With her tight athletic body, curvy in all the right places, long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail and gorgeous green eyes, she made it hard to remember that he was here on an assignment. And that assignment meant staying alert and aware until investigators found whoever was sending Krane those threatening letters. The last thing he wanted to do was get mixed up with his boss’s daughter. No, Krane deserved better from him. After all, Marc owed his career to Krane, having gone from set designer to security specialist after halting a crazed stalker on the movie set. Krane, grateful for Marc’s quick thinking and bravery, had taken Marc under his wing, had him trained as a security specialist and hired him as one of his own personal bodyguards. He certainly didn’t want to betray his boss or jeopardize his position.
When Candace plunked herself down on the grass and answered her phone, Marc left his post and decided a short run was in order, to clear his head—both of them. Right now Candace was safe and sound, surrounded by her coworkers and friends, and he desperately needed a moment of reprieve from those flirtatious eyes of hers.
The soles of his running shoes tapped a steady beat on the path and helped drone out his thoughts of Candace. As a security specialist, keeping fit, alert and healthy was a necessary part of the job, necessary to keep both him and his clients alive.
Perspiration broke out on his skin as he ran long and hard, exhausting his muscles and focusing his thoughts. He turned his attention from Candace to Pamina, the willowy woman who’d hired him. How fortunate for him that she’d mistaken him for the paint stripper when he’d walked by the house a few days ago, after he’d finished setting up his hidden surveillance cameras.
A sound behind him gained his attention and he turned in time to see Candace closing the distance between them.
The swinging of her ponytail, the flush on her cheeks, her quick rapid breathing and the sight of her gorgeous breasts bouncing with each thrust had his mind racing and his cock throbbing. Despite knowing better, his thoughts took off on an erotic journey, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.
Marc on his back.
Candace on top of him, his hands on her hips.
Her sweet cunt milking his cock.
Fucking…
Christ, what he’d do to amplify that provocative look of hers, and mimic those arousing up and down movements of her lush breasts while they were engaging in other more pleasant yet equally vigorous activities.
2
As Candace closed the gap between them, and the sight of Mr. Shirtless’s sculpted back muscles and tight sexy ass came into view, moisture broke out on her skin and she suspected it had little to do with the early-morning sun beating down on her. This scrumptious display of man had her mind wandering, envisioning that toned body climbing over her, his mouth crashing down on hers while those big hands of his used her hips for leverage as he powered his cock into her.
With her mind preoccupied and her knees turning to rubber, it was all she could do to maintain a coherent thought. Totally thrown off her stride as she approached the first turn, Candace faltered. Cripes! Before she could slow her pace and find stability she went flying forward. Arms flailing, looking for something to grip on to, her momentum sent her off the beaten path and onto the grassy embankment fringing the lake. Unfortunately not the fall, or the friction of her body sliding over the leafy blades, could slow her down or stop her from sailing head first into the water.
How. Totally. Frigging. Embarrassing.
She opened her mouth to scream but only managed to gurgle as she plunged to the bottom of the lake. The water rushed over her, seeping into her clothes and sneakers and splashing over the bank as she tried to find her footing.
When her feet finally connected with the sandy bottom, she pushed herself out of the water, praying Mr. Shirtless had missed the action and was halfway around the track by now. But when her lids flew open, her stomach plummeted, her day having just gone from bad to worse.
He stood at the embankment, staring down at her. “Jesus, are you okay?”
When she saw genuine concern in his eyes, something inside her softened, and a burst of foreign emotions took a lazy stroll through her body, catching her off guard. Goodness, no man had ever looked at her like that before, with such worry in his eyes, such warmth and compassion, and she didn’t quite know what to make of his careful regard.
Feeling color blossom on her cheeks, Candace wiped her bangs from her face and blinked a big drop of water from her lashes. She shook off the adrenaline rush and nodded. “Yes, I’m fine.” At least her body was. She couldn’t say the same for her ego.
“What happened?”
Without censoring her words and somewhat rattled by the strange way he made her feel, she blurted out, “It was all your fault.”
His head jerked back. “How was it my fault?”
“I didn’t expect to see you on the track.” Candace pulled the buds from her ears, removed her wet iPod from her arm and tossed them onto the grass. Damn thing was probably ruined.
He cocked his head. “Again, how is that my fault?”
Deciding she’d said too much and completely flustered by the whole incident, she looked at him and took note of his sexy smile. “What?” she asked.
His grin widened. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”
“If it’s nothing, then why are you grinning at me like that?”
He shrugged, and his eyes raced over her clothes. In that instant her nipples hardened, and she wondered if he noticed her arousal through her training jacket. So much for the crystal blue water cooling down her lustful body. She was pretty damned sure she’d just heated the entire lake up a few degrees.
“I don’t know. I guess
