Page 93 of Need You Now

Lacey sits up in bed with a jolt and a gasp. Sunlight streams through the window. The sound of bustling conversation, the clatter of coffee cups filters in from the kitchen. The clock on the nightstand says nine a.m. Her eyes fly open with panic.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

It’s not her room.

She glances beside her. Seth’s burrowed boyishly into the blankets. Reaching out, she shakes his shoulder. “Seth. Seth.” He raises his sleepy face. “I fell asleep,” she hisses. “In your room.”

His eyes widen slightly, and then a sly grin forms on his lips. “Wakin’ up next to you ain’t nothin’ to be sorry about.”

She harrumphs, refusing to let herself be charmed by his aw, shucks drawl and his big blue eyes. No, definitely not.

She slips out of bed. Seth’s gaze goes laser-focused when he sees she’s still in her lingerie. “This is serious, Seth. Now how am I going to sneak out of here?” She dips, grabbing up her black robe and cell phone, her mind calculating all the ways she can rejoin the group without attracting attention.

He props himself up on his elbow. His eyes snag on her bare skin. “Hey, Lace, you look goddamn gorgeous and if you put that robe back on, I’m gonna tear it off you.”

She snorts. Then she lifts her chin, gives an I dare you smile, and slips on the robe. “Come and get me.”

A feral hunger enters his face.

Seth lunges off the bed, headed straight for her.

Lacey yelps in delight. Dodging his grab, she snatches a pillow off the chair, launches it at him, and hops up on the bed, latching onto the bedpost for balance. Seth snags her sleeve, dragging one side of her robe off.

The knock on the door freezes them both.

Lacey gasps, shooting Seth a wide-eyed what do we do? look.

“Seth?” Luke’s drawl floats. “You in there?”

Then Sal’s gentler voice saying, “Maybe he went for a walk.”

“It’s Seth,” Luke responds. “He don’t do before noon.”

Seth rolls his eyes at his big brother’s remark, then yanks at the sleeve of her robe, tugging Lacey off the bed and into his arms. “Get in the closet,” he whispers, setting her softly on her feet.

She glares at him. “I don’t hide in closets, Seth.”

He flashes a crooked grin. “You do today, princess.” And then he’s pushing her backwards, pressing a kiss to her lips and shoving Lacey and her robe into the closet.

“Ugh,” she grumbles, hating that he’s right. Sal and Luke finding her half-naked in Seth Kincaid’s room wouldn’t exactly be breaking the news gently.

Lacey presses herself back into the empty space of the closet, watching through the slats as Seth shrugs on a pair of jeans. With a quick hand, he plucks her panties from the floor. Lacey smothers a smile as he looks around and then shoves them in his back pocket. So smooth.

Seth swings open the door. “Damn, man,” he says, scratching his bare chest. “Can’t a guy get some shut-eye?”

Arcing a brow, Luke surveys Seth and scans the trashed room. “Bringin’ back the ol’ high school vibe?” He doesn’t sound impressed.

Seth chuckles. “Got an image to live up to here, you know what I’m sayin’?”

“Yeah, well, while you’re livin’ it up, we’re waitin’ on the day ...”

Lacey groans silently as the conversation continues. From her vantage point, she sees what Luke does. Spilled sheets, the bed crashed against the wall, Seth’s dusty boots strewn across the room, pillows scattered. And oh God. The smell. Can he smell them?

Mortified, Lacey sinks to her feet, half-listening as Seth and Luke make plans. Instead, her eyes are on the phone in her hands. On the text Colin sent her last night. Saying he wanted to talk. What about, who knows? She itches to call him back, but she can’t. Not now. Not here. She’s got enough to worry about hiding her and Seth’s relationship from Sal than get a dressing-down from Colin Cane. She can’t deal with the old remnants of her LA life. Can’t entertain the what-comes-next when she’s trying hard as hell to enjoy the in-the-now.

Her home is in Los Angeles, but her heart’s here with Seth. Which is a stupid idea. Because they’re not there yet. Are they?

“Good news,” Seth says, whipping open the closet door so fast she jumps. “You’re goin’ shoppin’.”

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