Candy Canes: A Dirty Box Set

by Angela Blake

  He pulled back and let the cool summer night air push its way in between them. “I think we should wait,” Brandon said.

  Ashlyn couldn’t hear him very well. She stepped forward. He had said something about waiting. Could he be serious? “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “I want you,” Brandon said, gritting his teeth. Ashlyn could see he was struggling. Why was he struggling? Why couldn’t he just let go and give her the satisfaction that she wanted?

  “You can have me,” Ashlyn said. She stepped closer and pressed herself into Brandon. He groaned again, and Ashlyn felt a fear fluttering on the edge of her mind as she feared being rejected. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t be rejected. Not by Brandon. Brandon had begun to embody everything she wanted in a man. If he turned her down, then Ashlyn feared she might not ever find another man like him who was interested in her.

  Brandon was shaking his head. “I don’t know. Maybe. . .” Ashlyn hated the tears that built up and slid down her cheeks at the same time.

  “Fine!” she shouted, louder than necessary. “I see it means nothing to you that I want to. . .” Ashlyn shook her head. It felt dirty saying it out loud, now that Brandon clearly didn’t care what she felt for him.

  “Ashlyn,” Brandon said. He reached for her, but Ashlyn took a step back, wiping her own tears. “It is important to me. It means everything to me. That’s why I don’t know if I can just take you, even though everything inside me is telling me to do it. There’s still something inside me that says I shouldn’t.”

  “Just do it!” Ashlyn said, trying to be defiant, even though she felt rejected.

  Brandon tried to reach for her again, but Ashlyn crossed her arms and refused to melt into him. She stood like a statue as Brandon wrapped his arms around her. Ashlyn didn’t feel turned on anymore. She just wanted to go home and sleep. She wanted to go home to her mom, not her temporary home with these temporary crew mates.

  Brandon kissed the side of Ashlyn’s head. He kissed it again, her hair pressing up against his lips. Ashlyn started crying. All of the rejection from previous men assaulted her. She remembered Javon’s interest, purely physical. Now here was Brandon, interested in her for some other reason, and she wasn’t allowing him to treat her like a lady. Ashlyn was broken.

  Brandon gently stroked Ashlyn’s hair. Her tears eventually stopped, and she stopped shuddering. Brandon still held her. Then Ashlyn realized. Maybe Brandon didn’t really want her. Maybe he just saw her as a friend. But now, that couldn’t be. He had kissed her. He had held her hand. He was interested in her, even after most of his time working as an extra had ended.

  “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” Ashlyn murmured, still buried in Brandon’s shoulder. By this time, her arms were wrapped around him, and her eyes were closed. She felt at peace.

  “Don’t apologize for being you,” Brandon gently reprimanded. “Remember, that’s one of the things I like about you. You are always so honest.”

  “I don’t think you would like it about me if you were with me for a long time,” Ashlyn replied. “My mother always said that I was too emotional.”

  Brandon laughed. He gave a real, from the belly laugh. “Yeah, people have said that about me too.”

  Ashlyn pulled back and had to look Brandon full in the face. “What? No way.”

  “Yes way! People say that I’m a guy. I’m not supposed to feel anything, but I do.” Brandon shrugged. “You just haven’t seen me get to that point yet.”

  Ashlyn sighed. She no longer felt overwhelmed by the need to be needed. She felt overwhelmed with gratitude that some guys didn’t just jump at the chance to have her body. Some guys wanted to know her for who she was first.

  Ashlyn looked at the ground as she reached around and re-fastened her bra. Maybe she wouldn’t do it tonight, but someday, if Brandon kept showing her this side of him, Ashlyn felt determined that she wouldn’t have sex with him, a simply physical thing. She would make love to him, something that involved the heart too.

  The moment suddenly seemed too tender to do something so bonding. Ashlyn realized that she shouldn’t be so eager to give herself away. “I guess we should go back to the house now,” Ashlyn said as she took his hand. Brandon started pulling her in the other direction.

  “Why? We’re already halfway there. We might as well take another trip to look at the hole in the sand.”

  Ashlyn smiled. “Okay, I like the sound of that.” She wasn’t quite ready to leave Brandon yet anyway. She wanted to hold on to a little of the magic of the night. Ashlyn held Brandon’s hand tightly, and as they came up to the turtle nest, they saw that the crowd of people was more than double.

  Brandon broke into a jog. “Come on! They’ve got to be hatching!”

  Ashlyn and Brandon found their way along the edge of the passage so that they could see the little creatures moving.

  “I’ve never seen turtles move so fast,” Ashlyn commented, in wonder of the baby turtles that were no bigger than the palm of her hand. There were hundreds of baby sea turtles, all following the passage down to the edge of the ocean. The turtles didn’t take notice of the large humans watching them. They had one goal only.

  “How do they know to go toward the water?”

  “The moon reflects off the water. They actually want to reach the moon, but the reflection throws them off.” Ashlyn smiled, not taking her eyes off the baby sea turtles. She couldn’t believe that she had finally gotten to see the turtles. The ranger was advising people not to take photos, so Ashlyn just watched. When the last baby turtle had found its way into the ocean, Ashlyn turned and smiled at Brandon.

  “I guess we finally found what we are looking for,” Ashlyn replied. “We saw the turtles at last.”

  “I wasn’t looking for the turtles,” Brandon said. “I was just looking for a way to spend more time with you.”

  Ashlyn giggled, and the two kissed, once again igniting the fire in Ashlyn’s stomach. She knew that she felt something strong for Brandon that wasn’t just based on physical features. She had a friendship with him, just like the friendship she had had with Mark, before he had broken her trust.

  The feelings of fear and distrust tumbled back into her thoughts. Could Brandon have a hidden side? How would she know if she knew him completely? Ashlyn sighed. She knew that she would just have to give him more time, more time before she would be able to completely get rid of the distrust she had for men.

  THE END

  A Secret Baby Sports Romance

  Blaire

  Blaire Hamilton wiped the sweat off his brow and squinted as he spat out the brittle collecting in the corner of his mouth. He hunched over, placed his hands on his hips and took a deep calming breath.

  He just had the wind knocked out of him, that was all.

  He just needed to get the air back in his lungs, so he waited for the searing pain he felt from within to subside before looking back.

  While he waited, he knew he should take advantage of the situation and study the opposing team’s weakness.

  They left one of their players open, and Blaire knew that in a few minutes once they let him back in the game, he would be able to take him out easily.

  As the pain in his chest subsided, he leaned back and blinked to clear his vision. He had been so focused on the point guard, he didn’t notice the basketball that came flying out of nowhere and collided into him smack dab in the middle of his chest.

  He was a bit winded, but he also really needed the time out to regroup and clear his head.

  His head dropped forward, and he scanned the crowd, taking in the smell of stale sweat, freshly brewed popcorn, and he could almost taste the tension in the air.

  This is why he loved being in the NBA.

  The rush, the adrenaline, the lights, and how a hush fell on the crowd as all eyes turned to him. He loved taking stock of how people held their breaths in collective anticipation as he dribbled the ball, stood poised and then le
t it fly through the air knowing that in most cases, it usually landed with a final swoop causing the crowd to erupt into a frenzy of love and cheers.

  Most people would find being center stage intimidating, but Blaire wasn’t like that. He relished it so much, and he had been working towards it for years. Pretty much since he picked up a basketball in high school.

  At 27 years old, Blaire was the youngest player on the team, but he was scouted pretty much once he got to college. He just put it off so he could get a degree in History, which had always been a passion of his.

  The scout was peeved at his decision, but knowing that players like Blaire only came along once in a blue moon, had agreed to hold off on making a formal offer provided he could still play as well four years later.

  As soon as he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in History, Blaire had showed up, made a slam dunk and left the scout with his mouth hanging open.

  The rest, as they say, is history.

  Blaire stood up abruptly and began to stretch his muscles. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his shaggy brown hair out of his eyes.

  Need to get a bloody haircut, he thought to himself as he continued to stretch his muscles. Blaire’s blue eyes scanned the crowd nonchalantly as he idly wondered who he would pick up for the night. The team would probably be having a party afterwards, and he also liked to have female company. As his shirt rode up to reveal a finely taut stomach, he heard some of the women nearby sigh and mutter his name.

  He turned around and gave them a quick wink as his eyes roamed over them. Too young, he thought as he dismissed them and eyed another potential group in the back who were waving and screaming frantically so he could notice them.

  He raised an eyebrow in acknowledgement and flashed them a row of pearly white teeth. His eyes immediately landed on a petite blonde in the middle who even from his vantage point had voluptuous curves and a nice rack.

  She licked her lips suggestively, and he could immediately feel himself getting turned on just by looking at her. He mouthed the words ‘later’ and turned around before he got a massive boner that would make him unable to focus for the rest of the night.

  A flash of chestnut brown hair caught his attention, and Blaire frowned as he saw the brunette walk by. His heart skipped a beat as he wondered for a moment if it was her.

  Sienna Hummel.

  He hadn’t seen Sienna since he graduated from college, and the thought of her being there had his heart anxiously skipping ten beats, as his palms began to grow sweaty.

  He gritted his teeth and told himself to get over it. Sienna wasn’t here. There was no way. He had ended things once he graduated because he knew that Sienna wanted a nice quiet life, and he wanted more.

  He had loved her once, but he loved the sounds of girls screaming his name on and off the field even more. It was that thirst and lust for fame and the lifestyle that came along with it that drove him to end it; that, and her deception.

  He shook his head to clear away the remnants of the past and turned around to find his team mate and best friend, Mark Berry come running towards him.

  Mark ran his hands through his shaggy blonde hair, making it stick up on all ends. His green eyes scanned Blaire carefully, “Are you ready to be back in the game man?”

  Blaire gave a swift nod, “More than.”

  Mark gave him a grin before he shoved him towards the court, “Alright, I’m out for a few.”

  He plopped onto the bleachers, and Blaire ran towards the center of the court where his team was huddled. They went over a strategy before calling out break.

  Before the referee blew the whistle, Blaire cast his glance upwards once more and flashed the petite blonde from earlier a panty-dropping grin that had the blonde tighten her legs in response.

  Blaire smirked at her response before turning his attention back to the game just in time for the referee to blow the whistle.

  *****

  Blaire took a swig of his beer as he made his way in and out of the throngs of people in the tightly packed space. Mark sure knew how to throw a hell of a party. And he never got in trouble with the neighbors who beat the hell out of Blaire.

  Blaire was sure he could never get away with something like this despite being the MVP of their team.

  “Great Job Blaire-out!” somebody called out from across the room. Blaire cringed at the use of the detestable nickname but called out a thanks to the man nonetheless.

  They called him ‘Blaire-out' because he once accidentally tossed the ball so hard it caused one of the other players to black out mere seconds later. Blaire had freaked out, run over and dropped to his knees to check on the man’s pulse, but he was fine. The man was merely dehydrated, and a ball to the head simply didn’t help.

  Blaire had breathed a sigh of relief and told the rest of the team, but they didn’t believe him. They still thought he could do what they thought he did. Blaire didn’t mind really because it earned him respect on the court, and it made women flock to his side thinking that he could make them black out because of a mind numbing orgasm.

  While his sexual prowess wasn’t quite that intense, he did pride himself on being able to get a woman to scream out his name multiple times while he made them feel better than they ever had in their entire life.

  He finally found his way back to the blonde-Hannah was her name-and he stood there a moment admiring her frame. She had changed out of the jeans and tight fitting shirt she had on earlier, and now she had on a skimpy pink dress that was so tight, her breasts were practically spilling out of it.

  He felt himself growing aroused, but he still stood there watching as she tossed her blonde hair back and bit her lips. He didn’t like to rush these things. He liked to take his time, so that by the time they got to it, the woman would be begging him to take her.

  The man Hannah was talking to saw Blaire, gave him a nod and moved out of his seat. Blaire nodded at him in acknowledgement before he plopped down onto the couch next to Hannah. She practically purred and pressed herself up against him as she breathed quietly down his neck.

  “Do you guys always have parties like these?”

  “Pretty much after every game,” he took a swig of his beer and brought his arm to rest on her shoulder. He idly traced patterns on her back and was happy to find that her body shuddered in response. He turned so he was facing her, and in one swift movement he had her on his lap. He casually placed a hand on her lap while the other toyed with the hair at the back of her neck.

  He shifted and grabbed his jacket off the back of the couch and placed it on her lap casually, so that his hand was able to move freely.

  “I heard you studied History in college.”

  Blaire chuckled as his hands lingered on the edge of her dress. She was trying not to show how affected she was, but he could see by the way she bit off the end of her sentence.

  “Somebody’s been doing their research,” Blaire’s other hand moved below her dress and toyed with the straps of her bra. Hannah gulped as she placed both arms around either side of his face.

  “I did study History, yes.”

  “What was your favorite era?”

  The hand that was hovering on the edge of her dress snaked underneath and began to rub her inner thighs. Hannah’s legs tightened in response, and Blaire grinned as he pressed a swift kiss on her neck, lingering there long enough to feel the goose bumps rise up and down her arms.

  He pulled back. “I don’t have a favorite era, but I was quite obsessed with Scottish history.”

  “Oh?” She tried to sound interested, but he could already see her brown eyes cloud over with lust.

  “Oh, yes. Studying the highlanders and their riots was really quite interesting.”

  “Interesting, yes,” Blaire’s hands had begun to move upwards and they rested just inside her thighs, but not anywhere near where Hannah wanted them to, and Blaire knew that.

  He wanted her to be fully ready, so he pulled his
hand away and moved it to her feet. He began to massage her feet while his other hand massaged her shoulders.

  Hannah tried to keep her eyes from rolling to the back of her head.

  “I also took a biology course,” he added nonchalantly as he captured her lips with his. Instead of deepening the kiss like they both wanted to, Blaire kept his mouth closed and steady, settling for a mere peck on the lips to keep her thirsty for more.

  “What did you learn?” Hannah’s brown eyes sparkled as she gazed at him, clearly trying to figure him out.

  “Well, there’s a vein in your neck,” His hand moved up and settled on the vein in question, “This vein sends out a lot of important signals to the brain, if this vein is severed, you die instantly,”

  Hannah looked at him and blinked, confusion mirrored all over her features.

  “This vein is also the most sensitive, so if I were to do this.” He placed his lips directly over the vein without touching it and simply breathed deeply. The result was instantaneous.

  She shivered slightly as goosebumps erupted all over her body. “Your entire body will be affected,” he added as he placed a feather light kiss on the vein.

  Hannah’s hands tightened on his neck, and she made an impatient noise in the back of her throat. Blaire stood absolutely still waiting to see what else she would do. She wriggled her hips suggestively, and Blaire bit back the groan as he cocked an eyebrow at her.

  He stood up abruptly and gave her his hand. “Let’s go somewhere quieter, and I’ll give you a private lesson.”

  “I’m sure you’re an excellent teacher,” she said flirtatiously.

  They moved through the house until they found an empty room, and they stumbled into it, tearing each other’s clothes off as they fell onto the bed.