“What did you just say?”
“I said,” she repeated, stronger this time. “That I don’t know why you’d want me long-term when you can design a robot that’s perfect for you. Or maybe find another human who is closer to your ideals.”
Ah! That’s what was behind this reticence. Fear. Insecurities. That, he understood.
“Do you know how many parbots I’ve had?”
She shook her head against his chest. He cradled her cheek and lifted her gaze to him. “Six. Do you know how many upgrades and customizations I’ve run on them?”
She shook her head again.
“Neither do I, but the number is in the range of the hundreds. Do you know how many human partners I’ve had?” He didn’t wait for her to shake her head but provided the answer. “Nine. Most of them were one-night stands. I’m telling you this not to brag about my sexual exploits. But so that you understand, I have had the chance to design my perfect parbot. I have designed her. Many times over. In fact, Elena, my current parbot, is my masterpiece.”
Kalli once again struggled in his arms, but he held her fast. He was trying to make a point, damn it.
“She has every feature and quality I thought I wanted. And yet she doesn’t tempt me anymore. It feels like a veil has been lifted, and I can’t overlook the fact that she is simply a robot. And I crave more.”
“Fine, I get it. You crave human relationships now. And I am just the first one since your conversion. It doesn’t mean you’ll want to spend the rest of your life with me. Even in centuries past, when there weren’t any robots, it didn’t work that way. What happens when you meet another woman who is more compatible with you?”
“Who do you think is going to be more compatible with me than you?” He was genuinely puzzled.
“I don’t know. Someone who doesn’t challenge you, or drive you crazy.”
This time, he laughed. Loud guffaws of belly laughter. He couldn’t remember laughing that hard in a long time. His feisty sprite once again struggled to be released. Her struggles did nothing but rub her against his naked body and arouse his cock, which was always half-cocked—ha! Half-cocked—around her. He laughed even harder at his lame wit.
“I don’t understand what’s so funny,” she muttered.
“You.” He took a deep breath. “You think I want a docile, compliant woman? For that, I could have stayed with my parbot. Those are the things that make me love you, sprite. You know your own mind. You have convictions. You have spark and passion. I am hard-headed and bossy. So sometimes we clash. But I love that you are my equal. I love your mind as much as I love your body.”
“And yet I look nothing like your parbot. If that’s your ideal of feminine beauty, I’m very far from it.”
At this, he sobered. “I don’t look like your parbot either.”
Her eyes widened, and he knew he had her there. “Is that the type you prefer, Kalli? Nerdy, pretty, well-groomed. Polite. I bet he always did your bidding. In bed and out of it. I’m not like that. In appearance or temperament. Do you like me the way I am?”
“You know I do.”
“Hmm. Yes, you do. You take my orders so well.” Her eyes had darkened with desire, and his cock stirred against her, but he ignored it. For now.
“But we are not talking about me,” she reminded him.
“You want to know if I still prefer women who look like my parbot. Yet you admitted your own preferences changed. Why couldn’t mine have changed as well?”
“Have they?”
How could she even ask? Couldn’t she feel the steel rod of his desire against her belly? Couldn’t she see the naked need in his eyes? But her vulnerability stirred something inside his chest. He remembered the confession she had once made that she had never felt good enough. That no one had ever preferred her.
“Kalli, I’ve had women of every type you can imagine. Smart, intellectual, bossy, submissive, creative, accomplished. Some have been tall, some short, some curvy, and some slender. Yet no one, ever, has inspired as much desire as you do. None have made me love her.
“I know you want guarantees and reassurances. I know little about love. This is the first time I have experienced it as an adult. You are the expert here. All I can tell you is that if this love theory of yours is true, I’ve got a severe case of it. I can’t imagine ever feeling any different, ever wanting another woman as I want you. Is that enough? I have no way of proving it. Only time will tell.”
“I want to believe it is, Dariux. But I want it so much I may be deluding myself.”
“Don’t. Stop overthinking. Just feel. Let me love you. Let me spend the rest of my life proving it to you. Will you?”
“Yes.”
He swallowed the word from her lips. Afraid to ask what she was saying yes to. Yes, to marrying him? Or yes, simply to allow him to hang around for a while?
