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Chapter Twenty
*Poe*
Iclutched the coffeecup with shaky hands. Wow. That walk had turned into a mess. My brain hadn’t even processed the fact that a cyborg child existed, let alone the fact that he seemed to despise me.
Cyborgs could have children. Boom. Mind blown.God forbid the Global Allegiance ever found out. It would give them a reason to launch a full-blown raid on the cyborg rebellion. At the moment, the location hadn’t been discovered. Oz had destroyed every trace the doctor had left behind.
To be fair, the Global Allegiance hadn’t really bothered to look. Only around hundred or so cyborgs remained after the escape from the Global Allegiance. They had went into hiding right away and had’t caused any trouble so the Global Allegiance pretended they didn’t exist. The Global Allegiance had wanted to forget what had been their biggest mistake. They wanted the cyborgs dead and buried. The rebellion granted their wish, staying underground and hiding, and the Global Allegiance had more important things to worry about. Primarily, their failing stocks after the cyborg disaster.
Rumors of course, abounded. Many people claimed they had seen a cyborg or knew someone who had. But as time passed, the cyborgs had faded into nothing more than a history lesson about how technology can go wrong. Humans preferred their technology like toasters, mindless things with an off button that didn’t threaten their belief about what made something truly alive. We went back to machines like self-driving cars, robot butlers, and synthetic human voices offering directions through our tablet screen. Boring, predictable machines who didn’t question their purpose in life.
How dull. Despite how Theo had reacted to me in the hallway, I couldn’t help feel that the world was missing out on something truly miraculous. How could you not want a small version of an incredible cyborg? I was dying to know everything about him and the human female who Dax had called his mother.
And let’s not forgot she is also the woman who claimed Dax as one of her best friends.Jealousy sent the coffee churning in my gut. I gripped the mug tighter. Everything I learned about Dax, minus the past day and a half, I had learned from document files and old image recordings. That woman in the hallway knew more about the real Dax and it ate away at my confidence.
Had she spent hours with him, talking to him and learning what made him smile? Had he ever wanted to be more than her friend? The three of them seemed pretty close, but Theo had claimed Reaper as his father. Had she wanted Dax but had settled for Reaper instead?
I lifted my eyes from the mug, searching Dax’s face for any clues. I saw nothing that indicated he was pining for the girl we had met in the hallway. He appeared a bit stressed, but after the day we had, I totally understood.
His forehead wrinkled. “You’re staring at me.”
“Sorry.” I shifted my gaze back down to my mug. “Just trying to figure something out.”
A warm hand cupped my chin. “What is on your mind? My many talents don’t include mind reading.” He offered me a smile. “I need you totalktome, Poe.” He brushed his thumb along my cheek. “Please.”
“Were you and Aria ever more than friends?” I blurted out.Really? Way to ease it in there, Poe.
Green eyebrows shot up. “You think that Aria and I...Reaper would disassemble me piece by piece.” Horror flashed across his features and he shook his head. “No. There has never been anything more than friendship between Aria and I. She has only had eyes for Reaper, which for a time I admit I found upsetting. During that time, I believed that I was the better cyborg for her and Theo to have in their lives, but I see now that Reaper is the best cyborg for the job.”
I jerked my chin out of his grasp. “Soyouwanted her but she didn’t feel the same.” I sagged in the chair, a wave of dizziness sweeping through me. “Stupid. I’ve been so stupid,” I muttered. My heart physically hurt. I rubbed a palm over my chest, trying to alleviate the ache.
“No!” Dax leapt from the chair, sending it crashing to the floor. He dropped to his knees and grabbed for my hands, engulfing them in a sea of green. “I didn’t want Aria, not really. I was lonely and confused and looking for someone to care for me. Aria was nice to me, but she only wanted friendship. After meeting you, I finally understand.” His hand reached for the nape of my neck, dragging me forward until our foreheads touched. “Understand what it really means to want a female. Not unrequited feelings based on insecurities, but true desire for the one you were meant to belong to.”
His face flushed the dark shade of green I loved so much. “The first time I saw the bed at the cabin, I imagined you laid out on it completely bare. The image made my cock hard. I couldn’t control it.” His tongue darted out to wet his lips. “My body ignored my commands, wanting you as much as my processors did. And it wasn’t because I simply wanted a female. In that moment I knew it was because I wantedyou.Only you.”
He cupped my cheek. “Tell me,” he rasped, “Tell me you believe me.”
The ache in my chest vanished, my heartbeat returning to normal. Dax wasn’t the only one with insecurities. I could write a whole book with mine. I wasn’t a thin, tall, blonde who looked stunning even when she was threatening someone in an empty hallway.
Aria was my exact opposite. Short with full hips and thighs, I had soft flesh instead of a hard-toned frame. My hair was always a mess, preferring to do what it wanted instead of listening to any attempt to manage it. I wore glasses, hiding plain brown eyes, and my cheeks were dotted with freckles instead of a fine wash of perfect porcelain skin.
Deep down, some hidden part of me believed no matter what Dax said, that he picked me out of a lack of choices mixed with desperation. The bullies had given me a healthy dose of doubting myself. Guys had never looked my direction twice, but it hadn’t mattered much.
There had only been one guy I had ever wanted to impress.
And he was right in front of me.
