Bedroom Secrets

Sleep on the street in a box somewhere in the freezing cold, or in a warm house? Wow. That was a tough one. She took the key from her pocket and started up the cement walk to the front door.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she’d slipped the key into the lock, turned the knob, opened the door and stepped inside.

The room smelled of latex paint and new carpet and the air was chilly. With the blinds closed, it was dark, so she felt along the wall where she thought the light switches might be until she found one. She blinked against the sudden bright light and looked around. Beige walls, beige carpet. Small, but cute. It was so clean, she wondered what it was she was expected to do. But when she looked more closely she noticed the blinds were coated with a thick layer of greasy dust. She suspected the windows could use a good polishing.

No problem.

An archway to the right led into a tiny kitchen and nook. In the corner sat all the supplies she would need. Cleaning solvents, buckets, rolls of paper towels and scrub brushes.

The floor in here definitely needed a thorough scrubbing and a coat of wax. The stove was crusted with baked-on food and grease. She pulled the fridge open and the rank odor seeping out nearly singed the skin off her face. Eew!

She slammed the door shut. That would need a major disinfecting and some serious airing-out.

Her bladder full to bursting, she decided her next stop would be the bathroom. She found it down the hall, next to two small bedrooms. Thank goodness, someone had left toilet paper on the roll and a bar of soap by the sink. But the room reeked of mildew. She pulled back the shower curtain and immediately realized why. Halfway up the tile wall the grout was black with it. She definitely had her work cut out for her. But she hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d told Ty she liked cleaning. As cooking and caring for her aunt had, it gave her tremendous satisfaction.

Her cousin Ray had wanted her to take care of him, too. In an altogether different way, she thought with a shudder of disgust. She wondered how long he’d spent sprawled and unconscious on the kitchen floor. And what his reaction had been when he’d realized she was gone. The memory of his meaty hands groping her, his rank breath on her face, turned her stomach.

That was all behind her now. She would find her father and start a new life somewhere. Maybe right here in Chapel.

She found the thermostat and cranked the heat up to a balmy seventy-five degrees. By the time she finished showering it was warm enough in the house to walk around in only a T-shirt. She threw what few clothes she had in the washing machine in the basement and settled into one of the bedrooms. She shut the light off and, using her backpack as a pillow, stretched out on the carpet. Her entire body sighed with fatigue. She couldn’t have lain there for more than five minutes before she was sound asleep.

Until she heard something.

She bolted upright, heart pounding, disoriented in the dark. She wasn’t even sure what had woken her, but she knew something wasn’t right. After years of caring for her elderly aunt, she’d trained herself to sleep lightly, to wake at the slightest hint of trouble, the faintest sound. She groped for the watch hooked on her backpack and lit the tiny face. Almost midnight. Then she heard it again. Footsteps.

Someone was in the house.

For a second she was frozen with fear, then instinct snapped in and she scrambled up, grabbed her backpack and headed for the closet. She pulled the door closed and it shut with a loud snap. She cursed silently, hoping the intruder hadn’t heard. It wouldn’t take them long to realize the house was empty and there was nothing to steal. Unless stealing wasn’t what they had in mind. Maybe someone had seen her enter earlier and knew she was here alone and defenseless. Had she even locked the door before she’d fallen asleep?

Heart sinking, hands trembling, she dug through the pack for her pepper spray. She closed her fingers around the small canister and flattened herself against the back wall. Through the cracks around the door, she could see the light come on and her heart seized, then restarted triple-time. She stood frozen with fear, finger on the trigger, ready to fire. The footsteps were closer, and a shadow fell over the door, then the door swung open—

Tina closed her eyes tight and shoved her finger down on the trigger, letting the pepper spray rip.

“Son of a—!”

Uh-oh. She recognized that voice.

She opened her eyes and the pepper spray dropped from her hand.

Spitting out a stream of curses, Tyler Douglas stood in the middle of the room wrestling a black leather jacket off his arms. He flung it to the carpet and clawed at his shirt. Buttons flew in all directions as he ripped it open and tore it off. The skin underneath was beet-red. That’s when she realized she must have sprayed him not in the face, but in the chest. Not surprising, considering he was at least a foot taller than her and she’d never thought to aim up.

“Damn, that burns,” he groaned.

She could see he was in agony, and snapped out of her shocked state when she saw him lifting his hands to his eyes. “Don’t touch your face! It’s pepper spray.”

“Pepper spray? What the hell—”

“The bathroom,” she said, leaping from the closet and grabbing his arm. “We have to wash it off you!”

She dragged him down the hall to the bathroom. Flinging back the shower curtain, she turned the cold water on full-blast and shoved him under it—clothes and all.

Ty gasped as the icy water nailed him in the chest, but at least it eased the burning sensation on his skin and the constricting ache in his lungs. His eyes were beginning to burn so he stuck his face under, too, filling his mouth with water and spitting it back out. He’d never been sprayed before, but he knew the logical thing to do was to wash as much of it off as possible.

When he looked out at Tina, she was staring at her hands, eyes wide, the color leached from her face. “It burns.”

Aw, hell. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the tub with him. When the first blast of cold water hit her she squealed and tried to break free, but he held on. He hugged her against his chest, tucking her head snugly under his chin. “Hold still.”

“Cold,” she gasped.

No kidding. He was soaked to the bone and shivering, but it sure as hell beat that agonizing burn. If he wasn’t so concerned about her welfare, he’d be ripping her a new one right now.

She stopped struggling and went very still in his arms. A moment later she said softly, “I feel better. You think maybe you could, um, let me go now?”

He looked down and realized his hand was cupped over her generous left breast. He abruptly let go and backed away from her. How in the hell had he gone from not being able to be in the same room with Tina, to groping her in the shower?

Excruciating pain maybe?

She bent over and shut the water off, then turned to face him. Her dark hair hung in damp ringlets around her face. Her T-shirt was dripping and hung heavy against her full breasts, outlining everything down to the finest detail, and considering the frigid water temperature, there was a lot of detail. And hey, she wasn’t wearing pants. Could this get any better?

At least she was wearing panties—skimpy pink panties with what looked like kittens on them. Jesus.

She looked damned appealing standing there. So why wasn’t his heart racing? Why wasn’t he sweating and short of breath?

Because he was blood-boiling, spitting mad, he realized. Despite the fact that he had a near-naked, soaking-wet, sexy-as-hell woman less than three feet away, this was the least arousing situation he’d been in his whole damned life.

Hallelujah, he was cured.

“I am so sorry,” she said, her lower lip trembling. It could have been from the cold, or fear. Frankly he didn’t care which.

He wiped away the water that was leaking off his hair and dripping into his eyes. “Is that so?”

“I can explain everything.”

“Good. Explain to me what the hell you’re doing in my house.”

Three

“C-could I dry off f-first?” Tina asked, her voice quivering. Not only were her lips trembling, they were turning blue.

“Yeah, sorry.” Ty stepped out of the tub, his tennis shoes squishing on the tile. He was pretty cold himself. But when he looked around for something to dry off with, he remembered the house was empty. There were no towels.

Great.

“P-paper towels in the kitchen,” she said, hugging herself.

Better than nothing.

His shoes making a loud sucking noise against his feet, he walked out to the kitchen and grabbed two rolls. Back in the bathroom he ripped one package open and tossed it to her, then opened the other for himself.

He pulled a handful of towels loose and dried his chest and arms. “Where are your clothes?” he asked.

She bit her lip. “In the washing machine.”

He closed his eyes and cursed under his breath. “Tell me they’re not wet.”

“They’re wet. I was going to put them in the dryer but I forgot.”

“Wonderful. You don’t have anything that’s dry?”

She shook her head.

“I have a gym bag in my truck. There’s probably something in there you could wear. While I’m getting it, do me a favor and put your clothes in the dryer. Okay?”

She nodded.

He left her in the bathroom and trudged out the front door, bare-chested and soaking wet, into the near-freezing air. When he’d driven past on his way home and seen the kitchen light blazing, he’d figured the painters or carpet installers had left it on. Never had he expected to find Tina hiding in the bedroom closet.

And he really hadn’t expected to be blasted with pepper spray.

He grabbed his gym bag off the front seat of his truck and jogged back up to the house. No way was he getting her out of here without dry clothes on. It was far too cold. She’d end up with pneumonia.

When he stepped back inside she was just emerging from the basement. He dropped the bag on the floor and dug through it until he found what he was looking for.

“I turned the heat up,” she said.

He handed her a T-shirt and drawstring running shorts. “Put these on.”

Tina looked at the clothes he’d handed her, then back at him. He was just as wet as she was, and that soaked denim couldn’t have been very comfortable. “What about you?”

“Boxers,” he said, holding up a plaid pair. Her surprise must have shown because he narrowed his eyes at her and said, “Is that a problem?”

“Nope.” She was just grateful he hadn’t tossed her out on her ear. Although, she was sure that was next. No way he would let her keep her job now.

And who was she to complain if he wanted to walk around in his underwear? She’d imagined what he might look like without his clothes on. How could she not? She’d just never thought she would ever see him that way. And so far she wasn’t disappointed. She could swear his shoulders were about a yard wide, and his pecs were downright enormous. He was big all over, but not an ounce of him appeared to be fat.

“I’m going to go downstairs and change and throw my pants in the dryer, then we’re going to have a talk about your future employment.”

In other words, there would be no future employment. She nodded and he disappeared down the stairs.

How had she managed to screw things up so badly? She could try crying again, but she doubted even that would work. Besides, she’d never been the type who could whip up fake tears on cue.

She locked herself in the bathroom and peeled off her wet clothes. The things Ty had given her were way too big, but they were dry and would keep her modestly covered until her clothes were out of the dryer.

She still couldn’t believe they’d stood in the shower together, semi-naked, and he’d had his hand on her breast. With the exception of her gynecological exam last year, she hadn’t been touched there since the summer before her senior year of high school, when she’d gone parking with Joe DeCaussin. He’d wanted to go farther, but she wouldn’t let him. She’d told him, next time, not knowing there wouldn’t be a next time.

Aunt Louise had had her second stroke the very next day, effectively putting an end to Tina’s social life.

Of course there was cousin Ray. He’d touched her breast, but that didn’t count since it had been revolting and against her will.

But Ty’s hand had felt really nice resting there, after her hands and eyes had stopped burning.

She hung her wet T-shirt over the curtain rod to dry and used paper towels to mop up the puddles of water on the floor.

She noticed the mildew again and wondered if there was bleach with the cleaning supplies in the kitchen. Then she remembered it wasn’t her problem to deal with any longer. She was once again out of a job and homeless with no one to turn to for help. She should have been scared to death, but for some reason she just felt numb. Maybe she could curl up, go to sleep and when she woke, everything would be okay again.

She heard Ty’s heavy footsteps on the basement stairs and, knowing she should just get this over with, opened the bathroom door and walked out into the living room where he was—oh boy—wearing nothing but boxer shorts. His legs were thick with corded muscle and covered with sandy-colored hair. She’d never seen a man this naked this close up before.

“They fit okay?” Ty asked, gesturing to the clothes he’d given her.

“Yes, thank you.”

“You may as well get comfortable,” he said.

He sat on the carpet, his back against the wall, so she sat a few feet away against the adjacent wall, tucking her knees up under her chin.

“So,” he said, “why did you feel it was necessary to douse me with pepper spray?” He said it so calmly, when he must have been furious with her.

“I didn’t know it was you. I thought it was an intruder.”

“I own the house. You were the intruder.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”

“Which brings me to my next question. What were you doing half-naked in my house in the first place? And don’t tell me cleaning.”

“I was sleeping. I needed a place to stay.”

Anger leaked into his voice. “So you never really wanted the job? You just needed a place to crash?”

“No! I did need the job. I do need it.”

“You said you know Mae. Was that a lie, too?”

“Of course not! I met her at the diner. She gave me your business card when—” she paused, still humiliated by the experience.

“When what?”

“When I couldn’t pay my bill. I forgot about the sales tax and was twenty cents short. She took me into her office and I thought she was going to call the police.”

“The police? For twenty cents? You’re not from around here are you?”

She shook her head. “Instead she brought me a hamburger and gave me your card.”

“Mae has a big heart.”

She nodded again, emotion catching in her throat.

He cringed. “You’re not going to cry again, are you?”

She swallowed hard and shook her head.

“I’m going to ask you a question and I want an honest answer, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Did you run away from home?”

“Sort of, I guess.”

He sighed and dragged a hand across his face. “Then we need to call your parents. They’re probably worried sick about you.”

He thought she was a teenage runaway? She nearly laughed. Did she really look that young? “Sorry, but that’s impossible.”

“No matter how bad things are, running away isn’t the answer. And I can get in a lot of trouble letting you stay here.”

“I doubt that.” At least not for the reason he was thinking. Harboring a fugitive maybe.

“I’m sure you’ve heard of statutory rape. I’m twenty-eight years old, and you’re what? Sixteen, seventeen?”

“Twenty-one.”

He lifted a skeptical brow. “Uh-huh. Sure you are.”

“Seriously, I am. My driver’s license is in my backpack in the bedroom closet. Go get it if you don’t believe me.”

He made no move to get up. “If you’re twenty-one, why did you run away from home?”

“I didn’t have a choice. It wasn’t my home anymore. My aunt died and my cousin…kicked me out. I have no money, no home and no family. And no, that’s not a sob story to make you feel sorry for me. It just is what it is.”

He was quiet for a minute, then he said, “What about your parents?”

“My mother died a long time ago and I never knew my father. I’ve been trying to find him, and I traced him to Chapel. That’s why I’m here.”

“But you don’t have any money?”

She shook her head, because it was too humiliating to say out loud.

“And how long ago did your cousin kick you out?”

“Five days. I figured I would have found my father by now and he could help me. But all I’ve found are a bunch of dead ends.”

“Why should I believe anything you say?”

“I guess you don’t have to. But if you have any compassion at all you won’t fire me. I need to pay Mae back and find my father. I need the job.”

He sighed again, rubbing his red-rimmed eyes. “I should boot you out on your behind, but for some reason I actually believe you, so I’ll let you keep the job. But only if you promise to be nice to me from now on.”

She froze and bile crept up her throat. No way. This couldn’t be happening to her again. And to think she’d trusted him. Would he try to force himself on her like Ray had, or did he just expect her to lie back and let it happen?

When she sprayed him earlier she should have run. She should have gotten out when she could. And now here they were, her in his clothes and him in his underwear. Why hadn’t she seen this coming? How could she be so foolish?

Ty leaned forward, as if he was going to get up, and Tina scrambled to the corner of the room, as far from him as she could get. “Don’t touch me!”

He looked up, surprised. “What?”

“I’ll leave as soon as my clothes are dry, just stay away from me.”

“Tina, what are you talking about? I said you could have the job.”

“I don’t care how bad I need it. I’m not having sex with you.”

He blinked, looking impossibly confused. “When did I ask you to have sex with me?”

She frowned. Why did he not seem to know what the heck she was talking about? “You said I had to be nice to you. I thought…”

“I meant nice like, you won’t attack me with your pepper spray again. Why would you think sex would be part of the bargain? I mean, besides the obvious, that I’m sitting here in my skivvies and I accidentally grabbed your breast in the shower?”

She didn’t answer. She couldn’t. It was too humiliating. And she didn’t even have to, he figured it out all by himself.

He cursed and shook his head. “Who was it? Don’t tell me your cousin.”

“He’s a cousin by marriage. Not blood.”

He tossed his hands up. “Well, that makes it so much less perverse.”

“I should have seen it coming,” she said. “He always was kind of creepy.”

Ty said firmly, “Don’t you dare tell me it was your fault. No one should have to see something like that coming. What were you doing living with a guy like that anyway?”

“I wasn’t living with him. It was my aunt’s house. My cousin Ray told me I would get the house and half my aunt’s money when she passed away.”

“But you didn’t,” Ty said. It was stated as a fact, not a question.

“It was all a lie. He never intended to give me a dime. But at least I had a roof over my head and food on the table. Then I found out that came with a condition.”

“What kind of condition?”

“I had to be ‘nice’ to him.”

“Sick bastard.” Ty tunneled his fingers through his damp hair. He’d figured when she showed up in his office that she was pretty desperate for a job. He just hadn’t realized how desperate.

And it occurred to him suddenly that he’d been sitting in the same room with her for a while now, in his underwear no less, and he hadn’t once felt even a hint of anxiety. He still found her attractive, but he was feeling this brotherly protectiveness toward her that overshadowed any romantic feelings. “So, you think your father is here in Chapel?”

“I hope so.”

“This is a pretty small city. Maybe I would recognize his name.”

“Martin Lopez?”

“Doesn’t sound familiar to me, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t live here. I’ve got a P.I. I use for background checks. I could have him look into it.”

Her eyes lit for a second, then the hope fizzled away. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t have money for that.”

“I didn’t ask you for money.”

“I can’t take charity from you.”

“You were planning on staying in my house tonight, weren’t you?”

“That’s different. You were going to pay me to clean it. And it was that or sleep on the street.”

“And what about tomorrow night and the next?”

“I was going to get a motel room.”

“There’s only one motel in walking distance and it’s not exactly cheap.”

She chewed on her lip. “I’ll figure something out. Maybe I can find a shelter.”

“Not in Chapel. This is a small city. We don’t have the funding for that—or the need.”

She began to wring her hands together and he could tell she was on the verge of panic.

“Tell you what,” he said. “You can come home with me.”

“With you?” she said warily.

If someone had told him yesterday that he would make her an offer like that he’d have laughed at them, but was it really such a bad idea? He could be in the same room with her and not hyperventilate. Maybe they could spend some time together and in doing so he could work through this anxiety thing. Maybe this was exactly what he needed.

Not only that, but he liked her. And admired her bravery. The women he dated wouldn’t last an hour on the street. This girl—woman—was tough. But soft and sweet around the edges.

“I have a vacant flat above my garage. You can stay there as long as you need to.”

She looked as if she was seriously considering it for a second, then shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. I have no way to pay you.”

“So you’ll pay me later, when you have money.”

“Suppose I never have enough money? What then? I couldn’t take advantage of your hospitality. Unless…”

“Unless what?”

She shook her head. “Forget it. It’s a dumb idea.”

“Tell me.”

“I was thinking, maybe if you needed a cook…”

He leaned forward. “You can cook?”

She gave him an indignant look. “I’m half Italian. Of course I can cook.”

The only thing Ty enjoyed more than a beautiful woman was a home-cooked meal. Unfortunately, he hated cooking and the food his mother prepared typically had the flavor and consistency of cardboard. “What are we talking here? Just dinner, or do I get breakfast, too?”

“Do you want breakfast?”

“Hell, yeah. I’d say breakfast and dinner every day are definitely worth a month’s rent. To be fair, I should probably give you the house and I’ll take the flat.”

“Oh.” A shy smile curved her mouth. “The flat is fine. I don’t take up much space.”

“Okay, but I’m definitely getting the better end of the deal.”

“And I still get to keep the cleaning job?”

“Absolutely.”

“You’re not going to change your mind in a month and tell me I have to sleep with you?”

That’s the one thing he could offer without a hint of hesitation. “I am not going to ask you to sleep with me.”

She gave him a scrutinizing look. “You promise?”

“Yes, Tina DeLuca, I promise.”

Four

Ty smelled fresh coffee.

He rolled over in bed, peering with one eye at the clock. It wasn’t unlike his mother to pop over unannounced and cook for him, but at seven-thirty in the morning?

He stretched and scratched his chest, wincing as the tender skin smarted under the scrape of his nails, and he remembered the fiasco last night. Then he smelled something cooking, something mouthwateringly wonderful, and realized that it definitely wasn’t his mother in his kitchen.