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  Candy’s Corporate Crush

  The Blackstone Family

  TINA MARTIN

  Copyright @ 2019 Tina Martin

  CANDY’S CORPORATE CRUSH

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real people, names, places, things or events are a product of the author’s imagination and strictly coincidental and are used fictitiously.

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  The Blackstone Family

  PARENTS: Theodore (Theo) Blackstone & Elowyn Blackstone

  CHILDREN:

  Bryson Blackstone [Age 39]

  -Married to Kalina Blackstone

  -Owns Blackstone Tree Service

  Barringer (Barry) Blackstone [Age 37]

  -Married to Calista Blackstone

  -CEO of Blackstone Financial Services Group (BFSG)

  -CHILDREN: Bella Blackstone [Age 3 months old]

  Garrison (Gary) Blackstone [Age 35]

  -Widowed (Was married to Vivienne Blackstone)

  -Director of Finance at Blackstone Financial Services Group (BFSG)

  -CHILDREN: Garrison Blackstone, Jr. [Age 1 year old]

  Everson Blackstone [Age 33]

  -Married to June Blackstone

  -Business Management Analyst (Freelance)

  Candice (Candy) Blackstone [Age 29]

  -Single and looking

  -Manager of Customer Relations at Blackstone Financial Services Group (BFSG)

  COUSINS:

  Rexford Blackstone [Age 38]

  -Single and always looking

  -Police Officer

  Colton Blackstone [Age 34]

  -Single

  -Painter, owns Blackstone Painting, LLC

  Chapter 1

  That nagging feeling in her gut wouldn’t go away. It had occupied her mind on the drive to Asheville and even with the music blaring, she couldn’t shake it. It was that sinking feeling she imagined every woman probably experienced in their lifetime – the thought that there was something better out there than the person they were with. She knew it wasn’t true – that it didn’t get much better than Kurt. He was smart, handsome and had a body out of this world, so where was this feeling of missing out on something coming from? And with a man like him, what exactly was she supposed to be missing out on?

  She glanced over at the passenger seat to grab her phone when she heard it ringing. It was him. Her man.

  “Hey, you. I’m almost there,” she answered.

  “Why’s it taking so long, or am I that anxious?” he asked.

  “Yes, you’re anxious, Kurt. The drive is five hours. You know this.”

  “I know, I know but it seems longer and longer every time. We need to do something about that.”

  “I know,” she said. She was coming to visit him from Wilmington and his patience was wearing thin with the distance separating them. They hadn’t seen each other in two weeks. Two whole weeks. That was a long time to be without his woman. His wife. They’d been married for a month but their lives were still very much separate and utterly complicated. As newlyweds, they didn’t need those problems, especially when they had a huge mushroom cloud of a problem hanging over their heads already. Kurt worked for The Champion Corporation – the very company who wanted to buy Blackstone Financial Services Group – the company Candice’s father founded. The company of which she was also currently employed as an executive.

  “Okay, I’m about to pull up now,” she told him.

  “No, you’re not. I’m standing at the door. I don’t see headlights in my driveway. Where are you?”

  She found his impatience amusing. “Give me a few seconds, Mr. Hempstead. I’m pulling up in five…four…three…two…”

  “Ah, there you are.” A sigh of relief calmed his anxiety and satisfied his soul. “Bring your pretty behind on in here. I got dinner waiting.”

  “Yeah, like we’re actually going to eat,” she quipped.

  “We will. Eventually.”

  Candice came to a stop in front of the garage door and threw the gear into park before she turned off the engine. She got out and in a full sprint, ran up to the tall, deliciously handsome man who was all hers. She leaped into his arms squeezed the life out of him. He was all too receiving as he held on to his love, kissed her lips and took full possession of her mouth. The hours that had turned into days that irritatingly became weeks had sparked this kind of reuniting, this longing, but their reconnection was proof that no distance could keep them apart. They were committed to making it work. Their love. Their secret marriage. Their rival companies. It had to work.

  Kurt held her close as they kissed up the front stairs of his home. His tongue tousled with hers when they made it to the porch. When they stepped inside, he closed the door and hungrily devoured her lips again in a way that told her they were not going to eat dinner right away. They needed each other for sustenance at the moment in a way that could only be described as uncontrolled recklessness. They were wild again. Panting, in need and careless as they knocked over a lamp and the table it was sitting on.

  He snatched her shirt up over her head. She secured her legs around his waist. Anything between the door and bedroom was an obstacle. There had been many times when they hadn’t made it. Like now, when they tripped over a rug in his living room. He hit the floor first, breaking her fall with a bed of muscles but still took the opportunity to undo her pants and her self-control, feeling her unravel in his arms.

  She giggled playfully between kisses. Pulling his shirt up over his head, she commented, “It smells good in here. What’d you cook?”

  “Don’t worry about all that right now,” he said, tugging her bra loose. Food was the last thing on his mind.

  She gasped the moment his cold hands touched her bare skin. “Ah…Kurt.”

  “Yes?” he said kissing her around her neck.

  “We could just go to the bedroom, you know.”

  “We could, but this is a perfectly good floor,” he told her, feeling the carpet beneath his back. She came down on top of him, kissing him again as she maneuvered her body to merge with his until his length filled her. She gasped, chewed a long moan and let the feeling overtake her.

  “I miss you,” she panted.

  “Hey, let’s not worry about that right now, baby,” he said staring up into her eyes, his back still on the floor. Their bodies fused together. She rocking, moving, riding slow. “We’re here together, making love. Let’s just have this moment. Are you with me?”

  “Yes,” she gasped, closing her eyes temporarily to savor it as she angled her head to the ceiling. “I’m with you.” She placed her hands on his face feeling his prickly beard tickle her fingers. She bit down on her lip and closed her eyes when she felt his lips skim across her breasts.

  His woman was something special. In a way, she was lost when they’d met, he knew. Behind the strong, independent woman was the shadow of another woman – one who had trust issues. In some ways, she still had tho
se issues. That’s why he loved her harder. Why he made her trust him. And when he made love to her, like he was doing now, he made sure he conveyed in action what he’d said to her in words.

  He loved her. Loved her soul. Her spirit. Her body. She was his woman and she would always be his.

  And he would always be hers.

  Her body quivered against his as he held on tight to her, trying to absorb her spasms into his own being. It worked, triggering an explosion that left them both gasping for air while the sounds of their lovemaking filled the living room. She was still panting, still struggling to catch her breath when he whispered, “Welcome home, baby.”

  She smiled and lowered her mouth to his for more of his lips. He was all she needed. The little voice in her head that threatened her sanity and made her feel like there was something missing needed to keep quiet. But would it?

  Chapter 2

  In the kitchen, Kurt rewarmed the meal he’d prepared – beef with mushroom gravy, rice and string beans. He even took a stab at making biscuits from scratch. After they’d wrestled on the living room floor, he’d slid into a pair of sweats and a plain, white T-shirt. The chocolate contrast of his skin against the white shirt made Candice’s mouth water, and it wasn’t for those biscuits. “Ain’t nothing sexier than watching a man cook,” she told him.

  “Correction—ain’t nothing sexier than watching your man cook,” Kurt corrected.

  “Right,” she smiled. “My man.”

  Kurt pulled out a chair for her. She’d just come from taking a shower and was wearing a pink pajama set – a spaghetti strap top with shorts. Her complexion was a few shades lighter than his. And she was shorter, five-seven, body bangin’ in all the right places – small waist, thick thighs, plump breasts and a round bottom.

  “Plant your booty right here in this seat.”

  “Yes, Sir,” she said, sitting at the glass-top table, gathering her damp hair back into a ponytail.

  He brought her a glass of red wine, something to keep her occupied while he worked. She sipped and watched him. He’d cooked for her plenty of times before, and every time a smile came to her face. He was hers. She was proud of that, especially after dealing with a guy like Quinton.

  After her relationship with Quinton went sour, she took a break from dating – a break so long, it had her brothers thinking they’d won in their quest to keep their little sister single and man-free. Little did they know she had a man. That was one advantage of a long-distance relationship. She didn’t have to worry about the family being in her business. Now that they were married, a long-distance husband/wife relationship wasn’t feasible any longer – not to her or him. But it wasn’t Kurt doing the stalling. He was ready to love life with her the way they should’ve been living. The hesitation came from her end.

  “What are you thinking about?” Kurt asked as he brought her a plate.

  She smiled. “Nothing much. Just thinking.”

  She remembered when she first met Kurt on the boardwalk in Wilmington. She’d been out alone that night, doing that freeing thing single people did called dating themselves when he’d approached her, asking if he knew her from somewhere. Candice took it for what it was – a line from a handsome guy to break the ice. He’d given her his business card, wrote his cell phone number on the back and that was that.

  It was later she found out he probably did know her – well, in passing. He’d gone to high school with her brother, Everson. Still, Candice had no intention of calling him, and she didn’t think twice about hanging on to his business card just in case she changed her mind.

  It wasn’t until Kurt showed up at her job that she would see him again. He worked for the enemy – The Champion Corporation – the company who were now representing a former client of Blackstone Financial – The Blakeney Agency. In fact, the client was the biggest client, in terms of dollars, that Blackstone had. Since they’d lost the company, The Champion Corporation wanted Blackstone to become a subsidiary. Barringer Blackstone, Candice’s second oldest brother, nearly had a stroke when he listened to Desmond Champion make him an offer to bring Blackstone Financial Service Group under The Champion Corporation brand.

  He wasn’t having any of it. He wanted to wait it out to see if the company could bounce back after losing one of its biggest, most important clients. As customer relations manager for the company, Candice was tasked with securing new business and over the last six months, she’d done her job, especially with bringing on Telmark Corporation. Still, with their largest client in the hands of a rival company, they needed more clients to fill the gap and increase their profit margin.

  But that was the business side of her relationship with Kurt – the side that caused a lot of strain.

  She wanted to enjoy the personal time with him. It was a pain to always have the business issues following them, but when you loved someone, you pushed that aside. Dwelling on business wasn’t conducive to a healthy, happy marriage – especially a long-distance one like theirs.

  “Thank you for cooking.”

  “You’re welcome, baby.”

  Back at the table with his food, he sat across from her and they began eating.

  “Talk to me,” he said.

  “What?”

  “You have something on your mind, so get it off. Come on. Let’s hear it.”

  She smiled. “I don’t have anything on my mind.”

  “You do. I’ve been watching you daydreaming. Something’s got you occupied.”

  “Yeah, something like you.”

  He narrowed his eyes, then took a spoonful of beef tips to his mouth.

  “Dinner is delicious, by the way,” she said.

  “Thank you.” He sipped wine then said, “I have some things on my mind I would like to discuss with you.”

  “Okay. Let’s hear ‘em.”

  Kurt took the white napkin from his lap and wiped his mouth. “Your family.”

  “What about my family?”

  “I’m not a part of it.”

  “Kurt—”

  “I want to feel like I’m a part of your family just as much as I am a part of you.”

  To him, nothing was more important than family. His parents divorced when he was sixteen. At the time, he didn’t understand why they couldn’t reconcile, but he knew he didn’t want to endure that kind of heartache. He watched his mother suffer for a while then regain her balance again after remarrying. His parent’s failed marriage made him realize how important family was. How fragile it was. How easily something that was supposed to last forever could so easily be torn apart if it wasn’t maintained properly. He vowed to never let that happen to his family. She was his family, and he didn’t need any outsiders whether they be flesh and blood or otherwise disturbing their relationship. That’s what she feared her family would do – disrupt their marriage.

  “It doesn’t work like that all the time, Kurt. Just because I like you doesn’t mean everyone in my family will automatically fall in line.”

  “I understand that.”

  “And I’ve warned you about my brothers.”

  “Yes, and I’m willing to accept whatever they have to throw my way to prove how much I love you.”

  Candice sighed. It was her belief he shouldn’t have to prove anything – especially to them. If they didn’t like him, they didn’t like him. As long as she liked him – loved him – she didn’t care what they thought.

  “I want you to meet them, Kurt—I do—but I think we should push it back a little.”

  “Why? You don’t think I can handle myself?”

  “The company you work for is trying to acquire the company my family owns. The conflict of interest is crystal clear, and trust me when I say this won’t go over well with my family.”

  “Yet, it hasn’t stopped you from being with me, so why should we let it stop us from living our lives? You live in Wilmington. I live in Asheville. Every time I bring up the subject of us moving together, you cringe.” He cracked a smile looking at her. “S
ee, you did it just now.”

  “I know, but it’s not because I don’t want to. I do. I just—I’ve never been away from my family. My mother will lose her mind if she knew I was considering moving here with you.”

  “Then I’ll move to Wilmington with you. It doesn’t matter as long as we’re together, baby. That’s what I don’t think you understand. I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”

  She blushed. “Stop staring into my eyes like that. Why do you look so serious?”

  “Because I am serious and I want you to know that. I don’t want to be in company meetings with you, watching you pretend you don’t know me. Pretending I haven’t laid between your thick thighs. I’m your husband. I want to be treated like that.”

  “Okay. I hear you.”

  He lifted a brow. “Do you?”

  “Yes. Loud and clear.” She followed her confirmation with a sip of wine and more thoughts. “When are we scheduled to meet again to discuss the acquisition?”

  “I’m not one-hundred percent sure if it’s on the calendar yet, but I know it’s coming up soon. It’s going to be me and Desmond coming over there again.”

  “Okay, then I’ll come up with a plan to tell my brothers about us while you’re in Wilmington.”

  “Good.”

  “Can you smile now and reduce the tension in the room?”

  Kurt flashed a smile, one that always made Candice’s heart skip a beat.

  “Do we have anything planned tomorrow?”

  “You mean after I let you out of the bed?”

  Candice giggled. “Yes. After you let me out of the bed.”

  “No. I don’t have anything planned. We’ll figure something out. We always do.” He said, reaching across the table to hold her hand. “I really miss you when we’re not together.”