Page 99 of Dustwalker

“You’re just as alive as I am, Ronin.”

“Because of you.”

She grinned. “I might bring it out in you, a little.”

“You bring somethingout in me, certainly.”

“Hmm.” Lara swiveled her hips, moaning at the feel of his cock buried inside her. “I do, for sure. Out of you, and into me.”

Banding an arm around her, he held her tight against him. “I would say I’ve come to like humans, but it may only be you.”

She scoffed and slapped his shoulder. “Better be only me.”

Ronin rose, flipping her onto her back without withdrawing from her. Lara shrieked with laughter as he propped himself up on his elbows. She wrapped her legs around his waist, drawing herself snugly against him. His undamaged eye met hers.

“There is only you,” he said with sincerity that pierced right into her heart.

“Ronin…”

He pressed his metal lips to hers, and she and Ronin moved as one, her hands exploring the altered landscape of his body. Only sensation remained; there was no room for words, no need.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Ronin lay with Lara until dawn before extracting himself from her side and leaving the bed. Despite his care, the springs and frame creaked with his movements.

She stirred, lashes lifting, and peered at him with groggy eyes. Her fingers closed gently around his forearm. “Ronin?”

“Need to go to the clinic,” he said. “The sooner I’m repaired, the sooner we can leave.”

“Okay.” Her eyelids fluttered shut. “I’ll be…waiting.”

Her grip, already weak, slackened, and her hand slipped off his arm. Faint tingles coursed along his casing. He couldn’t be sure if he’d truly felt her delicate touch or if the sensation was a simulation of what his destroyed sensors might’ve detected. Gradually, her breathing evened out. Even now, knowing how important it was to repair the damage he’d sustained, it was difficult to leave her.

Leaning down, he pulled on his boots, lacing them loosely. They’d be off again soon enough. He stood, easing his weight onto his right leg to test the strength of his knee as he ran diagnostics.

Partial mobility restored. Actuator operating at 32% functionality, with 140% of normal power draw. Power leak probable.

Though his pants were also damaged, he pulled them up and fastened them. His steps were slow as he crossed the room to the closet. Each time he shifted his weight onto his right leg, his kneebuckled, but the joint locks initiated before it could collapse. Not ideal, but he didn’t have far to go. Just another one point six kilometers.

Within the closet, he selected a clean pair of pants and found the shirt Lara had made for him, folding both articles of clothing together. He would determine if his current pants were salvageable after he was repaired.

Tucking the bundle under his arm, he walked back into the bedroom, shifting his optic to the handgun on the chest. Even within the bot district, he never traveled unarmed. But what good would it do him?

Limping to the bedside, he stared down at Lara. Her breathing was soft, her body relaxed, her expression untroubled. She’d spoken of hearts and love, and what did he know about either? Humans often used the former term figuratively, and the latter…

I love you.

He replayed her words again and again.

Careful not to lean on his damaged leg, he bent forward and drew the blanket over Lara’s body. She slid her arms up, taking hold of the covering, and wrapped it around herself snugly without opening her eyes. A long, satisfied sigh escaped her.

Love.

Despite his caution, he descended the steps in a third of the time it had taken to mount them the night before. He walked straight to the door, not allowing himself to hesitate, refusing to succumb to the desire to go look at her again, to contemplate the serenity on her face and listen to the soothing sound of her breathing.

His internal clock had accounted for every year, every day, every hour, minute, and microsecond since his reactivation. It was one of his core processes, albeit a relatively simple one, as natural to him as breathing was to a human. Without fail, every second had been exactly as long as those preceding and following it.

Until Lara. She had changed everything.