Read Online Avion (Cyborgs: More Than Machines, #7) by Eve Langlais - Free Book Online Page A

feelings. “Lilith, would you mind if Riley asked you some questions?”
    “I am agreeable to the suggestion. We could have a tea party.” The last part said on a giggle barely had anyone batting an eye or blinking. They had their cyborg emotions in check.
    To draw attention away from Lilith, who had bitten her lower lip, as if to prevent herself from talking, Avion asked, “What about me, commander?”
    “You stick close to your girlfriend. You seem to understand her better than us and, given her newness to our environment, can help guide her until everyone and everything is familiar to her.” Compassion and understanding from Aramus? “And, keep in mind, if she breaks anything while under your care, I’ll ram your head into the nearest wall.”
    Ah, that was better.
    With their tasks assigned, they were dismissed. Avion waited until the others left before nudging at Lilith. She stood and turned to face him.
    “Where am I to go until I meet with Riley and Laura?”
    “You need to rest. Come with me. I’ll give you a room and find you some food.”
    While the SSBiteMe was a large vessel, it did have limited guest quarters, which were all currently taken. Aramus shared the captain’s cabin with Riley. Seth and Anastasia occupied another. Kentry had a room, but he’d relinquished it to Adam and Laura and opted to move into the barracks. The last private room was currently occupied by Avion. Rosalind, their newest crewmember, had taken over Einstein’s old lab, which had a bed and a bathroom, leaving only the barracks for Lilith. Somehow sticking her in that lonely place with the bunk beds—and Kentry, an unattached male—didn’t seem right.
    “This will be your room,” he announced as he led her to his quarters.
    The door slid open to reveal not much. Lilith wandered around the room, which, while not lavish, was comfortably appointed with a double bed covered in clean gray sheets, a table bolted to the floor with club chairs on either side, and a bookcase which, instead of literary works, held models of vintage planes, their bases glued to the shelf.
    She wandered close to them and peered. “They are so small.”
    “I know and a damned pain to assemble.”
    She trailed a slender finger down the wing of one. He found it oddly distracting—and arousing.
    Imagine those fingers running along my body, my skin...
    She asked him something. “You built these?”
    “I did.”
    “Why? They serve no purpose.”
    “You’re right. They don’t, but I enjoyed the creation of them. I also like the history they represent.”
    “I don’t own anything.”
    “That will change.”
    “Why would I want to own objects?”
    “Because the right object will bring you pleasure.” As does the right person.
    “You have brought me to your room,” she stated. “Am I to stay here?”
    “Yes, you are staying here, but don’t worry. You won’t have to share it with me. This will give you some privacy. I just need to grab a few changes of clothes, and it’s all yours.”
    “You are leaving?”
    “I’ll be just down the hall in the barracks with Kentry.”
    “And Rosalind ?”
    The way she said the name raised the hairs on his arms. Did she just growl? Jealousy? Was it possible?
    “She’ll be there too. But on an opposite shift.”
    The crease on Lilith’s brow didn’t ease.
    “If you leave, I will be alone.”
    Avion wondered if she knew how lost she appeared in that moment, hugging herself in a gesture so unlike her usual confident speech and actions.
    “You’re not alone. I’ll be just down the hall. Adam and Laura are right across from here too.”
    “Adam and Laura are busy,” Lilith said. “In a manner that I don’t think they’d appreciate interruption.”
    Avion thought it best to not ask how she knew that. “There’s other people around in case you get lonely. Remember, you’re not getting locked in. You can go anywhere you like on this ship. If you need me, come grab me, or if you get lost or