Page 96 of Dustwalker

For him.

It was an agonizing process. The give of his skin was contrasted by the solid, often uneven metal beneath, and she wasn’t sure if she should’ve been more concerned about damaging his casing or the knife. She cut up from his hips to his armpits and then, wishing she could look away, worked her fingers beneath his skin. It peeled off with surprising ease, revealing intricate metal plates beneath.

She shuddered as some of the burned portions flaked apart in her fingers, but she continued her work. After placing the strips of skin on the floor, she shifted her attention to his arms, picking away scorched shreds of skin and cloth. Ronin remained silent throughout.

Lara glanced up at his face when she moved to his front. His eye was focused straight ahead. Had he withdrawn from her again?

She sliced the flesh over the waist of his pants, gently peeling and scraping away everything above the cut. The pile on the floor grew.Unsure of what her reaction to the sight would be, she made sure not to look down.

When she was finally done, she stepped back and checked Ronin over. Below the waist, he was human. The rest of him was something else entirely.

His metal casing mimicked human muscles—the bulges of powerful shoulders and biceps, ridges on his torso like pecs and abs. None of the lines were quite the same without skin laid over them, but his parts came together with an elegance she’d never seen.

“Done?” he asked, jarring Lara from her thoughts.

“I think so.”

“No more overload.”

“You turned it back on already?”

“Doesn’t take long.”

She trailed her fingers along the edge of skin at his hip. “You feel this?”

A moment’s hesitation. “Yes.”

“Does it hurt?”

“No.” Had his voice softened?

“Good.” Lara lowered her hand. “Anything else?”

Ronin shook his head. “I’m going to the clinic for repairs. You should get some sleep.”

“Wait.” She gathered the tools from the bed. “Stay till morning. It’s only a few hours, and I can scrub the scorch marks from your casing.”

“It will be more bearable for you if I?—”

“Get on the fucking bed and lie down.” She fixed him with a stern look before dumping the tools on the chest and stalking to the bathroom.

Why was it so difficult for him to get it through his thick metal skull? It didn’tmatter.

So what if he was made of metal and powered by electric cells instead of food and water? He had a mind, had his own thoughts, opinions, and desires. When he was covered in skin, anyone would’ve had a hard time guessing he was a bot. Only his metal hands had given Ronin away when Lara first met him.

She took a bucket from the little storage closet and filled it with hot water from the tub. Grabbing a handcloth, she carried the bucket into the bedroom.

Ronin lay upon the bed as she had commanded.

Placing the bucket on the nightstand, she climbed onto the bed and straddled his waist. He stared up at her, but she refused to meet his gaze as she dunked the cloth in the water, wrung out the excess, and scrubbed the soot from his brow.

Even after all they’d shared, he stillthought she was disgusted by him?

She ran the cloth down his cheeks and nose, along his jawline, and over his lip-plates, pressing a little more firmly with each passing moment. When she rinsed the cloth, the water turned black. She squeezed the moisture out with enough force to make her hands ache.

Clenching her jaw, she washed his neck and chest.

“Why?” he asked.