Caress: to touch or stroke somebody or something affectionately or pressed. To touch, pass over, or affect somebody in a soothing or pleasant way

"When does he have the surgery?" Lucas inquired before he laid a kiss on the crown of Bea's head. Her head rested on the broad expanse of his chest. One of his hands ran up her arm and back in one sweeping motion, the other ran through her hair amazed at the soft yet thick texture. She could feel heat exude off him and permeate her clothes, tenderly caressing the flesh hidden beneath the thin material of her chemise.

"They want to test him first, and if he's a match he'll go under the knife as soon as possible." She answered through a muffled yawn. If he kept that up, she'd fall asleep on him and refuse to move for the rest of the night. "I just get so nervous sometimes and I'm not even the one going under the knife."

"That's understandable youfre best friends with him." He tried to commiserate with her. His body responding to her proximity, he could smell her Camille shampoo, and practically taste the rich honey of her skin. "If it was Adonis or Moma, I'd be nervous too."

"Lucas?" Come on you can do it. She wanted to ask him what he saw in her. However, she found herself tongue-tied and feeling like five different kinds of stupid. Frowning at her idiotic thoughts, she frowned and tried to focus on something else.

"What's on your mind, Beautiful?" He found his self-staring at the beautiful pout of her lips. He felt the strongest desire to bite and mark her as his. He wanted to pick her up, carry her to the bedroom, strip her of all her clothes, and make love to her.

'Make love?' He'd never used that term when he wanted to sleep with a woman, but with Bea, that's what best described what they did. He'd fucked many women before he met her, he never did the dating thing just what was required to bed her. However, with Bea it was different; something about her pulled him under and made him want her. No, she didn't look like the women he normally dated but the sight of her did things to his body that he didnft care to explain.

"Forget it it's not important." There goes your chance. She silently berated herself and pressed her lips against the hard planes of his chest. Then all she could think about was getting him naked.

"Oh, do you want me there?" His question.

"Want you where..." naked and inside of me? Yes.

"At the hospital with you, I don't want you to be alone."

"I'm not going to be alone. I'll have George and Julia."

"Oh, ok." She started to fall into a light slumber. Lucas stared at the program on the television. She basked in his scent it wasn't cologne. It was a comforting ferment of apples and pure unadulterated male.

~~~

Julia was leaving Adam. She wouldn't take another beating or 'accidental' fall down the stairs. Julia had to get away from Adam before it cost her, her life. Nikko's situation offered the perfect scapegoat. Adam had finally fallen asleep with the aid of the Ambien she had crushed and mixed into his soup hopefully she hadn't killed him, just knocked him out for a few hours. She moved frantically making sure she had everything she needed money, clothes and other mislanious. All she needed were the keys that were located not so conveniently in his back pocket.

Her hands shook as she reached for them. He rolled over; she jerked back, nearly knocking over the lamp behind her. She closed her eyes calming herself down preying that he did not wake up and catch her. After extracting the keys from his back pocket, she slid away from him as one would when recoiling from hot metal. She dumped her bags at the front door and moved to the back of the house passed her bedroom until she reached a familiar door with seahorses drawn on it.

She moved silently with purpose and sprung into action. She stopped once she reached the crib centered in the room. Her beautiful 9-month-old baby boy laid staring up at her. He stared at her with the eyes of an older person; they penetrated your soul and then right through you. She had to do this know before it was too late before he broke her, before he damaged her beautiful son.

"Hey baby, come on you're going to visit your aunties." He cooed up at her and gave her a toothless smile. She kissed his forehead and cradled him in her arms.

"We're going to go stay with Auntie Bea awhile, would you like that?" He cooed again.

"She's dying to see you." He giggled and took a small fist in to his gum lined mouth and begins to chew. She had it all planned out, she jump on the earliest flight she could and Bea would pick her up at the airport, she'd stay at her place for awhile at least until she found a place to rent. Her best friend wouldn't turn her down no matter what types of disagreements they had in the past. Julia knew Bea wouldn't hold a grudge over something that happened years ago, right?

Oh, God what if Felicia was there and decided she wanted nothing to do with her; Julia didn't know what to do. Face the sister she'd abandoned to follow a man, who had tried to kill her at more times then she cared to count. She slipped her son into his winter gear and put him in his seat. Julia preyed her sister would welcome her and nephew in with open arms. Bea and Felicia were Julia's only hope.

She avoided looking at mirrors for a reason. Her black eye was beginning to show threw that heavy layer of make up, she caked around her eyes. She'd take care of that after she ditched the car.

~~~

"Bea?" Lucas' hand was still moving hypnotically across the expanse of Bea's back. Whenever his hand brushed her lower back, he'd briefly stop and draw lazy circles with his index finger. When she gave no response, he repeated his self, "Bea, baby?"

"Hmm?" she sighed and rubbed her nose against the soft material of his tee covered torso.

"I was wondering if you'd come with me to a family diner."  She smiled into his chest, shrugging herself awake. She moved up until her breasts pressed up against his chest. His hands fell to her waist and she shuttered at the contact. 'Wait, family? Oh, shit.'

"You mean you want to me to meet your family?" She never dated a man that wanted her to meet his parents if anything they'd hide her or they'd dump her before things got that serious. Lucas didn't hide her or act ashamed of being with her in public. Lucas presented a problem. What if he was playing her? 'No, he wouldn't do that' She found herself hesitant about being close to him after his declaration. What if this turns out to be a cruel trick or a dream?

'Don't wake me. Just let me stay here.'

"Yes, they want to meet you and I want you to meet them." Although she couldn't see it, she knew he had the infamous smirk on his face. "As your Man my job is to keep you happy and satisfied, very satisfied." He puffed out his chest to emphasize his point. She buried her face in his chest once she caught the double innuendo to what he said.

"My man," doesn't he sound a tab bit too smug? She pushed herself up into a horizontal position. Her head cocked to the side as her brought a warm colossal hand to rest against her cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand before speaking again "Don't you think we're moving just a tad bit to fast?"

"Nope," 'if I had my way I'd a permanent addition in your life.' However, he left that lad tidbit to his self. He didn't want to scare her away with his feelings. "Will you?"

He already knew she'd try to find excuses or reasons to bail out but that was all right he'd just spent the rest of the night coaxing a breathy 'Yes' out of her. He looked over to the coffee table at his copy of 'Black Beauty' that Bea had fallen asleep reading earlier.

Lucas couldn't help the grin that had unblushing tugged at the corners of his lips. His Bea had turned out to be quite the bookworm, he discovered that when he showed her his personal library. He watched in complete fascination as she glided from self to shelf with an unbridled glee."You really aren't like most women."

"I'm special." She stuck her tongue out at him and he watched the pick appendage with hooded eyes before he leaned up and playfully nipped at her bottom lip.

"Very, now what type of story?"

"I don't care as long as it's your voice." She managed to squeak out before he tugged her back down on to his chest. He hands fell to their original positions one on her back moving in that soothing motion she loved. The other played in her hair winding and unwinding the corkscrew curls around his finger. He just wanted to be close to her, this was their time together no phones ringing, no extreme shyness, or pulling away from him, just them together.

Lucas told her, his favorite story that Moma had took her and Adonis during their Indian summers.

Bea had fallen asleep on Lucas' chest to the sound of his voice along with the calming ministrations of his hands. Lucas laid one more kiss on her forehead before he slipped off into sleep to the rhyme of her breathing.

~~~

The sun shined down bright blinding the artificial redhead. The strident clink of her Gucci heels brought eyes gravitating in her direction. A cheeky smile graced her lips and she slipped on her Gucci shade pulling her Prada bag closer to her paying very little attention to the catcalls some felt need to call out at her.

The dark denim of her jeans clung to her hips giving her a fair amount of shape. Her lime green baby-doll hugged her causing her bosoms to protrude from her slender form. She was there for only one reason to get her man or cause a scene.

~~~

Bea awoke to the sizzle of grease. She sighed at the feel of silk against her bare thighs. Wait, bare thighs? She swore she fell asleep with pants on. She sat up, blinked, and then looked down at herself. A large t-shirt replaced the jade chemise and black slacks she had fallen asleep wearing. The hardwood was chilly beneath her size seven feet; she sauntered out of the bedroom and down the hall into the kitchen.

Lucas stood in front of the stove stirring something in a large cast iron pan. He was shirtless and barefoot, his jeans lying precariously low on his hips. His hair was down lying across his broad shoulders like a dark shawl falling haphazardly in his face. She watched his dark brows knit together in concentration as he worked with whatever was in the pot.

She moved over to the counter taking a seat on the elevated chair. The time next to the stove danged and Lucas grabbed two potholders and opened the stove. She watched him bend over 'have mercy' and pull a pan from the oven. Her breath hitched and that was all it took for Lucas' stormy grey to lock on her."Welcome to the land of the living, Sleeping Beauty"

He could keep his eyes from scanning the curves his shirt did little to conceal. The hem teased the fleshy part of her thighs and he could feel blood rush from his head to his already hardening erection. he watched as her nipples harden into two turgid peaks that he wanted to fondle and suckle.

She licked her lips and felt the weight of his eyes on her looking her over with hooded eyes. He watched her shift in her seat; she clenched her knees together in attempt to alleviate the ache that settled between her thighs. Her eyes scanned his lean physique starting at his bare feet moving up to his jean-clad legs up, lingering on his zipper, unfastened button up, that washboard stomach, and settled on his face. Only to find his eyes looking back at her, his lips curved into a smirk.

"Like what you see?" His eyes traveled her figure, lingering on select places. She could feel the heat creep up her neck and turned her face away from him. "I know; I do." He grinned at her."You look beautiful, Darling."

"Whatcha making?"

"Buffalo wings and a deep dish pizza with extra cheese and pepperoni, just the way you like it."

"How did you know that?"

"Nikko called earlier and asked me to apologize on his behalf; he said something about missing pizza night?"

"Oh," Nikko is a dead man. She mentally vowed to herself next time she saw him she'd set his ass on fire. "How'd he get your number?"

"He called my office earlier to remind me that if I hurt you in anyway that I could just kiss my ass goodbye"

"Adonis and Natalie found it funny." She watched his fight to keep the grin of his face. "I assured him that I have no intensions once so ever of harming you."

"Natalie?" Who's Natalie? Is she attractive? She could feel the jealousy claw it's was into that back of her head and plant ideas of Lucas and Natalie together. Bea imagined her as a soft brunet with sultry blue eyes that stood out on her beautifully curved face.

"My assistant, you'd like her she's funny. So did you decide if you wanted to attend the dinner with me?" She remembered him asking about that before she conked out.

"Oh, umm I really don't think this is a good idea," Come on just say it and leave not room for argument. "In fact it's a really bad idea"

"Why?"

"I just don't think it's a good idea." Or, a very sane one.

"Ok." 'That was too easy. He's up to something, I just don't know what.' He'd just have to persuade her, his way.

"What are you up to?" She could almost hear the gears in his head turning.

"You'll say yes." He smirked at her then went back to work.

"How?" Her eyes narrowed at him and she tried to piece together his cryptic messages.

"Do you really want to know?" He opened up the cabinet, pulled a giant plate out ran some hot water over it, pilled buffalo wings on the plate, and sat it on the table.  'Not when you keep looking at me like you want to bend me over on the table.'

"No." 'I change my mind.' She turned her body away to hide her face. He dragged his eyes over her one more time and returned to the stove.

~~~

George felt like shit. It had been two week since their fight and Nikko hadn't called him or anything but, he refused to be the one to apologize. Nope this time he wasn't going to break. Still George couldn't help but worry what if something had happened? Did Nikko remember to feed the cat? All he had wanted to do was show Nikko that he wasn't a doormat.

'Ring...ring...ring.' His phone was ringing but he found his self-taking a long drag from his cigarette instead. His coffee remained untouched in front of him. A five o'clock shadow covered his face and his hair had grown some.

He took another drag from his cigarette and felt the breeze as it swept across his face. He closed his eyes and ignored the person who had taken a seat in front of him. Assuming it was the college girl who had been making eyes at him earlier with her friends, he was prepared to burst her bubble until he opened his eyes. His dark eyes met sea green. 'Nikko' Nikko sat in front of George in all his glory not the least bit changed.

"How are you?" He wanted to make light convocation first.

"What do you want?" He didn't feel like dancing around the truth.

"You."

"Nikko-"

"Just hear me out," he held his hands up to signify his claim."That's all I ask."

"You've got five minutes go." 'Better be good to.'

~~~

Bea never hated cell phones as much as she did right now. She was on her back panting from Lucas' form of persuasion. They were on his bed and she was so close. After she made the stupidest bet in her life, she'd automatically regretted it. Lucas had bet her he could make her agree to go with him to the dinner within the next hour. Stupidly she agreed. Next thing she knew Lucas had her naked and whining for release.

Just as he parted, her legs to enter her, his phone rang. He ignored it the first to times but after the fourth time he stopped his ministrations. Licked his fingers clean and answered the phone with his opposite hand, the one that had been fondling her breast. She pouted as he clothed his self."I'm sorry sweet I've got to take care of this."

She moved to dress so he could lock his apartment but was surprised when Lucas stopped her."Where are you going?"

"Home?" She hadn't meant for it to sound like a question but the look in his eyes threw her off guard.

He frowned at her, he didn't want her to leave having her there just felt so right too him. He wanted her there when her left and when he came back. "No, you aren't going anywhere."

He sat her back down on the bed and kissed her, long and hard."I'll be back in an hour and I'll finish what I started."