Free Sucker Punch by Pauline Baird Jones

need-to-know, but she still felt a little…miffed. Or annoyed. Secrets. How many secrets did they have?
    â€œIt is unnecessary. My biggest concern is that hosting will make you more of a target—”
    â€œThan I am already being with you two?” She didn’t mind the distraction, and this comment gave her a chance to give him the Look she’d wanted to give him on the heels of her train of thought. It was like a win-win.
    â€œIf you have privacy issues—”
    â€œWorse than having a million relatives in a few square miles?”
    â€œThere would not be time to train you to segregate some thoughts,” Lurch said. “No privacy is somewhat different from a loss of some privacy.”
    Okay, that was a bit… “How much would Wynken share with you and Joe?”
    â€œWynken would only share what is relevant to the mission,” Lurch assured her.
    That was less a bit… “Does it hurt?”
    Joe shook his head, finally looking amused. “No, it is not painful.”
    â€œWhen we were…new…we were not skilled at integrating. There was some pain.” Lurch sounded reflective, rather distant, as if remembering something very long ago.
    Joe looked startled at this.
    â€œBut we are skilled now. Pain is a choice that ‘it’ makes. It likes torturing its victims.”
    â€œWell, I’m glad it’s a choice you don’t make,” Vi said. “My head already aches.” How old was the nanite? “So, how do we do this? Is…Wynken…willing to, you know?” She still didn’t seem to be asking the right questions, but the truth was, she wasn’t sure which were the right questions. Was it close enough to move in now? She kind of wanted to get it done before meeting the councilman. Just in case.
    â€œWynken is willing. It…likes you.”
    What did that mean? Did it have a gender? And if it did, how did she feel about it seeing her in the shower? She should probably get all these thoughts done before it moved in. “That’s…good.” She hoped. “So, now what? Do we have to stop or something?”
    â€œWe can proceed while we, er, proceed. Place your hand on Joe’s hand.”
    That didn’t seem too hard. He took it off steering, placing it within comfortable reach. She hovered over it—she liked holding hands with him, even though it hadn’t happened a whole lot, so Wynken would probably know that, too. But then it had probably been around for the kiss….
    She slowly lowered her hand, her skin sharply pale against his lavender skin. It always surprised her that his skin felt warm, because it looked cool. But it was warm and male, with just the right amount of abrasive. The bones were bigger, and she sensed his strength, the manly kind that was different from hers. He turned his hand, so that they were palm to palm and his fingers tightened, his grip comforting. Her mom had said more than once that a girl could tell a lot by how she felt when a guy held her hand. Her mom had been known to say that she knew her world changed the minute Dad took her hand. And then he’d take her hand again, and they’d smile at each like they were still goofy about each other. It was both sweet and embarrassing. Had Mom really felt like this? She hadn’t always been a mom—
    The tiny lights yanked her back into the moment. And out of the moment. Her spine stiffened as they bubbled up on Joe’s skin, then gathered into a sort of golden swarm. It seemed like they hesitated, perhaps to give her time to change her mind. She almost did. Wasn’t afraid to admit it.
    She didn’t pull away, though her fingers twitched. Joe’s grip tightened, then relaxed so she could pull back if she wanted to. His gaze met hers for a moment, before he had to return his attention to flying. But it was enough. Her hand relaxed in his. The lights crept closer. First contact was like a tiny