Man Candy

by Ingro, Jessica

“Sure they do,” he said in a placating tone.

  Whatever. They did. Didn’t they?

  *****

  Standing in front of the checkout counter in the gas station, I eyed the candy littering the front of it. A quick stop for gas and milk on my way home was now steering towards satisfying my sweet tooth.

  The girl behind the counter chomped her gum and twirled her hair in boredom, waiting for me to make a decision. When she started tapping her foot, I grabbed a Snickers and a pack of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

  “Six twenty-nine,” she said in a tired voice.

  I was about to hand her a ten dollar bill when another package caught my attention. A quick plan formed in my mind and I snatched the red and gold package and added it to my purchases. At the last second, I decided to take a small bundle of mixed flowers from the bucket next to the checkout as well.

  “Fifteen oh seven.” Her bitchy tone cut through the building tension surrounding what I was about to do.

  Taking a twenty from my wallet, I gave it to the girl and waited for my change. Each second it took for her to count it out made my skin itch in anticipation.

  When I was finally in my car and navigating the streets towards where Rissa lived, I started second guessing my plan. It was kind of late—nearly midnight—and I wasn’t sure if she would be sleeping or not.

  What if I creeped her out stalking her house in the middle of the night?

  What if she hated what I was going to give her?

  Pulling up to her house, I stared down the street for several minutes silently arguing with myself about what to do. Giving her this gift could either go really bad or really good. Especially since it got later and later with each minute that ticked by.

  There was a light on upstairs when I looked over at her house. Taking a deep breath, I said a quick prayer that she would appreciate the thought behind this and not be frightened by it.

  Grabbing my phone, I sent a text asking if she was awake.

  Rissa: Just about to go to sleep. Is everything okay?

  Exiting the truck, I briskly walked to her front door and arranged the Take Five candy bar on top of the flowers before walking back. In the safety of my vehicle, I texted her again.

  Me: Yes. Got you a little something. Front porch.

  Starting the engine, I pulled away from the curb just as a silhouette moved across the window of what I presumed was her bedroom. For as much as I wanted to stay and see her expression, I knew that would be a bit too much.

  Five minutes later, my phone buzzed just as I was pulling into my driveway. I smiled down as I read it.

  Rissa: My favorite. Thank you.

  Me: You’re welcome. Sweet dreams.

  Rissa: You too.

  Thinking again about Tanner’s advice, I decided to stick with what I knew best—showing I could treat her better than anyone else. Eventually, I would endear myself to her. And if that didn’t work, there was always Plan B.

  NINE

  This signing was far tamer than the last one. The number of authors signing was limited to twenty and fans were limited to three hundred. It made it a more intimate experience for the people that came through the door.

  The night before we flew into New York City because Meredith insisted on flying since she hated long drives in a car. It was no sweat off my back though because a short flight was definitely better than hours in the car.

  Clarissa had been surprised to see me when I met them at the gate. Her surprise quickly morphed into happiness. I hadn’t seen her since the day of her car accident, so I was pleased with the way she decided to thank me for the gifts I gave her—by pressing her breasts into my chest and wrapping her arms around my neck before giving me a soft kiss on my cheek.

  I’d buy her a hundred candy bars and a whole damn florist shop if it meant getting that kind of treatment from her on a regular basis.

  Splitting ways after arriving at the hotel late, we met up again for breakfast that morning. Conversation flowed easily between the three of us and thankfully Meredith didn’t bring up anything about cock blocking me in front of Clarissa.

  A few times during the signing I caught Rissa watching me when she thought I wasn’t looking. The hunger and appreciation in her eyes made a rush of adrenaline spike inside me. It was like a jolt of electricity followed by a slow spread of warmth radiating out from my chest and washing over each of my limbs. I was putty in her hands and she didn’t even know it.

  Thankfully, this signing heralded no awkward incidents with the ladies. There were a few girls who screeched a bit and might have been a tad bit handsy but overall it was a good time. It felt more like hanging out with some really great people as opposed to doing a job.

  It was too bad this wasn’t my initial introduction into the author world. I might not have minded staying a while and doing more signings if it had been. It was more my speed than the fast paced and high stakes one I had been thrown into previously.

  Once the signing was done, we packed up all of Meredith’s books and swag, and I hauled it all upstairs for them. Then we grabbed some pizza for dinner before going to our respective rooms to get ready for the night. When it was time for the after party, I knocked on the girls’ hotel room door to escort them down.

  Meredith opened the door in a halter style green dress that matched her eyes. But it was the red haired beauty walking out of the bathroom in a skin tight, blue lace dress that made my breath catch. Her hair was piled on top of her head with a few stray pieces falling along her exposed back and shoulders.

  I wanted nothing more than to slowly undress her and explore every damn inch of her body first with my hands then my mouth. To bury my hands in that hair as I thrust inside her and made her moan my name.

  And just like that I was hard enough to break glass. Christ it was going to be a long night.

  The party was more of a high-end affair with the women in dresses and the men in dress pants and ties. My charcoal gray pants, blue shirt and blue and gray patterned tie matched well with Rissa’s dress. It almost looked like we had planned it.

  “Well look at how cute the two of you are being all matchy matchy.” Meredith’s words held a slight hint of sarcasm making Rissa roll her eyes at her.

  “I think you look great, Ben,” Rissa countered.

  “Thank you.”

  “I don’t know about you two but I’m ready to drink,” Meredith announced as she slid past me and out the door.

  “Shall we?” I held my arm out for Rissa.

  “We shall.” Her hand rested in the crook of my arm as we walked down the hall to wait for the elevator with Meredith, who stared at the doors with a smile playing on her lips.

  I had one of mine own. This night was going just the way I had hoped it would.

  *****

  Okay. So maybe the night wasn’t going exactly as I had planned.

  Well actually things were going perfectly until I saw Rissa talking to Drake, the other cover model in attendance. After the run in I had with him at the last signing, I wasn’t too fond of them breathing the same air as each other let alone having a conversation.

  When I walked up and tried to pull her away from him, she didn’t receive it very well. It might have had something to do with the way I approached the situation. It went something like this...

  “Hey, sweetheart.” My arm wrapped around Rissa’s waist and brought her flush with my body.

  “Ben,” she greeted me with a tight smile.

  “Harris,” Drake sneered.

  “What are you doing talking to this loser?” I asked her with faux innocence.

  “Ben,” she bit out disapprovingly.

  “No really, Riss. I want to hear what he has to say.” Drake gave me a sleazy smile and crossed his arms.

  “Riss? Really? Please don’t tell me you slept with him too!” As soon as the words were out of my mouth I wished I could take them right back. It was a really bad gut reaction to the familiarity he seemed to have with her.

  �
�Are you saying I’m a whore who sleeps with random men on a regular basis? Because that’s what it sure as hell sounds like to me.” She pulled away from me and positioned herself next to Drake.

  How the hell had this gone so wrong so quickly?

  Drake draped his arm over her shoulder and winked at me. I had red flash of anger streak across my vision, wanting nothing more than to punch him in that damn eye.

  “If you must know, Drake is one of my clients at work. I did a big project with his company down in Richmond a few years ago. We were just discussing the new generation of firewalls on the market and the copious amounts of training necessary to effectively manage them. And now I believe you owe him an apology.”

  Feeling like a world class tool for letting my irrational jealousy getting the better of me, I mumbled an apology of sorts before slinking off with my tail between my legs. Not one of my finest moments.

  As it was, nearly two hours passed before Rissa would come within a five foot radius of me.

  “I don’t know what came over me.” I finally got a chance to grovel when Meredith went to talk to another author.

  “Maybe that you’re an idiot?” She gave me a look that dared me to say no.

  “An idiot for you,” I semi-agreed with her assessment.

  She rolled her eyes and gave me an annoyed look. “Oh please. I’m really getting sick of you saying shit like that.” Her words held such a bite that it grated against my skin like a physical thing.

  “Shit like what, Clarissa? That I like you? That I want to get to know you? I’m sick of you throwing it in my face.”

  “When the hell have I done that?” she shouted back.

  Oblivious to everyone around us staring, I finally spilled the beans about her drunken behavior, albeit a tad crudely. “Last week when one minute you were rubbing on my dick and the next you were telling me you didn’t want me.”

  “I did not!” she cried out indignantly.

  “You very well did and I hate to break it to you, sweetheart. But if we hadn’t been waylaid by the pictures I was committed to be in, we would have ended up in my room and I would have been so deep inside you that you would have felt me there the next day.”

  “You’re a fucking pig.” She slapped me across the face and raced from the table.

  Still seeing the look of horror that crossed her face at my words, I cursed and kicked the table. Jogging out of the room, I looked down the hallway and called out her name, but she was nowhere to be seen. Taking my chances I went to the right and around the bend where the bathrooms were.

  “Rissa!” I shouted when I spied her ten feet ahead of me. Running faster I caught up with her just as she stormed into the women’s bathroom, letting the door slam in my face.

  Bracing my hands on either side of the door, I argued with myself about following her in there.

  Did I really want to be that guy? The one that cornered her and forced her to admit she had feelings for me? Could I really be the alpha Tanner said I needed to be?

  Fuck it.

  For Clarissa, I would be anything it took to make her mine.

  I pushed the door open and glanced around the white marbled room. Rissa stood in front of the mirror with her hands on the counter and her head bowed. A quick peek showed no other feet under the stalls.

  “Clarissa.”

  The sound of my voice made her jump. She spun around to face me with wide eyes.

  “What do you want, Ben?”

  “You.”

  “You can’t have me. I’m not one of your fan girls looking for whatever attention you’ll give me,” she spat out.

  All bravado my girl was.

  How do I know that? Because when I took five determined steps towards her like a tiger stalking its prey, her breath faltered and she stumbled back against the wall.

  “You’ll never get scraps from me, sweetheart. I plan on giving you everything.”

  “Don’t say stuff like that,” she protested.

  “Why not?”

  “Because you don’t mean it.”

  “You’re so sure all the damn time. Except when you’re not. I’ve never lied to you. What I just said is the God’s honest truth. All you need to do is give me a chance to prove it to you.”

  I dipped my head and brushed my lips against hers. Once. Twice. On the third time, her mouth opened beneath mine and my tongue swept in for a taste.

  Sweet Mary Mother of Jesus. This was the first kiss to end all first kisses.

  Her tongue played hungrily with mine while my hands ran a path up her sides and down her back. Gripping her ass in my hands, I pressed her harder into me so she could feel how badly I wanted her. Every hard fucking inch of my need for her.

  She moaned in my mouth, spurring me on and making me want her even more. Pure unbridled desire coursed through my veins with each breath we shared.

  Her hands found purchase in my hair and yanked deliciously causing a tremble to work its way up my spine.

  My fingers drifted down to the edge of her dress and stroked the soft skin of her inner thigh.

  “More,” she breathed against my lips before capturing my mouth in another kiss.

  Good at following directions, I pushed her dress up to her waist. My hands dived into her panties and resumed their grip on her ass, skin to skin this time.

  Her left leg lifted and hooked itself over my hip, pulling our bodies closer. Needing to feel how ready she was, I trailed my fingers around her hip and teased her lips gently. Rewarded with how fucking wet she was, I groaned and thrust my finger inside her.

  She gasped in my mouth at the sudden invasion. For a brief second I was concerned I hurt her, but when her hips began circling I knew she was still with me.

  Circling the bundle of nerves sure to set her off, I alternated the amount of pressure I applied there. Rissa squirmed and cried out when I thrust two fingers in her and ground the heel of my hand against her clit.

  Before long she clung to me and begged for more. Begged for release.

  Grabbing her hand, I brought it around to rest on my rock hard cock.

  “Do you see what you do to me?” My voice was rough and full with need.

  She squeezed my length through my pants before undoing my belt and sliding her hand in. When she wrapped her fingers around me, I instinctively thrust towards her.

  If I thought I was near the edge listening to the sounds of her pleasure, it was nothing compared to how I felt with her stroking me. It was such a razor sharp ledge I was on that I was sure to fall at any moment.

  “I’m close,” she whispered when my mouth trailed across her jaw and down her neck. I sucked the spot where her shoulder and neck met, making her moan, “Oh God.”

  “Come for me, sweetheart. I want to see how beautiful you are when you let go.”

  My forehead rested against hers and I stared in her eyes as I watched her reach her breaking point. Her eyes glazed over and rolled in the back of her head as her pussy spasmed around my fingers.

  Momentarily distracted by the force of her orgasm, her fingers ceased their motions. Once the tremors faded, she began working me with little twists that had me bracing my hand against the wall just to stay upright.

  “Put it in me, Ben. Please,” she begged.

  “I...”

  “Ben. Put it in.” Her voice was ragged and each word was laced with a need that I found hard to say no to.

  “We can’t.” I hoped she heard the regret in my voice and prayed it wouldn’t ruin things between us.

  “You can get me off with your hand, but I’m not good enough for your cock?” Her incredulous tone had me wincing.

  “No dammit. It can’t happen like this. Our first time is not going to be in a ladies room where anyone can walk in.” I slammed my fist against the wall and pulled away with remorse. “You deserve better than that.”

  Rissa pulled her dress down with angry jerks on the material. When she looked up, I was nearly brought to my knees with the vulnerability shining in
her eyes. My pulling away from her wasn’t seen as a noble gesture. It wounded her and I didn’t know what to do about it.

  Didn’t she know that she was more important to me than some random hookup in a bathroom? I thought I had made it pretty damn clear.

  Frustrated beyond belief, I once again told her I was sorry and left her alone in the bathroom. Waiting outside the door for her, I paced back and forth continually berating myself for the way the night was going.

  I wanted more than one night with Rissa and taking her in a bathroom was a sure fire way to send her running. There was no question in my mind that she was jaded by her ex, which meant I needed to watch my steps if I wanted to win her over.

  When the door finally opened to the bathroom, I rushed over to her. “Rissa—” I started but she held her hand up to stop me.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “But we have to. I don’t want you to think—”

  “No, Ben. We don’t.” Her icy tone immediately chilled me. “I can’t be around you right now. Just go.”

  “If you’ll just listen for a minute.” I shuffled to keep up with her quick pace down the hall.

  “I don’t want to listen,” she shouted at me. “For the love of God, please just leave me alone.”

  I stopped walking then knowing that I had no choice but to let her go without making the situation worse.

  Going straight to my room, I felt like a brick had settled in my stomach as I racked my brain for a way to make it better. Nothing came to me and after wasting an hour, I finally picked up my phone and sent Rissa a text.

  Me: We need to talk. I meant when I said I wanted to give you everything.

  Knowing I was putting my heart on the line, I waited impatiently for a response that never came. Around dawn I finally fell into a fitful sleep.

  *****

  The next afternoon, I waited in the lobby of the hotel for the girls to come down. You can imagine my surprise when the elevator doors opened and only Meredith came out with a bellhop pushing a cart filled with her luggage.

  Panic seized my chest when Rissa still hadn’t shown up after Meredith was done checking out and requesting a car to the airport.