N. Walters - Craving Candy

The ironic part of the situation was that it was Cain’s company that had bought the original building that had housed Coffee Breaks and had forced Lucas to look for another location. That had also caused problems for Cain and Katie when it had finally come out.

Lucas had thought about leaving Chicago altogether, but after much soul-searching he had decided to stay. After all, it was home. It had all ended for the best as far as Lucas was concerned. In fact, it was Cain who’d suggested this building to him.

“Congratulations, Lucas.” Cain extended his hand and Lucas reached out and shook it. The two of them were friends now. Katie had been the reason they’d met, but they had forged their own bond of friendship over the last year.

“Thanks.” The other man had helped him with much more than just finding the building. “For everything.” Lucas meant to continue, but his mind suddenly went blank, all thoughts forgotten, as the woman from his dreams walked in through the front door of his shop.

He blinked, certain he was dreaming. But she was still there, chewing on her bottom lip as she peered around the room, obviously searching for someone. As she opened her coat, slid it off and handed it to the person in charge of the coat-check he’d set up for the evening, his cock stirred and every male instinct he possessed began screaming at him to claim her before another man did.

Her cheeks were flushed from the cold outside and her lips were rosy. He couldn’t tell if the color of her lips was due to her lipstick or the fact that she was chewing nervously on them. Her hair was thick and curly, falling to just past her shoulders, and when she walked past the window, the fading sunlight made it glint. It was the color of a cinnamon stick. She was wearing a nondescript beige suit, which, in his opinion, was about two sizes too big for her. It hid her shape. But Lucas had always been a keen observer and this woman had some serious curves under that outfit. He’d bet on it.

As if from a distance, he heard Katie tell him that she and Cain were going to get something to eat. He must have made an appropriate response because they left him standing there as they wandered off toward the buffet table that had been set up on the main counter of the shop.

He tracked the mystery lady as she moved through the room. The heels on her boots were about four inches high and were ridiculously inappropriate for a slippery winter day as far as he was concerned. But man, they made her legs look good. The only redeeming feature about the hideous suit she wore was that the skirt fell about three inches above her knee. From what he could see, she had incredible legs.

He was starting to sweat now. He swore and took a deep breath as his cock pushed hard against the zipper of his jeans. A hard-on was definitely not appropriate for a crowded party, but what was a guy to do when a vision from his own fantasy walked through the front door?

She stopped to chat to someone and he growled with displeasure when she placed her hand on the other man’s arm. He felt like stalking over and yanking her hand away.

What the hell was the matter with him? He turned away and took another deep breath. He had to get control of himself. Raking his hand through his hair, he gathered his composure before turning back to the room.

His stomach clenched when he didn’t see her right away. Had she left? Quickly, he scanned the room and found her off to his right, looking slightly forlorn. Maybe he could help her find whoever she was looking for. After all, as host of this party, it was his responsibility to make sure his guests were taken care of.

Right, he snorted as he sauntered toward her, ignoring everyone who tried to catch his attention. His entire focus was on the woman in front of him.

Candy stared around the room in dismay. She couldn’t believe that she’d missed Lucas Squires yet again. But the person she’d just talked to had told her that the object of her search had already come and gone. “Damn. Damn. Damn,” she muttered under her breath.

This was definitely not going as planned. Besides which, her new boots hurt her feet and she was starving. It was just after five o’clock and she hadn’t had time for lunch. Sighing, she thought about just hauling on her coat and going home to curl up with a pizza and about a gallon of vanilla ice cream. It had been that kind of a day.

“That’s a big sigh. Is there anything I can help you with?”

Candy glanced toward the voice and had to look up. Oh my! For the first time in her life, all ability to speak left her. The man standing next to her cocked his eyebrow, obviously waiting for her reply. Well, he’d have to wait a little longer. There was no way she could talk. It was taking all her concentration just to breathe.

Never had she been so instantly attracted to a man in her life. He was much taller than she was, and she was wearing high-heeled boots. But then again, she wasn’t very tall, so that wasn’t surprising. Massive— that was the first word that came to mind to describe him. His shoulders looked to be about a yard wide and his thick biceps strained the sleeves of the short-sleeved T-shirt he was wearing. Her fingers itched to touch them just to see if they were as hard as they looked.

His blond hair was cut short, but there was just enough for her to run her fingers through. Her hands curled into fists at her sides as she fought the impulse to just reach out and stroke it. His face wasn’t pretty. Instead it was compelling and tough, just like the rest of him. His nose looked as if it had been broken at least once, and his thin lips were set in a half-scowl as he continued to wait for her reply.

He was the kind of man you didn’t want to meet in a dark alley, the kind of man that made other men nervous. But Candy wasn’t the least bit afraid of him. For the first time in her life, she understood instant attraction. Everything feminine inside her was screaming out to jump this man’s bones. Her breasts were aching and she was glad that she’d kept her suit jacket buttoned or he’d be able to see her pebbled nipples through her blouse. She fought the impulse to squirm as she creamed her panties just looking at this sexy stranger.

She could feel the heat creeping up her cheeks as Missy’s earlier words rang in her head. Maybe she really did need to get laid. Sex with this man would be incredible. She didn’t know how she knew that, she just did. And, oh God, she couldn’t remember what he’d asked her.

Clearing her throat, she tried to appear nonchalant. “I’m sorry. What did you say?” The corner of his mouth kicked up in a half-smile and her heart skipped a beat as she fought the urge to fan her face. This man was lethal. If she reacted this strongly to just the hint of a smile, she didn’t even want to think about what she might do if he really smiled. He just oozed sex appeal.

“I asked if there was anything I could help you with.” The low, sensual sound of his voice strummed over her like a lover’s caress. Her entire body was tight and needy. She felt as if she’d spent the last half-hour engaging in intense foreplay and she was now close to coming.

“Ah,” she stuttered. “No, but thank you. I was looking for someone, but he’s no longer here. It’s not important.” She couldn’t believe the nonsense she was babbling. Not important. It was supposed to be the most important thing in her life, but she no longer cared about the elusive Lucas Squires. Right now, all her focus was on the mystery man in front of her.

“His loss is my gain then. What’s your name?”

“Candy.” He’d slipped that question in so smoothly, she replied before she thought. “Forget I said that.” She worried her bottom lip with her teeth.

“Why? It’s a great name.” He ran his laser-like, pale blue eyes up and down her body. “And it suits you.”

Candy gaped at him, stunned. Was this man flirting with her? She glanced down at the lower half of his body. Immediately her gaze shot back up to his face, only to find him staring down at her with a knowing expression. That was an impressive hard-on pushing against the front of his jeans. She swallowed hard. There was no doubt that he was attracted to her and wasn’t afraid for her to know it.

Oh God, what should she do? She could pretend she hadn’t noticed, excuse herself and just go home to her pizza and ice cream. Or she could let go of her control, just this once, and enjoy a steamy, sexual encounter with a complete stranger. There really should be no choice. Candy wasn’t the type of woman to indulge in a one-night stand, but the man standing in front of her was the kind of man who came along once in a woman’s lifetime— if she were lucky.

Okay, no need to jump the gun. He hadn’t even made a motion toward her. Maybe this was just her overactive imagination and her unruly hormones both running amok. She’d just play along and see where the situation led. And if it did happen to end in the two of them having wild sex, well then, that was okay. They were both two healthy, unattached adults.

She paused and glanced at his ring finger, which thankfully was bare. But she made a mental note to check that out for sure if she did decide to indulge with him. She was no poacher.

She thought about asking him his name, but decided against it. If she did choose to indulge her passion with him, it was definitely going to be a one-time thing. Better for both of them if they remained two strangers that passed in the night, as it were. Yes, she’d told him her first name, but he’d probably forget it in no time.

She consoled herself that if it did indeed happen, they’d probably never see each other again and they’d be nothing more than a pleasant memory to one another. Why her stomach turned over at the thought, she didn’t know and there was no time to examine the feeling.