Candy Crush (19 page)

When it was finally late enough that they
could politely leave, Brandon and Gabriella did so. As soon as they
were in the truck, Gabriella hit him with the questions. “Laney is
Daniel Franks’ daughter?”

Brandon grimaced as he backed the truck out
of the driveway. “How did you figure that out? Most people have no
idea; or at least they pretend not to.”

“Well, for starters, she looks just like
him. And you asked Daniel about her yesterday.”

“You’re sharper than you look, Sweet Pea,”
he said lightly, and then his facial features hardened. “Yes, she
is his child, although he’s never claimed her, and she has the
Sarantos last name. He’s not even listed on the birth certificate,
even though one of my cousins is a lawyer and she said Courtney
should have listed him, in case she ever wanted to go after him for
child support. Courtney has always had a thing for older men, and
she’s always had a helluva rebellious streak.”

“Yes, but he’s – he’s” – She did not even
know how to put into words what she was thinking.

“Twenty years older than her and not very
good-looking?”

“Well…yes.”

Brandon sighed. “They hooked up, one time,
the summer after she graduated from high school. I think he was
having some sort of mid-life crisis at the time. He had been
divorced for a couple of years by that point and his wife took him
to the cleaners, so he was broke as a joke and still trying to get
his life back on track.

“Courtney was pissed off at my parents for
God knows what reason. She was working at the Pizza Parlor at the
time, and I guess they just started flirting one night. He picked
her up when she got off work and took her back to his apartment.
She said he got her drunk on rum and Coke. It was her first
time.”

His face darkened, and Gabriella knew he was
reliving a memory he didn’t care to recall. “He dropped her off at
the Pizza Parlor the next morning and never talked to her again.
Eight weeks later she went to him and told him she was pregnant and
he said it wasn’t his, even though she swears that night was the
only time she’d ever had sex with anybody.”

He pulled the truck into the driveway at his
house and cut the engine. He turned to face Gabriella in the
seat.

“And to this day, he’s never claimed her?
Has he seen her?”

“Oh sure. It’s a small town. He’s seen her
at the park, walking downtown, at the Pizza Parlor. And he just
refuses to acknowledge her. I don’t think he and Courtney have even
spoken since the day she told him she was pregnant. Now you see why
I want you to stay away from him? He’s a self-centered asshole who
won’t even stand up and take care of his own child.”

Brandon reached across the seat and wrapped
his arms around Gabriella’s waist. He tugged and she slid across
the bench seat and right into his lap, right where she realized she
wanted to be.

“All that talk about marriage didn’t really
put me in the mood,” she said lightly.

It was a bald-faced lie. She was pretty sure
she could find another dead body and still be in the mood to have
sex with Brandon. He had awakened hormones that had been asleep for
at least two years. She didn’t even realize that she was simply
going through the motions with Miguel, until she experienced
passion with Brandon.

“Good,” Brandon said as he nibbled on her
neck and slid a hand under her shirt. “Luckily, I don’t feel like
talking about marriage right now.”

Gabriella’s body hummed with need, but her
mind was still on dinner. “What’s the deal with Stephanie? Your mom
doesn’t like her?”

Brandon’s hands moved to her breasts and
began massaging them over her bra. “Stephanie’s not
the one
for Patrick,” he mumbled into her neck.

“What does that mean?”

His hands found the clasp on her bra and
unsnapped it. She sucked in a breath when he moved her bra aside
and began massaging her breasts again.

“Patrick and I are complete opposites. As
steadfast as I’ve refused to find Ms. Right, he’s been searching
high and low for her. When he was in kindergarten, he asked one of
his classmates to marry him. Her name was Natalie. They were best
friends until high school, when they finally started dating. I’m
pretty sure they had sex before she moved away, and I’m almost
certain it was Patrick’s first time.”

“When did she move?” Brandon’s hands were
now sliding into her pants and cupping her backside. Gabriella’s
mind was beginning to go fuzzy.

“She went to California for college and
never came back. Now, can we stop talking about my brother? It’s
not really working for me.”

Gabriella giggled and brushed her hand
across his lap. “I beg to differ,” she teased.

“It’s not talk about my brother that’s doing
that to me.” He squeezed her backside and she arched against
him.

“Don’t we need to go inside?” Gabriella
asked, as she wantonly rubbed herself against him.

Brandon pulled a hand out of her pants and
reached into his jacket pocket. He pulled out a condom. “I never
make the same mistake twice.”

They kissed intensely for a few more minutes
and then Gabriella said, “We should still go inside. We’re sitting
in the middle of your driveway.”

“It’s dark outside.” Brandon lifted her
shirt and began kissing her breasts. Gabriella pushed him away.

“Come on, let’s at least go to the laundry
room.” She was near to succumbing, and she did not particularly
want to have sex in his truck in the middle of the driveway.

“Who knew a laundry room could be so fucking
erotic?” Brandon asked, as he opened the door and tugged Gabriella
out of the truck.

They hurried to the back door and Brandon
fumbled with his key. He opened the door, Butter bound out, and
they fell inside. Brandon walked across the room, turned and lifted
her onto the washing machine and slid between her knees.

He pulled her shirt over her head, and since
her bra was already unhooked, it came off with it. Gabriella sucked
in a breath as the cool air hit her and puckered her nipples.
Brandon bent his head and spent so much time suckling her breasts,
she was so near orgasm she was begging him to take her,
now
.

Brandon quickly shed his clothes and her
pants, put on the condom and in one swift thrust, was inside her.
Gabriella’s hips immediately began bucking and Brandon grabbed them
and began pumping as hard and fast as he could, keeping pace. With
a strangled cry, Gabriella exploded with her orgasm and Brandon
almost immediately shouted, “Oh
God!
” and exploded too. He
leaned his forehead on hers and they stayed like that, waiting for
their breathing and heart rates to slow.

“Does it feel like the first time, every
time, for you too?” Brandon asked after a while.

“Not really. My first time was clumsy and a
little painful,” Gabriella said with a chuckle.

“I meant the feelings: anticipation,
excitement, a little scary with the intensity.”

“Oh,” Gabriella said, and she realized that
was exactly how she felt. “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”

“I can’t imagine ever tiring of doing this
with you, Gabriella,” Brandon said, and then he gave her a smacking
kiss and pulled out and walked down the hall to the small half-bath
that was located just off the kitchen.

Gabriella climbed off the washing machine
and dressed. Butter began scratching at the back door, so Gabriella
walked over and let her in. She refused to let her thoughts loiter
on the comment Brandon had just made.

CHAPTER EIGHT

On Monday morning, Brandon was late for
work. When he kissed Gabriella goodbye, he whispered that he
planned to set his alarm thirty minutes earlier from now on, just
in case he got lucky every morning, now that Gabriella shared his
bed.

She climbed out of bed after he left, took
one look at the dark, rainy day and decided she was glad the police
had not yet completed their investigation of her apartment. She did
not particularly want to work today, and now she had no reason to
feel guilty for not doing so.

She headed to the bathroom and took a long,
steaming hot shower. Her whole body ached, but it was a nice,
satisfied kind of ache. Her abdomen and knee were both still
tender, but the pain was negligible and only really hurt when they
were touched.

After she showered and dressed, she sat in
the kitchen and drank coffee and ate breakfast while she read the
local newspaper, which Brandon had left, in his haste to get to
work. Normally, he took it with him to work in the morning.

The temperature had plummeted. The rain
brought in a cold front. Since she had nothing better to do,
Gabriella decided she might as well go shopping. She had enough
money in her account that she could afford to add the necessary
winter items to her wardrobe.

She paid cash for the candy store when she
bought it, and now that she was apparently living with Brandon, she
had minimal expenses. She tried to pay for part of the groceries
yesterday, but he had refused her money. Her car was paid for, a
gift from Miguel that she felt only mildly guilty for taking.

Gabriella put on another sweater and her
rain slicker and after patting Butter on the head, she rushed out
the door to her car, which was still parked at the curb in front of
Brandon’s house.

She drove the short distance to his office
and managed to find a space right out front. When she rushed in the
door, he looked up and gave her a wide smile that told her he was
really, truly thrilled to see her. That smile gave her butterflies
in her stomach. He stood up and walked around his desk to greet her
in the reception area.

“Hey, Gabriella. What brings you out in this
weather? Did the police call to say they’ve completed the
investigation at the candy store?”

“No, not yet.” She pulled off her rain
slicker and said hello to his receptionist.

“This is Amanda,” he said, indicating the
young, dark-haired woman sitting at the desk in the reception area.
“She’s my part time receptionist and full time cousin. Amanda, this
is Gabriella.”

Amanda stood up and shook Gabriella’s hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, Gabriella. I’ve heard a lot about you.” She
smiled.

Gabriella wondered how long she had to live
here before people stopped greeting her with, “
I’ve heard a lot
about you
.”

“Nice to meet you, as well,” Gabriella said
automatically.

Brandon took her rain slicker and hung it on
a coat stand near the door. “Come on back to my office.”

Gabriella followed him and he closed the
door behind them. He pulled her into his arms and they lost
themselves for a few minutes in the kiss. When they came up for
air, Brandon said, “I’m prepared, if you want to do it on my
desk.”

“You brought condoms to work?” Gabriella
asked incredulously.

“Sweet Pea, I’m never going anywhere again
without condoms. Saturday damn near killed me.”

“We aren’t having sex on your desk. At least
not as long as Amanda is in the reception area. These walls can’t
be very thick.”

“I could send her to lunch.”

“It’s ten in the morning.”

“Okay, fine. Another time then. So you just
came by to tease me?”

Gabriella rolled her eyes. “No. I came by to
get more specific directions. I’m going to the mall. I need to
stock up my wardrobe. I am in serious need of warm clothing.”

“If you wait until later, I can go with
you.”

“Do you like to go shopping?”

“No. I hate shopping.”

Gabriella laughed. “I’ll be fine on my own.
I’m looking forward to it, actually. I rarely had the opportunity
to do anything on my own, for the past two years. Besides, I’m in
the mood for some serious shopping, and it will only drive you
nuts.”

Brandon pulled her close and kissed her
again and Gabriella began to reconsider his offer of having sex on
his desk.

“That was for not taking me up on my offer.
I could get used to having you in my life, Sweet Pea.”

***

Gabriella followed Brandon’s directions to
the highway and headed south. She immediately began passing
billboards announcing the mall was at exit eighty-four, which was
more like fifteen miles from where she entered the highway, but
that was okay. It was still a quick drive. There weren’t many
people on the road on a rainy Monday during mid-morning. Everyone
was either holed up at work or home, trying to avoid going out in
this weather.

Gabriella found the mall and then a parking
space, relatively close to one of the entrances. She pulled up the
hood on her rain slicker and rushed through the pelting rain to the
warm and dry mall.

She took her time, exploring the mall,
wandering in and out of stores, trying on sweaters and coats, hats
and gloves, boots, jeans and fleece pants. The fleece pants were so
comfortable, she bought four pair, even though she’d never owned a
piece of fleece clothing in her life. She decided she could get
used to wearing a more casual and comfortable wardrobe.

It was nearly three o’clock when she finally
decided she was shopped out, or at least, her bank account probably
couldn’t handle much more until she had some sort of income. She
exchanged her rain slicker for the new black lined trench coat
she’d just purchased and instantly felt warmer. She pulled up the
hood and speed walked through the rain to her car.

She pushed the button on her key fob that
popped the trunk when she was still on the sidewalk and then rushed
across the parking lot. She piled her shopping bags into the trunk
and then turned around and was startled to see a car had pulled up
behind her, blocking her ability to back out of the parking space.
She hadn’t even heard it approach through the steady rain and the
thick hood covering her head.