Samson’s growl interrupted him for a second. He wasn’t in the mood to listen to Ricky’s observation about his relationship to Delilah. Especially since he didn’t know what to make of it himself.

“—but I have to tell you what Carl found.”

Samson looked at him with restrained interest. “Go on.”

“You had Carl pack her stuff last night.”

“Don’t tell me things I already know.”

Ricky was normally not one to beat about the bush. His hesitancy fed Samson’s unease.

“He found some files amongst her things.”

“What files?”

“Scanguards’ files.”

Samson’s jaw dropped. “Scanguards?”

Ricky gave a grave nod. “Financial records, asset statements, internal stuff. I don’t have a good feeling about it. Why would she have confidential files of Scanguards? Don’t you think that’s odd? She shows up here two nights ago, and at the same time she has files of your company in her luggage?”

Samson didn’t like the sound of it either. It couldn’t be a coincidence. There was no reason for anybody to have internal documents of his company. Least of all Delilah. What was she up to?

“What’s your theory?”

“She could be a corporate spy,” Ricky guessed, but his voice didn’t sound very convinced.

“Doing what? Selling our client list to our competitors?”

His friend shrugged his shoulders. “Not much to be gained by that. All our competitors are small fry. Nobody’s got the capacity or training to take on our clients.”

Samson nodded. “Have there been any operational issues lately that I’m not aware of?”

Another shake of Ricky’s head. “Everything’s been running smoothly, at least on the vampire side. No idea how the human operation is going, but I haven’t seen any alerts come up.”

Ricky was in charge of vampire recruitment and training.

“Then it’s personal.”

“It could be.” Ricky avoided his gaze.

“What are you thinking?” Samson wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted to know the second possibility.

“What if she’s been seeking you out?”

“A slayer?”

“No. There’s no sign of that among her things. But I can see all the other signs. She’s been wrapping you around her little finger.”

Samson wanted to interrupt him and refute his statement, but Ricky held up his hand.

“I can see it just by the way you reacted earlier. She’s a human woman. Do you know what human women want from rich men like you?”

Samson stared at his friend. Long and hard. “She wants me for my money …” His voice trailed off. He felt an uncomfortable stab in his solar plexus. Indigestion? Definitely not this time. Memories of betrayal swept through him. Recent memories. He braced himself against the kitchen island.

The doorbell gave him reprieve. He looked up and gave Ricky a questioning look.

“Amaury’s probably forgotten his key again. I’ll open up.”

As Ricky left the kitchen, Samson was alone with his thoughts. Could it be true? Could Delilah be just another woman after his money? Another one who didn’t really care for him? He hoped Ricky’s other suggestion was true, that she was a corporate spy. He could handle that, but he couldn’t handle a Delilah who was after his money. Not her. Please not her.

Were her kisses all a lie? And when she gave herself so willingly to him, was it all an act to reel him in? The thought stung, much more than he wanted to admit to himself. No wonder she was so willing. The way she’d responded to him in the car and then later in the theater was not normal for a woman who barely knew a man.

He recalled the moment when they were on their way to the bar in the theater and had gotten stuck in the doorway. The way Delilah had pressed her body against his and practically provoked him to touch her intimately now looked like a calculated move on her part. She was playing him the entire time. A veritable Mata Hari!

This was not good news, especially since what had looked like indigestion, if vampires could have indigestion, he now recognized as something much more serious. It was so clear to him now.

At the same time, it was impossible. How could it have happened? All he’d wanted to do was get over his erection problem, and he’d followed Dr. Drake’s advice to the letter. He’d done nothing different from what the good doctor had ordered. He’d fucked her, again and again, just like he’d fucked other females before. Vampire females. He’d done nothing different with Delilah, so why was the outcome so different?