“I now adore unpredictable. And new and different and whipped cream and kissing.” He rubbed his thumb over his bottom lip, the heat of his breath wafting over my cheeks. “No one has ever wanted to kiss me before, much less want to never stop.” He lifted his head and those gorgeous green lips of his found the shell of my ear.
“I ran out into the woods, Poe, because I needed to get away. Dash, Reaper, Acer. All of them have found females. Females who want them. Females who love them. I wanted to find mine. I wanted to find her more than I have wanted anything else in my whole life.” He nuzzled his nose along the side of my cheek, inhaling deep, dragging my scent into his lungs. “I could have never imagined she wouldfind meinstead.”
My knees went weak, my heart fluttering within my chest.
Mean it Dax. Please mean it.It was my turn to beg, but I couldn’t do it aloud, too afraid if I did, everything I wished for would vanish in a puff of smoke.
Chapter Eleven
*Dax*
Ihad rendered herspeechless, which even after only a day in her presence, I was sure wasn’t her natural state. My base analysis was that her mouth moved constantly. Oh, I didn’t think that she was talking to others, but I could envision her talking to an empty room. Working and reworking her thoughts out loud, figuring her life out, the walls around her as her captive audience.
Was it possible to be jealous of walls? Jealous they got to hear her thoughts and secrets while I had remained unaware of her existence? Not anymore. She had found me.
I relaxed my frame, confident she didn’t intend to flee. I had been worried for a moment, terrified she would withdraw, putting a stop to us before we even had a chance to begin. My hands gripped her waist, tugging her body to mine, meshing her with my frame. Her form trembled slightly then her head settled against my chest. The last bits of tension I had been still carrying fled as she allowed me to hold her.
“It has been a long and stressful day. It would be my greatest pleasure if you allowed me the honor of sleeping with you.”
Her head jerked back from my chest, her breath catching in her throat. “Sleepwith you,” she parroted my words, but her were in a much higher pitch. “I’ve never. Frick and frack...” she slammed her lips closed and her cheeks blazed red. “I’m a virgin, okay?” She shouted quickly before burying her face into my chest, refusing to look at me.
Virgin? Why would she feel the need to shout that at me? So am I, but I do not feel the need to shout it at her. Did she think it would bother me? And why would...oh.My processors finally caught up.
My cheeks blazed, matching her red with my own dark green. “I may not have gotten my phrasing correct. My choice of words led you to believe I was implying sexual intercourse. I was not. I meant the act of sleep.” I carefully slipped my hands into her hair, tipping her head back so she could see my face. I wanted her to see that I was being honest with her.
As much as the thought of sex with Poe threatened to re-wire my programming and fry my processors, I wanted us both to be ready. Deep down, I was as nervous as she looked at the moment. I am an untried model. I no experience except for the files I could pull from my databases. Not one couple at headquarters had allowed me to view their coupling. My research trials were non-existent.
I brushed a lock of unruly hair off her face. “Cyborgs don’t require sleep, but I would be honored to rest beside you and if you felt so inclined, to let me hold you as you slept, well, that would be another amazing highlight of this day.”
Her forehead wrinkled adorably. “You want tohold mewhile I sleep? Who are you?”
“Yours, if you will have me,” I answered honestly, saying what my circuits longed to say.
A flash of pain flickered through her eyes. “Only for a few days,” she said sadly.
Her words ripped through my happiness like a sharp blade, shredding the hope that had been building inside my frame.
No. I had never given up in my whole existence. I had brought Dr. Shaw back from death because I refused to lose my mother. I put Reaper back together against all odds. I spent weeks reconstructing Rust, painstakingly fixing every bit of damage on his face and inside his CPU, vowing to myself that I would get him as close to his original self as possible.
I had saved Marley and her baby, gave Aria and Reaper more time with Theo, and engineered a formula that allowed the mates of cyborgs to spend a lifetime together instead of just years.
There was no way I would fail when it came to winning my female. This was the most important undertaking of my life. My processors knew without a doubt that Poe wanted to keep me, but she believed she wouldn’t be able to. Both of our actions would pose problems when we returned to headquarters. And I had to return, if only to apologize.
I had been the freak for most of my time there, but recently, I had found friends. For the first time, I had felt like I belonged. I owed them my apology and hopefully they would give me the opportunity to explain. Hopefully they could forgive me in time. Until then, I would spend every moment convincing Poe we didn’t have to end in goodbye.