Craving Candy (Awakening Desires, Book Four)

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An Excerpt From: CRAVING CANDY

Copyright © N.J. WALTERS, 2006

All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.

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.