Deceived Read online

“You’re to be the head chef at the celebration—Yark has a much bigger kitchen than me.” The left head sounded envious. “You’ll make up the menu and be in charge of his kitchen crew.”

  “I see,” Dark said blandly. “And how many will I be cooking for, Master?”

  “Fifty of Yark’s best drewgs are invited,” the left head answered. “And the party is to celebrate the birth of his son and heir—a triple-headed Trollox! So fucking rare!”

  “Yes, Master.” Dark thought he sounded even more envious of this than of the big kitchen.

  “We’ve been boasting of your cooking skills,” the right head admitted. “So Yark asked that you cook the feast for his celebration. Of course we agreed. All the most important Trollox on the planet will be there.”

  “Which means you’d better do a fucking amazing job!” the left head roared as Gorn stabbed a stubby gray finger at him. “Understand?”

  “Perfectly, Master, but I’ll need a few more details. When is the party? How long do I have to prepare? How many courses do you want? Will I be doing the ordering or will Master Yark’s crew be doing it?”

  “Well…” Dark could see the wheels in the left head’s mind begin to turn slowly as it struggled to answer his questions.

  “Let me,” the right head hissed impatiently and turned to Dark. “Now listen, pretty boy—here are the requirements…”

  * * * * *

  As Anna hid in the pantry, her heart beating in her throat, she gradually began to feel more calm. At first she’d been afraid Gorn was looking for her—it had been a while since he’d changed her spreader and she was afraid he might have decided it was time for a new one.

  Then she had feared that Dark was in trouble and that Gorn might rip him limb from limb, as she had seen him do to so many other Replicants. She couldn’t bear for that to happen to Dark! She was beginning to care for him—deeply.

  Anna knew it wasn’t smart—it was the same as falling in love with an appliance, or so she tried to tell herself. But it didn’t seem like that at all. Dark seemed so real—so gentle and kind and handsome and caring.

  Whoever had programmed him must have been a woman, she couldn’t help thinking. Someone had known how important the inside of a man could be—because a handsome, muscular exterior wasn’t enough. A man needed emotional intelligence to be attractive—to be the person someone like Anna needed so desperately in her life.

  So she’d been horribly afraid when she thought Dark was in trouble. But now, from what she could hear, it sounded like he was actually being commended. Cooking for an entire party of the most important Trollox on the planet sounded like a huge deal and she was sure Dark was up to it. He’d told her that he had been head chef for his last owner—the Mistress who had treated him so badly—with a substantial crew under him. So everything was going to be fine.

  She had relaxed almost completely when Gorn said something that froze her blood in her veins.

  “Have you seen that pretty little breeder of mine?” he asked Dark.

  “No, Master.” Dark’s deep voice was terse and there was a growl behind his words. “I do not know where she is but I have been in the kitchen all day, as it is my home.”

  “Of course, of course,” Gorn growled. “Gotta find her though. She has to come to the banquet too—she needs to see what a proper son and heir looks like—needs to see what her duty as a breeder is.”

  “If I see her I will tell her.” Dark’s words were so cold and fraught with tension Anna thought they could have frozen the big Trollox in his tracks. But the left head, as always, was oblivious.

  “Ah, well—I’ll find her later,” it growled. “She has to wear the new gown I’ve bought her. Can’t go to a new heir banquet in just any old thing. My drewgs must be impressed when I show her off.”

  Anna felt sick. Show her off? To a whole banquet hall full of the enormous, disgusting Trollox? Just the thought turned her stomach but she knew she would have no choice in the matter. Gorn owned her and did what he wanted with her—if he wanted to dress her up and show her off to his drewgs, he damn well would and there wasn’t a thing she could do about it.

  At last her captor stomped out of the kitchen and she heard the door swinging shut behind him. Still, she didn’t dare to come out until she heard his heavy footsteps climbing the stairs to the second level where his study was located. Hopefully the right head would get immersed in work while the left played a game of digital hokum and the big Trollox would forget about her for a while.

  At last the pantry door creaked open and Dark was standing there.

  “You heard?” he asked and Anna nodded.

  “It looks like we’re going to a party.” She tried to make her voice light and cheerful but she couldn’t completely hide the dread she was feeling.

  “Do you think he’ll try to hurt you?” The menace in Dark’s deep voice was clear.

  Anna shook her head. “I don’t think so. Trollox just like to show off their ‘trophies’ to their drewgs. That’s all I am to him—just another trophy.”

  “If he lays a hand on you, call for me.” Dark’s bronze eyes flashed. “I swear I’ll end him if he hurts you, Anna.”

  She drew back a little from the big Replicant. Dark in protective mode was absolutely scary.

  “How can you be so sweet and gentle one minute and so frightening the next?” she asked.

  “Sorry.” He took a deep breath, making a visible effort to calm himself. As with so many of his gestures, it didn’t seem like something a Replicant would do but she hardly questioned his realism anymore. He was just a different model—a better model—than any other Replicant she’d ever seen, she told herself.

  “It’s all right,” Anna told him. “I…like it that you want to protect me,” she said shyly. “And I liked what we were doing before.”

  “Kissing, you mean?” His whole demeanor changed, his sharp-edged look softening and his bronze eyes going half-lidded.

  “Yes…” Anna nibbled her lower lip and looked up at him through her eyelashes. “I wouldn’t mind doing it again sometime. If…if you don’t mind.”

  “It would be my very great pleasure, Anna,” he murmured. “Should I come to find you after Gorn has gone to sleep tonight?”

  “Oh—in my, uh, bedroom you mean?” Her stomach fluttered nervously. “You…you’d come see me there?”

  He nodded. “But only if you want me to. And Anna…” He tilted her chin gently and looked into her eyes. “Kissing is as far as it has to go. If that’s all you want, that’s all we’ll do. Or we don’t even have to do that—I could just hold you. I’d like that—very much.”

  The thought of being wrapped in his strong, muscular arms was incredibly attractive.

  “Yes,” Anna whispered. “Yes, I…I think I’d like it too.”

  “All right.” He gave her a slow smile that made her stomach flutter again. “We have something to look forward to. But for now, I have to finish tonight’s Last Meal and get started on the menu for this banquet I’m supposed to be serving.”

  “Are you worried about it?” Anna asked anxiously.

  He shook his head. “Other than the sheer volume of food, no. Feeding this many Trollox will be like feeding three hundred humanoids. It’s going to be interesting. I just hope that Gorn’s drewg has a good kitchen crew—I’ll need a lot of hands to make this happen.”

  She nodded. “I’ll help if I can. When Gorn finishes showing me off, I mean.” She made a face.

  Dark looked thoughtful. “That might not be a bad idea. I’d like to have you where I can see you—so I can be sure you’re safe.”

  “Thank you,” Anna said softly.

  “Of course—I just want to protect you,” he said seriously.

  “I know.” She wanted to say more—wanted to thank him for caring so much. Even though she knew it was just his excellent programming at work, she wanted to express her gratitude. But the words seemed to bottle up inside her and she couldn’t let them out. So she just said, “