Davis snorted. Rodney knew of his odd relationship with Angelica’s principal. She and his wife had been friends growing up as well as college classmates.
When she’d returned to town, just months before his and Gail’s wedding, Anita had come on to him. Hard.
He’d played it off in the beginning, but even after the wedding it hadn’t stopped. When it became obvious Gail was pregnant, Anita had made it a point to drop by when she knew Gail wasn’t around. She told him in no uncertain terms if Gail wasn’t satisfying him sexually, she would be more than happy to pick up the slack. At the time, he’d marveled at her gall until he’d overheard a conversation between her and Gail.
His wife had been telling Anita of her dislike for making love, particularly the further along she was in her pregnancy. He’d always known Gail wasn’t particularly passionate, and although it had been hell trying to keep his strong libido in check, he’d honored his marriage vows and hadn’t taken Anita up on her frequent offers of no-commitment sex.
One evening Gail had gone to visit her grandmother and Anita dropped by. Instead of leaving when she learned Gail wasn’t home, she’d come on to him so hard, he’d had to physically push her clinging body away. After hurling insults his way and belittling his masculinity, Anita had stormed out of his home.
She hadn’t approached him again until Gail passed. In a final attempt she’d tried, again, to seduce him. He’d coldly rebuffed her and told her not to ever come by his house again. She’d turned on him, promising him he’d need to wear earmuffs in hell before he ever got a chance to get with her.
Davis hoped hell maintained a constant boiling temperature.
She’d never gotten over his rejection. And neither had she ever forgotten.
“Who else but Anita?” he answered Rodney’s original question.
“Damn, that woman needs to find a man. She’s still got it for you, man. Shit! Why’d you put Angel in that school anyway?” Rodney asked.
“It’s the best school in the city. And I promised—”
“Gail. I know. You promised Gail. But still…”
“Yeah, I know.” Davis agreed wearily, “maybe she’ll go easy on me, on us, at the meeting.”
Rodney leveled a look his way, without saying a word.
“Yeah, I’m fucked,” Davis agreed.
6
“H ear that? Told you we shouldn’t have agreed and let those bad tail boys in here with our girls, Miss Candy!” Pauline Rogers tsked as she and Candy walked toward the game room.
The noise from the rec room had reached decibels so loud Candy had been forced to come out of her office and investigate, with Sister Pauline hot on her heels.
Before they made it to the door, the noise was pounding past the walls and Candy massaged her temples in an effort to ward off the headache she felt hovering.
She and Sister Pauline entered the room to see it was teeming with music, adolescent girls and roughhousing teen boys.
With no supervision.
A potentially lethal combination.
So this was where her older girls were, Candy thought as she and Pauline walked further inside.
Candy had made arrangements with the director of Young Men on the Move, the rec center for boys, for them to be able to use the services at Girls Unlimited as their center underwent renovations.
Unfortunately, with the increased number of youths in the center, Candy was in dire need of additional staff and her extra hands hadn’t arrived.
Two of her favorite volunteers, Karina Woodson and Liza Toulson were available on the weekends only so she’d asked Sister Pauline to help fill in the gap until the extra staff arrived.
“Boys you need to play a little less…wild with the girls. Remember, this is a co-ed foosball tournament. Not Monday Night Football!” Candy shouted over the loud noise in the game room. “And can we turn the music down a tad? I can’t even hear myself think in here!”
“You can forget tryin’ to convince their little rough asses to act right that way, Miss Candy. Uh uh…no, these knuckle-heads need something more direct. Honey, the Bible say spare the rod, spoil the child, and I’m ’bout ready to get to roddin’ up in here!”
With that pronouncement, Pauline Rogers withdrew her ever-handy whistle buried deep in the V of her ample bosom and blew. The sharp, shrill sound reverberated against the walls of the game room and the room began to quiet down.
“Listen up, y’all heard Miss Candy, don’t act like you didn’t. Come on now! These is young ladies you little hoodlums—”
“Ms. Rogers! Don’t call them hoodlums…” Candy hissed. Out of respect Candy kept her voice low; she didn’t want the kids to hear her reprimand the older woman. Although with all the loud noise, she doubted they could hear a semitruck run through the center at full speed.
“Did y’all hear what I said? I told your little narrow as—”
“Sister Pauline! Don’t refer to them as narrow asses either!” Candy cut in before Pauline could finish the word.
Candy had raised her voice to be heard just as the noise level died down to a low rumble and was mortified when the last of her sentence echoed in the near silence of the room.
She was so ashamed she could have crawled in a pit when twenty pair of eyes, all varying shades of brown, stared at her in open-mouthed astonishment and snickered.
She wanted to then cover her body with the dirt from the same pit when she looked into the doorway and saw Davis Strong staring at her. The look on his face mirrored the kids’ look of astonishment. But where she saw laughter lurking in the kids’ eyes, there was nothing even remotely amused in Davis’s penetrating gaze.
The silence was ominous in the room as Candy and Davis simply stared at one another for what felt like eons to Candy. The kids looked from Candy to Davis, back and forth, waiting to see who would speak first.
“Ms. Cain, could I speak with you outside for a moment?” There wasn’t anything humorous sounding in the tone of his deep voice either.
Candy turned to Pauline Rogers and smiled weakly.
“Ms. Rogers, could you stay and supervise the kids? I need to go and speak with Mr. Strong. I’ll return shortly.”
“Umm hmmm, baby, don’t worry ’bout it,” the older woman said and made a popping sound with her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “I’ll stay. Just go on and handle your business. Sister Pauline got this.”
Candy didn’t care for the inflection Sister Pauline gave to the word “got,” but for the time, she had more pressing matters to attend to.
Besides, some things were better left unknown.
With a final glance in Pauline’s direction, Candy followed Davis out of the room. She kept her shoulders erect, her posture tight. She didn’t want the kids to pick up on her embarrassment or dismay at being called out by a parent.
Davis didn’t know who was more surprised, he or she when their eyes connected after she yelled out to her assistant not to call the kids asses. The look on her creamy brown, flushed face was so comical he was tempted to laugh outright.
But he held his laughter in check. He reminded himself it wasn’t funny and she was a grown woman who should know better. Even if she was reprimanding the old woman and not actually calling the kids asses herself, it was the principle of the matter.
Davis had searched the center for Candy, although he’d already picked Angelica up. She was outside playing with two of her friends and he’d made the excuse that he needed to speak to Ms. Cain and told her to remain put.
He told himself he was only coming to remind her of the meeting the next day, and nothing more. His subconscious called him a bald-faced liar. The truth was he simply wanted—needed—to see Candice again.
Particularly after what happened on Saturday. He hadn’t been able to chase the memory of their hot exchange, or the woman, out of his mind.
Damn. He hadn’t dry humped a woman since he was a kid, which had resulted in yet another adolescent-type wet dream, starring none other than M
s. Candice Cain.
As she approached him, his brooding glance slid over her body.
She was wearing one of her more typical wraps. She wore a long-sleeved T-shirt beneath, and although the colorful fabric molded her small breasts, it hung loose to her calves.
Davis could make out her rounded curves as the fabric swayed around her, gently following the motion of her curves.
“I came by to remind you of the meeting tomorrow with Angelica’s school,” he said as soon as she reached his side.
“There’s an empty classroom right over here.” Candy indicated a room a few feet down the hallway.
She allowed him to lightly grasp her elbow and guide her further into the hallway. The small touch sent a sizzle of electricity from her skin to his. He removed his hand, allowing her elbow to drop to her side.
“I wouldn’t forget. I know how important this is for both you and Angelica,” she replied, looking up at him with an unreadable expression on her face.
“Good. I wouldn’t want to give them any more ammunition against me by announcing I have you on board to help with Angelica, and you forget to show.”
“Did you come by to insult me, or remind me of the meeting? Because frankly, Davis, I don’t understand the purpose of the visit.”
After he guided her inside the room, he closed the door behind them, and braced his back against it.
“No, I didn’t come here to insult you. I came by to see if you would like for me to pick you up for the meeting.” He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her.
“I can make it myself, Davis. I have an appointment scheduled for another student, so I’ll be out of the center for the afternoon. And come to think of it, I don’t think I like the implication you’ve made, not once, but twice, that I need to be reminded of this meeting. As though my mind is so damn feeble—” but she was cut off mid-rant.
Davis hauled her close, pulled her tight against his chest with one hand gripping the flesh of her hip, the other grasping the back of her head. He leaned down, slanted his mouth over hers, and covered her lips.
His sensual, full lips pressed against hers and delivered feathering strokes, caresses designed to force her to open her mouth for him. Once she did, his slick tongue quickly invaded her mouth, hot and exploring.
With a groan she raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck as her tongue swept against his, matching his heated strokes. They explored each other, both greedy as they engaged in a sensual battle of tongues and lips until Davis tugged at her lower lip with his teeth, and bit down gently, before suckling it.
Hunger for him rose sharp and immediate. When one of his hands moved down her body, past the curve of her waist and grasped one of her rounded butt cheeks and squeezed, Candy moaned deeply into his mouth.
Her hands slid from his shoulders, roaming down the broad expanse of his back, down to the narrow expanse of his waist until her hands rubbed over his taut, muscled ass.
Their bodies were pressed so closely together, Candy felt his responding groan rumble deep in his chest.
Her nipples tightened and spiked more sharply beneath the T-shirt she wore the longer they kissed, along with the increase of moisture at the apex of her thighs.
“God, I love your mouth,” he groaned, lifting away and resting his forehead against hers.
Candy inhaled deep breaths until her heartbeat returned to normal, and she was able to speak. One glance at him from beneath her lashes and she could see the way he fought to bring his breath under control. His chest heaved with the effort, his nostrils flaring.
“And Candy, if you wear one of these wraps of yours, make sure it covers you, completely.” Candy was stunned when he picked up the conversation as though the last few minutes of tongue-curling kisses hadn’t happened.
But she knew he was as affected as she by their heated exchange. The hoarseness in his voice and the tremor she felt from his hands when he eased her away from his laboring chest told the story.
He eased one of his hands back inside the top waistband where her wrap started, in the space where flesh and fabric met.
“It might even be better if you wore something more…traditional. I want to make the best impression possible. That wouldn’t happen if this showed,” he finished.
His fingers circled around until they reached her belly ring, nestled firmly inside her navel. Although his words made her see red, the feel of his thick fingers toying with her body jewelry gave her a direct zing from her ring to her clit.
She reached out in front of her body and plucked his hand from her waist.
“What you see is what you get with me, Mr. Strong. If you’re looking for someone more…traditional, then I’m not the woman for you,” she issued the challenge coolly, and saw from the slight lift of his eyebrow that he caught her double meaning.
“There’s no backing out now. You’re exactly what I’m looking for,” he replied, easily moving away from her. He gave her one final glance before he opened the door. “Just make sure you’re there on time, Ms. Cain.”
After he closed the door behind him, Candy pushed herself away from the wall she’d been leaning on and headed toward the door.
She hadn’t missed the way he’d told her she was his, or that she was exactly what he’d been looking for, but his hot and cold vibes were really, really starting to work her third nerve. And as Sister Pauline would say…she only had two.
Despite her irritation with Davis, Candy laughed out loud at her mental—stolen—quip as she straightened her clothes and headed out of the door.
7
“M r. Strong, I can only wait so long before we start the meeting. And I wish you had informed me Ms.—” Anita Watson waved a hand, silently asking Davis to fill in the last name.
“Cain.”
“Yes. I wasn’t aware you’d invited Ms. Cain to this meeting. It was only to be a team meeting with the staff and parent, not outsiders.”
Her overall irritableness over the surprise was evident in her tone and twisted facial expression.
“I apologize for not informing you, Ms. Watson. Yet I wish you would have informed me of the change, as well. Had I known it was only to be you and me at this meeting, I would have made other arrangements.” Her features twisted even more with his response.
“Well, if she isn’t here soon, we’ll have to start without her. I do have other appointments.”
Anita Watson pointedly glared at her wrist and the slim black watch she wore and Davis bit back a curse.
“I know you’re busy. I asked Ms. Cain to take part in this meeting because I thought she would be beneficial in helping my daughter. I’m sure she’ll be here soon,” Davis glanced down at his watch, and noted that although Candy wasn’t late yet, she was damn close.
He’d been expecting the social worker as well as Angel’s teacher, but when he’d arrived Anita Watson had blithely informed him of her change of plan. He’d silently thanked God he’d asked Candy to accompany him. He had no desire to be in close quarters with this barracuda of a woman.
“I think a one-on-one meeting would have been more effective, Davis. That’s all. My concern is for Angelica and Angelica alone,” she insisted.
More effective his ass.
Davis had bitten back telling the woman what he thought of her fake concern. With disgust he realized Anita was using the circumstances for her own twisted reasons.
He glanced down at his watch, again. Where in hell was Candy? he thought. Damn! He should have driven to the center and picked her up himself, but hadn’t.
He didn’t want her to get ticked off and think he didn’t believe she’d make it without his assistance. She’d accused him of that yesterday, when he’d dropped by the center.
The second reason he’d chosen not to go to her was less noble. He didn’t know if he could handle being closed up in the same car with her.
He’d also refrained from calling her earlier in the day, although it had been hard to do.
The las
t time he’d spoken to her he’d told her what to do, how to dress and act when she showed up for the meeting.
He didn’t know what came over him whenever he was around Candy. He couldn’t manage to keep it together for more than five consecutive minutes whenever he was. He always managed to come off sounding like a dictatorial ass.
That or he would grab her and assault that sweet, lush mouth of hers.
“Well, I think we need to go ahead and start the meeting, Mr. Davis.” When the principal spoke, Davis reluctantly turned his attention to her.
There was a soft knock on the door before it opened and Candy rushed inside with an apologetic smile crossing her face. A rush of relief washed over Davis and unbidden, a grin tugged at his lips.
“I’m sorry I’m late. I was with another student in a school across town, traffic was crazy—” she stopped and smiled, her deep dimples flashing. “Forgive me,” she finished, her gaze settling on Davis first before she turned to Anita.
Davis felt the familiar tightening in his gut return, the same feeling he got whenever he was within ten feet of Candice Cain.
Candy rushed inside the office, knowing she was beyond late, but it couldn’t be helped.
“I presume this is Ms. Cain? Please, have a seat, Ms. Cain and we can begin.”
“Thank you,” Candy murmured as she took the offered seat.
Although a small tight smile of welcome graced the woman’s face, Candy saw her dark close-set eyes size her up, in one allencompassing gaze.
Candy had carefully dressed for work today because of the two meetings she had scheduled for her girls, Theresa and Angelica. Although she made it a point never to judge anyone by their outer trappings, and taught her girls the same thing, she knew not everyone felt the same way.
The principal wasn’t the only one who tended to judge. Davis Strong held the same propensity.
After his parting comment yesterday, she wanted to tell him what he could do with his advice on appropriate attire.
Candy instead chose to keep in mind the sole purpose of the meeting, which was how to help Angelica, and not about her and Davis.
Just Like Candy Page 6
