“Oh, my heavens! You must think I was raised in a barn.” Slim, delicate fingers clutched the middle of her chest. “Where are my manners? I haven’t introduced myself!” The fingers on her other hand stretched out towards me, and I placed my large, green hand into hers. “My name is Poe.”
I didn’t shake her hand. I curled my fingers over hers, needing to hold on to some part of her.Poe.Her name bounced around my circuits on repeat, branding itself into my processors.
She looked down at the sight of our hands, then trailed her eyes back up my frame to rest on my face. Her eyes were soft and full of something my circuits couldn’t process.
Her voice came out breathless as she declared, “I have waited mywholelife to meet you.”
Chapter One
*Poe*
“I’ve been waiting mywhole life to meet you.” The words rushed past my lips before I could think.
Had I really just said that?
Stupid! Stupid! Why can’t I ever be normal?
Because you weren’t meant to be. You keep trying, but you always fail. Lusting after cyborgs. Digging up old image files to decorate your room like some like lovesick fool. Now look where we are! Trying to sneak into the cyborg rebellion headquarters and then running into the one cyborg you’ve been crushing on for ages.
I took a step back as my pulse skyrocketed. I scanned the forest, debating on my chances of escape if I made a run for it. As I stared at the towering green cyborg in front of me, I figured my chances were slim to none.
Dax was faster.
Stronger.
Smarter.
Sexy.
Lick-able.
Those last two weren’t supposed to be on the list. My tongue darted out to wet my lips. Didn’t change the fact that is was true. If the jig was up, I would take my fill of the Science Model who had haunted my dreams before I ended up on some missing person’s list. At least Oz would look for me. She wouldn’t find me. I had covered my tracks. I had been careful. Who was I kidding? Oz was the world’s best hacker. She would find me but by then, I might a new decoration for the cyborg rebellion. Would my head look nice mounted on their wall? Maybe. All I could hope for was that it was Dax’s wall I ended up on.
Dax’s brows furrowed. “Youhave been waiting to meetme?” Surprise threaded through his voice.
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. He stood so close I could feel the heat coming off his frame. My eyes drifted from his head to his toes trying to memorize this moment.
I tired to memorizehim.
He wore a white button-down shirt tucked into perfectly pressed black trousers, the ends of which brushed the top of expensive black loafers. A black bow tie with green dots wrapped around his neck, and a white lab coat hung off his broad shoulders.
He wasn’t as large as other model types. Oh, he was still built, but he was put together with more elegance. It was as if Dr. Shaw crafted him to showcase brilliance instead of pure brawn. The dress shirt was sculpted to his frame, showing off a muscled chest and what I suspected was a glorious set of abs. Where other cyborgs like Military Model’s frame contained bulk, Dax’s frame was fit and trim. He reminded me of one of those models from the old magazines. What was that one’s name?GQ. He looked like he had stepped off the pages ofGQ. Minus the outfit of course. It had to be the lab coat and bow tie. Those two things reflected the mind that was housed behind his handsome face.
“If I get a choice, please mount my head on your wall, okay?” I slapped a hand over my mouth.Shut up, Poe!