Chapter Four

Steele

During our tour of the city, we stopped at a public park to wander among the greenery together. As we walked, I told her about how people had lived in crumbling buildings throughout the war and struggled to survive.

"Before we could start building, we had to move people from the tattered structures and demolish them. We also had to contend with gangers who didn't want us to rebuild the city and take away the people they preyed upon."

"I'm glad my family didn't live in a city when the aliens bombed the world. People in our part of the country didn't know what had happened for a long time because there was no communication, and they no longer had power except for those who were off the grid. We never had any of that stuff when I grew up."

"How is it that you ended up alone on the ranch?"

"Well, my dad got sick when I was young, and he died. Then, it happened to my mom about four years ago. I've been on my own ever since," she told me as we strolled on a garden path. "Not many people found their way to my ranch, so I was really surprised when those men showed up and kidnapped me."

As I watched her speak, I had an overwhelming urge to kiss her. Locating a secluded spot, I steered Zaya there and took her into my arms. "I'm sorry that happened to you. It's taken us longer than we would have liked to get help to all the people who need it. But you are not alone anymore. I am here to help you and care for you. I am programmed to love you, and I hope we will breed and make offspring one day."

I stroked her hair and caressed her cheek as she held my gaze. Her lips parted, and she seemed amenable to a kiss, so I took the opportunity. My cock hardened as soon as her body pressed against me, but I instinctively suppressed my arousal.

I kissed her tenderly, slipping my tongue between her lips, gently stroking and swirling it around hers. With the combination of my programming and her pheromones, I was completely smitten with her.

When our lips parted, I couldn't stop staring at her face. Although other cyborgs told me so, I still found it amazing that she so closely resembled the avatar I knew while in stasis.

Even more satisfying, Zaya was real, and she looked back at me with open admiration. It seemed logical to conclude that she liked me. The way she kissed me back was even more convincing. Reluctantly, I released her and said, "Are you ready to get something to eat?"

"I am now." She nodded, and I draped my arm around her shoulders and started walking her back to the tram station.

From there, we took one to a restaurant called Quantum Cuisine. There, a droid led us to a table for two with a spectacular view of Lake Michigan. A computer tablet attached to our table displayed the menu with attractive pictures of each dish.

"I don't know what any of these dishes are," Zaya said as I scrolled through them for us.

"What would you normally eat?"

"Mostly vegetables, eggs, and cheese or an occasional chicken or fish from the river."

"Okay, let's see what they have with those ingredients. I scrolled through the menu to that section and let her read the descriptions of the cuisine offered. After a few minutes, Zaya picked a dish that consisted of a medley of vegetables and meat. There were also wine selections, but Zaya had never had wine. She chose to have iced tea with her meal.

I ordered a meal of seafood, vegetables, and pasta.

"The food smells wonderful and looks good, too," Zaya said when the droid waiter brought our meals to the table.

"We can share," I suggested, picking up my fork to try a bite. "Certainly, tastier than meal bars." I scooped up a modest forkful and offered it to Zaya.

She smiled, her green eyes sparkling as she took a bite from my fork. "Mm, it tastes even better than it smells."

Then she offered me a forkful of her food. Her chicken and vegetable medley was also quite tasty.

We ate in a comfortable silence for a while, intermittently offering forkfuls to each other. Zaya seemed to enjoy feeding me as much as I liked sharing nourishment with her.

"I want to order some supplies to take with us tomorrow. We don't know what will be usable when we return to your home," I suggested.

"How will I pay for that?" Zaya asked.

"I will take care of it. I have almost all the credits I've earned since I came out of stasis six years ago. I saved them for use when I found my genetic mate."

"I'm used to taking care of myself, but I will accept your offer. I don't know how long I was away. I was almost finished with spring planting when I was taken."

"Considering the growing season, it might have been three months since you were taken. Also, the condition of your animals seems to indicate they have not been on their own much longer than that," I tried to reassure Zaya.

"Well, I expect there will be a lot of cleanup to do when we get there."

"Whatever you need, I will help you," I assured her. "We are in this together now."

Granted, we didn't know each other well, but all of my instincts were programmed to provide whatever my genetic mate required or desired. Above all, I was programmed to love the female whom I recognized as my genetic mate. I was made for her, so I was already enamored.

Zaya

I looked at him, hardly believing what he was saying, yet I could see he was completely sincere. Tears brimmed my eyes as I thought back over the years I'd lived alone before I was taken. I went months at a time without seeing another person.

Now, this gorgeous, caring man had dropped into my life like the hero of the romantic stories I used to read in the winter when it was too cold to do anything else. I reached across the table and touched his arm to reassure myself that he was real.

Steele took my hand and brought it to his lips. "Sweetheart, don't cry."

"No, it's fine. I can still hardly believe that you are really my cyborg."

Steele smiled sympathetically. "That's who I am, exactly. I am your cyborg from now on."

I gripped his hand and laughed happily through my tears, realizing I wanted to be his, too.

"Finding his genetic mate is the most precious thing in a cyborg's life. It was the one promise made to all cyborgs sent to war. If they survived and returned to Earth, they would be given a genetic mate to love and create a family with. They did not learn until near the end of the war that no mates had been located for any of them. Those of us awakened after the war immediately learned that we would be expected to find our own genetic mates."

"But they are making a database. I got my DNA scan almost a year ago—but you never came."

Steele looked down at the table regretfully. "I never fought in the war. It didn't seem fair that I should get my genetic mate ahead of those who did. I felt unworthy in the face of those warriors who fought for up to a whole century," he sighed ruefully. "I am so sorry. I should have been thinking of you. I should have come sooner. My emotions flawed my logic. When the opportunity to go west was offered, I took that as my signal to come to find you. I'd planned to seek you after we finished our mission at the alien base.

"Then I found you there."

"They've been compiling a database for several years now, but there are still thousands of cyborgs who have never found their mates. So, I know just how fortunate I am that I found you."

"What happens if a cyborg finds his genetic mate, and she does not want to be his mate?"

"That happens sometimes. However, we cyborgs don't give up that easily. One would never force a female to become his mate, but he would try to win her over and give her time to get to know him."

"And that's what we're doing now, right?" I gave him a shy smile. Although I wished he'd come sooner, he came when I needed him the most.

Steele smiled back. "You should know that cyborgs dote on their mates and shamelessly adore them."

We chatted casually throughout dinner, pausing occasionally to gaze out over the beauty of Lake Michigan under a clear blue sky. When we finished eating, Steele paid for the meal with his CPU, and we took an auto tram back to our hotel.

It was too early for sleep, but we had nothing to do but wait until morning to catch the transport back to Montana.

"I calculate you have never watched a Holovid show before. We could sit on the bed and watch a holo-play on it."

He crossed the room and propped up the pillows against the headboard of the king-size bed. Steele sat on the bed, kicked off his boots, and sat with his back against one of the pillows. He patted it beside him, so I followed suit and sat next to him. I barely knew what a holoviewer was. Steele turned it on and found what was called a romantic comedy.

I gasped in delight as the miniature people seemed to come to life in the box mounted on the wall before us. I was fascinated by the visual portrayal of life on Earth before the disastrous bombing that nearly destroyed it. The story was funny, poignant, and sweet in its portraying the trials of two people falling in love and overcoming misunderstandings.

I enjoyed sitting on the bed, cuddled against Steele with his arm around my shoulders. It felt right. I was glad Steele was willing to take things slowly. I wanted to be with him, but I wasn't ready to breed with him even though I craved it very much.

After the first play, Steele got drinks and a snack of wheat crackers from the food dispenser for us while we watched a second play. I never saw the end of the second program because I fell asleep with my head against Steele's shoulder and his arm wrapped around me.