not asking for access, or for a tour for you."

his shoulders slumped.

i sure hope dori's having better luck than i, he lamented. of course, the frenchwoman hadn't said much to him the past day or so.

"can't you just play nicely for once?" she wearily implored. "i'm going crazy trying to keep up with things around here as it is. hell, i haven't even had time to do more than drink a cup of warm blood now and again, much less get any rest."

"look, please just check out what the major's doing in the vault -" he urged before being cut off by paige's holding up her hand for silence.

she cocked her head to one side and moved so quickly that the air whirled around him. the door to the room swished open, and she stood outside pivoting her head so fast that she seemed to view all directions at once.

she froze, cocked her head to one side again, and listened. finally, she shrugged while reentering the room and closed the door behind her.

"did you hear somebody?"

"see? now you're making me paranoid," she chastised.

"i'm sorry." the last thing he wanted to do was make her angry with him.

i'm already pressing my luck with katrina.

her aggravation seemed to dissipate in mere seconds as she stared into his gentle eyes.

it's so damned hard to stay angry at him.

her graceful, pale hand reached up to caress the side of his face, and she appreciated the rough, masculine stubble forming on his cheek. she lightly patted him, and then playfully pinched his cheek with her fingertips.

"twerp," she muttered. "try to stay outta trouble, will ya?"

he reached up to caress her hand. "i'll try, just for you," he promised.

his warm touch sent a small tingling wave through her, as a lover's touch might. she snatched her hand back, as if lingering there might burn it.

"good boy," she said. "now get outta here. i've got real work to do."

he walked past her as she held the door open for him. however, as soon as he departed, she contemplated the fleeting sensations that he had just sparked in her.

then she forced her thoughts to other matters, specifically how urgently caleb had pleaded his concerns about the major and dubravko. she shrugged and made a mental note to try and pay more attention to them.

"yeah, in all my plentiful spare time."

once the active session ended, katrina and alton met at length with talise penbroke for a private meeting in the conference room after the other attendees had departed. alton hoped that talise's expertise in contract law could be leveraged for mediation of some agenda topic disputes. katrina suggested that an arbitrative role instigated by talise might help appeal to the negative, extremist elements in the room. while dubious, at least talise seemed sincere and promised to try.

by the time katrina returned to the suite, it was late evening. she found caleb lounging on the couch watching a movie on television. he sat up and grinned at her over the back of the couch as she entered, which quickly warmed her heart. for the first time in a few days, and despite his still-evident physical injuries, her mate appeared more relaxed and settled. it brought a wan smile to her lips as she crossed the distance between them to kiss him.

"you're late tonight," he casually observed. "how did everything go today?"

she shrugged. "pretty much the same as the day before. i'm just glad that nobody has walked out. that must say something about our efforts, i suppose."

he took her by the hand and led her to the front of the couch, pulling her down to sit next to him. turning her away from him slightly, he massaged her shoulders and neck with his strong fingers.

the sensations were both soothing and welcome and evoked small moans of pleasure from her. she concluded that it was the perfect physical greeting after such a long, trying day. moreover, she resolved to get some real sleep that night for a few hours.

"you're precisely what i need," she complimented as his fingers continued their ministrations against her taut muscles.

he's definitely in a better mood.

he kissed her neck in response to her compliment and murmured, "i love you."

best of all, he kept massaging. it was the first night since their arrival that things felt more like they were supposed to between them.

she only hoped that it would last.