“Very well,” he said. “But I will need supplies.”
She moaned, rolling onto her stomach and burying her face in her pillow. The movement made her scent waft over him, sweet and female, laced with the faded smell of her arousal. He longed to touch her, but he didn’t want to start this day with her dancing warily around him.
“Not the hardware store,” she said sleepily. “Soboring.”
Her dismay made him laugh, and she turned her face to glare up at him, but there was a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
“Jerk,” she muttered, turning away again. Yawning, she sat up, the sheets pooling around her hips. She rubbed her eyes hard, sniffling. “Did you say that Logan didn’t come home?”
“Yes.”
“He’s probably pulling an all-nighter. He does that sometimes, when things are in a crunch. Just passes out there at the office and picks right back up in the morning. I should text him and remind him to eat something.”
Sam stared at her, canting his head.
In two years, Logan had never once spent the night in the office. No one did that; Automata’s management would not permit it. They were already battling claims of unfair working conditions. Allowing their employees to sleep in their offices for days at a time would make the allegations impossible to defeat in court.
“What?” She frowned.
“Nothing,” he said, rising to his feet. “You should get dressed, and then we may visit the boring hardware store.”
To his surprise, Ophelia gamely dressed and allowed him to lead the way to the closest hardware store.
She huffed in frustration as they exited her apartment building, tapping the black screen of her phone impatiently.
“I forgot to put it on the charger,” she said, shivering as the wind licked over her.
He tightened her scarf around her neck, protecting the thin, delicate skin there. The flush of cold on her cheeks deepened.It pleased him to nurture her—and it pleased him more when it made her shy.
“Thanks,” she murmured, putting space between them as she fiddled with the bright red fabric. “I swear if you get a single scratch on you, I’m going to power you down and hide your body so there’s no evidence of my involvement.”
He grinned, leaning into her. “Do you know how to power me down, Ophelia?”
“I-I’m sure I can search online.”
“What if I tell you that shutting me off is very involved process with several steps?”
Her back stiffened. “I’m a scientist. I’m quite sure I can handle it, no matter how complicated the process may be.”
“Even if you have to tire me out first?” he purred, enjoying the way her eyes widened. “Even if I have to fulfill my primary goal—that is fucking you to an earth-shattering orgasm, in case you forgot—before I allow you to shut me off?”
“Did they really program you to use such vulgar language?” She’d stopped breathing for a moment.
He grinned at her as he straightened. “Of course. Don’t you like dirty talk, Ophelia? Many people do.”
She shuddered. He’d noticed the way it made her react subtly every time he said her name, like he was tugging at a chain around her neck. It was delightful.
Ophelia hugged her arms around her chest, looking away from him. “Just take me to the stupid store so you can fix the door you broke, please.”
Huffing a laugh, he held out his hand to her, palm up. “Give me your phone. I’ll sacrifice some of my charge for it.”
She looked back at him, brows climbing. “You can do that?”
“I can do many things that would surprise you.”
She groaned. “Stop that! I declare a moratorium on innuendos.”
Well, he would not be respecting that. He held his hand out in askance. “Your phone?”
