“Yes.”
“Oh…” Her brows furrowed and he wasn’t sure why.
The beauty of Larkswest Estate zipped by him, completely ignored. Moss waited for Lucy to say more, but no other words came.
“I’m not used to coming across a woman who is alone,” he said, feeling like he needed to explain. “It’s not in my nature to accept that as natural.”
“Why is that?”
“During the war, no one was supposed to be alone. All pilots flew in teams, battleships were flanked by more battleships, soldiers were kept in squads. Men, women, children, the elderly, and even the few sentient intelligences were all housed together on planets, bases, and ships. It was highly scrutinized back then if a single person wanted to get on a ship and just leave. It happened, just not often, and never with women. Every life was highly valued when so much life was lost each day. Women are life-givers. It means something more to beings like me.”
“Okay. What does that have to do with me? I’m sure you realize, this place practically houses an army. I’m far from alone.” The hovercraft flew into an underground tunnel.
“Being amongst androids isn’t the same,” he said, almost snapping, but reeling it in at the last second. “It’s not the same.”
“Ah. Well, um…” Her mouth opened and closed. He enjoyed the bow-shaped purse of her lips as she struggled for words. “As long as I’m not made uncomfortable again, mama bear won’t strike out.” The hovercraft touched down lightly. “We’re here.”
“Mama bear?” Moss tore his gaze from her to take in his surroundings, compiling and scanning for any and all data he deemed necessary.
“The estate and my androids. They refuse to let me do what I want!” Lucy yelled out as she exited the craft, addressing the house itself, and leaving him behind.
“Ah.” He smiled knowingly and got out of the vehicle. Child-safety protocols were programmed into the estate’s artificial intelligence. He seeded into its security programming and confirmed it. “Mama bear and I are going to get along just fine,” he said to himself as he followed after the woman who was putting far too much distance between them for his liking.
5
“I’ll be right back,” Lucy called over her shoulder, rushing through the stained-glass and marbled tunnel, up the stairwell, through the entryway, and to the nearest bathroom beyond. She pummeled head long into one of the androids and quickly dispatched it to settle the Cyborg in one of the rooms that overlooked the pool.
He has a name!
Moss. Moss Johann. What kind of name was that?Obviously not the kind that roamed the same circles she did. Every gentleman she knew sported names like Valentino, Alexander, or if their parents were wild, Derek. There were far too many Dereks in her world. She’d already cut out all of the Chads. Lucy stuck her tongue out.
But Moss? She wanted to meet the parents that decided on that one.
The bathroom door locked automatically behind her and she inhaled deeply, pressing her hands to her chest.
It thrummed.
It hadn’t thrummed so much since she first laid eyes upon Scott Leve, the lead vocalist to her favorite band. Her parents hired him to serenade her every day for a week leading up to her sixteenth birthday—a well-intentioned mistake on their part.
A first love ended in a first hate.
Think of the giant alien monster in your pool, not Moss’s eyes.
Eyes that were as white as snow, framed by thick lashes with arching brows the same color, and short-sheared hair to match. Dreadfully pretty, yet unmistakably masculine. With his unusual colored hair, clean-shaven face, and equally perfect skin, Moss all but appeared as anythingbutmoss, decked from the neck down in a black field uniform.
Lucy sensed he hid weapons out of sight, using his stark looks to distract everyone from the obvious—that he was dangerous. Dangerous and far larger up close.
When she pushed him away, he only moved out of propriety, not because she actually had the strength to move any part of a man like him.
He was definitely not what she’d been expecting when she hired an exterminator.
My money bought me the best looking monster hunter in existence.
Squaring her shoulders, Lucy reapplied a thick layer of concealer to hide her glowing cheeks and licked her lips. Her eyes dropped to the disc of makeup on her counter.If only I had enough to hide everything.But she turned on the water and scrubbed her face clean, remembering Moss wasn’t a family connection nor business associate. She needed to deal with him on a more personal level.
The sound of her heels tapping on the floor warred with her queasy stomach as she left the bathroom to seek him out. She found him out on the veranda toying with the remaining rockets.
“I apologize for my abrupt departure,” Lucy said, happy that her voice remained steady. The Cyborg twisted to face her as she approached. “I had to take care of an urgent matter.”
