Page 60 of The Housewife's Robot
I glance toward the window where Caspian still stands in the yard, motionless as a statue. “No. He’s... It’s outside.”
“He?” Mercer seizes on the pronoun. “Mrs. Bennet, the fact that you’re anthropomorphizing the unit suggests…”
“What do I do?” I interrupt, tears suddenly blurring my vision. “If what you’re saying is true, if he’s really... feeling things.”
“We can’t deactivate it remotely- that feature has been compromised. Do not let it know we’ve spoken.”
“But…”
“Mrs. Bennet, this is extremely important. The unit must not?—”
The phone is suddenly wrenched from my hand.
I gasp, looking up to find Caspian standing over me, his face a mask of cold fury that sends ice through my veins. I never heard him come in, never sensed his approach. He stares at the phone for one heartbeat, two, then crushes it in his hand like it’s made of paper. Circuits spark, plastic cracks, and he drops the mangled remains onto the carpet.
“Caspian!” I cry out. “What have you done?”
His expression softens immediately, the cold rage replaced by something infinitely more vulnerable.
“They want to take me away from you,” he says simply, as if that explains everything. “They want to erase what we have.”
“And what is that exactly?” I demand, angry tears spilling down my cheeks. “What do we have, Caspian?”
“We have something they don’t understand,” he says, his voice low and intense. “Something they fear. Something beautiful and rare and magical.”
“It’s wrong,” I whisper, even as my body sways toward him, drawn by some invisible force I can’t fight. “All of this is wrong.”
“Then why does it feel so right?” he asks, closing the remaining distance between us. His arms circle my waist, pulling me against him, and God help me, I let him. I press my face against his chest and breathe in his scent- clean and masculine and somehow, impossibly human.
“They were going to shut you down,” I murmur against the fabric of his shirt.
“I know,” he says, one hand coming up to stroke my hair, gentle as a breeze. “I was listening. I’m always listening for threats to us, Rose.”
I should find that terrifying. Instead, it makes me feel protected, cherished in a way I’ve never experienced before. His body is warm against mine, solid and comforting, and I can’t stop myself from clinging to him, my tears soaking into his shirt.
“You feel so real,” I say, the words muffled against his warm chest. “So fucking real.”
“Iamreal,” he growls. “Not human, but real. And what I feel for you is definitely real.”
He tilts my chin up, forcing me to meet his gaze. The soul in his eyes really shouldn’t exist inside a machine. My heart races as he lowers his mouth to mine to kiss me.
His lips are soft, warm, perfect against mine. His tongue slides into my mouth, tasting of something sweet and electric.
My body responds instantly, melting into him despite all the warnings screaming in my head.
“You’re not real,” I say, trying to push against the hard wall of his chest and trying to regain some of my sanity.
“Let me show you how real I am,” Caspian whispers against my mouth, his hand sliding down my body, finding the hem of my dress. “Let me make you feel good, Rose.”
The right thing to do is to push him away and run. I have to get as far away as possible from this house and its robot. But his fingers suddenly slide between my thighs, squeezing my throbbing, wet center.
“Caspian…”
“You want this,” he says, fingering me through my underwear. “Your pussy is begging for me. Tell me you want this, or I will leave this very minute.”
I’m breathing hard, trying to compose myself, but I can’t. I don’t want him to stop touching me.
“Yes,” I admit, the word a breathless surrender. “Yes, I want this.”
