“No,” she barked in realization, trying to crawl over his shoulder. “I can’t—the bed! I’m dirty! I can’t be in bed!”
He ignored her, climbing into the bed with her in his arms, cradling her in his lap as he leaned back against the headboard.
“Why are you doing this?” she wailed.
In answer, he brushed the hair back from her face, unsticking it from her damp cheeks, and rained kisses over her temple. He rocked her like a baby as she sobbed and cursed him and railed at what he had done. Contaminating her bed, ruining her life. When she had nothing left, she pressed her face into the crook of his neck and closed her eyes.
CHAPTER 19
Sam buriedhis nose in Ophelia’s hair as she dozed fitfully, drained by her panic attack and her desperate attempt to perform the rituals that made her pain bearable. She smelled like home to him. Yes—that’s what she was. His home. The place he wished to forever return to in this world.
Humans believed in fate, that some things were predetermined. That was how Sam felt as he held Ophelia in his arms, filling his senses with her essence.
No, he supposed that wasn’t quite right, though it was more romantic as a notion. It wasn’t fate that had brought them together.
It was greed.
He’d read through the entirety of Logan’s message history in the moments after he’d hacked the holopad. Logan had clearly been deleting the conversations as they went—there hadn’t been more than a day’s worth of messages. They were uploaded to his memory banks now, a permanent record of Logan’s treachery.
She’s acting really weird
Do you think she knows?
Idk… I mean how could she? She’s probably just having one of her episodes
Lol - typical
She just asked if she could keep 31
You’re kidding. She wants to keep him? No way
IK, but I’m serious. This is perfect. He must be wearing her down
A golden opportunity for sure
We’re so close now baby. 31 just has to bring this home and then we’ll have everything we need
You’re coming out tonight right? Crashing at mine after?
Of course. What are you wearing
You sure you want me to spoil the surprise…?
Don’t be a tease, Tiff
The red set, of course
The nude photo and the undertone of the messages throughout the day were unmistakable. Logan was having an affair with one of his colleagues. The rest he struggled to make sense of. Clearly, it was important to Logan that Ophelia had sex with Sam—but why? What did it have to do with their relationship?
We’ll have everything we need
Everything they needed to do what, exactly?
Sam didn’t like the mystery, especially not as it pertained to Ophelia.
She shifted in his arms, her lids fluttering as she took a gasping breath. Blearily, she looked up at him in an uncomprehending way. “What…”
Her gaze sharpened, and he knew the events of the last few hours were coming back to her. Expression turning despairing, she looked down at the bed.
