Page 156 of Simon Says

“You’re through with me, so what do you care?”

A door opened down the hall and Barber stepped out, followed by Harley and Mallet. What the hell! Were they having a frigging party?

Simon couldn’t believe his luck. The men took in the scene with curiosity, amusement, and pure male appreciation.

Shit.In a low growl, Simon said to Dakota, “Get back into your room.”

Instead, she shoved at his chest. “Back off, Sublime. Even when you liked me, you weren’t my boss. Now that you’re done with me, you sure as hell aren’t going to give me orders.”

Barber straightened. “You two are through?”

Seeing Dakota’s friend as a new target, Simon snarled, “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

Barber shrugged. “Well, yeah.”

Dakota shoved him again. “Don’t start on Barber just because you’re done with me.”

Why the hell did she have to keep saying it like that?

He looked again, and saw all the men grinning. They’d stationed themselves comfortably against the wall, settled in for the duration of the show.

It was more than Simon could take.

He glared at Dakota. “Fine. You want to flaunt yourself, go ahead.” Again he turned to leave, and he had to force his feet to take every damn step.

Dakota raised her voice even more. “You should know, Simon. I’m not Bonnie.”

What the hell was that supposed to mean? Simon turned back to her. “Your point?”

“I won’t come chasing after you the way she did. If you want to be a big baby and stalk off without giving me a chance to explain, that’s fine. But I won’t beg you to listen to me, damn it. If you think I will, you can forget it.”

They already had an audience, so what would be the point of discretion? His voice rose, too. “I’m not stalking off, I’m just leaving.”

“Ha. You’re flaring your nostrils like a bull’s. You look ferocious enough to step into the ring.”

“But you’re not afraid of me, are you, honey? That was all an act, too, wasn’t it?”

“Think what you want, but I already told you I trusted you and that made all the difference.”

Simon’s brain couldn’t go there. Not right then. “You lied to me! How the hell would you explain that?”

Scornful, she said, “You’ll never know, since you won’t give me a chance!”

He threw up his arms.

From behind them, Barber said, “I take it he knows about Barnaby?”

Dakota whirled, saw the other men with Barber, and rather than be embarrassed over her state of undress, she sought an alliance. “I didn’t have to tell him. Barnaby did.”

Barber winced. “Tough break, doll. I take it you hadn’t gotten around to it yet, as planned?”

So shehadplanned to tell him—just not soon enough.

“I tried! Buthe”—she pointed a finger at Simon—“never gave me a chance.”

Lazily, Harley unglued himself from the wall. With a brow raised, he said, “If you were dressed like that, I can see why.”

Mallet slugged him. “Don’t look.”

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