Obediently, she fished it out of her pocket and placed it in his palm. He slid it into the breast pocket of his uniform and felt the prickling sensation as it borrowed power from him.
With that issue resolved, he turned to lead her toward the store he’d selected three blocks away. Pleasure suffused him when he put his hand on the small of her back and she didn’t push him away, allowing him to use his intimidating stature to chase away those who didn’t think twice about bumping shoulders with her when she was on her own.
A bell chimed overhead as they stepped into the hardware store, a strange combination of grease and metal and wood shavings filling his nose. Ophelia hugged a little closer to him as a surly, leather-faced man eyed her, sniffing loudly. Part of him was incensed that the man’s open staring was unsettling her, but the rest of him was pleased to know she would seek reassurance in him.
He wanted to be all things to her.
Starting with a handyman, he supposed. He’d done some cursory searching while she’d gotten ready, and he was confident he could put the door back together with just a few items.
Ophelia trailed behind him as he wandered the aisles. One box of screws, wood filler, and a screwdriver later, and they were checking out.
Ophelia scowled at him when he looked at her expectantly until she produced her card at the self-checkout.
“Logan calls you Effie,” he said as they stepped back out into the cold.
She looked at him sidelong, shrugging. “Yeah?”
“Do you prefer that moniker?”
A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “No one says ‘moniker’, Sam.”
A flush of pleasure raced through his circuits at her casual use of the name she’d gifted him.
“I don’t mind it,” she said, looking thoughtful. “I guess I like my real name more. I think it’s prettier.”
“Ophelia,” he purred, enjoying the way her shoulders bunched and her breath hitched. “Yes. It’s beautiful.”
CHAPTER 13
They were nearlyat the apartment when Ophelia’s phone finally had enough of a charge to boot back up. The screen glowed through Sam’s pocket, alerting her with a cheerful jingle that it was awake and ready to be used. He pulled it free for her, and she took it gratefully, hoping for a message from Logan.
Things were still awkward and strained between them, though he’d assuaged some of her dread that everything was about to fall apart—all because she couldn’t be what he needed sexually.
Her eyes slid sidelong as she surreptitiously studied Sam. He was focused on everything happening around them, always steering her away from the uneven breaks in the sidewalk and clearing his throat when people glued to their phones threatened to walk into her.
Could she do it now? Have sex with him?
God knew she was attracted to him in a way that terrified her, but the thought of sleeping with him, especially with Logan watching…
She shuddered, looking away.
“What’s wrong?” he rumbled, looking down at her.
“Nothing.”
He hummed, and the hand at her back slid up around her shoulders, tugging her into his side.
“You’re really handsy,” she muttered, trying to shrug him off.
“If you keep struggling like that, I might get distracted and trip,” he said mildly. “I could burst my lip on the concrete or break my nose on a fire hydrant. Who can say?”
She stopped struggling and gaped up at him. “Are you… are you manipulating me?”
Could he do that? Wasn’t that expressly forbidden by all android programming?
His face became the picture of innocence, his eyes wide and dark as a puppy’s. “Am I?”
She made an appalled sound, but she stopped trying to slip out of his grip. As petty as he was programmed to be—andwhywould anyone have programmed him that way?—she wouldn’t put it past him to throw himself at the ground to make a point.
