“Admitting defeat?” he asked, not looking too bothered even as she stood.

“Never,” she hissed, angry once again and completely forgetting her vow to stop this madness.

“You’ve got one week left,” he said. “Do you want to see the painting? I don’t have to return it until this afternoon.”

“All I want right now is a bed and a good dozen hours of sleep,” she muttered.

“I can provide that,” he said calmly. “The blue and cream room is ready.”

And for some insane reason she took him up on it.

***

She woke to the gentle touch of a hand brushing her short hair from her forehead. A slight groove appeared between her eyes as she batted at the hand out of instinct and rolled away from whoever was sitting next to her on the bed.

The laugh that got woke her up abruptly and she turned, looking blankly at Syn for a good long moment before realizing that she had to use the restroom. With that thought she crawled out of bed and walked away, not saying a word to the man that had made her an accomplice.

“You look much sweeter when you’re sleeping,” he called after her as he kicked his feet up on the bed and made himself comfortable.

She didn’t deign to reply as she rinsed her mouth out with water from the sink then splashed it on her face. “Where’s Saint?” she demanded as she looked out the door.

“He’s still outside. But that’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” he said casually. “I got the first of those two mares I was telling you about. She’s in the barn right now. I thought you might want to meet her.”