Page 27 of Caught Looking

I had to find a way to slow this down. To find some control.

Seth cupped my face in his hands and I lost my breath at his sudden closeness. The intimacy. I still wasn’t used to his touch. He held my gaze. “We’re the entertainment, babe. There will be fans who think you should be with someone better than me. That if they just get a second of your time, you’ll see them as the better option and leave me. There are fans who want me. Now that you’ve proven I can be tamed, they think they can be the one to nail me down. Then there are the fans who simply want to know every single thing about us. Are we really in love? Am I sweet when the door is closed? Do we fight? It’s endless. They’re coming. It’s not a matter of if but when. You’re not safe here.” He gulped. “Come home with me. I live in a building with a doorman and layers of security. They won’t be able to get to us tonight.”

“And tomorrow?” Did I want to go to his condo? I always pictured it as a frat house with the revolving door of ballplayers that occupied his second bedroom.

“We’ll tackle it tomorrow. But Rhett and I are leaving on a road trip in two days.”

And they wouldn’t be back for six days. We had a home game this weekend. I’d be here alone. My stomach flipped at the idea of opening my door to the cameras all by myself. “Shit.”

His thumbs stroked my cheeks. “I’ll sleep on the couch tonight. Whether we go to my condo or stay here and brave the paparazzi storm. Either way, I’m sleeping on a couch.”

I could go back to Jeri’s. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d slept on her couch. But what if someone followed us there? Or had already been there when we picked up Roscoe? There could be pictures of us circulating. I wouldn’t be any safer there. And I didn’t want to bring this down on my teammates.

I could go to Rhett’s. He lived in a gated community with other rich and famous people. Between the gates and all the security they wouldn’t be able to get near me.

But that was temporary. I needed a long-term solution. Owen had only just started filming. I heard rumors he’d be here all season. That was months from now. I couldn’t hole up at Rhett’s house forever. “Shit, shit, shit.” What was I going to do? I couldn’t afford the kinds of security Rhett and Seth were used to.

“Babe.” Seth followed me, snagging my hand, pulling me to the couch. “Sit. Breathe. A lot is happening at once but you don’t have to figure it all out now. First, we get through tonight with the three-ring circus outside.” He kept his fingers tangled with mine.

It was indeed a three-ring circus, complete with clowns and a side show. Fuck, would I be able to sleep tonight? I felt like a livewire. Watched. Hunted. My fight or flight instincts were triggered. Triggered hard.

If we stayed here I probably wouldn’t sleep knowing they were outside, but it would give me a chance to accept this new reality. I could pack. Take my time.

“Here. We’ll stay here tonight.” I squeezed his hand. “And you don’t have to sleep on my couch. I have a guest room.”

“Is that what you call my side of the bed?” he teased, those brown eyes dancing despite everything happening.

How did he do that? How was he so calm? “You really don’t care that they’re out there, do you?”

His smile fell away. “Oh, I care, babe. I care a hell of a lot. But not for me.” His free hand came to brush a stray hair from my cheek before he cupped it in his large, rough, warm hand. “My turn to apologize. You didn’t ask for this. Unfortunately it comes with the territory. I’m sorry.”

I pressed into his palm. It feltright.Being so close to Seth had my whole body at attention. He was intoxicating and sexy, and damn did I like the way he looked at me like he couldn’t believe I was here. “Why did we do this?” I brought complications to his already complicated life and he brought attention to mine. It was a mess.

A wonderful mess. Because for the first time in far too long, Iwanted.

Seth swallowed hard, his gaze overwhelming. “Because we both want to know what this is between us. It’s confusing and unexpected and so fucking real. Tell me you feel the same.”

“That’s a perfect description.”

“What scares you?”

“Cockroaches.”

He closed his eyes, shaking his head slightly as he fought a laugh. “Okay, I’ll be more specific. What aboutmescares you?”

If Jeri was right, if I trusted my own eyes and heart, Seth was falling for me just as hard—maybe harder—as I was. It was time to set my doubts aside and jump into the abyss. “I don’t do cheating.” It was the one thing I needed clarity on. If we started steering this ship into real territory, I needed to know without a shadow of a doubt that Seth’s definition of a relationship matched mine.

He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Neither do I.”

I cocked an eyebrow.

“Fucking hell.” He closed his eyes again, like he was searching for patience. “Every single woman I was with knew the score. I never promised anyone exclusivity. Pretty much everything you ever read online was either completely made up or so twisted from the truth it didn’t matter. And to be perfectly honest, the only time I was a complete selfish dick and led a woman on was Claudia. I regret a lot of what happened in that relationship and so does she. I was just beginning my tailspin and she stuck around because she cared.”

Claudia Torree was the closest thing Seth ever had to a relationship, and as far as I could tell, it was almost entirely publicity driven by their respective teams. Or maybe it wasn’t. At least, not entirely. “She thought she could be the one to change you.”

He nodded. “If you ever want to know the truth about anything specific, just ask. I’m not keeping anything from you, Annalise. Even when I’m not proud of it.” His eyes dropped to my lips. “I don’t do cheating,” he whispered. “But I should warn you. I tend to be terribly possessive and jealous when I claim someone. And when I claim them, I expect complete exclusivity.”

I gulped, my heart thundering in my ears as I tried to process the good, the bad, and the honest. “Terribly possessive and jealous? Claim?”

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