Free Do Me Baby (The Beaumont Series) by Angie Daniels

further into the cabin while she took a seat on the end of the bed and glanced up at the television where Everybody Loves Raymond was playing.
    “Dinner is in an hour,” she said without looking at him.
    “I guess it’s time for me to get ready.” He started to remove his shirt.
    “Whoa!” she cried and sprang from the bed. “Wait. I’ll give you some privacy.”
    “You don’t have to leave.”
    She licked her lips, her eyes lifting from his chest to his darkened gaze. “Yes, I do.”
    “No, you don’t.” He pressed his lips in a determined line.
    Debra gave a strained laugh. “Don’t be silly! I’m going to go wander around this huge ship while you get ready.”
    “Alright, as long as you come back so I can escort you to dinner.”
    She nodded her head quickly. “Okay. I’ll see you in forty-five minutes.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 7
     
    She couldn’t get out of that cabin fast enough!
    Debra quickly moved down the corridor and didn’t stop until she was around the corner. There she leaned against the wall and took a moment to allow herself to get her breathing under control.
    How in the world was she going to survive two nights in the same room with that man? Rance was just too sexy for his own good, and the second he’d started lifting his shirt over his head, showing off that magnificent six-pack, she knew she had to get out of there when she had the chance or she might have jumped him and demanded he take her right then and there.
    She released a slow frustrating breath. Rance was gorgeous, but clearly not as arrogant as she had originally thought. If he had been, it would make being around him so much easier.
    Hearing laughter coming down the hall, Debra pushed away from the wall and headed for the bank of elevators. She had time to kill, so she might as well use it to get her thinking straight.
    She boarded the elevator along with three other guests who were chatting merrily, already caught up in the spirit of the weekend vacation. And despite being stuck sharing a room with a professional ballplayer, a smile tilted her lips.
    Debra stepped off the car and strolled along the deck, scanning all the shops. They wouldn’t officially open until they were out several hundred feet away from the shore, but it didn’t hurt to look. Anything to take her mind off Rance. She spotted a beautiful charm bracelet in the window that she would definitely have to come back and purchase for Bianca for her birthday. Although after the stunt Bianca had pulled, what she should be doing was finding a way to get back at her for trying to be a matchmaker.
    Debra sighed as she passed a clothing store. Her best friend had meant well. It had been no secret that Bianca never cared for Sony. She’d always thought he wasn’t good enough for Debra. But instead of listening to her friend’s warning, Debra had leaped into the relationship head first. And now she saw where it had gotten her. Disappointment.
    But after she had settled into her new condo, Debra had begun to discover that what she had felt for Sony hadn’t been love at all. She still couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Maybe it was his charm, or that he was so different from the other guys she had dated, that she’d wanted to try something new. Either way, he had been all wrong for her, and she was glad that she had finally found out the truth. Although it would have been better if it had been on her terms.
    One thing she had learned from the relationship with Sony was that she’d never had honesty. There were so many things he had said that she should have questioned but never did, thinking maybe she worried too much. The auditions that never panned out. The part-time jobs that were stifling his career, and why he was never home on Friday nights. The warning signs had always been there.
    Shaking her head, Debra mentally closed the door on the past. Their relationship was null and void. No point in dwelling on it.
    And now, as a result of that