His temperature lowered and he took a moment to thank God
he didn’t have a physical penis, or she may just have
noticed how hard and erect it was. Womanhood certainly
sat comfortably on her now. Unfortunately, that
particular piece of his anatomy had been sacrificed on
the altar of time travel and the sexless piece of robotic
shielding he’d been obliged to employ. Surprised, he
noticed it didn’t seem to affect his sudden surge of
hormones as Zaphira’s soft breast brushed his metallic
cheek. Heated particles dashed to his groin region and he
couldn’t tear his gaze from her lush cleavage.

Breathless, he sucked in, choked on an excess of air and
tried to cough unobtrusively.

“Are you all right?”

Her beautiful face filled his vision, her soft doe eyes
melted his heart for a brief moment, before it gave a
hasty knock as the knowledge hit him like a sledgehammer—
he had felt the stroke of her breast rather than imagined
it. His breath stuttered and trapped in his throat, if he
had skin it would be florid.

“Aiden?”

Zaphira leaned toward him, cradled his head in her arms,
pressed his cold lifeless cheek into her breast and he
sensed the zap of it, the zing. How the hell could it
happen? How could he feel?

Her gentle inquisitive fingers stroked his face, his
temple, his cheek. She lifted her hand from his metal
case and started the skim of her fingertips at his
forehead again. And again. With an almost imperceptible
turn of his head, he allowed his face to nuzzle into her
soft welcoming bosom, and rejoiced in the simple pleasure
of his communication impulses as they reconnected and
allowed the sensation of her silken skin pressed against
his face to radiate until he purred with unexpected
desire and reveled in the sheer humanity of her touch.

“Aiden?”

“Yes.” A breathless rush emerged from his lips.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes.” He relaxed and luxuriated in the lap of water on
his body, experienced the brush of it as though it was
his skin it rippled over.

“Aiden?”

His tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth, he struggled
to swallow as he turned his face further into her,
smelled the earthy womanliness of her cleavage and
nuzzled in.

“Your breasts…”

The last discernible sound was her horrified gasp before
he plunged to the depths of the frigid bath water. His
heavy metal head clunked on the bottom and the sound of
turbulent bubbles assaulted his ears as he gulped,
desperate for air. Lust had been washed away with a tidal
wave of water rushing through his armored plating and
filling his brain with slush. With no control over his
own limbs, even a wild thrash to indicate he was drowning
wasn’t an option.

Bitter cold fluid filled his lungs as his mechanical
mouth failed to respond to the command to close, and
allowed the water to gush in and swamp him. His brain
refused to engage. Deprived of oxygen it had no ability
to give his sunken android body the instruction it
required to not drown the human within. A black cloud of
desperation engulfed him.

He stared, eyelids wedged wide open as Zaphira gazed back
at him through the blurred depths of the water. Her deep
brown eyes, hard and angry. She leaned forward and
wrenched his head and shoulders free of his watery grave.

“You bloody pervert.”