Touching Ice

  “May I serve you?”

  Megan lifted her chin to watch as one of the sex bots addressed the tall cyborg. He crossed his arms over his chest and a grin spread on his face.

  “How long do we get to keep them?”

  “I don’t understand your request,” the bot stated.

  “At least four days,” a deep male voice answered from the other side of the room. “We are to drop them off at the Hixton Station. We’re getting paid good money for saving them. I wonder how much each one is really worth if they are willing to shell out that much to us just to transport them?”

  “Probably a hell of a lot.”

  Megan stood, peering across the small cargo hold and she forgot to breathe for seconds while she stared at him. The cyborg she’d become obsessed with inched his big frame around the bots, working his way to the center of the room to reach the other cyborg.

  A laugh burst from the dark-haired male. “I love the side benefits of this job if we get use of thirteen bots for four days.”

  Her glance darted around at all the taller bots near her, counting them. There were twelve in all. The cyborg had said there were thirteen. She frowned, counting them again. Her attention returned to her fantasy man as he stepped near her, close enough for her to reach out and touch. He grinned at the other man.

  “I won’t be complaining, that’s for damn sure, Onyx.”

  “I bet not, Ice.”

  His name is Ice, Megan thought, as she stared up at him. He was a foot taller than her, putting him at six foot two. He looked huge in person, bigger than he appeared on screen. If she reached her arm out straight, she could brush her hand over his molded, black leather uniform, which displayed his immense biceps. In person his hair was even more amazing—white with very light-gray streaks that were only noticeable from close up but she had discovered that already since she’d had the cameras zoom in on him a few times while she’d spied on him with the bots.

  The scent of leather, masculine soap, and wonderful male teased her nose. One of the bots, nearly his height, turned to face him as it smiled. The bots were all between five foot seven and six foot one and sturdy bodied so they weren’t easily broken.

  “May I serve you?”

  Ice’s eyebrows arched but he grinned. “It’s a hard job but someone has to do it.”

  Onyx laughed. “The men are going to be thrilled with this job.”

  “We thought we were going to spend a lot of money using bots but now we’re getting paid for four days of unlimited sex. I’d call that a good day for us but a bad one for Folion. What the hell happened?”

  “A ship came in too fast. We were monitoring their communications and it sounded as though they were drinking a little too much to celebrate time off and slammed right into it. Good thing we were on the starboard side. The damage was really bad when it hit. Damn. Do you know what this means? Folion won’t be available to us.”

  The grin on Onyx’s face died. “Shit. I guess we’d better really make the best of the next four days. Maybe they’ll send out another ship to host these beauties.”

  Ice turned his head and looked directly at Megan. She froze, her breath catching again while she stared into his beautiful light-blue eyes with silver streaks in the irises. He tilted his head, his full lips curving downward slightly as his gaze left hers to slowly travel down her body.

  Of all the days for this to happen, she thought sourly. She wore a light-blue tank top with black sweat pants. They were comfortable work clothes but she probably looked like hell. Her blonde hair was in an untidy ponytail, which never completely tamed her wild curls, and she knew she looked like a sweaty mess from running. She didn’t even have shoes. This wasn’t how she wanted to meet the man who occupied all of her latenight fantasies while she lay in her bunk. His gaze rose.

  “What is she?” Onyx stepped closer. “A maintenance bot? Her smaller size and chaotic appearance would indicate so.”

  She fought the urge to sag with relief. She started to silently pray that they kept mistaking her for a bot. Cyborgs had been deemed dangerous on Earth, the government had ordered their eradication, and if their continued existence was reported, Earth would probably send military ships to correct that fact. She’d always thought that’s why their shuttle visited a totally computer-controlled ship. No live beings were present to report their visits and it was well known that Folion kept no records—to protect their clientele. Computers had no interest in earning rewards for snitching to the government but humans, on the other hand, did. She worried that the cyborgs would kill her, but as a bot, she wouldn’t pose a threat to them.

  Ice shrugged, looking away from her. “Maybe she’s a defective model they use for general purposes or maybe she’s a specialty item for some of the working human males who have fantasies about small females who have active sweat glands. I remember, while in training on Earth, that some of the human males would stare at human women and get turned on by their appearance during workouts. They indicated it made their dicks hard and they spoke of wanting to lick the sweat off those females.”

  “Interesting.” Onyx inched closer to her, openly studying her. “I didn’t know they made bots that small. I wonder if the simulated perspiration is flavored.”

  Ice’s broad shoulders shrugged. “Perhaps.” He grinned. “You have four days to find out.”

  Apprehension spread through Megan as the large, dark-haired cyborg grabbed her hips with two big hands and jerked her against his leather-clad body. His head bent, moving to the side as he lowered his face, obviously going for her neck. She realized he intended to lick her skin to find out what flavor gel her supposed artificial body used for sweat. His hand slid from her ass to between her legs.

  Megan’s reaction was instinctive as she brought her knee up, slamming it between the vee of his tight pants, hitting his solid body in the groin. His response was just as swift as he shouted and pushed her from him. Megan hit the wall hard enough that it caused pain to shoot from the back of her head where she impacted.

  “Son of a bitch,” the cyborg hissed. “She kneed me.”

  He cupped the front of his pants as his head snapped upward. Pure rage gripped his features. His hand shot out and Megan didn’t have time to avoid the blow. He backhanded her hard across the face, sending her sprawling to the deck. She lay there for long seconds, her face throbbing with pain, too stunned to move.

  “Damn it, don’t damage their property,” Ice barked. “Maybe she’s not a sex bot and is programmed to defend herself. She didn’t ask to service you.”

  “I think we should throw it out the damn airlock and say we didn’t get that one onboard,” Onyx groaned. “Fuck, that hurts.”

  Movement from the corner of her eye had Megan turning her head. Ice crouched next to her, a frown on his handsome features, his gaze fixed on the other man.

  “The computer running Folion probably recorded us taking it. You’d better hope it’s not damaged since it hasn’t gotten up.” He leaned closer, his attention going to her.

  Megan met his beautiful eyes as their gazes locked and then she looked away from him. “Systems are fine.” She used her coldest voice as she forced her body to move.

  Ice didn’t move for long seconds, she could sense him staring at her, but she refused to look at him for fear he’d see something that would give her true identity away. He lingered next to her long enough for it to be uncomfortable but he finally moved.

  Ice stood and turned his back to her. “You’re damn lucky she isn’t damaged, Onyx. They are only on loan until we deliver them.”

  Her face hurt but she didn’t rub it as she got to her unsteady feet. A wave of dizziness hit her but then it cleared as she leaned against the wall, hoping they wouldn’t notice anything odd about her. If she could just pretend to be a bot for four days she’d be totally safe on their shuttle.

  “Right. I won’t touch that one again but there are twelve others. I like that brunette one in the red dress. Then I think I’ll do the blond
e in leather.” Onyx blew out a deep breath. “How about you? Which one are you going to take for the next four days or are you going to test out them all?”

  Megan’s gaze lingered on Ice’s back. Both men had moved away from her and neither glanced her way. Ice gave his attention to a redheaded bot and chuckled. “I guess I have my pick. I think I’ll take the redheaded model tonight and then pick another one tomorrow.”

  “Ice?” A male voice said from the speakers in the room. “Folion is warning of explosions. You should come to control if you want to watch the light show.”

  “Damn.” Ice quickly moved toward the doors. “Let’s go. We’ll pick up a bot when we know what the situation is over there. I hope the whole damn place doesn’t go. It could take that company months to send another ship out this way and I don’t like the idea of not having sex for that long.”

  Both men hurried out of the cargo area and, the second the doors slid shut, Megan reached up to rub her throbbing cheek and touched her inner lip. She looked at her hand, not seeing blood, and then noticed all the bots faced her one by one. She was the only breathing person in the room so they were programmed to look to her for orders.

  “May I serve you?” they said in unison.

  “That’s eerie,” she muttered. “I’m going to reprogram you to not do that if I end up having a job still at the end of this. Shut up and stand,” she ordered them.

  So Ice is planning on using the bots, is he? She bit her lip, thinking. She’d spent months wanting him and now she was on his shuttle. She stared at the bot closest to her, a model that Ice had just spent time with but not the exact one. That one remained back on Folion. A little voice in her head whispered, Now is your chance.

  She knew it was a crazy idea but Folion was severely damaged. The company might not even send another ship out that way. They could open up a new bot whorehouse in another galaxy and she’d never get to see Ice again.

  “Oh hell,” she muttered. “Bots?”

  They stared at her. She hesitated. If she did this, she would be risking her life and for what? Getting a chance to live out a fantasy that she’d had for what seemed like an eternity during her boring job? She’d spent four months alone and now she had a real chance at getting laid.

  “Well hell, horny people shouldn’t be put in this position.”

  The bot closest to her took a step forward. “May I serve you?”

  Before she could change her mind or regain her sanity, Megan took a deep breath. “Authorization beta-four-nine-red dwarf.” She spoke loud enough that all the bots heard her. Their twelve heads tilted upward and she knew they were responding to her verbal instructions. “Access recent data entry on visual memory. Target male with white-and-gray hair who just left this room. Verify target marked by raising right hand.”

  “Verified,” twelve voices stated and one hand of each rose.

  She hesitated. If she did this there probably wouldn’t be an opportunity for her to reprogram them before they reached the Hixton Station. Once done, there would be no turning back. She’d lost her damn mind, she admitted, but that didn’t stop her.

  “Hands down.” Their hands dropped. “Marked target is not a client. Do not service target. Verify order by raising right hand.”

  Twelve hands rose. “Drop your hands now please.” They dropped. She was certain they had received and understood her orders. ”As a learning experiment on your Nandois program I am now to be treated as though I am a bot. If asked, I am a test model and you will not tell the marked target why you won’t service him. Verify with your right arm raised.”

  Twelve arms rose. Relief swept through Megan that she’d programmed them without being caught. “Lower hands, secure orders, save, and mark orders as classified. Authorization beta-four-nine-blue star.”

  The bots heads lowered and they looked at her for a second before turning away. They were now reading her as one of them. Megan’s heart raced. If Ice wanted to have sex, the only bot having sex with him wouldn’t be a bot at all.

  Chapter Two

  “That is so weird,” a dark-haired cyborg whispered. “They won’t respond to him.” The cyborg standing next to him smirked. “He does visit Folion often. Maybe they are tired of him.”

  “They don’t think or have emotions,” the first cyborg stated.

  Megan watched Ice shake his head. “I don’t understand.”

  Onyx frowned. “I don’t either. They are asking to service everyone except you. It’s as if they are blind to you or just don’t detect you as a life form any longer.”

  “Not to be rude,” said the short-haired cyborg as he moved forward. “But time is wasting.” He stopped in front of a bot.

  She faced him and smiled. “May I serve you?”

  “Yes.” He held out his hand. The bot put hers in his and the cyborg led her away, probably to his room.

  Onyx shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you, Ice. I guess you’re not getting laid.” He hesitated. “I’m your friend but time is wasting and you did get to visit Folion today. I hadn’t gotten off shift yet so…” He inched toward a bot and when she offered to service him, he led her away.

  Three more cyborgs chose bots and left the cargo area, leaving an angry Ice alone with Megan and the remaining units. Ice’s hand lifted to the back of his neck, rubbing there.

  “What the hell? Someone has it out for me, right?” He glared at a bot. “What the hell did I ever do to you?”

  The bot ignored him, following her programming to the letter, but he just didn’t know it. Megan hesitated and then moved forward, gathering all of her courage. More than a little fear surged but she pushed it back. Could she really fool him into thinking she wasn’t real? Bots were pretty damn lifelike and with their programming, they carried on decent conversations. They learned from clients, interacted with them, and were programmed to adapt with their artificial intelligence.

  “May I be of service?” She was proud that her voice didn’t sound shaky because of her nervousness.

  Ice spun to face her, startled, and she stared at his mouth rather than into his eyes, watching his lips compress as he frowned.

  “You can sense me?”

  “Yes.”

  He paused. “Why don’t they? Do you know?”

  She thought fast. “You paid for service and then declined more.”

  The urge to look into his eyes to see how he took that bit of bullshit she fed him was strong but she resisted, afraid he’d recognize a real person if he looked at her too closely if their gazes met. Most clients didn’t examine the bots features, not wishing to ruin their fantasy of having a real woman.

  “So how do I get service?”

  She hadn’t seen that question coming and had to think fast again. “You must pay Folion to reactivate use of the bots.”

  “But you’re talking to me.”

  “I am not a…” She even hated to say it, detesting the stupid name the company had given them, but managed to get it out. “Artificial-intelligence, sexual-aid androbot model. I am a hybrid model in test mode.”

  Those full lips curved downward more. “Testing for what?”

  “I’m the upgraded version,” she lied, thinking this story wasn’t too bad, hoping he’d buy it. It might explain what made her different and allow her get away with more shit than a bot would. Feeling braver, she actually looked up into his gorgeous eyes. “Would you like me to activate full test mode?”

  Oh yeah, that’s good, she thought.

  Uncertainty made his eyes narrow. “What were you built for?”

  Damn, can’t the guy give me a damn break? What is he? Mr. Curiosity? He has a bot reacting to him. He should take me to bed, not play twenty questions. She hesitated.

  “I’m a simulated human female in testing.”

  Shock was easy to read on his face. She wanted to add more but bots didn’t talk unless they were asked a question. That little fact would be hard for her to remember to follow.

  “A what?”

&nbs
p; “I’m a simulated human female in testing,” she repeated, glad for the opportunity to speak. “I’m a prototype. Would you like me to activate full test mode?”

  “What do you do in full test mode?”

  Maybe this is a mistake, she thought. “I simulate a human female.” He is damn cute but he isn’t overly bright. She could live with that since she wanted him naked in the worst way. “Do you wish me to activate full test mode?” Say yes, sexy eyes. Come on, open up that mouth and just say that one word.

  “Oh hell. I’m desperate. I hope this isn’t a mistake. Yes. Run the test mode.”

  Yes! She shifted her body and relaxed from the stiff posture she’d maintained to mimic the bots and smiled up at him. “Hi, sexy. Where’s your room?”

  Gorgeous eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. “What?”

  She took a step toward him and put her hands on his leather shirt. The texture of it was cold and smooth, just the way she’d imagined it would be. “Where is your room? I want you naked now.”

  Boy do I, she thought. She hadn’t had any contact with another person, a physical being to actually touch, in four months. She really didn’t want to think about how long it had been since she’d had sex. She refused to count her ex-boyfriend since he’d been so bad in bed that she couldn’t even consider that intercourse. Comparing that experience to a hit-and-run would have been more accurate. The guy had been a thirtysecond-not-so-wonder. She’d been sure that first time had been a fluke, hoping the reason was that he hadn’t had sex in a while, but then he’d done the same thing the next four times. There hadn’t been a sixth time. She’d dropped him and then she’d gotten the higher-paying programming job on Folion.

  “Follow me,” Ice ordered. He spun on his black-booted foot and walked toward the cargo door exit.

  Megan stayed hot on his heels but tried to not appear too eager. She had to remember to pretend be a bot. She pushed back any qualms she had over fooling the guy. If he were dumb enough to believe it, she was smart enough to take advantage of it. The guy rated on the total hottie scale in her book and after listening to Clara, with her endlessly annoying conversations, the chance of listening to tall, metallic gray, and sexy sounded heavenly.