by Karla Doyle
She didn’t need to be taken care of. Not tonight, not ever, not by anyone. But she’d let Jake do it anyway. In any way.
“Hurry up and open it, then. I want to be inside with you. And I want you to be inside of me.”
“Hurrying,” he said, exiting the vehicle with another display of lightning speed. He flung her door open seconds later, offering her his hand in a gentlemanly fashion that did not match his carnal smile.
One touch and her body tingled. She squeezed his hand as they crossed the asphalt at the maximum speed her heels and dress allowed. Not fast enough for Jake, based on the hungry glint in his eyes. Not fast enough for her, either. An urgency she hadn’t expected to feel again, ever, after losing her libido to the job. Jake had revived it singlehandedly. Maybe tonight, he’d stoke it even higher, doublehandedly.
“That is one beautifully naughty smile on your face, sweets.”
“Just thinking about some of the things I’d like you to do.” She gasped as he stopped abruptly, pulling her fast and tight against him.
“Tell me, and I will make every single one of them a reality better than anything you’re imagining.”
“I know you will. That’s why I’m not going to give you specifics.” She slid her hands up his warm, hard chest, then twined her arms behind his neck. “I don’t want you to follow some script from my head. I’ll keep those for nights when I’m alone.”
“That’d be never, if I had my way.”
“Let’s win the lottery, run far, far away and make that happen.”
“Sounds great, but I think the odds of winning are pretty low.”
“Rob a bank and run far, far away?” she asked, running the pads of her fingers over the soft, short hair at the back of his head.
“Sorry, the odds of that are even lower.” Integrity was one of his many wonderful qualities.
One of the reasons she loved him. She’d tell him that tonight, as soon as the right moment presented.
“There’s a whole lot going on behind those pretty eyes of yours. You’re not planning a bank heist, are you? Because, if I’m going to handcuff you, I’d rather do it in the bedroom.”
“Is that something you want to do to me?”
“I don’t want to do anything to you, sweets. But I’ll do anything you want with you.”
That he knew the distinction between the two, and cared about it, turned her on as much as his touch. “I’m going to tell you something now, so that I don’t have to press the pause button when we finally get to your bedroom.”
“You can always press the pause button. I’ll never push or pressure you to keep going if you’re not into something.”
God, this man. “I know you wouldn’t. That’s why I want you to hear me say this now, before I’m drunk on pheromones. I want you to know, absolutely, that clearheaded-me means what’s she’s saying.”
“Okay, adorable, clearheaded you. Tell me what’s on your mind, so I can take you to my bedroom and get naked with your pheromone-drunk alter ego.”
“Mmmm, that does sound good.”
“Hell yeah, it does.”
“So, hurry up and get the talking over with, right?”
“No rush.” A grin stretched across his face. “But yeah.”
She smiled in return, then inhaled as deep as her wildly hammering heart would permit. “Tonight, and every other night, I’ll do anything with you. You don’t need to ask or worry or hold back. If it turns you on, it’ll turn me on too, because it’s with you. If I’ve never done it before, I want to do it with you. If I have done it before, it’ll be infinitely better doing it with you.”
“Same.” Dipping down, he brushed his lips sweetly across hers. That sweetness that wasn’t present when he eased back from the kiss, only a mischievous grin. “Now that I’ve got your permission to do whatever I want…” He scooped her up without a warning. “I’m taking charge of the transportation. You’re gorgeous and sexy as hell in this dress and those shoes, but it’s taking way too damn long to get you out of it.”
“I agree,” she said, holding on tightly. “Hurry up and take me to bed.”
Candace
“Holy fuck.” Jake froze on the spot, his jaw hanging as low as it could go. Literally.
She’d had plenty of experience evoking this response in men. All of those times had been contrived to gain control. This time was about losing it.
“You are so goddamn beautiful,” he said, shedding layers of clothing as he crossed the room. “Everything about you. Your kissable lips, your beautiful eyes, your gorgeous hair. And your body…” Buck naked and gloriously hard in every way, he stood at the edge of the bed. “You’re a goddess. And I’m here to worship every inch of you.” He lifted one of her feet and brought it to his mouth for a soft kiss on the inside of her ankle.
The simple touch sent a ripple of sensation up her leg. “That feels nice.”
“Nice.” His eyes twinkled in the candlelight she’d set up while he’d taken the dog out for a brief walk. “You’re not going to use that word again tonight.”
“What’s wrong with the word nice?”
“It’s not the word I want to hear when I’m kissing your sexy, naked body.”
“What word do you want to hear?”
“More.” He dropped the next kiss beside her knee. “Please.” His fingertips trailed a light, zigzag line over her inner thigh. “Don’t stop.”
The needy tug low in her belly roared to life as he traced the crease at the top of her thigh, then circled around to trace the other side, avoiding the place she wanted his touch most.
“Jake…”
“Yeah, saying my name like that works too.” Her view of his face ended as he descended, his tongue following the same path.
“Please,” she said, tipping her hips higher. “Give me more.”
“I’ll give you everything.” He pressed his lips against her most intimate flesh, kissing it as if kissing her mouth. Soft pressure, gentle, rocking rhythm, then the slow, deliberate slide of his tongue. Up and down. Inside. Lapping. Circling. Pressing. Vibrating.
God, the vibrating. “Right there, don’t stop…”
His shoulders nudged her legs wider, spreading her open. Over and over, he feasted on her, pushing her closer and closer to the edge.
She arched her back, grabbed his head, desperate to get more pressure, more Jake. Against her. Inside her. “Touch me.”
A hungry groan vibrated against her flesh as he slid his finger into her pussy.
So good. “More,” she whispered. Her body mourned the loss as he withdrew his finger, then erupted with sensation when he gave her exactly what she’d wanted. More long, thick fingers filling her pussy. Another one, teasing her ass. Slowly, carefully.
His growl rippled through her as her body relaxed and welcomed him inside. Just the tip, then more. More. So full, so electric hot, the next press of his tongue on her clit pushed her over.
Spiraling ecstasy roared through her, lighting up every nerve ending. Clutching his hair, she rode the wave, his face, his touch, rocking against him until every last spark faded from brilliant white to sated black.
“That was nice,” she said, when the ability to speak returned.
“Nice?” He crawled up the bed, caging her body beneath his. “I warned you about that word. I guess I’ll have to do something else, to make sure it doesn’t leave your pretty mouth again.
“How are you going to do that?”
He answered by sealing his mouth over hers, leading her in a dance better than any they could have had at the gala.
“Mmm, that was—”
“Don’t do it, sweets.” He narrowed his eyes in warning, but the grin on his face told another story.
A dare she couldn’t resist. “Nice.”
“You’re going to get it now.” Without warning, he rolled onto his back, making her shriek as he took her along for a ride that plastered her on top of him.
Everything about him was hard, solid, and urg
ent. Except his eyes, those two mesmerizing windows to his soul. To his heart. The way he looked at her was pure softness, filled with the promise of patience and permanence.
“I love you.” The words left her mouth as naturally as breathing. “I’ve been waiting for the right time to tell you that, and now that I have, I wish I’d said it much sooner.”
“No regrets or looking back. Only forward, together.” He cupped her nape and drew her down, pausing before their mouths connected. “I love you, Candace. So damn much. I will do anything for you.”
Happy tears threatened, but she blinked them away. “How about right now?”
“Anything.”
“Lie there and let me enjoy this with you,” she said, pushing up from his body and settling on her knees, between his legs.
No words left his lips, but his eyes darkened with desire. He would never have asked for this. She was as certain of that as she was that he’d love every second of it.
Holding his gaze, she gripped his cock and stroked upward. A few slow, firm strokes with her mouth hovering above the tip. A primer, not that Jake ever needed one. She’d given more hand jobs and blowjobs than she could count, yet none of them counted. This was her first time with Jake. The last first time she’d ever have.
His eyelids closed the moment she sealed her lips over the crown. A deep groan filled the room, igniting the fire in her core as she lowered, drawing his length into her mouth.
“Holy fuck…your mouth is so perfect.”
Power unlike any she’d previously felt rushed through her. So different from before. She held the power to unravel with him in every intimate, connected way, and to unravel right along with him. The need to come hummed between her legs. She needed this. Needed this with him.
Holding him at the base, she hollowed her cheeks and sucked hard, letting his cock slide free of her mouth with a wet pop. “Still willing to do anything for me?”
“Anything. Name it.”
“Come with me.”
“Done.”
She shook her head when he moved to sit up. “I want you to come in my mouth.” She slipped one hand between her legs, gasping at the sensitivity of her clit. It wouldn’t take much to get there. “And I’m going come while you do.”
His gaze locked with hers, heating her, inside and out. “Show me.”
She leaned back enough to let him see her fingers, rubbing circles around her clit.
“Fuck, you’re hot.”
“You make me that way. I’ve never done anything like this, because I’ve never been as turned-on as I am with you. You make me want to lose control.”
“You already make me lose control.”
“Then lose control with me,” she said, then took him in her mouth. God, he was big. Thick, long, and warm. Up and down, she bobbed, savoring the softness of his skin as it moved over the hardness beneath. Every heated stroke, every bump against the back of her throat, pushed her closer. Need tingled beneath her fingers. So, so close. She couldn’t wait. She rubbed harder, faster, moaning around his cock as orgasm took her over.
“Fuck, Candace, fuck.” He grabbed fistfuls of her hair, hot release shooting down her throat as he pumped his hips. “Fuuuuck, yesss…”
She waited for his grip to slacken, then let his cock slide gently from her mouth. Licking her lips, she smiled up at him. “That was—”
“Don’t do it,” he said, grinning.
“Nice.”
“Now you’re really going to get it.”
“Pretty sure I just did.”
Every muscle in his strong, tanned body flexed as he pounced, drawing her beneath him with her hands pinned above her head. “That was just the beginning of everything I’m going to love doing with you.”
With, not to. God, she loved him.
Jake
“Are you sure about this?” Candace’s finger hovered over the green Call button.
“Absolutely.”
She exhaled and pressed the button, then set her phone on the coffee table in front of them. “Here we go, venturing into the emotional abyss.”
“Hey, they’re the ones with the abyss, not you. Not us.” He nudged her forward on the carpet and settled in behind her, hugging her as innocently as possible, considering his dick was nestled against her sexy ass. “We’re in this together. You, me, and Macy. If they want to be part of it, great. If they don’t, they can go—”
“Hello?” A woman’s voice rose from the phone as the call connected.
“Hi, Mom. Just doing my Sunday check-in. Is Dad there with you?”
“Yes, dear, he’s reading the paper. Please hold while I have him join me.”
Tilting her head, Candace looked up at him. “It’s not too late to change your mind,” she whispered.
“Never.” Not about her.
“Hello, dear. Your father is with me now. Are we on speaker phone, is Macy on the call with us?”
“Yes, you’re on speaker and no, Macy isn’t here.”
“Where is she? I hope she hasn’t had a relapse.”
“She’s in perfect health, Mom.”
“Then why haven’t you included her? You know she’s the reason we enjoy the call.”
Candace rolled her eyes.
“Dear, why don’t we say goodbye for now, and you can call us back when Macy is available to talk.”
“Don’t hang up,” Candace said, reaching for the phone. “I called now because I want to talk to you without Macy listening.”
“Whatever for?”
Candace pointed at the phone and mouthed a silent, You see?
His grunted laugh slipped out before he could control it. The only thing that saved him from discovery was an outburst of Trooper’s crazed barking.
“What in the world is all that racket?” her mother asked, after the noise ended.
“Sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Caine,” he said, leaning around Candace to address her long-distance parents. “I’m Jake, Candace’s boyfriend, and that was my dog, barking at a squirrel who dared to cross the patio.”
“Candace, are you still there?”
“Yes, Mom.” She shot him another I-told-you-so expression. “And so is Jake.”
“Why didn’t you tell us you have a boyfriend?”
“If you could rewind back to my earlier comment about wanting to talk to you without Macy…”
“There is no need to be sassy, Candace. It’s rude behavior and we taught you better than that.”
“You’re also being rude, Mom. Jake introduced himself and you haven’t even acknowledged him.”
Silence filled the room. Candace hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d described her parents. They weren’t just cool in the emotions department, they were assholes. Something he would’ve been happy to point out, if he hadn’t already promised to let her handle them, regardless of their reaction. Since he wasn’t at liberty to put them in their place, he did what he could do—told them about his place.
“Mr. and Mrs. Caine, my name is Jake Campbell and I’m a Constable with the local police department. I love your daughter and your granddaughter. I asked Candace to be included in today’s call so that I could tell you that. I wanted you to know that I’m part of their daily lives and I’ll do anything to make sure they’re happy and safe.”
More silence from the phone. Crazy how a tiny, inanimate object could loom so large.
Some shuffling filtered through the speaker, followed by a man’s voice. “Hello, Officer Campbell. This is Edward Caine. Thank you for your call and your candor. If things work out, perhaps we’ll have the opportunity to meet you during our Christmas visit.”
“I look forward to it, sir. Until then, I’ll take very good care of your family, because they’re my family now too.” A bold declaration, but what the hell. That’s how he felt. “I’ll have Candace forward my number, feel free to contact me at any time.”
“Thank you. Take care.” The man’s signoff preceded the dead air of a disconnected call.
Ma
ybe her father’s comment about meeting at Christmas had been a sincere gesture. If it was a challenge, Jake would take it. Either way, he’d already won. The woman sitting in his lap was proof of that.
“Thank you,” Candace said, relaxing against his chest. “You were great. You are great.”
“We’re great, sweets.” He kissed her head, lingering there as her scent filled his nose. Didn’t take long for the blood to start filling his cock. Easy as it’d be to lay her down, kiss her senseless and make her come, repeatedly, for the rest of the day, they had somewhere to be. Someone important to see. There’d be time for the other stuff later. Tonight. Tomorrow. For the rest of their lives, if he had his way.
Jake
Jake scooped the bouquet of red roses from the passenger seat and hopped out of the SUV. Taking flowers to your girlfriend at work when that job included getting physical with other men had to be one of the most fucked-up scenarios around. Yet, here he was, doing exactly that. And not feeling all that fucked-up about it.
The massage parlor’s door opened before Jake reached the sidewalk. To give the departing customer a bit of privacy and getaway space, Jake averted his gaze, slowed his pace and stepped wide of the entrance. He wasn’t ashamed to be here, but he’d also rather not be recognized. Mainly for Candace’s sake.
“Good morning,” the man said, stopping in front of the door. “Well, it is for me, anyway.”
Head down, Jake ignored the guy. Why the fuck would anybody want to stop and make conversation outside a massage parlor? Whatever, he wasn’t interested in being part of it.
“If those flowers are for Candace, you’re wasting your time.”
The mention of her name snapped Jake’s head up. “Excuse me?” Stopped in his tracks, he locked gazes with the man. Not a stranger. Not to him, and definitely not to Candace. But what the fuck was he doing here?
“Perhaps you don’t remember me. Vincenzo Balducci II. Or, Enzo, if you prefer. Candace does.” The smug-faced bastard had the nerve to extend his hand, shrugging and putting it in his suit-pants pocket when Jake refused to shake it. “We met at the gala on Saturday night.”