“Cash.”
The man snorted. “Wish all my customers paid in cash. That much less I’d have to report to the IRS.” He grinned. “Just kidding, of course.” He handed her change for the twenties she’d given him and two keys on keychains with pink plastic tags bearing the name of the motel. On the other side of the tags were the numbers 7 and 8. “Check-out’s at eleven a.m. We don’t have any sort of breakfast to serve you, but the Double Diamond Diner is just down the road. It opens at six a.m., and you can’t beat their flapjacks.”
N8 and Cydney thanked the man and left. The manager followed behind, locking the door after them.
The motor inn consisted of a single row of rooms extending directly behind the office. Two other cars were parked in the lot. Cydney drove up to the one with the number seven on the door and stopped.
“All right. Everybody out. Let’s try to get some sleep. We’re hitting the road bright and early,” N8 announced.
“Leave the groceries in the car. Take only what you think you’ll need before morning,” Cydney added. She handed K8 one key. The other she gave to P8. “The girls and I will take seven. You boys take eight.”
Once everyone had grabbed what they wanted, she drove the car to the end of the row and left it behind the building where it couldn’t directly be seen from the road. N8 waited for her to appear. As he expected, she was moving slowly, almost painfully as she approached.
“You okay?”
She walked into his outstretched arms without a reply and literally sank against him. “At some point, I’m going to find a pay phone somewhere and call my folks. I need to let them know what’s happened to me. But not now. Later. The company may have their phone line tapped, hoping to trace the call back to where I am, and I can’t risk it.” She sighed. “I hope they don’t get too worried when they don’t hear from me. Are the rooms decent?” she asked.
“It’s not a mansion, but it’s clean. We’ll be fine. Thank you, Cydney.”
Holding her was quickly becoming one of the greatest joys in his life. Here was this frail-looking woman, whose first impression was that she was just of another one of Bill and Dorsey’s meek-minded assistants. A woman who spent the majority of her time doing their bidding with her head bowed and her mouth shut. But all that had changed. She wasn’t meek-minded, and she damn sure wasn’t timid. She had the heart of a warrior, and the infatuation he’d previously held for her had grown into a love that overwhelmed him to the point of being frightening.
Cydney lifted her face in a silent plea for his kiss, which he gladly gave her. The kiss was meant to be a gentle affirmation. A promise they would always stay together, no matter what happened. They were both drained from the events of the past few hours. And yet their mouths found warmth and strength in their closeness.
Her arms came up behind him, and her hands clutched his shirt as she tried to bury herself into his body. Pulling his face away, N8 opened his eyes to find her staring up at him. The moon reflected in those deep blue eyes that now appeared black. The look on her face was pure hunger, but not for his kisses.
“N8?” she whispered.
He didn’t answer, but chose to listen for what she was about to say.
“Have you ever had sex before?”
“Not with another person,” he confessed.
Her face screwed up with confusion. “What other way is there?”
“I’ve…pleasured myself. Sometimes I had to do it deliberately, so they could test my sperm.”
“They the scientists?”
A nod.
“So you’re a virgin?”
“Yes. And I have absolutely no idea what to do.”
Her lips curved upward. “Want to learn?”
He glanced around. “Here?”
“In my car.”
Images of scenes he’d seen in movies and TV shows flashed through his mind. There was no way they could have any sort of privacy in one of the rooms, or on this porch. The car seemed like a pretty good idea.
“Is it safe?”
“Safe?” She tilted her head. Not waiting for an answer, she drew an arm around his waist and led him back to the vehicle.
He stood to the side and watched as she opened the door to the middle section and lowered the seats. “Help me move these bags to the front, would you?”
