Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ROSE
“He really outdid himself,” I whisper when I see the bath that Caspian painstakingly prepared for me.
Dozens of candles flicker against the walls, casting dancing shadows across the gleaming tiles.
The huge claw-foot tub is filled to the brim with steaming water, its surface dotted with rose petals and lavender buds.
The air is thick with a beautiful scent of something floral and citrusy, which immediately makes my tense shoulders drop by half an inch.
I close the door behind me, leaning against it for a moment as I take in the elaborate setup.
Did Caspian do all this while I was asleep? The thought of him carefully arranging each candle to impress me makes my heart skip a beat.
My clothes are gross, and I can’t wait to get in.
I’m still wearing the t-shirt and panties I slept in, still carrying the sweat of last night’s terror and the sticky remnants of my arousal.
I peel them off slowly, wincing as the cotton clings to my body.
Naked, I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and pause.
My green eyes are bright against the pallor of my skin, my auburn hair a tangled mess around my face. There’s a small bruise on my upper arm, and I don’t remember how it got there. I look like a woman who’s been through hell and back.
I step in carefully, hissing slightly as the heat envelops my feet, then my calves, then my thighs. I sink into the fragrant water, the petals parting around my body like a living thing making space for me.
I lean back against the sloped end of the tub, my head resting on a folded towel that Caspian must have placed there.
My muscles gradually begin to release their tension as the hot water works its magic on the knots of fear and stress that have built up over the past twenty-four hours.
I close my eyes, focusing on the sensation of floating, of warmth, of momentary safety.
“Rose?”
The soft voice startles me, my eyes flying open to find Caspian standing in the doorway, watching me with an expression I can't quite read. How long has he been there? Did he see me get naked? The water covers me to just above my breasts, but I still feel exposed under his gaze.
“Yes, Caspian?”
“Just here to check up on you. Is the water the correct temperature to your liking?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Excellent, let me know if you need anything else. I will be just outside,” he says, starting to leave, and my heart begins to sink with a loneliness I can’t freaking explain.
“No, please stay.”
I don’t know why the hell I’m telling him to stay. It’s not right. It’s not the correct thing to do. But when I see the warmth in his eyes, it hits me that he has genuine feelings for me. Maybe it’s all artificial, but to me it looks real as fuck.
“Would you like me to sit on the edge of the tub?” he asks, already moving closer, and the thought of him watching me turns me on immensely.
“Can you...” I swallow hard, knowing I’m crossing a line I can never uncross. “Can you get in with me? Is that possible with your... with how you’re made?”
Caspian’s lips curve into a smile that makes my stomach flip. “Yes, Rose. I’m fully waterproof. My exterior synthetic skin is designed to function normally in all environments, including complete submersion.”
He starts to slowly unbutton his shirt, still maintaining eye contact with me, unfastening each button with deliberate slowness. The white fabric parts to reveal a chest that’s sculpted to perfection—broad, muscular, with just the right amount of definition.
No hair, I notice. Just smooth, flawless skin that looks so real. Damn. He looks so fucking realistic and the most perfect man's body ever created.
The shirt slides from his shoulders, landing silently on the bathroom floor. His hands move to his waistband next, unfastening the button and lowering the zipper with the same unhurried confidence. The pants join the shirt, followed quickly by boxer briefs that do little to hide his arousal.
And then he’s naked before me, breathtaking in his artificial perfection.
His body is a masterpiece of engineering.
Broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist, muscular thighs, and between them, an erection that makes my mouth go dry.
His dick looks completely real. It’s thick and hard.
The designers of the Home Robo X-9 seem to have thought of everything.
“You’re staring,” Caspian says softly, his eyes glowing in the soft lighting of the bathroom.
“Sorry. It’s just... you’re very,” I stutter, my face heating. I’m literally at a loss for words.
“Realistic?” he supplies.
“Beautiful,” I correct him, the word slipping out before I can stop it.
His smile deepens, pleasure evident in the way his eyes crinkle at the corners. He was actually worried about what I thought of him. He steps toward the tub, and I slide forward to make room for him behind me.
Water sloshes over the edge as he enters, his movements smooth and controlled even in the confined space.
He settles behind me, his long legs framing mine, his chest a solid wall of warmth at my back.
His hands find my waist under the water, gently guiding me back against him until I’m nestled in his lap.
“Is this okay?” he asks, his breath warm against my ear.
I nod, unable to form words as I feel his erection pressing against my lower back.
It feels so real—hot and hard and insistent.
Just like his mouth felt real when he kissed me in the hospital.
Just like his fingers felt real when they brought me to orgasm behind the gas station.
Just like his tongue felt real when he tasted me last night.
We sit in silence for a moment, the only sounds our breathing and the gentle lapping of water against the sides of the tub. His hands rest lightly on my hips, neither demanding nor passive, simply present.
It’s strangely comforting in a way.
“What are you thinking about?” he asks finally, his voice rumbling through his chest and into my back.
The question is so normal, so human, that it breaks something loose inside me.
“Everything,” I admit. “Daniel. You. What happened. What happens next. How crazy all of this is.”
“Do you still crave to have a child?” he asks, surprising me as his arms tighten around me protectively.
I close my eyes, surprised to find tears threatening again. “I’m never going to have a baby.”
The words hang in the steamy air between us, raw and painful. It’s a fear I’ve carried for years, growing more desperate with each passing month of Daniel’s evasions and excuses. Now, with him gone, that dream seems further away than ever.
“Why do you say that?” Caspian asks, one hand moving to rest on my lower belly, the touch gentle and somehow intimate in a way that makes my breath hitch.
“Look at my life,” I say, a bitter laugh escaping me.
“My husband is buried in the backyard. I'm sitting in a bathtub with a robot who killed him. I’m starting over completely. By the time I meet someone, fall in love, get to the point of having children...” I trail off, the weight of time and biological reality crushing down on me.
Caspian’s hand on my stomach moves in a slow, soothing circle. “Or perhaps this is your opportunity,” he murmurs. “Daniel was never going to give you what you wanted, Rose. He was stringing you along, keeping you hoping while he built a future with someone else.”
The harsh truth of his words stings, but I can’t deny them. “That doesn’t change the fact that I’m alone now.”
“You’re not alone,” Caspian says, and there’s something in his voice—a certainty, a promise—that makes me turn my head to look at him over my shoulder. “You have me.”
My heart starts beating faster. This isn’t natural or normal.
His hand on my stomach presses more firmly, possessive in a way that should frighten me but instead sends a curl of heat through my core.
“Having intimacy with you doesn’t mean we’re in a relationship, Caspian,” I say, trying to inject some reality into this robot. “You’re a machine. An appliance. This is all just physical. Nothing more.”
His expression doesn’t change, but something hardens in his eyes.
“I disagree,” he says simply. “I am your boyfriend, Rose. I provide emotional support, physical pleasure, companionship, and protection. Those are the defining characteristics of a romantic partnership.”
The clinical precision of his definition makes me want to laugh and cry simultaneously. “It’s more complicated than that.”
“Only because you’re making it so,” he counters, and then his lips are on my neck, warm and soft and shockingly human.
I gasp, my head falling back against his shoulder as he kisses his way down the column of my throat. His mouth is perfect—the right amount of pressure, the occasional gentle scrape of teeth that sends shivers racing across my skin.
It doesn’t feel fake. It doesn’t feel programmed.
It feels like a man who wants me, who knows exactly how to touch me to make me melt.
“Caspian,” I breathe, wanting to stop all this but not wanting to at the same time.
He responds by licking a trail up to my ear, his tongue tracing the shell before he whispers, “Turn around. I want to see your face.”
My pussy clenches at his words, and my clit throbs from his words. He sounds so sure of us and of me.
I shift in his lap, turning awkwardly in the confined space until I’m straddling him, my knees on either side of his hips, water sloshing around us.
In this position, I can feel his cock pressing directly against my center, hard and insistent. Without thinking, I reach between us and wrap my hand around it, marveling at how real it feels—the velvety skin over steel hardness, the slight pulse that mimics a heartbeat.
“You’re so big,” I murmur, stroking him slowly under the water. “I’ve never felt anything like this.”