“Daddy!” Beaming, Ruby raced over to him as he climbed out of his vehicle.
“Hey, baby.” He swept his arm around her and gave her a big hug. “How are you doing?” He kissed her on the cheek and then carried her on his hip as he walked to the door, where he nodded to his ex-wife. “Erica.”
She didn’t respond to the greeting. “I’ll be back Monday to pick her up.”
“All right.” Lucius nodded but found it strange that it seemed like she was going out of her way not to look at him.
“Goodbye, baby.” Erica leaned over and kissed Ruby’s cheek and then raced to her car.
Lucius stared, trying to figure out what had just happened. He and Erica weren’t always on the best of terms but he couldn’t think of a reason for her just treating him like he was something stuck on the bottom of her shoe all of a sudden. He watched as she started her car and jetted out of the driveway like a bat out of hell.
“Daddy, are we going to have turkey or ham for Thanksgiving?”
He smiled and winked at his daughter. “We can have whatever you like.”
“I want ham!”
“Then ham it is!” Lucius turned around and stuck his key into the front door when he remembered something. “I hope you don’t mind, but Daddy is also going to have a friend over as well.”
“A girlfriend?” she inquired, perking up.
“I guess you could say that.”
Chapter 16
Beverly spent Wednesday night at her house, doing something she hadn’t done in a long time: baking. It was the least she could do since Lucius had insisted on doing all the major cooking for their Thanksgiving meal and her mother had always taught her to never show up to such things empty-handed. For the occasion she made one pumpkin pie and one pecan pie.
Now that it was getting close to the time for her to head out to Lucius’s place, she found herself getting nervous about this surprise that Lucius had hinted about last night on the phone. Mainly because Clarence had also spent the last twenty-four hours popping all this nonsense about their spending time together on a major holiday meant that her and Lucius’s relationship was moving to the next level. Was this what Lucius was thinking, too—and did this surprise have something to do with that?
Lord, she hoped not.
If Beverly had her way their relationship would remain on this level—cruise control. She didn’t ask too much from him and he didn’t ask too much from her. Just sex.
Of course they had been spending an awful lot of time together lately, but that was normal for new lovers. Eventually that would dial back and they would just see each other whenever the need or mood arose.
So you wouldn’t mind if he started seeing other women?
Beverly’s heart squeezed when the unbidden question floated across her head as she wrapped her pies in aluminum foil. Of course not, she lied to herself. Why should I care if he decides to see other women? She clenched her jaw as her blood pressure surely climbed while thinking about Lucius holding another woman the same way he held her—or kissed her.
Turning, Beverly crossed her arms and leaned back against the counter while her emotions churned like a tornado inside of her. What the hell was going on with her? Why was she getting upset about a fictional woman?
“Get it together, Beverly,” she whispered and shook her head. “You’re getting ahead of yourself.”
After a few deep breaths, she felt her nerves settle down. Surely she was blowing things out of proportion. For all she knew Lucius wanted to surprise her with some special dish he made and nothing more. He hadn’t given her any hint that he was thinking their relationship was anything more than what he declared.
That’s not true.
Beverly was suddenly flooded with memories of words exchanged in bed. How many times had he asked her whom she belonged to or hold out giving her the orgasm she craved until she admitted that they were more than friends? That was just sex talk, she told herself, but suddenly she wasn’t so sure.
The phone rang, startling her. Grateful for a reprieve from her own troubled thoughts, Beverly rushed to answer it.
“Happy Thanksgiving.”
Lucius’s deep baritone put an instant smile on Beverly’s face. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
“What time can I expect you to come over?” he asked.
“Oh, probably about an hour,” she estimated.
“Good. I should have everything done by then.”
“Sooo, hmmm…can I get a hint about this surprise now?” Beverly asked.
Lucius chuckled. “Nope. You’re going to have to wait.”
“Ugh!”
“Patience is a virtue,” he said, laughing. “Now hurry up and get your butt over here. I think I fixed enough food to feed half of Georgia.”
“All right. See you in a few.” She hung up the phone and then raced upstairs to finish getting ready. But when she reached the top of the stairs, her feet slowed when her gaze skittered to the closed door at the other end of the hallway. For the past few weeks, she had been flying high between work and her new love affair, and for the first time in years, she’d almost forgotten…No. I’ll never forget, she vowed, as she walked toward that closed door.
When she reached out and her hand wrapped around the cold brass knob, a renewed wave of sadness engulfed her—so much that she resisted pushing the door open. What was the point? Her eyes glossed as she released the doorknob and stepped back.
“Get it together,” she whispered brokenly. Why was she insisting on punishing herself? Beverly turned away from the door just as a few tears skipped down her face. Why was she so determined to keep punishing herself? Why couldn’t she just move on?
She closed her eyes, drew in a deep breath and focused on something that made her feel good. It didn’t take long for Lucius’s image to surface and a wonderful calm to settle over her. When she opened her eyes, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was in trouble.
Lucius tried and tried but finally had to give up on his daughter’s hair. He just couldn’t seem to get it to do what he wanted it to do. “How about we just wear it down today?” he asked.
“Okay,” Ruby said, excited and anxious for him to stop pulling on her head. She grabbed the brush from his hand and quickly started to repair the damage he’d caused. In a couple of strokes, she returned to looking normal. “We need to curl the ends. Do you have a curling iron?”
He blinked. “Can’t say that I do.”
She pouted her lips.
“But it looks fine the way that it is,” he assured her. The last thing he wanted to do was try to work something hot and electrical in her hair. With his luck, he would burn half her face and head and people at the hospital emergency room would be looking upside his head like he was a child abuser or something.
“But I want to look nice when I met your girlfriend,” Ruby whined.
“What are you talking about?” Lucius said, astonished. “You look gorgeous. Look at you in that dress.” He turned her around to face the bathroom mirror. “Beverly is going to take one look at you and think that you’re some fairy-tale princess.”
Ruby giggled. “She will not.”
“Sure she will. Look at those adorable cheeks.” Lucius pinched and wiggled them around. “And that nose.” He tweaked it using two knuckles. “I don’t think there’s a cuter nose in the whole wide world.”
Laughing heartily, Ruby tried to get away from her dad, but he was now in a tickling mood and he started attacking her waist and belly. His daughter squealed in a tone that nearly burst his eardrums. A while later during the melee, they became aware of the doorbell ringing.
“I’ll get it,” they shouted in unison and then took off running through the house.
Lucius could have easily overtaken his daughter, but he shortened his strides and allowed her to beat him down the stairs and to the front door. By the time he caught up with her, she’d opened the door and a stunned Beverly blinked down at his daughter.
“Um, well, hello!” Beverly
said after finally finding her voice. “And who might you be?” she asked, smiling.
“I’m Ruby. My dad’s daughter.”
Beverly laughed. “Ahh. I should have known. You have his eyes.”
“Daddy said that you’d like my cheeks and nose.”
Lucius smacked a hand against his forehead—but it got worse.
“Are you my dad’s girlfriend?” Ruby asked, curious.
Beverly stuttered. “I—I—”
“Why don’t we invite her inside the house?” Lucius said, coming to her rescue.
Ruby jumped out of the way and hand-combed her hair back down.
A nervous Beverly crossed the threshold, holding two aluminum-wrapped pies.
“Those smell good,” Lucius said, hoping to put her at ease since she looked like a scared rabbit. “Don’t they smell wonderful, Ruby?”
“Mmm-hmm.” Ruby bobbed her head and slammed the door. As everyone walked toward the kitchen, she tugged her father’s hand and said in a loud whisper, “She’s pretty, Daddy.”
Lucius’s chest expanded with pride. “I know,” he whispered back.
Beverly blushed as she set her desserts on the kitchen counter. “So I take it that you are my surprise today,” Beverly said, beaming.
“Yep.” Lucius wrapped an arm around her. “Today I’m sharing this holiday with my two favorite ladies. So let’s make this official. Beverly, this is Ruby and Ruby, this is Ms. Beverly.”
“Hi!” Ruby enthusiastically waved. “Are you going to marry my dad?”
Beverly tensed.
“Ruby.” Lucius tried to hint to his daughter to cut it out.
However, she only frowned and asked, “What’s wrong with your eyes, Daddy?”
Beverly giggled. “It’s okay, Lucius.” She walked over to stand next to Ruby. “Me and your daddy are just good friends.”
Technically this was the truth, but Lucius still felt slighted—stung. Apparently his daughter felt the same way, judging by the way her face twisted in a frown.
“Enough of this, ladies,” Lucius proclaimed, clapping his hands together. “Why don’t you two help me get dinner out on the table?”
Beverly looked relieved. “Sounds good to me.”
“Okay,” Ruby agreed and then proceeded to follow Beverly around like she was her small shadow. And of course, she chatted away nonstop about everything from the class pet turtle at her school to how her mother and her fiancé had chosen to go to Boston for Thanksgiving without her.
To Lucius’s great surprise and relief, Beverly seemed to be a pro when it came to dealing with children. She listened attentively and asked questions that Ruby was only too eager to answer. A casual observer would have thought that the two were lifelong friends the way that they carried on. Once dinner was on the table, everyone took their seats, held hands and said their prayers.
After that, Ruby attacked the ham as if she hadn’t eaten in a week.
Beverly was amused.
“She really likes ham,” Lucius tried to explain.
“So I see.” She smiled lovingly at Ruby.
Lucius watched the two of them and his chest expanded with pride. It was the first time in a long while that this table had hummed with laughter and joy. The three of them looked like a real family. He liked the way they looked together and how they interacted with one another and as time rolled on, he found himself wishing that the day wouldn’t end. When the football game got started, they piled into the living room with cans of root beer, Ruby’s favorite, and got ready to cheer on the Dallas Cowboys against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
When the Cowboys made their first touchdown, Beverly hopped up and taught Ruby a cheer from her old cheerleading days. Ruby loved anything that involved her shaking her butt and acting semi-grown. On the second touchdown, his girls forced him off the couch and jostled him to participate.
Up and down, our team don’t mess around, Because we’re the best from the east to the west. And when our team is up, you’re down. Go Cowboys!
There were a couple of snaps and pops in there Lucius couldn’t quite pull off, which sent Ruby and Beverly into hysterical laughter.
It was a great day—one Lucius knew that he would never forget.
Promptly at 9:30 p.m., Ruby finally reached the point of exhaustion and passed out curled up on Beverly’s lap. While she slept, Beverly couldn’t stop smiling and stroking the girl’s long and tousled hair. The child was such an angel that she’d easily won Beverly’s heart the moment she introduced herself as her father’s daughter.
“You two look good together,” Lucius whispered, strolling into the living room. “I think Ruby really likes you,” he observed.
“I think I really like her, too,” Beverly admitted softly. “You have a beautiful child.”
“Thanks.” He walked over and gently scooped Ruby out of Beverly’s lap. “I better go put her to bed.” Ruby rolled up against her father’s chest without stirring and he quickly strolled out of the living room and headed up the stairs.
Beverly continued smiling in his wake, thinking how this holiday was the best one she’d had in a long while. But then she remembered the mess in the dining room and kitchen and decided that she should help Lucius clean up.
When he returned downstairs a few minutes later, he found her in the kitchen loading up the dishwasher. “You don’t have to do that,” he said, walking in with a few more plates. “You’re company.”
“I don’t mind,” Beverly admitted. “Besides, this will go by faster if we both do it.”
Lucius apparently wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth and didn’t protest any further. Together they busted suds, loaded the dishes, wrapped leftovers, took out the garbage and cleaned all of the countertops. Two hours later, the place was spotless and they congratulated each other on a job well done.
“It’s late. I better be heading home,” Beverly said, stretching and rubbing the muscles on the side of her neck.
“Go?” He frowned and eased behind her so he could take over massaging her neck and shoulders. “I don’t want you to go.”
Beverly tried to respond, but Lucius’s strong hands were performing some kind of voodoo magic, causing her to become as limp as a wet noodle. “Oooh, goodness, that feels good.”
“You like that, baby?” He leaned down and brushed his lips just below her right earlobe.
Despite her exhaustion, Beverly’s body tingled in response.
“It’s too late for you to be out on the road,” Lucius whispered. “You know there’s a spike in crazy people on the roads during these long holiday weekends.”
“But what about Ruby?” she asked weakly.
“She’s asleep.” His hands slid down her shoulders, changed directions, then roamed up her flat belly and cupped her large breasts.
Beverly moaned; her panties dampened. “What if she wakes up?”
“She won’t.”
“She could.”
Lucius chuckled. “Then we’ll have to make sure that we’re extra quiet.” He squeezed her breasts; his fingers rotated her hard nipples through her blouse and bra.
Beverly’s knees buckled, forcing her to lean back against Lucius and bump up against his hard erection. Suddenly, she couldn’t remember what the hell they were talking about. Her hips took over as she grinded back against his dick, loving the cheap thrill that it gave her.
“Go ahead, baby. Work it out,” he panted, letting her do what it took to get off.
It wasn’t long before she worked herself up into such a frenzy that she wanted more than this sexual appetizer.
Lucius easily read her mind and whispered, “Let’s go upstairs. In the morning you can just sneak to one of the guest bedrooms before Ruby wakes up.”
Problem solved, Beverly took his hand and damn near dragged him up the stairs. He chuckled softly at her impatience. On the top floor, they held their breath and crept on the tips of their toes past Ruby’s room. Of course it seemed like every sound was super magni
fied, especially when Lucius turned the knob to his bedroom and the door hinges screeched like nails down a blackboard.
They both gritted their teeth and waited expectantly for Ruby to stir.
Nothing.
Beverly and Lucius glanced at each other, relieved, and then continued their tiptoe adventure into the bedroom. Once inside, they braced themselves again when he had to close the door behind them. After that was done, they waited a few more seconds before turning around, grinning like two thieves getting away with the crime of the century.
“Come here, baby,” he whispered and wrapped an arm around her thick waist.
Beverly glided into his arms and welcomed his hungry kiss. She drank in his heady, sweet taste. She moaned softly as his hands worked quickly to unbutton her blouse, which he then slid off her shoulders. With a snap of his wrist, her bra popped open and joined her top that pooled around her feet.
“Oh, let me taste these titties,” Lucius said, dropping his head lower and sucking a fat nipple into his mouth.
Instantly, her eyes rolled to the back of her head. She struggled to keep the noise down as he squeezed, licked and sucked her to paradise. The rest of their clothes were removed in a blurred fury and the next thing she knew, she was being pressed into the center of his firm, king-size mattress.
In the six weeks they’d known each other, Lucius had learned all of Beverly’s hot buttons and he now took his time pushing each and every one of them while she writhed and moaned as softly as she could. When that started to become too hard for her, Lucius flipped her onto her back and instructed her to bite into the pillow—which she readily did when he entered her from behind.
Lucius rained kisses on the back of her shoulders and down the center of her spine, all the while slapping his hips against her firm, round ass. As much as his body felt like home to her, Beverly remained amazed how much he filled her up. To drive her even crazier, he reached around her hip and ran the pads of his fingers along the tip of her throbbing clit.
She nearly screamed out loud.
“Shhhh,” he urged as he continued to pound away. “We don’t want to have to stop this groove now, do we, baby?”
Tender to His Touch Page 13
