My cheeks heated. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

I managed to make it to my feet. I pulled on my jeans and t-shirt, not bothering with a bra, and collected my weapons. Then I hauled ass toward the elevator, practically sprinting as the sudden silence warned me that the water had turned off.

The elevator doors opened immediately, and I blew out a breath, stepping inside and pressing the button for the lobby. Samael stepped into the living room, stark naked. Drops of water ran down his skin as he placed his hands on his hips, and I went suddenly mute.

“Leaving so soon?” he purred.

I was weak. I took a step toward him, but the elevator doors began to close, jolting me from my lust. Samael raised one eyebrow, then turned, and walked away, the muscles of his butt flexing enticingly.

He wouldn’t beg me to stay. And I wouldn’t step out of the elevator. We’d finally rolled between his sheets, and hopefully, this was just residual lust. Now, we could both get on with our lives and no longer have to fight against the insane chemistry that urged us to rip off each other’s clothes.

The lobby was half empty this early in the morning, but plenty of heads turned my way. My walk of shame had been noted. Awesome.

I drove home, refusing to think about Samael. I didn’t think about the way he touched me, the way he breathed my name, or the way he made me feel more pleasure than I’d ever imagined I could. And I certainly didn’t think about turning my car around, walking back through his lobby, into his elevator, and climbing back into his bed.

I’d finally bought Lia an automatic cat food dispenser, but she still ignored me when I walked in.

“Wow, if only I had a friend, I’d be sure to share these yummy treats,” I said, shaking the bag.

She was curled on the sofa, her tail twitching back and forth as she steadily pretended I was invisible. I shook the treats harder.

“Yum, yum. Tuna flavored. Delicious.”

She opened one eye.

“Come on, cat. Be my friend. Please?”

I took a step toward her, rattling the bag some more. She yawned, bared her sharp kitty teeth and sat up, staring at me. People said cats were fiercely independent. That they didn’t need you around. But Lia liked to punish me for my absences.

Languidly, she jumped off the sofa, strolling toward me. She twined around my legs, and I grinned. “So, we are friends again? Shameless bribery for the win.” I gave her a handful of treats and slunk into the shower where I lathered myself up with a vanilla shower gel which was the opposite of Samael’s scent in every way.