by Rena Marks
They stopped communicating as Serena yawned, waking from her sleep.
“How do you feel?” Pax asked, kissing the top of her head.
She was pillowed by his bicep, his other arm wrapped around her. Lust had her legs twined with his.
“Rather magnificent. Sore in a good way.”
“Computer,” Pax called out.
“Yes, Pax?”
“Check Serena’s red cell count today.”
“Range within normal levels.”
For a few moments, Pax said nothing. He couldn’t. He was bewildered.
“Baby?” Serena asked. “That’s good, right?”
“It was so low yesterday it can’t possibly be within normal range overnight,” Pax said.
Lust caught his eyes over her head. “There must be something malfunctioning with the computer.”
“That has to be it,” Pax agreed. “First her bed was set to freezing without a command given. Her counts were off, keeping her from going outside—all for nothing. There’s no way her red blood cells were actually that low if they’re normal today.”
A computer doesn’t malfunction on its own. It’s not a person.
Let’s not worry her. I’ll get with Robyn today to have her check the programming.
I don’t think Rena should be left alone. At all. One of us needs to always be present in this room with her.
The computer isn’t capable of being malicious, but agreed. She could be harmed easily.
“Are you two having a discussion without me?” Serena asked, her small fingers caressing Pax’s arm.
Lust’s eyes flew to his, surprise confirming her statement.
Pax felt a chuckle rumble up from his chest. “Our girlfriend is a bit too sharp. I was just telling Lust not to wear you out. I have to meet with Robyn later today so he’ll stay with you.”
“He won’t wear me out if you pair him with someone else.”
Lust looked as confused as he was.
“What do you mean?” Pax asked.
“You don’t—none of you know?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at him. “Pax, you guys—all of you tend to migrate toward one another. If Impatience is being to short-tempered, Happy will reach out and touch him. Or step in close to him. Impatience’s mood lifts with Happy’s influence. Or if Vain’s been too obnoxious, Impatience will step in and tone him down.”
“Son of a gun, she’s right,” Lust breathed. “I hadn’t noticed before she said it. But that is exactly what we do.”
“Pax, for the longest time you kept yourself separate from the rest of them. But now that you’re not? Look at the three of us now. We shared each other last night. Honestly. Lovingly.”
The three of them were cuddled in her bed, the smell of their sex in the air. Definitely not something he would have done on his own.
“You’re right, baby,” he said. “I have to go shower and dress…and get this suit off. But I want to spend every minute with you until I have to leave. Do you want to come with me? Lust can stay here and use your sonic cleanse while we use mine. He can bubble up in the meantime. Once we get back in here, I can see who else wants to emerge and stay with you two.”
“Sure.” She looked excited to be with him. He should have encouraged her to come into his lab more often. The only time the door was ever locked was when he’d used the doll. And right now, that was locked up in a closet still. He had to figure out what he was going to do with it.
His eyes were locked on her as she entered his personal space. She hadn’t been in since what Happy called the episode.
Her gaze was averted from the table as if she might see the bot still lying there.
“It’s gone,” he whispered.
“I know,” she said. Her gaze finally looked toward the spot. “It’s gone.”
The aspects had moved the whole table, complaining the whole time that the sight might send Serena into PTSD mode. Hell, they were probably right.
“The guys moved it. It’s in the main area. The spot I share with Steele.”
She giggled. “Tell me they didn’t give Steele your sex table.”
He cracked a grin. “They did. Steele was thrilled with it. And the bastards told me they cleaned it up. Even used bleach.”
Her gaze softened. “Aww, baby. You don’t need bleach.”
His breath caught. She was so beautiful, standing so close to him like this. The only other person who’d been this close to him—in his personal space—was Taut, the day Pax comforted him and kept him from merging into him forever.
But he was much bigger than the gorgeous Serena was. More than a foot taller and his shoulders were so much broader, he hunkered down as he nibbled on her ear so he wouldn’t scare her. Not that she ever seemed scared.
Finally he pulled away. “Come along, my gorgeous nudist. Let’s shower and I’ll bubble-up.”
“I like that phrase,” she laughed. “Bubble-up.”
Her tiny hands rubbed his body in the sonic cleanse, helping to dry and harden the bubble so it would loosen and peel. It felt amazing to be touched by her so completely. He wanted her to know how it felt.
“Turn around,” he said.
He massaged her shoulders and neck while he still had a covering on his hands. Already he could feel the larger areas, like his back and legs, beginning to break down. When the suit started to crumble, he rested his chin atop her head and cupped her magnificent breasts with the palms of his hands. “Not trying to start something I can’t finish,” he said. “But I just want to hold you.”
“You can hold me,” she said, leaning back into him.
A crackle sounded as a piece of his suit sloughed away.
“There it goes.”
“Yes.” He kissed the top of her hair. “I guess you should get out of here so I can rub the rest of this off. Maybe you can get me another? So I don’t forget and accidentally touch you.”
“Of course, baby. Where are they?”
“In my desk drawer under the computer.”
She turned in his arms. “Kiss me first. Because soon you’ll be all bubbled and won’t be able to.”
She was moaning by the time he finished kissing her within an inch of her life. She slipped away from him, her lips plump and reddened. “That should last me a couple of hours,” she said.
“Oh, yeah?” He waggled his brows at her.
“At least,” she assured him. “Such a good kisser,” she tossed over her shoulder as she headed out of the room.
He grabbed a towel and sloughed off the rest of the bubble, then pushed a button for the catch drain to open. He hung his towel and headed toward the small closet that housed his clothing. When he finished dressing, he entered the lab, watching as she sucked on a finger, the bubblesuit container clasped in the opposite hand.
“Baby, what happened?”
“Oh, nothing,” she said. “I just pinched my finger in the drawer. Made me yelp a bit and it looks like it’s getting a blood blister.”
“Let me see.”
She held her hand out, standing a brief distance from him so he wouldn’t forget and touch her. It did look like a blood blister forming beneath the bio-film.
“How did that happen?”
“I’m not sure,” she said, eyeing the drawer suspiciously. “I swear it closed by itself.”
“It has a safety-shut mechanism,” he admitted. “But only if it’s locked. And it couldn’t have been locked since you pulled the suit out.”
“No, it opened easily enough.”
The hairs stood up on the back of Pax’s neck. This was one more odd thing to happen to her. One more thing to add to the list for Robyn.
She watched as he put the bubble on over his clothes. “Such a shame to cover up all that male beauty.”
“Female, you got your aspects mixed up. I’m not Vain,” he teased.
Her face lit up. “That guy is awful,” she said. “He must really rub Impatience the wrong way.”
“Impatience loves it. He jus
t doesn’t like to admit it.”
With the bubble done, he took hold of her hand as they headed back to her room. Lust sprang up from the small loveseat area. “Took you long enough. Were there orgasms involved in your shower?”
“No,” she said, giggling.
“I wish,” he said, at the same time. “Instead, our girlfriend squished her finger in the drawer where we keep the suits. She said it closed automatically.”
He caught Lust’s gaze with his own.
“Slammed so fast, it started me,” she said, looking at her finger again. “Might have broken it if I hadn’t jumped and had my finger nearly yanked out already. As it was, only the tip was injured.”
“Poor baby,” Lust crooned, taking her from Pax’s hold and bringing her to the loveseat. “Let’s sit back and watch the shit-show. We can make bets on who’s going to erupt from Pax’s belly first, hmm?”
Pax sighed. They were all scrambling to get out and enjoy time with their girl.
Pax sent a telepathic message to Steele. He wasn’t sure what was going on with the computer—but it was probably something he should discuss with Robyn away from where anyone could eavesdrop.
Where is Robyn?
We are at the children’s park with Kaden. She knows she must meet with you in half an hour.
Good. Tell her to stay there. I’d rather meet with her out in the open.
Why?
Between you and I, strange things are happening. I’m not sure if someone has hacked into the computer system but I’d like her input.
Understood. I will tell her to wait here.
Pax hurried outside, down the walkway that led to the center of the buildings. As soon as he approached the park, Steele took their son over to the swings. Robyn made her way toward him, motioning toward the bench.
“Pax. What’s going on?”
“I’m worried,” he blurted out. “We took Serena out the other day—”
“I heard. It went well enough, did it not? I’m sure some of the men are curious, but they understand to give her space—especially with her condition.”
“It’s not that. When we returned to her quarters, we were—uh, well,” he wasn’t sure quite how to tell her they were a couple since Robyn had warned him that Serena may develop feelings for him. Suddenly he felt disgusted with himself. He was petering around the subject the same way Impatience might. “We were kissing,” he blurted out.
“I see.” A small smile tugged at her lips. “I can’t say I’m surprised.”
“You’re not?” He was momentarily distracted.
“No. You’re an attractive man. She’s a beautiful woman.”
“You think I’m attractive?” He was honestly puzzled by this.
“Yes,” she said. “However, I’m mated to Steele.”
He blinked and then her dry humor hit him. He blushed to his roots and even cracked a smile. Then he acted like Impatience again and got down to business. “I’m worried that there’s been a compromise in your computer program, which is why I wanted to meet you outside of the walls.”
“You think…what? Someone is spying on us? Through my programming?”
“More than that. It could be coincidence, but it seems to be calculated. Vindictive. And aimed toward Serena.”
“Seems to be?”
“The first incident was her bed freezing. I sat on it first and caught it before she sat down. I searched through the computer records to find no one had given the command to lower the temperature—however it had been dropped to thirty-five degrees. And when we planned another outdoor excursion—it was cancelled because Serena’s red blood count was off. However, just a night later, the count was perfectly fine. She never felt sick. I don’t think she was. I think someone wanted to keep us from going out.”
“Who?” Robyn asked.
“I have no idea.”
“I can’t imagine there’s anyone sabotaging her. However, I will run some checks and balances on my house program to make sure it’s running correctly. Will that work?”
Put like that, it did sound a little ludicrous that someone tried to sabotage her. As Robyn stated, there was no reason not to like Serena. And there was no one to suspect.
He sighed. “Yeah. That works. I’m sorry for wasting your time.”
“Hey.” Robyn’s voice was sharp. “This isn’t a waste of time. Any feeling we get that isn’t right needs to be checked out. Remember when I didn’t take into account the DNA counts right away and Lily was kidnapped? All because I kept thinking the computer couldn’t be wrong. So if you think something’s going on, then that’s the instinct we’ll go on. We’ll search until we find it.”
He smiled at her, somewhat relieved. “Thanks, Robyn.”
“Anytime, Pax.”
Chapter Seventeen
SERENA HAD SO MUCH fun with Lust and Vain that she had to kick the two of them out just so she could take a nap. They had her in stitches all day long. They finally agreed to allow her an hour to herself to sleep and would wake her with some food they’d pick up in the mess hall for dinner. They warned that they wouldn’t be able to keep any other aspects away and she laughingly agreed for them to bring on the whole brood. She loved being around each and every one of them anyway.
But after what felt like a short time asleep, she woke to flashing blue lights. At first she panicked. Fire. But he forced herself to face her fear. There was no fire, that was just her own phobia. No, the lights were flashing for another reason. She could have sworn blue lights indicated a problem in the labs, but she was alone. She was hardly ever alone. Why would she be alone if there was an actual issue? Was it perhaps a test of an alarm system? Then again, in the entire year that she’d been there, she’d never been in a test mode.
“Computer?”
“Yes, Serena?”
“Locate Pax.”
“Pax is in the main hub.”
“What about the shards?”
“Extensions of Pax are heading quickly toward this lab.”
They were coming. They wouldn’t leave her alone in the event of an emergency. A…fire. God, a fire. Surely there wouldn’t be one here in the lab? A whimper escaped her lips as the thoughts invaded again.
She squeezed her eyes shut against the memory of the heat and sudden blast of light that had felt like it might singe her eyeballs. Against replaying the thoughts that faded away like her brain couldn’t keep track of when she stopped feeling the pain. And then the panic over knowing she should feel the pain.
“Attempts to arrive are thwarted.” The computer’s voice was matter of fact.
“Thwarted?” What did that even mean? “Explain.”
“Doors leading to this corridor are being overridden. Locked.”
“By who?”
“By this computer.”
She forced herself not to panic. There was obviously a quirk in the computer system if it was locking people out and that must have been what triggered the emergency lights. But she was safe. She would just prepare herself for any issues. She’d get into one of the bubbles.
She strode over to the cabinet where Pax kept the tubes and tried to open the door.
Locked.
She jerked it a few times. This cabinet was never locked. The only persons with access to it was her, Pax, and the aspects. But no, the door was definitely sealed.
Pax had more in his personal lab.
“Computer, open door to Pax’s office.”
“Command overridden.”
What the hell? She would not be allowed to enter his lab? “Computer, override. Open door to Pax’s lab.”
“Command overridden.”
“Computer, call Pax.”
“Command overridden.”
“Call Robyn.”
“Command overridden.”
She felt trapped, alone and segregated. Something was definitely wrong. She looked around for something to break the cabinet that housed her bubble suits.
She couldn’t find anything. Nothing heav
y. Nothing sharp. But then she remembered the spare that Vain had slapped into the desk drawer when he noticed it was translucent instead of the opaque suit she wore outside. She’d meant to put it away later, but she never did. Did he?
She rushed to the desk, ripped open the drawer and bingo. There sat the tube.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm. If she was nervous, she’d rip the bubble. And this was her only one. In fact, this was her only attempt.
She took a deep breath, closing her eyes to calm herself. She forced herself to remember the events of when Vain had showed her how to put the suit on. She opened the tube carefully, letting the gooey, plastic-like fluid roll out to coat her index finger. Carefully she rolled it into a ball and when it dried slightly, it became sticky.
She placed the stickiness on her midsection, keeping a small bit extended on her fingers to encourage the growth. She continued to stretch the piece, ignoring the alarming sounds of sirens whirring through her head, telling herself if there was a fire she would have felt heat by now. Telling herself that the shards would be inside any minute. Telling herself anything so she wouldn’t panic over the thought of fire.
The piece was large enough now to hold out along the length of her arm. From that point, it flowed, wrapping around her hand.
Now she had nothing left to do but to let it meet itself by casing around her body. She breathed a sigh of relief when she felt the edges connect and the vacuum seal begin. Soon, very soon, the suit would shrink wrap itself down on her skin.
But then Pax’s door swooshed open.
She looked up, startled. Hadn’t the computer said he was in the main hub? That would be the opposite exit to her room. It couldn’t have been any of his shards. They were located trying to come in from the same way.
At first she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. A version of her walked through the doors, but she was dressed. It was a long, skin-tight bodysuit, but clothing at least.
The sex doll.
Up, alive, walking and talking. By itself.
“Hello, Serena. May I call you Serena? I am called Serena also. Or, more specifically—” The feminine tone that was her voice cut off and was replaced by a deep male voice. Pax’s voice. “—oh, fuck me, Serena.”
