CHAPTER ONE

BRYAN WRIGHT

He pulled his Ford Explorer into the driveway of his new place, feeling confident he had done the right thing by moving out of his brother’s place. It was time for him to start again. The beach hadn’t exactly been on his radar when he had first thought about moving, but looking at the house in front of him, he was glad he was where he was. Nicola, his quirky grandmother, would have told him that this was one of those moments when life reminded you it was going to take you where you were meant to be. Whatever the fuck that meant.

Either way, he was glad for the change. He knew the days of having to deal with his brothers arguing were behind him. And the cherry on the sundae was the sound of nothing but peace and quiet. And the waves breaking on the shore. Even now, in his car, he could make out the sound.

The only thing that had sucked was, Bryan had just moved his things into the empty room in the house the day before. The place had three. One had been locked and he figured it was Vaughn’s, and the other must have been decorated by a woman. It had small, soft, feminine touches and tons of fucking books. Bryan assumed Vaughn used it as a guest room. Especially since there was a box of tools and what looked like building materials stacked neatly in a corner.

His phone rang and he raised an eyebrow.

“Vaughn?”

“Hey, man, glad I caught you before my flight took off.”

“No problem. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, man, listen, buddy...” The line cut out, and he frowned.

“Vaughn?” Bryan could hardly make out what he was saying, and it seemed Vaughn had no damn clue there was an issue.

“A pipe burst, so Duncan is going to take a room in the house…pshppsshh… forgot to tell you, hope that’s okay.”

“How long till it gets fixed?” he asked, his free hand running through his dark hair. What if his guy was a total dick?

“Two weeks, tops.”

“Whoa, man…”

“Don’t worry, B…. pssh pshhh… Duncan is a buddy of mine. We go way back. Like I said, no one I trust more.”

“Okay, I guess.” What other choice do I have?

“Cool.” The static started up again as Vaughn spoke, and Bryan stepped out of his SUV. “Works at the hospital…” Now the static made it even harder to hear.

“Vaughn, man, you keep cutting out.”

“Don’t worry, Duncan’s cool as shit and …”

“Hello?” Shit. He looked at his own phone and saw he had crap reception. “Vaughn?”

“Heads up, though…hosts hot girls…” Hot girls? Maybe this Duncan guy won’t be so bad?

“Man, I can’t hear shit,” he told Vaughn, but apparently, his own voice wasn’t getting through to the other side.

“Damn, my flight just got called. I gotta go. Be nice, man… kid’s kinda reserved but great people.”

Great. Does reserved mean a total nerd? Or worse, a hipster?

“Bye, bud. Safe travels.” He closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose.

What did I get myself into?

He looked at the house and took a deep breath. It was fine. He was going to ignore the way his gut was yelling at him. He should have looked into Vaughn and this Duncan guy but hadn’t. What kind of cop was he, not doing his due diligence? But he was going to ignore it. It was time to move forward. One leg in front of the other as he unstuck himself of his past and what he had wanted out of life.

Opening the door of the darkened house, he almost wanted to laugh. Shit, it was better than the headache he got looking at the place. The pictures Vaughn had sent were of the good spots of the house. Not that it was a ramshackle. It just looked like it was somewhat under construction. He would have never pegged Vaughn as a do-it-yourselfer, but then again, it had been years since they’d been friends in college. People changed. Didn’t they?

Stretching, he went straight to the newly redone shower in his room and then to bed. He had the next three days off and planned on not doing a single fucking thing other than sit under the sun and listen to the waves from his new backyard.

VALERIE DUNCAN

Water ran down my body, and I leaned my forearms onto the wall as water pounded my back, washing the tension down the drain. Steam surrounded me, and I was glad I had talked Vaughn into the tankless water heater. The water pressure was perfect. So much better than the couple of droplets that used to sprinkle out not even three weeks ago. The hot water soothed my aching muscles. Running around all day at the hospital the last three days did a number on your body. Or had it been four? God, I needed some time off. My days were bleeding into one another.

Shutting off the water, I rung the excess water out of my dirty blond hair with my hands, then wrapped myself up with my towel. Walking out of the bathroom without a glance at what I looked like, I noticed Vaughn’s bedroom door still shut.

The big guy was sleeping in. Not unusual for him on a Saturday. Or is it Sunday? Ugh, all these double shifts and overtime were completely screwing with my sense of time.

Sneaking into the kitchen, I started the coffee. While the magical machine percolated, brewing the only thing that was going to get me going today, I stood by the bay window, holding my towel with both hands. The waves were great today, the water looked bluer than usual, and I wished I’d be able to head out. The idea of sprawling out on a soft towel on the warm sand with a sexy book to read sounded like heaven. One more day and I’d have two whole days off. I couldn’t wait.

“Fuck,” a deep voice rumbled, making me turn. My tongue was suddenly too big for my own mouth at the sight before me.

“Holy cheese sticks!” I whispered to myself and felt the smirk on his face like a touch on my skin. It made me stand up straighter and blink. How can I feel that? I wondered. A shiver ran down my neck to the base of my spine with the way the more than sexy stranger stared at me.

Vaughn brought back a guy to the house? This was new. And really against our house rules. “Ummm, who are you?”

“Holy cheese sticks?” He raised an eyebrow, repeating my stupid words. “Vaughn warned me about Duncan and the hot chicks,” he weirdly said, and I couldn’t help but frown.

“What?” I asked, confused about what he’d said, almost like he was talking to himself.

“Baby, you shouldn’t be walking around like that. I don’t know your man, but if you were mine, I wouldn’t let you walk around in almost nothing.”

Baby?

My man?

Let me?

Who the hell does this guy think he is?

“Unless you guys are just casual, in which case”—he crossed his arms over his muscly bare chest, his arms becoming more pronounced, and I felt myself blush at the sight. Damn it—“I can pass you my number. I got a couple of days off, and I have a feeling you and I could have a lot of fun, Blondie.”

“Blondie?” I finally found my voice, and he tilted his head, drinking me in like a frozen lemonade in the middle of the desert.

“Yeah. Your hair…” he started to explain, but something about him irritated me.

“Original. Thanks.” I rolled my eyes, walking closer, right to the coffee machine, not at all intimidated by him.

Vaughn was open about his sexual preferences and how he didn’t have one. He was bisexual and didn’t care what people thought about him. I didn’t care, but we were going to have words. His ‘date’ was starting to more than annoy me. “Look, I don’t know what bisexual-gay bar Vaughn fished you out of—”

“What?” the very tall, sexy shirtless guy asked with a semi-surprised look on his face. Almost like he was shocked by my words, but I couldn’t get myself to care. I was too tired to care about anything and was definitely not looking forward to the day that lay ahead of me if this guy was a premonition of things to come.

“And I couldn’t care less. I really couldn’t. What you do is your own business, and in the words on Lin Manuel Miranda, love is love is love.”

“Vaughn’s gay?” he asked, surprise clear in his voice as he leaned against the counter next to the coffee machine, and I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Did you think your masculine sexiness turned him to play for the other team last night?” I asked, and he coughed back a laugh.

“You think my masculinity is sexy?” he asked, and I rolled my eyes, about to look away.

It was too early for this. I needed coffee. Coffee would help me get through one more day of this long, pathetic work week.

“Look, all I’m saying is that I don’t think your man Duncan would like you walking around half naked showing your…goodies to everyone.”

“Goodies?” Wow. This guy was something else.

“And FYI, I’m not gay.”

“Right.” I rolled my eyes. I wanted to laugh. “You’re not gay? Yet you called my boobs ‘goodies’,” I remarked, pressing them up, and his eyes shot to my more than ample cleavage. I wasn’t wearing my glasses or contacts, but I almost thought I saw his stare darken. It made my skin warm up slightly, which was weird. I was never affected like that. “Anyhow, you know what they say, the truth sets you free. Lying to yourself is the worst thing you can—”

“I’m not gay,” he repeated.

“Okay, handsome, whatever helps you sleep at—”

“If you want, I’ll prove to you how not gay I am, Blondie.”

“Oh, and how is that? By making me scream your name out all night long?” I asked, raising an eyebrow, giving him a lot more attitude than I ever gave anyone. Something about this guy worked me up.

Too bad he is gay.

“And then some,” he whispered, his eyes still on my cleavage.

Shaking my head, I stepped in closer. The hot guy was a tease. I placed my mug on the counter, but he didn’t move. Ass. I filled my mug, trying to ignore how my body was reacting around him, my free hand tightening over the towel, and I breathed in.

Big. Damn. Mistake. He smelled good. Like really, really good.

“Original,” I sassed looking from the mug, and from close up, I took notice of his eyes. They were the most beautiful pair of eyes I’d ever looked into.

Not wearing my glasses or contacts, I’d seen him as a blurry-ish sight from afar, but I still knew he was a better-than-normal-looking guy when he’d walked in. But close up, holy crap, Vaughn had hit the man-candy jackpot with this guy last night; and for a moment, staring into his eyes, I was sad he was gay. Not that I would ever have a chance with a guy like him if he were straight. Not in my wildest dreams would I have a chance.

I was too much of a ‘quiet one’ for him. No way in hell a guy like him would ever be interested in me. He’d date the tiny, delicate woman who was all bubbly and like rays of sunshine. Or the feisty ones who were social butterflies. He would be with someone who stood out and shined.

I didn’t. Not even close.

I was average and probably below that. It never bothered me. If I was honest, most of the time I embraced it. Letting it help me blend into the background of the world around me. But standing in front of him, I almost wished that for once in my life, I could stand out.

“Duncan’s probably looking for you.” The hoarse tone of his voice snapped me out of my thoughts, and I frowned.

“I’m Duncan.”

“What?” He scowled further.

“I’m Duncan.”

“No. Duncan is a guy.” The hot guy stood straighter, which only made him taller and his shoulders seem a mile-and-half wide instead of a measly mile.

“No.” I cleared my way-too-raspy voice, trying to act like I wasn’t affected by Mr. Sexy Jerk Face. “Duncan is my last name,” I blabbed.

“Wait, what?” He stepped away, and I missed the gentle heat his body seemed to naturally give off.

“You slept with a guy named Duncan, and your last name is Duncan?”

“No. I slept with myself. What’s wrong with you? Are you still hungover from last night? Is that why Vaughn brought you home?”

“Vaughn’s not here.”

“What?” My face scrunched up. Why would Vaughn leave his date behind?

“He’s outta town,” he shared, and my stomach did a nose dive.

“What do you mean, he’s outta town?” I asked, the hairs on the back of my neck starting to stand.

“I’m subletting the place.” Four words, and my world shifted, making the foundation of it crack.

“What?” I whispered.

“Look, honey, keep up. I’m subletting the house from Vaughn. He’s going to be outta town for a while.”

“Umm… no. He would have told me that, since I’m his roommate,” I shared, suddenly feeling more naked than I actually was.

“Since when?”

“Since Vaughn got the freakin’ place!” I shared tersely, and he squinted at me.

“You mean out in the guesthouse?”

“Guesthouse?” I asked, completely flabbergasted. Freaking Vaughn. Damn it! Damn him! Argh!

“Yeah, he said he had a renter—“

“That’s a garage, you idiot!” I shouted probably a little too loudly, my hands tightening around my towel.

“Guess some shit never changes,” he muttered ominously.

I watched his hands run through his short hair. It looked soft and silky, and for the first time in my twenty-eight years, my hands itched to touch a man. Not just any man. The one standing in front of me who was a big ole jerk. And if what he was saying was true, the big ole jerk was my new roommate.

Freaking Vaughn!

“I have to get dressed,” I whispered to myself, suddenly realizing my true state of undress in front of not only a complete stranger but my new roommate.

“I get that, Blondie, but we need to talk.”

“Once I’m wearing more than a towel, handsome, we can do that. But right now, you will have to excuse…” I started to walk out of the kitchen, but being me, I almost tripped over my own two feet.

Visions of crashing face first onto the hardwood floors flashed through my mind right before two big, strong, and oddly warm arms caught me. Pulling me back from falling, pressing me tightly in a snug hold that felt vaguely familiar.

Like some kind of déjà vu-like moment.

“Shit! You okay?” his gruff voice whispered into my ear. Light brown scruff, a lot lighter than his hair, tickled my ear. That sensation mixed with the gruff tone of his sexy voice, my nipples and what felt like every nerve ending in my body went on high alert.

“Blondie, are you okay?” he asked again, but this time his voice was a low whisper, and I melted further into the comforting heat of his body. I liked it there. The hospital I worked at was always too cold. Too sterile. And his body! God, his body was like this behemoth rock of molten lava and so damn virile.

“I’m…” I swallowed hard, my eyes closed, taking in a deep breath. Even though he’d obviously just woken up, he smelled good. Really damn good. One hand still around my waist, he raised his other; his manly fingers skimmed my bare arm, and goose bumps flared up on my skin, shooting zings to my lady bits.

“Baby, you need to tell me if you’re…” He stopped talking when he turned me around. Up close, his eyes…God, his eyes were a slate blue. The perfect mixture of grey and blue. My nipples hardened and rubbed deliciously against the terry cloth of the towel. The mix of that and being in his arms was quickly making me weak in the knees.

“I… I’m fi-fine,” I stuttered, my eyes roaming down to his lips. I’d never thought a man could have luscious lips, but he did. I’d never wanted bite someone, but looking at those lips, the bottom one made me want to lick and nip and nibble.

What’s wrong with me?

“You shouldn’t look at me like that.” He finally broke the silence that had fallen between us with a hushed, deep tone that felt like velvet, his breath tickling my lips.

“Like what?” I asked, knowing very well what he meant.

“You know exactly like what, Blondie.”

“That’s not my name.” I frowned, reminding myself of what a jerk he could be.

“I’m sure as hell not going to call you Duncan while you’re warm and”—I watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed, feeling his eyes rake over my shoulders—“almost naked beneath my hands.”

“Val,” I shared, feeling like I was under a spell of some sort, letting myself get lost in the warmth of his body and the grey-blue of his eyes as he stared right back at me. Making me feel more exposed than I already was. He made me feel… seen.

“What?” he asked, almost like he was in the same foggy bubble I found myself in.

“Val. I mean, everyone usually calls me Val or Duncan. But it’s Valerie Duncan. That’s umm… my name,” I rambled nervously, my cheeks warming up. I could only imagine the embarrassingly shade of red I was.

“Valerie?” he whispered in that sexy, hushed tone of his, and I couldn’t help but lick my lips.

One of my hands lay over his chest, while my free one moved of its own accord. My fingertips slowly traced the side of his muscular torso. The tips of my fingers burned to memorize it. Emboss the feel of his body and the sound of his voice saying my name to memory. Which only made me melt further into his embrace.

“Yeah.”

“That’s pretty,” he mumbled to himself, and my eyes went to his lips. “Valerie,” he repeated. A soft gasp escaped my lips when his hands roamed higher, touching the bare skin of the back of my shoulder. “So soft,” he mumbled almost to himself again.

My eyes fluttered shut as his face moved in closer to me. I could feel his lips hovering over mine, his breath minty and warm. I was about to close into the last centimeter between us when a loud knock came at the door, making us both jump.

I looked toward the door, holding on to the towel at my chest with a death grip. My heart was racing in my chest. I almost kissed him! I didn’t do things like that!

“Fuck it,” he growled, once again taking me by surprise, pulling me close.

His lips landed on mine, and in the shock of it, I opened for him. Sure, that’s why I opened my mouth and peeked my tongue out looking for his. Heat quickly coursed through my body, making me feel so many different things. But the one that stood out was alive. I’d never felt that alive. Ever. I couldn’t help but moan as his hands wrapped around me.

I wasn’t small by any means. Big hips and ass, decent size in the chest area, I was pear shaped. But the way his warm, strong arms wrapped around me made me feel like Tinkerbell. Tiny and safe. His teeth skimmed my bottom lip, but before I could return the favor, he pulled away.

Dazed and really turned on, I looked at him. When I opened my mouth to ask why he’d stopped, a louder knock came at the door and he ran his fingers through his hair.

“Go get dressed,” he ordered, his tone pissed. I took advantage of being this close to him. My vision clearer, I let my eyes skim down his body, trying not to whimper at the obvious and impressive tenting in the front of his gym shorts. “Get dressed, Duncan.” His tone was almost angry, making me look at him and roll my eyes.

“Screw you….” And that’s when I realized I didn’t know his name. I’d kissed him and would have done a lot more than that if he hadn’t stopped us. All without knowing his damn name. What the hell was my problem?

As if realizing it, he gave me a smirk that only added to his hotness. It added to the bad boy confident air that seemed to cling to him. And all I could think about was wanting to see if he really was that good at whatever he thought he was good at that made him give that air about him.

“Soon.” He winked, and I rolled my eyes.

“In your dreams, handsome,” I muttered over my shoulder as I stomped out of the kitchen and right to my bedroom.