Tasting Candy (2 page)

Candice had gone speechless when he’d bent to scoop the clods with his hands, and she’d stared unabashed at his firm backside, wishing for all the world that she was bold enough to reach out and grab a handful of him.

Destroying her composure further, Blade had walked around her desk, coming within an inch of touching her, and tossed the dirt into her trashcan. As he straightened, Blade grinned and whispered a husky apology, his dark, sinful voice turning her bones to liquid in a heartbeat.

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Never in a million years would Blade ever know how close Candice had come to taking those precious clods of dirt out of the trash and spiriting them home with her as if they were sparkling diamonds.

The way he’d stared at her, all of her, as if he could see right into her private thoughts. As if he knew exactly the way he affected her and was pleased by it. It had unnerved her, and she’d tried to avoid him ever since.

“He must really think I’m nuts,” Candice muttered to herself as she filled the tub with suds and hot water. The one man she’d actually been attracted to, the only man she’d thought of in a romantic way since the ordeal with Lance Markum a little over a year ago, had just witnessed her in a full-fledged panic attack. And all because a few men had flirted with her. It was beyond belief!

She slipped off her clothes, then sat in the inviting warmth, determined to regain her equilibrium. She closed her eyes and allowed the solitude to surround her and take her mind away from the sadness of the past and into her dream world, where everything was warm and men treated women with respect. She used the words her therapist, Dr. Jackie Lewis, had given her, to force her mind to focus on what could be, and not what had been.

“I have the courage to embrace my strengths. To get excited about life and to give and receive love. I have the courage to face and transform my fears.” She repeated the mantra three more times before she fell asleep. The lavender soap and warm water took her off to a safe place where she could explore her desires without getting hurt.

The soft glow of a candle suffused the room. Candice wore a long, pale pink satin nightgown, and her lover stood in a pair of black silk boxers. They stared at each other for a long moment, then he smiled and beckoned her to come to him. She went willingly.

When she stood a few inches from him, she smiled and allowed him to slip the straps of her gown down her shoulders and arms until the pink confection pooled at her feet.

She reached out and grasped at the edges of his boxers and slid them off his lean hips. Desire darkened his eyes as she tugged him forward. When the wet heat of his

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mouth closed over her nipple, suckling and tugging, Candice squirmed and clutched, edgy for more. For all of him.

Suddenly, a ring disrupted her dream, and Candice reached out, only to grasp at thin air. Her fantasy lover disappeared as she lay in a cooling tub of water and wilted bubbles.

Then someone banged a fist against her door and she groaned. She couldn’t even have a flaming wet dream!

“Just when things were starting to get good, too.” Disgruntled, she stepped out of the tub and hurriedly dried off, but the pounding came again.

“Just a minute already,” she yelled. Then fear started to creep in. Who could be knocking on her door at…well, it was really only mid-afternoon. Still, she didn’t have a bunch of friends, and most anyone she knew would call first.

Candice threw on her robe, grabbed the mace she kept by the front door and called out, “Who is it?”

“It’s me, Blade.”

“Blade?” she repeated with surprise and more than a touch of elation.

“Yeah, Blade Vaughn, Lacey’s brother.”

Candice rolled her eyes. As if she could possibly know more than one Blade. As if she wouldn’t recognize the sexy, deep baritone of his voice. Candice unhooked the chain and undid the three locks, then slowly opened the door.

“What on earth are you doing here?” She thought of something else. “And how did you even know where I live?”

Blade’s eyebrows shot up and his face lit with amusement. “We need to talk, and Lacey told me.” With a hint of a smile playing at his lips, he asked, “Do you always answer your door wearing a robe and wielding a can of mace?”

Candice’s face heated as she tucked the mace into her pocket. She’d forgotten about both her robe and the mace with Blade Vaughn standing on her doorstep. He must have come straight from the gym, because he was wearing the same clothes. With his requisite work jeans, a battered navy blue t-shirt that had seen better days and work boots, he was, 12

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as usual, devastatingly handsome. And that’s when it hit her like a Mack truck. Oh god, how on earth could she have missed it?

It was him! The man in her dreams. The sinfully sexy guy she’d been making love to for the past several months. He was none other than Blade Vaughn! Candice’s entire body warmed at the idea of having a flesh-and-blood reproduction of the person who’d brought her to climax, not once, but dozens of times in her dream world.

She looked at his face more closely, committing details to memory, comparing and searching. Of course, Candice thought with a heady sigh, she should have recognized him. The mustache, the deep-set eyes and broad face. Oh lord, she wondered if the rest of his body matched her dream version.

Wow.

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Christ, she was adorable. He would never get used to his reaction to this woman. She stood with her shoulder-length light brown hair piled atop her head, a look of total mortification on her freshly scrubbed face. She didn’t even look sexily mussed—just mussed. That he could get a boner over her even when she wore an ugly brown terrycloth robe was saying something.

She always turned him on. He was going to do something about it, too. Eventually.

Right now, he wanted some answers. Lucky for him, he was very good at getting them.

He would coerce and railroad until he was satisfied. It was the way he operated. Candice would just have to get used to it.

“So, you going to let me in, or use that can on me?” He shrugged. One way or the other, Blade would gain entrance. “It’s your choice.”

Candice yanked her robe together tighter, which was a crying shame since it had started to drift open and he had been this close to a sneak peek. “Of course, please, come in.” Then she moved out of the doorway and allowed him inside. He smiled, triumphant.

It was a small concession, but she was so closed-up around him, entering her private domain felt like a big fucking deal.

Her living room was…dainty. Figured. Damn near everything about Candice was dainty. It enhanced the fact he felt like a bull around her. It was cozy, though, something in the way she’d decorated. He’d expected pinks and peaches and fluffy ruffles, but it was all earth-tones, woodsy and serene. Actually, there was something sort of peaceful about her home. He wondered if she did that on purpose because of the panic attacks.

Speaking of which…

“I want to know why you went ballistic today at the gym.” Oh yeah, subtlety was his middle name. Jesus.

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Her eyes widened. “Ballistic?” Candice asked. Suddenly, a smile slipped across her face, then a laugh bubbled up. Soon, she was practically crying from laughing so hard.

“Hell, it wasn’t that funny,” Blade grumbled, feeling disgruntled and not sure why.

But he did like to see her smiling instead of near tears. Much better, to his way of thinking.

Candice calmed enough to say, “You just aren’t the sweet-talker your brother is, are you?”

Now what the hell was that supposed to mean? “Has Merrick hit on you?” he asked, unaccountably possessive and jealous.

Blade would kill him. It didn’t matter that Merrick was married to Candice’s boss, Chloe, and madly, deeply in love. He’d still kill him.

“No, not at all. It’s just that he’s got a real way with words. He can sell anyone darn near anything with barely more than a smile. You, on the other hand, you’re just the opposite. You bully and push until you get your way.” She tilted her head to the side as if studying him. “Amazing that you’re related.”

“We are talking about Merrick, right?”

“Of course, unless you have another brother that I don’t know about.” She smiled as she moved away from him. He noticed she did that a lot, kept a physical distance.

“Nope, just Merrick.” And to set his mind straight he asked, “Has Merrick ever flirted with you?”

“No. He’s totally devoted to Chloe. I don’t think he even knows other women exist.”

Satisfied with that answer, he pointed to the couch. “Mind if I sit?”

She blushed, which, as he’d already discovered, turned him on. Every fucking thing she did turned him on. “Of course, have a seat.” Looking down at her robe, she frowned.

“I’ll, uh, just go get dressed.”

“I don’t see why,” Blade growled. His gaze traveled over her once more. Christ, his lust grew by leaps and bounds whenever he was within a mile of the woman.

“Yes, well, I’ll be right back,” she stammered, then flitted from the room, leaving him to his own devices.

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He went over to the couch, which was the size of a love seat to him, and sat. It was forest-green with beige stripes and surprisingly comfortable. As he waited, he studied the living room and noted something strange. While the room seemed plenty lived-in and had a real homey feel, it was devoid of anything personal. Then he spotted a single photograph nestled between a bunch of paperbacks on a bookshelf in the corner. His curiosity got the better of him. Blade left the couch and went to it, drawn by the wild need to know more about the woman who had been haunting both his days and nights.

It was a snapshot of a couple standing with their arms around a tiny dark-haired girl in pigtails. The woman was obviously Candice’s mother—she looked exactly like her—and the man had a bright smile on his face, as if he couldn’t possibly be happier. The picture was old, though. Candice couldn’t have been more than eight or nine at the time.

Where were her parents now? And why just the one picture?

He left it and went back to sit on the couch, shocked at the protective instincts that kicked in at the thought of Candice being all alone in the world. He’d always had his parents, his brother and sister. They were his whole life. He couldn’t imagine not having them. And he was already anticipating Merrick and Chloe having kids someday. It’d be fun to have a few curtain-climbers in the family to liven things up a bit. He’d enjoy being an uncle.

Yep, no doubt about it, without his unruly siblings, life would be as dull as a brick.

Did Candice have any friends other than Lacey? Then there was the house. Blade was surprised she could afford it. No doubt, Candice made good money working at Vaughn Business Solutions, but the house was bigger than what he would have thought she could handle alone.

It was a one-storey ranch with a two-car garage and, judging by the size, three bedrooms. More than what a woman living alone needed. Being a construction contractor, Blade didn’t need to see the interior to know the approximate dimensions of the rooms. Besides, a woman living by herself generally preferred an apartment. Hell, he lived in an apartment. Nevertheless, having other people around tended to make a woman 16

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feel safe. No landscaping upkeep, either. So why choose to live alone in a house that was too big for a slip of a woman like Candice?

She was certainly a puzzle. It was a good thing he loved puzzles.

When she returned, Blade’s body reacted. She affected him in a way no other women ever had—and he’d definitely had his share. Women who were sexier and no doubt more eager to be in his presence. But here he was, getting all hot and bothered over a woman who wanted nothing to do with him. Which, needless to say, made him want her even more. It was crazy, but Blade couldn’t deny the temptation to get to know her on an intimate level. He’d tried that already, and he’d gotten nowhere.

It was high time he did something about his secret lust. Enough of wondering how her skin would feel against his, what her lips would taste like, how she would sound during a climax. How fucking good she would feel wrapped around his cock. It kept him up at night, and running a construction company on little to no sleep was not a good idea.

Hell, if he didn’t get the imp out of his system, he’d end up killing himself. The way he saw it, having sex with Candice Warner was a matter of life and death.

Once he got her to bed and had his fill of her warm, welcoming body, he would be able to get back to normal and feel in control again.

Candice was completely aware of Blade Vaughn’s presence in her home. Having any man inside her sanctuary was uncomfortable enough, but more so with a man as virile and masculine as Blade. He fairly exuded male confidence and sexual prowess. He was dark and savage, and she wasn’t comfortable with any of it.

He sat on her couch with his large muscular legs spread wide and one elbow on the armrest, the other hand resting on his thigh. Dear lord, he had sexy forearms. She’d always liked a man’s forearms, and Blade’s were first-rate, strong and thick and tan from working construction. Candice gave herself a mental smack as she remembered the last man who’d caught her interest. She refused to go down that road. She would not think of the last time she’d been alone in a room with a man. Going there could only lead to disaster.

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Besides, Blade was nothing like Lance. Blade didn’t need to force women to have sex with him. Ha! She was pretty sure women fell at his feet, willing and ready to please.