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“No.” Pierce shook his head and yawned himself. “Actually, I’m feeling kind of worn out too. Wonder why that is?” He winked at her and Leita found herself blushing.
“I’m uh, sorry about that,” she stuttered, forgetting he was a cyborg and she didn’t have to apologize. “I know I kind of, um, jumped on you. It’s just been so long and I—”
Pierce raised a hand to stop her. “Please, Leita, you don’t have to apologize to me for what we did. That’s what I’m here for, after all.” He took her hand in both of his and kissed the palm gently, sending a rush of warm fire up her arm. “Besides,” he murmured in that deep, sensual voice, “It was Goddessdamn amazing.”
“I…I thought so too.” Leita looked down at her hands, unable to meet his piercing blue gaze. “I, uh, guess I’ll go to bed now, then.”
Pierce smiled at her. “Do I get to come with you? Just to sleep,” he hurriedly explained. “Unless you want to do more than sleep, of course.”
“Well, uh…” Leita frowned, thinking of her fight with Schneider earlier about where her new sex toy was going to sleep. “According to the manual, you’re supposed to want to sleep in the box you came in.”
“The box?” Pierce looked a little pale. “Look, honey, if you don’t want me in your bed, I can understand, but don’t put me back in that box. It’s really, really close in there—too damn claustrophobic.”
Leita propped her chin on one hand and frowned at him. “So, another discrepancy between the Companion 2000 and 3000 series? The 2000s love the box and the 3000s don’t?”
Pierce nodded eagerly. “Somethin’ like that.”
“Well, maybe I should send for a new manual, then,” she murmured thoughtfully. “To make sure I’m doing everything right.”
“No, no,” he said hastily. “You don’t have to do that, honey. I’ve got a…a built-in manual. That’s another special feature. Anything you need to know about me, just ask me, and I can tell you straight off, no problem.”
“All right then.” Leita sighed and rose from the table. She was too tired to think about it now. “Let me stack these in the sanitizer and I’m going to bed.”
“I can sleep on the couch if you want,” Pierce offered, taking the dishes away from her and beginning to stack them himself. “If you have one, I mean.”
Leita bit her lip, considering. Schneider was already pissed off but she didn’t see that she should have to give up everything she wanted just to appease his temper. And one of the main reasons she’d bought a Companion in the first place, was to have someone warm to hold her in the middle of the night. Looking at Pierce, she knew she wanted to feel his large, masculine body curling around hers, to feel the scratch of his broad, hairy chest against her back in the darkness. To smell his warm, spicy scent when she leaned against him, to feel those strong arms wrapped around her and pretend, just for a moment, that he really loved her.
“Honey?” Pierce was looking at her with question in his eyes and she realized she was taking too long to decide.
“Okay,” she said at last, giving in to her longings. “You can sleep with me but Schneider’s pillow is absolutely off limits. I don’t want him feeling any more displaced than he already is.”
“He sleeps with you, too?” Pierce raised an eyebrow at her and Leita shrugged.
“Sure, I mean, he’s been my best friend since I was sixteen, you know? My dad found him while he was out on a scouting trip. The ship he was on had lost almost all life support and Schneider was the only survivor. Since Tarbians are solitary by nature, life out here on our little mining operation suited him just fine. Schneider isn’t really his name, by the way, but it’s as close as I can get to the Tarbian pronunciation.”
Pierce whistled. “So he’s been with you since you were sixteen? No wonder he feels like I’m horning in on his territory. I’d be pissed off too if some strange guy came around and started…well, started something with my woman.”
Leita blushed. “It’s not like that between Schneider and me,” she protested. “We’re just friends. And even if we wanted to be more—which we don’t—we couldn’t. Incompatible body parts, you know?”
“That doesn’t always make a difference, honey,” Pierce said knowingly. “A male is a male is a male and Schneider doesn’t want me in his territory—can’t say that I blame him, actually. I get the feeling that it’s gonna be tough to get him to see that I’m not here to take his place.”
“Of course you aren’t.” Leita yawned again. “Look, I want you to sleep with me,” she told Pierce, feeling suddenly bold. “It’s one of the reasons I, uh, bought you. Just keep away from Schneider’s pillow and hopefully we can avoid any bloodshed. All right?”
