The Mogul Read online

  Chapter Twelve

  Mark just couldn’t understand her. He’d been trying to call ever since Candy had left, and she just wouldn’t pick up. Jenny sat on his couch, looking very uncomfortable. She watched him with curious eyes as he paced the room calling Candy over and over again.

  “You should have told her about wanting her to become your business partner before you told her I was coming back,” she said. Her voice carried a certain smug know-it-all quality he found intensely annoying.

  He hung up his cell phone. “Go home and meet me at the office tomorrow. Okay?”

  Jenny stood up pouting. She grabbed her expensive handbag and flung it over her shoulder. “Sure, no problem.” He listened to her high-heel shoes clicking as she left.

  He texted Candy, saying they really needed to talk, but she didn’t reply. He tried again and again, but she wouldn’t answer either his phone messages or his texts. Defeated, he collapsed on the couch and placed his cell phone reverently on the table. What the hell had happened? Why hadn’t she given him a chance and let him explain? Perhaps Jenny was right and he’d handled the whole thing badly.

  But hadn’t they had something special together? Maybe it was nothing but sex to her, but even that didn’t make sense. No, he knew the truth. Candy cared for him, he knew it. A woman couldn’t fake that kind of passion. And when he held her in his arms, he knew they were meant to be together. She was his perfect match in every way. He loved being with her and didn’t have to worry about anything when she was taking care of things. He’d never had that with anyone else. What they had was special, and he wasn’t going to let it end this way.

  Unfortunately, there was nothing else he could do. He was going to have to go to her house and explain. He only hoped she’d be willing to listen.

  * * * *

  Mark banged on Candy’s door for almost an hour before she finally opened it.

  She stared at him with glassy, bloodshot eyes. “What?”

  “We didn’t finish our conversation,” he said. “Can I come in?”

  Candy left the door open and walked away. He followed her and took a seat on a tiger-striped chair in her living room. She disappeared into the kitchen.

  “Where are you going now?”

  She didn’t come back into view from the galley kitchen. “I’m going to make a pot of coffee. You want some?”

  “Yeah, sure, why not?”

  Finally she returned and took a seat on the edge of the couch. She wore a red Oriental robe fastened tightly around her waist, and he couldn’t help wondering if she was naked underneath.

  “I’m listening,” she said as if he wouldn’t know it unless those words had left her lips.

  He wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her. How could you think I would dump you like that? Don’t you have more trust in me? But then he remembered that this was L.A., and most people wouldn’t have hesitated tearing her guts out exactly like that.

  “Things aren’t like you think they are,” he began awkwardly.

  “Oh really? Then how are they?”

  “Jenny isn’t replacing you.”

  “That’s sure how it looked to me.”

  Mark ran his fingers through his thick hair. Everything he said was coming out wrong. “I don’t want you to be my assistant anymore. I want you to be my partner.” There. He’d said it.

  Candy stared at him. The hearty roasted smell of coffee filled the air. Suddenly he really needed that cup. He got up and went into the kitchen. He asked her if she wanted a cup too, and she told him she did. He brought two cups out. He placed hers in front of her and settled back into his chair to sip his.

  The expression on her face hadn’t changed. “I don’t know, Mark.”

  “You don’t know about what?”

  “There’s not much job security in what you do. No offense.”

  “None taken. But I’m begging you to reconsider. You’re a natural at this, Candy. You can do it. We can do it together.”

  She picked up her coffee mug and wrapped both hands around it. “I don’t know.”

  He cleared his throat. “Well, no matter what you decide about the job, I’d really like it if we could keep seeing each other.”

  “I don’t know about that either,” she said.

  That statement hurt. He put his coffee on the table and leaned back in his chair. “Oh.”

  She leaned forward as if she could comfort him being just a few inches closer. “Look, I like you, I really do, but this relationship is nuts. We barely get a chance to see each other. The only time we get together is when we have sex.”

  “We could adjust our schedules.”

  “Like I said, Mark, I really care for you. I just don’t know.”

  Mark nodded, defeated, and stood up. “I know. I get it. You’re not the first one to leave me because of my crazy schedule, but you are the most important one. I’ll go.” He headed for the door, hoping she’d stop him, but she didn’t. When he glanced back, she was still sitting in the same position. Her white knuckles clutched the coffee cup tightly.

  “See you around,” she said.

  He let out a huge sigh. He’d hoped it would loosen the knot around his throat, but it didn’t. He was already mourning her loss. This was devastating. “Yeah, see you around.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Candace spent the next two days looking for another job. Even though Mark had called her morning and night both of those days, she didn’t answer. Finally, after she’d snuggled in bed that evening and her phone rang yet again, she answered it.

  “Hello, Candy,” he said in a low, intimate whisper. His voice had a sad, hollow quality she’d never heard in it before. Her heart sank a little.

  “Hello.”

  “How was your day?”

  “Fine. Busy. What do you want, Mark?”

  “I wanted to hear your voice.” He paused, and Candace listened to see if there was a party in the background. She heard nothing but silence. “I miss you.”

  “Where are you?” she asked.

  “At home alone.”

  “Where’s Jenny?” She tried to keep the nastiness out of her tone, but failed.

  “At her home, I suppose, with her husband and baby.”

  Candace sighed. She hated having these confusing feelings. “Find someone else to be your partner.”

  “There is no one else. We’re good together, Candy. You know it.”

  “We got together too fast. I’m confused. I’m not sure how I feel about you.”

  “I understand. I was confused, too, but now I know how I feel.”

  She forced her emotional barriers up. “Oh really? And how do you feel?”

  He let out a long, tired sigh. “Work was more fun when you were with me. Everything was more fun. You’re smart, talented, and competent. I’d trust you with anything. We were natural together. Maybe that’s why I took what we had for granted. Tell me what you want, and I’ll do it. You want to start over, take things slow, no problem. All I know is I want to be with you.”

  Candace had never had any man say things like that to her. She was scared this was a trick to get her to sleep with him again. “You’re a smooth talker, I’ll give you that.”

  “I’m not playing you, Candy.” There was a long silence on the line. “Can I come over?”

  A surge of energy filled her. Her heart sped up, and her body heated like it had caught fire. She ached to feel his lips against hers and his hands all over her body. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about us . . .”

  “Please.”

  It was almost a full minute before Candace replied, but when she did, she said, “Yes.”

  * * * *

  Mark waited at the door like a condemned man awaiting a death sentence. He was losing her, and it was killing him. He’d known so many women. They’d blundered in and out of his life in a drunken haze, but Candy was the first one who made his crazy world slow down to a crawl. He wanted her so badly it physically hurt to be away
from her.

  She opened the door and stared at him with those bottomless brown eyes. They were filled with fear and pain, and all he wanted to do was take all that away. He had to make her believe how much he loved her.

  “I shouldn’t have let you come over,” she said, but her voice held no real conviction in it.

  Mark loved the vulnerability in her tone. He dared to hope she had deeper feelings for him too. She tried to close the door on him, but he pushed his way in. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it.

  Candy was even more beautiful than he remembered from a few days ago. Her dark brown skin glowed like a goddess, and a faint scent of orchids clung to her flesh. Desire overcame him, and he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. She didn’t struggle as he expected she would.

  He moved his lips forward and claimed hers in a smoldering, heated kiss. She leaned into him, but only a little, as if it wasn’t something she’d intended to do. Encouraged, Mark picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. There he explored her flesh, running sweet kisses over her face and neck. Her eager hands encouraged him as they ran through his hair.

  He was surprised to find her body heating up, like a terrible fever had taken over her. Her passion was hungry and reluctant all at once, a woman betrayed by her desire. In that moment, he fell even more desperately in love. She was so lusty and smart and funny. She was everything he’d ever wanted in a mate and could never find.

  Mark took his time undressing her, peeling away her pajama top and bottoms until she was naked beneath him. He placed his hands on either side of her beautiful face. “Why did you leave me?”

  Sorrow filled her eyes. “I thought you wanted Jenny.”

  “I don’t want anyone over you.”

  She took his right hand in hers and kissed the palm. “Something is happening between us, something that frightens me.”

  Possessive rage filled him. He tore off a strip of fabric from her pajama pants and tied her hands to the bedposts. She struggled a little, but only a little. Then he loved her with his mouth, gliding it along her neck and chest until he reached her heavy round breasts. There he licked and kissed them, pulling the nipples into his mouth and sucking them with a mixture of cruelty and love. He moved his mouth down over her belly and hips until he reached the prize between her trembling thighs.

  He devoured her then, lapping at her like she was the elixir of life itself. She cried out several times, bucking and wriggling to meet his teasing, but he never let her get the upper hand. He lingered there for a long time, bringing her to orgasm over and over again, until finally he, too, climaxed a short time after entering her.

  Candy was exhausted, her chest glowing with perspiration as it rose and fell quickly. He should have let her sleep then, but he couldn’t. Instead, with her hands still bound, he entered her once more and worked his lust until she peaked again. He turned her and this time bound her hands in front of her body. Then he took her from the side. Even two hours of working her hard didn’t diminish how slick and welcoming her pussy was.

  Finally he pulled out and listened to her tender moans. He took the bindings off her wrists and turned her to face him. She opened her eyes lazily and smiled at him. “That was something else.”

  Mark hugged her and buried his face in her neck. “Sleep, Candy. I love you.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  When Candace woke up, Mark was gone. She rolled over to the spot where he’d lain last night and reveled in his scent. Her body felt more alive than she could remember it ever feeling, but her heart was twisted with pain. Was she making a mistake letting this man so deep into her life? Could she bear to go on without him? Heaven help her, she just didn’t know. Did she want to be a part of his crazy lifestyle?

  Her cell phone rang, and she answered it without looking to see who it was.

  “Girl, where the hell have you been?” Esther said.

  Candace smiled. It was good to hear the songstress’s voice again. “Hi, Esther. I’m sorry. I’ve just had a lot of stuff going on.”

  “We need to talk, honey. Where do you want to meet?”

  Candace sat up. “There’s a Good Earth coffee shop on Fairfax. How about meeting there for coffee in about an hour?”

  “I’ll be there.”

  * * * *

  The Good Earth coffee shop was a place where the whole neighborhood seemed to come to work on their laptops. Usually it was packed, but Candace had timed their visit to be just after lunch, and most of the early morning crowd had already left. She spotted Esther in a corner of the shop, bought two cups of coffee, and met her there.

  Esther took her coffee gratefully. “Thank you, honey.”

  Candace sat across from her and dumped a handful of sugar and cream packets on the table. Esther set about flavoring her drink.

  “So what did you have to talk to me about?” Candace asked.

  “I wanted to ask, what did you do to Mark?”

  “Why, what do you mean?”

  “He’s not the same man, Candy. He kind of mopes around, constantly checking his phone, and forgets everything you tell him five seconds after the words have left your mouth. He’s calling you, isn’t he?”

  Candace leaned back in her chair and watched the cars drive past outside. “Can I ask you a question, and I need complete honesty.”

  “You can ask me anything.”

  “Did he ever have a relationship with Jenny?”

  “No, honey, those two are much too different to be together. Why?”

  “I don’t know. I guess I just got worried he wasn’t serious. We had fun together, but things seem to have gotten really intense all of a sudden. I’m just not sure yet.”

  “I understand, but if you want my opinion, I think he’s really crazy about you, Candy. Now don’t get me wrong, Mark is a lot of things, and some of them I don’t particularly like, but I’ve never known him to use a woman.”

  “Do you think I’m being silly to be so cautious?”

  “No, not at all. It’s your heart at stake. But if your reason for not getting together with Mark is because you think he only wants a good time, I would say that’s the wrong reason. He has women throwing themselves at him all day long. He doesn’t want them. He wants you.”

  Candace smiled. “Thanks. I feel better.”

  “Anytime, honey. Anytime at all.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Mark was at home watching the evening news when a text beeped on his phone. It was Candy, and his heart filled with joy. She was coming over. He didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. She’d be there in ten minutes. He told the maid to leave the door unlocked and wished her a good night.

  A few minutes later, he heard someone come in. High-heel shoes clicked across the tile floor as she approached. Just the idea of her creeping into his house brought his cock to painful and immediate attention. He marveled at how powerful and consuming his attraction to her was. He glanced up as she glided into the living room, and couldn’t look away.

  She was dressed in a skintight Catwoman costume. Her movements were smooth and graceful as she crossed the room and came to stand right in front of the TV. Her stunning face was partially covered in a catlike mask that highlighted her beautiful brown eyes and sensuous lips. In that moment he knew for certain what he’d long suspected: she was the one. Of all the women who’d been in his life, both past and present, none made him feel as passionate and excited as she.

  “Who are you?” he asked, playing with her. “What are you doing here?”

  She took a few steps forward, and her shapely hips swung back and forth with unbearable grace. He tried to stay cool, but inside he was going wild. A desire as fierce as any animal’s was born inside him, and he had to consciously restrain himself from reaching for her. This was her game. He needed to let her play it.

  “I’ve heard you’re friends with the Batman,” Candy purred. She took out a pair of handcuffs and swung them around her index finger playfully.

  He t
ried to say he was, but the only thing that emerged from his mouth was a croak. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She had to be the most gorgeous woman he’d ever seen. He settled for a stiff nod.

  “Well then, I don’t like the company you keep. I’ve come to teach you a lesson.” Candy prowled over and grabbed him by his tie. She pulled him to his feet and dragged him over to the dining room.