Blade was close to exploding by the time he reached the bedroom. He carried her straight to the bed and carefully laid her down on top of the plush, dark comforter, ever aware of her fear of intimacy. He located the light switch on a lamp next to her bed and flipped it. Soft white light filled the room. Wearing only her pink t-shirt and white panties and those adorable bobby socks, Candice’s small, fragile body against the hunter green of the huge bed had devastating effects on his erection. The sweet, tempting sight of her made Blade want to kill Markum all over again.
With his bare hands.
Slowly.
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Making him pray for death.
Blade willed his body to stay calm, pushing thoughts of Lance Markum to the back of his mind, and instead brought forth visions of what he was about to do with Candice.
He needed to be easy with her, to fill her with exquisite pleasure. He couldn’t very well come at her like a rutting buck, not after what she’d been through. Blade wanted to prove to her that loving was a sweet—sometimes intense—affair, and always a thing to be cherished. Never degrading or humiliating. He wanted to break down her barriers, force her to toss her inhibitions to the curb, but he knew he’d get nowhere if he didn’t tread carefully. As it was, she was already shaking with nervous tension, and that wasn’t at all what he wanted. Blade wanted her shaking with passion, not fear.
With her pleasure paramount in his mind, Blade unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, then pushed them down his legs. Fully aware he had no underwear on—he’d had to toss them after his pathetic loss of control on the couch—Blade watched as Candice saw his cock for the first time. Her pretty blue eyes turned heavy with arousal and her mouth opened into an enticing “O”. If he didn’t miss his guess, Blade would say she liked what she saw. And he liked that she liked.
He yanked and tossed his jeans aside, then lowered himself to the floor until he was eye level with her smooth thighs. The position put his cock out of her line of sight, for now. He leaned his elbows onto the bed and kept her snared in his sights while he gently pried her legs wide. She was reluctant at first and Blade could feel her thigh muscles trembling, but after some gentle tugging, she relented. He moved them apart as far as they would go, then let his gaze drift over her from head to toe. He wanted her spread like a fucking banquet, appeasing his hungry touch and taste. His gaze took in her pussy, still hidden from his view by her cotton panties, and he frowned.
“I want these off,” Blade demanded as he clutched them in his hands at either side of her hips. At the last second, he asked, “May I?” Candice eagerly bobbed her head, as if too frenzied with desire to speak. Yeah, Blade knew that feeling well.
With one quick tug, he tore her panties in two. The startled sounds she made had him shushing her and smoothing his hands over her creamy hips and thighs. Transfixed by the
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full nest of curls covering her glistening pussy, he murmured, “I won’t hurt you, Candy girl, but sometimes sex can be…rough.”
Blade reached out and massaged her ribs and belly to calm her. She was so fucking sexy. He was having a hard time not jumping her bones.
His voice was hoarse as he explained, “With the right person, with me, it will only ever feel good, never bad, sweetheart. You have my word of honor.”
Blade hoped like hell he could stick to his word. He had vowed to give her pleasure and lots of it, but he needed control. Diving into Lake Erie on a chilly October evening ought to do the trick, but unfortunately, both the lake and October were a long way off.
He’d need to rely on good old-fashioned self-control. No problem.
Her eyelashes drifted closed as his palm began to massage her soft skin, barely grazing the underside of her plump breast. Then, teasingly, Blade skimmed down again, not allowing himself to cup the firm globes. Candice whimpered and her body quivered.
Her responsiveness pleased him. She had the ability to draw forth every primitive instinct he possessed, even while she had his balls in the palms of her dainty hands without even so much as blinking her dark lashes. Did she have any idea of the power she held over him?
Blade lightly touched the hair of her mound, his feelings rioting out of control. Just once he wanted to see Candice lose it. He wanted her to know what he’d been going through ever since seeing her at his brother’s office. Walking around, cocked and ready for that one specific person to yell “fire” hadn’t been the most pleasant of feelings. And for some damnable reason, only Candice could set things right. Only she held the magical key that would give him peace. Tonight, he’d bury himself deep and have her in so many ways that by the time they parted company, he’d be well and fully sated of Candice Warner.
He cupped the soft down of her curls, luxuriating in the fact that he was finally able to. That he literally held her pleasure in his hand gave Blade a shot of pure male possessiveness.
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“Do you want this with me, sweetheart?” he asked. Her eyes darted open. He pinned her in place with the heat of his steel gaze. “Do you want everything? Because that’s what I’m offering. I can’t do this half-assed. I need it all or nothing.”
“I do want this with you, but I-I’m nervous.”
Candice’s voice was so thin and small, Blade had to strain to hear. The fear in her voice helped him to stay in check, to remember she needed loving, not ravishment. She needed to know a man in the most intimate of ways, but she had no clue how to go about it. She was innocent and naïve. Any man would be lucky to have a woman so giving and trusting in his bed. That he was that man had Blade flushing with warmth and pride.
“That makes two of us, baby.” It was nothing short of the truth. He’d never been nervous with a woman. She wasn’t just any woman, though. This was Candy, and he wanted badly do this right.
Her eyes registered disbelief, compelling Blade to prove his point. Holding his hand palm up, he admitted, “I’m trembling like a lost pup here.”
She reached out and took his hand in her own, then brought it to her mouth and placed a tender kiss to each of the spots she’d bandaged earlier. Emotions threatened to overwhelm Blade.
Her curls covering her from his view shone invitingly in the soft light created by the lamp. He could just barely make out her pink clitoris. She was all soft and swollen and incredibly feminine. Suddenly, as if he were willing it to happen, a small drop of moisture trickled out.
He lowered his head, helpless to deny himself a small taste of her tangy juice, and lapped up the solitary drop of dew. He grew so hard and thick, he thought he’d burst.
Blade touched her smooth slit with his tongue, and she moaned his name. Candice’s legs started to come together as if to stop the sensations rioting through her body, but he captured both silky thighs in his callused hands and pulled them apart again. Blade held them firm while he nibbled her clit and sucked her as if she were a ripe peach. She tasted every bit as sweet as he’d imagined. Blade swiftly became an addict. Candice’s barely-there womanly scent and dewy heat was enough to drive him right over the edge.
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He would never be able to get enough. With her wild brown hair and tight, perky body, Candice was tailor-made for him. From his position on the floor, he used his fingers to hold her slick, swollen lips open for another lick. She was starting to let herself go, moving against his face and arching off the bed as if she couldn’t quite control her own actions. He loved seeing her so wild, her worries and fears abandoned as she gave him what he wanted. Pure, uninhibited passion. She was so beautiful. More beautiful than a rugged construction worker deserved.
Blade let go of one of her sleekly muscled thighs, pleased when she didn’t try to close them again, then continued to ply her with his tongue, swirling and circling her distended clit. He managed to slip a single finger into her opening, but Christ almighty, she was tight. Too tight. He was terrified that no matter what he did, no matter how long he took to ready her for the invasion of his cock, she’d still feel discomfort. He could never live knowing he’d hurt her, even in the midst of pleasure. He would have to be even more careful than he’d first suspected.
Gentle as he could be, Blade eased inside her narrow passage, slowly moving in and out as he watched her face for any signs of distress or panic. All he saw was his sweet Candy, completely lost to the torrent of feelings he elicited. The notion that no other man had ever made Candice moan and writhe in ecstasy gave him a predatory feeling he’d never known before.
He moved farther inside her sweet little pussy. Candice’s body gripped him, sucked his finger in even more so there was a torturous kind of suction when he brought it out again. Over and over, Blade used his finger and mouth, giving her everything she deserved. Careful, ever mindful of her fear, Blade inched another finger in, watching for signs of pain. But there was only his sweet lover, moaning and arching to press more fully against him, eager and lost to her mounting desire.
Blade growled low and clutched her leg. Digging his fingers into her creamy flesh, he pulled her wider still. He imagined his cock feeling that hot squeeze of inner muscles.
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The minute his second finger was all the way in, Blade sucked on her clit one more time. Candice slammed against his hungry mouth and exploded, screaming his name over and over. It was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard.
Blade kept his fingers and mouth on her and inside her until the last of her spasms abated, sucking in every drop of her tangy flavor. At last, he did as he’d wanted to do earlier: Blade kissed her fleshy opening, then rose to look down at her.
Candice’s entire body was relaxed. A small smile curved her pretty lips. Her breasts heaved. She appeared completely and thoroughly depleted. But Blade was far from finished with his feast.
He’d only just begun.
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Candice had never felt so delicious. She loved the way Blade used his tongue. She loved how he got that fierce look in his eyes when he saw what he wanted—and he wanted her. She loved the way he could be utterly gentle and yet demanding at the same time. She loved…him.
Oh, God, that couldn’t be right. Could it? Tears sprang to her eyes. Embarrassed by her outburst, but helpless to stop it, Candice covered her eyes and wept.
Blade was there in a heartbeat, lying on the bed beside her and taking her into his strong arms. He kissed the top of her head and gave her time to settle her frazzled nerves.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d lain there, completely engulfed in Blade’s embrace while she blubbered like an imbecile. Once she was more in control, Candice pulled back enough to see Blade’s hard-edged face. His thick erection pressed against her thigh, only a few scant inches from her throbbing, wet center. Poor man. So far, all he’d done was give her pleasure. She’d been plenty greedy, too. A blush stole over her when he kissed her forehead, as if he had all the time in the world. God, he was simply too good to be real!
“Thank you, Blade,” Candice whispered.
Blade cleared his throat and pulled her in tighter. “No problem, sweetheart.” His sincere response had her going warm all over. The caution in his eyes as he stared at her gave her pause. It was as if he were trying to decide how best to approach a jittery colt. In the end, he opted to get right to the point, in typical Blade Vaughn style.
“Why the waterworks all of a sudden?”
Candice couldn’t have stopped the laugh that bubbled up for anything in the world.
Just that quick, Blade’s patience seemed to snap.
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His blue eyes were devoid of emotion. Immediately, Candice wanted the warmth back. She didn’t much care for that somber expression that had his lips thinning into a determined line.
“We don’t go any further until I know what the hell I did to make you cry, baby. Not one step further.”
“What
you
did?”
His eyes hooded, as if he were steeling himself against some kind of insult. “I don’t see anyone else here, do you?”
She laughed. “Of course not, silly, but you didn’t do anything wrong, Blade. You were perfect.” She hesitated, then explained, “I never knew sex could be like this, that’s all.”
He seemed to relax. Until that instant, Candice hadn’t realized he’d been holding himself so rigid.
A lascivious smile played at the corners of his mouth as he whispered, “Tears of happiness I can handle. It’s the other kind that make me weak in the knees.”
“You could never be weak. You’re so big and strong and everything a woman could want in a man.”
Blade’s expression turned feral and serious once more. “I go weak when I look at you, sweetheart.” He rose over her and pinned her to the bed. “You’re my Achilles’
heel,” he admitted, then he kissed her.
The kiss was hard and unyielding, demanding entrance to the dark allure of her mouth. Candice was helpless to the sensual assault. She sighed and parted her lips. Blade was there in an instant, taking the advantage, sinking his tongue deep and tasting every savory inch of her mouth. She was drowning all over again.
Oh my, she really had fallen in love with Blade Vaughn. Before she had time to consider all the ramifications of such an enormous mistake, he pulled her up and gently tugged her shirt over her head. Candice allowed him to undress her. It was a unique form of foreplay for her. Her body tingled with twinges of excitement as Blade’s gaze devoured the sight of her nude body.
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She would need to give the love thing some more consideration. Definitely. But later. Way later. When she didn’t have Blade’s strong fingers caressing the sides of her breasts and creating a blazing path to her hips. So gloriously strong and yet so gentle.