Sweet Renegade (8 page)

I nod. “Sure.” I lean forward and kiss her softly on the lips, wanting to give her a little reminder of the chemistry we share.

I linger for only a moment before giving her knee a squeeze and stand. I head for the door, open it, and look back at Lizette. Her face is a mask of swirling emotions, and I can’t figure out what she is feeling. I give her a gentle smile when she looks up at me.

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” I say.

She nods but doesn’t say anything. I walk out of her condo and shut the door behind me. I pray that she accepts my offer because I know that once she gives into her attraction for me, she will want to stay with me. I know that my heart is already falling for her. I have always had a thing for her, but kissing her took my heart up a level in my feelings for her. I will make her mine forever.

Chapter Five

*Lizette*

I am sitting backstage in the dressing room watching the guys’ opening bit on
Saturday Night Live
on the big screen TV that’s hanging on the wall. I can’t help but laugh at their antics, they are seriously funny. My eyes linger on Beau, who after accepting his proposal is now my boyfriend for a month. It is only day one. I had called him this morning to tell him that I will give him a chance. He whooped in my ear, making me have to pull the phone away from my head. My only condition is that we keep this little relationship to ourselves. I don’t want the other guys knowing because it could cause some serious problems after the month is up and I end things with Beau, which I have every intention of doing. I will give him his month, and then he will stop all of this nonsense about us being together and leave me alone. As much as it breaks my heart to hurt him, it has to be done.

Tomorrow, we have a pretty full day. We are traveling down to Philadelphia to do some radio interviews. We are spending the night in Philly then continuing the small promotional tour by flying out to Hollywood, California, in the morning. They will be filming
The Tonight Show
, which will be recorded earlier in the day, and then they will be on
Jimmy Kimmel Live
later that night. The list of appearances goes on and on, it’s going to be a busy week for all of us.

After the show is over, the guys file into the dressing room to change back into their own clothes. I step out of the room while they change. As I lean against the wall in the hallway while I wait, mind wanders about Beau on the other side of the wall, in just his underwear. I groan quietly. What was I thinking agreeing to this? This could only end badly. Yes, I can’t deny that I feel something for Beau. I’ve always found him cute and charming and funny and sweet. He has definitely grown up a lot since I first met him when he was eighteen. I consider him a friend as I do the rest of the guys. I’ve known them all for five years and have been intertwined in their lives from day one.

Then Beau had to go and kiss me. I had been doing fine brushing off his advances and dismissing his invites to take me out, even though I liked him…still like him. Then he went and kissed me, rendering me powerless against him. Lately, he’s all I can think about.

“Hey, Sugar,” Beau murmurs quietly from my right side.

I whip my head around to stare at him wide-eyed. Beau chuckles. Crap, I must have really been out of it if I didn’t hear him come out of the room.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he says, the mischievous grin on his handsome face saying otherwise. He leans his shoulder against the wall next to me and shoves his hands into his pockets.

I glare at him. “Yeah, right.” I snort.

His blue eyes sparkle in amusement. “Why don’t you come back to my place tonight,” he suggests.

I raise an eyebrow at him. “It’s kinda late now, don’t you think?”

“We can watch a movie, you can stay over, no funny business,” he says solemnly. “I just want to spend as much time with you as possible.” Giving me big puppy dog eyes and pouty lip.

Damn it!
How can I say no to that face? “We have to leave early tomorrow,” I try half-heartedly to get out of going to his place.

“We have to be on the road by nine. We can wake up at seven, have breakfast, get to your place by eight, grab your stuff, then meet up with the guys at your office and head out from there like planned.”

The door next to Beau opens and Dean, Ace, Roland, and Everett step out. Each of their reactions to seeing Beau and me talking are different. Roland eyes us suspiciously - which I don’t understand - before sending Beau a look that I can’t decipher. Ace looks amused, a small smirk playing across his lips. Dean’s face remains impassive, so I have no idea what he’s thinking. And Everett is frowning and seems to be thinking about something else entirely, paying us no attention at all.

“Yo, man, Dean and I are heading out to a club, you in?” Ace asks Beau, nodding enthusiastically.

“Naw, I’m callin’ it a night,” Beau answers.

“Loser,” Ace mutters and gives Beau a playful shove.

Beau smiles fondly at him and shoves him back. “See y’all in the morning.”

“Yup,” Ace replies. “Bye, Lizette.”

“Bye, Ace. Be careful and don’t get too drunk, we have to leave by nine tomorrow,” I say, feeling like his mother.

“I’ll be good, I promise,” he says with a naughty smirk.

I snort. “Don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep, Ace.”

Ace grins and sends me a wink. “I forget that you know me so well.”

I hum and turn to Dean, who I know will listen to me. “Keep an eye on him,” I demand.

Dean nods. “Of course,” he replies before following Ace toward the exit.

“Are you two heading home?” Lizette asks Roland and Everett.

“Yeah, I’m tired and want to go to bed,” Roland answers, still eyeing Beau and me suspiciously. What is that about? Does he know about us? Nah, Beau couldn’t have told him already.

“Alright, see you tomorrow then,” I say.

Everett lifts his head and gives her a small smile. “Bye, Lizette.”

I return his smile. “Goodnight, Everett.”

Everett is such a quiet guy, rarely getting more than a hello or goodbye out of him. He has an amazing voice, though, I can listen to him sing all day. He and Beau say goodbye before he follows Roland to the exit. Beau turns back to me once the coast is clear.

“So?” he asks, hope filling his eyes.

“Okay, fine.” I sigh.

Beau smiles brightly and gives me a quick peck on the lips. “Great, I’ll even let you pick the movie,” he says happily.

My heart flutters at the thought that it’s me who is causing him such happiness. I roll my eyes. “Gee, thanks,” I mutter, getting a chuckle from the gorgeous man next to me.

Beau slings his arm around my shoulders, which he can easily do since he is almost a foot taller than I am. We walk down the hallway together toward the exit that leads to the back parking lot. I can’t help but feel content and cherished tucked under Beau’s arm. Before he opens the door to the lot, he pulls me in close and kisses me sweetly on the temple. Dropping his arm from my shoulders, he opens the door. Our ears are instantly assaulted by the high-pitched screams of dozens of women and girls. Beau’s bodyguard, Rob, is there to guide him through the screaming crowd, which is thankfully being held at bay by six hulking security guards. Hands reach over the guards’ shoulders to try to grab Beau. I can see his shirt being pulled from every direction, yet he smiles and waves as he goes. He’s a pro at this. Rob quickly gets him into the backseat of a black, tinted out, Mercedes E-class.

Rob then hops behind the wheel and slowly makes his way out of the parking lot, making sure not to hit anyone. I shut the door to wait a few minutes for the crowd to disperse. Once I get the “all clear” from one of the security guys, I head out to my car and make my way to Beau’s condo. It takes me twenty minutes to get there, and by the time I park in the parking garage, I’m exhausted.

I yawn multiple times on my way up to his condo. I only have to knock once before he opens the door. He’s changed into a pair of green plaid pajama pants and a ratty old t-shirt with a logo so faded that I can’t even tell what it is. Beau moves aside to let me in. I walk into his spacious living room, put my purse down next to the couch, kick my shoes off, and cover my mouth as I yawn again.

“Beau, I really don’t think that I can stay up to watch a movie,” I inform him sleepily.

“That’s okay, we can just go to bed,” he murmurs, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. He nuzzles my neck with his face, pulling in a deep breath. “Mmm, you smell so good.”

I sigh and lean back against him. I hadn’t realized how much I’ve missed being in his arms until this moment. Not that I had spent a lot of time there before, it was only those couple of times at his mother’s house, but apparently my body had quickly grown attached. It’s odd how well we fit together.

“Do you have a T-shirt I can wear?” I murmur.

“Mmm hmm.” He breathes next to my ear.

I shiver in pleasure and feel him smile against my neck. I send an elbow into his gut, unable to stop the smile that spreads across my face. Jerk. Beau grunts and snickers as he scoops me up, while I squeal and grab onto his neck. His strong arms hold me, no problem. One arm is around my back while the other is under my knees. He smiles down at me as he starts down the hall toward his bedroom.

“Do me a favor and clap twice,” Beau says.

I frown at the odd request but lift my hands over my head and clap twice. The lamps in the living room shut off. I burst out laughing. Beau joins me. I can’t believe he has his lamps hooked up to The Clapper.

“I can’t believe that just happened.” I giggle.

“Hey, that is a great invention,” he says with mock defensiveness.

I just shake my head and let Beau carry me down the hall to his bedroom. He crosses the darkened room and places me on his very large bed. The comforter is one of the softest things that I’ve ever felt. I fall back onto it and rub my arms over it.

“Oh my god, this feels so good,” I moan, not thinking.

“Woman, you keep that up and that won’t be the only thing making you feel good,” Beau rasps, his voice low and his accent thicker than normal.

I freeze and lift my head to look at Beau, who is standing in front of me, shifting his erection in his pants. My body flushes as a flash of my recent naughty dreams starring Beau pop into my head. I lift my eyes to his face; his eyes are heavy lidded and watching me raptly, and his bow shaped lips are parted slightly as his tongue flicks out to run over his plump bottom lip.
Jesus Christ, he’s sexy
. What the hell was I thinking when I assumed that I would be able to resist him for a month?

Beau watches me for a moment longer before he seemingly forces himself to move over to his dresser where he pulls out a shirt. He tosses it to me. I catch it before it lands on my face. I sit up and glance over at Beau, who is keeping his distance. He walks around to the other side of the bed as he strips out of his shirt. Even in the dark, I can see his hard muscles moving under his skin. Leaving his jeans on, he climbs into bed and under the covers. I’m surprised when I feel a twinge of disappointment that he didn’t take his pants off, too.

“Where’s the bathroom?” I ask quietly. I’m not ready to get undressed in front of him, even if I do want to jump his bones.

“The open door over there is the bathroom,” Beau replies, pointing across the room to the door that is cracked slightly.

I make my way into the bathroom, turning the light on as I shut the door. I blink and squint in the bright light. The bathroom is beautiful and surprisingly big. There is a clear glass shower stall, a Jacuzzi tub, his and her sinks, and obviously, a toilet. It’s tidy and clean. I doubt that Beau is the one who cleans it, but still, it’s nice to come into a man’s bathroom and not be disgusted. My last boyfriend was a pig and I refused to use his toilet because it was filthy. That had been one of my deal breakers in that relationship.

I take my time getting changed and going to the bathroom. I don’t know why I’m stalling. Maybe I am afraid that if I get in bed with Beau that I won’t be able to keep my hands off his delectable body. I wouldn’t care if I knew that I would be able to keep my heart out of it. I close my eyes. I must be going crazy, coming here to spend the night. This is only our first day as a couple, there is no way that I am going to put out on our first day together, no matter how long I’ve known him for. I will just stay on my side of the bed and not touch him. Yeah, that’s exactly what I am going to do.

I make my way back into the bedroom, placing my folded clothes on the dresser before climbing into bed next to Beau. He watches me, his hands tucked behind his head. He has the blanket pulled up to his waist, leaving his bare torso exposed for my perusal, which gives the illusion that he’s naked.
Damn it
. I settle down into his very comfortable bed and pull the covers up to my chest.