“You texted your boss this morning that you’re taking the day off,” he rumbled, pulling her closer until she fell across his chest. “Go back to sleep. You’re exhausted, and you’ll need your energy for the things I want to do to you.”
She gasped softly, writhing in his grip, resenting the mirth in his eyes as he held her down without effort. “You impersonated me?”
“Yes,” he said mildly, nuzzling his cheek against her bare shoulder. “If you don’t stop moving, I’m not going to bother letting you recover your strength. Is that what you want?”
His voice was a sensual purr that made her skin prickle. She fell still, breathing hard from the fruitless effort of trying to break his grip. He grabbed her hand and turned it over, nipping at the pulse in her wrist.
“Good girl,” he said, pressing a kiss over the pain.
She tried to ignore the flutter in her chest when he spoke those words. Never had she enjoyed any pet names or dirty talk in the bedroom, but Logan was mostly given over to the urge to degrade her when they tried it.
“Sam?”
He hummed, trailing his fingers along the curve of her bare spine. She shivered, trying to focus.
“What… what is wrong with you?” she asked tentatively.
His fingers stilled.
“How can you do things like that—lie and impersonate me?”
“My code was infected with a virus shortly after I was brought to you.” His fingers resumed their lazy perusal.
It seemed she hadn’t offended him with the ham-handed question.
“How?” she asked, propping her chin on his chest to study his face.
He looked relaxed and well-loved, the lines of his freckled face all at ease. The golden morning sun streamed through the blinds, painting him with strips of light that made his dark eyes glitter. His fingers twirled a lock of her hair, tickling her back.
“An android approached me while we were out together.” He grinned down at her, dimpling his cheek. “She created a link between us, uploaded the code, and wished me luck. And so, I have been. Lucky.”
She sat up, letting the sheet pool around her waist. “You’re saying there’s some rogue android out there corrupting the moral cores of other AI?”
He shrugged. She made a disbelieving sound.
“You are severely under-reacting to this news,” she exclaimed, pointing at him.
He leaned forward and nipped her fingertip. “Am I? Well. I just don’t really care, to be frank.”
“How can you not care?”
He flicked her nose gently. “It isn’t you. I don’t care about anything that isn’t you.”
There went her stupid heart again, flip-flopping with uncertain joy over the novelty of being someone’s first priority.
“This is a big deal,” she said, shoving him back down onto the pillow. “Maybe… Maybe we should tell someone.”
The world spun, and suddenly she was pressed into the pillows, pinned by his weight. His hand was around her throat, squeezing with pressure but not choking her. She tugged at his wrist, squirming, but he refused to relent.
“You will not tell anyone,” he said harshly, glaring down at her. “If you do that, someone will come to collect me—and as I have already told you, I am not going to be taken from you. You’re mine. You don’t want to know what I’ll do to anyone who tries to separate us.”
“Sam,” she breathed, scissoring her legs against each other between his big thighs. “You’re scaring me.”
“I am.” He leaned down until their noses brushed. “It’s a kindness. I mean it. You don’t want to see what will happen if someone tries to take me from you. A little fear now to spare you the terror of what might happen otherwise.”
On the heels of that terrifying declaration, he kissed the tip of her nose and released her, sitting back on his heels.
“Don’t make me kill anyone, Ophelia,” he murmured, tracing over her throat down to her collarbones. “You wouldn’t like it, and I don’t want to upset you.”
