One Lucky Deal (18 page)

*

Candace lay there looking up at him. Degree by degree her smile dissipated and she became increasingly aware of her nudity. She wondered if she was just about to be Dundee’d right out of his room.

Of course she was.

Tad didn’t do
cuddle
. God, she was an idiot. She’d actually started to believe that they were doing something different—something a little more special than just your average run-of-the-mill casual sex, friends-with-benefits thing.

“You probably want to go to sleep.” Candace bit her lip as she got up and wrapped her towel back around her.

“Yeah, don’t you?” Tad asked. She wished for once in his life he would grow some balls and just ask her to stay.

“Yeah. I do.” She searched his face. She silently challenged him with her eyes.

“Then maybe we should get to bed?” Candace watched Tad and wished she could read what was behind those stormy eyes. He was usually pretty easy to read and maybe he still was. Maybe she couldn’t read him because she didn’t want to find that he was just, at best, ambivalent about her.

“Yeah, I guess we’d better.” Candace stood in his doorway for a long-drawn-out half minute, waiting, wishing, hoping—needing him to ask her to stay.

Eventually Candace faked a smile and said, “See you in the morning.”

“Yeah,” Tad said to her back, and Candace felt his eyes on her as she walked away.

Chapter 14

Candace woke up the next morning and was sore all over. She had whisker burn between her thighs, and it felt just about amazing. She stretched, and her muscles objected to the pull. Even the morning after having sex with Tad was above average.

She smiled in remembrance of all the things he’d said to her, of all the ways he’d made love to her, of all the places they’d been. She stumbled out of bed randier than she was when she’d climbed into it. She palmed her own breast and walked out into her living room naked.

She walked across the house. Sasha followed her, probably wondering what she was up to. Candace just walked herself right into Tad’s bedroom. When she found his bed empty she woke up the rest of the way and realized it was probably a good thing since she suddenly recalled with great clarity how last night had ended.

She went to the kitchen and found coffee in the coffeepot and the alphabet letters rearranged on their refrigerator. They said: AT WORK. And beneath that it simply said: POKER.

She wanted Reagan and Reed to hurry up and get home. She missed her sister and she hated when Tad worked on poker nights. They had things to do, like clean the house before the guys came over.

Candace reluctantly got dressed, covering up the tiny little hickies that coated her breasts and thighs. She took the dogs out for her morning walk. She walked them all the way down to the beach. She let them run around for a bit and she even rolled her pants up to wade in.

The day was getting too hot and Candace didn’t like to sweat too much if that sweat didn’t come with a toe-curling orgasm. She whistled for her dogs and they all came running. She hooked each and every one of them back to their leashes and headed back through town.

When she was home she took a shower and then started in on cleaning up. She was still picking up when Tad walked in the door. Candace looked at her wristwatch and realized it was five in the evening already.

“Hey.” Candace sucked in a breath.

“Hi.” Tad smiled at her and she exhaled easily. Her toes had already begun to curl into the carpet. Sara went over to him and nudged at his leg. He laughed and petted her even as he mumbled under his breath what a horrible dog she was.

“I forgot you worked today,” she said easily and followed him to the kitchen, even though she had no reason to do so, except that she was being silly and hoping for a kiss.

“Yeah, we’re going to win this challenge.” He handed her a beer. “Because Reed should get the weekends for a month.”

“Have you heard what the next challenge is?” Candace asked and then realized she was probably looking like one of those needy, clinging floozies, so she took two steps back, placing her outside his personal bubble.

“No, have you?”

“Nope.” Candace shook her head and smiled to herself when Tad took two steps closer to her. “But we’ll probably find out tonight when Joe and Ronnie come for poker night.”

“Yeah, about that…” Tad took Candace’s beer from her and popped the cap off. “Joe called me and said that Ronnie and Chloe are going to go shopping tonight instead.”

“What?”Candace took the beer back from him. “Over poker?”

“That’s what Joe said.” Tad shrugged.

“Well, that’s lame.” Candace laughed, and Tad seemed to relax a little.

“Yeah, that’s what I said.” Tad grinned. “Gail’s having a cookout tomorrow.”

“Oh.” Candace frowned.

“What? You don’t want to go?”

*

Candace’s hair was still a little damp from her shower and he could smell her shampoo. He didn’t know what it was supposed to smell like, if it was lavender or honey or coconut—he had no idea. All he knew was that it was in his shower, the contents were purple, and when she rubbed it into her hair it smelled like heaven.

The scent of her had something knocking around inside his chest. He just wanted more; he wanted to smell more of her, to stick his nose in the crook of her neck and just breathe.

“Was I invited?” Candace furrowed her brow.

“I wouldn’t have told you about it otherwise.”

“Oh, all right. Do you want to come to church with me in the morning, then?”

“Wow.” Tad laughed. “You made that sound fun.”

“It’s not. It’s stuffy, and I think the pastor puts himself to sleep with every one of his sermons, but you know that I go once a month because my mother blackmails me with her
feelings.
” Candace reached out and played with the hem of his shirt.

Watching her fidget with his clothing while she asked him to tag along with her to her family events was a strange aphrodisiac, but it was working quite well on him.

“It would be infinitely more bearable if you came along.” Then her fingers switched from playing with his shirt front to playing with the waistband of his jeans and he lost it.

“Are you going to wear a dress?” He eyed her as he began backing her up against the kitchen counter.

“I could.”

“I love you in a dress.” Tad groaned and hoisted her onto the countertop.

“Is that what you want me to wear?”

When they were like this, flirty and touching, he felt different. Her smile was different. He didn’t question himself or her. It was moments like this when they were on the same page. He didn’t know what the next moment would bring, but this moment brought a pulling low in his stomach, a smile to his lips, desire, and want.

“I don’t know.” Tad slid his hands up her bared thighs and even up past the edge of her shorts. He stepped between her legs and tugged her to the edge of the counter. “I might go up in flames.”

“At stepping foot in a church?” Candace laughed.

“No.” Tad’s lip quirked and he shook his head. “At taking one look at you and devising a plan to get up your skirt.”

“I hate to spoil the mystery,” Candace whispered as his face inched closer to hers. His hands on her ass brought her up against his waist. “No plan needed.”

A breath away from her lips, Tad whispered, “Are you telling me you’re easy?”

Candace looked directly into his eyes, and with a smile twitching at her lips she said, “Only for you.”

All playfulness left his voice and face as he slid a hand into her hair. “Good.” He let out a gravelly low rasp of a whisper. She couldn’t say any more because he opened his mouth and devoured hers.

*

It was just getting good. His hand had moved to grope her breast. He was a little sweaty and grimy from a day’s work, but he felt amazing. Truthfully, she couldn’t think of a sight sexier than a sweaty, rippling Tad—exhausted and worn out from a day’s worth of hard work. She now had hopes of wearing him out the rest of the way.

Their front door creaked open and Tad tore his mouth from Candace’s just in time for her to utter a curse before the perpetrator made his identity known. “Hey, guys,” Joe called from the doorway.

“That’s it. We’re going down to the hardware store and buying a dead bolt,” Candace grumbled under her breath.

Tad held a finger up to his grinning lips. “Shh.”

“No, Tad, I’m pissed. No one ever knocks!” Candace said in a firm whisper.

“Guys?”

“In here.” Tad propelled himself back across the kitchen. As confused as Candace was about what they were doing and dreaded the idea of telling her sisters, Tad’s reluctance to get caught with his hand up her shirt had Candace feeling like his dirty little secret.

She might have enjoyed playing someone’s naughty little clandestine, but she didn’t want to be Tad’s. With him it just hurt—more than she even wanted to admit to herself.

“Oh hey.” Joe gave Candace a second look. “What’s wrong with you?”

“What do you mean?” Candace slid down off the counter. She was reluctant to look either of these two men in the eye.

“You look … hot.”

Candace’s gaze shot to Joe’s face.

“Dude!” Tad reprimanded him.

“No, no, no.” Joe shook his head. “Not like that. I meant you look hot like you’re overheating, like your personal thermometer is turned up.” It seemed Joe was trying to dig his way out of the hole he’d slipped into.

“Oh.” Candace nodded. “Well, I am hot—both kinds of hot. Thank you very much.” She raised an eyebrow at Joe before grabbing a beer from the fridge just to press against her wrist to cool her down. She then leaned over the sink to open the window.

“And what are you over there dude-ing me for?” Joe ribbed Tad. “Your mind shouldn’t have gone there if you weren’t thinking it yourself.”

Candace shot a look at Tad, sort of hoping he’d let the cat out of the bag. She didn’t know what that would mean if they did, but it would be nice not to have to be wrenched apart every time their door opened.

“It was how you said it.” Tad shrugged. “What was I supposed to think?”

“That she looked hot,” Joe said simply, and catching the look Candace was shooting at him, he corrected himself. “Warm.”

“Whatever; are we playing poker or what?” Candace said, walking between the two men taking up all the space in their little U-shaped kitchen.

“We’ve got to wait for Shea,” Tad insisted. “Oh yeah, since Ronnie and Chloe are busy I invited one more, just so we’d have a full table.”

“All right.” Candace sat down and opened the silver case that held all their chips and cards and began setting up.

Shea showed up a few minutes later. He was texting Chloe under the table. The guys had a “no girl” rule for poker night. It was obviously lenient because here Candace was, for goodness’ sake. Shea may have had the others fooled, but she knew even a guy couldn’t possibly find his crotch so amusing that he gazed down there a good 40 percent of the time.

“So where’s this mystery fifth player?” Candace asked Joe as she shuffled the cards, and like a pro bridged them between her hands.

A knock came at her door. “That’s probably him now.”

“Ah, finally someone with couth.” Candace sighed. Tad and Candace shared a glance of appreciation over the knock at their door.

Joe shot her a weird look, and she shot him a brilliantly toothy smile as he went to open the door. She dealt everyone in, including Mr. Mysterious and waited patiently for this guy to make an appearance.

“You guys all know my brother, Keith, right?” Joe pointed to the guy coming in right behind him.

The tall, dark, hugely handsome man stepped out from behind Joe with a nice little wave. “Dr. Gorgeous?” Candace smiled fondly up at him. She’d first met him at Ronnie’s house back when there was a certain tension between Keith and Joe, but they’d apparently worked that all out.

Keith had bought one of Mary Katherine’s adorable puppies and so she’d been seeing him quite a bit at the office lately, especially since this was his first pet ever. He had lots of questions, and since the actual doctors were often busy Candace took pity on him. She just walked him through some things, like how to begin housebreaking the little guy.

*

When Candace stood to hug Keith, Tad felt his insides swarm molten with a jealous rage.

Dr. Gorgeous? Please. He wasn’t
that
good-looking.
Tad rolled his eyes and swallowed the last of his beer before he got up to get another.

“Who needs?” he asked the group.

Shea raised his hand. Tad broke into the most natural grin he could muster at the moment, seeing as how Keith’s hand was still low—dangerously low—on Candace’s back. “Nice try.”

Shea grinned. “Gotta try when I can.”

“True story.” No one else had even paid attention to his question so he decided they were on their own. He grabbed just himself another beer.

Tad made his way back to the table in time to watch Candace tuck a strand of hair behind her ear as she laughed at something Dr. Gorgeous was saying. Tad waited a little while longer before he turned to Shea, thinking about making some small talk but found that his clueless but only ally was texting his girlfriend beneath the table.
Great
. He was on his own with this one.

“I’m about to call a flag on the play,” Tad announced to the room.

Candace’s smile slipped and her gaze caught Tad’s. She must have sensed the edge in his voice. It’s not like he could explain it to her if she didn’t already know.
How could she not already know?
God, he’d told her things that he’d never even thought about other women, let alone verbalized. “Delay of game,” he clarified.

“Jesus, who pissed in your cereal?” Joe asked, taking his seat and looking at his two cards.

Dr. Gorgeous just did
.

Candace sent questioning looks his way, but he avoided them.

“I haven’t gone golfing in forever.” Candace laughed, joining in on some conversation Tad couldn’t work up enough interest to even follow until she spoke. “I used to play in high school.”

Tad didn’t know that about her.