Candy King Read online

  I’ve been on your site looking for the right kind of man and haven’t found him. Are all your subjects the same? Maybe I should be looking for royalty? Or perhaps I should resign myself to my mundane existence?

  Poor me.

  Sugar Tart

  Wow, that was the corniest thing she’d ever typed. She was embarrassed to have a degree in journalism and to have those words come from her fingertips. Simone grinned and pressed send. While he might not respond to her, at the very least, she’d now laid down her first bread crumb. Maybe he’d notice.

  Or maybe not.

  Simone waited for all of ten minutes before getting up from her computer to get another cider. When she’d returned to her laptop, she was surprised when there was an e-mail in her in-box.

  Hello, little Tart.

  Now, aren’t you sweet? But your Candy King isn’t playing with his toys right now. Maybe you can find a minion in my playground who will help you out. If you put your picture online, I have no doubt someone will reach out.

  Your Candy King

  Simone chuckled as a bolt of excitement rushed through her. It was him! While he didn’t give her an open invitation to come over to his place, it was a start. Because now that she had him, Simone wasn’t going to let go until she got exactly what she wanted.

  She lifted her cider in the air. “Hail to the King.”

  Chapter 2

  It had been two weeks since Simone first contacted the Candy King, and while she’d learned more details about him—he was over six feet tall, had brown hair and brown eyes, and was filthy rich—she really was no closer to determining his identity than she was when she’d started. That wasn’t exactly surprising—really, she hadn’t given him a great reason to expose himself at this point—but what had surprised her was how much she was enjoying the flirting.

  Dear God, did he know how to flirt.

  Hello Sugar Tart. I was out at a club dancing with a woman and wanted her to be you. Was it you? I don’t think so. She didn’t smell as sweet as I know you will.

  Hello sweet thing. I just got out of the shower after working out. Still wet and naked but will dry off as I walk around my condo. Too bad I don’t have anyone to show off for.

  Hello little Tart. I keep picturing you sitting there, your fingers caressing the tops of your breasts. I’d like for that to be my hand one day.

  Simone had installed the website app to her phone and was thoroughly enjoying their sexy back-and-forth banter all day. There was something wonderfully freeing about engaging anonymously with someone online. She could pretend, or not, as she wanted. There was no pressure to dress a certain way or worry about being bloated. Every time she read one of his texts, the lonely part of her that she did her best to ignore relaxed a tiny bit more.

  It was proving to be a bit too much of a distraction, especially when she was trying to focus on writing up an article for the paper’s online site on the upcoming summer activities around Toronto for the next long weekend, but for once she could legitimately chalk it up to research.

  Real, honest-to-God research.

  And if she happened to get a bit horny and had to take a little extra personal time in the morning before getting ready for work, then what harm could come from that? Even if her arousal was the least interesting part of their conversations.

  Her phone was currently facedown on her desk with notifications set to vibrate. The Candy King had been quiet this morning, and as much as Simone wanted to poke him again, she also knew that playing coy was sometimes a good thing. Still, it had been a few hours since he’d last talked to her, and things were getting to the point where she was getting twitchy.

  Not that he owed her a conversation.

  Not that she really wanted one.

  This was all for research.

  As she slowly typed out the next sentence in her article, her gaze drifted from her computer monitor to her phone, where it eventually stopped. Come on, my dude, don’t keep me waiting.

  “You having a hard time over there?”

  Simone sat up, her heart pounding, and stared at Elena, her co-worker and partner in crime when it came to the city beat. “I guess I’m a bit distracted.”

  “More so than normal. You waiting on hearing from a hot guy or something?” She spun side to side in her chair, grinning at Simone. “Because you don’t normally stare at that thing like you are today.”

  While she didn’t want to lie to Elena, Simone didn’t know exactly what to tell her about the details of her new project. Because as much as she liked her, Elena wasn’t exactly known for keeping secrets to herself.

  Simone shrugged, turning her attention back to the computer monitor. “I’m actually waiting to hear from a source for a new story I’m working on. He promised to get back to me today, but so far it’s been radio silence.”

  “Source? Did you find out about a new restaurant or something?” Elena gasped and leaned closer. “Can you get us into the Cork and Pig? I will love you forever if you say yes.”

  “God, I wish. No, it’s nothing that exciting.” Just the chance to learn the truth behind a secret identity and write a story that will push my career to the next tier. That’s it, that’s all.

  “That sucks.” Elena groaned. “I’ve had my name on the list to get a table for a month now, but they keep pushing me off. I think they’re scared that I’m going to give them a bad review or something.”

  “You’re not exactly known to be the easiest to please when it comes to food reviews.”

  “And you’re not exactly known as a good liar.” Elena smiled at Simone and spun all the way around in her chair. “But keep your secrets for now. I know you’ll spill sooner or later.”

  “Never!” Simone said with a laugh, knowing she would have to be extra careful, especially if Elena’s curiosity was piqued. “You haven’t told me the best restaurant to check out this month. I need to know how many pennies to save up.”

  “There hasn’t been anything exciting recently. But as soon as I find a spot, you can be my plus one.” Elena leaned closer. “We get to expense it that way.”

  “God, I love food.” Simone leaned back and made a happy sigh.

  “That’s one of the things I love about you.”

  Her mom was a baker for a downtown bakery. Growing up, Simone was constantly smelling freshly baking bread, cookies, muffins, whatever new recipe her mom wanted to try out before introducing it at work. That was the upside to her mom’s job. The downside was her never being home in the mornings, leaving Simone home alone with her dad.

  Simone nearly jumped out of her chair when her phone buzzed. She snatched it from her desk and was on her feet before Elena could even move to intercept. “Sorry, I need to take this.”

  She took a quick peek to confirm that, yes, that was the icon from the sugar daddy app at the top of her notifications bar, before racing to the private bathroom and locking the door. She went to the toilet and sat down, taking a moment to catch her breath before reading his message.

  Hello Sugar Tart.

  Or maybe I should start calling you a curious kitty? You seem to want to know a whole lot about me. I don’t know if you’re just curious, wanting to make friends, or trying to find out something else.

  To answer your question, yes, I went to university. And no, not all of my wealth comes from the website. My family is also well off, though I don’t take anything from them. I earn my own way in life.

  You must really want to be my sugar baby if you want to know how much I make.

  Even though I’m not looking for a playmate right now, you’ve certainly caught my attention. I can imagine what you look like with your blond hair loose around your shoulders as you lie naked on my bed. I bet your skin is pale. You’d look sweet against my dark sheets.

  Maybe someday we’ll have to try that out.

  Your Candy King<
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  Simone took a calming breath and read the message a second time. It took effort to ignore the idea of being naked with a man she’d never met before and focus on the facts she’d learned about him.

  He went to university and came from a wealthy family.

  “Who the hell are you?” She was still looking at the screen when another message popped up.

  I dreamed about you last night.

  Unlike every other message he’d written her, this one lacked the fake formality. There was an intimacy to his words that she hadn’t anticipated that hit her with a wallop. This wasn’t the Candy King, mysterious website owner. This was the man behind the mask talking to her, and the thought of what that might mean had her chest tightening with excitement. Somehow with all the (quite frankly) terrible flirting, they’d formed a bit of a connection. And if she’d met him online as an attempt to find love and not because she was chasing a story, she wouldn’t have thought twice about pursing things with him.

  Because he’d turned her on without even trying.

  Her nipples hardened, and her pussy pulsed as a wave of desire washed through her. She could respond back with her coy persona, teasing him the same way she had over the past two weeks to keep up appearances. But there was something about the unexpected honesty in this single sentence that shook her.

  With her thumbs hovering over the keys, she took a breath and typed a response. Then she deleted it and tried again, this time pressing send before she changed her mind.

  What were we doing?

  Holding her breath, she didn’t have to wait long for his answer.

  I’d taken you out for dinner. Then we fucked in the back seat of my car.

  Whoa.

  Simone swallowed hard, her fingers shaking as she tried to type out a semi-coherent response. It wasn’t the sex in his car that had her revved up, but rather the thought that he’d fantasized about taking her out to dinner. She hadn’t anticipated that, and it told her something far more unexpected about him than she’d anticipated—he’d dreamed about wooing her. In her opinion, there was nothing sexier than a man who wooed a woman. Focus on the sex. That’s easier.

  She’d attempted three answers before finally settling on the basics.

  Did I come hard?

  Because really, if she didn’t at least get off in someone’s dreams, then the world was a sad and depressing place. More importantly, if she didn’t get off soon, then she wasn’t going to be able to focus at work. For the first time in her adult life, Simone considered doing something she’d never even thought of before—masturbating in the office bathroom.

  Shit, what the hell was this guy doing to her?

  She continued to think that even as she undid the buttons of her pants and slid her hand down the front. Simone waited to press her clit until she heard back from him.

  Oh yes. You screamed, called out my name as I ate you out. Then I fucked you doggy style and made you come again.

  “Jesus, dude.” She pressed her clit and sucked in a breath. There was no easy way to text and masturbate, not without making a ton of typos.

  Tell me more.

  The phone buzzed, and she furiously tried to get herself off as quickly as possible. The last thing she wanted was to have someone knock on the door and interrupt her. Or worse, guess what she was doing.

  Are you a naughty girl? Are you doing something now?

  Yes. More.

  With her orgasm hovering on the periphery of her awareness, she kept her gaze locked onto the screen as she rubbed small circles on her clit.

  You’re getting yourself off. God, that’s making my cock so fucking hard right now. If I weren’t at work, I’d jerk off picturing you doing that.

  Simone burst out laughing, even as she increased the pressure on herself.

  At work 2

  The next message took a bit longer to come, and for a moment, Simone thought that this would be over before she heard back from him. But when her phone finally buzzed again, the message he sent left her breathless.

  I’m in the bathroom.

  Shit, they were going to get off together. At work.

  Simone pulled her hand out so she could quickly type. I’m so close. I have my hand down my pants in the bathroom. I can picture you at work in a similar place. You’re picturing my mouth on your cock, aren’t you?

  Yes.

  Simone typed one final message before resuming her pleasure.

  Tell me when you come. I’m so close.

  She let her imagination take over. While she couldn’t put a face to her mysterious Candy King, she had enough to go on that she was able to picture someone tall, strong, his face between her thighs as he licked her pussy. She pressed harder, tried to hold off as much as she could, but the first wave of her orgasm washed over her. She had to bite down hard on her bottom lip to keep from crying out as pleasure washed through her body. She was doubled over, and she was left panting as the waves of pleasure finally stopped.

  Only a few minutes later did her phone buzz one final time.

  I have cum all over my hand.

  “God, you’re going to kill me.” Standing up, Simone went over to the sink and washed her hands before typing a quick response.

  Well, I don’t know about you, but now I need to find a way to focus on work. Thanks for the “break.”

  Anytime, little Tart

  Simone slipped her phone into her pocket and left the bathroom.

  Of course, someone was waiting there, and of course, they gave her an odd look.

  “Sorry.” Simone ducked her head and went back to her desk.

  Sitting down in her seat, she felt more than a little shell-shocked. She’d just gotten herself off in the bathroom, while a complete stranger somewhere else in the city did the same. If that didn’t underscore the weird and incredible power of the Internet, she didn’t know what did.

  Placing her hands on her keyboard, Simone took a breath.

  Right.

  Research.

  The idea of doing anything but replaying this little adventure over and over in her head was probably ambitious. But the alternative was pondering how she’d react if she ever came face-to-face with her Candy King. There was little chance that reality could possibly live up to the fantasy man she was creating in her head. It wasn’t fair to him or herself to build him up in this way, nor would it make doing her job any easier.

  Focus on the facts. They won’t lead you astray.

  She didn’t need to look back at their earlier conversation to remember what he’d said. Her mystery man had gone to university and was from a wealthy family, though he had his own personal wealth as well. The Candy King name seemed to be far too specific a handle to use online, and perhaps it was a nickname of sorts.

  Or it could merely be a name he randomly picked to run a sugar daddy site. Either way, Simone would need to do some digging to, at the very least, rule people out.

  She typed in a few words, only to stop and stare at her screen. Was she doing the right thing here? She’d just had cybersex with him after doing her best to pull information from him. If she managed to track him down, what the hell would he think of her? Would he accuse her of using sex to get what she wanted from him? Or would he be so angry that she’d dug into his past that their online sexual relationship would be the least of her worries.

  If she wanted this story, was she going to have to compromise her ethics, or would she let things go too far and get her heart broken? She closed her eyes and gave her racing mind a chance to slow down. Everything would be okay if she didn’t cross any lines. Flirting was fine, but she couldn’t let there be a repeat of what happened this afternoon ever again.

  Adjusting in her seat, her body still humming from her orgasm, she took a breath and started typing again. “I’ll find you yet.”

  And when she did, boy did
she have some questions for him.

  Chapter 3

  Simone had a plan. It might not be a very good one, but it was a place for her to start. Armed with her bare-bones description of who her Candy King might be, she headed out to do some in-person digging. If he was a local living in Toronto—and she had no reason to believe he wasn’t telling the truth about that—then there were only so many universities he could have attended. He was rich and from an affluent family; no doubt he went to a prestigious school rather than a local college.

  She wasn’t even going to consider the possibility that he might have gone to school in another province. Because no fucking way was she willing to take on that particular challenge quite yet. No, she would start her search with the Toronto schools; then only after she’d exhausted every other possibility would she begin to look elsewhere.

  Walking into the student alumni office of the University of Toronto, Simone realized immediately that while she might only be twenty-six, she was closer to thirty than she was to a university student. She didn’t see herself as old, not at all, but being out in the workforce for a few years had undoubtedly added a few bumps to her optimistic outlook on life. She certainly looked older than the young woman who was currently in the office typing something on her computer.

  Simone waited until the woman looked up and smiled. “Hey. Can I help you?”

  “I hope so. My name is Simone Leblanc, and I’m with the Toronto Record. I was trying to find some information on a U of T alumni and thought I might check here.”

  The girl blinked before standing up and coming around to meet Simone. “Ah, I don’t think I can share anything that we might have on file. There’s the privacy law stuff that we have to consider.”

  “I completely understand.” Damn, she’d been worried about that. “Do you have anything that would be considered public domain? Something that I could take a look at? Old school newspapers, or even yearbooks?”

  The woman looked around the office and shrugged, as though she were answering some silent question she’d posed to herself. “Sure. We’ve been moving everything to digital records for the papers, but there are files with old ones. Yearbooks might be an easier place to start. We have bookshelves of them. Do you know what year?”