N. Walters - Craving Candy

Going to his knees, he buried his face in his hands and cursed the man who’d fathered him, a man who had shared his blood and genes with him. A lone tear slipped down his cheek as he slowly stood and stumbled down the hall toward his workout room.

Candy stood in the glaring light of the hallway, not quite sure how she’d gotten here. She felt shell-shocked. What had just happened? One moment she been having the most erotic experience of her life with the man she loved, and the next he was apologizing and all but throwing her out of his home.

The finality of the lock being engaged from inside the apartment was like a smack in the face. Just like that, they were finished. Their affair was over even as aftershocks of her last orgasm still lingered.

“Hey, you okay?”

She jumped at the sound of the male voice, so close to her. What was his name again? She remembered meeting him on the opening day of Coffee Breaks. She nodded, not sure she could even speak if she wanted to. Right now she needed to get home. Locking her shaky knees, she walked down the hallway toward the stairs.

“Hey.” She pulled away when his hand touched her arm, practically bouncing off the wall in her haste to get away from him. He held up his hands in mock surrender. “I’m not going to hurt you, but Lucas wants me to take you home.”

“I don’t care what Lucas wants.” Her voice was rough, her throat raw from the unshed tears she swallowed back.

“Your kind never does.”

His easy dismissal of her fired her already frayed temper. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

T. S. sneered at her. “Couldn’t wait to be rid of him when you found out he’d been in prison, could you? You didn’t even want to know the facts.”

“No,” she replied honestly. “I didn’t, not at first. But I came to talk with him and now he’s the one throwing me out.” She turned away and brushed at the tears that slipped down her cheeks. Why was she even bothering to try to justify her actions to someone she didn’t even know? Turning, she started to walk away again, weaving slightly as the physical and emotional turmoil of the day took a toll on her.

T. S. MacNamara, that was his name, she thought as she valiantly headed toward the stairs. She sensed him watching her. Then he swore and she heard the sound of heavy work boots hurrying after her. Practically running now, she started down the stairs. In her haste, she missed one and started to plunge forward. She screamed and held out her hands as a strong arm wrapped itself around her upper body, plucking her to safety.

“What the hell are you trying to do, kill yourself?” His voice was gruff, but he was gentle as he stood her back on the stairs.

“I just want to go home.” The tears were coming faster now and she swiped them away, despising herself for shedding them. I don ’ t usually cry and definitely not in front of a complete stranger .

“I’m sure you don’t.” She hadn’t realized she’d said the words out loud until he commented on them. “Look.” He swiped a hand through his hair, his agitation plain. “I don’t know what just went on between you two, but I know that you hurt Lucas. Even with that, he wants me to see you home safely. You can either go by yourself and I’ll follow you or you can let me take you. It’s your choice. But either way, I’m seeing you home.”

“Do you want to know what just went on?” Candy was a woman who’d been pushed to the limits of her emotional and physical well-being and lashed out to protect herself against further hurt. “I just had the most amazing sexual experience of my life with the man I love and then he threw me out. So if I hurt him today, then we can call it even.”

Reaching out blindly for support, she grabbed the railing and stumbled down the stairs. Once again, a powerful male arm stopped her. Candy was getting sick and tired of being manhandled by large men. “Let me go!”

“Not until you talk to me.”

“There is nothing to say.” She pulled out of his grasp and kept on going down the stairs, but he was hot on her heels.

“You said you loved him.” His voice was insistent.

She refused to answer him. Her only goal was getting to the door and hailing a cab to take her home.

“What did he say when you told him?”

Candy rounded the corner and kept moving steadily downward. She was almost there.

“Will you stop!” He surged in front of her and blocked the staircase. She stumbled to a halt as he spread his arms wide, placing a palm on either wall.

“I didn’t get a chance to say anything. He didn’t want to talk. He only wanted to fuck, and once that was done, he couldn’t wait to get rid of me. I’ve had enough humiliation for one day. Now move!” She all but screamed the last two words at him. If he didn’t move, she was going to kick him where it would hurt him most. Standing a few steps above him, she had the perfect angle to do some damage.

T. S. looked shocked as he slowly lowered his arms and stood to one side. She cautiously skittered past him, keeping her eyes on him as she passed. “You mean too much to him. That’s why he sent you away.”

Candy flinched as his words hit her like stones. Her harsh laugh held no pleasure. “He sure has a funny way of showing it.”

“You’re both too much alike. Both of you trying to protect yourselves and all you end up doing is hurting yourselves more.” He fell into step behind her as she pushed open the side door and stepped out into the cold, dark night. “Give him a few days, but if you really do care, if you really do love him, don’t give up on him.”

She gave no indication that she heard anything he said. She’d think about what he said. Later. When she was safe at home. Rushing out to the road, she waved at a passing taxi, almost reduced to tears again when he just drove by without stopping.

“Let me take you home.” His voice was softer now and tinged with pity. Candy scrunched her shoulders up around her ears to try to stay warm. She didn’t want anyone’s pity. “Please.” He was closer now. “Lucas won’t rest tonight unless I come back and tell him that you made it home okay.”

He wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her to his truck that was parked just up the road from the building. Unlocking the door, he took one look at her boots and her skirt and scooped her up, depositing her on the seat. He made sure she was tucked in safely before he closed the door and hurried around to the driver’s side. The ride home was made in complete silence after she’d given him her address. He said nothing when he parked in front of her building, but once again hurried to her side of the truck and lifted her down. Like a large watchdog, he followed her up the stairs and all the way to her apartment door, waiting patiently while she dug though her purse for her keys.

Just as she was about to close her door, he finally spoke. “Don’t give up on him, Candy. He deserves to have some happiness. You both do.”

“Thank you for the ride home.” She closed the door gently and engaged all the locks. It was only after the sound of footsteps faded in the distance that she finally allowed the tears to flow unchecked.

Stumbling to her bedroom, she hauled off her clothing and tumbled into bed, pulling the covers tight around her. The sound of her sobs were raw and painful as she cried for what she’d lost in her past, but most of all, for what she’d lost today. She cried so hard, she made herself sick, barely stumbling to the bathroom in time. Eventually, there were no more tears left to shed and with a cool cloth over her swollen eyes, Candy crawled back in bed and fell into a fitful sleep.

The next few days were the hardest that she’d ever been through in her entire life. For the first time ever, she couldn’t lose herself in her work. It no longer interested her. She did manage to lay the groundwork for several upcoming projects, but avoided anything that had to do with Lucas. In fairness to the cookbook, she did schedule Katie for several interviews, playing up the local artist angle.