Candy Canes: A Dirty Box Set

by Angela Blake

  Ashlyn was super careful to clip her camera on correctly to the dolly. She didn’t want another mistake, but even her perfect filming for the day did nothing to settle her stomach.

  “You are a lucky girl,” Pamela said as they rode together back to the hotel. “I can’t believe the camera didn’t break.”

  “Great, is that what everyone is talking about?” Ashlyn asked. “About me being a fool on set today?”

  “Honey,” Pamela said, giving Ashlyn a sympathetic look, “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way. We obviously have a lot more time that we will be spending together, but you are still very childish. You don’t keep your problems and emotions inside to deal with in a private manner. You just let them explode out of you. You’ve only been on set a few days, and it seems as though you are always arguing with one of the extras.”

  Ashlyn clenched her jaw, not liking Pamela’s words at all. “It’s not a bad thing to let your emotions show,” she said as she had always told her mom. “People always know where they stand with me. You don’t think I like you when I really don’t, not because of some game.”

  “But when people are angry, me too, I act like a totally different person, a person that I don’t even like myself. So, if you want some life advice, here it is. Don’t do anything or say anything when you’re angry. Let it pass over.”

  Ashlyn nodded like she was listening, but she knew that Pamela’s words wouldn’t actually help her in a real-life situation. When she was angry, she had to let the person know how she was feeling. She didn’t think she could change that, even though it was coming back to bite her now. Ashlyn wanted to cry as she thought about her lost opportunity with Javon. Maybe she hadn’t known him very well, but sometimes, when you meet a person, you immediately feel something for them. Javon had been one of those people.

  “I’m going out,” Ashlyn said to Pamela when they reached their hotel room.

  “I know you love this job,” Pamela said. “Make sure you don’t forget that when you are dealing with whatever you are doing tonight.”

  Ashlyn wanted to stick her tongue out at Pamela, like who asked you to be my mom, but Ashlyn didn’t. She just showered and changed. She didn’t really have anywhere to be, but she wanted to go back to the Red Lobster. She wanted to see the sunset again and see if it was really as amazing as she remembered.

  Maybe a tiny part of her was hoping that Javon would be there. She didn’t have his number, and her visit was sort of a final effort to fix what she had broken.

  Ashlyn went up the back stairs onto the restaurant’s patio. She never would have known about the passageway if Javon hadn’t shown her the night before. Ashlyn sat on a little bench on the edge of the patio and looked up at the sky. The sunset was still an hour away. She had a long time to wait.

  Ashlyn closed her eyes and let the warm sunshine wash over her upturned face. When she was young, she had always tried to get as tan as possible during the summer. The last few summers since college, she had been too busy going here and there looking for work that she hadn’t had time to enjoy being outdoors as much.

  Ashlyn took a deep breath and tried to mentally prepare herself for moving on. They would be done filming in eight days anyway. She didn’t know if she would ever come back to Georgia. It was probably for the best that things had ended quickly and cleanly,

  “Ashlyn.”

  She heard her name spoken, and she jumped up. There, standing at the top of the patio stairs was Javon. He looked just as handsome as he had the other night. She wanted to jump into his arms and beg for his forgiveness. She wanted to kiss him so that he would know she was sorry for yelling at him, that she really wanted something more with him.

  “Javon,” she said. She started walking toward her, but he held up his hand for her to wait. He came to her, over to the bench that overlooked where the sun would sink down. Ashlyn looked at Javon uncertainly. How should she react to him? What should she do?

  “I’m sorry,” Ashlyn finally said, looking Javon steadily in the eyes. “I know I was wrong.”

  Javon’s eyes fluttered down to Ashlyn’s lips, and he bent down, halting right before he reached her lips. “I have to kiss you,” he said.

  Ashlyn closed the space, pressing her lips onto his. She parted his lips before the first moments of their kiss had passed, and she pushed her tongue into his mouth. She was fighting for forgiveness, pushing into him to show him that she hadn’t meant what she had said.

  They kissed and kissed, but Ashlyn wanted more. She wanted him to want more. She wanted to make him have so much desire for her that he simply couldn’t wait any longer. Ashlyn slowly pushed her hips toward him, feeling his erection pressing into her. Javon broke off their kissing to groan.

  “Let’s go to my place,” he said.

  Ashlyn nodded, acting as a robot obeying her master. “Okay,” she said gently. Javon paused for a moment to look her over. Then, he took her hand and carefully let her down the stairs and around to the parking lot. Ashlyn’s heart was beating hard and loud. She was making a decision, a decision she couldn’t change later even if she wanted to.

  Javon opened the car door, and Ashlyn hesitated. She looked back at him, waiting for that last little shove. Javon smiled at her then smacked her ass. It sent such a wave of desire up and down her that Ashlyn stepped forward and sat in the passenger seat. She watched as Javon went around to the driver’s seat. They were missing the sunset, but it didn’t seem to matter.

  Javon got in his seat, and Ashlyn couldn’t take her eyes off him. She wanted to taste him, but at the same time, she didn’t want to go anywhere with him.

  “Javon,” she whispered, his name flowing across her lips. He turned and focused his deep brown eyes on her.

  “Yes?”

  “I need to kiss you again right now,” Ashlyn replied, biting her lower lip, her eyes unable to remove themselves from his lips.

  “I think that is a wish I can grant,” Javon said. He leaned over, and their lips met again. Their kissing started a fire within Ashlyn, and she wanted to keep kissing him. She didn’t ever want to stop. Ashlyn felt Javon’s hand brush across her breast, and she hesitated. He would make her feel good. She knew that, but then would it all be over?

  Javon’s hand came back and gently squeezed Ashlyn’s breast. She broke off the kissing so she could groan. Did he know what he was doing to her insides?

  “I’d take you right now if it weren’t so public,” Javon murmured, his eyes focused on her as he gently slipped his hand under the edge of her shirt. She felt his fingers creeping across her stomach and around to the back. He unfastened her bra then looked up and smiled right into her eyes.

  Ashlyn shivered and waited for him to continue. She was poised, and she knew that her nipples had already hardened. She wanted him right there.

  “Go ahead,” Ashlyn urged. It seemed as though she was under a spell as she fought with herself between wanting him and choosing to be responsible.

  Javon leaned forward and bit her bottom lip, a little harder than he had before. “I don’t think you know what you’re asking for. I’m going to take you to my house, and I’m going to keep you up all night with that I’m going to do to you.”

  Ashlyn backed up. Maybe he thought he sounded sexy, but it really just scared her. Maybe it would feel amazing, but if Javon just wanted a good time, was it worth it? While she wasn’t a virgin, it had been so long that Ashlyn had fantasized about waiting until she was engaged at least. She wanted to have Javon right then, but she didn’t want to regret it. The fear started picking at her increasingly as Javon leaned her seat backward so that she was laying straight. Was she going to go through with this, with him?

  Chapter Seven

  Javon pulled Ashlyn’s shirt up, then straddled her. He pressed his erection into her and smiled. “Oh, Ashlyn, you don’t know how much I have thought about how I want to have sex with you.”

  His words scared Ashlyn, igniting the fear
that had been building in her. She pushed her shirt down and struggled to sit up. Javon gently pushed her shoulders back down again.

  “It’s okay, Ashlyn,” he said. “You’re going to like this.”

  “I don’t want to,” Ashlyn said, her eyes becoming wide as she sat up again. “I don’t want to!” She didn’t really need to say it again except that she was scared that she hadn’t said it loud enough.

  “Hey, I won’t do it if you don’t want,” Javon said, moving back to his seat and watching her strangely. “What’s wrong? Why don’t you want me now?”

  Ashlyn couldn’t tell if she was really shaking or if she was just imagining it. “I just don’t want to. I have never been the kind of girl to sleep with guys just because, and I don’t want to be that kind of girl now.”

  “It doesn’t have to be just because,” Javon joked. “I’ll give you a reason.”

  Ashlyn shook her head, already removing herself from the moment. She struggled to clasp her bra as she talked. “I’m not ready for that. I want to be in a relationship with a guy before I get that intimate with him.”

  “Are you saying you don’t want a relationship with me?” Javon lifted his eyebrows. He looked genuinely surprised, and it set Ashlyn back for a few minutes. What was he trying to say? That he actually wanted something more than sex from her? She somehow couldn’t believe it.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I think we would need to know each other better. But, the film crew is leaving town in eight days. Then, I might never come back here.”

  “Well, you’d have to move of course,” Javon said. “But you can leave the crew, or you can finish the movie if you want first, then you can come back.”

  “But I can’t film if I live here,” Ashlyn said, the idea so ridiculous that she couldn’t even think straight about it.

  “That doesn’t matter,” Javon said. “I have enough money to give you anything you want. And as for what you need, well, I can take care of that at night in bed.”

  Ashlyn swallowed. The idea wasn’t even a possibility. Was Javon crazy? “I don’t think that would work,” Ashlyn said.

  “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t like to go to bed with me every night. Just think,” Javon’s voice dropped, “we could shower together. I can help you with all of those hard-to-reach spots. Then, I’ll give you a massage to get rid of all your stress. And then, I’ll just strip you down and show you who’s boss.”

  Ashlyn shook her head, even though her body like the sound of his suggestions. “I-I can’t. I love filming. It’s my life. I can’t give that up, not for anyone.”

  “What if your life was receiving pleasure?” Javon replied. “What if you didn’t need to work to make ends meet, but I could provide everything you ever wanted? Tell me that doesn’t sound attractive.”

  “No,” Ashlyn said more firmly. “I can’t do that. I’ve always wanted to film, and I would miss it if I couldn’t do it.”

  “I could buy you a camera if that’s what you want. Come on, you will never find another guy offering you the kind of deal that I am.”

  “I’m not interested,” Ashlyn said. “I don’t want a guy who just lives for pleasure. I want someone who cares about my needs. You just want to serve yourself, because you think it would be fun to have sex with me every night.” Ashlyn shook her head. “I’m not interested.”

  “You are going to regret missing this opportunity,” Javon said, “but I won’t make you. It’s your choice, but I suggest you decide now.”

  “I’ve decided,” Ashlyn tried to convince herself as her eyes continued to tour Javon’s body. “I can’t do something like that. You just want to do what you want to do, and in a couple of months, you would get bored with me and toss me away just like you want me to toss away my filming opportunity.” Ashlyn took a deep breath then let it out. “I’m sorry for yelling at you this afternoon. That was completely wrong of me, and I’m trying to learn to not yell so much when I’m angry.”

  Javon simply nodded, but his face was set and stern.

  Ashlyn nodded at Javon, her eyes dropping to his lips. Was it too late? Could she go back and say she was wrong? Should she decide in the morning after he had made love to her?

  No, Ashlyn told herself. She had made her decision for a reason, and she needed to stick with her decision even if it was hard. “Goodbye,” Ashlyn said simply, opening the car door. Javon didn’t say anything as Ashlyn cleared herself out of the car’s way. The car drove away, and Ashlyn was left standing in the parking lot by herself.

  Part of her regretted her decision. She knew that if she had let Javon touch her, she would have lost her mind to the pleasure. But Ashlyn also knew that it would only be short-lasting. She had to keep her eyes on her real goal.

  Ashlyn began walking back to the hotel as darkness fell over the city. Ashlyn mentally fought with herself to convince herself that she would find someone better than Javon, not just someone who wanted to experience pleasure with her, but someone who really cared about her and what she wanted.

  Ashlyn wondered how many guys were really available who genuinely cared about a woman. She took a deep breath. Well, maybe one day she would find them. Meanwhile, she had to finish filming here, then they would be heading into the mountains to film another part of the movie. It sounded nice and relaxing to be in a cooler climate during this hot summer heat. Maybe Ashlyn would have better luck there focusing on her career and becoming a success. She determined that no man, no matter how attractive he was would be able to distract her.

  THE END

  A Secret Baby Sports Romance

  Mark

  Mark Hummel groaned as he dropped the weights he had been carrying.

  It wasn’t that he couldn’t do it; it was just that his coach had been pushing him extra hard because he was the youngest person on the team.

  He knew he had a long way to go to prove himself, and he was willing to go the distance. He wiped the sweat off his brow and dropped to the floor to do twenty push-ups.

  He caught a glimpse of a woman staring at him in the mirror, and he winked suggestively. The woman blushed beet red and pretended to be engrossed in what she was doing.

  Mark hoisted himself up and grabbed a towel to dry off until he could get to a shower. He grabbed a bottle of water and flexed his muscles as he began to gulp down the water.

  He pretended not to notice the pairs of eyes that were on his bare muscular chest. He smirked as he crushed the bottle in his hand, and then tossed it into the bin.

  He turned around and stepped on the treadmill to get some mileage in before calling it a night. He grabbed his phone and scrolled through his playlist before settling on some hardcore rock music to get him pumped.

  A message came in from his friend Blaire-Blaire Hamilton-the NBA’s MVP, and Mark slowed to a brisk jog as he read his way through it.

  He and Blaire had bonded almost instantly a few months ago, they often went out partying together, and picked up girls together. In fact, most of Mark’s techniques came from Blaire himself.

  He practically idolized the man, but then Blaire found out that the love of his life had his baby, so he mellowed out.

  Mark thought it was a damn shame that it had come to that.

  Blaire Hamilton the basketball legend was whipped, and Mark couldn’t for the life of him figure out why. So what if they had a daughter? It didn’t mean he had to be with her mother.

  Mark’s own parents were divorced and better off for it, he never once felt the need to have his parents get back together.

  Mark shook his head at Blaire’s joke and shot him a text letting him know that he’d join him for a beer after he was done at the gym.

  He pulled up the playlist once again, and his feet began to really pick up the pace as the sounds of Led Zeppelin came in through his earphones.

  Beads of sweat came pouring down his back, and he had his brow furrowed in intense concentration, so he didn’t notice the brunette s
tanding next to him until she tapped him on his shoulder.

  He yanked out the earphone and stared at her for a second, feeling dazed.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt, but aren’t you Mark Hummel?”

  Mark’s eyebrow went up as he regarded the brunette with the long legs, tiny waist and round firm ass.

  “Depends on who’s asking,” he responded as he dragged a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. His green eyes perused her slowly, thinking that he could definitely picture her as wild between the sheets.

  Her brown eyes light up. “I saw you at the game last week, you were great.”

  Mark nodded as he got off the treadmill and stood directly in front of her. He was still a good deal taller than her, so he noticed how she had to crane her neck to look up at him. He wanted that head thrown back and moaning in pleasure, but he could wait.

  “How close were you?” he inquired conversationally as he made his way towards his gym bag.

  “Oh, close enough that we could see the sweat,” she said as she sidled up to him and leaned against the wall as she eyed him, her intentions mirrored in her eyes.

  His eyes immediately traveled down to her sports bra, and he let his gaze linger there long enough that a slow flush began to crawl up her cheeks. His gaze traveled down noticing her shapely thighs, and the way her sweatpants clung to her legs as if they were one and the same.

  That piece of fabric would look much better on the floor, he thought.

  He let his eyes travel back up to her face, and he could see that she noticed he was checking her out, and she didn’t mind one bit. In fact if her body language was any indication, she was very hot for him.

  Mark swung his bag over his shoulder and casually strode towards her. He stood next to her and leaned in. He smirked as he noticed that her breath caught in her throat and goosebumps rose on her arms in response to his warm breath on her ear.