“Mr. Johann—” she began.
“Moss. I’ll always be Moss to you. Remember that.”
“Moss…” The indignation had suddenly left her voice. “Thank you.”
He nodded tersely, quietly taking his frustrations out on the soil.
10
The last of Loxuria’s suns had set by the time they made it back to the house. Moss had become increasingly irritable throughout the day, as if being there, after a job well done, annoyed him.
Lucy wrang her fingers wishing that he would just leave and put them both out of their misery, or better yet, that he would stay, just for a little bit longer, and talk to her. She’d take what she could.
She left the powder room for the hundredth time since he’d entered her life and sought him out. It wasn’t long before she found him staring outside the windows inside her lounge. Lucy steeled her nerves and joined him.
Outside, her house was repairing all the damage that’d been done by the creature. In record time, too.
“You have some amazing tech here,” he said after a moment.
She licked her lips. “Some of the best in the universe.”
“It’s very impressive. All you’re missing now is a war era Cyborg.”
Lucy peeked up at him, her heart fluttering uneasily. “That may prove difficult. I heard they’re hard to keep.” She smiled. “I’ve been told to start with something easy, like a golden retriever before trying my hand at a German shepherd.”
Moss laughed and turned toward her, making her heart skip a beat, and sending butterflies throughout her body. His sparkling white irises captivated her. They were as unusual as snowfall in the tropics and they reminded her how incredibly strange he actually was.
I want him.
She couldn’t remember a time she’d wanted something so much as Moss. It didn’t even compare to how badly she’d wanted to make her parents proud. It didn’t even matter that he transformed into a chubby metal beast with eight legs. The weirdness of the Cyborg next to her was the most relatable being in the universe to her.
“Ah yes,” he said, humor in his voice. “That may be true, but I think you can handle it.”
“Your belief in my abilities will keep you from getting hurt.” Her smile widened. “My brother believed that I wouldneverget him back for the time he reprogrammed my ship’s navigation and sent me sailing in circles for weeks, but that proved to be his downfall. I put everything in his mansion on the market for sale, open to the public at a price so far below its value it’d make you cry, and held the auction while he was at home, asleep. I’ve never seen the look of horror on someone’s face so beautifully than when he came screaming down his marble staircase in nothing but his robes.”
“That just means I should never, ever cross you. I like that.”
“No,” Lucy agreed. He reached up to pull at her hair and she flinched nervously. Her belly jumped, but he was already lowering his hand. She watched it move away from her in slow motion.
“Plea—”
“I’m heading out shortly.” Moss cut her off.
She started. “—Tonight?”
“Once I do my final walkthrough and make sure you’re safe.” He stepped back and her heart fell. The alluring glint in his eyes vanished, replaced with indifference. He was moving away from her and she felt powerless in stopping it from happening. Her upbringing and conditioning screamed relentlessly for her to remain professional, but all she wanted to do was pull him back to her and kiss him.
“Stay here, Lucy Larkwest.” Moss winked at her from across the room. “I’ll be done shortly.”
She jerked. “Please don’t leave without saying goodbye,” she rushed out, every word feeling like a blade moving up her throat, but he was already walking away.
11
Moss sat down heavily in his captain’s seat, feeling the metal plates in his legs and arms vibrate.
Every minute of goodbye, each second that led up to his eventual departure felt wrong in his mainframe. Straight black hair with ethereal neon pink undertones kept inserting itself in his head.
Lucy’s brilliant spark of life made his mouth water, only to dry up with thirst then water all over again. The pros and cons of being able to dessicate oneself.
