Cathryn Fox - All Worked Up

Its just one little bet. Winner takesall.

Pleasure Inn, Book 2

Tired of aspiring actors using her to get close to her movie-producer father, Candace Steele has sworn off relationships. At least until shes achieved her dream of restoring an old inn on the outskirts of Mason Creek. The new carpenter whos been hired to help her create bedroom furniture designed forenduranceis throwing a kink into her plans. Watching his athletic body pound wood is doing things to her hormones that have her rethinking her vow.

When he agreed to take the job, Marc Collins intended to keep the sexy spitfire at arms length. But Candace is giving him a run for his money in more ways than one. Its tough to keep just his eyes onand hands offhis bosss daughter when shes hell-bent on seducing him. And when she pulls a fast one and wins an impromptu bet, whats a red-blooded guy to do except let her collect her winningsall of them.

The heat they generate melts the fresh paint off the walls. But when seeds of doubt make Candace put on her running shoes to flee, Marc will have to talk fastand run fasterto capture her heart.

Warning: This red-hot story contains graphic sex, frank language, wet play, use of orgasm-enhancing props, and to top it all off, its all caught on filmjust in case you missed anything the first time.

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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writers imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

577 Mulberry Street, Suite 1520

Macon GA 31201

All Worked Up

Copyright 2009 by Cathryn Fox

ISBN: 978-1-60504-842-0

Edited by Anne Scott

Cover by Scott Carpenter

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: December 2009

www.samhainpublishing.com

All Worked Up

Cathryn Fox

Dedication

To the Wicked Writers, who give new meaning to the word, wicked.

Chapter One

Interior designer Candace Steele stood on the cracked and pitted sidewalk fringing the unsightly Victorian inn, which was unquestionably defacing the quaint town of Mason Creek, a small community on the outskirts of Connecticut. As she examined the array of landscapers and painters all milling about in an effort to return the insect-infested yard as well as the paint-chipped cedar shingles to their natural beautiful state, she stretched out her legs in preparation for her habitual early-morning run.

Just because she was on a job, hired by a strange mystical-like woman named Pamina, and was on a tight deadline, it didnt mean she was about to give up her regular exercise routinepartly due to the upcoming fall triathlon and partly because the exercise filled her sex-deprived body with endorphins. Since she and her colleagues, Lindsay and Anna, childhood friends and co-owners of the bustling interior design shop, Styles for Living, had all recently sworn off men, she damn well had to get her natural high from somewhere.

Candace lunged forward, preparing her thigh muscles for a strenuous workout. While she stretched, she thought about the job ahead and the fantasy-inspired theme room each designer had been hired to create. Lindsay had gone for a BDSM theme, Anna for sweet romance. Candace, however, drawing on her experience as a competitive runner, had decided to create a fantasy room for those interested in a little marathon sex. Talk about a room doing double duty for the actively inclined.

She lunged again and stretched her legs as she considered the props shed need for her project. But her thoughts suddenly careened off-track when she caught sight of a strippera paint stripper, that iswho nearly turned said legs to mush.

Shirtless and sexy in a pair of running shorts, he turned her way, giving her a frontal view, and she took in his bronzed skin as it glistened with perspiration beneath the early-morning autumn sun. With those sculpted chest muscles, tight abdominals and long strong legs, it was clear to Candace that he had the body of an athlete, a man straight out of her erotic fantasies. As she perused him longer, taking pleasure in his short, almost military-cut hairstyle, firm square jaw, dark eyes and commanding presence, she wondered if he had the stamina to keep up with her on the track.

Or in the bedroom.

Damned if she didnt want to go for a test run with him in her soon-to-be-created fantasy-inspired theme room and find out.

Why was it again shed sworn off men?

As she pondered that a moment longer, wondering if Lindsay and Anna were also questioning the logic behind their pact, her cell phone rang. She pulled it from her zippered pocket and when she glanced at the display name, every reason she had for renouncing the opposite sex came rushing back to her.

Candace didnt approve of nepotism and believed in making it on her own, which was why shed pursued a career in design instead of working for her father, Jason Krane, a successful New York movie director who could easily make or break the careers of aspiring actors.

Whereas Lindsay attracted lazy good-for-nothing guys who wanted to separate her from her hard-earned money, Candace attracted the opposite: aggressive, career-driven men who would wine, dine and bed her in an effort to get closer to her father. When some guy seemed too good to be true, he usually was. Shed learned the hard way that men didnt covet her for who she was, but for who she could introduce them to. The last thing she wanted was for her father to give these guys preference over others or to show favoritism simply because they were dating her.

She flipped open her cell phone. Hi, Dad.

Candace, this is Olive. Your father asked me to connect to you. One moment please and Ill transfer the call.

As her fathers secretary put her through, she stole another glace at the sexy paint stripper and the way he carefully worked his hands over the cedar walls, taking his good old time, laboring slowly, methodically, conscientiously. He was a professional through and through, clearly determined to get the job done right. A warm tingle moved all the way through her body and settled deep between her thighs as she considered the way those large capable hands would feel brushing over her body, Mr. Shirtless taking the utmost care to get that particular job done right.

The deep sound of her fathers breathless voice came through the line and pulled her from her musings. Candace, honey, how are you?

She smiled, giving her father her full concentration. Im great. How about you?

God, it was so good to hear his voice. Even though talking with him made it feel like he was close by, he was far away in New York. Candace had been only a child when her parents had split and shed moved to Connecticut with her mother. She couldnt remember much about New York or her time with her father, since hed spent most of his days on the movie set, neglecting his family at home. Oh, granted, hed given to her in other ways and tried to show his love by showering her with toys and money, but as a child Candace couldnt really understand those gestures and only ever wanted his fatherly attention.

When her father went silent on the other end, Candace shook her head and chuckled. It was no wonder her mother had divorced him some twenty years ago. For as long as shed known him, hed never given anyone his undivided attention if it didnt directly affect his latest movie. This lack of regard had undoubtedly been the downfall of his marriage. She knew as a director his mind was always in two places at once. As she grew up and entered adulthood, Candace had accepted his absent-minded professor disposition and learned to live with it.