Sweet as Candy - Karla Doyle Page 0,85
times you weren’t in control?”
Yes. Yes, she did. A hands-on, tongue-on, cock-in reminder. And she was quite sure Jake would oblige, just about anywhere, anytime. All she had to do was ask. Or touch him…
He caught her hand before she reached his fly. “I’m going to show you the house now. Before I give in to your beautiful everything and we both forget why we’re here.”
“It’s hard to forget something you don’t know.”
“True.” He dropped a quick kiss on the tip of her nose before stepping back. Still holding her hand, he used the other to gesture toward the small room’s two closed, interior doors. “Both units in the house have an inside entrance as well as separate exterior entrances.”
“Both units?”
“Yeah. It’s a duplex. There’s a self-contained, two-bedroom unit on each floor. The current owners modified it from a single-family home to share it with their daughter and son-in-law. They have kids of their own now and need more space. The owners don’t want to convert it back, or rent the upstairs to strangers, so it’s for sale.”
“I didn’t see a sign on the lawn.”
“It hasn’t been listed yet. I learned about it from Curtis’s mother, who’s a realtor. The property belongs to someone she knows. If I buy it now, it’ll be private sale, so the price will be better.”
“If you buy it now.” Repeating the words slowly didn’t make her head spin less.
“Let’s walk and talk,” he said, guiding her to the rightmost door, then up the stairs beyond. “I can afford this house on my own. I’ve already been to bank and had financing approved. The mortgage payment would be about the same as my current rent. Meaning, you and Macy could have the upstairs unit free and clear.”
“So, you want to be my landlord and my…” She couldn’t bring herself to say sugar daddy. A term Jake had used when he threw Enzo’s offer in her face. “Benefactor?”
“What? No. Shit, that’s what you think I’m suggesting?” He released her hand, moving as far away as the narrow stairwell allowed. At the top of the stairs, he increased the gap, striding across the bright, open-concept living area, then turning to face her. “I’m not like him. I don’t want to keep you, I want to be with you. You and Macy. I’m just trying to do that in a way that doesn’t pressure you too much, or happen too fast for Macy.”
The lump in her throat wouldn’t allow her to speak. Instead, she crossed the room and hugged him, burying her face in the safety and comfort of his chest.
“I would never treat you that way, Candace. I respect you too much to do something like that.”
She pulled back enough to meet his gaze. “Why would you respect me, after everything I’ve done?”
“Because of everything you’ve done. You’re a strong, independent, incredible person. Smart and sexy and so damn soft, in spite of all the crap you’ve dealt with.”
She shook her head. Not to disagree, but to ward off tears. Crying would ruin the moment more than she already had.
Jake didn’t know that though. When he tipped her chin up and brushed a gentle kiss across her lips, she closed her eyes and let him sweep her away. Each second of connection, each teasing stroke of his tongue, took her further from the past, pushed her closer to the happiness they’d shared. Could share again.
“Would it be wrong to test out a bedroom in a house you’re thinking of buying?” she whispered against his mouth. “Just to be sure it’s got the right Feng Shui for good sex?”
“Sweets, any room we’re in together has the right whatever-you-called-it for great sex. But I would rather wait until this is our place to christen it.”
Once again, she pulled back to look at his face. “Our place? I thought you planned to no-rent it to me.”
He chuckled, then kissed her oh, so, sweetly. “I planned to share it with you. I thought you and Macy could live up here, for starters, while Trooper and I stay in the downstairs unit. Like a trial run. Once Macy’s comfortable with it, we could get rid of those doors at the bottom. Let her move freely between the levels, be with both of us. Then, eventually, when you’re ready, we can make it officially one place by permanently sharing a bedroom. There’s a nice little school within walking distance. It’s not a bad commute for me, and there are four universities within an