Falling for Grace (Four Winds) (3 page)

"So, he got past the preliminary questioning?"  Grace was curious.

"He's pretty smooth.  I told him we had an opening for a non-smoker, non-insomniac neat freak without pets.  I don't really want a pretty boy living with us, but he convinced me to give him a chance.  And we need a roommate.  He'll be by around five-thirty to talk to all of us."

Grace pulled into the driveway of their house, and they walked up the stairs together.

"I'm going to run by the store after I do laundry.  Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm good.  Thanks, though."  Grace was suddenly bone-tired.  The adrenaline had worn off, and she felt lucky to have made it home. Realizing she was wrong about today’s save, she zombie-walked to her room and crashed.

Chapter Four

The sun was scorching, causing heat waves to rise from the sand.  Grace was sure that if she touched the sand with her bare feet, the flesh on the bottoms would peel off like fried chicken skin.  She could almost hear the sizzle of skin baking in the sun.  The odor of sunscreen mixed with sweat permeated her nose, as she scanned her zone.  She noticed someone missing.  She blew the whistle and ran.

It was just like every other save, except this time, when she got to where the boy had been, she couldn't find him anywhere.  She dove under the water to find him, feeling with her hands.  Coming back up for another breath, she looked around. 

The beach was empty.

She dove under again, striving to search deeper, lungs burning with the strain.  She could see her hair floating around her face, as she swiveled her head around to look in every direction.  Her eyes didn't burn in the salty water, and she could see clearly for several feet.

She could see clearly that there was nothing there.

Feeling defeated, she turned to swim back up, but as she looked, the sunlight started to fade from the outside of her vision.  She was blacking out, and her lungs were on fire.  She opened her mouth to gasp for air, and it filled with water.  Panicked, she gasped, filling her lungs with saltwater.

A banging noise accompanied her panicked thrashing in the water.  She looked right, then left, then back up at the darkening sky, as she sank into the depths.

The banging continued, and she wondered briefly where it was coming from.  What made that kind of noise underwater?  She gasped again, struggling.

Tangled in her bed sheets, she thrashed herself awake, to the accompaniment of somebody banging on her front door.

Standing, she stumbled to the front door, still lost in her dream.  The banging increased in intensity as she neared it.

When she opened it, she gasped, again struggling for breath.

It was Rafe.

"I'm sorry I'm early.  Is it okay?"

"Why were you banging?"  Grace looked down at herself, and was a bit embarrassed to see rings of sweat on her t-shirt under her arms and on her chest.  She could feel it on her back, too.  But this guy had woken her up from her nightmare.  For that, she was grateful.

"Nobody answered when I knocked normally, so I thought I'd just bang a little louder.  I'm Rafe."  He held out his hand in greeting. The look on his face was hopeful, and Grace tried not to stare at the intensity of his green eyes.  She'd been right.  They were breathtaking.  And familiar.

"I'm Grace.  It's okay.  Come in."  After shaking his hand, trying to ignore the tingle that his warm grip caused, she opened the door wider, to allow him entrance.

She had underestimated his frame, as he brushed against her when he came in the door.  He was really tall, and moved with the grace of an athlete.  His shoulders were broad, but they tapered into a lean waist.  Grace inhaled deeply, and was instantly lightheaded from the earthy, spicy smell.  He smelled familiar, but she couldn't quite place the odor.  It smelled good, whatever it was.

"What time is it?"  She looked around for her cell phone to figure out how early he was.  He had to be early. Nicole and Bree weren't home yet.

"It's three-thirty.  I'm sorry. I'm not supposed to be here for two more hours, but I didn't really have anything else to do."

"…Okay…"  Grace hadn't quite recovered from her bad dream and was having a hard time focusing on his words.  All she could see were his eyes, and that smile.  Wow.  Those dimples.  Her stomach did a little flip, and the white hot heat that she'd felt earlier returned with a vengeance.

He had buttoned up his shirt, but the way it hung on his frame with the board shorts gave him an air of casualness that was fresh.  He wore a pair of leather flip flops on his feet, which were nice.  He had attractive toes, with neatly groomed nails. 

Her gaze traveled up his strong legs, to the body hidden by the baggy shorts and shirt, to the tanned face that held a mischievous smirk, barely there but for the dimples.  His emerald gaze was on her, staring with an intensity that made her blush under his scrutiny.

"I don't mean to interrupt anything.  Were you doing something?"  He asked her pleasantly, dimples still there.  Ugh.  Dimples.  Why did he have to have dimples?  She forced herself to remember she had a boyfriend and to stop ogling this man in front of her.

"Um, no.  I was taking a nap." 

"I'm sorry.  You can go back to bed, if you want to.  I can leave and walk the beach again."

"No, that's okay."  She looked down at her sweaty self again.  "Just, um…let me change real quick."  A shower would be nice, but she wasn't about to leave a strange man alone in her living room while she got naked.  No matter how hot he was.

Back in her bedroom, she threw on a tank top that wasn't all sweaty, ran a brush through her hair, and pulled on a pair of shorts.  In lieu of a shower, she opted to put on some fresh deodorant.

Back in the living room, she found him on the couch, looking relaxed and totally delicious.  Clearing her throat, she asked him, "Do you want to see the extra room?  If you make it through Nicole's next round of questions, it's yours."  It was getting close to rent being due, and nobody really wanted to fork over the extra fourth share of the money this month.  Grace actually found herself hoping this guy worked out.

He grinned quickly and stood, motioning for her to lead the way.

The room was spacious, but not the biggest in the house.  "It's close to the bathroom you would share with me.  Um, we could work out a schedule to use it, if you want.  I usually shower in the evening after work, so you could use it in the mornings, if you wanted."  Realizing she was rambling, she bit her tongue before she said anything else completely idiotic, like telling him when she pooped.  Sheesh.

He looked around the space and nodded appreciatively.  "It's bigger than what I'm used to."   He looked at her again, this time with a gleam in his gorgeous eyes that made her feel warm all over.  As she continued touring the house, pointing out the other bedrooms, she could feel his eyes on her, and a flush rose on her cheeks under his gaze.  In the kitchen, she stopped and turned to him, noticing belatedly that he was really close to her.  She had a hard time breathing when she realized he stood close enough to smell: sweet and spicy.

"Um, we each buy our own groceries.  Occasionally, we'll make a meal together, but nobody really cooks much.  We mostly eat cereal and salads.  There's a grill in the back, but we only use it once a month, maybe."

"I like to cook.  I could make some meals for everybody," he said quietly.  "Although, if y'all would prefer your cereal and salad, I won't mess anybody up."  He flashed that dimply grin again, and Grace warned herself to stay away.

"Do you have a job?"

"Not yet.  I just got into town this week.  I have some money to last a few months, though.  I just need a roof over my head."  His manner was easy, reassuring.  Grace found herself drawn to his open, casual demeanor, wanting to know more about him.  Something about him seemed so familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was.  His eyes, maybe?  Maybe she knew someone who uses the same cologne.

"Where did you move from?"

"
Houston, I lived by the medical center."

"Did you work there?" 

He answered quickly, "Yes.  I did."

"Cool."  She said it noncommittally, but something about the guy excited her, made her pulse beat a little faster, made her breaths a little shallower, made her belly hot.  Hot.

He was hot.  And she was in trouble.

Grace didn't date hot guys.  They inevitably knew they were hot and used it to their own advantage.  Hot guys were users, chewing up women and spitting them out, leaving them as unrecognizable pieces of flesh with missing souls.  Her mother was proof of that.

As gorgeous as Rafe was though, Grace had to admit that there was something unassuming about him.  He didn't seem like the type of guy to flaunt his looks to get what he wanted.  He didn't seem like he wanted to charm her pants off. 

Then again, she'd known him all of twenty minutes.

She realized that being in Rafe's presence had completely taken her mind off her nightmare.  That was a good thing.  Usually the nightmare stuck with her for a couple of hours after waking up from one.  She led the way back into the living room and motioned for him to sit.  He did, in the chair next to the sofa, so she sat on the opposite end of the sofa, to put some space between them.  He relaxed into the chair, crossing one ankle over his knee, resting his hands on the arms of the chair.

"Bree should be home in about an hour, and Nicole will be home soon.  Nicole's the one you have to convince.  The rest of us just want basic consideration from a roommate.  Nic's the one with the extreme expectations."

"Any pointers on how to win her over?"  He threw her another one of his charming grins, and her toes curled.  She put her feet under her rear on the sofa.  She certainly didn't want this guy to know the effect he had on her.

"Um, you don't play any musical instruments, do you?"

"Nope."

"Good.  She told you about the no smoking, no pets, no insomnia, no messes?"

"Yep."  The grin widened at a memory that Grace could only imagine.

"What about drugs?"

"Never.  I don't even drink."  His face turned serious for a minute, then broke back out into another smile.

"Scared of hurricanes?"

"Nope.  I love displays of Mother Nature."

"You're not one of those crazies that like to surf in the storms, are you?"

He laughed, a deep belly laugh that sent the white heat from Grace's belly to her nether regions, making her blush at her reaction.  His voice was like liquid sex, deep and rumbly, and his laugh was even better.  Why was she encouraging him?  She couldn't live with this guy.

After he recovered from his laughing spell, he replied, "Not hardly.  I worked in the ER long enough to see a lot of stupidity.  I'm a bit of a chicken about actually experiencing displays of Mother Nature.  I just like to watch."

The way he said the last part of that made a pressure build between Grace's legs, and she shifted her position.  Wow.  He didn't seem aware of what he was doing to her.  His open face was eager, like a little kid.  Maybe he wouldn't be so bad.  She cleared her throat in an attempt to find her voice again.

"Um, what about cooking?  You said you liked to cook.  Do you cook stuff that smells bad?  Fry everything?  Lots of onions and garlic?  Stuff like that?"

His ever present grin was absolutely heart stopping.  "I do use onions and garlic, for flavor, but I'd like to think that I don't overdo it.  And I rarely fry food.  I prefer to broil, or grill."

"What do you like to do in your spare time?" 

"I like to stay active.  With the beach here, close, I'll probably do some jogging, riding a bike on the Sea Wall, stuff like that.  I'm a bit of a health nut."  He actually looked sheepish at that admission.

At a loss for any other questions to ask him, she stood.  "You want some water?  I'm thirsty."  She walked into the kitchen without waiting for a reply.  She needed to get out from under his influence.  She was having trouble thinking straight around him.

She heard him reply, "Sure," and she poured two glasses as the front door opened, and Nicole walked in.

"What the hell?  You're early."  Grace smiled as she heard the annoyance in Nicole's voice.  She couldn't hear his reply, but she imagined the sheepish grin on his face, and blushed again at the image.

Carrying his glass of water into the living room, she found him standing in front of Nicole, looking at his feet.

"Don't worry, Rafe.  Just remember the bark and bite, and all that."  She tried to sound reassuring, but wasn't sure how it came off.

"Are you calling me a dog?"  Nicole turned her annoyance on Grace, but the smile on her face belied her friend's words.

"If the shoe fits…"  Grace remembered her stench, and grateful that Nicole had come home, she continued.  "I'm gonna grab a shower before Bree gets home.  I'll leave you two."  To Nicole, she flashed a thumbs up, indicating her approval of the man, who had sat back down, grin still on his face.