Page 6

Mason didn’t take his eyes off me. Instead, he took my hand in his and lingered after he shook it. His skin was smooth and soft, and I wondered what it would feel like on my body.

Holy shit, I needed to stop this. He was a Bennet for fuck’s sake.

“I’m Mason,” he said. Even his voice was dreamy.

“Sam,” I managed to respond.

The moment was interrupted by Tangerine—Tasha Graves—who nearly shoved me out of the way for her turn at Mason. But every time I glanced back over my shoulder, his eyes were locked on me, and a shiver of excitement lit in my belly.

“Excuse me, ma’am, are you in need of assistance?”

I turned my attention to the male voice and was startled to find an android had slipped silently up beside me. It was human height with a metal body, like a person but more of a sci-fi movie manservant robot kind of look rather than realistic. It was made of matte black metal and white plastic shielding with glowing red light emanating from beneath its chest. The bottom of its feet appeared to have wheels built in, as it glided forward a foot or so as though on roller skates. Onyx orbs for eyes both reflected the light and felt like they hid something important. I shivered at the sight, attributing it to the Uncanny Valley reaction of seeing something that closely resembled a human, but wasn’t quite…right.

“You are Samantha Meadows, Mermaid’s Cove room six thirty-four.”

“Uh, thanks,” I said, still creeped out by the totality of the black in its eyes. “I prefer Sam.”

“Understood, Miss Meadows.”

Did it…do that on purpose? Were these capable of sarcasm? No way. I’d worked with the most up-to-date systems elsewhere, and nothing came close to that. It had to be a fluke. It was programed to use last names for the sake of politeness.

“Please accompany me to your room. We will retrieve your father and brother.”

“I’m okay. Thanks. I’ll find it on my own.” I really could have used some alone time to deal with everything. I definitely didn’t need a mechanical babysitter.

It rolled so close I felt the need to take a step backward.

“I have been instructed to accompany the Meadows family to their respective rooms.”

“Back off, the lady said no.” Travis stepped between us and shoved the robot in the shoulder.

The black eyes turned to this new variable as the machine spoke into a tiny microphone built into its shoulder. “Bartholomew to Finn. I have located Mr. Travis Gould. Please retrieve from this location.”

“I’m sorry, did you just say your name is Bartholomew?” I asked.

“Correct. There are twenty-six model A’s. We are named for each letter of the alphabet. If you will kindly accompany me as requested, I will enlighten you with further information about the unique offerings here at the resort.”

Travis’s fists clenched at his sides, and I was afraid he might dismantle the thing. Candice’s warning about the stasis chamber flashed before me. I grabbed his arm.

“It’s ok. I should go with my family. There are some things we need to discuss.”

I watched as his jaw ground back and forth for a moment, then it stopped and he fixed his intense gaze on me. My insides once again leaped to attention. I was so shocked by this that I let go of our connection.

“Guess it’s going to be hard to go anywhere without surveillance,” he said. “I was looking forward to sneaking around with you later.”

I was getting used to the blush at this point. A bit presumptuous on his part. Then again, we only had a month and we both felt stuck. Maybe hanging out with a kindred spirit would be better than spending the whole time holed up in my room.

“Excuse me, Mr. Gould. If you are ready, please follow me.” Travis inhaled sharply through his nose before deciding to listen to the newly arrived “staff” member. I couldn’t help but find it intriguing that its voice was different than Bartholomew’s.

Dad, Jackson, and Alyssa strolled up to join us.

“Catch you later,” Travis said, dark eyes raking me in a way that both sent ripples of excitement through my body and sent up warning signals in my head.

“If everyone is ready, please follow me,” Bartholomew said. When I looked over, his head was turned toward us as his body remained facing forward and rolling along the manicured path.

I shuddered at the unnatural feeling of it but reminded myself it was a robot for all intents and purposes and could “see” the way ahead with its glowing red sensors.

Trying to focus on the scenery as opposed to the clasped hands of my father and Alyssa swinging between them was a challenge. Still, the architecture was admittedly well done, the layout of the entire resort being a spiral of sorts. According to our escort, the numerous buildings included everything: various hotels, restaurants, a full-on gym, spa, hospital, water park, and more.