“Fine.” Venom didn’t try to hide the disappointment in his tone. “You two go get it done. I’ll wait here in case our newfound friend decides to make an early night of it.”
If he did, Venom would be waiting.
* * *
Black Knights Inc. Headquarters
“I think we’re down a man,” Delilah said.
Ozzie scrubbed a hand over his face, following the thumb Delilah hooked to his left. Samantha, who had pulled up a chair beside him at the bank of computers, was out cold. No surprise considering that when he glanced at his watch, he realized four hours had passed since he began hacking the Basilisks’ computers, rifling through their banks statements, identifying their overseas accounts, and so on.
If you thought all that sounded really interesting, you’d be dead wrong. It was enough to put an observer into a coma. Case in point: Samantha.
“So what’s the deal, Ozzie?” Delilah asked as a girlie-sounding snore fluttered Samantha’s lips. Her arm was straight on the computer table, her cheek flat against the surface, her mouth slightly open. It wouldn’t be long before a puddle of drool formed. “Is this just another of your legion of conquests? Or is it something more?”
He wished there was a way it could be something more. He wished there was a way to make it so, as Jean-Luc Picard would say. But there were too many obstacles between them, too many secrets. Not to mention Samantha’s assertion earlier that she believed what they had was fun for now but not forever.
“Don’t worry, Dee. She has no designs on me for the long haul.”
“Good.” Delilah blew out a breath.
“Glad one of us is happy about that.”
“Ozzie—”
“No.” He held up a hand. “Just…no, okay?” Then it occurred to him that maybe he was being overly sensitive. He was tired. His leg was throbbing—the damn thing always throbbed. And he’d been staring at his computer screen for so long, his eyes felt gritty. “I think that’s enough for tonight.” He punched the power button on his monitor and watched the screen go black. “We’ll pick up here in the morning.”
Delilah opened her mouth like she wanted to say something more, then closed it again, shaking her head. Finally, she declared, “I’m going to start rifling through the accounts you hacked, see if anything buzzes my radar.”
He realized his tone was more cutting than he intended by the furrow of Delilah’s brow when he said “Suit yourself,” but he couldn’t make himself apologize. Those twin pits of self-pity and remorse were back. They’d sprouted thick branches that threatened to strangle him as he shoved to a stand.
“Samantha…” He bent to whisper in her ear, brushing a lock of hair behind the delicate shell. “Time to call it a night.”
She came awake with a start and a curse. Only Samantha. Just like that, his frown turned upside down. And some of those dark emotions that had taken root were ripped out and tossed away.
“Did I fall asleep?” She blinked at him blearily.
“Sawed a few logs. Nothing major,” Delilah assured her.
In the light of Delilah’s computer screen, Ozzie saw Samantha grimace. “I know I snore.” Adorably, he thought. You snore adorably. “Sorry.” She gazed around as if disoriented. “So did you find anything?”
“Not yet,” he told her. “But it’s enough for one night. I need to get some sleep.”
“Oh good.” She nodded and pushed to a wobbly stand. “Take me to bed, Goose. Or lose me forever.”
Top Gun. She quoted Top Gun at him.
His heart clenched. She was everything he’d ever hoped for. Everything he was doomed never to have.
* * *
“Your room or mine?” Samantha waggled her eyebrows at Ozzie. They were standing in the dark third-floor hallway, so she figured the effort was wasted. Still, she hoped he could hear the eyebrow waggle in her voice.
“You’re tired,” he said. “Let’s agree on a rain check.”
She had been tired. Downstairs, after hours of watching his fingers fly across not one but two keyboards—he really is a Whiz Kid, a hacker extraordinaire—she’d been exhausted. But the journey up the flight of stairs, not to mention all the thoughts of what was to come once they were in one of the bedrooms, had her awake. And horny.
“Damnit, Ozzie,” she hissed. “Not again.”
