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abdomen and stepped out of them.
    The pile was complete, minus the hat and
gloves he’d left in his locker. Her jaw was loose, her eyes shiny and
unreadable.
    Damn, he couldn’t take that look. If she
only knew how much it was killing him. What in the hell was he doing? Sam stepped
to her. Slowly, he lost the restraint. He needed one touch. Leaving only inches
between them, he failed and took a piece of her shirt-dress between his fingers
where it was wet. Like nothing he’d wanted this badly before, he’d live on the
streets to feel her soft breasts right now as they rose and fell with her chest
as she breathed. Instead, he fought and whispered down at her. “Is this what
you wanted, Emma? Me stripped to the bone like this with the promise I won’t
touch you?”
    Her head sort of rolled back, then
finished the half circle back to the front. Did that mean yes or no? What he
did know for certain was that she was shaken but trying to hide it. Being harsh
with her was painful and wrong.
    It wasn’t who he was. Not with her.
    This was ending. Now.
    Decided, Sam leaned down and kissed her
forehead, picked up her dangling hand, and gave it a squeeze then let it fall.
It skimmed down his chest, killing him. Then he turned and left the room in all
his glory, willing his hard-on away. It didn’t take long as soon as the door
was between them and the cold hallway air iced his skin. His lust evaporated. On
the heels of that, the empty feeling began to sink his heart.
    Gabe stood outside the door.
    “Hey man, I could have sworn I saw Emma
go in ahead of you.” Gabe asked , his one eyebrow
hitched up. “Everything okay? She
still in there? You forgot your clothes.”
    Sam appreciated the frown on Gabe’s face
and the concern making his friend entirely too wordy, but right now all he
wanted was to rush back in, take her in his arms, and be with her.
    Finally.
    He tugged at the one side of his hair
and slammed his hands back into the door. He realized how hard he’d hit it when
the door whined at his force. He shouldn’t have left like that. He should have
stayed with his best friend, confused and acting out as she was right now.
      “Did
anyone else see us go in?” he asked Gabe, worried about the implications and
her job.
    “Nah man, I was alone.”
    Sam remembered noting the monitor’s
light was turned off inside. As of right now, only Gabe, himself, and Emma knew
about this situation. Her job was safe, for the time being. He shook his head
in fierce frustration. “She’s not coming out. Damn it.” That had been his hope.
She comes out. They go across the street for thick, bitter diner coffee, and
stay awake the rest of the night talking about what just happened. He makes
sure she walks away safe and unharmed.
    He could deal with the consequences of
his actions after the fallout. Yeah, it’d hurt like hell to go through all that
again but he’d do it, and this time there would be no question. He’d take one-hundred
percent of the blame and make sure she never had to deal with him in this way
again.
    “You need to finish up whatever you two
have going…I’ll hang out,” Gabe said slowly toward the end and raised his brows
again like he was agreeing to watch the door.
    “Nothing’s happening,” Sam stated for
the record. The one that had to be clean and not get Emma in
trouble here at the club. He whispered to Gabe the rest. “Going back in
there is the last thing I should be doing.” He paused, not knowing what to make
of what had just happened. And that’s when it hit him. Emma hated that room. No
way should she be holed up inside. Something else was wrong with her. He had to
go back. “She needs help. I trust you not to say anything to anyone.”
    Gabe nodded in understanding. “I’ll stay
close by then. But hey, don’t forget. You don’t work here anymore, bro.” Gabe
lifted his chin to Sam like he’d just spelled out the obvious. “As far as
anyone’s concerned, all I saw was an S staff