Nothing's Sweeter than Candy (10 page)

“Candace, honey, I didn't come up here for this. I came up to make sure you were okay.”

“I know.” She whispered and reluctantly loosened her hold. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to molest you.” She gave a small, tremulous laugh. “It's just that it's been so long since I've been held like this. It feels good. With everything that's happened, I think tonight more than anything, I needed to feel good.”

“It's okay. Anytime you need to be held, just let me know. I'm your man for the job.” He chuckled softly as he wrapped his arms around her again. “And just ignore
him
,” he said, referring to his apparent arousal. “He has a mind of his own. I don't intend to take advantage of you while you're in this state.
When
we make love,” he said, lifting her chin and looking into her eyes with unwavering certainty, “it won't be because you need a distraction. Call me old-fashioned, but when it happens, I want both of us fully engaged.”

She rewarded him with a small smile. “Will you stay with me for a while, at least until I fall asleep?”

“Of course.”

She kissed him on the lips again and then turned over on her side. Snuggling deeper into his arms, she pushed her bottom up flush against his arousal and gave a quick little wiggle.

“Stop that,” he admonished, laughing in her ear. “I'm trying to be the bigger person here.”

“Oh, there's no question you're the ‘bigger' person.” She giggled into the pillow. He purposely groaned out loud, making her laugh harder.

He was glad she was feeling better, even at his expense. Her laughter reassured him she had bounced back and put aside her fear, at least for the moment. The feel of her body, warm and soft cradled next to his, and her fresh-from-the-shower scent made him realize he couldn't have left her bed even if he'd wanted to.

He ended up staying the entire night with his body wrapped intimately around her, feeling an unfamiliar but welcome sense of warmth and satisfaction. He slept comfortably with his arms around her and his erection nestled against the cleft of her buttocks. To his surprise, he adjusted quickly to her restless movements in the night and the light sound of her snoring. Whenever she moved, he instinctively tightened his hold and snuggled closer, nuzzling her neck and shoulder, and folding himself more protectively around her.

At the first sign of morning light, Candace stirred and came fully awake to the pleasant sensation of a warm body lying beside her, and strong masculine arms surrounding her. Smiling with the pleasant memory of where she was, she rolled over see beautiful sleepy blue eyes peering at her from beneath a cap of dark and tousled hair.

“Good morning.” She reached up to brush aside wayward strands that threatened to obscure his sight. “What beautiful blue eyes you have,” she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on his chin.

“The better to see you with,” he growled playfully.

Nuzzling in closer, she was again made painfully aware of his arousal pressed intimately against her thighs. “Um, now that the three of us are awake, what
ever
should we do?”

“I told you to ignore him. He has a one-track mind. Besides, he always wakes up long before I do.”

“You know,” she said, pinning him with a meaningful look, “eventually we're going to have to do something about his shameless behavior, right?”

“I'm counting on it. But it won't be today.”

“Well, if you insist.” She pouted. “I suppose I'll let you get away with this sweet, albeit misguided attempt at chivalry for now. But you should know up front I'm a high-maintenance kind of girl used to having her way. So, consider yourself forewarned. Right now, I'll settle for being fed. What's for breakfast?”

“Are you going to be this demanding the entire time we're together?”

“Absolutely.” She grinned.

He grinned back and kissed her on her nose, and then untangled himself from her arms and quickly got out of bed. “If you're going to stay here, you'll have to pull your weight. Meet me in the kitchen in ten minutes.” He turned and left the room.

Candace lay in bed a while longer. She hadn't been the least bit alarmed by Brice's earlier statement that they would make love. The attraction was mutual, and the two of them becoming intimate was inevitable. She'd enjoyed lying next to him all through the night and had felt safe cuddled in his arms—a feeling she was woefully unaccustomed to.

Poignant memories of nights with Nash, void of intimacy and affection, flashed in her head.
Nash? Crap. Where did he come from to ruin my feel-good moment?
She didn't want to think about him right now—who he really was or what he might be capable of. She was with Brice, and Brice was nothing like Nash. That thought put the smile back on her face and made her jump out of bed and hurry to the bathroom. She quickly washed her face, brushed her teeth, and combed her wild, curly mane of hair up into a bushy ponytail perched on the top of her head.

Still dressed in cotton drawstring pajamas and a tank top, she hurried downstairs to meet Brice in the kitchen. What she saw there stopped her dead in her tracks, tightened her nipples, and sent a flash of warmth straight to her center, causing it to ache and throb with anticipation. Brice was bent over in front of the refrigerator, his muscular arms flexing as he reached inside. His firm rear end was so enticing it took every ounce of self-control she had not to walk up behind him, grab his ass, and rub all over him like a cat in heat.

The man had a body to die for: tall and lean with well-defined abdominals and chest muscles beneath an undershirt that stretched tight across his torso. His arms were muscled and roped with veins that stood out with implied strength. He was virtually a walking advertisement for a gym membership, and he'd be perfectly cast in one of those TV infomercials selling newfangled workout equipment. She knew he looked good in a suit and tie, but hot damn, he looked even better dressed in less. When he'd come to her room under the cover of darkness, Lord knows she'd felt every hardened inch of him pressed against her, separated only by two thin layers of cloth. Now in the light of day, she ogled his near-naked glory, feeling damp and needy—and wishing like hell he weren't so determined to be a gentleman.

Of course, he picked
that instant to stand up and catch her gawking. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the impressive outline of his “friend,” which she'd enjoyed pushing tight and aroused against her all night long. The full frontal was even more magnificent as it hung low and swayed from side to side. She had to lean against the counter to keep from collapsing on the floor. The unexpected rush of heat and desire made her dizzy
. Oh my God. He's got a six-pack—and packing an extra nine down below.

“Caught you looking.” He grinned as he closed the refrigerator door with his hip, his hands full of food for breakfast.

“Damn right you did,” she said defiantly, clinching her fists as a rosy blush spread across her face and down her throat. “Traipsing around the kitchen wearing fancy pajamas and precious little else, you're lucky that ‘looking' is all I was doing.”

Brice laughed out loud. “I apologize for the distraction, but this is the most I've worn in my own home in years. So,
you're
lucky I'm not ‘traipsing' around in my birthday suit.”

Lord o' mercy. I did not need that visual running through my head.
“Then I'll overlook your exhibitionism, this time,” she countered flippantly with her nose in the air. “But a girl can handle only so much testosterone in an enclosed space. So don't blame me if I look at you like a dog drooling over his favorite toy. If you insist on making such a blatant display, then you have no one to fault but yourself.”

“Okay,” he chuckled. “Let's put you to work. You said you were hungry, so we need to get you fed.” He gave her a mischievous look and wiggled his eyebrows. “Maybe a full stomach will help take the edge off?”

A full stomach is not what I had in mind.
She felt a more ferocious hunger taking hold. She stood aside as he placed breakfast food and cooking utensils on the counter. From the looks of it, he was preparing to feed an army, with fruit, eggs, bacon, sausage, and fixings for pancakes.

“What can I do to help?”

“How good are you with a knife?”

• • •

“What are we going to do today?” she asked around a mouth full of bacon and pancakes. She sat with one leg tucked under her body and the other foot in the chair with her shin pressed against the table. They'd prepared their meal together like a well-organized team, talking and joking the whole time. He'd enjoyed the way she chattered on and on, telling funny stories from her childhood that made him laugh out loud.

He loved listening to her. Her face was freshly scrubbed, and she wore no makeup. The polished, professional woman he knew her to be had vanished for the moment, but he found himself liking this casual side of her even more. He'd been astonished by her admission of voyeurism and lustful yearning, delivered in a sullen tone. Hearing a woman unapologetically admit to her carnal desires was a new experience. And he liked it.

He was amazed at how comfortable he felt with her his home, and even more amazed that he hadn't panicked at the thought. It was a pure delight to have her in his kitchen and to watch her eat. He was experiencing a lot of “firsts” with Candace. It was the first time he'd invited a woman into his home to stay for more than a night. It was the first time he'd spent the night in bed with a woman and had actually slept. And it was the first time he'd ever played the role of that knight in shining armor, to rescue the damsel in distress. She'd brought out protective instincts in him he didn't even know he had.

“It's Saturday, so there's not much going on, but I've got a few errands to run. You can tag along if you like, or you can stay here and take it easy.”

“Your offer sounds tempting, Brice.” She emitted a small sigh, brushing her hands together to rid them of the last few bits of clinging crumbs. “But I should get back to reality and decide what to do about my problem. You've made me all but forget that my house was broken into last night. I'm grateful for the distraction, but I should go home and check on things.” A wry expression settled on her face. “I should at least have the locks changed, and probably shop around for better security. Could you drop me off before you run your errands?”

“It's already been taken care of. Your locks are probably being changed as we speak, and someone should drop your new keys off sometime today. You can call around for a new security service from here. I happen to know of a couple of good companies I could recommend.” He poured another cup of coffee and calmly awaited her reaction to the news. But it didn't matter what she said, he'd already made up his mind between bed and breakfast. There was no way he'd let her out of his sight, today or tomorrow. He wasn't about to leave her to deal with her problem all alone. And if he could stretch their time together into next week, well, he'd do that too.

“What? What are you talking about?”

“I called a locksmith last night, and I had security guards posted in front of your place until he got there.”

Her eyes grew wide with surprise. “You did what?”

Brice sighed and carefully placed his coffee cup on the table. “Look, Candace, I told you I'd take care of things, so I did. And if you don't want to go home right away, you don't have to. You can stay here for the weekend, or until you're ready to face your place again. However long it takes. So, you can hang out with me for the day while I take care of some personal things. And then later, we can go out to dinner to the fanciest restaurant in town.”

“I didn't bring anything to wear to the ‘fanciest restaurant in town.'”

“We can go shopping. I'll buy you whatever you think you'll need for the evening.”

“You're taking this ‘knight in shining armor' thing a little too seriously, aren't you?” she commented with knitted brows and wary eyes.

He ignored her brief look of distrust. He didn't blame her, given what she'd gone through in the last twenty-four hours and her past experiences with Nash. Of course she had reservations, but he'd make damn sure she'd come to know that
he
wasn't Andrew Nash.

“Don't worry, Candace, I'm beginning to like the role. Humor me. It's not often I get a chance to play the good guy. And,” he added with a grin, “I'm going to milk it for all its worth. So, what do you say? It's your call.” He reached over to gently brush crumbs from the side of her mouth and gave her a penetrating look he knew she'd be unable to resist.

“That's not fair,” she grumbled. “How am I supposed to say no to those eyes?”

“You're not supposed to say no. You're supposed to say yes.”

• • •

They spent the morning together running his errands. Afterwards they had lunch and then stopped by Candace's house to check on the locksmith. He felt it was too soon for her to face the destruction again, but she'd insisted, wanting to see the damage in the light of day. The woman had a stubborn streak the size of Texas, and though he'd rather not admit it, he found it adorable. She also refused his offer to buy her something new to wear for their dinner date. She maintained she had a closet full of clothes and could certainly salvage something from the mess. They'd arrived at her house in time to meet with the locksmith and pick up the new set of keys.

When they went inside, she got upset all over again, but her reaction was far different from that of the night before. Instead of being frightened and confused, she felt angry and violated. Brice was right; she wasn't ready to deal with this yet. She needed more time. She was lucky she had a place to go to distance her from the problem. She trusted him enough to take advantage of the refuge he offered. She gathered together a few extra things to take back to his place, and they left.