Do Me Baby (The Beaumont Series) (15 page)

“Yes, I missed you,” she admitted.

His lips twitched. “I knew I’d get under your skin.”

“Whatever.” She muttered and then punched Rance hard in the chest.

“Ow!”

“You always find a way to ruin the moment by saying something cocky.” He couldn’t even be serious for a moment. But as if he’d read her mind, Rance reached out and snaked an arm around her waist and drew her near. Instantly, her body came alive again.

“My bad. I guess it’s because I missed you like crazy,” he said softly, his gaze intense as he stared into her eyes.

She had to swallow again. “You say that to all your groupies.”

“The only groupie I care about is you.” He pulled her closer, lowered his head, and kissed her again. My, my, my that man was delicious, she thought as she ran her hands up and down his back.

“Whoa! Not around the food.”

Rance pulled back and glared over at his cousin Jaden. Talk about bad timing. Immediately, Debra pushed against his chest and moved over to the sink to wash her hands.

“Aren’t you supposed to be entertaining your guests?” Rance growled. He gave Jaden a look, hoping he would get the hint.

He didn’t.

“I was entertaining, but the natives were restless for some finger food while the caterer is setting up, so I thought I’d play host for a bit. However, I wasn’t expecting slob all over the cupcakes.”

“Ha-ha,” Rance replied, and noticed Debra was avoiding eye contact.

“I’ll be more than happy to bring them out before I leave,” Debra offered. She was moving around the kitchen hastily, doing everything she could not to bump into him.

“Debra, you’re more than welcome to stick around,” Jaden said, extending an invitation to stay for the birthday celebration.

For the first time she looked up with a smile that didn’t quite meet her green eyes. Only she was looking at Jaden and avoided looking in Rance’s direction altogether. “Oh, no. I have a busy day tomorrow and I need to get an early start. But thanks for asking.”

Jaden decided to try once more. “Bianca’s on her way, and you know she’ll have a fit if you leave.”

“She’ll be here,” Rance replied.

Her head snapped around and she spoke with a little of that sass he adored so much. “Rance, I don’t need you making decisions for me.”

“I’m not.” He said as he finished his beer. “I just said you’re gonna stick around.”

Debra brought a hand to her hip and stood in front of him as she countered, “Says who?”

“Says me,” he growled, and completely ignored the hard glare she was firing at him. She was trying to be difficult. Her face was proof of that. Rance leaned in close and decided to try a softer approach. “Please.”

Debra glared at him with those beautiful eyes of hers and he felt the floor beneath him shift. She was a feisty thing.

“I guess I can stay for a little while, but
only
because Bianca is on her way.”

“I guess she told you,” Jaden muttered, then roared with laughter, sending his dreadlocks swinging across his back.

“Hey, I’ll take what I can get.” Rance brought the bottle back to his lips and watched as Debra reached for the tray of cupcakes and carried them through the sunroom. He watched the sway of her tantalizing ass while she carried the glass tray out onto the lawn.

She was wearing her mass of curls in a neat French braid. Beneath the apron with
DebbieCakes
embroidered in elegant pink script on it she was wearing a green and yellow sundress with a hem that brushed her ankles. Every last curve was being proudly showcased. Rance felt a stirring at his loins. That woman got a physical response out of him every time he watched her strut across a room.

As soon as she was far enough away not to overhear, Jaden turned and gave him a curious look. “So what’s really going on between the two of you? I thought all that stuff in the tabloids was just rumors.”

Rance scowled and brought the bottle to his lips again. “It is rumors.”

I shouldn’t have kissed her.

The moment he’d pressed his lips against hers he’d felt the sizzle clear down to his shoes.

He was here not only because he’d promised Jaden he’d attend Danica’s birthday, but because he had come hoping to see Debra, and once and for all get her out of his system. Instead, he had molded her to his body. Kissed her lips.

“I think you’ve been holding back on us.”

Rance pushed his thoughts aside to pay attention. “What do you mean?”

“I mean… you’re in Sheraton Beach for more than just Danica’s party.” His cousin looked relaxed… amused.

With a shrug Rance brought the beer to his lips and finished it with one swallow.

“Hey, I ain’t mad. Debra’s a good woman,” Jaden began with a grin as he moved over to the refrigerator and removed two bottles of water. “She’s educated, smart, and beautiful, and definitely has her head on right.”

“What are you, her personal cheerleader?” Rance managed a short laugh.

“No, but I know a good woman when I see one, and I get the feeling you do, too. Just don’t play around with her head. She was living with some wannabe actor who took her through the ringer, and she really got hurt behind that mess. She doesn’t need games. That mess in the tabloids about you two really bothered her.”

His eyes widened with surprise. “It did?”

Jaden hesitated like he was afraid he was saying too much. “Hell, yes. She’s not used to all that attention. People in this town love to gossip. Then along comes all the recent media about her being your jilted fiancée. I mean, come on dude. Really? How would you feel?”

“I’ve never lied or promised her anything.”

“Okay. Then why don’t you just leave her alone?” Jaden suggested, then strolled out of the kitchen and back to join the others.

Rance cussed under his breath. He couldn’t do that. Couldn’t do what Jaden had suggested. When he gazed into Debra’s eyes, fierce desire unleashed at a level he’d never felt with any other woman. And even though he had done everything he could to prevent it from happening, Debra had worked her way into his soul.

* * *

For the past hour, Debra had been sitting out under the white canopy, watching in envy as the couples danced on the platform stage. The food had been catered, the live band was amazing and the Beaumont clan kept the guests entertained.

Bianca and London were dancing together, bodies close, moving in their own private rhythm that was clearly sexual in nature. One song after another, she watched the couple staring at each other like they were attending their senior prom. You would have thought they were the only two people on the floor. And when London drew his wife in for another long kiss, Debra looked away, suddenly feeling like a Peeping Tom.

“Are you ready to dance?”

She blushed but didn’t dare look over at Rance, who was sitting across from her at the table. “No, thank you.”

“You keep saying that, but you can’t keep your eyes off the dance floor.”

“Because I love people watching,” she admitted, and her eyes traveled over to Brenna and Jabarie Beaumont. Her head was resting on his shoulder and her eyes were closed. The two had shut the door on the rest of the world.

“Dancing is much more fun than people watching.”

“I’ll pass,” she said with a sigh.

Rance rose from the chair with his hand out. “You just gonna leave a brotha hanging in front of all of his peeps?”

Yep, she thought as she nervously nibbled on her lip. She just didn’t trust herself with him holding her. With him that close she couldn’t think, and she needed her head.

“C’mon, just one dance,” he said in a low voice.

He wasn’t going to quit until she agreed. She finally shrugged like it was no big deal and took his hand. Smiling, Rance pulled her gently to her feet and led her out onto the floor. The band was serenading the ladies. Rance walked to the center of the stage, then turned and engulfed Debra in the circle of his large arms.

Immediately a shiver of pleasure raced down her spine. Debra’s eyes fluttered shut and she was caught up in the euphoria of the moment.

No matter how much she tried to pretend he didn’t matter, he did. Her body stirred, the feeling becoming all too familiar. There was just no denying how important he had become. She closed her eyes and sighed. Why was it that women always managed to fall for men who were so wrong for them? She couldn’t understand it.

“It feels good holding you in my arms,” Rance whispered, his lips brushing against her hair.

Leaning back, she gazed up at him and wrinkled her nose.

He chuckled. “I don’t know why you keep acting.”

“Acting?”

“Acting like you ain’t feeling a brotha.”

Playfully she rolled her eyes and laughed.

“I’m serious,” he began with a smile. “I really like you. So you need to quit playing.”

“Who say’s I’m playing? Maybe I don’t like you.” She faked a pout.

Rance drew in close to her ear and whispered, “You like me. In fact, I think you like me a lot.”

“There goes that ego again,” Debra said with an exaggerated groan.

“Nah. Just a confident brotha who’s crazy about a certain thick sista who’s baking it up in Sheraton Beach.”

Pulling back, she met his eyes. “Is that so?”

Rance breathed a soft, “Yes.”

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips that was so soft and gentle a low moan slipped from her mouth.

“Where are you staying?” she asked.

“With you.”

Debra held her breath as excitement swirled in her belly. “Me?” she chuckled nervously. “Aren’t you the confident one?”

“I wanna hold you tonight,” he said between kisses. “That’s after I get done licking my way down your body.”

Debra wet her lips. Oh, my. Her entire body trembled at the thought of him lying naked in her bed.

Oh, why did her body crave him? Rance looked more delectable than any cupcake she could concoct. She tried to remind herself he was a celebrity, with women falling all over him. Off Limits, she reminded herself.

But her body didn’t care. All it could remember was how good he made her feel. Her heart couldn’t help but remember that despite how wrong he was for her, she cared about him more than he’d ever know.

And what the heart and body wanted…

“Say yes,” he coaxed. Her flesh heated as he gave her another dark, intense stare.

“Yessss,” she moaned a few hours later while Rance pounded with determination into her trembling body.

Chapter 15

Debra had been doing a lot of thinking these last three weeks, but after last night she was more confused than ever.

With Rance here, at her home, she realized he meant more to her than she could bear to admit. So much so that she was afraid she was falling for him.

There. She had admitted it to herself, hoping it would make her feel better. Instead, she felt worse. How in the world could she have let something like this happen?

She tightened the belt of her robe around her waist and padded across the hardwood floor into the kitchen. Reaching inside the refrigerator, Debra removed a carton of eggs and a package of thick sliced bacon. As she carried them over to the granite countertop, she heard the water turn on in the shower. She swallowed and tried not to think about Rance standing naked under the water. But it was impossible not to reminisce about the way his solid chest had felt beneath her fingers. She quivered at the memory of that luscious body lying on top of her.

Pushing the thoughts aside, Debra filled a microwavable pan with enough bacon for two and covered it with a paper towel before popping it into the oven. She then reached inside the carton and cracked five eggs into a plastic bowl. Returning to the refrigerator, she reached for a small carton of heavy whipping cream. While staying at a Bed and Breakfast in California she’d had the most amazing eggs. She practically had to beg the cook to give her the secret to such fluffy eggs. Debra poured in enough cream to make the consistency light, then added salt, pepper, cheese and whipped it all together until smooth.

She’d always believed there was nothing in the world she enjoyed more than cooking. That is, until she’d met Rance. Now she didn’t think anything came close to the enjoyment that man brought to her body. Her nipples tingled as she remembered him suckling hungrily at her breasts, stirring her from her sleep just a few short hours ago. That man did things with her body no other man had been capable of doing, and to think she had been moments away from settling for less with Sony.

She sprayed the skillet with cooking spray, and while she waited for it to heat, Debra shook her head. With Sony, she hadn’t had the slightest idea what love really was.

Well, now she knew.

She squeezed her eyelids together at the realization. The last thing she had ever wanted was to fall in love with a professional basketball player. Why couldn’t he have a normal career and be a regular guy? Although she had tried dating regular guys several times before, but it had never seemed to work out.

However, with Rance… things were different. She loved everything about him. He was handsome, cocky, funny, a great listener, and an amazing lover. She had never met a man who had affected her that way. Never. Just thinking about him turned her on. And when she was around him, her body became a ticking time bomb.

The microwave timer sounded, rousing her back to reality.

Being in love with Rance? No good could ever come of that. He had made it clear in the beginning that he wasn’t looking for anything long term, and she better not forget it. All she could do was not make more of it than it really was. and just enjoy the moment.

“Something smells good.”

Debra swung around as Rance stepped into the kitchen in a pair of faded black jeans that hung low on his hips and a wife beater t-shirt that strained against a pair of beautiful pecs. Stubble still covered his chin and jaw, and his feet were bare. Rance looked relaxed and sexy as all get-out.

“I’m making eggs and bacon,” she said. “I can make waffles, too, if you’d like.”

He immediately shook his head. “No, don’t go to all that trouble. A piece of toast is simple enough.”

She smiled at his being considerate. She was certain he was used to people waiting on him hand and foot.

“Matter of fact,” he suggested. “You scramble the eggs and I’ll make the toast and set the table.”

Nodding, she pointed to the bread basket on the counter and poured the bowl of eggs into the skillet. As Rance moved over to the toaster, she smelled the scent of her Shea butter body wash clinging to his skin and found herself inhaling the wonderful combination.

Snap out of it!

She blinked twice and vigorously scrambled the eggs. She was starting to get in way over her head.

“What do you have planned for today?” he asked while he popped two slices of bread into the toaster.

Debra glanced briefly over her shoulder and spotted him staring at her. She quickly turned away. “I’ve gotta do inventory for my orders this week. I’m now supplying baked goods for Clarence’s.”

He nodded. “I heard about that. Congrats.”

Goodness, there were no secrets in this town
. She removed the pan from the stove and reached for two plates from a white cabinet on the right. She loaded the plates with the fluffy eggs. Rance carried them from the counter over onto the small bistro table near the window. Smiling, she tried not to think how comfortable he looked in her kitchen, or how well they worked together. By the time she had removed the bacon from the tray and carried it over to the table, Rance had filled the glasses with orange juice.

“There’s milk—Wait, you don’t drink milk.”

He winked. “Somebody’s been paying attention.”

More than you know.

Debra tried to concentrate and make sure she wasn’t forgetting anything. She retrieved the soft butter and grape jelly from the refrigerator. She moved nervously over to the freshly brewed pot and poured herself a cup, then carried it over to the table. Rance was putting the toast on a plate.

“You know your way around a kitchen.”

His brow rose. “You’re surprised?”

She shrugged as she lowered onto the chair. “I just—”

He nodded. “You just thought membership has its privileges.”

She laughed. “Something like that.”

Grinning, he pulled out the bar height chair across from her and took a seat.

“I’ll have you know Mama didn’t play that. All her boys had to learn their way around the kitchen.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “Absolutely. Let me say grace and then I’ll explain.” He reached out for her hand and clasped it beneath his large fingers. Debra lowered her head and closed her eyes and listened to him give thanks.

As soon as he was done he reached for his napkin and placed it in his lap. “Now getting back to Bettye Beaumont. My mama didn’t play. She used to keep a schedule on the refrigerator door that was broken down by day and time. The seven of us—”

“Wait a minute, seven?” she frowned. “The Force MDs… I thought there were five of you?”

Rance nodded. “Yep. Rush, Roman, Remy, Reese and me. But we also have two sisters, Sedona and Sage.”

“Oh damn! That’s right. Okay, sorry. Get back to your story.”

“Thank you. Like I was saying, all seven of us took turns busting suds, sweeping, mopping, and even cooking.”

“Wow, really?” Debra managed between chews. “I thought y’all had full-time cooks and maids like Bianca had.”

“Puh-leeze. My mom is old school. She didn’t play that. She cooked three days a week in her own kitchen and one of us had to help her. She said that’s how she’d learned, and she wasn’t raising no lazy kids that dependent on somebody else just to eat.”

Debra smiled, loving the sound of his voice. “She sounds like my kinda woman.”

“She is something else.” Debra could see the love in his eyes. How she wished he felt the same way about her.

She pushed the ridiculous thought aside. “My mother was too busy trying to stay young to cook, so I used to spend hours hovering over cookbooks to come up with things for my little sister and me to eat. When we went to live with my grandmother, she’s the one who taught me how to bake cakes and pies and you name it. But my favorite thing had always been cupcakes.”

Rance nodded. “I had one of your cupcakes. You definitely have skills.”

“Thanks,” she replied, and blushed.

“I’d like to see your shop.”

“Why?” she asked, stunned by his request.

“Why not? I want to see where it all begins.”

Debra was flattered that he was interested in her work, but slightly intimidated at the same time. She finally replied, “Okay.”

 
*

“Not so much!” Debra laughed.

Rance looked up, grinning proudly. “Okay, so what do you think?”

Her brow rose as she gazed down at the six red velvet cupcakes he had decorated with cream cheese icing.

“There’s so much icing my customers are gonna think it’s an ice cream cone,” she said with another peal of laughter.

“Ha-Ha, very funny.”

She moved around the table, wiping her hand on her apron. “Actually, you did quite well for your first time.”

“That’s because I have an amazing instructor.” He grabbed her around the waist and leaned her back against the preparation table as he seared her with a long kiss.

He couldn’t get enough of her. The more time he spent getting to know Debra, the more he wanted her in his life. He didn’t believe in commitment, because as life had taught him, relationships ran their course and eventually fizzled out. But he couldn’t deny what he felt just because it wasn’t going to last.

They had spent most of the afternoon at her quaint cupcake shop, and he now knew more about cupcakes than he’d ever imagined. She was passionate about what she did, and took a great deal of pride in the quality of her work.

Debra had a brain. Something he hadn’t found in most of the women he’d dated. They were so busy worrying about their looks that he was lucky if they even knew how to boil water. But Debra cooked eggs better than his mother. Not that he’d ever tell her, that is. And she didn’t mind getting flour in her hair, or washing dishes. Some people would call it normal, but to him it was what made her sexy.

Now he was ready to go back to her condo and carry her back to bed and make love to her for the rest of the evening. Afterwards, he just wanted to hold her in his arms and maybe order in a pizza so they wouldn’t have to bother getting dressed.

And he was about to make that happen.

Taking Debra’s hand, he led her back to her office. Once there, he lifted her up onto her metal desk.

“Don’t tell me baking cupcakes has gotten you all hot and bothered,” she cooed as he lowered her shorts and panties to the floor.

“Yep, it’s something about being around all that sugar that’s got me hungry for my own special
DebbieCakes
.” Rance unbuckled his jeans and let them drop to his feet. He look down at Debra sprawled on the desk, legs spread, eyes bright with desire. He licked his lips.

“Damn,” Rance growled, then nudged her legs further apart. He reached down and separated her folds with his thumb. Her clit was aroused and pointing straight at him

“What are you waiting for?” Debra coaxed, her legs trembling with anticipation. He slipped his hands beneath her thigh so they were resting on his arms, then lowered his mouth.

Rance glided his tongue between her engorged lips, up and down, back and forth, while holding her in place so she couldn’t move. Debra twitched, quivered and begged him to stop, but he refused to let up. He licked faster until the only sounds were her moans and the sound of wet flesh.

“Rance, please, let me go!” she cried, but he refused to stop. Instead, he buried his tongue deep, prolonging the foreplay, savoring the taste of her essence on his lips.

“Yes, yes!” Debra whimpered and brought her hands to the back of his head, bringing his mouth into full contact.

Debra was panting, eyes half closed with lust. She could hardly speak. “Please, let me go.” She tried to rock her hips toward his mouth, but he restrained her.

“And what do I get if I do?” he asked and flicked her clit with the tip of his tongue.

“The same,” she moaned. “I’ll return the favor, I promise.” She was pleading now.