“And I’ve hired you.”
“I want to be your lover as well as your business associate,” he said, and she said, “Thank god.”
They had both laughed and suddenly the air was clear and full of endless possibilities.
Not only was Callie constantly glowing with joy, but her business was growing by leaps and bounds as well, with a huge spike in business from Internet orders.
One night after a romantic dinner at her house where they had done more hand-holding and kissing than eating, Callie said, “You really are the Candy King, you know,” her tone teasing.
Derek stiffened slightly at her words, but then relaxed again so quickly she was certain that she had imagined it.
“How did you know that you were so darn good at selling candy?”
Derek kissed her on her neck, right below her ear, in just the way that was guaranteed to make her nipples hard and aching.
“You don’t want to hear about my boring business,” he said, trying to coax her into another incredible sexual interlude, his palm coming to cup her between her thighs, searing her with his heat even through her jeans.
But even though she was already responding to his touch, her breasts heavy, her mons throbbing, Callie'd had enough of his putting her off. Last night after making love in her bathtub, she had finally realized that whenever she asked him questions about his company, he deftly changed the subject. Usually by kissing or touching her, until she was naked and coming beneath him, all thoughts of business gone.
Callie scooted away from Derek on the couch, hating how empty she felt without his touch, but knowing they needed to have this conversation more than they needed to have sex.
“Why do you keep pushing my questions away?”
Derek looked at the empty place on the couch where she'd been just seconds before. “What are you talking about?”
She sighed. “Every time I bring up your business, you change the subject. For the past two weeks all we’ve talked about is Callie’s Candies.” Her voice softened. “I want to find out more about you, Derek.”
He looked so tense she had to scoot back into the circle of his arms and plant several kisses on his forearms and hands, pulling his strong arms around her.
His muscles relaxed slightly. But still, he didn’t offer her any information about his past.
Trying to hide her growing exasperation, she said, “What was your favorite kind of candy when you were a kid?”
“Necco Wafers.”
Sticking her tongue out, Callie scrunched her face up. “Yuck.”
“They’re sweet and sort of chalky,” he whispered in her ear. “Just like somebody I know, minus the chalk of course. You're all sweetness.”
Callie sucked in a breath as his fingers moved to the curve of her breast. It was taking everything she had not to forget the whole conversation and just make love to him. She could feel his large erection pushing into her bottom, and she wriggled up against him.
“Please, Derek, talk to me.”
Callie had always thought that patience was one of her strong suits—after all, she dealt with children as customers on a daily basis—but in the silence that ensued, where all she could hear was the crackling wood on the fire and Wolf’s heavy dog breathing, she realized how wrong she was.
She was about to give up on ever finding anything out about Derek’s past when his hand stilled on her breast.
“I worked for Mr. Jonas after school at his grocery store. He had a small candy section in the corner and he put me in charge of it.”
Aha, now they were getting somewhere. “Free candy?”
Derek grinned against the top of her head and he scooted her in more snugly against his lap. “All I could eat. I started arranging things differently, putting up new signs, created some package deals, and by the time I graduated from high school, Mr. Jonas’s candy store was about ten times bigger.”
“And then?”
“And then I went to college, got an MBA with a focus in food retailing, and the
“I want to be your lover as well as your business associate,” he said, and she said, “Thank god.”
They had both laughed and suddenly the air was clear and full of endless possibilities.
Not only was Callie constantly glowing with joy, but her business was growing by leaps and bounds as well, with a huge spike in business from Internet orders.
One night after a romantic dinner at her house where they had done more hand-holding and kissing than eating, Callie said, “You really are the Candy King, you know,” her tone teasing.
Derek stiffened slightly at her words, but then relaxed again so quickly she was certain that she had imagined it.
“How did you know that you were so darn good at selling candy?”
Derek kissed her on her neck, right below her ear, in just the way that was guaranteed to make her nipples hard and aching.
“You don’t want to hear about my boring business,” he said, trying to coax her into another incredible sexual interlude, his palm coming to cup her between her thighs, searing her with his heat even through her jeans.
But even though she was already responding to his touch, her breasts heavy, her mons throbbing, Callie'd had enough of his putting her off. Last night after making love in her bathtub, she had finally realized that whenever she asked him questions about his company, he deftly changed the subject. Usually by kissing or touching her, until she was naked and coming beneath him, all thoughts of business gone.
Callie scooted away from Derek on the couch, hating how empty she felt without his touch, but knowing they needed to have this conversation more than they needed to have sex.
“Why do you keep pushing my questions away?”
Derek looked at the empty place on the couch where she'd been just seconds before. “What are you talking about?”
She sighed. “Every time I bring up your business, you change the subject. For the past two weeks all we’ve talked about is Callie’s Candies.” Her voice softened. “I want to find out more about you, Derek.”
He looked so tense she had to scoot back into the circle of his arms and plant several kisses on his forearms and hands, pulling his strong arms around her.
His muscles relaxed slightly. But still, he didn’t offer her any information about his past.
Trying to hide her growing exasperation, she said, “What was your favorite kind of candy when you were a kid?”
“Necco Wafers.”
Sticking her tongue out, Callie scrunched her face up. “Yuck.”
“They’re sweet and sort of chalky,” he whispered in her ear. “Just like somebody I know, minus the chalk of course. You're all sweetness.”
Callie sucked in a breath as his fingers moved to the curve of her breast. It was taking everything she had not to forget the whole conversation and just make love to him. She could feel his large erection pushing into her bottom, and she wriggled up against him.
“Please, Derek, talk to me.”
Callie had always thought that patience was one of her strong suits—after all, she dealt with children as customers on a daily basis—but in the silence that ensued, where all she could hear was the crackling wood on the fire and Wolf’s heavy dog breathing, she realized how wrong she was.
She was about to give up on ever finding anything out about Derek’s past when his hand stilled on her breast.
“I worked for Mr. Jonas after school at his grocery store. He had a small candy section in the corner and he put me in charge of it.”
Aha, now they were getting somewhere. “Free candy?”
Derek grinned against the top of her head and he scooted her in more snugly against his lap. “All I could eat. I started arranging things differently, putting up new signs, created some package deals, and by the time I graduated from high school, Mr. Jonas’s candy store was about ten times bigger.”
“And then?”
“And then I went to college, got an MBA with a focus in food retailing, and the
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