Free Eric 754 by Donna McDonald

me.”
     
    He felt Lucy’s hand tighten on his. Agreement? Approval? His instinctively tightened back. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to get more attached than he already was.
     
    “May I now act as that assertive companion you wished me to be and make a bold request?”
     
    Eric nodded, turned, and met her gaze. He’d never wanted to kiss a woman so badly in his life. He could take two short steps and have his mouth on hers. “Yes. Be assertive,” he ordered.
     
    “Can we go outside and walk?” Lucy asked.
     
    Even as wound up as he was, the innocent request made him laugh. He had been so damn sure Lucy was going to propose something sexual. He had been hoping damn hard to be right. But it was the first request she’d made that didn’t seem prompted by her companion programming, so Eric ignored his disappointment and tugged her by the hand to the facility door.
     
    They stepped out of the scientific hideaway and into an untamed world of towering green trees. He looked up as the wind blew the leaves and then looked over to see Lucy looking up at the same thing. She sighed and softly laughed. He wished like hell they could just be two normal people enjoying that moment. It was the first in ages he’d wanted something that badly.
     
    “Without access to my memories, I guess I forgot how incredible it is to walk somewhere still untouched by civilization. Given the mechanized conditions of some of its inhabitants, I find it amazing that places like this are allowed to exist on our planet. I saw the forest when we landed, but didn’t hope then that I would manage to experience it in this manner. May I take a moment to make a short recording to keep.”
     
    Eric eased his hand from hers and stepped away. “Certainly.”
     
    She lifted her face and focused her gaze. He supposed that meant she had some sort of recording device installed in her eyes. Her face was so genuinely serene, he was glad Lucy had no idea that she’d remained that way for more than ten minutes. Tracking the time might have prompted guilt and lessened her enjoyment of the experience.
     
    When she finally returned her full attention to him, Lucy acted too fast for him to stop her. Her hungry lips pressed against his as her arms slid around him. Weakened from two days of lusting and no sleep, Eric let himself sink into the welcome he found in her arms. He slid one hand into her hair and the other down to pull her hips against his. No woman had ever felt so good to him. He was in so much trouble.
     
    “Lucy,” he whispered, weakening further when she pressed the promise of her heat close against an erection that throbbed for her.
     
    He pulled her head back by her hair, delving into her mouth with his tongue, reveling in the give of her body against his. He was so caught up in her complete response, that he ignored the first sting in his back, chalking it up to Lucy’s fingernails. But he felt and acknowledged the second one because it sent him weakly to his knees. He stared up at Lucy trying to see what was happening, but her gaze was now directed somewhere off into the trees.
     
    “Run. Save yourself,” Eric commanded, but she seemed not to hear him.
     
    Lucy had started spouting code loudly, the same series of numbers he’d heard her reciting while she’d undergone her change.
     
    He swore as he sank completely to the ground, eyes closing as the darkness mocked his mistake.
     
    ***
     
    Lucy automatically recited the response code brought forward by the insistent buzzing in her ears. It was like multiple voices were all talking at once and causing a bigger jumble of confusion than she usually suffered.
     
    She glanced down at her contract male and then stooped to pull the delivery darts out of his back. They were sharp and had probably been quite painful. She smelled the tips to see what he’d received and instantly registered both the name and the strength of the sedative. Rutinol wouldn’t kill Eric 754, but he was