Sami faltered by the bed. “Um, what side do you want?” Okay, this was getting weird.
“Right side.” He moved toward the side by the window.
She nodded and slid into the other side, turning off the flashlight. The room was plunged into darkness. Soft sheets caressed her skin. “Tace?” she whispered.
“Yeah?”
“Do you really sleep on the right?”
He rolled to his side to face her. With her eyes adjusting, she could barely make out his strong features. “I wanted to be closer to the window in case it was breached,” he murmured.
That’s what she’d figured. “You know, it occurs to me that you’ve always done stuff like that, and I’m just questioning why now.” She moved onto her side.
“You’re a girl.”
She opened her mouth to snap at him, but he tapped a finger against her lips. Shock and the electric heat suddenly sparking through her kept her silent.
“I know you’re a dangerous and well-trained soldier, and I respect that. But I’m still a guy who was raised with a strong mama and two little sisters, and I’m always gonna try to shield you. It’s who I am. I like you, Sami. Even if I didn’t, I’d still try to protect you as much as I could. But I do like you.”
He sounded almost confused about the last.
“What’s wrong with liking me?” she whispered, her toes freezing. Maybe if she moved them just a little toward him, they’d get warm. The guy was like a heater.
“I only seem to like you.” He rubbed his face. “I mean, I think I like the other Vanguard soldiers, but I really like you, and that’s not good right now. I’m not the guy I was—though that guy would’ve tried to charm you.”
She chuckled. “You come from Texas guys who wore white cowboy hats, don’t you?”
He shifted in the bed. “Yeah. The men in my family were all Texas Rangers, and before that, sheriffs. I always thought I’d finish in the service and go back and be a lawman. With our last name, there was never much of a choice.” He breathed out. “I’ve let them down.”
She paused. “How?”
“By losing myself to Scorpius,” he whispered, emotion clouding his eyes. “The darkness was always there inside me, so it’s my fault it even exists for Scorpius to let free. I know that deep down.”
She shook her head. “That’s crazy. Plus, truth be told, I think anybody who ever settled Texas probably had a dark side. It was necessary.” How could he not see that he was every bit the hero he’d always been . . . just with a darker edge?
“That’s sweet.” He ran his knuckles across her cheek.
She blinked and tried to remain perfectly still. “Tace.”
He nodded. “I know.”
Her throat clogged, and her body rioted. Okay. She had to get control. “Um . . .”
Tension spiraled from him, surrounding her in a hungry heat. His lips started to move, and she had to force herself to concentrate on what he was saying. “I want to proposition you, just for the night, even though it’d be a colossal mistake. But we’re in bed together, and . . .”
Man, when Tace opened up, he sure did it with a vengeance. “We’re friends.” She scrambled to find a reason why they couldn’t.
“Is that all?” he rumbled.
“Yes.” She liked him, too, and having him this close was a dangerous temptation. Anything more than a friendship would be a mistake, especially if her past caught up to her, which it always did. At that point, if Tace tried to shield her, he’d be demolished—and that was only if he understood. But how could he? He was a good guy from a long line of law-enforcing good guys. She didn’t know how to separate sex and feelings, damn it. “Friends is all we can be.”
“All right, friend.” He caressed the side of her face. “Tell me about your sister.”
Sami leaned into his touch, warming to her memories. “Jackie was a year younger than me, and she was the good one. Straight A’s, sweet, pretty. Studied teaching in college and taught kindergarten for two years before she died.”
“Scorpius?”
“Yeah. She didn’t survive. I reached home in time to say good-bye, though.” Sami’s chest ached. If she kept talking, she’d reveal too much. “I was the rebel.”
