Chapter 32 #2
She only has twelve days to keep her promise.
And if she fails, they’ll come get him. Because she did make a few inquiries after he asked, so she knows the full process of decommissioning.
They bring the GROWs into a room in batches.
A physician, like Sable, does a secondary blood test from a sample collected from the fingertip.
An injection is given that lulls the manupartner into a sleep state.
Then a second injection is given that stops the heart, much in the same way they used to decommission sick pets.
After that it gets a little messier, since the manupartners are considered recyclable organic material.
K8 shudders at the thought of the video she watched.
At the vat of glowing orange algae-like liquid, and the large mixer blades that churn the waste bodies and the chemicals that break them down into a usable substance.
The video explained that they don’t remain in a humanoid form for long after they come in contact with the chemicals, but K8 swears she saw an arm floating around the flesh stew.
A very strong part of her considers whether she should just let James convert the funds and make the payment. It could be James’s arm if she doesn’t fix this.
But she has twelve full days. There is no reason to be dramatic.
If she fails, he has the funds to cover it.
It would be crushing to admit she isn’t worthy of his trust, but at least he’d be alive.
Would that make him retract his promises?
Her already nervous stomach swirls, but she plasters on a brave face.
“It’s a common practice. Buy something. Wear it a few times. Sell it. Buy something new.” It is partly true, so she doesn’t really consider it a lie.
“K8, if those shoes were one of your favorites, I’m sure we could have found something else for you to sell.”
She shrugs again, looking away. “They weren’t a favorite pair.”
“Well,” he says, running a thumb across her jaw, sending the most delicious sensations skittering down her neck. “If you wore them a lot . . .” He trails off, and she realizes he’s stepped into her space.
“I didn’t,” she confesses, her voice becoming breathy and high-pitched.
“Still, selling your prized possessions for me is very sweet of you, K8.” His hands have fallen from her jaw to find a new home on her hips.
She nearly whimpers as his lips whisper over the flesh of her neck, which arches for him of its own accord.
It’s been too long since their encounter in the broom closet, and K8 is already primed for him.
“You’ve been so patient with me while I work. And I know opening up to me last night was difficult for you. I want to say thank you.” He kisses her neck more roughly, letting his teeth graze over her pulse point. “Tell me how I can thank you.”
“Do that again,” she whispers, and she can feel his chuckle against her neck before he leaves a trail of hot sparking flesh down to her collarbones.
If opening up, as he says, was all it took, then perhaps she should have told him all her embarrassing stories a long time ago.
His teeth brush an especially sensitive spot on her shoulder.
She moans as sensation dances across her skin.
Then he’s walking her backward, kissing her, tugging, and pawing.
Her body tingles with awareness and she can feel moisture accumulating between her thighs.
The cash notification from the device still clutched in her hand sounds.
She starts to look, to see which of her prized possessions, as James put it, she’ll have to relinquish, but James takes the device from her.
His arm snakes around her, and he reclaims her mouth as if he’s irritated she ever took it away from him at all.
It makes heat blossom throughout her body.
The way he’s kissing her, like he craves her.
As if to him, she’s the treasure. As they pass the table, he sets her device aside without ever taking his focus from her.
When the backs of her legs hit the couch, he eases her down onto it, leaning over her. He reaches up, hooks a finger into her top, and slides it down, exposing her breasts. “Look at you,” he says, studying her as if she were a prize. “So beautiful.”
It doesn’t take much nipping and licking at her nipples until she is panting.
Spreading her legs wider so his roaming hand has better access.
They both gasp as he discovers the wet heat there.
Then he looks at her with such intensity that she’s almost frightened. Until he says, “I have to taste you.”
“Ohhh,” she moans, nodding frantically.
He kisses down her body, over her skirt, until he has it bunched up over her hips.
She jumps as he bites down on a little pad of fat right near the apex of her thighs.
He laves the sting with the flat of his tongue, then he moves further up, licking up the outside of her lace panties before sliding them to the side and repeating the motion.
She’s so needy for this, for him, she almost combusts at his second pass.
She’s eager for release, but he likes to work for the things he wants.
She wills her body steady and demands, “More.”
He groans, then obliges, only coming up for air and to ask, “I saw the box for your little toy, K8. Did it make you feel good?”
“Yes,” she pants as his first finger enters her. His mouth moves on her clit as he inserts a second finger. He curls them, making her hips bow off the cushions.
“Better than this?” he asks, his voice husky. Sexy. His mouth is slick as he grins up at her, never slowing the steady pulse of his fingers.
“No, nothing like this,” she replies, praying he’ll give her his mouth again.
This time, when he rewards her, she can’t hold it back.
Her release crashes through her, making her insides clench so tight she’s sure she’s crushing his fingers.
As she comes down and her head clears, she looks up to see him on his knees between her legs.
His erection is straining through his pants.
She remembers the peek she stole when he was first activated.
Remembers how perfect it is. How it felt as he ground against her at the party.
Has thought about it so many times. About how he would stretch and fill her. She’s practically salivating.
Finally, they’re going to do this. Right as she reaches a greedy hand for his waistband, her doorbell chimes.