Programmed To Protect (The Tau Cetus Chronicles)

by Jenna Ives

  The Doll remained unresponsive for a moment, even as she stared pointedly at Wyatt’s hand. Then her fingers slowly flexed and curled, as she carefully copied what he’d done.

  Amazing. Ginger was applying just enough pressure to hold his hand securely. It was not too loose, not too tight, it felt… right. Normal.

  Dear lord, his heart was in serious jeopardy here.

  Wyatt gave her a smile, and tugged on her hand slightly to get her moving. They followed Veraine out his lab door and back to the front entrance of the factory. All along the way, Ginger’s head never stopped moving, scanning side to side, taking in the corridors, the manufacturing floor, the machinery. Bloody hell, was it possible she’d never once left Veraine’s lab in the five years since she’d been created? Wyatt would love to know what the hell she was thinking right now.

  Soon. You can ask her a million questions as soon as you get home. Just get her out of here first.

  At the door, Veraine paused, glanced at Wyatt and Ginger’s entwined hands, and hardened his voice. “Just remember our deal, agent Wyatt. I expect you to uphold your end of our bargain.”

  “I will.”

  “Payback starts tomorrow. Mr. Carron and I want you here at 0930 to discuss our… next steps with the High Council.”

  Wyatt frowned. “Carron? But I thought you and I— ”

  Veraine shrugged. “You and I will listen to what he has in mind, and then see if we can’t do something to… discredit it.”

  Wyatt nodded his understanding. “I’ll be here.”

  They went outside. Veraine walked over to speak with Bruiser while Wyatt guided Ginger to his transport. He reached out to open the passenger door for her, but she just stared at it.

  It was probably the first time she’d seen a vehicle. Any vehicle. Wyatt thought fast. “This is my personal transport. It will take us to my home. But first, you have to climb inside and sit in the seat.”

  Ginger frowned. “I don’t understand what that means.”

  Wyatt got into the car to demonstrate, then got out. “Now your turn.”

  When Ginger still hesitated, Wyatt whispered, “This machine will help me take you away from here. Please get in.”

  Much to Wyatt’s relief, Ginger nodded her understanding, and climbed gracefully into the passenger seat. Wyatt closed the door, then went around to his own side and climbed in. The roar of the engine made Ginger tense, but Wyatt reassured her it was a completely normal sound.

  Wyatt eased the car into gear and pulled the vehicle slowly past Veraine and Bruiser. He half expected the programmer to stop him at the last minute and for Wyatt’s fragile plan to fail, but Veraine just waved Wyatt goodbye. The car slid past the entry gate.

  Wyatt waited until they were on the main road before he let out a whoop of victory that caused Ginger’s head to swivel around and her starburst eyes to stare at him.

  Wyatt couldn’t keep the smile from his face. “We did it! You’re free.”

  The Doll stared. “Free?”

  “Yes. You never have to go back there.”

  Ginger did that rapid blinking thing again, which was sweet enough reward for Wyatt. Damn, but his heart seemed to like making her happy.

  “We’ll be at my home in about thirty minutes. Until then, enjoy the view, sweetheart.”

  “I am already processing megabytes of information, Leith!”

  He laughed. Good enough. And indeed, Ginger’s head and eyes never stopped moving as Wyatt left Anson Carron’s manufacturing facility far behind. Left. Right. Left. Right. Her head kept turning, taking it all in. Hell, at one point her face was practically pressed against the window as she gawked at the visuals that passed by: the thinly populated manufacturing landscape, then the denser urban outskirts, and finally, the capital city itself. A veritable wonderland for someone who’d never been outside a laboratory before.

  Wyatt wove his way through the capital’s familiar streets, on toward the police residential district, and then guided his transport to the dedicated parking spot underneath his sector’s apartment building. The underground structure was dark, and by the time he turned off the engine, Ginger was looking at him with that wide-eyed wonder again. “Is this your utility closet, Leith?”

  Wyatt laughed at the comparison. Then again, it was almost as dim down here as it was in her small room. “Yes, it is. This is my… home. Well, technically, my home is upstairs. We need to take a lift to get there. Come on.”

  Thank goodness it was well past two in the morning. Wyatt would not have wanted to explain the presence of a Beautiful Doll coming up to his housing pod.

  The ride in the lift disoriented Ginger’s inner sense of gravity, but he explained the mechanics of the process to reassure her during the 36-story climb. When the doors opened, it was only a short walk down the institutional-green hallway to his small living quarters.

  When the hand-recognition port opened the door to his apartment, Wyatt ushered Ginger inside with the oddest feeling that he was letting her into his life.

  You’re seriously falling for her, Wyatt. These Beautiful Dolls really are addictive…

  No. It wasn’t Dolls. It was this Doll. It was Ginger. She wasn’t like any before her. She was sentient.

  To distract himself from that sobering thought, Wyatt gave her a tour of his place. Which, considering it was only three rooms, didn’t take long. And it ended in his bedroom.

  Ginger eyed the bed. “I’m programmed to please, Leith.”

  By rights, after the day he’d had, Wyatt should be exhausted. But those five words spilling out of her lush lips suddenly turned the normal beat of his pulse into more of a pounding rhythm.

  And yet…

  He took a step closer. “I don’t want you programmed please me, Ginger, I’d rather have you want to please me.”

  The Doll frowned.

  See? There it is again. She says she responds to visual cues, but I didn’t frown. She did it on her own. She’s confused. It’s how she’s feeling.

  Damn, it would be so easy to believe she really was human. “Listen. I need to speak with you about something.” He smiled at her. Do you remember telling me that Titus Veraine has been running different computer programs on you?”

  “Of course. I remember everything, Leith.”

  “Then you’ll also recall telling me he was asking your opinion on things, and how confusing it was for you. And that you felt the cameras he’d installed in his lab to record us having sex weren’t right. And an hour ago in Veraine’s lab, you seemed happy I was going to take you away from there.”

  “Yes, Leith.”

  Wyatt took a deep breath. “Those sensations you’ve been having are called emotions. I don’t know if you’ll be able to understand or process this, but I believe Veraine’s programs were intended to make you…sentient. Alive, in a way. Capable of both feelings and decision-making. He’s made you more than just a machine.”

  The Doll stared at him for a moment. “Is that good or bad, Leith?”

  “That’s a tricky question. It’s good for you because you’re now unique, special, almost human like me. But we can’t let Veraine know he’s succeeded, because he and Anson Carron could use that computer program to turn your fellow robots into powerful weapons. What they’re doing is dangerous.”

  “I’m… almost human?”

  Wyatt paused. “You’re as close to human as a robot can get.”

  “Close-to-human.” Ginger started that rapid blinking thing again, and Wyatt’s heart swelled. She looked so sweet, so vulnerable.

  He took another step forward and wrapped her in his arms. The Doll went completely still.

  “This is a hug, Ginger. It’s a sign of affection between humans. Or of comfort. Right now, I’m offering it as both.”

  “I’m so confused, Leith. I have a lot to learn about being close-to-human.”

  Wyatt drew back and gave her his best smile. “I’d love to be the one to teach you.”

  “If I understand these ne
w…sensations…then I believe I’m happy to hear you say that, Leith. At least, I feel this way whenever I see you. My synapses spark. It makes me smile.”

  Okay, so Wyatt had to admit hearing her say that made him happy, too. Imagine. He could elicit emotion from a machine.

  “It means you like me, Ginger. The feeling is mutual.”

  “You like me?”

  “I do. A lot.” He took a lock of her silky red hair and rubbed it between his fingers. “For instance…”

  “Yes?”

  “I would love to have sex with you, and I’d be honored to show you the way humans who like each other do it. Would you let me do that?”

  “Oh, yes!”

  Wyatt felt the oddest sense of peace settle over him at her agreement. It wasn’t that her words didn’t send a stab of excitement straight to his groin, because it did. It was rather that what they were about to do felt right, comfortable. Normal.

  Dear God, It would be damn easy to fall in love with her.

  “I’m going to take this jumpsuit off you now.”

  He walked around to her back, and slid the zipper of her camouflage uniform down slowly, caressing the skin he exposed with small kisses. He wasn’t doing it for her, he was doing it for himself, for his own enjoyment. And maybe also to train her to his touch.

  She was perfectly made. Hell, he could see the outline of each individual vertebra as he eased open the jumpsuit, even though his brain logically knew she had no spine. He gently pushed the garment off her shoulders, down her arms and torso, over her hips and down her legs, enjoying the vision of her artificial skin as he exposed more and more of it.

  As he knelt to help her long legs out of each pant leg, his face was level with her rear. Her perfect ass was something he itched to explore, but there would be time for that later.

  There would be time for everything later.

  Still, Wyatt couldn’t resist caressing her full rear cheeks as he stood, marveling again at how close to human skin Ginger’s fine layer of polymer actually felt. He dropped a quick kiss on her shoulder blade, then came around to stand in front of her.

  “I love the way your skin glows slightly.” He smiled as he reached out a hand to cup the side of her face, running his thumb over her lush lower lip. He trailed his fingers slowly down the side of her slender neck, across her delicate collar bone, and traced a lazy line to her breast. He cupped its soft fullness, his thumb moving to flick at her always-erect nipple.

  Damn. She was so incredibly lifelike. Remarkably real. He’d never taken the time to enjoy her body before. Their sexual experiences had always been a rushed coupling, under the potential threat of Veraine’s watchful eye.

  His hand slid to her waist and the enticing curve of her feminine hip.

  “Do you… like… what you’re doing, Leith?”

  “Mmm. More than like, Ginger. I love this. You’re absolutely perfect. My ideal woman.”

  “I’m programmed to— ”

  Wyatt held up his other hand to interrupt her. Amazingly, she knew why.

  “I want to please.” She nodded her head. “I want to please you, Leith.”

  The fact she’d learned this important lesson so quickly moved Wyatt more than he could say. She wanted him. She wanted to please him. It showed both her desire and her free will, and it set his blood pounding in his veins again.

  He turned his back to her. “Your turn now. Unzip me.”

  She awkwardly worked the zipper down on his blue police jumpsuit while Wyatt kicked off his boots and socks. As soon as Wyatt felt the cool air on his back, he yanked the open uniform down his body and completely off, pulling his underwear with it.

  Turning back to face her, Wyatt saw Ginger’s eyes look him up and down. “You are perfect, too, Leith.”

  It was a sweet thing to say, but Wyatt didn’t need words. He needed her body. Now.

  He reached out and pulled her into his embrace, marveling at the feel of his skin against her skin, his chest pressed up against her lush breasts, his hard cock nudging her nest of soft red curls. She felt so fucking human.

  And so very desirable.

  “Let’s lie on my bed,” he rasped, his desperation clear even to his own ears.

  He fleetingly acknowledged that Ginger had probably never had sex on a bed before, not if she’d been confined to Veraine’s lab her whole existence, so he guided her down onto her back on the mattress, then propped himself alongside her. His free right hand leisurely stroked her everywhere – cheek, then neck, then breast, then hip. He enjoyed every curve, every hollow, every inch of her body, then finally moved down to the Beautiful Dolls trademarked inverted triangle of curls, which Wyatt and his former partner Jai had learned was intended to ‘point the way to pleasure.’

  As if Wyatt needed any instruction when it came to sex.

  “Spread your legs.”

  Ginger complied, her eyes never leaving his face. But Wyatt focused his concentration on the treasure between her thighs, slipping a finger between her curls, delving deeper, finding her feminine folds, marveling at her slick wetness. A shiver of pure sexual anticipation ran down his naked back. Damn, how lucky could a guy get? He’d fallen for a woman who was always ready for sex.

  He slipped one finger inside her, exploring. She was as warm and tight as any human woman would be, her mechanical internal muscles ready to respond to his cock. It made him desperate to be inside her.

  He pulled his finger out of her and absently stuck it in his mouth. She didn’t have the delicious cinnamon and sugar taste of a human woman, but that was a small price to pay for the amazing orgasms he knew she was capable of giving him.

  I’ll take orgasms over cunnilingus any day…

  “Why are you smiling, Leith?”

  He looked up at her. “Because I’m happy, Ginger. Because your body is perfect. And because I’m about to have sex with you in the intimate way humans have sex. Where we can watch each other...”

  He stopped himself from saying ‘watch each other’s pleasure’ because he knew she couldn’t experience pleasure, and he didn’t want her to feel bad.

  “Oh. I see.”

  “Spread your legs just a little wider.”

  She did, and he rolled himself on top of her, nestling between her soft thighs. He gazed into her green starburst eyes as his cock entered her, taking his time, savoring every inch of the way in. He wished he could read her thoughts in those robotic orbs of hers, but hell, he’d just have to rely on his own eyes to tell her exactly what he was feeling.

  Which was sheer bliss.

  He seated himself to the hilt inside her. Anchoring his hands on her hips, be slowly began to move. Out. In. Back out. Back in. The sensation was amazing. All his concentration was focused on the nerve endings along his cock. Her body seemed to adjust to him, her inner muscles tightening snugly around him. Hell, she fit him as if they were made for each other.

  He quickened his movements. A line of sweat broke out on his forehead. She was so fucking tight, the friction between them so right that he quickly started the climb to paradise. He propped himself up on his hands, his fierce gaze reflecting his intense pleasure as he pumped into her. Hard. Fast.

  Ginger’s eyes grew wide, and she started to gasp, to mewl, to moan softly. Her little erotic noises burned a path straight into Wyatt’s brain. What the— The sounds were so completely natural that Wyatt increased his rhythm, stunned and astonished when Ginger began to squirm, sigh, whimper and beg underneath him. She clutched at his hips, pulling him closer. Her legs wrapped around his ass, urging him deeper inside her.

  What the hell –

  Was Wyatt really so good that he could make a robot feel pleasure?

  Ginger’s reaction made Wyatt double his efforts. He drove into her with a wild abandon. Ginger’s inner muscles clutched him tighter, increasing the friction along his sensitized cock, enfolding him with such a perfect pressure that it literally felt like she was squeezing the orgasm right out of him.

  F
uck. It was heaven. He struggled to make the incredible pleasure last as long as possible, then let go and came with a roar of release, even as Ginger screamed her own pleasure before going completely still on the mattress.

  Wyatt collapsed in a heap on top of her, gasping desperately for breath. Thank God he didn’t have to worry about his weight crushing her, because he couldn’t have moved if he tried. He was exhausted, sated, spent.

  But his brain was still working. What the hell had just happened here? Had she come? Just how sentient had Veraine’s program made Ginger?

  The Doll remained perfectly still, as if waiting for his reaction. After a few minutes, Wyatt’s heart had returned to enough of a normal rhythm that he felt he could speak. He pulled out of her and rolled onto his side.

  Ginger was staring at him.

  “That…” He blew out a breath. “That was an amazing orgasm for me, Ginger. But what did you feel? Did you just come? Tell me the truth. I need your honesty.”

  The Doll seemed to hesitate, then finally spoke. “I have been programmed to fake an orgasm once a client has come, Leith,” she admitted. “Titus Veraine says it gives a client a sense of power to think he can make even a machine feel. It’s one of the best-kept secrets of a Beautiful Doll.”

  Fucking hell… Wyatt felt like an idiot. She hadn’t felt a thing.

  “But…”

  Wyatt looked at her. “But what?”

  “That’s not why I did it. I don’t feel pleasure the way you obviously do, but I feel something for you, Leith. You’ve helped me by rescuing me from Mr. Carron’s factory. You’ve protected my sentience from Titus Veraine. I enjoy sex with you, and the orgasm was my way of expressing it. I… I hope that’s all right.”

  All right?

  Ginger had basically just told Wyatt that he was her hero. And hell, what man didn’t want his woman to think of him as a hero?

  “It’s all right, Ginger. It’s more than all right. It makes me happy to hear you think of me that way.”

  Hell. At the heart of things, she was programmed to please and he was programmed to protect. In this apocalyptic, post-Great War world, people took their pleasure where they could, grabbed happiness where they found it. On Tau Cetus, he and Ginger made a perfect couple.