N. Walters - Craving Candy

“I’ll take you home.” He raised his hand to signal to the waiter that he wanted the check.

She was stunned. Take her home? Reaching over, she grabbed his hand. His concerned gaze flew back to her. “I don’t want to go home. I want dessert.”

The frown on his face faded, replaced by a look of such fierce desire that Candy almost cried out. No man had ever looked at her with such naked need in his eyes. Her heart pounded in her chest as he nodded. “I want that too.”

The waiter arrived with the bill and Lucas quickly took care of it, collected their coats and hustled her out of the restaurant and into the cold winter’s night.

The apartment door closed with a solid thunk. Although she wanted this to happen, Candy was nervous. The ride back to Lucas’ place hadn’t helped any, as both of them were quiet, wrapped up in their own thoughts. She jumped slightly when his hands clasped her shoulders.

“Relax, sugar. All I want to do is take your coat.”

Now she felt like a complete idiot. Really, she had to get a hold of herself. She unbuttoned her long coat and allowed him to slip it off her shoulders. While he was hanging up her coat and removing his own, she looked around his home, interested to see what kind of a place he lived in. She knew it was a new apartment, built at the same time the store was being renovated two stories below, but she still hoped to learn more about the man beside her by his surroundings.

He’d flicked on the dim light in the foyer as soon as he’d opened the front door. She was surprised to see that it opened directly into a large room, which was shrouded in shadows.

“Would you like a tour?”

“I’d love one.” She was undeniably curious about him and wasn’t about to turn down the opportunity to see his home.

With his hand on the small of her back, he led her into the room. He stopped by a large support beam and touched a few switches. The room came alive, bathed in soft, muted lighting. Her breath caught in her throat as she stepped away from him, slowly turning in a circle as she tried to take in the magnificence of the room all at once. “This is gorgeous.”

“Thank you.” She could hear the pride in his voice. No wonder, she thought as she drank it all in.

The living area was painted a pale yellow, making it feel warm and inviting. The furniture was large and masculine. The sofa and two loveseats, covered in a rich chocolate brown fabric and grouped into an intimate seating area, looked incredibly comfortable. She could all too easily imagine the two of them curled up on a cold winter’s evening. A huge oak cabinet with doors dominated the wall across from the sofa and she’d bet good money that his electronic equipment was housed there. A large, patterned area rug completed the sitting area.

“It really is lovely, Lucas.”

“There’s more.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they walked across the floor. Her shoes sounded loud against the hardwood. Floor-to-ceiling drapes in a chocolate brown that matched the sofa practically covered the far wall. Lucas left her standing in front of them and then tugged them open. The view was breathtaking.

“Oh, Lucas.” She really didn’t know what else to say. The lights of the city gleamed in the darkened skyline, making both the moment and the view seem magical and beautiful.

“Yeah, I know.” He stood behind her, slipping his forearm around her waist and pulling her back against his hard body. “I put in a stairway that leads to the roof and I plan to put in a rooftop patio this summer so I can sit out on hot summer nights and enjoy it.”

Candy just nodded. She could picture it in her mind, filled with plants and comfortable furniture and maybe even a barbecue. But she was surprised by just how sad it made her feel. By the time summer arrived, their business association would have ended, and she was realistic enough to know that the likelihood of her ever seeing the rooftop patio was remote at best.

She’d gone into this relationship with her eyes wide open and she didn’t expect it to last. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t enjoy every single moment that they had together. Shaking off her melancholy, she turned in his arms and smiled at him. “Show me more.”

His lips grazed the sensitive outer shell of her ear as he nuzzled her neck. “It gets better.”

She didn’t know how that was possible, but he turned her toward the dining area. A large wood trestle table sat in splendor atop a sumptuous area rug. Two huge wooden chairs dominated the ends while long, high-backed benches flanked the sides of the table. It looked very old and very solid, and Candy loved it on sight. She didn’t realize she’d slipped out of Lucas’ grasp and hurried forward to stroke her hands over the backs of the benches before reaching out to tentatively touch the table until he laughed. Like a guilty child, she pulled her hands away and tucked them behind her back.

“No, don’t stop. Go ahead and touch it.” Picking up her hands with his, he laid them back on the table, covering them with his own. “I did the exact same thing the first time I saw it. I knew it had to be mine.”

She could certainly understand that feeling. She’d love to own something like this. It spoke of history and permanence and felt almost alive beneath her fingers. In the quiet of the room, she’d almost swear she could hear the sounds of people who’d sat at it over the past several hundred years. “It’s amazing, Lucas.” A large antique sideboard dominated another wall, its construction simple but the quality obvious.

“But there’s still more.”

She was loath to leave the table behind, but allowed him to lead her to the kitchen. A three-foot-wide granite countertop jutted out at a right angle from the wall separating the kitchen and dining area. About eight feet long, the countertop was actually at two different levels. The lower section had two comfortable stools pushed up next to it on the dining room side, making it a cozy breakfast nook. The slate floor was almost too beautiful to walk on and the appliances were obviously high quality and gleamed even though the light was dim. The amount of counter space was incredible, but it was surprisingly uncluttered, everything tucked neatly away in the vast expanse of oak cabinets that filled the area.

“Wow.” She didn’t know what else to say. Her own apartment had a postage stamp-sized kitchenette and she didn’t cook very much, but this looked like a cook’s dream straight out of a fancy decorating magazine.

Lucas chuckled as he tugged her into the kitchen behind him. Turning her, he backed her up against the lower section of the counter. His hands were warm as they stroked down the length of her bare back before coming to rest at her waist. Wrapping his fingers around her, he lifted her and perched her on the edge of the counter.

Candy licked her lips in anticipation as he leaned toward her. When their mouths met, she sighed deeply. This was what she wanted. What she needed. His hands came up to frame the sides of her face and she could feel the roughness of his fingers against her cheeks. The contrast was highly arousing. There was no doubt that Lucas was strong and tough, but his touch was always gentle, always restrained, as if he were well aware of his strength and didn’t want to hurt her. It made her feel special and cherished, but it also made her want to strip away his control and have him be as wild for her as she was for him.

His tongue stroked along the seam of her lips and she parted them eagerly. But instead of plunging inside, he barely flicked the inside of her mouth before withdrawing again. Her hands gripped his shoulders for support, digging into the muscled expanse beneath his suit. Over and over, he tasted the inside of her lips but went no farther into her mouth. It was intoxicating and it was maddening.

Finally, unable to take it any longer, she sifted her fingers through his short hair, gripped his skull in her hands and pulled him tighter. Plunging her tongue into his mouth, she took what she wanted. She stroked his tongue with hers, reveling in his deep groan of pleasure as he responded to her. His tongue played with hers before he tilted her head for a better angle and began to plunder her mouth.

Heat rushed over her skin. Her clothing felt tight and confining and when his hands left her face to spread her thighs wide open, she eagerly complied, almost whimpering when he shoved the skirt of her dress high on her thighs and pushed his way between them. His hands slid over her hips, pulling her close, angling her so she could feel the outline of his erection pressing against her slit. She could feel his cock pulsing through the fabric of his pants and her sex throbbing heavily in response.

Lucas tore his mouth away from hers, gasping for breath. “Dessert. I promised you dessert.” Stepping away, he removed his suit jacket and tossed it over the end of the counter. His tie quickly followed.

“Dessert.” Her mind was muddled with desire. She wanted him now. No more waiting.

He smiled at her as he unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it aside. The large expanse of male flesh distracted her. She hadn’t gotten a good look at it that day in the storage room. It had been too dark to see much. She knew his chest was impressive by feel alone, but that was nothing compared to actually seeing it. His shoulders looked about a yard wide and his chest was thick with muscle as it tapered down to his waist. She’d never seen an abdomen like his before outside a magazine. His abs were clearly defined and rock-hard.

Reaching out, she laid her hand on him. The muscles beneath her fingers jumped before hardening to steel and the heavy thump of his heart beat against her palm. Placing her other hand on his stomach, she slid it upward, enjoying the feel of the crisp line of hair that ran from the center of his chest downward and disappeared into his pants. The hair was blond but slightly darker than the hair on his head.