Cryostorm (26 page)

“I will take care of you and preserve you, Amanda. You are mine.”

“Enough of the
you are mine
talk, Robo Nate.” I pushed away, but his hands went around my waist, caging me to him. “We’re not doing this right now.”

“Yes. We are.”

“Or what? You going to knock me out and rape me?” I said, loud enough for every pair of ears listening to hear. “You’d do that to your mate? To your
soulmate
?”

I leaned close enough so our noses touched. “Nate,” I whispered. “Fight it. Fight it. I love you.”

Robo Nate twitched. “He tries to take over. He is very strong.”

“Because he loves me. He knows what makes me happy, and this doesn’t.”

“We must be together,” Robo Nate whispered, holding me close.

“I want that, too. More than you know.” It was true. Just not with Robo Nate and in GenCorp. “But not like this.”

He loosened his grip.

“That’s better.”

“How, then?”

“Think about Nate and what you know about him, about us. What do you think?”

He shook his head. “No. We will be together now.”

In a flash I was against the wall, back flat. He used his chest to press me against it while his hands pulled my legs apart. There was no longer anything gentle about his touch or kiss. Any trace of My Nate was gone. His grip around logical, cold, harsh Robo Nate had vanished. He must’ve been so tired of fighting for control.

“No, Nate. Wait.” He swallowed my pleas with his mouth. I weaseled my hand to his chest and pushed.

He didn’t budge. He was going to take the only thing I had to give My Nate—my virginity—wasn’t he? This Robo Nate was going to get me pregnant with whatever it would be. But it was either that or let them knock me out and do the deed unconscious or artificially inseminate. I’m sure Bev wouldn’t have any issue with that.

But she did seem pretty set on letting things be done the natural way. For research’s sake I was sure.

Logic. Rules…

“Wait. You’re forgetting something.” I pulled in a deep breath. “Marriage.”

He cocked his head. Sure did that a lot. It kind of made me think he was running through the logic, trying to decipher what my intent was.

“You’ve read up on all this stuff.” I nodded. “There are relationship rules to follow.”

“Rules.”

“If we start dating, things begin slowly.” I pushed him away a little. “Getting to know each other, then later there’s marriage, sex, kids, and stuff.”

He looked at me with wide, darkened eyes as he contemplated what I’d said. Could it be resonating? “We have done that. You are wearing a promise ring. I gave that to you.”

“
You
didn’t give it to me.” Tears stung. “My Nate did. I’m
his!
”

The red in Nate’s eye pulsed, flaring its evil like a beacon. Damn The Center!

“I love Nate. I want to be with
him
. But not like this, don’t make it happen like this,” I whispered into his ear. I touched light kisses to his neck, and he leaned into them. “Feel that?”

His throat vibrated against my lips.

“Feels good, right?”

“I can sense this gives him much pleasure.” He drew in a deep breath. “As it does you.”

“If we’re going to make babies, don’t let
them
control it. Don’t let them make it happen here in this place. You know how much it makes me sad. They’ve hurt me in the past. Stuck me with needles. Kept me prisoner.”

His body tensed, and his jaw clenched.

“They’ve hurt me in the past, and they’re hurting me now by keeping me here. Keeping us here.”

“We’re supposed to be here,” he whispered.

Damn programming.

“I don’t want to be here. They’ll hurt me.”

“I won’t allow that.”

“But you’re hurting me right now.”

“How? I am not using more force than your body can sustain.”

“Spoken like a true robot.” I shook my head. “You’re hurting my heart. I love Nate and want to be with Nate. You’re not My Nate. I’m where I don’t want to be. Held against my will, away from my family. That hurts my heart.”

His grip loosened, and he stepped back a fraction, allowing me to slide down the front of his hard body.

“Hurts your heart.” He cocked his head.

“Listen to Nate. He’s telling you, isn’t he? Making you understand.”

He reached out and rested his palm on my chest, his fingers caressing my neck. Just like My Nate. God I loved that feeling. Made it feel like My Nate was back.

Nate’s blank eyes weren’t as blank as normal. Almost like he truly saw me. Could I be hacking through all that junk in his programming?

He leaned in and touched his lips to mine in the most gentle, tender way Nate had done so often. I pressed my hand to his chest where his IDs had been stamped and allowed the kiss. Hell, I almost enjoyed it.

He smiled. “Okay. We’ll leave and be together elsewhere.”

Chapter 37

“I
didn’t mean to another part of GenCorp,” I whispered in Robo Nate’s ear.

He held my hand, not so much in a loving gesture, but more of a possessive you’re-mine type of a way. I guess I could go with it. The Robo Nate seemed softer since our time in the exam room, more like My Nate with each passing hour.

Bev and her minion led the way. She looked back twice, eyeing me with contempt. I grinned and swung Robo Nate’s hand like everything was peachy. I’d hoped it was. Hoped he was planning something to get us the hell out of here.

The windowless—white—hallway went on forever. We passed six closed doors. Not a sound but the echo Bev’s shoes squeaking against the shiny—white—floor. Oh, and the thudding of my heart. I had no idea where we were. All I’d known was that Bev’s base was somewhere in Nevada. But as far as the facility, I didn’t know if I was underground or above. It was winter, so I knew the desert would be cold at night, fairly warm in the day. We’d probably be in the middle of nowhere. With freaks like me lurking around, they’d have to keep us far from civilization.

Oh hell, who was I fooling? All the info I’d gotten about escapes and supernatural creatures were from TV shows or movies. I was going to have to wing it if I got free from this place.

Finally the hallway came to an end. Either right or left. We faced a door. To the right was another hallway, as was to the left, but there weren’t any more doors.

Bev dug into her pocket and pulled out a card key. One swipe down the scanner and the lock disengaged. Nate watched her every movement with his analytical eyes.

The door opened, and she moved forward, followed by her minion. I stood at the doorway and faced a real-life apartment. The biggest shocker—it wasn’t wall to wall white.

I stepped into the main room. There was a couch facing a flat-screen TV. On the far wall, there was a row of windows overlooking open desert. The air seemed to have a hint of pink, like the sun was about to set. I hadn’t been sure what time it was, but if I had to guess, maybe late afternoon?

Rich burgundy drapes framed the large windows, and abstract art decorated the beige walls.

Off to my left sat a tiny kitchenette, complete with a stove and fridge. To the right was a short hallway with three more doors, all open with light spilling out onto the tan walls.

“Bedrooms and bathrooms are to the right. Main room here, kitchen there.” Bev waved her arms to the respective locations. “Rest up, we’ll be back in a few hours for our baseline readings.”

“Baseline reading? But I—”

“We will be ready.” He nodded.

Bev eyed me with a long stare as if trying to penetrate my skull. She was only about five-foot-five, and since I was only five-three she had me by a couple of inches. But her long, slender nose, and how she looked down it, made her seem so much bigger than me.

I flicked a little stream of ice at her, nailing her in the cheek. “Let that be your first baseline note—I don’t like getting stared down.”

A nice shade of red flushed her face, which made me smile. She inched toward the door, as did her companion, and then slammed it shut.

“That was very disrespectful,” Robo Nate said.

“Oh, and murdering my parents, kidnapping me, and shooting me up with tranquilizers isn’t disrespectful?” I shook my hand from his. “What are we doing here?”

“This place doesn’t suit you better than the other?” He stepped forward. “We have our own room.”

“Our room?”
Yikes.

He nodded. “Yes.” The subtle red glow in his left eye shone bright. That damn robot wouldn’t let My Nate go, would he? God that was infuriating. I wanted My Nate!

Robo Nate nodded his head in the direction of the hallway. “Let’s get ready for our baseline.”

“No. I’m not getting ready for anything.” I planted my hands on my waist. “I thought—”

He sped to me and silenced me with a kiss. In the next breath, we were in the bedroom. He tossed me onto the bed and pressed his body against me. “Mandy, Mandy. I’m so sorry,” Nate whispered into my ear. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He touched kisses along my neck, then my cheek, and then my lips.

I pulled away and two beautiful brown eyes stared back at me. No flicker of red. My Nate was in control.

“Nate.” I pulled him to me and kissed him so hard my lips stung. I didn’t care, though. He’d won out against Robo Nate. He was back.

“Hurry. Not much time.” He kissed my lips again, then leaned back. “Robo Nate let me through.”

“
Let?
”

“He’s so strong, Mandy. I can’t break through very easily. He’ll get you out of here. He knows this building. Well, I do too. They didn’t sedate him when they brought him.” He shook his head. “So weird saying him when it’s really me.”

“Nate.”

“I’m so sorry, Mandy. For hitting you. Hurting you. I—you—when you said those words something in my mind broke. Erupted. I’m sorry. I felt—I—”

“Shhh,” I said, then pressed my lips to his. “It’s okay. You stopped him before I was hurt real bad.”

“But—”

“No. Wait. You can hear him? Er—talk to him—I don’t get it.”

“The program takes over, but I can still see and hear most things. It’s so weird, like I have to beat down this…invisible wall. But this program, it’s intelligent. He’s taking in everything, learning from it. He evolves. Has to be the most advanced artificial intelligence I’ve ever heard of or seen.” He smiled. “And he likes you.”

“Sorry?

“The Robo Nate, as you call him, likes you. He’s intrigued by what you do. The things you say go against his logic. He struggles with it, but finds it challenging.”

“Yay me, but if you don’t mind I’d rather have you, Nate.
You
. You’re who I want. Not Robo Nate.” I kissed him hard again.

“He’s got an idea. I can’t quite see it all, but he’s calculating, planning. He’s angry you’ve been hurt,” Nate whispered into my ear. “I hate when he touches you. I can feel you deep down. I know it’s me you’re touching, kissing, but it’s a like a dream. I can’t truly feel you like before. Like right now.”

“He’s so much like you…but not.” I ran my hands over his shoulder than down his spine. “I love you, Nate. You. Love you so much.”

“He’ll help us. His motive remains, though, Mandy. He’s created for you, to be with you. That’s his mission, and he won’t deviate from it.”

“Nate.”

“He’s strong. Stronger than you think.” Nate brushed my hair from my face. “That’s good for protecting you, but not so good for everyone else.”

“You’re stronger.” I kissed his lips. “Strongest man I know.”

“I love you, Mandy.”

“I love you!” I cupped his face. “How do we get him out of your brain?”

“First, we have to get out of here. Can you trust him? Will you?”

“If you do, I do. But if he tries to get in my pants again, I’ll freeze something, you got that?” Nate curled his arms around me and pulled me closer.

“I won’t let him. I’ll break through his programming like I did before if he tries anything.” Nate’s cheeks reddened. “I’m sorry about this. I—well—I’m sorry. The drive to honor his programming is so great. But it’s something I want, too. I want to make love to you as well.”

“We were going to have to have the sex talk soon, anyway, right?” I kissed his lips. “Like everything in our freaked-up world, even
that
has to take on a strange twist, doesn’t it?”

“The feelings are normal, just the execution, a little strange.” He combed my hair back with his fingers. “Marriage, huh?” He kissed my cheek, then my chin, and then my nose.

“Well—I—logic—” Okay, obviously all
my
logic went out my brain with him kissing me like that. “Trying to stall.”

“I like that idea.”

“Logic?” I said breathlessly. His delicious body weight on me hit every sensitive spot that effectively rendered my body to total mush.

He laughed. “No. Marriage.”

“I’m wearing your promise ring,” I said into his mouth. “When I get you back, it’s so much more than a promise ring.” I shot my hands up his shirt and caressed his smooth back. That elicited a nice moan from both of us. “I’ll get you back, Nate. I promise. I’ll get you back.”

Nate flinched against me. “No. Wait. Not yet. I—”

The red glow flickered.

“No. Don’t hurt him!” I yelled. “Nate? It’s okay. It’s okay.” I held his face close to mine. The red glow flickered, but then stayed steady. “Nate? I love you. I love you.”

Robo Nate leaned into me and kissed me tenderly. “We will go soon, Amanda. He’s wise to tell you to trust me.”

“I trust
him
,” I said, and leaned back from him.

“We are one in the same.”

“But not,” I whispered. Unfortunately my body didn’t know the difference. He felt so delicious against me. One heavy thigh between my legs and half his body on me still kept it tingling so intensely I could hardly catch my breath.

So easily I could say,
Yes,
and Robo Nate would take my virginity. I knew he wanted it. It was in his programming, but I wanted to give it to My Nate and only My Nate.

And once we got out of here, I’d find a way to rid him of Robo Nate.