Grace was sitting in Elizabeth's sitting room on Friday evening, completely alone. Rainer had left with his parents, Cybil and Alec had to return to London to take care of administrative duties for the school, and Gertrude and Richard had gone to visit his sister who had had to have emergency surgery.
The large house was a bit daunting, but she found Elizabeth's room to be warm and cozy.
Grace had eventually made up with Rainer after he apologized for the hundredth time. He had tried to understand what he had done wrong but, not willing to open up to him, she just told him she was not used to being teased.
The majority of her thoughts had all been for Bryce. Grace had considered all that Elizabeth had told her. She still didn't understand her reasoning behind sharing and guessed Bryce would not be happy with her if he knew that she had shared it.
Grace had run every moment she had spent with Bryce in the last few weeks over and over again in her head, and she knew she had lost. Her first instinct to run had been the right one. If she was honest, she was a goner the first time she saw his smile from across the room. It was as if her heart had swelled in her chest. She was in love at first smile.
All of this, she had concluded earlier in the week. Now, she had moved on to push herself, Alec, and Cybil as hard as she could so that they could finish the dig in record time. She had decided that even if they found something she would return to New York at the end of the month so that she would be prepared to teach in the fall, and she had been working like a mad woman to get it all done before Bryce returned. So this left her in Elizabeth's sitting room, wearing her pajamas, which consisted of a tank top and shorts, as she tried to make sense of her scattered notes. It was proving to be extra difficult since her mind had not been on the task all week.
Grace looked up as another bolt of lightning pierced the sky followed by a loud clap of thunder. She turned Billie Holiday up a little louder on her laptop and tried to focus. She had covered herself with one of the throws that had been on the ottoman, and surrounded by all of the Steven's family photos she had a nice secure feeling.
Grace was just thinking that she should start dinner when there was a sound behind her.
She jumped, turning around to see Bryce leaning in the doorway watching her.
"You look comfortable, Grace." He smiled.
Grace moved to get up but he moved towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder and pushing her back down. "Please, don't get up." He dropped a quick kiss on her open mouth then sat at the other end of the sofa, picking up her feet and placing them in his lap before recovering them with the blanket.
She noted that he look tired and drawn.
He had taken off his tie and jacket somewhere along the way and now he leaned back and kicked off his shoes, putting up his feet.
"Where is everyone?" he asked.
"London, I think."
One of his eyebrows lifted in question.
"Well, I'm not sure about Gertrude and Richard. His sister is in the hospital but I'm not sure where."
He nodded and laid his head back on the couch.
Grace looked at him for a moment. She felt her heart grow a little bit more at his trusting pose. Did many people get to see this side of him she wondered?
He seemed to drift off to sleep so she went back to work. The sound of his steady breathing giving her comfort that she was no longer alone in the large house. She worked steadily for the next hour but eventually hunger drove her to the kitchen to root out something for dinner.
She had just pulled out the fixings for breakfast for dinner when Bryce entered.
"I must have fallen asleep," he said, sitting at the counter.
"Are you hungry?" she asked.
"Starving, what's on the menu?"
"Breakfast," Grace held up a skillet, "my favorite, I love breakfast for dinner."
"I haven't had that for years." He gave a husky laugh. "Not since college."
She was aware of him watching her cook and it made her fumble what she was doing a few times.
"Where did you learn to cook?" He stole a piece of bacon.
"I picked it up somewhere. Do you cook or do your girlfriends cook for you?" she didn't attempt to be subtle.
His face grew serious. "I don't have girlfriends, Grace. I have friends with benefits. I have never found my life conducive to long term relationships. I already have too many responsibilities, I don't wish to add anymore."
Grace turned and studied him, he met her eyes honestly, making sure she understood what he was saying without really saying a word.
Grace nodded once again then laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"Are you aware that you can boss people around without even saying a word?"
Bryce stopped with a piece of bacon halfway to his mouth.
"Are you planning to save me any?" She looked at the half empty plate.
He grinned. "Shall I make the toast?"
Eventually, they finished cooking and sat down to eat in a companionable silence.
When they were done she left him to clean the kitchen, and she headed back to the sitting room to get a little more work done. When Bryce finally joined her he had changed into a pair of old jeans and an NYU sweat shirt. His feet were bare.
"NYU, uh?"
"I lecture there on occasion."
There was silence as she worked a little bit more.
"Grace?"
She looked up absently. "Hmm?"
"Why were you so upset with me and Rainer the other morning, why do you sleep with the light on, and how does Rainer know that?"
Looking at him, she could tell he had been trying not to ask the questions but his curiosity had won out in the end.
"Why Bryce, do you want to solve all of my problems too?"
He frowned.
"It doesn't matter, it was all long ago and it cannot be solved after the fact."
He stared at her, bossing her yet again, demanding that she answer.
Should she tell him? She considered it for a moment, not realizing that she had a faraway look as she was deciding what she should and shouldn't tell him.
Finally, with a sigh, she set her computer aside, moving to a chair across the room from him, pulling her knees up to her chest.
He watched her, waiting patiently as if he had all the time in the world. Her music eventually cut off and the room grew silent except for the rain hitting the window and she had to smile at the dramatic air to the room, her story really wasn't worth it.
"My parents died when I was eight. I had no other relatives so I landed in the state system. No one really wants to take on an eight year old full time so by the time I was seventeen I had had twelve different foster homes. Some were good, some weren't. Sometimes I'm overly sensitive to siblings teasing, having been used by siblings at my own expense for their entertainment in the past. I felt that you and Rainer were playing a game, using me as the ball, not really caring what happened to me as long as the game was fun." Grace gave a little shiver and rubbed her arms. "There were some really scary homes where trust was a huge issue, and I had to always be on my guard from other children, but also the adults in the house as well. I'm not afraid of the dark, only of what can hide in the shadows. That was one of those lessons I learned the hard way."
The last question was easy. "The reason Rainer knows I sleep with the light on is because when you are in a city of tents a light is always noticeable."
She realized she hadn't looked at Bryce once and she was afraid to look. "I don't usually tell people because they look at me different once they know, as if I am somehow damaged."
Bryce gave her a warm smile. "You, my dear Grace, are by no means damaged, overly polite, graceful, considerate of others, and too smart for your own good, but not damaged. Trust me, I have known my fair share of damaged people."
"Well, thank you for saying that." She rose with a stretch. "Now you know most of my secrets, and I find that to be simply exhausting so I'll say goodnight."
"Which ones don't I know, Grace?" he asked softly, watching her.
Grace gave him a weak smile, no way would he get the one she held closest to her heart. "A woman needs a few secrets." Then she slowly made her way up to her room.
She had just crawled into bed when there was a knock at the door.
"Yes," she called.
The door opened. "I thought I would come and check the shadows for you."
Grace rose from her perch on the end of the bed. "That's horribly corny, and not why you knocked at my door, Bryce."
Grace had been prepared for this, she had even hoped. He was the one her soul had chosen. She knew she would get hurt in the end,but why should she deny her soul? Sure, she might find someone else later in life but they wouldn't be Bryce Stevens. And no matter where she went or what she did, if she didn't go through with this now she would always wonder.
She walked over to him, looking into his bright blue eyes that were assessing her face for fear or doubt.
"Bryce, I will not be your friend with benefits." She saw him tense and held up her hand. "I want this as much as you do, but I told you I don't play games. I will take this night and this weekend until the others return, but then that's it. I'm not going to be someone you call on when you have an itch to scratch."
Bryce studied her, trying to gauge if she was serious and when he realized she was, he smiled. "You know, the first time I came to your room you were like a little kitten with your claws out ready to defend yourself, and you still have those claws sharpened and ready to go. Tell me Kitten, are you sure about this? I would be lying if I said I didn't realize how innocent you are."
"And I would be lying if I didn't admit that the only reason I'm still innocent is because I have never wanted anyone the way I want you."
Bryce took a deep breath as if he had been punched in the gut.
His hand actually trembled as it came up to trace her face. "That's a heavy load to put on a man Kitten."
Grace gave a smile. "Somehow I think you are up to carrying that load, my Lord."
He gave her that sexy smile that made her knees weak as he lowered his lips to hers for a kiss.
*******
Bryce was a totally different person over the next few days. The two of them laughed and teased each other, talking about everything and anything they could think of; it was unspoken that they had to squeeze all that could into two days.
He was a gentle and considerate lover who continued to show her that sex could be romantic and fun at the same time.
It was as if Bryce had shed years off of himself. They spent hours in bed as well as in the sitting room watching old movies, eating, and making love, he was no longer the strict serious businessman with no personality. Grace would never be able to look at him the same way again. She would always hear him calling her Kitten our roaring with laughter at some joke they had shared.
She had discovered he had very ticklish feet, loved having his head rubbed, and had a wicked sense of humor.
Eventually, as all good things do, it ended. Monday came around and when Grace woke up she was alone.
Grace had heard Gertrude and Richard return in the early morning and knew that it was finished. She fought sleep. knowing that once she closed her eyes it would all end and he would be gone. Part of her wanted to tell Bryce that she had changed her mind that she was willing to be a friend with benefits, but she knew that it would hurt more and more every time he left her.
She knew that Cybil and Alec would be arriving soon so she slowly got up and got dressed, ready to start digging. The sooner they finished the sooner she could leave and she could start anew in New York.
When Grace entered the dining room Bryce was there with his paper just as he had been before.
"Good morning," she greeted, giving him a warm smile as she moved over to get her coffee.
He gave her a cool and distant smile in return.
Gertrude came in shortly after she had seated herself. "Good morning, Grace. I hope it wasn't too much of a bother being here by yourself all weekend. Bryce said he got in late last night and that you had already retired for the evening."
Grace was a bit hurt by his lie, but she managed to smile at Gertrude and assure her that she enjoyed the weekend very much and had gotten a lot accomplished.
When Gertrude had returned to the kitchen Bryce reached over and took her hand as if he had sensed her hurt. "I thought that you would prefer that story rather than the truth, that we spent the entire weekend here alone. I know that you like your privacy Kitten and I am trying to avoid your claws." He gave her his crooked smile and she realized that he was trying to protect her.
Grace nodded and returned his smile than she squeezed his hand before breaking the contact.
They were both silent for the rest of the meal.
When Grace finished her coffee, she wished Bryce a good day then gathered up her materials and headed to the third dig site. By the time Cybil and Alec had arrived she had it roped off and had started digging.
When they were done for the day and returned to the house Bryce was gone. Gertrude said he had been called back to London and wasn't sure when he would return.
Three weeks later Grace was on a plane bound for New York, doing her best to pretend that her heart didn't ache.
Not only had the dig been a bust, but she hadn't seen Bryce again.