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My mouth opened and something sounding like a deep giggle escaped. I peeled one hand off the console slapping it over my mouth.
The most brilliant cyborg in existence didnotgiggle.
Poe grinned at me and another traitorous giggle tried breaking free. It was kept in, blocked by the hand I had plastered over my mouth. Poe gave my wrist a tug, without thinking I let her pull my hand away.
“You totally giggled!” She let out a snort.
Thank god I hadn’t made that sound. My processors didn’t know what was worse; a giggle or a snort.
Her frame bumped against my shoulder. “Do it again! Come on Dax, live a little!”
“Cyborgs don’t giggle,” I informed her as my lips quirked upwards of their own accord.
“Really?” Her eyes sparkled with humor. “I could have sworn I heard you giggle. Guess I was wrong.”
So focused on her face I didn’t feel when the ride began to smooth out.
“Arrived at destination.” The vehicle barked out as it came to a stop.
“Engine off,” Poe ordered as she opened her door, stepping out. I followed her lead, but with my larger frame, it took me a bit longer to extract myself. My feet landed on the dirt, sending up a cloud of rock and dust. I looked down and saw that my once pristine white lab coat was now covered in thick layers of grime.
My lip curled in disgust as I ran my hands over it, trying to brush some of the offending material off my coat. My efforts only seemed to make it worse. I was by no means as obsessed as Viper with being clean, but I sure didn’t enjoy being dirty. Back at headquarters my lab was kept neat and tidy and so was the tiny room I called my own. I made sure all my clothes were organized in my closet by type and color. I rotated them on a weekly basis to make sure they each got a turn to be worn. It wasn’t like I could go shopping if I needed to replace something and my lab coats and bow ties were special. They were the first gifts I had received from Dr. Shaw.
Dr. Shaw.My heart clenched at the thought of her. My fingers traced the edges of the bow tie.I miss her.My hand dropped as I ordered my processors to think about something else.
“I like this.” Poe’s small fingers reached out, tracing my bow tie. “It makes you look rather dashing.” She smiled, her eyes drifting over my face. Whatever she saw caused her to drop her hand. “The offer still stands, Dax. We can get right back in the vehicle, turn it around, and return to headquarters.”
I straightened my frame, rising to my full height. “I do not wish to go back.”
“Well, your face says differently.” She took step back, putting space between us, pushing a stray lock of hair off her face with a huff. “Seriously? Who was I kidding? Do you even know who I am? I mean I could be running a black-market cyborg gig. Selling your kind to the highest bidder.”
I raised an eyebrow, secretly pushing down a damn irritating giggle that threatened to burst free from my lips. The thought of Poe selling cyborgs was laughable. This tiny female with glasses that slipped down her nose and bright color splashed across on her cheeks could not capable of such a thing. “Are you?” I countered, already knowing what her answer would be.
“Of course not! But you don’t know that! What if Iwasthe bad guy, Dax? I could have hurt you! What am I saying? Ialreadyhave!”
I shook my head. “Wrong.” I waved a hand over my frame. “I am fine.”
“Your face says something different. You may not be physically hurt but you arehurting.”She wrapped her arms around herself. “And my actions are the cause. I should have never gone looking for the cyborg rebellion. I only wanted...” Her voice trailed off as her shoulders slumped, her eyes filling with tears.
I hated when females cried. Something about it caused my circuits to grow agitated, but the sight of Poe’s tears made everything in my system scream with a desperate need to stop it. My chest drew tight, my heart clenching inside my body. Without thought I pulled her into my arms, surprise igniting along my wires when she didn’t protest, pressing herself tighter against me. A pleasant rush of happiness washed through me followed but it was cut short as her tears soaked through my shirt. They felt like a brand, scorching hot, rendering me unable to breathe. I slid a finger under her chin and bright and shiny chocolate eyes met mine.
“I’ve created quite a mess, haven’t I?” She whispered.
“Normally, I hate mess,” I said softly as I ran a palm over her hair in a soothing gesture. “But this has been one of the best days of my existence.”
Her eyes widened. “Are yousure? You’re covered in dirt, you deactivated the leader of the cyborg rebellion, and you were stuffed into a vehicle two sizes too small. If today was one of your best days, I think you need to get out more.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Why do you think I allowed you to stuff me into that death trap? It wasn’t because I had the sudden urge to know what a sardine felt like.” My teasing worked as a ghost of a smile appeared on her lips.
“None of the accounts I read about you included the fact that you are funny.” She settled against my frame. “I expected brilliant. Neat. Orderly. Efficient. But you are hiding some tricks up the sleeve of that lab coat, aren’t you?”
Warmth sizzled up my spine. She thought I was funny? No one thought I was funny. Her words combined with the feeling of her soft curves pressed against my frame sent a dizzying wave of possessiveness to wash over me. Her softness felt entirely too small and breakable inside the shelter of my arms. I wasn’t the strongest model but I knew without a doubt I could hurt her if I wasn’t careful.
Protect. Care for. Cherish.The words chanted through my processors like a mantra, my world narrowing to the delicate female in my arms.I would go offline permanently before I allowed anything to harm her.It didn’t matter that I didn’t know anything about her, I wanted her so badly my circuits ached.Play it cool, Science Model.Humans don’t want declarations of undying devotion hours after meeting a male.I gave her my best attempt at a cool, confident shrug. “Guess you are going to have to keep me around for a while to see for yourself.”
“I should tell you no, but I can’t seem to say no to you. You’ve got yourself a deal Dax.” She tugged her glasses off her face, using the back of her hand to wipe away the remaining traces of her tears. She slid her glasses back on, blowing out a breath. “Ugh. Career criminal I am not. Reaper is going to eat me for lunch. Is it true he carries a battle axe?”
“Tha-”
