Everyone they encountered gave them a wide berth as they moved through the building and back to the rooftop airpad. Maybe it was because he kept one hand poised on the handle of his gun. After he had Vee settled in the passenger seat and he’d entered the vehicle, he hacked the system, locking the doors so they wouldn’t open without his acceptance, and guided the hovercraft into the sky. She remained stiff and quiet the whole way.
This time, no one gave chase.
He had her. She was his.
He drove them out of the city and into the miles of wastelands surrounding it. Out here lived the poor, the junkies, and anarchists. Middle America, once farmland, was nothing more than a sprawling desert. The East Coast was still green, and the oceans still existed but were highly polluted. Several national parks remained, but America was industrialized to death and back several times over.
There were far greener, far more beautiful worlds out in space. Even Ghost City’s city ship was clean compared to everything he saw around him.
No wonder humans were desperate to leave.
Cypher glanced at Vee, who stared out the hovercraft’s window, still stiff. His audio picked up the rapid pounding of her heart. Her scent invaded his systems, replacing the toxins that his body constantly cleared.
Bubblegum. No, vanilla… No.Cypher frowned.Fresh-brewed coffee and honeysuckle. Chocolate?She smelled of a variety of sweets, all too innocent for the likes of him. And too many to be a single one. He liked it. It made her harder to read.
He breathed her in, letting his systems be overtaken with her fragrance.
His groin shifted, hardened.
Fuck.It’s been way too long since I’ve had a woman.
He was pent up, hard and revving to go. If he didn’t find release soon, he didn’t know how long he could go before doing something he’d regret. The memory of her gamer suit alone made his mouth water. Combining that with her smell and the time of year it was—spring—his body was more than ready to rut. His solitary existence had come to an abrupt end.
Vee’s wristcon buzzed. He intercepted its signal—it came from a number owned by the EPED. Vee raised her wrist to her eyes.
“Don’t answer it,” he warned. He wanted to talk to her first before he involved the EPED.
“It’s Mia.”
“I don’t care.”
Vee lowered her arm back to her lap with a sigh.
Grumbling under his breath, he found an empty clearing to land his vehicle. When the hovercraft turned off, Vee sighed again. His eyes moved to her.
“So what now? Are you going to hurt me? Torture me? Kill me?” she asked, turning toward him.
“What? No,” Cypher barked. “I’d never hurt a woman.”
“How unequal. What would you do if I were a man?”
“Punch you in the fucking face, drag you by your nape to Nightheart, and demand retribution.”
She crossed her arms under her breasts, making them rise. His gaze dashed to them unwittingly. Hellfire, they were too big for her. Vee couldn’t be more than two or three inches over five feet at most, but she was shaped like sin. Now that he was this close to her, it didn’t seem like she should be real.
She licked her lips. “Well then… what are you going to do to me?”
His jaw ticked. “What am I going to do to you...?”
“I—” She shifted uncomfortably. “I think I’ve been so nervous about everything happening, and now that it’s finally happened, I can finally breathe. Almost.”
“I’m not going to do anything to you,” Cypher groused. He’d made her that nervous?Of course I did.
She sagged a little in her seat.
What did she think I was going to do to her?
Vee’s eyes darted to his legs before she looked back out the window. “Good…”
