There was something about her, something that made it both painful and exhilarating to look into her eyes. Something that made him feel vulnerable and strong all at once. What was it? He had to find out.
***
Terence arrived at the shelter an hour after Lacey left him at the Grace Chapel. Shaken by her presence, he had stayed on the steps for a long time.
Hunger burned a hole in his stomach, but dinner had already been served. He had no choice but to hit the sack without food. He was lucky there was still space for one more person. Lilliana, a gruff, spiky-haired, middle-aged woman, gave him an old blanket and a pillow.
“Try not to be late next time or you’ll be spending the night outside,” she warned, wagging a thick finger.
“I’ll remember that.” He threw the blanket over his shoulder. “Is… Lacey awake by any chance? I needed to—”
“What business do you have with Lacey?” Lilliana asked, eyebrows raised.
“Nothing.” He gave her a tight smile and shook his head. “It’s not important. Have a good night.” Terence shoved back his anger. He had to keep it under control. Not everyone was out to get him, he reminded himself, even though it had seemed that way for a long time.
“Go to sleep or I’ll give your spot to someone else.”
Five minutes later, Terence was lying fully clothed on a thin mattress in one of the sleeping halls for male residents. The volunteers slept in a separate hall. Even though Lacey was no longer nearby, her coconut smell clung to his skin. He reveled in it. When he closed his eyes, he felt the heat that had radiated from her body as he’d led her down the street. He thought about the haunted look in her eyes. It reminded him of the one he saw every time he looked in a mirror.
He was no stranger to the pull of passion. Since becoming a free man, he had done his best to make up for lost time. But sex was for more than pleasure. He just used it to fill the hole inside his heart. The feeling of leaving his life behind was always temporary, though, lasting no more than a few minutes. Emptiness always took over again. In the two weeks he’d been fucking around, he hadn’t slept with the same woman more than once. He hadn’t even slept with Lacey and she was getting under his skin, lingering in his memory long after she was gone. He had thought love at first sight was a bunch of bullshit. Was life proving him wrong?
He opened his eyes and watched the darkness. Something dawned on him, and his lips stretched into an involuntary smile. He had it in him after all.
In a few minutes of being with him, Lacey had given him something he never thought he’d have: a purpose. She reminded him that his heart was not completely torn apart. With this realization came a new shot of freedom that made him feel alive but also terrified. What if he hadn’t affected her the same way? Rejection was not something Terence knew how to deal with.
Chapter Three
Lacey
He sat at one of the tables she had scrubbed earlier, eating bread and drinking coffee from an old mug. But he didn’t look like he was enjoying his food. In fact, he seemed oblivious to everything and everyone around him. Well, almost everyone. His sharp blue eyes stared straight at her.
Lacey sat at the volunteers’ table at the front of the hall. She bit into her sandwich and licked a drop of jam from her lips, feeling foolish for staring back at him, but she couldn’t help herself. The dining hall was crowded and loud with the residents arguing over food, making dirty jokes, and laughing. But it all seemed to be happening at a distance as she watched him. She didn’t even know his name, and yet she felt as though she knew him at a deeper level. He was homeless, just like she had been when she’d first stepped through the doors of Oasis two years ago, before she volunteered to help out.
Her knight in shining armor didn’t look like he belonged here. Some of the homeless she met were resigned to their situation, but he looked like someone who was simply stopping by and would soon be gone. Everyone came here with a story, most of them heartbreaking. What was his?
Wherever he came from and whatever he was doing at Oasis, she was glad they had crossed paths. He had been brave enough to stand up to Craig when many people feared him. She had been a fool to fall for a man who treated her like dirt. But then, what did she expect? She had always been a magnet for bad situations.
She stifled a grin as their eyes met again, not looking away this time. His intense eyes, golden-brown hair, and strong jaw hypnotized her. A thread of pleasure trailed down her spine and she coughed as she almost choked on her bread. She smiled straight at him. When he didn’t return her smile, she wiped the grin off her face, finished up her food, and returned to work. There were still mouths to feed and tables to clear. But she needed a moment to pull herself together. After one last glance in his direction, she disappeared into the bathroom, where she splashed her face with water and squeezed her eyes shut. Her temperature rose when he flickered in her mind’s eye. He was doing things to her that no man had done in all her twenty-three years.
The fear of getting too close, feeling too much, kept her at a distance. It was why she had avoided him all of yesterday. The way he had gazed into her eyes that night and asked how she was doing… No one had ever looked at her that way before.
The other female volunteers had noticed him too when he’d walked through the doors of Oasis two weeks ago. He kept to himself, only coming to the shelter to eat and sleep, not mingling with anyone, never saying much more than “thank you.”
He was the kind of man who stood out from a group; he walked with a strong and controlled presence that was hard to ignore. But there was something else about him—a broken core. She had seen it when she looked into his eyes. That brokenness only made him more attractive to her.
The door opened. “So this is where you’ve been hiding?” asked Lilliana, another resident-turned-volunteer. She used to be part of a gang and took all kinds of drugs until a nearly fatal overdose forced her to turn her life around. “A new group of people just walked in. Get your butt out there.”
“I’ll be right out.” Lacey’s cheeks burned as if she had been caught doing something naughty.
A few minutes later, she went to the kitchen, then walked out again carrying a tray laden with peanut butter and jam sandwiches. Her gaze swept the room and her heart plummeted. Her knight in shining armor was nowhere to be seen. Just as well. She needed to focus on work, and he was certainly a distraction. But he didn’t need to be in the room for her to think about him.
After breakfast was over and they had cleared the tables, Lilliana pulled Lacey aside.
“I know who you were searching the room for. You should know your knight in shining armor was asking for you last night. It was so crazy around here this morning that I forgot to tell you.” Lilliana smiled, revealing her missing front teeth, a souvenir from her wild days.
“Stop calling him that,” Lacey said, even though she referred to him the same way inside her head.
“Why?” Lilliana grinned mischievously. “How often does a man rescue a damsel in distress these days?” She shook her head. “Anyway, he was asking about you. Don’t pretend you don’t feel anything.”
The corners of Lacey’s mouth quirked up. “Fine, what did he say?”
“It was more the way he said it. Your name. And the way he looked saying it. There’s no doubt—he’s hot for you.”
Lacey swatted Lilliana on the arm. “I’m sure you imagined it all.”
“Nope. I saw how he was looking at you today.” She pulled up a sleeve of her top, revealing her tattooed forearm. “I asked around. In case you’re interested, and I’m not saying you are, but if you are, this is his name.”
After scanning all the ink on Lilliana’s skin, Lacey saw it. “Terence,” she whispered.
“I have one piece of advice for you. Snatch him up before Doreen jumps him. She’s been drooling like a fool every time he shows up.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. I will talk to him, but only to thank him again for what he did.”
“You do that. Make sure you thank him good and proper. But be careful. He could turn out to be like that ass, Craig. Can’t trust men these days.”
“I think he’s far from that kind of guy,” Lacey said. She walked away with a grin on her face.
Chapter Four
Terence
The dining hall stank of alcohol, cigarettes, and body odor. None of those smells came from Terence. He had always been religious about hygiene at the orphanage and in prison. He wouldn’t make an exception at the homeless shelter. He also didn’t smoke or drink. He hated the taste and feared addiction—to him it was nothing more than allowing a substance to control him.
“Mind if I finish that for ya?”
“Go ahead.”
Gonzalo Murdy, a bushy-bearded man wearing a dirty white cap, reached for Terence’s plate of mashed potatoes and gravy and spooned the food into his mouth without even a “thank you.”
Terence thought about prison, where something like that could get a person beaten up or worse. Inmates guarded their possessions, including their food, to death.
To hell with the food, though. He wasn’t hungry. He didn’t have to rely on Oasis to meet all of his needs. He’d only needed a place to sleep for a few nights until he found a job. He had sworn to himself he would never turn to Marion for help, and he hadn’t.
His plans had changed only slightly; now he was no longer in a rush to leave Oasis.
He moved his gaze from Gonzalo stuffing his face, over the heads of the other residents, also wolfing down their food, fighting, or playing cards at the dining tables, until it landed on Lacey. She was at a table in a corner, below a large painting of Jesus. She was filling empty mugs with water. Instead of her usual plain pants and top, she wore a khaki dress that reached just below her knees. When she moved, his eyes followed her round breasts and ass.
She laughed at something someone said, raising her face upward, offering him a perfect view of her fragile neck and jaw, her hair spilling behind her like a waterfall of honey.
He traced the smooth outline of her body with his gaze and shifted in an attempt to relieve the tension inside his pants. Damn, she did things to him. The very thought of burying his hands into her long hair drove him nuts. He had to talk to her today. He had no idea what he would say, but he knew he had to get close to her again, to find out if the emotion in the glances they sometimes shared were real, if he even had a chance.
She turned and looked straight at him, a hint of a smile still on her face. This time, he smiled back a little. He was getting better at it. She beamed in response. His breath caught. God, she was perfect.
He would get her alone as soon as she completed her duties. But it was taking too damn long. Other men in the dining hall were eyeing her, causing unbridled jealousy to burn inside his throat. He had to fight the urge to beat them up for lusting after his girl.
When she finally left the dining hall and headed for the kitchen, Terence didn’t waste time. He pushed back his chair, scraping it against the floor, and followed her. When he reached the kitchen door, he hesitated. Three other helpers were in there, carrying out various tasks. Lacey was at the sink with her back turned to him.
“This area is for staff only. Need something?” one of the women asked him, her arms crossed in front of her flat chest.
He felt like telling her to back off, but stopped himself. Making a bad impression in front of Lacey would not be a good idea.
“I only need a minute.” Terence pushed past the woman and went over to Lacey. “Can I talk to you for a moment…please?”
The other volunteers turned to stare, probably waiting for Lacey to throw Terence’s ass out of the kitchen.
“Sure.” Lacey turned back to the pots and pans she was scrubbing. “What did you want to talk to me about?” she asked, sliding her long fingers into the soapy water.
Without thinking, Terence slid his own hands into the sink and fished out a pan.
“What are you doing?” she asked, trying to stifle a giggle.
Terence shrugged. “Helping with the washing up.”
“You don’t have to do that.” She averted her gaze. “I…”
“I didn’t ask if you needed help. I want to help you with the washing up. That way you’ll be done sooner and you can go for a walk with me. It’s not a question.”
She giggled. “In that case, I guess I won’t protest. Where are we going?”
“How about Serendipity Lake?” Terence scraped food off another pan.
“That’s a long walk.”
“We’ll drive there first, then walk.” He turned and looked at her. He couldn’t help himself.
She turned as well, and their eyes locked. “Are you sure you won’t take no for an answer?”
“Damn sure.”
She nodded and continued with the washing.
For ten minutes they stood side by side, working silently, Terence breathing in her scent. Being close to her was so dangerous, and yet it felt so good he couldn’t walk away if he wanted to. Occasionally they glanced out the window at the skinny branches of the trees in the yard reaching upward like skeletons.
When everything was washed and put away, Lacey went to get a sweater and followed Terence out the door.
“This is crazy. You might not get a place to sleep when we return,” Lacey said as they walked down the street to his motorbike, which actually belonged to his boss, George.
“Then I’ll sleep outside.” It would be worth it for a few moments alone with her. He gave her his helmet, and helped her onto the bike. When she wrapped her arms around his waist, he almost lost it. But he had to focus. She was not the kind of girl he wanted to rush into things with. Definitely not the kind he wanted to leave behind.
The night air was cool, but Terence was too heated up to feel a thing as they whizzed through the quiet evening. Most businesses in Serendipity closed up early, and most people hit the sack before ten. Terence liked it that way. At this time of night, the lake would be deserted. They’d be all alone.
Chapter Five
Lacey
Once they arrived at the lake, Terence removed a blanket from his backpack and led Lacey to a patch of grass on the shore. They could have sat on one of the benches, but he wanted them to watch the stars together.
She didn’t say anything for a long time. She lay down on her back on the blanket and he did the same. There were only a few lamps in the park, so the stars were clearly visible.
“Thanks again for helping me out the other day,” she said, but didn’t turn to look at him. “I’m sorry for walking away like that. It was rude. I was embarrassed.”
“All is forgiven. Did he come near you again? If you need me to—”
“No, he’s stayed away.”
Terence nodded. “If you don’t mind me asking, what made you choose to work at Oasis?”
“I was homeless once.” She smiled. “Oasis took me in. I felt so at home that I wanted to help others like I had been helped. Most people go there with heartbreaking stories.”
Terence pulled his gaze from the stars and leaned on his elbow, watching her. “What’s yours?”
She turned to look at him as well and bit her lip. “My story?”
“Yep. How did you end up at Oasis in the first place?”
“It’s a long one.” She looked down at the space between them.
“Time is all I have.” He placed a finger under her chin and tipped her face up so she was looking into his eyes. “You can tell me.” He was suddenly overcome with a weird feeling of belonging, as if he and Lacey were already connected.
Lacey drew in a long breath. “When I was ten, my parents treated me and my sister to a beach holiday in Florida. It was a celebration for my father’s promotion.” Her voice broke. “It ended up being my worst nightmare.”
“What happened?” Terence swept a hand across his forehead. He hadn’t noticed he was sweating.
“The day before we were supposed to go back home to Boston, I ran do
wn to the beach to collect seashells. While I was wading, looking at the sand, a giant wave appeared out of nowhere… It crashed down on me, and swept me away.” She pursed her lips and said nothing for a while.
“I’m so, so sorry. I can’t even begin to imagine how that must have been for you.” Terence whispered. The idea of her hurting made it hard for him to breathe.
“It was brutal. I fought the water for a while, but I couldn’t win. So I quit.” Lacey gave a bitter laugh. “That was the moment my old life ended and my new life began.”
“How did you survive?” Terence swiped his hand across his forehead again.
“Apparently I was found on a shore quite a distance from where I almost drowned. I was unconscious and slipped into a coma. No one knew who I was or anything else about me.”
Terence touched a strand of her hair that had fallen over her shoulder and landed between them. She didn’t stop him. “How long were you in the coma for?”
“Long enough for my whole life to change. By the time I woke up and recovered, my father was dead, and my mother had been tracked down here in Serendipity. But… she was a mess.”
“She couldn’t take you back?”
“She was incapable of doing that. She was battling alcoholism and… going through other things.” Lacey massaged the back of her neck. “She couldn’t take on another kid.”
“She refused to take you back? What kind of mother does that?” Terence’s chest tightened. He knew exactly the kind. His own mother had walked out on them when Terence was thirteen and Marion fifteen.
He’d had a feeling that he and Lacey shared something. Now he knew what.
“She was not herself anymore.” Lacey paused. “So I lived in an orphanage when I wasn’t being shipped from one foster home to the next. I waited and waited for my mother to come and see me.”
“Did she?”
Lacey shook her head and a tear slid down her cheek. He brushed it away with a finger.
Cold Deception (His Agenda 4): Prequel to the His Agenda Series Page 2