Chapter One
Candace Andrews was sweating, and it had nothing to do with being wrapped shoulder-to-floor in some green monstrosity her mother had requested she wear to the Andrews’ annual Christmas party. It had nothing to do with the champagne clutched in her trembling hand, either, as she feigned an attitude of polite attentiveness in the face of her uncle’s blathering.
Well, okay, those things weren’t helping the situation. At all. She reached up to touch the bead of sweat at her hairline before it could threaten her foundation, smiling as she pretended only to make sure every hair was in place. Surely someone in the small cluster of people she stood among would soon notice she was flushed bright red beneath her makeup. She’d caught a glimpse of herself a few moments ago in the gigantic mirror hanging in her parents’ grand entryway, so she knew.
All Brian Ross’s fault, and he wasn’t even near her. He stood halfway across the enormous living room, trapped with her dad and some of his business associates. Looking absolutely devastatingly gorgeous in all black…no suit for him, no matter how formal the occasion, but it didn’t matter because no one got past that face or those intense blue eyes anyway. She could just see his profile over her aunt’s shoulder—she never let him get too far out of sight at one of these things. He hated them, and so did she, so she constantly watched him for the subtle head-tilt toward the door that indicated he was ready to get the hell out. So far, he hadn’t given it.
Brian was her…well, she didn’t know what label to put on him. “Boyfriend” seemed way too casual. “Fiancé,” too premature, as indicated by the longing look she cast toward the bare ring finger on her left hand. “Soulmate”? Too cliché.
He was her world, and that’s all that mattered.
His hand drifted into the pocket of his slacks again, and every muscle in her body went on alert. It was another motion she’d constantly been on the lookout for tonight.
Oh, no, don’t. No more. Don’t…
Inside the lacy scrap of a thong she wore, a vibration came to silent life directly on her clit.
Expecting it didn’t squelch her reaction. She nearly jumped three feet off the floor, and in her heels, that would be quite the feat.
“Are you all right, hon?” Her aunt Deb, who stood directly across from her, looked at her with concern. It was hard to believe she and Candace’s mother Sylvia shared parents. If Sylvia had been standing nearby, she would’ve given Candace what Brian called her ocular lashing.
Candace mustered what she hoped was a blithe smile as sensation ricocheted through her lower belly and dangerously tightened all her muscles. From wherever she’d dredged up that smile, she found her voice. “I’m fine. Will you excuse me?”
Without waiting for an answer, she broke away from the group, almost collapsing in relief when Brian had mercy on her and the vibration stopped. When had she ever thought this would be a good idea? Well, she hadn’t, actually. He had. He got his kicks out of flustering her in front of her insanely conservative family. As if her being with him in the first place wasn’t enough to almost give them all a coronary. And God help her, she couldn’t say no to him. Didn’t want to.
It seemed she loved this as much as he did. But if he was insisting on driving her to orgasm at the celebrated Andrews Christmas party, she had to get out of range before he succeeded—
Like right now. The damn thing buzzed to life again as she cut a path through the guests. Any more and she was going to plunge her hand under her dress and rip it out in front of everyone. Frantically, she looked over at Brian to give him a finger-slash-across-the-throat gesture, but he only smirked at her. No quarter. Oh shit. Oh God, no, he isn’t...
Her knees weakened as it went on and she grasped an accent table for support, upsetting one of her mother’s prized crystal vases
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