She nodded sharply into his chest. “Good. He never deserves to be free again.”
They stood wrapped in each other for long minutes and then Tansy looked up at him again. “Thanks for sharing that with me.”
“I’ll share anything with you. Always.” And he meant it.
Tansy nodded seriously and then watched him for a minute before nodding. “Me too.”
Relief swamped him. They’d get through this. He caressed her cheek and eventually, the serious look in her eyes changed.
She smiled, and her eyes twinkled. Then her fingers traced over his chest, following the lines of his muscles.
Heat built, and for a long moment, they simply looked into each other’s eyes.
“I have an idea about what you could share next.”
Sam laughed, and Tansy grinned.
“You do, do you?”
She nodded and her hand moved lower. “I do. What do you think about that?”
Sam lowered his hands and squeezed her ass, then boosted her up so that her legs wrapped around him.
“I think sharing is caring.”
Take the Bait
Tansy felt better as they jogged back to the lodge a few hours later. Sex was definitely a relaxant, but it was so much more than that.
Sam had opened up about the worst parts of his job. He’d trusted her with the deep, dark reality of what he’d experienced. She couldn’t imagine having that horror living in her head.
And she’d been so caught up in being embarrassed about being a dupe. It was still bad, but Sam’s honesty had helped her put it into perspective.
Sam, Joe, and Nico lived in a different world. Hers was filled with possibilities and potentials. Theirs was filled with dark souls and darker deeds.
Tansy needed to suck up her embarrassment and help deal with the fallout of her stupidity instead of hiding from it.
Added to her more balanced feelings, or maybe because of them, she’d made a leap in her programming. After she’d implemented the new code, she and Sam had tested the hologram in the dusk and it had worked well.
If it worked that well in the sunlight, she knew she could send it off to her DOD contact. Once she had her phone, she’d email and see how they wanted to handle delivery.
Email delivery certainly wasn’t secure enough, especially with the situation surrounding the tech.
Maybe she’d take a road trip to Washington and deliver it. Get it out of her hands completely. That would also keep attention off Midnight Lodge and away from Phail. “If I deliver the tech to Washington, do you want to do a road trip with me?”
Sam grinned. “Couldn’t keep me away. But I’m hoping they’ll send someone here to pick it up.”
That would work as well. Anyone watching or keeping track would see military people arriving and leaving.
“That would be even better.” She would suggest it in her email.
As usual, they slowed as they neared the lodge. It was comforting knowing Joe and Graham were inside and everything was safe.
“I’m sorry if Graham thinks I’m ungrateful and whiny.”
Sam laughed again and then nodded, so they moved forward. “Graham had your back when you went up to grab your things. Told me and Joe we were nuts to have kept his arrival from you.”
Well, that helped her feel better as they walked inside. The two men sat in the main room, looking at their phones.