How did she get so lucky? How did this convoluted, inexplicable situation unravel in such a way that it had somehow left her undeniably, unequivocally in love?
In love.
She hadn’t really thought the words before—not in those exact terms. She’d shielded herself from them the way a child instinctively avoids the oven after the first time they get burnt.
She’d fallen for him. She was crazy about him.
Those were her defenses. Her deflections. It was amazing the lengths her mind would go to protect itself from a world like love. But waking up that morning, staring down at him in the warm golden light, it was impossible to avoid it any longer.
Love. Despite everything that had happened, she was in love with him.
And for whatever reason...that didn’t scare her.
“Logan.” The smile spread up the rest of her face as she rustled the sheets beside him, unable to wait any longer for him to open up his eyes. “Logan—wake up.”
Nothing. The man was sleeping like the dead.
Not that I can really blame him. Not after last night...
“Logan.” She tried again, shaking his shoulder while simultaneously ducking into the open space between his arms. “Sweetie—it’s morning.”
He shifted a little on the pillow. His arms tightened automatically around her sides. But other than that—he was a zombie. A beautiful, adorable, sleepy little zombie. One that melted her very heart, just looking at him.
“...Spartacus got into the leftover Chinese.”
Nothing.
“...the neighbors are holding a naked séance in the front yard.”
No movement.
Finally, she reached her hand beneath the blankets—trailing her finger in a slow line from his chest down to his stomach. His body twitched at her touch, but he pressed his face further into the pillow—unable to free his mind from the iron grasp of sleep.
“Go away, Millard,” he mumbled, his voice was muffled by blankets and unguarded, as if he was a small child. “I need five more minutes.”
Millard?
Lacy pulled back her hand for a split second, her eyes widening with an incredulous smile, before she tried again. This time, she threw caution to the wind—cuddling in closer as her fingers sneaked down between his legs. His body tensed subconsciously as she gathered him up in her hand, then she squeezed. His eyes shot open in surprise.
“What—”
His gasp whispered away in the little room, as the two of them locked eyes. He was stunned and breathless. She was staring back with a caustic grin.
“Millard?” she asked curiously, her hand stroking innocently up and down his skin. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
He pulled in a sharp breath, his body stiffening beneath her hand.
“He’s my valet. And I was just fucking with you.”
Lacy nodded thoughtfully, pursing her lips to hide a smile. “He wake you up a lot?”
Logan tried to banter back, but he was in no position to do so. Instead, his head fell back against the pillow, as he arched his spine with a little grin. “...not like this.”
Another sage nod, as Lacy’s hand picked up speed. “Just another reason to consider Clevel
and, I suppose. Here, we don’t do things halfway. It’s a full-service job.”
“I’ll try to keep that in mind—” Logan began, before his voice cut off with another quiet gasp. His hips rocked slowly towards her hand, and just one look at the hungry fire in his eyes told her that he was just seconds away from pulling her on top of him. “And speaking of...”