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CHAPTER22
Jonah hadto prepare for the inevitable. Even if the hurt in Lacy’s eyes hit him like a bullet through his heart. They’d finished the presentation and had been given permission to come in a few hours late in the morning so they could get sleep. Jonah didn’t want to waste any time he had left with Lacy sleeping.
Lacy smiled softly as she opened the apartment door. She held her finger to her lips as they waited to see if Sophie was up. After a couple of seconds, they slipped their shoes off near the door and moved through the apartment. Lacy opened her bedroom door. He grabbed her hand and spun her to the other side of him. His back was in her open doorway.
She looked up at him and he gestured with his head toward his room. She shook her head and whispered, “We need sleep.”
He leaned closer to her. “We’ll get sleep.”
She grinned at him. “Liar.”
A door opened. Lacy put her hands on his chest and shoved him through her door and closed it. It was so damned quick, just like the sofa. Maybe Lacy should have been a ninja.
“Hey, Lacy.” Sophie’s voice was muffled through the door. “Both you and Jonah got home?”
“Yeah, I was just going to use the bathroom and then go to bed.” Lacy’s voice was slightly higher in pitch. He imagined her practically dancing on her toes as she made that statement, making him smile.
“I just needed a drink. My throat has been scratchy lately.” Sophie’s voice trailed away.
“Hope you aren’t coming down with something.” Lacy’s voice grew louder to follow Sophie. “I’m going to do my thing. Good night.”
“Night.”
The door to the bathroom closed. Fortunately, Lacy had already turned on her light in the bedroom because his little bird was messy. Her room wasn’t a complete disaster, but he definitely had to watch his step as he stepped over a pair of black lace panties. Clothes were tossed near the hamper. Her folded clothes still sat in a laundry basket. Stacks of paperbacks covered her nightstand and spilled onto the floor.
Her bed wasn’t close to being made. The sheet and comforter were wadded into a pile in the center of the bed. Given how she looked like she’d wrestled a raccoon all night long when she woke up, he wasn’t surprised.
Of course, it had been a couple of days since she last slept in here. She wasn’t quite as messed up when she slept with him or, more to the point, on him.
She had a bunch of framed pictures of friends on a wall. He examined teenage Lacy in the photos. She had been cute and young looking in high school. The girl next to her looked like she was already in her twenties and gorgeous. He assumed that was Beth, the friend she talked to all the time.
Compared to her best friend, Lacy looked like a child. Another photo had her surrounded by three guys who looked like masculine versions of Lacy. Her older brothers? There were photos of her in college with Sophie and more recent photos of Sophie, Brenda, and Lacy. Again, next to the sexual sophistication of those two, Lacy appeared much younger and innocent. A recent picture of the staff at Taylor and King hung next to the others. Her eyes in the picture were focused on Logan, and the way she looked at him tore at Jonah’s heart.
She’d claimed to love Logan.
A door shut in the apartment somewhere. Probably Sophie’s. Then another door opened and closed, closer, the bathroom. Finally, the door opened and Lacy’s gaze met his before falling to her floor. Her cheeks burned red as she quickly shut the door behind her.
She waited until she was away from the door before whispering, “I’m not really prepared for company.”
“I don’t care.” He took a step toward her.
She fidgeted with her hands and dropped down to pick up the panties before tossing them in the hamper. “We can go to your room now. The coast is clear.”
He stopped in front of her and tipped her chin up with his finger. “I don’t care if your room isn’t neat or your bed isn’t made. I’m fascinated to see this side of you.”
“I could fix the blankets at least.” Her gaze went to her bed, but she didn’t move away from him.
“Who needs sheets?” He lowered his head until their lips almost touched. Waiting there for a moment, memorizing the look of anticipation on her face.
She pressed up until their lips met. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in tight against him. When he started to trail his lips down her jawline, Lacy cleared her throat.
“Where are you going to this weekend?” she whispered.
“L.A.” He kept kissing his way down her throat.
Her breath hitched when his hand touched the bare skin of her waist under her shirt. “What for?”
Shit, he knew she would ask about that. He lifted his head from her throat and went to work on the buttons on her shirt. “I need to go check in with my dad. He lives out there.”
