His heart thudded again when Lucy reached out, grabbed a beer from the pack, and twisted it open. She set it in front of him at the perfect reach for his arm length, then repeated the process for herself. He fell half in love with her just watching the ease and grace she had in performing such a common, everyday task. He suddenly found himself wishing he could date her. How crazy was that thought? The woman was carrying a bomb where her uterus was supposed to be, for fuck’s sake.
Not that he believed he was really falling in love with Lucille Pennington. At the moment, it was more like reluctant masculine admiration for her companion programming. But the Other Lucy talked about seemed like a woman who would move easily through the world. Seetha Harrington was a lot like that, not that he’d ever told her giant, jealous husband what he thought. But who wouldn’t admire a woman who could survive a work camp and find the balls to try to escape her inevitable death? He could understand why King had fought so hard to stay in her life, even if she had once bought him as a Cyber Husband and given him back.
When the timers sounded, Lucy jumped up quickly and retrieved their meals. She carried them to the table and set his in front of him.
“Do you require anything else?” she asked.
Eric nodded. “Yes. I require you to sit with me and eat. And then you must let me carry what remains after we are done and dispose of it. I grew up in a home where my mother and father shared all domestic tasks. She did most of the cooking. He did cleanup. Let’s agree to do the same.”
Lucy sighed as she nodded. “If you really prefer that, I will comply. But I was programmed to service you in every capacity. It gives me satisfaction to perform domestic tasks for your benefit.”
Eric took a long swallow of his beer, surprised to find he had already emptied the first bottle. It hadn’t taken the edge off his discomfort, so he reached for another one in the pack and ended up closing his hand on top of one’s of Lucy’s who had grabbed the bottle first. They both sort of froze at the physical contact. Her hand was warm under his and her eyes implored him to deepen that connection.
He pulled abruptly away and dropped his gaze to the table. “I’m not helpless, Lucy. I can open my own beer, you know.”
Lucy completed opening the beer and set it in front of him. “Should I ask for permission before opening a third for you?”
Eric chuckled at how she phrased the question because it was definitely, sweetly veiled sarcasm. “No… damn it, no. Just open it now and get it over with. I won’t be drinking more than three. After my cybernetic conversion, I became a light-weight about alcohol. Too much will cause a shift in my programming that neither one of us could handle at the moment.”
Lucy’s eyes met his across the table. She lifted a third beer and deftly opened it, speaking softly when she set it on his side of the table.
“What was your cybernetic conversion like? Do you have memories of it? I find I have none. Forgive me if the question is too intrusive.”
“Your curiosity is no more intrusive than all the crap I ended up spilling to Nero Bastion about it. I remember some of my conversion. I definitely remember it hurt like hell. And I would do it again to win the war. God knows this planet isn’t perfect, nor are its leaders, but it’s all we have. I believe protecting the Earth is the future of cybernetic rejects like us… I mean, like
me
. Cyborgs will become the heroes we used to read about when we were children. Reluctant heroes, maybe… like my friends King and Marcus… but heroes nevertheless.”
“I think I like thinking of you as a hero. Such classic nobility would explain why you took such good care with me when I was malfunctioning so badly yesterday. Would you mind if I took a moment and stored that information? It is a lengthy process in my current condition, but I don’t want to risk losing the idea.”
“Lucy…,” Eric began, wiping a hand over his face. “I’m far from being your hero… or anyone’s hero. Damn it. Most of the time I don’t even treat women well, not even the ones I like.”
He watched her shrug. Her acceptance of his every flaw without comment made him want to go kill Bradley Smith again. One day, he might just do it. He knew lots of ways to make death look accidental. Kyra would never need to know he’d killed her pet torture project.
“Your history with other women does not deter me, Eric 754. It would please me if you would release such concerns. And it does not change my request. I would like to enter a note into memory storage. Please excuse me, I won’t be but a few moments.”
Nodding, Eric blew out a breath and drank nearly another whole beer while Lucy went into a temporary maintenance state and recorded her impressions of him. If the hellcat side of her ever found those notes floating around in her brain, he bet she was going to want to remove his head from his shoulders, or at least to kick his ass. When she returned to full cognizance in his presence, Lucy was smiling.
“That was much easier that time. Perhaps I am healing on my own after all. When you saw me unclothed earlier, I could see my physical scars disturbed you. I will remove them until you can add your own. Other contracts have seemed to view them as proof of their ownership of me as a companion. This is allowed by my protocol.”
“Well, fuck your protocols. I will never put a mark on you,” Eric declared. “And I will kill any other male that even tries. Those days are over, Lucy. Go make a note about that in your memory storage. There will be no more marks of ownership put on you… not if I have any say in the matter.”
“I did not mean my comments to make you angry, Eric 754. I am required to be forthcoming and to offer suggestions that allow us to have a fully participatory relationship…”
“Stop,” Eric ordered, holding up a hand. “For the last time, I’m not angry at you, nor am I going to be, so cease trying to explain yourself. Finish your food and drink your beer. We’re going to take a nice long walk afterwards to tire ourselves, and then I’m tucking you into bed again and giving you some medicine for your headache.”
“But there is no need for your continued concern. My headache is gone now,” Lucy declared.
Eric snorted. “Consider it a preemptive measure,” he said, hoping the sedative could work its magic on her again.
Chapter 6
They explored every room in the facility, including the cage room, because it would be easier to put her back in one if she trusted his explanation. Lucy raised her eyebrows when he explained how certain cyborgs were temporarily restrained while they waited to receive new processors. He softened the story by admitting he’d been held briefly in one of them himself, even showing her which one.
Of course, he didn’t go into the whole theory of restoration because he didn’t want Lucy wondering if that was his ultimate goal where she was concerned. Instead, he downplayed the facility as just a medical one facilitating repairs on the more volatile of cybernetic breakdowns. This fit nicely with having it in a remote location.
Lucy nodded and asked few questions, not staring at the cages very long. He knew she was thinking of hers. They had not defined her “rescue” in exact details, but by now Eric knew her logic. Lucy had simply attributed her incarceration as an extended hibernation period while she waited to be reactivated again… and by him evidently.
And maybe on some level, she even knew her Other was occasionally a wild woman who wanted to destroy everything crossing her path.
“Forgive me for boring you with this scientific information. We should be talking about more pleasant things,” Eric said, trying not to flinch when she slipped her hand into his. His heart threatened to beat its way out of his chest every time she touched him.
“I am not bored,” Lucy denied. “But I am wondering how a once rogue cyborg ended up with my companion contract. I have always enjoyed a mystery. Your presence presents one to me.”
Eric lowered his gaze to where she held his hand. “A human might call our relationship pre-destined or an act of fate. A cyborg might say the odds were incalculable and set it aside as an anomaly not worthy of study. But the reality is that here we are. I guess I’m a realist because I find it easiest to live in the present moment wherever I can. In other words, I have no good answer to that question other than to admit you’ve always fascinated me.”
He felt Lucy’s hand tighten on his. Agreement? Approval? His instinctively tightened back. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to get more attached than he already was.
“May I now act as that assertive companion you wished me to be and make a bold request?”
Eric nodded, turned, and met her gaze. He’d never wanted to kiss a woman so badly in his life. He could take two short steps and have his mouth on hers. “Yes. Be assertive,” he ordered.
“Can we go outside and walk?” Lucy asked.
Even as wound up as he was, the innocent request made him laugh. He had been so damn sure Lucy was going to propose something sexual. He had been hoping damn hard to be right. But it was the first request she’d made that didn’t seem prompted by her companion programming, so Eric ignored his disappointment and tugged her by the hand to the facility door.
They stepped out of the scientific hideaway and into an untamed world of towering green trees. He looked up as the wind blew the leaves and then looked over to see Lucy looking up at the same thing. She sighed and softly laughed. He wished like hell they could just be two normal people enjoying that moment. It was the first in ages he’d wanted something that badly.
“Without access to my memories, I guess I forgot how incredible it is to walk somewhere still untouched by civilization. Given the mechanized conditions of some of its inhabitants, I find it amazing that places like this are allowed to exist on our planet. I saw the forest when we landed, but didn’t hope then that I would manage to experience it in this manner. May I take a moment to make a short recording to keep.”
Eric eased his hand from hers and stepped away. “Certainly.”
She lifted her face and focused her gaze. He supposed that meant she had some sort of recording device installed in her eyes. Her face was so genuinely serene, he was glad Lucy had no idea that she’d remained that way for more than ten minutes. Tracking the time might have prompted guilt and lessened her enjoyment of the experience.
When she finally returned her full attention to him, Lucy acted too fast for him to stop her. Her hungry lips pressed against his as her arms slid around him. Weakened from two days of lusting and no sleep, Eric let himself sink into the welcome he found in her arms. He slid one hand into her hair and the other down to pull her hips against his. No woman had ever felt so good to him. He was in so much trouble.
“Lucy,” he whispered, weakening further when she pressed the promise of her heat close against an erection that throbbed for her.
He pulled her head back by her hair, delving into her mouth with his tongue, reveling in the give of her body against his. He was so caught up in her complete response, that he ignored the first sting in his back, chalking it up to Lucy’s fingernails. But he felt and acknowledged the second one because it sent him weakly to his knees. He stared up at Lucy trying to see what was happening, but her gaze was now directed somewhere off into the trees.
“Run. Save yourself,” Eric commanded, but she seemed not to hear him.
Lucy had started spouting code loudly, the same series of numbers he’d heard her reciting while she’d undergone her change.
He swore as he sank completely to the ground, eyes closing as the darkness mocked his mistake.
***
Lucy automatically recited the response code brought forward by the insistent buzzing in her ears. It was like multiple voices were all talking at once and causing a bigger jumble of confusion than she usually suffered.
She glanced down at her contract male and then stooped to pull the delivery darts out of his back. They were sharp and had probably been quite painful. She smelled the tips to see what he’d received and instantly registered both the name and the strength of the sedative. Rutinol wouldn’t kill Eric 754, but he was going to have as bad a headache when he came around as she’d had in the shower. The dosage he’d received was commensurate with the knowledge he was cyborg and not human.
Disgusted with the turn of events, and the interruption, Lucy let the sedative delivery tools fall to the ground. She shifted her interest to who had shot Eric 754 and why.
Two figures dressed all in black walked slowly out of the trees and approached her. Their eyes were hidden behind a sheer black insert that barely allowed for sight.
Over their shoulders were slung weapons she identified as swords in illegal leather scabbards. Small stunners were strapped to bands crisscrossing their chests. One of them carried the weapon used to deliver the tranquilizer darts which had rendered Eric 754 unconscious.
Both recited the companion location codes as they walked forward. She recited response codes back to them as they neared.
But she was functioning without logical intention because really she had no actual clue what was going on. The Other was supplying what was needed and advising her of what to do.
She felt a sudden urgency to constrain them. The Other understood they were a threat.