Read Sweet Return for Free Online Page B

know,” he answered sharply.
    She angled a sultry pout in his direction. “Well, aren’t you the big meanie.” She came to where he stood and edged between him and his desk, rubbing her belly against his genitals. “Dalty, I don’t like women calling you,” she said softly.
    “Candace, for chrissake, my brother’s—”
    Her mouth on his halted what he would have said. He let her tongue play with his until things started to progress. Then, his hands resting on the rise of her hips, he pulled back and looked at her. “Baby, I’m hungrier than hell. Where are we on those steaks and that salad?”
    She frowned and pushed out her lower lip, then moved away from him, rubbing herself against him like a pet cat as she went. “It’s all ready. All you have to do is cook it.”
    “Great,” he said cheerily, hoping to ward off the fight he could see bubbling close to the surface.
    He watched her saunter toward the door, moving just slowly enough to let him take a good long look. She knew he would, too. A mane of whorls and swirls in a dozen shades of gold fell to the middle of her back. He let his eyes feast again on the tanned, perfectly heart-shaped ass that was damn near bare thanks to a tiny white bikini. White high-heeled shoes gave it a sexy swing. A white barely there halter top showed off her perfect tan and her full tits. Candace Carlisle’s very presence in a room made grown men slobber. She was, inarguably, the best-looking woman he had ever slept with. She wasn’t a bad lay, either.
    But in too many ways, she was brain-dead.
    Exactly when his needs in a woman had transformed from the physical, he couldn’t say, but lately a part of him he didn’t understand seemed to require more than a raunchy roll in the hay.
    Feeling like a chickenshit for his surliness—his screwed-up family wasn’t her fault—he dropped the phone message on his desk, making a mental note to decide what to do about it later. He headed for his bedroom but stopped off at the bar in the rec room for a sip of Jack Daniel’s. He stood for a few seconds and savored the burn all the way down. He had missed having good whiskey on his trip.
    He traded his jeans for a swimsuit and followed Candace out to the sunny backyard. He found her setting the table under the fiberglass patio cover. Two thick steaks waited for him on one end of the barbecue grill. He walked over beside Candace, cupped a handful of firm ass cheek and squeezed. She leaned into him, and the scent of coconut sunscreen and hot woman surrounded him.
    “How well did she know you in school?” she asked.
    He arched his brow rather than voice his irritation. Trying to explain to Candace was too much trouble. He knew from experience that explanation would turn to argument. He replied by covering her mouth with his for another kiss and felt himself getting hard.
    When the kiss ended, she looked up at him with hooded eyes, her lips wet and vivid. Her hand came between them and she rubbed him through his swimsuit. “We don’t have to eat right now,” she said softly.
    “Baby, you’re something else,” he murmured.
    A knowing smile tipped the corners of her mouth. She knew she didn’t have to do much to give him a hard-on. “So?”
    “So. We screwed half the morning.”
    “But this is afternoon.”
    “And I need my strength. Let me do some laps, then I’ll cook the steaks.” He slapped her bottom and said against her ear, “Don’t let it get cold. I’m working on a comeback.”
    He left her and dove into the lap pool that spanned the width of his backyard. God, he had missed this swimming pool those months in the desert.
    He swam in a smooth, steady crawl, pacing himself and thinking about Candace and his own restiveness. He had met her last year at a publicity photo gig. Not an assignment he normally hired out for, but the money had been too good to turn down. The shoot ran late and Candace had offered herself as a dinner companion. Then one thing led to