her at that instant, feeling him make her his own.
She collapsed against his chest in a sweaty, gasping heap and felt him breathing deeply, his lungs working like a bellows. He seemed to be as tired as she was, she thought, cuddling close so that her head was tucked under his chin. They’d worn each other out with their mutual need.
Not mutual need, a little voice in the back of her head spoke up. Your need, Leita. He has no needs. He’s a robot, a cyborg—a machine.
That last thought brought her back to reality and Leita realized what she was doing—she was letting herself have feelings for her sex toy and that had to stop right now. She might as well have a crush on her vibrator or fall in love with her shower nozzle. It was that stupid. Still, Pierce looked so engagingly human, so completely lifelike as he pushed the damp hair back from her forehead and kissed her gently, that it was hard to help herself.
“That was something else, baby girl,” he rumbled softly, stroking her cheek. “A wild ride.”
“It was, wasn’t it?” Leita couldn’t help smiling at him. “Look, I know you’re probably hungry after that workout and the long trip here. You want me to make you something to eat?” Then she mentally kicked herself—would she offer to cook dinner for a dildo she had just used? But Pierce seemed to take her suggestion in stride.
“Mmm.” He smiled at her. “You read my mind, honey. Something to eat would surely hit the spot right now. You mind if I take a shower while you cook?” He sniffed at himself and made a face. “I’m afraid I really need one.”
“I like the way you smell,” Leita told him, before she could stop herself. “It’s very…very masculine. But your manual says it should wash off with a couple of showers. The smell of the flesh tanks, I mean.”
Pierce raised an eyebrow at her, looking momentarily confused. “Oh, right, the flesh tanks.” He disengaged from her and sat up, scratching his chest. “Well, I better go wash it off then. Where should I go after?”
“Kitchen unit is straight down the hall to the right from my bedroom,” Leita told him. “See you in ten?”
Pierce sniffed himself again. “Better make it twenty, honey. I have a feeling this smell isn’t gonna come off without some serious scrubbing.”
Pierce nearly burst into song while he lathered up and scrubbed down in the tiny shower unit in Leita’s bathroom. He’d fallen on his feet here, no mistake about it. A beautiful, willing woman, a safe place to hide from Shie-lu and his gang of thugs, or any other bounty hunters who might be after his hide, and had he mentioned the gorgeous, sexy lady he just had incredibly hot sex with? Pierce thought he had, but Leita was definitely worth repeating.
He closed his eyes and let the steaming water run over his head as he pictured her flushed cheeks and open mouth as she came around him. Goddess, but she had been beautiful in that moment of blind passion, trembling and gasping and milking the cum right out of him with her tight little pussy. Pierce had always prided himself on being a tender, considerate lover, but Leita had surprised him with her need and responsiveness. It was almost as though she’d been waiting just for him—waiting for him to open her, to bring her alive.
Of course she was waiting for you—she thinks she ordered you from some damn online catalogue. That stopped him cold. He was already beginning to regret lying to Leita, but there was no way he could tell her the truth now. Not after the hot, tender sex they’d shared. She’d be twice as likely at this point to freak out and throw him out in the cold and Pierce simply couldn’t risk that—not now. Not with Shie-lu and who knew how many other hard cases on his ass.
He sighed and rinsed the synthetic soap substitute from his hair. He should’ve known the box of platinum extensor chips he’d been moving for Dal were duds. The slimy little bastard who passed them to him had a shifty, untrustworthy look in his slitted black eyes that gave Pierce an itch. He should have tested one or two, just to be sure. But Dal was such a damn stickler for having his goods intact Pierce hadn’t opened the box. For once he’d ignored his instincts and brought the box unopened