“Don’t you dare give me puppy-dog eyes, Cyborg,” Mia warned.
“They’re reserved for you, and only you.”
She sagged and looked at the ceiling of her office. “I can’t win with you.”
“You’re the best.” He turned back to the door.
“Don’t you forget it,” she called after him. “I’ll finish processing the request today. You better bring me back a nice souvenir. I want a yacht!”
4
Moss waited for clearance to land. His ship hovered in the stratosphere above Larkswest Estate. It was the closest he was allowed to get before Loxuria security measures would be triggered, and if he knew anything about the extremely wealthy, it was to never underestimate their devotion to protecting what was theirs.
Far below was a mansion and military-grade bunker with grounds spanning for miles in every direction. He surveyed the landscape while he waited.
There were few outlying buildings from the main structure but there were many security checkpoints throughout. He couldn’t see them, but they registered on his screen. Whoever designed the place post-war had kept the integrity of the alien ecosystem intact. It was all perfectly integrated, perfectly remote, and utterly beautiful. They’d made damn well sure the ecosystem would be minimally impacted around the estate.
Inside was something else entirely. He ran a scan for human and android life forms.
One human. Eight hundred and fifty-three functioning robots. The one human, his current pseudo-employer, was en route.Heading for wherever I’ll be cleared to land.
“You’re now cleared to land.” As if whoever on the other side could read his mind. “Proceed to landing zone C.”
Landing zone C? Its a house, not a spaceport.Moss tempered his impatience. His file said nothing about who employed him. Whether he was dealing with one of the Larkswest’s themselves or a trusted employee, he had no idea, and it was against procedure to hack into people’s private networks and servers.
It happened all the time anyway, but the wealthy… Getting into their systems was a real challenge. One that might kill you for even trying.
“Roger that,” Moss said.
His ship moved into position without him, descending the short span to his destination. He straightened out his uniform and cracked his neck, stretching and popping the metal joints of his knuckles at the same time. Moss headed for his armory and slid a laser pistol into the sheath under his jacket. He stopped in the doorway on the way out, paused a moment, and doubled back to grab a mean-looking knife.
He felt his ship land, and with the endless zeroes and dollar signs projected in the back of his mind, he reformed his body to Loxuria’s environment. Fortunately for him, it was very much like Earth’s, which made it a perfect place for human and tardigrade life. If Larkswest industries owned the planet, he’d commend them for their selfishness, but they didn’t. In fact, much of the land outside this particular estate was either wild or leased out.
The panel released and he stepped off his ship. Hundreds of sights, sounds, and smells blasted through him. Moss stopped mid-step.
A woman stood several dozen yards away from him.Glorious.
A backdrop of exotic foliage—blues, greens, and every teal color in between—framed her as she waited against the landscape. She stood away from it, on the concrete landing in heels and a sexy black business suit, but somehow the vegetation desperately tried to reach out and consume her. It wanted to touch her, envelop her into its environment, and make her part of it.
Before he knew it, he was right in front of her himself as though drawn to her by some invisible force.
“Moss Johann? War hero Moss?” she asked directly, peering up at him without a hint of trepidation. She had a pixie face and a black shoulder-length bob. High class and erotic vixen personified.
“And you are?”he asked.Her hair has pink in it.
His instincts kicked in and his internal structure began to dessicate.
“Lucy Larkswest. The owner of this estate.” She held out her hand. “I’m glad you’re here.”
It lightly shook as it waited for him to take it.
Moss covered her hand with his own greedily, gently, yet tightening ever-so-little. When she tried to take it back, he only relinquished his hold after another inappropriate moment.
He didn’t want to let her go.She’s going to turn me into fucking glass.A trick that lay dormant deep within his structure.
“I wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else,” he said.
What was wrong with him? Moss cleared his throat. There was a lot of money at stake, but as soon as he reminded himself of that fact, he quickly disregarded it. He’d never met a woman he wanted so fucking quickly.I shouldn’t have given her hand back.
