by K. D. Jones
“Rage and Hammer will handle that. I’m here to help you with your dating skills,” Zen informed him proudly.
“I will repeat myself here: I do not need your help.”
“How many women have you dated since you were converted into a droid halfise?”
Maxim didn’t bother to answer him. There hadn’t been too many. It never got serious, because they always expected him to act like a normal man, but he wasn’t normal. His silence was answer enough for Zen.
“See, you need my expertise. It just so happens that Maya texted me what Alona will be wearing so I can match you in something complimentary.”
“Is that necessary? Color matching?” Maxim checked with his IO chip, but there was no program uploaded for dating or for color matching.
“It will look good for the pictures the paparazzi will take tonight.” Zen pulled out a pair of dark blue jeans and a white dress shirt. “Wear this.”
“Fine. Will you leave now?” Maxim was beginning to feel something unwelcome: nervousness. This really was his first date. What did one do on a first date?
“Not yet. We need to go over Date Etiquette 101 first.”
“What the hell is that?” Maxim felt himself getting angry. That was another emotion he rarely allowed himself to feel.
“First and foremost, be a gentleman. When you see her, compliment her. Something simple like, she looks beautiful. Open doors for her and allow her to enter first. For appearances sake, you should pay for the meals, but the GCFA will reimburse you. Hold her hand to help her in and out of shuttles.”
“We aren’t leaving the ship for the date, so there will be no shuttles.”
Zen rolled his eyes. “You have ten dates with her. There is bound to be a shuttle involved at some point. But let’s focus on tonight. Hold open the doors, pull out her chair for her, and then kiss her when you say goodnight.”
“Kiss her? Nigel didn’t say anything about kissing her.” An image of him leaning forward and placing his lips on Alona’s popped into his mind. He didn’t seem to mind that image.
“You remember how to kiss, don’t you?” Zen looked at him in concern.
Maxim felt heat rise to his face as blood moved upward. “Of course I know how to kiss.” His program did contain information about kissing. He just hasn’t had to kiss anyone since his conversion.
Then a thought occurred to him that had his body responding in the most uncomfortable way. “Am I supposed to have sex with her?”
Zen gave him a shrug. “That will be up to Alona.”
Maxim’s mind was now obsessed with images of him and Alona naked. His cock hardened with need. This was another human emotion he had not felt until now. It seemed that every thought that involved Alona brought out more and more of his emotions. Fuck!
Chapter 4
Alona opened the door to her suite feeling nervous. She had to remind herself that this wasn’t a real date. Maxim would never have asked her out if the GCFA wasn’t making him, and she probably would never have agreed to going out with him if the GCFA wasn’t paying her to. Right?
She opened the door and felt her heart quicken at the sight of Maxim. He was wearing dark jeans and a tight shirt that seemed to cling to every muscle. Her lips became dry, and she couldn’t stop herself from looking him over from head to toe. The jeans fit him perfectly, hugging his hips, and his manhood was nicely outlined. He definitely had a nice sized package. Her perusal was interrupted when he cleared his throat. She glanced up and saw that he was checking her out, too. One of them needed to say something here.
“Hi.” Okay, so Alona was not well known for her communication skills.
“Good evening, Alona.” His voice was thick and warm. She liked it and wanted to hear him speak again. Then she remembered he was still standing out in the hallway while she was drooling over him.
“Please come in. I’m almost ready. I just need to grab my purse.” She moved to the side so Maxim could enter her suite. She did a quick glance around the room to make sure everything was put away and clean. She wasn’t the best housekeeper, and she rarely had people come over. Truth was, Alona was not very domestic. Her mother and father had employed chefs, drivers, nannies, and maids. Growing up with all that, Alona didn’t have anyone to really teach her how to do anything, so she took advantage of the services offered by the GCFA and had a housekeeper come in once a week. It freed up her time so that she could do more social appearances. She kept herself busy, so busy that somehow her personal life had been pushed to the backburner.
There was an awkward silent moment as they stared at one another. Then Maxim spoke. “Thank you for doing this Alona. Hopefully it won’t be too unpleasant for you. Nigel said that it would be just for ten dates. Not too bad.”
He was rambling. Was he nervous too? It made him seem vulnerable and she liked that about him. Alona gave him a small smile as she picked up her purse. “It’s no problem. I want to help however I can.”
He opened the door for her and waited for her to leave first. He placed his hand on the middle of her back. At the contact of his hand, even through her clothes, she felt an electrical shock go through her. He must have felt something too, because he suddenly stopped walking.
“Is everything okay?” Alona looked up at him with concern.
“My systems say that I am fully functioning. But when I touched you just now, I felt a strange electrical pulse. It makes no sense to me.”
She smiled at him. “I don’t think it is a mechanical thing, I think it’s a human thing.”
“I do not know what you mean.”
“Give me your hand.” She held her hand out to him and waited. When he took her hand, an electrical spark went through Alona’s entire body, making her nipples tighten. He clearly felt it again too.
“It happened again. I do not understand. My circuits have not been compromised.”
Alona shook her head. “I felt it too. It’s our natural chemistry for each other.” She entered the elevator when it opened up.
“Chemistry?” Maxim asked with curiosity.
“It means that we are attracted to one another. Our bodies are attracted to one another. It’s how nature is set up so that species will . . . reproduce.” Alona suddenly felt uncomfortable talking about this with him. She was expecting to spend a few dates with him, fake the romantic stuff. But this chemistry between them was going to complicate the hell out of things.
“It means that you are attracted to me as well?” Maxim asked, as he looked her up and down. His gaze lingered on her face, as she was very expressive and he wanted to know her answer. Sometimes people lied with their words, but he could usually tell by their expressions and if their heart rate increased. He found himself memorizing every tiny detail about her, from her dark lashes, the bright blue of her eyes, to her small, delicate ears. Her lips were plump, the lower one just slightly bigger than the top. Her skin was flawless, with a light complexion. She frowned when she was thinking of an answer. He found it quite appealing to watch her.
She shivered in response to his perusal of her. He noted her body’s response to him. Her nipples tightened, her breathing pattern changed, and there was a change in her complexion as her cheeks took on a pinker tone. It surprised him to recognize this as arousal. Alona was aroused by him. His body was also responding to the stimuli. He wanted to ask her about it, but he didn’t get a chance. The doors to the elevator opened.
Alona turned away toward the door of the elevator. “It’s show time.”
*****
Alona sat at the table across from Maxim and tried not to notice all the looks that they were getting. Only a handful of the other GCFA fighters and the top heads of the GCFA knew that Alona and Maxim were not really dating. Everyone else was surprised to see them together and did not bother to hide their curiosity.
“I apologize for the uncomfortable situation,” Maxim said.
“It’s not your fault. These people act like they’ve never seen anyone out on a date before.�
�� She was trying to keep from staring at Maxim. She looked everywhere but at him. She wanted to avoid talking about what happened in the elevator. No one had ever made her react so quickly or strongly just by looking at her. She wasn’t sure what she would have done if he had touched her or kissed her.
“I am sure they have seen you on dates many times, but they have not seen me until now,” Maxim admitted.
“What? Are you telling me you have never dated anyone before?” She had to make herself lower her voice. She couldn’t help but look at him then, he was just so damn steamy. How could any woman not fall at his feet?
“I was told that I dated quite a bit when I was fully human. But since my conversion, as a droid halfsie, I have not dated. I have had interactions with other women, of course, but nothing that would be considered a relationship.”
“That must be lonely.” She thought she saw sadness pass through his still expression.
“I don’t feel that emotion.” He tried to deny it, but it didn’t sound sincere to her.
“You are part human, so you can feel emotions, Maxim. If you can feel the chemistry between us, then you can feel loneliness too.”
He hesitated. “Perhaps.”
She rolled her eyes at him. It was a typical non-committal male response. He may be part machine, but he was acting like all the other men she had ever known, in her opinion. She wondered how fully functioning he was. She bit her lip as inappropriate images of them exploring each other raced through her mind.
The waitress brought them their food and Alona watched him as he ate his steak. He didn’t show his emotions easily, but the way he lingered when he licked the fork in between bites told her that he enjoyed his food. Who could blame him? The steak was drool worthy. She should have asked for that. Instead, she had ordered her usual chef’s salad with a bowl of soup. None of it appealed to her at all. She licked her lips watching as he brought another bite to his kissable lips. She didn’t know what she wanted to taste more, the juicy meat or his incredible mouth. Where the hell did that come from?
“Are you not hungry? Is your salad okay?” Maxim asked, pausing with his fork in the air as he looked over at her.
“It’s fine.” She stabbed at a piece of lettuce but didn’t eat it.
“You haven’t eaten any of your food.”
“I . . . wish I had ordered the steak. It looks and smells delicious,” she admitted, looking down at his plate with desire and licking her lips.
“It is. Do you want me to order you a steak instead?”
“No, that’s too much trouble. May I have a small bite of yours?”
“Yes, here.” He went to push his plate towards her but she stopped him.
“Just a bite is all I need.” She reached for his hand holding the forkful of meat and brought it to her own mouth. The moment the meat was in her mouth, she closed her eyes and moaned. The warm delicious flavor was so good. She released his hand but kept her eyes shut until she had swallowed every bit of the juicy sustenance. When she opened her eyes, she found that Maxim had reloaded his fork and was bringing it towards her mouth again. She looked into his eyes this time as she wrapped her mouth around the morsel and slowly took what he offered. There was a spark of desire in the look he gave her and it heightened her response.
“Mmm . . . that is so good.” Her voice was low and husky. Maxim’s eyes narrowed as he looked at her lips. He licked his own lips in response. It was the sexiest thing she had seen in a while. Her body warmed as she imagined his mouth on her everywhere. She bet he would be very thorough with his exploration.
Maxim quickly cut another piece for her and raised his fork again. She shook her head. “I’m not eating all of your food. You barely had any yourself.”
“I will eat some in a little bit.”
She could tell that Maxim was intent of feeding her his entire steak. Alona reached for the fork, taking it out of his hand completely despite his growl of displeasure. She turned it around and raised the fork to his mouth. He took the meat in his mouth but kept his eyes on her. She felt her nipples respond as if he had sucked them into his hot mouth instead of the steak. When he moaned in pleasure, she felt the vibrations straight down to her pussy. She was wet for him, and all they were doing was eating food in a public restaurant surrounded by a bunch of paparazzi.
Her thoughts went immediately to images of them naked in bed. She imagined that he would look at her with the same intensity that he did when he was feeding her. Then images of his mouth on her lower lips had her shifting in her seat. She enjoyed sex as much as anyone else, but she preferred being in a relationship with a guy before they engaged in that kind of activity. She had to feel like she trusted the guy before she could relax enough to let a man get that close. But with Maxim, she was willing to make an exception, if he was interested. The way he looked at her made her think he definitely was.
She doubted that it was ever going to happen, though. She was filled with desire, but also a fear that if she had Maxim once, it would never be enough for her. She didn’t want to become one of those clingy women that obsessed all the time about a man.
But something about him pulled at her. There was more to Maxim than what met the eye; clearly there were layers to Maxim. She wanted to peel those layers away one by one and discover who he really was. But she couldn’t take the risk that he would break her heart. This was a business arrangement only. But he was tempting, very tempting. When he lifted another forkful of meat, she shook her head.
“I’ve had enough for now. Thank you.”
“Something this good, it’s hard to know when to stop yourself before you’ve had too much,” Maxim admitted.
Damn, wasn’t that the truth, Alona thought to herself. She knew that if she had Maxim, she would have a really hard time pulling away. He was just too good. She had to change the subject.
“So, do you know what the next date will involve?”
“I don’t. Nigel is arranging everything. As soon as I find out, I will let you know.”
“Okay.” She pretended to be interested in her salad. She couldn’t help but glance up at Maxim as he finished eating his steak. She looked around and noticed all the other women in the restaurant watching him with desire too. That man was too damn attractive for his own good. Why hadn’t she noticed that before?
When Maxim took her back to her suite that evening, they were relieved to get off on the secure level restricted only to the GCFA fighters. No one was watching, so they didn’t have to kiss goodnight. Alona wasn’t sure whether she was relieved or disappointed over that.
“Goodnight, Maxim. I enjoyed the dinner.”
“Goodnight, Alona.” He stood outside her door, fighting with himself over whether he should knock and try to convince her to let him in.
It had taken every bit of his willpower not to reach for her, to take her right there on the dining room table, reporters be damned. It had been so hard watching her eat the steak. He imagined her mouth wrapping around his flesh and suddenly he was at full attention. Did she feel the same about him? That was what really held him back. He wasn’t sure that she felt the same strong attraction for him that he felt for her. He never reacted like this for any other woman. So why Alona?
She was sensuous for damn sure, and sweet. She had such kindness in her eyes. Alona was everything good in the world wrapped up in one hot, tight body. There were plenty of beautiful women out there, but Alona was special. She made more than his skin tingle, she made something in the region of his heart tingle as well. She was dangerous; no good could come from this. She didn’t even like him. Did she? Was her only reason for doing this to get compensated by the GCFA? Or did she feel true desire for him too?
He sighed as he headed down the hallway to the elevator. One date down, nine more to go. He wasn’t sure he would come out of this without losing something of himself, like his heart or whatever was left of it.
*****
“Sir, are you sure we need specimen eighty-eight for this? It h
as been a while now and his systems are bound to be compromised.”
“Are you questioning my decisions?”
“No sir. But eighty-nine is doing better lately. I don’t think there will be another mishap.”
“I don’t pay you to think. I pay you to follow my orders. Those decisions are for me to make, not you. Get me all the information on eighty-eight, or Maxim, as he is called now. I’ll make my final decision after that.”
“Yes sir.”
Chapter 5
“So, how did it go?” Zen asked, getting on his favorite treadmill in the workout room.
Maxim was already on the one next to his, running at his programmed average speed. He knew exactly how fast he was running without looking at the treadmill readings. “It was the first of ten, so it’s almost over.”
Zen snorted. “I guess by that emotionless response, there was no making out session.”
Maxim glared at him. “You do realize this is not a real dating situation?”
Zen waved it off as he increased his speed to match Maxim’s. “It’s as real as you want it to be. Come on, you can’t tell me that Alona does not make that mechanical heart of yours beat a little faster than normal. All she has to do is walk by and guys get boners.”
Maxim punched Zen in the arm without slowing down on the treadmill “How often are you looking at Alona?”
Zen rubbed his arm. “Hey, not me, man. I have a mate that I love. I would never cheat on my Shawna. But before I met her, yeah, Alona was very appealing. She appeals to a lot of other men around here too.”
“Who? I want their names.” Maxim glared at him.
“If I had to write them all down, it would be a really long list. The point is, if you would like a chance with Alona, this is your perfect opportunity. She has to go out with you, so you already have an in with her.”
“Wouldn’t the fact that she is being paid to date me for pretend be a big down side? Not that I want to date her.” Maxim tried to sound nonchalant about it, but it didn’t come across that way.