Page 7 of Claiming Candy

“Is there somewhere that we could talk privately?” he asks after a moment, glancing between me and the staff member working at the front desk. “It’s a little… busy here.”

“The meeting room is open,” Drake, the part-time staff member, offers. “You two could go in there!”

“Sounds good to me,” Ethan says, his eyes landing on me again. “Care to take me there?”

“Sure,” I say, my brain still not registering this situation.

I motion for him to follow me, and start leading him through the lobby. My face burns hot with the knowledge that he’s taking in the surroundings that I live in. I’m not normally embarrassed about my situation, but I’ve seen the way that he lives. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that he’s judging this, even if his heart is in the right place.

“Quite the place you have here,” he says, glancing around the sparsely decorated room. I have to squash down the urge to defend the scrawny Christmas tree sitting in the corner. “You like living here?”

“I do,” I say, bristling a little as he leads me to one of the chairs around the long table. “Why?”

“I’m just making conversation,” he replies as he settles in next to me, pulling his chair close enough to me that our knees touch. I can’t help the rush that I feel at the bit of contact, like an electroshock between us. “I really like you, Candy. That’s why I came to find you.”

“Oh,” I breathe, looking down at where he’s threading our hands together, his massive hand engulfing mine. He really is the most handsome man I’ve ever seen, age difference be damned. I can’t believe someone as gorgeous and powerful as him is interested inme.

“I like you, too,” I reply a bit sheepishly. His directness is relieving, it shows me that our encounter last night meant something to him.

“I thought so,” he replies, his touch red-hot as he rubs comforting circles into my hands. “I can take you away from here. I want to. I’m going to.”

“You– you don’t have to do that. I can take care of myself,” I say, a little annoyed with the presumption that I need saving.

“I know you can,” he replies, pulling me even closer. Our mouths are less than an inch apart. It would be so easy for him to close the distance between us. “But I want to show you how you should be treated. I’m going to treat you like the angel you are. You’ll never want for anything again, Candy.”

“I’d like that,” I whisper, feeling drunk on his words. I almost don’t register that I’m speaking, agreeing with him.

“Good,” Ethan agrees before closing the gap between the two of us.

I gasp into the kiss. It’s full of promise – searing and insistent. Keeping up with him is difficult, but I do my best. I need him to know that I’m with him, that I’ll follow him wherever he wants me to go.

I wonder what it is about him that makes me feel so safe. I guess some of it might be his money, but I have no illusions about how easy it is for wealth to be taken away. I trust him in a way that I never thought I’d trust another person.

Growing up, I learned not to rely on anyone. My parents were too absorbed in their addictions to ever give me the attention I needed, the things every child deserved.

If I needed money, I had to get it for myself – even when I wasn’t old enough to get a job, I would find ways to get the cash for field trips. It wasn’t just money I had to figure out for myself. I learned to cook and clean when my parents didn’t want to help me. I learned to rely on myself for emotional matters, too.

The neglect that I experienced growing up is the reason I want to give back to the shelter. I want to be the person that I needed when I was struggling. Having someone be that for me has never registered as an option.

Ethan makes me reevaluate that opinion. I believe him when he says he’s going to take me away from here, that he’ll take care of me. It’s such a foreign sensation, but I want so badly to get used to it.

I kiss him back with everything I have. I use my mouth to tell him that I want all he’s offering. Our tongues touch and I can’t hold back the whine that escapes me. He yanks me into his lap so I’m straddling him.

It’s like he understands what I’m saying without words. The trust I’m putting in him is heavy, and he shoulders the burden easily and eagerly. And, when his hands start to slip beneath my dress, I don’t stop him to tell him that we could be walked in on, that the door to this meeting room doesn’t lock.

But I don’t care. Let people see how much this man adores me and how much I adore him in return.

Chapter Five

Ethan

Candy’s mouth is so responsive against mine. She meets each of my movements with unpracticed enthusiasm. My cock stiffens quickly in my pants, her desire only amplifying mine. I need her so badly, and it seems like she needs me, too.

As I’m kissing her with everything I have, I push the hem of her green, tasseled dress up her thighs slowly. Candy scoots herself to the edge of her seat, clearly giving me permission to go further. The edges of my lips quirk up into the kiss. I’m going to make her feel even better than she felt last night.

After flipping the fabric up, I hook my fingers in the waistband of her panties. I start kissing my way down her body, starting with her jaw and moving to her neck. She makes the most delicious noises, whining when I yank her panties down, pulling them off of her legs and tossing them to the side.

“Ethan?” she asks, her breathing ragged. She sounds blissed out and I haven’t even done anything to her yet.

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