She laughed and sat back. “Very well. At least I don’t shift into a big mass of metal with more arms and legs than I could count.”
Moss cocked his head. “Eight. You can use your fingers if it helps,” he teased. He scrutinized her face in search of the disbelief or horror from the omission of what he was but found nothing but weary joy. He squeezed her hand again, finding that he never wanted to let it go.
“Oh, thanks. I’ll remember that. Have you always been like that?”
“Like what? A hot piece of indestructible tardigrade ass? Yeah. I’m virtually impossible to get rid of. You might not know this but I can withstand the impact of a meteor, freezing temperatures, long periods of dehydration, and the heart attack of a beautiful woman putting herself in danger for me. Beware.”
“Oh, I see.” Lucy struggled to get her hand free from his but he refused to let it go. “So my worry amounted to nothing?”
“What can I say? I liked being worried over…”
Moss met her eyes head-on, leaving the words hanging heavily between them. Metal shifted throughout his body in anticipation, micromovements he had no intention of stopping. The need to claim Lucy grew with every steadily increasing heartbeat. She swallowed and his eyes caught and recorded every movement of her beautiful, pale throat, picturing it swallowing something else entirely. Something ofhis. Moss’s muscles tightened.
An eagerness for more frayed his wires.
Lucy broke his gaze with a shudder and visibly froze under his perusal. “What are we going to do with the flowers?” Her next swallow was far more shallow than her last. Moss let her go.
“I’ll return them to their natural habitat.”
“Can I go with you?” she asked, leaning over to pet one of the flowers with her finger. The way he wanted her to touch him.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Several hours later, with two out of the three of Loxuria’s suns having already set, Lucy drove them out of the Larkswest Estate and into the wilds of the planet. Unincorporated territory. She stopped the vehicle several miles outside the estate grounds, down in a ravine where a large, crystalline lake flowed undisturbed. Moss held eight potted flowers in his lap.
“Okay babies, now I’m really, really sorry for having your mama killed, but I know you can survive without her,” Lucy continuously cooed at the plants, speaking in the direction of his cock. He had no idea how to handle it. “Out here, you can grow big and strong and just as evil, and on your own terms!”
“Yes you can,” he numbly cooed with her.
“Yes, you can! You so can! I did it, you can do it too.”
He cracked a smile. “You like kids?”
“Kids like me, normally. I used to be an ambassador for Orphans Lost in Space, but then during our 200th anniversary, I booked a cruise for the entire donor organization, and for all the past, present, and hopeful future parents to attend and well, I didn’t realize it was apleasurecruise. I’m just glad the kids were all far, far away from that fiasco. I like kids.”
Moss burst out a laugh. “You’ve had an interesting life.”
She shrugged and wilted dramatically in her seat. “Not as interesting or disastrous as the time I insulted an alien Knight of Xanteaus and refused his marriage proposal, or when I hired a multi-million dollar pool boy to get rid of this giant monster flower in my backyard.”
“You’ve got me beat. Hold your babies for a second.” Moss gently handed her the flowers and stepped out of the craft.
“What’re you doing?”
“Making sure my babies are safe before they get out of the vehicle.” He winked and closed the door, taking in a deep breath to settle his senses. His muscles had been tight as hellspace from the moment he landed on Loxuria and threatened to remain so until he left. Being near Lucy was only making it worse.
Moss closed his eyes and scouted out the area. After finding the immediate vicinity safe, he returned, only to discover Lucy still talking to the flowers.
“I’ll come out and visit you every week and make sure you’re growing up to be big beautiful flowers.”
“No, you will not,” he warned, opening her door. “Over my dead body will you come out here and check on them.”
“You won’t be here to stop me. And they need love to grow up healthy. Look what happened when I left their mother alone...”
Moss took the flowers from Lucy and then helped her from the vehicle, leading her to the water’s edge. He set the pots down and began digging a hole with his hands. “And you have no idea what I’m capable of. You will not take one step outside your vast estate without my permission.”
“How dare you! I’ll have you know—”
“Know nothing.” He pointed a muddy finger at her. “If you think your house’s AI is tyrannical now, just you wait. I’ll talk to it. Cyborgs have a way with machines.” The way her face flushed made him want to sweep her off her feet and kiss her senseless. He dug harder.
