of her skin beneath his palm. It was like some kind of exquisite torture to have her so close and to not be buried inside her heat. It would take so little. All he had to do was lift her slightly and slide her onto his cock. He swallowed back a groan of pain as his cock flexed. It was throbbing incessantly now, a never-ending ache.

  Sitting back, she slowly raised her head and gave him a s
low, sleepy smile before leaning forward and kissing him. “Thank you,” she whispered against his mouth as she traced his lips with her tongue. He followed her lead, letting her control the kiss. She was tentative at first, her movements slow and languid. But it wasn’t long before he could feel the pulsing of her pussy against his cock. His sweet lady was getting aroused again.

  He tore his mouth from hers. He was out of time. If he didn’t take her now, he was going to come. “I want you, Candy,” he gritted out between clenched teeth. He had no more control left. “I want to fuck you until we’re both blind with pleasure.”

  She whimpered with need and he felt the slight nod of her head, but he wasn’t leaving this to chance. He framed her face with his hands, tilting it upward so she was looking right at him. Her eyes were glazed with desire and her lips were swollen from his kisses. He almost said the hell with it and took her then and there, but he knew he’d regret it if he did. She might regret it too, and that was something he definitely didn’t want.

  “Are you sure this is what you want?” He couldn’t believe he was giving her an out. Like a man strung on the rack, he waited for two long seconds which seemed to last an eternity.

  “Yes.”

  That one word was all he needed. Reaching into the back pocket of his jeans, he fumbled for his wallet. Yanking out a condom, he tore open the package. He could sense her growing nervousness and tried to hurry.

  “Everything will be all right, sugar,” he hastened to reassure her as he sheathed his cock in latex. That done, he lifted her easily, his cock poised at her moist entrance.

  The pounding on the door startled them both. Candy jerked backward, her eyes large and shocked as she slapped her hand over her mouth.

  “Hey, are you in there?”

  In that moment, he could cheerfully have throttled Katie. He closed his eyes and took a deep, cleansing breath, desperately trying to center himself and dispel his anger.

  The pounding came again and this time the door handle jiggled. Candy’s appalled gaze met his as Katie tried to shove open the door. Lucas lunged forward and leaned against it. “What do you want?”

  There was a slight pause on the other side of the door. This time there was amusement in her voice. “Some of the guests are leaving and want to speak with you.”

  Candy scrambled to her feet, yanking down her skirt and grabbing her blouse. She kept glancing at the door as she hauled on her blouse and buttoned it. Not bothering with her bra, she stuffed it in her purse. Yanking on her jacket, she securely fastened the two buttons.

  “Fuck!” Lucas scraped his hand through his hair. Obviously, the mood was shot to hell. “I’ll be right there,” he growled.

  Not bothering to remove the condom, he carefully zipped and buttoned his jeans. He figured the condom would keep the front of his jeans from staining. Candy was standing quietly behind the door with her purse clasped tight to her chest. Frustration filled him as he grabbed his T-shirt off the floor, shook it out and slipped it over his head. He contemplated what to say as he tucked it into his jeans.

  Sighing, he walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. At first she was stiff and unyielding, but gradually she softened toward him. “I’m sorry about that, Candy. I’ll go and deal with this and then we can go to my place.”

  He knew he wasn’t going to like what she had to say when she stepped out of his embrace. “I think it might be best if I just go.” She licked her lips nervously as she ran her hand through her hair, trying to tame her wild curls.

  “I’d like you to stay.” Before she could say no again, he hurried to add, “Just think about it. Let’s go and enjoy some food and just talk for a while.”

  She rewarded him with a hesitant smile. “Just talk.”

  “Yeah. I’ll take what I can get.” His wry grin made her smile widen just a tad. “Come on and I’ll introduce you.”

  Hauling open the door, Lucas stepped out into the kitchen. The light momentarily blinded him and he blinked. It took him a second to realize that Candy wasn’t paying any attention to him. In fact, the two women seemed to be staring at each other.

  “Candace?” Katie seemed shocked to see the other woman.

  “Katie?”

  Lucas had a bad feeling about this. But like an impending car crash, there was nothing to do but hang on and hope for the best. Then what Katie had said finally sunk in. “I thought you said your name was Candy?”

  She cleared her throat nervously. “It is, but I’ve been trying to go by Candace. For professional reasons,” she added with a nod, turning back to Katie. “People don’t always take a woman called Candy seriously.”

  “I can understand that.” Katie glanced at him questioningly before turning her attention back to Candy. “But I hadn’t realized that you’d finally met Lucas.”

  Candy froze, becoming a statue as all the pieces finally clicked into place for him. He groaned and fought the urge to go back into the storage closet and close the door behind him. Fate wouldn’t be so cruel. But Lucas knew that not only could Fate be that cruel, she usually was.

  “Lucas?” The ice thawed from her, quickly turning to fire as she glared at him. “You’re Lucas Squires?”

  Lucas nodded curtly. “And you must be Candace, or rather, Candy Logan.” He couldn’t believe the woman of his dreams was the same woman he’d been avoiding for weeks now. The woman whose number was continually on his call display, who’d been hounding him with emails begging, bribing, cajoling and all but demanding he do promotional work for that damned cookbook that Katie had talked him into doing. “We need to talk,” he added gruffly.

  The look she gave him would have daunted a weaker man, it was so filled with anger and disdain. He might have been more understanding, but his cock was still throbbing and his balls still ached. At this moment, it didn’t matter who she was— he still wanted her with a need that bordered on acute pain.

  “I think we’ve said all that needs to be said.” Drawing herself up with the dignity befitting a queen, she turned away from him. The smile she gave Katie was strained. “I’m sorry for any discomfort this situation might have caused you. I hope it won’t affect our friendship.”

  “Of course not,” Katie hastened to assure her.

  Candy nodded and headed for the kitchen door. Lucas realized that she was going to just walk away without another word to him. “We’re not done yet.” His blunt words made her stumble slightly, but she quickly regained her balance, hitched her purse higher on her shoulder and kept walking.

  The door swung closed behind her and Katie walked over to him and placed her hand on his arm. “Lucas, what’s going on?”

  He shook her off as he headed to the still swinging door. “Not now, Katie.”

  Opening the door, he just caught one final glimpse of Candy as she disappeared through the front door with her coat flung over her arm. He hurried across the room, ignoring people as they attempted to speak to him. He could sense Katie hard on his heels. Yanking open the door, he sighed with relief when he saw her climbing into a taxi. He didn’t want her driving when she was so obviously upset.

  When the taxi disappeared around the corner, he closed the door and turned around to face Katie. “Tell me everything you know about Candy.”

  Chapter Five

  Candy stormed into her apartment and slammed the door shut behind her. She thought about opening it again, just so she could have the satisfaction of slamming it shut a second time, but she resisted the childish urge. Barely. She was desperately trying to hold on to her feelings of anger because, if she didn’t, she feared she would break down and cry and that just wouldn’t do.

  Tossing her purse onto the table just inside the door, she bent over to unzip her boots. “Stupid things.” She glared at the offending footwear as she hauled them off and tossed them aside. That’s what she got for buying something on sale. The reason they’d probably been marked down was because they were so darned uncomfortable. The problem was they looked fantastic and made her
legs look really good. She was vain enough to admit that she liked that about them, plus the extra four inches in height didn’t hurt either. She just wished they didn’t make her feet ache so much. At five-foot-four, she felt she needed the extra height advantage. People didn’t always take a smaller woman seriously, especially with a name like hers.

  Limping slightly, she made her way to the closet and hung up her coat. When that was done, she leaned back against the closet door and closed her eyes. She thumped her head repeatedly against the door. What had she done? Not only had she almost had sex with a stranger, that stranger had turned out to be the elusive client she’d been chasing for weeks now. “Way to make a professional impression, Candy,” she muttered. “What were you thinking anyway? Okay, so actual thinking had very little to do with it. It’s all Missy’s fault anyway for putting the idea that I needed to get laid into my brain.” Sighing, she realized there was no one to blame for this debacle but herself. Nobody had made her do anything and she was responsible for her own actions.

  Finished berating herself for the moment, she opened her eyes, pushed away from the door and headed to the kitchen. After the day she’d put in, she deserved a glass of wine and a long, hot bath. She turned up the heater as she passed through the living room, rubbing her hands over her arms. It was cold, but she was always trying to save money, and that meant lowering the heat when she wasn’t home. Still, she hated times like this when she felt so cold. Well, a hot bath and her flannel nightgown would warm her up in no time.

  Opening the refrigerator door, she pulled out a bottle of white wine she’d opened last weekend when Missy had joined her for a girls’ night of pizza and “chick flicks”. There was just enough left in the bottle for her to have a glass. Perfect. Yanking open the cabinet door, she pulled down a wineglass, uncorked the wine and poured it all into the glass. Thumping the bottle onto the counter, she started to reach for the glass and then stopped.