Candy Cain Read online

  “You’ll freeze to death; you’re already half-frozen, you stubborn little twit. This cute little car will be covered over with snow in less than half an hour. What, you want a classy coffin, princess?”

  Candy unlocked her car, opened her door, and once more stood before him. “Your vocabulary, sir, is quite limited,” she began, her voice dripping in sarcasm. “Are you only able to articulate in a derogatory fashion? Or is the word ‘stupid’ the only one you have at your meager disposal?”

  “Well, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck…”

  “Well, yes, you certainly are quite foul.”

  “Fine, you wanna freeze your stubborn little behind off, go ahead…Frosty.” He threw his arms up in the air in a disparaging gesture of defeat. He began sliding and slipping back up the embankment.

  Candy watched him leave. “Well, at least call me a tow truck…Abominable Snow Man,” she yelled.

  “I don’t have my cell phone…Misfit Toy,” he threw over his shoulder.

  The snow came down so heavily Candy could barely make out his form in moments, and then he was gone. Candy stood shivering. The city she had driven from hadn’t been this cold. It was amazing how fast the temperature could change. Her stylish, expensive leather coat was unlined, useless really. The biting wind was wicked; the icy flakes felt like pins and needles across her unprotected face. She was alone in the storm; no doubt it was going to get worse. He was right, damn him; she would freeze to death before too long.

  “Wait,” she called and began struggling up the ditch.

  Her high heels slipped over the ice, and she fell forward onto her hands and knees, toppling onto her face half way up. Her knee thumped painfully against an ice covered, hidden rock. Her head, devoid of a hat, was soaked. Her hands, ungloved, were red. Candy felt like crying. Her skirt had hiked up near her thighs, and she could see the numerous rips and tears starting to form in her stockings. She struggled to her knees. When she looked up she could see the shadow of his outline, his head cocked to the side as he stood waiting for her, watching her.

  “Stupid people don’t wear hats and mitts either.” She heard him say.

  “You appear not to be wearing any,” she pointed out.

  He nodded, and then shrugged, conceding. “Guess we stupid people should look out for each other.”

  He moved closer and assisted her to her feet. She clung to his arm as they made their way to his truck. She noted, with dismay, one of her heels had broken off. After he settled her in the passenger side, he got behind the wheel. Candy breathed a sigh of relief when the ignition turned over and the vehicle started. Slowly he moved off. A warm blast of air was welcome against her frozen hands. Her teeth clicked together, her hair dripped down her back, and she knew she must look a sight.

  “So, what’s your name?” he asked her.

  “Candy,” she replied.

  “What, not Candace, princess?”

  “What is it about me you dislike?” she asked curiously.

  “I don’t dislike you; I don’t even know you. By the way, my name is Cain.”

  Great, she thought; if that wasn’t a neon sign of providence slapping her in the face with its irony, Candy Cain. At Christmas.

  “Where’re you headed?” he asked her.

  “Into town, please.”

  “Sorry, but I doubt we’ll make it that far.”

  Candy felt great concern at his words. The snow was coming down harder, if that was possible. She couldn’t see anything at all. A few frightening times the vehicle left the road to traverse the bumpy ditch, knocking the two of them about like ping pong balls. Cain finally offered a foul expletive, obviously admitting defeat. The truck stopped its slow crawl.

  “Well, Mother Nature is winning this round. I guess we may as well ride it out. It shouldn’t take more than a day or two for the storm to break.”

  “You mean we’re just going to sit here? What happens when the gas runs out?” she asked worriedly.

  “I got a can of it in the back. Even stupid people know enough to pack extra gas, especially when they got no hat or gloves.”

  Candy looked closely at his jacket; she realized he didn’t do it up because the zipper was broken.

  “Holy crap, will you look at you?” he said, assessing her, “You look like a frozen, half drowned elf wrapped in mangy mistletoe.”

  Before she could mutter a response to his Grinch-like comment, he reached into the backseat and pulled out a large, thick, woolen gray blanket. He draped it around her shoulders. He then reached out to take hold of her leg under her knee.

  “Fell on a rock, did you?” he said. He was studying the smeared blood critically.

  “Your uncanny powers of perception amaze me,” she answered drily.

  “Well, then you’re gonna love this insight,” he drawled. He pulled out a first-aid kit from the glove compartment. “Ta da.”

  Candy couldn’t help herself, she laughed. “You’re such a cheeky bugger.”

  “Just relax; you’re in good hands.”

  She supposed he could be right. Quickly, he had her knee cleaned and bandaged. When he finished, he wrapped the blanket around her securely.

  “It’s starting to get dark. You might want to get some sleep; we could be in for a long wait,” he advised. “You look done in.”

  “What about you?”

  “I just woke up a little while ago. I was doing a job and didn’t finish until early morning, and then I had other stuff to do.”

  Candy settled back. She was amazed when he produced a worn, but fresh-smelling pillow from the seat behind him. It had her wondering if he lived in his truck. But he was clean and clean-shaven. He certainly didn’t look slight of weight; in fact, seeing him again up close she noted he was very powerfully built.

  There would be enough time to ask questions of him later. All of her shivering and the cold, then the warmth of the truck’s heat made her drowsy. She had only just gotten to town after her long drive, perhaps a catnap was a good idea after all. It wasn’t as if she would be able to converse with him in a stimulating manner. Even the thought was boring. She yawned. It really had been a tiring day. Candy settled back against the door and closed her eyes.

  Chapter 3

  Candy wasn’t sure what woke her. She was disoriented and felt groggy. During her sleep she must have leaned on the window, as it was partially down.

  “Cain?” she mumbled with confusion. What was wrong with her? Her head felt like it was full of tinsel. She reached over and shook him. He woke slowly. “Cain, I feel funny, like my head is floating.”

  “Damn,” he mumbled as he slowly roused.

  The next thing Candy knew, he had his door open. A blast of icy wind filled the truck with freezing, clean air. Icy flakes of snow whirled around her face, tossing her hair wildly about. Cain stumbled out of the vehicle, practically falling with his disorientation. Candy lost sight of him in the pitch-black of the night within mere seconds.

  “Cain,” she called for him fearfully. The blizzard still raged, she was once again frozen, and now she was alone.

  What would she do if he couldn’t find his way back? It was impossible to see anything out there. He could freeze to death a foot away from his truck, and she would never see him, or hear his frantic calls for help over the frightening noise of the ferocious, raging storm. She didn’t want to die out here all alone. In those moments she knew what true terror really was. Thankfully, her fear was short-lived as Cain groped his way back into the truck.

  “Muffler got covered over; fumes could have damned near killed us. The snow is too high, and it’s too dark to clean it off. I can’t see shit out there.” He slammed his door closed and turned the truck off.

  “We’ll freeze to death,” Candy whispered with mounting horror. She cast a quick glimpse out the windshield. A blizzard was charming while safely tucked away and snug in a high penthouse with the fire lit while munching on warm buttered popcorn. Up close it looked like sinister, awaiting d
eath.

  “I’m almost out of gas. Even if I could find the container in the back, I can’t see out there to fill the tank; the gas cap might just be frozen over anyway. If I lose the truck for even a second, and get turned around, I’d be a dead man, and you’d be left all alone.”

  It was dark in the truck. Candy could feel Cain move closer. He wrapped the blanket around the both of them, and pulled her so close she was almost in his lap. He felt warm, even though he had just returned inside. She could feel the steady pounding of his heart. She could sense his worry; it made her shiver.

  “Don’t be afraid. Once the sun comes up I can dig us out,” he promised, his manner unexpectedly gentle.

  Candy grew more apprehensive. He wasn’t using his smug, arrogant tone; he was actually being pleasant to her, soothing her. They must be in big trouble. She wasn’t certain if she shook with cold or fear. Candy settled her head against his shoulder; her forehead brushed his cheek. He opened his coat further and began opening the front of hers, fumbling with the large buttons.

  “What are you doing?” she asked worriedly; she was already cold enough; he wouldn’t steal her jacket would he?

  “Sorry, sweetheart, but in order for us to stay alive we’re going to need to share our warmth.”

  Oh, she thought, and then her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Just how much warmth do you want exactly?”

  She could feel his hands sliding up her back. His mouth rested against her neck. His breath came in long whispers of heated air against her cool skin. Her breasts pressed against his solid chest; she could feel the heat of him through the fabric of her blouse. She was right, he was powerfully built. His large, solid thighs were nestled intimately against her behind.

  “I want only as much as you want to give, but enough to stay alive.”

  Was that a threat?

  “Cain?”

  “Hmm?”

  “What do you do for a living?”

  “You want a breakdown of my résumé? References?”

  “I’d like to get to know you better, seeing as though your hands are getting awfully close to my breasts.”

  “Sorry, you just feel so good, so warm and soft.”

  “I’m freezing,” she stated.

  “Funny, because I’m starting to feel all hot.”

  Candy sighed. He moved his hands back to where she wouldn’t feel as threatened. He continued to rub gently over her body until she too began to feel warmer. It felt nice, she decided, the way his strong hands massaged her tight muscles. His thumbs rubbed in a caressing fashion along the sides of her tense neck. She suppressed a moan as his one hand slipped up under her blouse.

  His hands were so large they warmed her ribcage with a gentle, circular motion. She pressed herself closer to him and decided it couldn’t hurt to do some exploring of her own, just to warm herself up. She slipped her hands next to his flesh under his sweater. He jumped and emitted a small yelp of surprise.

  “Good Lord, Candy. You’re freezing. Your fingers feel like little icicles.”

  He moved one hand and tucked it into his underarm; in the other hand he grasped her fingers, and one by one he stuck them in his mouth to warm them. Candy could see the outline of his face in the darkened interior. She watched him, a feeling of hesitant excitement crept up her belly. He suckled gently upon each one in turn. He trailed his tongue, heavenly, from finger to palm, to wrist. She anxiously waited to see what he would do next. She curled her legs higher upon his lap. Her feet pressed into his warm belly.

  As though a thought occurred to Cain, he pulled her legs over his thighs and dropped her shoes to the floor. Her legs were barely clad, as her thigh-high nylons were ripped; he peeled them off. Cain shifted her, to settle her back against the door; her ankle rested within his large hands. She missed his warmth, briefly, then one by one her toes found their way into his hot mouth. Once again his tongue curled around each one in turn.

  No man had ever done this to her. She had never felt anything so erotically pleasing. He trailed his lips down the inside of her foot to her ankle. Cain slid his hands up and down her thighs and calves, gently massaging, to stimulate her flow of blood…and her blood was definitely flowing through her.

  Candy’s heart began to race. When he had warmed her lower extremity, he laid her under him to keep her warm. He tucked the blanket all around them and rested her head on the pillow. The truck was large, Candy had ample room, but Cain’s legs were longer, and he shifted higher over her and pulled his legs tighter around her, covering her completely. It was an odd mixture of entrapment and safety.

  “Candy, we need to stay warm, and we need to stay awake. We need to do something physical that will aid with both.” There was warmth in his tone; the barbarian had vanished with their predicament. Crisis brought out the best in a certain few, he was one of them.

  “I know,” she whispered. Her heart was pounding within her breast.

  Barely could she make out his outline in the dark. The warmth of his body pressed against her. Candy knew if she were to look into his eyes she would see compassion amidst the concern. Cain’s hard erection pressed through her clothing and she knew what he had in mind. It wasn’t as if they had the room for vigorous calisthenics. It wasn’t such a bad idea really; after all they could die if they didn’t stay alert and at least somewhat mobile.

  They could possibly die out here if the storm lasted longer. Beyond the doors was certain death in the precious moments of life. Candy wanted to feel love before she died. She had been with one man before, but it wasn’t love; it was rushed, and it hadn’t felt right. Not for one second did she think sex could be a business arrangement, but this wasn’t an arrangement, the pair were thrown together and placed in an extreme situation.

  Candy could sense, more than see the question that hung in the air. He was waiting, patiently, for her to decide their next course of action.

  “Make love to me, Cain,” she whispered.

  The front of her blouse opened, each of his fingers slid sensually down her skin. The frigid air hardened her exposed nipples. The cold danced across her for a brief second, until his mouth closed over a taut bud. He drew her deeply into his mouth. She arched her back to press against the long hardness of him. He lifted his other hand to roam lower, hiking up her skirt while lowering her panties.

  Candy’s breath quickened, knowing what he would do next. A gentle finger trailed around her moist folds, rubbing, searching. She moaned as two fingers slipped inside her. She gasped as he plunged them deeply into her tight heat. His head rose to claim her lips in a heated dance. Their tongues entwined.

  Sensuously, he stroked within her. He trailed his mouth down her neck to her shoulders, leaving a searing path. He enveloped her. She heard him fumble with the zipper on his pants, and she felt a moment of disappointment. Her hands pressed against his chest in concern.

  “Cain?”

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I don’t have a condom, I can pull out before…” he trailed off.

  “No, it’s not that,” Candy said, though she was surprised with herself for not even thinking of protection. How could she be when she was so preoccupied with living? “I’m not ready; I’ve only been with a man once before,” she admitted with some embarrassment.

  “Oh,” he said. “Candy, I don’t want to leave you uncovered; you’ll get too cold if I try and stimulate you better. You’re half-naked; you need my body heat as close as possible. I’d have to pull the blanket off us. We both might…Wait, I’ve got an idea.”

  For a moment he settled a great deal of his weight onto her, and she groaned in discomfort. Good God he’s heavy. Every inch of him felt so solid. Cain mumbled a short apology as he fumbled with something in the glove compartment before snapping it closed. Once more he settled himself gingerly atop her. Candy jumped, as suddenly; she felt a thick, cool substance slide up between her thighs.

  It was some kind of lubricant to ease her worry. Slippery coolness turned into arousing heat as his magic fing
ers rolled against her. Cain shifted, the tip of his arousal pressed against her. Candy remembered her first time, and she tensed. Her first lover hadn’t been nearly as big as Cain.

  Cain slid deeper inside her, exquisitely slow, rocking against her. He was long and hard, and large. He filled her completely. She had never felt such controlled power. Gasping little moans tore from her throat. The heat from his breath bathed her face. He was making love to her.

  Candy had been gripping his shoulders with her fingernails, but soon wrapped her arms around his broad back, pulling him deeper, needing him deeper. She wanted all of him, nothing less would suffice. She could feel her warm body turn hot, feel her want of him grow.

  So this is what it’s supposed to feel like, she thought, these beautiful sensations. This trailing of liquid heat to every part of her being. Cain was deliciously suckling an earlobe, nuzzling her with his nose. He moved slowly, as not to dislodge their blanket. His powerful arms captured her to him. She no longer heard the whistle of the pounding blizzard.

  All Candy heard were the sweet, endearing words he whispered into her ear. Telling her how good she felt, how hot she made him feel, how alive they were together. She felt alive, in fact this was the most alive she’d ever felt.

  Candy was pressed hard against the fabric of the truck seats beneath her. Cain was demanding more of her; his strokes were long and coming faster. She lifted her legs high around him. His one arm held her calf, his hand cupping and warming her foot. She lifted her other leg high to press tightly around him; her other foot rested against his back under his shirt. Her breathing grew so ragged it became hard to breathe. She was melting.

  Every inch of him felt on fire under his clothing, through his clothing, and she clutched him tighter. She moaned as he ground himself against her. And with a blessed final thrust, they both found release. Candy buried her face into his neck.

  “I feel so warm and tired,” she muttered.

  He gripped her chin and raised her face to gaze into his eyes. “You can rest, but I won’t let you sleep.”

  Candy shivered, knowing exactly what he meant. He was by no means finished with her. Very gently he once more captured her lips.