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She closed her eyes, her expression full of feeling. It was a message to him. He knew it, though he did not yet understand the language of her body. She was ocean waves crashing against the shore; relentless, powerful, and fluid.
“You trying to flatter me?” She smirked, and his hand paused. “Flattery isn’t a function I’m familiar with. It implies a level of dishonesty. I’m simply speaking the truth as I perceive it.”
“Flattery can be true, if you mean it. Doesn’t hurt to tell a girl something you admire about her. You should try it sometime. Maybe you—” “Everything.”
He gently guided her eyes up to his. “I made a vow, Lara.” “I don’t want you held by words, Ronin.” “I’m not held by them. I’m…enriched by them.” His palm moved up to cup her cheek. “There’s nothing tying either of us to this place, apart from each other. My only bond is with you.” Lara’s stomach fluttered. “And what does that bond mean to you?” “It means I am alive.”
How much longer might Ronin have journeyed, unaware of the emptiness of his existence, if not for her? Would he ever have tasted the variety and depth of emotion she’d given him?
“Everything I feel is a simulation? Any emotion I’ve experienced is just…an emulation of what humans possess?”
“Every emotion I experienced developed on its own, from the seeds he planted. Simulation is a term that ultimately loses its meaning, with the passage of time. You were not programmed to grow fond of anyone. You were designed with the capability to develop those relationships naturally. With the free will to follow through with them — or not — at your own choosing.”
“If I say that I love her,” Ronin didn’t remove his optics from Lara, “that I have no other word to describe what I feel for her…” She met his gaze, eyes widening and lips parting. “It is no less real than anything she or anyone else has ever felt,” Newton replied.
What he felt for her was real because he felt it. What came before didn’t matter; he didn’t need justification from the past.
He couldn’t bring himself to even consider what life would be like, without her. Will you remember me, when I’m gone?
“My vow to you remains,” Ronin said, squeezing her hand gently, “but I must amend it. I will love you, even after darkness takes me.”
We’re not…we’re not supposed to see other people suffering and just look away, pretending nothing happened.”
Ronin smiled. “Don’t lie to me, Lara Brooks. You’re going there specifically to cause trouble.”
She smiled. Her hand stopped at the center of his chest, directly over his core processors. “Love me, Ronin.” He eased over her, nestling his hips between her thighs. “Long after the Dust claims me.”
But she was as beautiful to him now as when he first saw her. Even more so, after the life they’d shared.
