Tace lifted a shoulder. “I’m not sure, but I’ll keep you informed.”
Barbara stood, grabbed the kitten and food. “Good. Still friends?” Vulnerability lowered her tone.
“Yeah.” He followed her to the door and drew her in for a hug. “Always friends.”
“Good.” She headed into the hall. The kitten howled. “Sorry.” She laughed and hustled toward the landing.
He winced. That would’ve awakened pretty much everybody. He heard doors quickly opening down the hallway. Damn it. The first gaze he saw was Raze’s. The soldier had a knife in his hand. “Sorry. Angry kitten.”
Raze snorted and shut his door. There were grumbles, but all the other doors soon closed.
Tace noted with a sigh that Sami hadn’t opened hers at all.
Well, guess it was time they had a discussion. Straightening his shoulders, he moved toward her room and gingerly tried the knob. The last thing he wanted was to awaken everyone again by pounding on the door.
It opened easily.Go back, go back, go back.What was he doing? He needed to leave her the hell alone.
He shoved open the door anyway.
Chapter Fifteen
I should never have tapped out.
—Sami Steel, Journal
Sami sat up in the bed the second her door opened, knowing exactly who was there. Oh, she’d heard the howl of a cat but hadn’t wanted to poke her head outside and see Tace, since no doubt he’d heard it, too. “Get out.”
He slipped inside, filling the entryway. “We need to talk.” The door shut behind him, and he strode inside as if he had every right to be in her private domain. “I’m really sorry about you walking in and seeing Barbara. To be honest, we’ve been so busy, I forgot to break up with Barbara earlier. I mean, we weren’t really going out, but still.”
Sami pulled the covers over her bare legs. She’d thrown on an old tank top and panties to sleep in. Her hand fumbled, and she ignited the lantern on her bedside table. “You broke up with her?” Not that it mattered.
He paused. “She broke up with me, softening the blow with a kitten.”
Sami’s eyebrows rose. “A kitten?”
He grinned. “Yeah.”
“Are you, I mean, sad?” She tucked the blankets around her thighs.
“No. Barbara and I were just friends with a couple of benefits, and you know it.” He eyed her chest. “How’s the bruise?”
“Fine. Took some aspirin I’d been hoarding.” Her mouth went dry. “We can talk tomorrow.”
He lifted his head, looking dangerous in dark jeans and a shirt that showed off his predator’s body. “Why is your door unlocked?”
“Lock doesn’t work.” If he wasn’t leaving, she was getting dressed. She reached for a pair of yoga pants off the floor and quickly shimmied into them, wincing as her chest ached in response.
He crossed muscled arms, overwhelming her space with the sense of masculine power. “Why would you choose a room where the lock doesn’t work?”
“It’s nicer than the rest of the rooms.” If he got any closer, they’d be back in the bed. Her thighs softened at the thought.
He glanced around at the living room with fifties-style furniture and the extra-large sitting area complete with a small office. A beautiful Persian rug covered most of the floor. “Where’d you get the rug?”
“Mansion near Malibu.” She shrugged, trying to keep the conversation casual when all she wanted was to tackle him to that pretty rug. “Thought it was classy.”
“It is classy.” He frowned.
She had the oddest urge to rub the frown lines away, so she tucked her hands at her hips. “What?”
