As she shivered under his touch, she angled her body for deeper thrusts and her flesh moistened from the stab of pleasure. Her nails bit into his skin, and she pumped harder, her sex muscles tightening.
His eyes caressed hers with sultry heat. His gaze was dark, intense and unguarded. “Candace, baby. That’s it, sweetheart, come for me,” Marc encouraged, so in tune with her body and her every desire as he let down his shields and gave himself over to the pleasure.
She gave a throaty purr as a fine tremble moved through her. “So good…”
He pressed his finger harder against her clit and it obliterated all her control. Her soft quakes turned to heated tremors, and her body responded with a hot flow of release. She let herself go, giving herself over to Marc and to the pleasure he was bestowing upon her. As she tumbled into an orgasm, she bent forward and ran her teeth over his shoulder. He plunged deeper as her cunt pulsed and spasmed, her body going up in a burst of flames.
“Marc…” she cried out, completely lost in the sensation.
As she called his name, her cream dripped down his shaft, bathing him in her syrupy arousal. Then suddenly he stilled his movements, his dark turbulent eyes met hers as he let himself go. She squeezed her cunt, absorbing every delicious tremor, and he released inside her.
He pulled her in tight and she melted against him. They held each other for a long time, both breathing hard and gripping one another like their lives depended on it. A moment later she inched back and met his mouth. He kissed her deep, and her arms tightened around him, holding him impossibly closer. As she found solace in his embrace, his cock still buried inside her, she gave a contented sigh, deciding she never wanted to move, never wanted to break the intimate contact.
Marc shifted his mouth from hers to her neck to her ear and whispered, “That’s one hell of a chair you got yourself here.”
Candace gave an easy laugh. “Don’t get too used to it.”
He pulled back to see her and a perplexed look came over his handsome face. “No?”
“Nope.” She nodded toward the equipment still awaiting setup. “We’ve yet to try out the swing, and then there’s the glider and the—”
His lips crashed down on hers, and her words were lost on a moan.
With that he took her again and again. Sometime throughout the night, they put the cat outside and made their way to the mattress, where he gathered her tight in his arms and covered them with a plush blanket. A wave of fulfillment and gratification came over her, but as she drifted off to sleep, one thought plagued her exhausted mind.
Marc Collins was too good to be true.
As sunlight poured into the room, Marc twisted sideways to take in the gorgeous sight before him. He sucked in a tight breath, hungering for her in ways that left him confused. He perused her naked body, his cock responding with interest. Oh fuck, he needed her again, needed her so much it left him dizzy. Needed her more than he’d ever needed anyone, or anything, in fact.
He touched her arm, trailing his hand over her silky skin. She moaned in her sleep, unconsciously rolling toward him in search of his touch, his heat.
Marc leaned forward and lightly brushed his tongue over her nipple, watching it harden and loving the way she responded to his mouth, even in sleep. Desire twisted his insides as he trailed lower, kissing and savoring her stomach and her bellybutton until he reached her pubis.
With delicious thoughts filling his mind, he eased her onto her back, inched open her thighs and climbed between. He braced a hand on either side of her hips and pressed his tongue to her pussy, brushing her clit ever so slightly and watching the way she writhed on the satin sheets.
So nice…
Blood pounded through his veins as he continued to indulge in her liquid heat. A moment later her hands raced through his hair and he darted a glance upward. “Good morning, sweetheart.”
“Great morning,” she murmured, looking lazy, rumpled, sexy and so damn satisfied his chest puffed with pride. She nudged his head, guiding him back down. Chuckling, he went back to tasting her sweetness, and she gave a whimper of delight in response.
He ravished her with his tongue, then slipped a finger inside. Her hips came off the mattress and he could tell by the small tremors that it wasn’t going to take much to push her over. She was already incredibly aroused.
As her fingers played through his hair she drew a shaky breath. “Marc…”
“That’s my girl.” Her body tightened and she let herself go, creaming into his hungry mouth. “Mmm.” He drank in every last drop.
When her tremors subsided, he slid up her body and hovered over her. A riot of emotions overcame him when he met her sleepy green eyes, and thought about the way she’d pushed him to let down his guard last night, to show him that he didn’t always have to be in charge.
“Thanks for last night, sweetheart.” Jesus, was that his voice? Just then he heard workers milling about outside and a wicked idea raced through his mind and brought on a tremble. It was his turn to play with her.
She smiled. “Thanks for this morning.”
“Don’t thank me just yet.” He tossed her a mischievous grin and watched one sexy brow raise with intrigue.
“Marc?”
“Up,” he demanded in a soft tone.
“What—?”
“There is something I want you to do for me.”
Her eyes lit with interest, and her warm breath washed over him. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah, you see that pole over there?”
Her gaze went from his face to the pole and she gave an excited gasp.
“I need you to show me something.”
Her voice thinned to a whisper. “What’s that?”
“Well, last night you showed me how to use the chair for exercise, so now I need to see how you use that pole. After all, if I’m going to be spending time in this room, I really should know how everything works, don’t you think?”
Candace moistened her lips and her cheeks flushed pink as she slowly climbed from the mattress. “What I think is that you’re a very bad boy.” She made her way across the room, looking beautiful and naked and so alluring he nearly lost all coherent thought. As fierce possessiveness whipped through his blood, she wrapped one palm around the pole and swayed back and forth, her gorgeous breasts catching his attention.
Marc leaned back on the mattress, eager to take in the show. Warm early-morning sunlight poured in from the window and bathed her body in a golden glow. She lifted herself higher on the pole, wrapped her legs around it and slid downward. His cock throbbed to the point of pain as his eyes tracked down her body, taking in her lush softness and the way she pressed against that pole. Provocatively.
He cleared his throat. “You know, Candace, if anyone glances up here they’ll see you.”
She glanced toward the window and fire lit in her eyes. Working her way back up the pole, she turned her attention back to him, and the sultry, playful look on her face rattled his insides. As a burst of warmth rushed to his heart, he knew he was done for. Completely and utterly done for.
“Tell me. Did you position it in front of the window on purpose?”
“It’s quite possible,” she said in a breathless whisper.
He made a tsking sound and smiled at her, loving her honesty and her adventurous nature, but mostly loving the way she looked at him with pure adoration. “I think you’re a very bad girl, Candace.”
Her grin turned wicked, and he could hear the underlying question lacing her voice when she said, “Then that makes us quite the team.”
It sure as hell did.
He looked into her eyes and saw need shining there. Intuition told him she felt the same way he did, but she was testing him, gauging his reactions as though wondering if there could be more between them. Sure they’d only recently met, but never had he reached such a deep level of intimacy or comfort with anyone before. It was as if some magical force had brought them together because they belonged to one another and were meant to be together forever.
Unable to take one more minute of her sexy act and needing to be inside her more than he needed to breathe, he climbed from the mattress, crossed the room and roughly pulled her to him. He jammed a leg between her thighs and felt her warm, wet pussy on his skin. Fuck, he loved how she was always ready for him. She locked her fingers together behind his head and kissed him long and deep.
She gyrated against his leg and he pressed against her harder, grinding his cock into her stomach. Beautiful expressive eyes met his and she poked him in the chest, fully aware of what he was up to. “Was that little show in front of the window for you or was it really for me?” There was so much emotion in her voice, it seeped under his skin and touched his soul.
His smile was as shaky as his hands as they raced over her. “Let’s just say it was for both of us.”
With that he lifted her ass, put her on the window ledge and pressed her back against the pane. “And so is this.” He quickly sheathed himself, positioned his body between her spread legs and, with one powerful thrust, drove his cock all the way up inside her. “Sweet fuck,” he murmured and knew he was in a heap load of trouble here.
He was crazy about Candace. She was fun and wild and adventurous, and unlike any woman he’d met before. He wanted her. All of her. And not just in the bedroom.
As her heat closed around him, he cupped her face and kissed her on the mouth. Hard.
What was it Pamina had said to him again? Sometimes things can get quite…
messy
. He’d made a mess of things all right. A big fucking mess. But Candace was so damn impossible to resist.
Regardless, he needed to make it right. For his sake and for Candace’s.
Chapter Six
After Marc left her bedroom, assuring her he had business in the city to take care of, Candace descended the winding staircase in search of Pamina. Her mind raced, sorting through the whirlwind of events over the last few days.
They had a lot in common, but really she didn’t know anything about him at all. Then again, he didn’t know anything about her. Like him, she was vague when he questioned her about her family. Was he too hiding something? And what exactly was this business he had to take care of in the city?
Once again,
too good to be true
rushed through her mind.
When Candace reached the main level, Pamina came around the corner with Abra in her arms, his fur a tattered mess.
Candace furrowed her brow and took in his bedraggled state. “What the heck has he been up to?”
Pamina glared at Abra. “Nothing good, I can assure you of that.”
Candace picked what looked like a chunk of brick mortar from his fur. “I think he needs a bath.”
When Abra hissed at her, Pamina tapped his nose. “I definitely think a bath is in order and I don’t care how much you dislike it.”
As Pamina walked to the kitchen, Candace followed. “Pamina, I wanted to ask you about Marc.”
With a squirming Abra tucked under her arm, Pamina grabbed two apples from the bowl and handed one to Candace. Candace polished it on her shirt then took a big bite.
“What about him?” Pamina asked, her mystical green eyes glistening.
“He’s new in town and hasn’t set up shop yet, so I was just wondering how you found him.”
Pamina got quiet for a moment, thoughtful. “Well, he was walking toward the house the other day, and I assumed he was the paint stripper I’d hired. When I questioned him, he said he was the right man for the job.” She gave a light chuckle, bit into her own apple. “Who knows? Maybe I accidentally hired the wrong guy. The wrong guy who happened to be in the right place at the right time. Just like he was in the right place at the right time when you needed a woodworker.”
Candace swallowed hard as an uneasy feeling moved through her.
Pamina gave an easy shrug. “But what does it matter really? He’s proven himself to be the perfect man for the job, don’t you think?”
Yeah, in more ways than one.
“So who he is and where he’s come from shouldn’t matter, Candace. What matters is what he’s done since he’s been here.”
Before she could comment, her cell phone rang and she excused herself.
Five minutes later, she hung up with her father. As she considered his tone, a knot settled into her stomach. There had been something in her father’s voice that upset her. Although he’d assured her everything was fine, she sensed he was hiding something from her.
Deciding then and there that she needed to see him, she hopped into her car, drove to the station and boarded a train to Grand Central Station.
Marc paced outside Krane’s office, catching glimpses of him talking to his secretary through his glass door. Jesus, what the hell was he supposed to say to him? Oh yeah, everything is going just fine, sir. Sure I’ve been keeping an eye on your daughter.
And a hand on her.
A tongue on her.
A cock in her.
Oh fuck!
He knew he was going to be out of a job, but none of that mattered to him. All that mattered was that he wanted to come clean with Candace so they could begin this relationship on the right foot and take it to the next level. If it wasn’t too late for that. And the last thing he wanted was to be paid to take care of her. It was a job he’d happily do for free.
He just hoped Candace would understand and forgive him for his deceit.
A moment later Krane’s door opened, and his secretary ushered him inside.
With Krane seated at his desk, Marc faced him straight on and said, “We need to talk.”
Candace stepped off the elevator and moved through the marble foyer as she made her way to her father’s office. Stepping up to Olive’s desk, Candace greeted her with a smile.
Excited to see her, Olive rose from her chair and gave Candace a hug. “Candace, how are you?”
Candace hugged her back. “I’m great. I was just in the area and I thought I’d stop in to see my father.”
“He’s with one of his security guards right now, but go on through. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you.”
Candace slipped past Olive’s desk and walked down the hall. As she neared her father’s office, she took in the very familiar outline of the man with him, his legs wide, his back to the glass door. Candace’s heart began to pound against her chest, and her knees went weak beneath her.
Oh good God, no.
She took a measured step closer, praying she was wrong but suspecting she wasn’t. There was only one man she knew of who had that short military-cut hairstyle, broad shoulders that tapered to a trim waist and long powerful legs that she’d felt wrapped around her body. Intimately.
Her father looked past the man’s shoulder and his eyes widened, surprised. But wait. Was that surprise that had registered on his face, or was it something else entirely?
The man with his back to the door—the security guard as Olive had identified him—angled his head and met her glance, confirming what she already knew. It was none other than Marc Collins.
As intense dark eyes met hers, she understood the look on her father’s face because Marc was wearing the exact same expression. Guilt.
Candace felt her blood drain to her feet as understanding dawned. Her father had hired Marc to guard her without her knowledge. They’d both been deceiving her. She suddenly remembered an old conversation with her father after he’d been attacked on set, and how he’d hired and trained the set designer to be his guard. That had to have been Marc, seeing as how he could so easily talk shop with her.
Every emotion from confusion to mortification to anger whipped through her blood as she spun around and rushed down the hall. Tears poured down her cheeks, blurring her vision. She could hear Marc chasing after her as she wiped the moisture from her eyes and hurried toward the waiting elevator.
Candace pressed the button and watched the metal ping shut, drowning out the noise and closing both the door and her heart to him. Numbly she tracked back to the train station, wanting to be as far away from Marc as possible. Sure, what her father had done was wrong, but at least he did it because he cared. What about Marc? He took the job to guard her because he was getting paid, and he jumped at the chance to be her woodworker simply to keep an eye on her. Was sleeping with her a fringe benefit, or was he getting paid for that too?
Her mind raced, trying to sort through the godawful turn of events as she boarded the train to Connecticut. Marc might not have been using her to get to her father, but he had been deceiving her, pretending to be someone he wasn’t. Which made him no different from the other men who’d used her. She should have known he was too good to be true. The signs were there—the haircut, the way he moved, the way he continually scanned the area. But she had been too damn smitten to pay attention. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
A long while later Candace made her way to the inn, both physically and mentally drained. With her emotions in a tangled mess, she needed to be alone, to come to terms with everything that had happened. As she entered the front door and made her way to the staircase, she wondered why the hell she’d broken the pact she’d made with her best friends—to stay away from all men. Hadn’t lessons learned long ago taught her anything?
She put her foot on the first stair, but the sound of Marc’s voice behind her stilled her movement.
“Candace, wait.”
Her whole body tightened, and she wrapped her arms around herself, not wanting to hear any more lies from him. “I think you should go.”
“I think you need to hear what I have to say.” The emotions in his voice made her heart clench.
She spun to face him and bit out, “Why do I need to hear what you have to say? I don’t even know who you are.”
“Yes, you do, Candace. Everything between us is real.”
The pained look on his face touched her deeply, and the soft tone of his voice spoke of sadness and distress, and made it so damn difficult to keep hold of her anger. “How can I believe that?”
“I never meant to hurt you,” he admitted. She was astonished by the sincerity and tenderness in his tone. “I wanted to tell you who I was, and I tried to keep my distance from you, but I couldn’t. I wanted you so much I just couldn’t fight it anymore.” His hands clenched at his sides and she could see the way his breathing had changed, become harder, more erratic.
She suddenly remembered the conflict in his eyes. The hesitation. Had he been trying to pull back, to fend off her advances? Honestly, what chance did he have? There was no denying the attraction between them was palpable, and with the way she’d been teasing and tormenting him, she’d made it impossible for him to fight the attraction. Perhaps she too carried some of the blame.
“I went to your father’s office to quit, Candace.”
That caught her by surprise. “You quit?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want money to protect you. That’s a job I’d gladly do for free.”
She gulped air. “You can’t just quit. What are you going to do? Where will you work?”
“I don’t know. Working here with you has reminded me how much I love to use my hands. How much I miss set design and woodworking. Maybe I will set up that shop after all.”
“What about all your training as a security guard? You’re going to let that go to waste?”
“Not a chance, because if you’ll let me, I’d like to spend the rest of my life protecting you.”
Her heart leapt, aware of what he was asking of her. She planted her hands on her hips, not ready to let him off the hook just yet, but deep in her heart knowing she would. Because he was warm and kind and loving and gentle. A fiercely protective man who gave without taking, and to her that spoke volumes. He was a man who’d made a mistake and was now suffering every bit as much as she was. “Who says I need protection?”
“I do.” He stepped closer and brushed his thumb over her cheek. “Your father has enemies, Candace, and I plan on making sure none of them ever finds or touches you.”
As she leaned into him, absorbing the heat from his hand, she knew he truly was sorry and hadn’t intentionally hurt her. In that instant she felt her anger melt and thought more about what Pamina had to say. Pamina might have mistaken him for someone else, but there was no doubt that he was right guy at the right time. And forget about too good to be true. This guy was good. Great, in fact. And he was true, honest and giving. Not to mention the best thing that had ever happened to her. It also occurred to her that she didn’t feel smothered by him or his protective nature. She felt loved and cherished.
He must have sensed the shift in her because he pulled her tight. “But the only question is, who’s going to protect you from me?”
She pressed against him and chuckled. “Uh, do you have something in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”
He laughed. “I picked something up for you while I was in the city today.” Sadness crossed his eyes. “Then I was worried you’d never speak to me again, and I’d never get the chance to give it to you.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a new iPod. “After all, I was responsible for damaging yours in the first place.”
Warmth moved through her as she recalled their seductive encounter at the lake. “You really are one of a kind, aren’t you?”
He turned serious. “Candace, I really am sorry I never told you who I was. I don’t want there to be any secrets between us.”
“We can put that behind us, Marc.” Once again she recalled the mystical Pamina’s words. “What matters is what you’ve done since you’ve been here. And what you’ve done is opened
my eyes and shown me what love really is.” With that she grinned and held her hand out. “I’m Candace Steele and I’m an interior designer. I’m also the daughter of Jason Krane, famous New York movie director. Oh, and I’ve recently discovered I’m a regular old exhibitionist.”
Marc covered her hand with his and visibly relaxed. “I’m Marc Collins, set designer turned security guard for Jason Krane, famous New York movie director. And I’m totally in love with his daughter. Oh, and I’m a regular old voyeur.”
Candace laughed out loud, the love she felt for him filling her darkest corners. “Then that makes us quite the team.”
“That’s right Candace, we do make a good team, and always know this, that I love you for who you are.”
Her heart soared.
He loved her
. “I love you too.”
“Come with me.”
“Where are we going?”
“To the bedroom.”
Desire moved through her. “Oh, yeah.”
“There are some other things we need to square up.”
“Like what?”
“Well, like this.” He pulled her tight and pressed his cock against her. “And since you had your wicked way with me this morning…”
Candace smiled and wet her mouth, knowing full well it was Marc who’d had his wicked way with her that morning. “So what exactly are you suggesting. A little tit for tat?”
“I believe I might be, Candace. I believe I just might be.”