Page 33 of Ezra
“You can understand it?”
Ezra nods. “All bionics can experience sensations like you can. Discomfort. Fear. When you screamed, you startled it just as much as it scared you. It’s part of our programming.”
Emotion. That’s not something I ever anticipated from any bionic, let alone one I screamed at in fright. I’m strangely taken with its appearance. I didn’t expect it to be so cute. I’m normally startled by spiders—not deathly afraid, but certainly not comfortable, especially when it’s a giant one that belongs in a zoo and not on a bathroom floor. Somehow, I’m quickly becoming fond of this one.
“Hello.” I feel silly talking to a bionic that’s built like an animal, but if it can understand, perhaps it’s worth a shot. “I’m Kat.”
It trills and crawls up my arm to my shoulder.
Ezra studies it before glancing at me. “It likes you.”
Itlikesme. I shouldn’t be enchanted with this little machine, but I’m already girlishly wondering what I should call it, like I’ve discovered a stray puppy on the side of the road.
Don’t name it, I remind myself silently.Katrina Elizabeth Carson, we aren’t getting attached to machines.
Then I remember I’m wet and barely covered. As the little spider bionic tucks itself against my neck and taps my cheek, I gently push its leg away and stare at the door lying on the floor off its hinges.
“Do you bust into rooms like this at home?”
“I’ve never had to. Nobody at home shouts like they’re being murdered when they see an insect in the house,” Ezra replies.
My cheeks flame hot. I’m stillverynaked beneath this towel, and his presence is making my stomach do flips. I shouldn’t care that a machine is seeing me in such a state, but he isn’t a walking computer looking at me, is he? That’s why he’s always makes me a little nervous when he gazes into my eyes. I’m more than aware of Ezra’s masculinity, his strength, his ability to reason, and his intellect.
Despite the broken door, I’m reassured that I’m in the safest company I can have. If there really was danger in this place, looking for me? They wouldn’t stand a chance.
“Well—thank you, anyway.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll let you finish up.” Ezra turns on his heel, pauses to survey the damage he’s done, then continues on out of sight.
For a moment, I’m not sure what to do. The door isn’t fixable, and any semblance of privacy—in this bathroom, at least—is shot.
I’m already wet, and the shower is still running. Deciding I’d rather not traipse through the house to use another bathroom,I take the little bionic from my shoulder and place it on the bathroom counter.
“Now you behave,” I tell it, wagging a finger. “And you stay right there. Can you do that?”
It makes little beeps and boops as it stares up at me and waves a leg like it understands me. Fuck.Whyis it so adorable? Ten years ago, teenage Kat would’ve been begging her dad for something like it if I saw it displayed in a store.
“Stay,” I repeat.
It tilts its head sideways.Ugh. The cuteness is killing me.
I return to my shower, hot water continuing to send a lazy drift of steam through the room. With the door open my mirror isn’t fogged anymore, and there’s a chill coming in, but I feel better knowing Ezra’s out there with a high reaction time. I don’t think he’ll ever be tempted to spy on me, but I’m definitely better defended here than I was at home. I pause, wondering why I thought about Ezra spying on me naked.
Why would he care about that? He’s programmed for care, not—not other things, right?
But as reasonable as I try to be, I can’t help but replay what just happened in my head, over and over again. He practically turned that door into kindling with one kick. He didn’t hesitate at all to come to my aid.
Androids are strong.Insanelystrong. Despite my own opinions, you can’t avoid news about it. I’ve heard stories of robots like Ezra rushing into burning labs or buildings to save people trapped in blazing fires, fending off attackers long enough for their owners to escape, all sorts of things. There’s even an all-android squad in the military now that’s utilized when the risk of human life is too great.
It all sounds wonderful on paper, but just because wecando something doesn’t mean we necessarily should, right?
And yet . . .
My thoughts return to Ezra. I can’t shake them. He looks so natural, so human, and his face was painted with real concern, like he actually cares about me. I could try to say he doesn’treallycare, that it’s just numbers and software. It’s what Dad always says.Don’t fall for it.
But damn. Him busting into the room like that was kinda hot. Okay, really hot.
I’ll never tell anyone that, I swear to myself. I’ll just keep it secret that I even thought about it. But it’s true. He can’t know about how I’ve wished I could find a man like him, how I’ve daydreamed about those holo-projections of ancient humans in the museums, of primal men who killed and hunted, provided for and protected their families. The limited clothing and fur loincloths help, sure, but the bodies are just a bonus. A really big bonus. I wonder if Ezra has a body like that.
