“But all of that information is put into our central servers, and from there, we can access people who have compatible codes if we choose to.”
My heart sinks. “You don’t marry for love?” Link must hear the disappointment in my voice, because he reaches out to grab my hand.
“Some of us do,” he assures me, “but some cyborgs prefer perfection over happiness. You won’t ever find an ugly cyborg, but you may find ones that aren’t as gifted as others. They are usually children of love matches.”
A pang of sympathy plucks at my heart for the gorgeous man in front of me. He has looks, brains, and talent, so I can guess where this is going.
“My parents are not a love match. Although my father’s family have all been love matches in the past, he chose to buck tradition. Dad decided he was too busy running Pleasure Bot Industries, turning it into the galaxy wide company it is today, to court a partner, but he desperately wanted a child. My mother was his perfect match, and I am the result of that. Mom signed up on the proviso that she got to sink her claws into the company and become the CEO. I mean, it wasn’t a bad decision, she is a business mastermind, but their marriage is cold and loveless, and they both make use of the Pleasure Bots that our company is famous for.”
“Isn’t that cheating?” I ask, wanting to hear about it from someone who has the down low.
He shrugs. “I guess some people could consider it cheating, but realistically, Pleasure Bots are well-programmed, lifelike robots. They have no autonomy or feelings. They have intuitive programming, so they can react in a way the customer may want them to, but at the end of the day, you switch them off, put them on to charge, and close the door. They aren’t programmed to be part of day-to-day lives. They are just like any kind of masturbatory object, just more versatile and capable of talking dirty to you, or anything you want it to really.”
I flush a little at the thought of my masturbatory objects, and I can guarantee they weren’t talking dirty to me. I know he can’t read my thoughts, but from the gleam in his eye, I’m sure I’m giving everything I’m thinking about away.
“So your parents’ marriage was unhappy?” I bring him back to the original topic.
“Not unhappy, just indifferent. I was raised by my father and his family, only seeing my mom occasionally until I started to mature and become a possible asset. But by then, it was too late. Dad allowed me to develop my own interests, and they did not align with my mother’s hopes.”
“So you never saw your mother? That’s really sad. You had one, but she couldn’t be bothered. I don’t know who was worse off, me without one or you with one who didn’t care.”
“No, it wasn’t until I was about seventeen when she popped back into my life. She was furious at my father for allowing me to become interested in medicine. She insisted that I intern at the Pleasure Bot company for six months in the hope that it would change my mind.”
“What did she think was going to happen?” I ask, and he blushes, increasing my curiosity.
“Well, she made me a product tester.”
“I’m sorry, what?” I question, not sure I like where this is going.
“We have a product testing department to make sure all our designs are satisfactory,” he explains, and my eyebrows just about shoot off my face.
“You fucked sex bots for a job?” I’m not sure how I feel about this. I mean, how am I ever going to compete with perfect creatures who are designed to cater to your every whim or desire?
“Yes, it’s a very coveted position in the company,” he tells me, unaware of the turmoil in my brain.
“I bet,” I grumble under my breath, but I guess he hears me, because he squeezes the hand he’s still holding.
“But I hated it. Lila, I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am about the possibility of us. For so long, I’ve been looking for someone I can connect with on an emotional level, and until you, I have felt nothing for anyone other than some mild interest.” My heart melts, and any worry I had slowly seeps away. “I’m more like my father’s family than my mother had hoped. Dad’s contribution to my DNA must have required an emotional connection, ensuring that I didn’t end up like him, because I’m almost certain he regretted his marriage to my mother from day one. I can’t wait to introduce you to him. He’s going to be so excited to meet you.”
“And your mother?” I ask, not sure if I want to know the answer when he grimaces.
“Oh, she’ll be polite to your face because she won’t want to upset the Adams brothers’ granddaughter, but I wouldn’t take anything she says at face value. She always has an agenda. Do not trust her,” he warns as the waiter stops at the table to ask if we need anything else.
“Okay, Lila, we’ve had dinner, and we’ve talked all about ourselves, but we really need to talk about the elephant in the room,” Link teases an hour or so later. We just left the restaurant, and we’re walking to the club which is on this level but on the other side of the ship. We could have taken the side slip elevator, but Link suggested we walk.
He told me that just past all the retail stores, there’s what they call a space walk. It’s a tunnel or enclosed bridge, I guess, that is completely made of glass, and when you walk through it, you get a 360° view of space. It kind of feels like you’re walking in it. I couldn’t wait to try it, so I jumped at the chance, even if my feet were starting to ache in my heels.
“Fine.” An exaggerated sigh leaves my lips. I know he’s right, but I still want to keep my head in the sand for a little longer, even though I know I can’t. “I guess I can’t avoid it any longer. Tell me what the situation is all about,” I reply, sitting down on a lounge in a little alcove just before the space walk starts. It gives us another fantastic view of the outside of the ship, and I’m pretty sure I need to be sitting down for this conversation.
My body is tense until Link sits down next to me and drags me closer, his arm wrapped around my shoulders as we both look into the vastness of the Milky Way. He’s giving me comfort without me even asking for it.
“You are Saxon’s blood rose. Do you know what that means?”
I shake my head. “I think I remember Magenta saying something about that when she was giving me vampire 101, but I obviously didn’t pay attention.”
“A blood rose to a sanguinista is basically the equivalent of a mate for a shifter or an intimate for a warlock. You’re his soulmate, his perfect match. Your blood is the one match that can sustain him indefinitely.” He pauses and looks down at me to check that I’m alright. “Are you okay so far?”
Am I okay? I mean, I guessed it was something like that, but I seem to be adding mates that have nothing to do with my Skarrian biological wants and needs and everything to do with theirs. It feels like it’s all out of my control. I liked the idea of try before I buy and the attraction marks when it was on my terms, but this, just like Caspian, is something that is out of my hands, and I’m really not sure how I feel.
