Who is Erebus: Bad Boy meets Good Girl romance (Bad Boys & Good Men Book 4) Read online

  Perfect.

  The town, the house, the location was perfect. He needed a project and the photos didn’t hide the amount of time, work or money the house needed to be turned into a home, again. His home.

  He wanted a place to settle down and move away from what his life had become. All he needed was to find this Felicity, beg her forgiveness and convince her to sell him the house for a price he could afford.

  “Mr E,” a soft voice appeared from the side of the house as he walked up to the front verandah. A vision of dark brown hair, light blue eyes greeted him professionally but with distain. As he approached to shake her hand, he took in her simple long dress, the skirt flapping in the sea breeze. Either she wasn’t a typical realter or perhaps the owner? “I’m glad to welcome you to our town. have you been here before?”

  Instead of shaking her hand, he held it a little longer. Capturing her eyes, he pleaded “I’m so terribly sorry for being late – it’s completely my fault for not looking up a map so I knew where I was going.” Turning up the charm, he offered her the flowers, noticing her surprise and awkwardness in how to respond. He smiled to himself, the perfect gift.

  “Felicity, is it, the good part of being lost is I’ve had a lot of time looking around the area, and this town,” she rewarded his humility with a shy smile. “The whole area, this town is beautiful. Have you always lived here?”

  “All my life, and my parents as well. You’ll find we have a strong mix of third and fourth generations and some city blow-ins.” A beautiful woman without guile – oblivious to how cutting her words sounded yet he knew she said them without malice.

  “I have no idea whether I’m going to be a ‘blow-in’ or move here, but I’m at least interested in looking at the house if you are still willing to show it to me.” Tired and frustrated with being late, his words delivered harsher than he intended. But they had the desired effect.

  Erebus followed her through the house, noting the old floor boards that creaked as he walked and sounded her way through the rooms with her heels. He hadn’t made an offer and already he imagined stripping the door frames of the sloppy, cheap paint job and replacing the white with a deep stain to bring out the natural woodgrain. Replacing glass in the windows and repainting the delicate cornice work on the ceiling. The room, no the whole house had strong bones and he couldn’t wait to lose himself working on it one room at a time. It could become the passion of love he needed.

  He nodded, keeping his face as neutral as possible as they left the lounge room to the family room and then kitchen. More wooden boards, now some old wall paper that would be stripped and the panels either replaced or repaired and painted. An enormous amount of work required. This house needed someone with vision to know what was needed, the money to invest and the time to make sure it was done properly. The house needed someone like him.

  A recent kitchen renovation put the room out of context of the broader home. Erebus traced the frame of where an old fire stove had been ripped out and replaced with expensive modern stainless steel appliances. What a shame – the old stove would have suited the character of the house or the owners could have found a way to merge the old character with the contemporary and new.

  The woman, Felicity, followed him with a never ending script of nervous chatter about the home and the town. It was all white noise to his own journey. Every part of this house called out to him – it wanted to be a home again – every creak of a board and peel of paint wanted it to be his home.

  The bedrooms needed carpet and curtains to be replaced, to match the recent paint jobs. The bathrooms were outdated and he shuddered at the thought of the plumbing bills. Oh well, it was only money – and in his line of work a cold shower was a good thing anyway.

  “What do you think?” Felicity wanted his attention.

  He shrugged, “Needs a lot of work.” She couldn’t argue, “A lot of expensive work.” Now she matched his eyes. No reason for her to think he had bundles of cash to throw around. “It also needs someone here to do the work, which is why the original listing is dated last year.”

  “I’m sorry about what I said before, about blow-ins. I didn’t mean to imply …”

  “Yes, you did,” he gave a wry smile, “I do know a little about small coastal town like this. Locals can’t afford any of the good properties in the town they grew up in because of all the money coming from out of town.”

  “Like I said, I’m sorry.” Her words were humble, yet the tilt of her chin gave no such sign. She resented him being late and taking up more of her time. He tried again to win her over.

  “Usually it takes someone at least a couple of minutes, sometimes even half an hour to decide they don’t like me and to insult me – you’re a lot faster than most.” Now his eyes sparkled to show he didn’t hold a grudge.

  “Back to my question, what do you think and what do you need to see to be interested?” She was giving him nothing, not even the shape of her legs under her long, sensible skirt.

  “It’s a lot to take in.”

  He wandered around again, tapping the walls to find the studs, flicking away the peeling paint and kicking at the loose boards. Truthfully, he didn’t know if he could even do most of the work himself. The bills for the trades, well he shuddered to think. “There’s far more work than I expected. Let’s hope the backyard looks better?”

  Now her face lit up, “That’s my favourite part of the whole house.” She almost ran outside, throwing the door open for him to see.

  All the effort and love lacking inside was evident in the backyard. Well cared for garden beds raised, with composting set up down the back, chicken runs and evidence of vegetables and fruit trees. Walking through the garden beds, he recognized some of the vegetables left to grow to seed. His mum would have an old rhubarb and apple pie recipe for the purple stalks.

  “Look,” he found some beans still growing wild, “They taste better fresh and raw.”

  “They’re new, I didn’t see them on the weekend when Sonia and I came to clean up a bit.”

  “You like?” he gave her a small handful. “The only way to eat them.” Her first genuine smile and all it took was to feed her!

  This could become his home. A home to live with and love with someone special. A fresh start for the rest of his life.

  Felicity

  Everything she said came out wrong, Felicity admonished herself.

  First, he’d had thrown her by being late, then by being from out of town, then again by the flowers and she hadn’t even gotten to his damn good looks. Like a stupid moth, she was drawn to his flame, her heart fluttering in a most unnatural and unfamiliar way!

  Which meant her brain disengaged from her mouth and she sounded like a blabbering fool.

  She knew every eligible man in town, grown up with them and found each of them completely unappealing. Looking after her father took time and energy, leaving her without the inclination to waste either by dating purely for not being alone.

  Until a stranger came into town and now she struggled to hold two civil words together in an effort not to be noticed noticing him.

  Every snide comment, every insult left her mouth before she could stop it. None was supposed to be a personal attack on him. When she called him a “blow in,” she really wanted to remind herself he wouldn’t stay for long. Now he’d think she was a bitch and not realize every careless statement was a reaction to how hard her brain was fighting her body not to respond.

  To stop babbling, she stood in the doorway and watched him inspect the house. Trying to work out which rooms held his interest and any tips she could pass on to Sonia.

  Liar! She couldn’t lie to herself any more than she could lie to a stranger. Yes, she cared whether or not he liked the house, but to stand back only to watch him? That was her entire pleasure knowing he’d probably leave in an hour or so, never to be seen again. This could be her only chance to check him out. In any case, she owed Sonia a full description as a reward for asking her to show him around
!

  The arms, so muscular – from working out or hard work? She sniffed, it really didn’t matter how he got them as long as he knew how to use them. The tan seemed natural so perhaps he was a laborer or tradesman. If so, it was easy to imagine his sweaty body working alone on the house … stop it, she silently cried to herself, going back outside to get some fresh air.

  His hair, long dark, dirty blonde cried out for a woman to run her fingers through and keep it out of his eyes. Her fingers twitched at the chance to do the job.

  But from the moment she saw him, it was his eyes – dark and deep blue – that rendered her knees incapable of holding her upright. It was as if her whole body wanted to lay down for him.

  Damn it! She needed to get a grip. According to Sonia, the mysterious Mr E was the first interested buyer since the house listed almost a year ago. She wouldn’t allow her immature emotions lose the sale for her friend, but she could get to know him better.

  “There you are,” he found her resting on the balustrade. “What are you thinking about?”

  “Why are you looking at houses? Especially in the country. Do you have a wife and family?”

  “No to either,” she tried hard not to smile, “I guess I’m getting to the age where I want something of my own.” He started to walk back towards the house, “Call it being ready to settle down or grow up.”

  She followed him back inside, watching his hands caress the woodwork, “The truth is, I need to get away from the city – to come back to where values matter and people are honest.”

  “Small country town values,” her words as soft as air.

  “I looked at a heap of houses online but kept coming back to this one. I needed to see it for myself.”

  “And now?” she held her breath.

  “Miss Felicity, I’m sorry for making you wait, and I know I have no right to ask,” he trailed off. She resisted the urge to tell him he could have anything he wanted. “Could you help me find a room for the night? As I said, the house needs a lot more work than I expected, and I want to sleep on it. If you could recommend a place to stay, and where I can eat tonight, then I’ll stick around and have another look tomorrow.”

  “I’ll,” thinking quickly - he wanted somewhere to sleep and she didn’t have a lot of options. Felicity thought about the local hotel which did have rooms for rent but usually by locals who were too drunk to drive home and would never be up to the standard he would expect. “I’ll make a phone call and see what I can do.” Sonia would have the answer. It was her commission on the line.

  “Sonia, it’s Felicity. That guy is still here.” Casually leaning against the door, filling the room with his presence. Ahhhhh, she never felt like this. Never!

  “I’ve been meaning to check in with you. How are things going? Is he scared off yet?”

  “No, it’s going good. He wants somewhere to sleep tonight so he can think about it. What should I do?”

  “What about the pub – if the house doesn’t scare him off, the pub won’t”

  Felicity took another long look at the mysterious Mr E. Tall, strong, he appeared to know how to handle himself, but sometimes the local boys were not exactly welcoming. She smiled as he left for the backyard again.

  “If that’s the only choice. Can you make the phone calls? He also wants me to recommend somewhere to eat.”

  “Look, Felicity, I want the sale, I really do. But if he’s interested in the house he is going to have to get to know the town. Perhaps instead of old and boring, he’ll think it is quaint and charming. Take him to the pub for a meal and see how it goes.”

  “Me! I need to get home to dad.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry for asking a lot from you and I’ll pay you extra for your time and of course dinner is on me. Please Flick, buy him a meal, introduce him around and hopefully he’ll fit in and start playing snooker with the boys. If he does, hopefully by tomorrow night he’ll have joined the local football team and already handed over the cash.”

  Felicity laughed nervously, spending the night with a man as charming as E could get her into a lot of trouble. “Thanks a lot.”

  “I owe you one.”

  “You owe me more than one.”

  Felicity returned outside to where E had busied himself pulling weeds out of the garden beds and making a fresh stack on the compost. She smiled – perhaps the sale wouldn’t be so hard after all if he was already making improvements as small as they were.

  “I’m afraid that our town doesn’t have a lot of options for accommodation. We’re arranging a room for you at the pub, but I’m not sure you’ll find it to your city standards.”

  His laugh, deep and throaty affected her as much as his eyes. She grabbed the railing for momentary support.

  “You obviously don’t know me well.” Another laugh and her knees threatened to give way. “If there’s a clean bed and a lock on the door, I’ll be fine.”

  Felicity tightened her grip on the railing and smiled, “Okay, I’ll make sure to order a room with a lock.”

  He set aside his gardening and brushed past her to go back inside.

  “How is the surf? Got any pointers on the breaks?”

  Felicity shook her head, giggling at the through of her surfing, “I’m sure you’ll get some advice from the guys at the pub – a word of warning – they don’t like blow ins crashing their waves. If you want to make friends, pay respect out there.”

  Cool as a cucumber, he replied, “I always do. So where is this place?”

  “If you want to follow me back into town, I’ll get you settled in and perhaps we can get a bite to eat.”

  Erebus

  Her last comment caught Erebus off guard. Not since his early days in finance had he met a “nice” girl, willing to be friends. He didn’t know how to respond – what if she wanted to know what he did for a living? Where he was living? Why he wanted to run away to the bush and spend hours alone in the surf.

  Yet he wanted to give her answers.

  Wanted her approval.

  Needed to know her answers to the same questions.

  For the moments she waited for a response, a sweet blush colored her cheeks. She shrugged, and said, “I’m sorry, that was very presumptuous of me.”

  “Not at all,” he urged wanting to take her hand so she wouldn’t run away. “You caught me off guard, I’d love to buy you dinner – it’s the very least I can do for making you wait around for me today and allowing me to stick around and see the place again tomorrow.”

  “Fine, well, if you’re sure.” He watched every graceful step towards the car. Unlike the women he met through his work, there was no exaggerated sway of the hips or toss of the head. Erebus reminded himself there were still normal women out there.

  What did his father always say, “The harder to find, the greater the reward.”

  He resisted the urge to take a photo of his house before pulling out of the driveway. The prints from the online site were in his bag if he needed reminders.

  Taking a final look he felt the weight of the city loosen its grip and fall away. He didn’t need photos. This town and house were already calling him.

  Then there was Felicity, what a stunning and unassuming woman. An unexpected joy to meet her and now to spend an evening eating and getting to know her better! He didn’t deserve to feel so much anticipation for a non-date.

  For four years he accepted that from the moment his last trade went bust and his financial career collapsed, his life changed. He even accepted what he had to do to survive knowing everything was consensual and for the most part, enjoyable. He had explored and embraced the darker side of sex and passion to the extent he forgot what “normal” looked like.

  A day driving around this beautiful town, an afternoon with Felicity made him start to remember what life used to be like. Now, dinner with Felicity and buying this house could be exactly what he needed to find himself again.

  Felicity

  Felicity tried to check her makeup in the rear vision
mirror on the way back to town. Her foundation evaporated while she waited in the sun for E and now every freckle seemed the size of her nose. Any other girl would have foundation or at least a lip gloss in her handbag. Not practical Felicity – more likely to have a dozen spare pens than makeup.

  Why should she care? He was here to buy a house, not to pick up a new girlfriend. And even if he was mildly interested, how could a country girl like her compete with the city sophistication E would be used to.

  Stop it! She told herself in the mirror. Stop having crazy thoughts – she was far too busy to have fanciful thoughts about any man, let alone a stranger. Her father needed her, and as he often reminded her, one failed engagement straight out of high school was proof enough that she couldn’t trust her own instincts about men.

  Young love and a quick engagement should have ended in marriage and babies. Her girlfriends convinced her to have a wild, two week holiday before the wedding. The last time she cut loose and had fun without a care in the world.

  Coming home to find that her fiancé forgot who he promised to marry, sending her a text that broke her heart. “Sorry, met someone. 4 the best.” He met someone, and had already replaced her name on the wedding license. She tried to laugh it off as a first marriage tragedy which had been avoided. Unfortunately, her heart break took longer to heal and her trust in her own judgement and in the male species destroyed.

  She thumped the steering wheel, making sure E was still following her. Years of being sensible, the good girl. Yet, all it took was some good looking guy from the city to waltz into town and she became beside herself with nerves and acting love struck.

  One day. One meeting and her life turned upside down.

  Minutes away from dinner with the hunky and fit Mr E, she wished for the glamour of magazines. That her clothes and shoes were the perfect ensemble and she craved to replicate the sophisticated and confident look of women he’d normally meet.