MaleAndroidCompanion

by Mackenzie McKade

  “As you wish.” Strength radiated from his powerful hand, which was now placed at the small of her back. Maneuvering her in front of him so he stood between her and the crowd, he guided her toward the limousine parked by one of twelve large studios that towered around them. Trans airliners moving swiftly on rails crisscrossing high above them continued to shuttle people from one mammoth building to another, while smaller versions of the crafts darted past on the ground.

  As they neared the car, a young woman appeared out of nowhere, her steps fast and determined, heading in their direction. As she approached, Antares snarled, the sound more animallike than human.

  The brunette abruptly stopped. Something close to fear widened her eyes. “I-I just wanted an autograph.”

  When Gia saw the telecom device in the woman’s hand, she placed a palm on Antares’ arm and looked into his cold, hard eyes. Sheesh. The man was solid muscle and good-looking in a dangerous sort of way.

  “It’s okay.” She stepped beyond his shelter and closed the distance between her and the eager fan. A movie clip played on the device she held. It was Gia’s first movie, the one that had set her career into motion.

  A heavy sigh pushed from her lips. Sometimes she wished she had stayed in Forest Grove, but other than her family there was little for her there. The fact was that locating a job in town hadn’t been easy. Every position she had ever held, the boss had either hit on her or, once his wife met her, she was immediately fired. Jealousy sucked.

  But through the ups and downs of growing up, she did manage a college degree in social sciences. An elective course in theater and a professor’s suggestion she consider a career in acting set her rethinking her course. In a last-ditch effort to find a place where she belonged, she packed her bags and headed to Hollywood. There she discovered her passion for acting.

  Gia reached for the device the woman extended and pressed the still button before she removed the attached pen. The picture froze on the bedroom scene with her and James Scott embracing.

  For a moment, she was taken back in time. She had been young and hungry for success when her break came. And, like the inexperienced girl she had been, she made the first cardinal error and fell deeply in love with her co-star. Of course his love had been merely lust.

  Gia pushed the ugly memory aside. “Your name?”

  “Beth.” The fan beamed. “I want to be just like you.” The dreamy stars twinkling in the young woman’s brown eyes weren’t hard to miss.

  Should Gia burst Beth’s bubble? Tell her that fame wasn’t all it was cracked up to be? Nah. She probably wouldn’t listen anyway. Instead Gia smiled and continued to scribble a message across the video screen.

  Someone yelled her name. She turned and another picture was snapped. A jet cruiser was heading straight for them. Two people straddled the hovercraft that floated above the ground, a driver and the blond man with the camera.

  Damn Doug and Mary. Their little escapade would cost Gia any moment of peace, and her pride, once their story hit the airwaves, which it was probably doing right now.

  Oh God. What would her mother and father say? To date they had understood about the embellished rumors or out-and-out lies that were the price of fame, but this one hit a little too close to the truth and it hurt.

  The limousine door rose like a bird’s wing in flight. She scrambled inside, smelling the heady scent of leather as she scooted across the butter-soft seats. When the door lowered, she heard the lock click. In seconds, her bodyguard was behind the wheel. Immediately the windows surrounding her blackened. Gia could see out, but no one could see in.

  A series of small explosions shook the car. She startled, catching her breath.

  “Sorry, Miss Easton. The auto-scan discovered several tracking devices. They have been disposed of.”

  Gia glanced up to see Antares’ handsome face reflected in the rearview mirror, but his black eyes were lifeless—cold. A flare of light caught her attention as another cruiser joined the first one pulling alongside the car.

  “Where to, Miss Easton?”

  “I don’t care.” She collapsed against the backseat. “Just lose them.” Tired and shaken, all she wanted to do was disappear. So much for the wrap party. She had no desire to put on a brave face or celebrate with cast and crew tonight.

  The engine roared to life and the climate sensor hummed as it sought out the ideal temperature for her. When Antares shifted the vehicle into gear and put his foot on the gas pedal, tires screeched. The force pressed her tight against the seat, increasing her anxiety. On the first turn, she slid across the seat, almost out of reach of the telephone. The tip of her fingers activated the speaker and a dial tone screeched. On another bend that flung her in the opposite direction, she managed to punch in her attorney’s number.

  The monitor lit up with the middle-aged man’s rounded face. The ruddiness of his nose and cheeks revealed he drank a little too much. The minute their eyes met, the toothy smile he’d greeted her with dissolved. His bushy brows tugged inward.

  “Gia, is something wrong?”

  She pressed the button that disconnected their visual feed, not wanting him to see the tears swelling. Clearing her throat, she held on to her anger, the only thing that would get her through this day. “I fired both Mary and Doug.”

  “What?”

  After she explained the sordid situation, she added, “I want all their belongings out of my house before I get home. Oh. And I need you to contact my publicist. Start damage control immediately. Have Karen leave me a voicemail on the path she decides to take. I don’t want to be bothered unless it is necessary.”

  “Of course. Do you think Doug or Mary will cause problems?” Larry asked.

  “Hell. Yes. But isn’t that what I pay you to handle? I want them silenced and out of my life. Make it happen, Larry.” With the press of a finger, the telephone went dead. On second thought, she deactivated the communication device. She didn’t want to speak to anyone, especially her mother or sister.

  Tension crawled across Gia’s shoulders—tiny knots that made her ache and clench her teeth so that her jaw pulsated. She rolled her head from side to side, listening to muscles pop before she jerked open the cabinet beneath the wet bar. She always kept a change of clothes in case of an emergency.

  While she changed into a pair of jeans and T-shirt, Antares took another left and then a right, trying to shake their pursuers. Sunlight blinked out, turning the day to night as she slipped on a pair of sandals.

  It took a second or two for her eyes to adjust and when they did she realized they had entered an underground tunnel. The cruisers were nowhere in sight, but that didn’t mean anything. Even without a tracking device, with satellite ground positioning it wouldn’t be long before they were once again in pursuit. The car’s descrambler would hold off their pursuers only until they found the right frequency.

  Gotta love technology. With each techno advancement there was someone out there with the means to get around it.

  As they pulled into a parking garage containing only a few cars, she looked around. “Where are we?”

  The area was dimly illuminated. Two guards stood sentry by a steel door outside a large gray building. There were no signs, nothing descriptive that gave her any hint as to where Antares had taken her.

  He glanced in the rearview mirror. “The Institute of Robotics. This is the back entrance of the M.A.C. Division.”

  “M.A.C. Division?” she repeated. Why did this sound familiar?

  “Male Android Companions.”

  When the car came to a complete stop, she slid across the seat. “Let me out of here.” She didn’t wait for Antares to open the door. Instead, she grabbed her keyless remote and activated a sensor. The door swung upward as she stuffed the remote into her pants. “You can lead the paparazzi away. I’ll catch a taxi.” Before she crawled out of the limousine, she snagged a pair of sunglasses. When she placed them on her nose, the garage darkened even more. Grabbing her favorite ball cap, she st
uffed her long red hair beneath it.

  “Miss Easton, this isn’t wise. You need protection.”

  Antares had warned her just yesterday that she required additional security when she went out but she had brushed him off as he rambled off the mathematical probabilities of danger. No one wanted to hurt her. They just became overzealous at times. Shaking what security she did have probably wasn’t the brightest idea, but she really needed to escape, even if it was for a brief reprieve. She scanned the rustic concrete building once more. No one would look for her here; besides it appeared almost vacant with only two cars in the parking lot.

  “I’ll hide out in the Institute for thirty minutes or so and either call for a taxi or if you feel it’s safe enough you can return and pick me up. Now go before the vultures discover this location.”

  For a second she lost her bravado as she watched her limousine pull away. Maybe she should have thought this plan through. Gia didn’t even want to think about the gossip that would surface if they found her here.

  Dumped starlet turns to hot male robot for affection.

  The two guards at the door leveled their ominous gazes on her and she gave them the same scrutiny back. Yes. Gia had heard of this place. In fact, last night she had been intrigued by one of their commercials advertising a fulfilling sexual experience without the complications of a relationship.

  No emotional ties—just great sex, anytime she wanted it. Her own boy toy!

  “Maybe this is what I need,” she said half-jokingly. But the thought did nothing to ease the ache in her chest or the moisture blurring her vision. She wiped angrily at her tears. “You’re so not worth crying over.”

  Doug was history.

  Determined footsteps carried her toward the building. When she was about six feet away from the guards, the large metal door they stood next to opened and a man dressed in a three-piece business suit exited. “Welcome, Miss Easton.”

  Her jaw dropped. “How did you know—?”

  A Cheshire grin fell across his handsome face. “Our recognition cameras are the best around. When I saw your name—” He shrugged, extending a hand too soft to have done any real work. “I’m a fan.” As his warm palm met hers, she noted the surveillance equipment lining the roof and the identification pad embedded into the doorknob.

  So much for being incognito.

  “I’m Toil Roberts.” His grip grew snug. “I’m so glad that you are in the market for a M.A.C.”

  “What?” The gentle squeeze of his fingers around hers snapped her attention to his hand and then to his sharp brown eyes. “I’m not—”

  Whoa. Maybe she shouldn’t be too hasty. Maybe a M.A.C. was exactly what she needed. If the androids’ lifelike personalities were even half as good as the company claimed, no one would know the truth. Besides, what did she have to lose? Company was company and she needed someone or something to help her forget, at least for tonight.

  Gia eased her hand out of the blond salesman’s. “Yes. I’m very interested.”

  Chapter Two

  “Where the hell is that laser? It couldn’t have just walked away.” Marc Anthony Charleston scanned the marble showroom for the fourth time. The three-inch tool was nowhere to be found. Stepping behind the couch, he dropped to his knees and bent to peer beneath the sofa.

  As he moved to his belly, he reached blindly, fingers sweeping across the floor. Nothing. Yet there was no way losing his favorite tool would squash the excitement welling inside him. Today was the grand opening and the first release of this year’s models, the 2095 Ecstasy line.

  He had achieved what no other had—he had created the perfect man.

  Well. Perfect by the definition of a focus group of approximately three hundred women, a sample taken from across the United States. He just hoped the world saw his work for what it was worth. His inventions weren’t mere sex toys, but a huge advancement in science. Pride rose, warming his neck and spreading across his face. Each android had been designed not only to pleasure its owner, but Marc had programmed them to think and analyze situations and to react accordingly to service their clients’ every need.

  The sound of hollow footsteps brought his head up. The showroom wouldn’t open for another thirty minutes. Mrs. Oxford was early, which meant she was anxious. Dressed in jeans, a polo shirt and casual loafers, Marc wasn’t prepared to contend with the public or the prestigious customer.

  “I think you’ll be impressed with the twelve available models.” Toil’s voice thickened with heat—he was interested in the female. “We have every variety. With everything a woman could desire.”

  “Or at least the top twelve chosen by market research,” Marc muttered to himself as he remained hidden behind the couch.

  He heard the woman’s gasp of awe and knew she was impressed. Who wouldn’t be?

  Twelve good-looking men, some with ebony hair like his, others blond, brunet, and there was even a redhead who lounged around the intimate room designed for seduction. A crystal chandelier was dimly lit and over twenty candles dotted around the room, giving off a hint of cinnamon. Thick, heavy drapes caressed the darkened windows. Small couches built for only two and several plush chairs were arranged near the fireplace, with a bucket of champagne arranged on each side.

  On his hands and knees, Marc chuckled softly. Toil couldn’t be attracted to Mrs. Oxford. Even the best modern enhancements couldn’t hide that she was pushing sixty. The horny old broad was married and looking for a plaything, not a real man who would cost her everything should her better half discover her infidelity. This he knew because he had spoken to her personally. The woman planned to introduce one of Marc’s androids as the pool boy to her husband. Not the most auspicious beginning for one of his creations, but it would be a good testament of their ability to “pass”.

  “Tell me more.” The young female’s tone was soft, sexy and oddly familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. One thing he knew, she was definitely not Mrs. Oxford. “Are they really lifelike? Enough to fool anyone? Even the press?”

  A satisfied grin tugged at the corners of Marc’s mouth. Countless hours of research had gone into every robot. He had personally seen to their training, during which he had learned a thing or two he was eager to try.

  Each one of the androids had been programmed to know exactly what a woman enjoyed and they knew all the ways to pleasure her. But more importantly, his creations had been programmed on current events, politics and any other imaginable subject. They had each been given occupations and a life history. Whoever the woman with Toil was, Marc would stake his reputation she would not be able to tell the difference between one of his robots and a real man.

  “M.A.C. guarantees that the 2095 Ecstasy model will be undetected as an android by anyone on the street or,” Toil’s voice dropped an octave lower, “anyone slipping between the sheets with one of them.”

  It wasn’t what the salesman said but how he spoke that confirmed for Marc the woman must be pretty. Toil only went for those who registered at least an eight on the beauty scale.

  “Whatever your fantasy…” The salesman paused. When he spoke again his voice turned husky. “Whatever your kink, the 2095 will comply. Troy.” He called the six-foot-two android’s name. Test markets had shown that the blond bodybuilder would undoubtedly be a favorite amongst most women. “Gentlemen, come say hello.”

  Marc began to rise as his hand touched something cold. The laser. He closed his fingers around the tool as Troy hummed, “My pleasure.” When Marc pushed to his feet, the client was hidden by the android’s broad physique, but he could see that she held a ball cap in one hand.

  “I don’t mean to be rude, but—” Nervous laughter spilled forth. “I-I mean the pleasure is mine, but he’s not exactly what I’d take home to meet the family.”

  So, she had an agenda—a man to meet the family? Marc was rethinking his earlier “pretty” assumption. She needed her family to believe she had a man.

  When the customer stepped beyond Troy, her back
to Marc, his heart stuttered. Sexy. Soft, generous curves, a sensual sway to her hips that made it look as if she glided toward Alex, a brunet android dressed in a suit and tie. Elbow propped on the fireplace mantel, the android smiled invitingly. In a large chair next to him, Pierce, a more rugged-looking android decked out in jeans and a flannel shirt, rose to greet her.

  Each of the androids introduced himself and spoke with her briefly, but Marc’s gaze was pinned on her shapely body. When he realized what he was doing, he thought butter, laughing inwardly. That’s how his nephew had described his older brother’s girlfriend.

  “She’s butter. Got a great rack but—her face is uuug-ly.” Nathan’s smart-ass remark had Brandon throwing fists. Marc had to step between the two rascals to stop the fight. The memory came and went quickly as he pulled his attention back to the woman.

  One thing he did have to say about her, she had gorgeous hair. Full and long, the color of mahogany, it flowed down her back to rest at the gentle swell of her ass, which was wrapped in tight blue jeans.

  And what an ass. Just right for a man’s palms.

  She stood silently for a moment before spinning around. “I don’t know.”

  Pushing her sunglasses up and into her hair, she revealed the bluest eyes. Eyes Marc had admired before. In fact, on more occasions then he cared to disclose, he had not only stared at pictures of those eyes, but had also traced every curve of the statuesque starlet’s body while placing the movie on pause so he could breathe in her beauty. Gia Easton had been the leading lady in his nightly dreams.

  But something was off.

  Rolling the laser between two fingers, he watched her intently. The confident way she held herself on the silver screen was missing. Instead he swore her almond-shaped eyes held the weight of the world. The life-light that usually glowed around her was gone. Then again, artificial lighting and makeup could accomplish anything. On another twist, the laser slipped from his hands and pinged against the marble floor, the tinny sound drawing everyone’s attention, including hers.