Companion 3000

Leita felt the tears overflow her eyes and run down her cheeks. “Go,” she managed to say, before the sobs overtook her. “No more lies, Pierce—just go.”

“Can’t you see you’ve caused enough harm here?” Schneider stood between her and Pierce protectively. “Go on, leave her in peace.”

“I’m sorry,” Pierce said. “More sorry than I can say.” His deep voice sounded sincere, but how could she tell anymore if he was being sincere or just acting?

She turned her head, unable to watch as Pierce opened the door and left, getting into the drone ship that would take him back to Osiris and out of her life forever.

She ran back to her bedroom and fell on the bed, hands pressed to her eyes. Betrayed again. She felt sick. How could she have been such a fool? Pierce was nothing but an opportunistic bastard, looking for a place to lay low for a while and enjoy plenty of kinky sex with a lonely, desperate woman who was so horny she’d even screw what she thought was a machine. He’d probably been laughing at her this entire time.

Leita pressed her face into a pillow, then realized it was his. His spicy, musky scent still lingered on the fabric, reminding her of the nights she’d spent with her head on his shoulder and his big, muscular arm thrown around her protectively. She cried harder and hugged the pillow to her chest.

Oh Goddess, and the worst thing of all wasn’t that he’d betrayed her like all the others. No, the worst thing was that she’d allowed herself to fall in love with him. What an idiot she’d been. What a gullible moron!

She was so immersed in her tears that she didn’t hear Schneider come in until he was actually tapping her on the shoulder.

“What?” Leita looked up from the pillow and rubbed at her eyes. “Can’t you see I’m busy dying on the inside here, Schneider?”

Schneider’s golden eyes widened in sympathy. “I’m so sorry, Leita. I was afraid he would hurt you somehow. I wish I had been wrong.”

“Me too.” She sat up and put down the pillow. Then she took a deep breath to clear her head. “Well, never again, Schneider. I’m never getting involved with a man again— not even a manufactured one.”

“That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about—the, uh, manufactured man. Your new Companion 2000.” Schneider groomed his whiskers nervously. “What about him?” Leita asked dully. “Is he still vacuuming?”

“In a manner of speaking,” Schneider said. “Remember how he was rubbing against the vacuum unit while you and Pierce were…er, I mean, earlier?”

“Yes, so?” Leita frowned at him.

Schneider sighed. “Well, his pink stick thing got sucked into the unit’s tube and, well… I think he’s stuck.”

Pierce cursed himself all the way back to Osiris. He was buck naked in the cold drone ship and his chest was scorched from where Leita had shot him with the damn tazer, which made for a long, dull, miserable ride so he had plenty of time for cursing. Hell, he even got to use some words twice.

Why hadn’t he given in to his impulse and awoken Leita up the night before to tell her how he felt? Why hadn’t he realized he loved her sooner and acted on it instead of going on and on with the charade he’d been playing like a stupid fool?

Well, it was too late now, Pierce told himself. Leita would never trust him again. Better he try to forget about her and go on with his life. But he couldn’t forget. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her big brown eyes that always looked so trusting and sweet, her soft curvy body, the smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose… How could he just forget the one woman in the galaxy who meant anything to him? No matter how hard he tried, there was no way he could do it. Well, you’d better try harder, Pierce told himself sternly. Leita hated him now and he didn’t blame her a bit. Hell, he hated himself.

All the way back to Osiris his thoughts kept running in the same tired loop. Eventually he got to the factory and sneaked off the unmanned drone ship. He stole a gray coverall from the employee locker room to avoid suspicion and tried not to breathe in too many fumes from the flesh tanks where the Companions were being grown. He wondered if Leita was having fun with the little blond guy they’d sent her and the thought made him grind his teeth.

It was ridiculous to be jealous of a sex robot but damn if he wasn’t jealous as hell. It wasn’t right that the stupid man-whore Companion should be back at the life pod with Leita, sharing time with her and giving her pleasure—that was Pierce’s job! He wished he was back there with her right now, fixing ships in the mech bay or making dinner or watching a vid or making love to her while she panted his name.