A protest squeaked from her lips as he reached around her and plucked the phone out of her hands.
“Hey!”
He held it over her head as he read the message, eyes narrowing.
“Sam, give it back. Are you insane?”
“Yes,” he said placidly, typing something rapid-fire.
“Are youtextinghim? Stop that!”
He let her snatch the phone back, but only after he’d sent the message. The hidden device pinged again.
Everything is fine. Take all the time you need. No rush to take the android back. Actually, I was thinking maybe we could find a way to keep him.
“You—” She blinked up at him, gobsmacked, expecting him to be giving her one of those goofy grins. Instead, he was staring down at her with a terrifying intensity that stole her breath.
Her phone pinged in time with that device again, dragging her attention away.
Keep him? Seriously?
She didn’t reply, at a loss for words.
Yes, she wanted to type.
But how could she? There was no way they could afford the android, even if she wanted to keep him, and though it scared her to admit it, she was dubious of her own intentions with him. Even if Logan was okay with the idea of her having sex with Sam, it still felt weird to her. Unfaithful, somehow. Maybe she wasn’t hardwired to be comfortable having those kinds of experiences.
She felt guilty for appreciating Sam as much as she did, like she was a bad partner for holding them up next to each other and finding Logan lacking in any way.
Another ping made her look down at her phone, but it didn’t light up. Another ping, then another.
She and Sam met eyes briefly.
Wordlessly, she turned away and followed the muffled notification sound around the room. It led her to the dresser, and when she got down on her knees, she saw Logan’s holopad light up from beneath its depths. Muttering a curse, she got down on her hands and knees and ducked beneath it, straining to reach the holopad where it was propped against the wall.
Her fingers had just brushed the edge of it, knocking it down into easier reach, when a hand smoothed over the globe of her ass. She yelped, banging her head hard against the dresser as she scrambled out from beneath it.
Sam was sitting on the edge of the bed behind her with a hungry look in his eyes, and his long legs sprawled out beside her.
“What the hell?” She winced as she touched the welt throbbing on the back of her skull.
“I apologize,” he said insincerely, eyes taking in her bare legs and her rucked-up pajama shorts. “It was an impulse.”
“You’re a robot! You can’t have impulses.”I think. She was no longer sure what the rules were after the behavior he’d been exhibiting. “God, I think I have a concussion.”
“Let me see.” He grabbed her by her shoulders before she could protest, dragging her closer and resting her chin on his thickly muscled thigh as he parted her hair. “It’s just a small bump. But for your trouble…” He bent over and pressed a kiss to the spot. “There. Human superstition suggests that kisses heal small injuries, yes?”
“Yes,” she murmured, pulling away. “But I’m still mad at you.”
He flashed an unrepentant grin and surprised her by lowering himself to the floor and reaching beneath the dresser. His shirt rode up, and the back of his pants gaped open as he lowered his chest to the floor. For a moment, she couldn’t fault him for feeling compelled to caress her. Her thoughts were far raunchier as his hips shifted, flashing more of the muscles of his back.
She looked away quickly, trying to act casual as he crawled back out, but when he didn’t offer the holopad to her, curiosity drove her gaze back to him. A muscle twitched in his jaw as he looked down at the holopad.
When she reached for it, he rose abruptly to his feet, pacing away from her.
“What are you doing?” She pushed herself to her feet and pursued him, following him into the living room. “Sam, give me the holopad.”
He was making her uneasy—though, when wasn’t he, really? Everything about him was a little unsettling. He was too real, too emotional, too raw. When he acted erratically, like he was now, it made it even harder to remember he wasn’t a person.
