Read Marcus 582: Book Three of Cyborgs: Mankind Redefined for Free Online Page B

than an AI unit. She couldn’t even imagine tearing a bot’s head off with her bare hands like he’d just done.
     
    “No…one…has…ev…er…killed…for…me,” Rachel said slowly.
     
    The statement came out more clearly than she hoped. Maybe she was finally calming down from her crazy day.
     
    Marcus snorted as he looked into Rachel’s wild-eyed gaze. He wished she hadn’t seen the aftermath of him losing his temper, but he hadn’t been about to let the badly programmed prick of a bot touch her while he watched.
     
    “Disassembling an AI unit is not the same as really killing someone. He’s not really dead. He’s just not a functional machine at this time. Stopping him didn’t even make me break a sweat. It might be hard for you to believe after what you just saw me do, but protecting you really is the easiest job I’ve ever had.”
     
    Rachel snorted. Protecting her. From what? Her failure to pay attention to her actions? The bot died tonight because she was being emotional and stupid about a guy she’d just met today.
     
    “Who…has…your…back…Mis…ter…Tough…Guy?”
     
    Marcus grinned at her taunting question as they walked out of the airlift. “I suppose the position is open. Why? You interested or something?”
     
    Rachel keyed her door open before she answered. “Or…some…thing,” she said at last.
     
    She watched Marcus dip his head and grin. He seemed nervous…but excited by what she’d said. It was without a doubt the most intimate personal exchange they had ever had. Would he think she was flirting with him? Was she? She could practically see Seetha rolling her eyes.
     
    “Would that something come with dinner tonight?” Marcus asked.
     
    Rachel looked up into his eyes as she nodded. When he smiled and showed all his straight, even white teeth in the movement, her throat got tight and started throbbing like a heartbeat. She swallowed her nervousness, which had officially formed a lump in her stomach. There was no getting around how sexy it made her feel to know Marcus had done what he’d done just to save her.
     
    “Thank…you…I…mean…that,” she said quietly.
     
    “You’re welcome…and I mean that ,” Marcus replied, keeping his voice and his tone as soft as hers.
     
    Needing to test their new understanding of each other, he lifted a hand and trailed his fingertips lightly down Rachel’s throat. Some of his racing thoughts surprised him, especially the one where he was wishing she was his contract wife. He wouldn’t mind if his full-time job was to live with Rachel and take care of her every need. Not that she would let him. He supposed it was just a masculine fantasy. Rachel didn’t seem to want to feel the desire making her adrenaline spike and her pulse race. Or at least she didn’t want him to be the one causing her to have those feelings. Ironically, he couldn’t imagine anyone else doing it but him.
     
    He sighed and brushed her hair back from her face, wishing he had enough nerve to share his thoughts. But then she’d feel like she had to respond. All he wanted was to spare her.
     
    “Does it hurt to talk?” he asked.
     
    Rachel nodded in answer to the same question Nathan had asked. She was nervous about Marcus touching her and acutely aware of everything about him. His fingertips were gentle against her skin, which amazed her after all she’d seen him do that evening.
     
    One thing was for certain…there was no hesitant boy in the man in front of her. Perhaps that was the scariest thing of all to her. A man willing to rip a bot apart for you would not be cajoling like Nathan when asking for a date…or for anything else he wanted from a woman. She imagined a determined Marcus would not be put off if he ever made up his mind to have her. But he had killed the bot for her, and he’d done so knowing he would most likely pay a price for it. His actions—while they might produce unpleasant consequences tomorrow—had tonight