Deceived Read online

  Looking down, she saw a white tray with a translucent, dome-like lid. She could see something yellow with red and blue speckles through the dome that she couldn’t identify. Whatever it was, though, it was definitely the source of the heavenly smell.

  Taking a risk, she picked up the tray and took it quickly back inside the room. Shutting the door as quietly as she’d opened it, she took the tray around to the far side of the vast bed and sat on the floor so that the side of the massive piece of furniture hid her from view.

  There, in the small space between the bed and the wall, she pressed a blue button on the tray which made the transparent dome shimmer briefly and disappear.

  A plate of food was revealed—none of it was really recognizable to Anna, but all of it smelled delicious. There was a glass of bluish-purple juice and a note as well which simply read, Enjoy, in a strong, masculine script.

  Anna looked at it, half delighted and half dumbfounded. It must come from Dark—did he really want to feed her so much that he would risk leaving non-Trollox food out where Gorn might find it? She had to warn him not to do that again—the risk was too great. Still, she was more grateful than she could say. It had been hours since she’d eaten the slices of purple bread and her stomach was growling.

  Eagerly, she dug in.

  The yellow thing with red and blue specks turned out to be a kind of turnover crossed with an omelet. It had a crispy crust on the outside and a tender, fluffy center that oozed with some kind of melted cheese. The cheese was pink but Anna didn’t care—it tasted wonderful. There was also a small bowl of juicy fruit chunks beside the glass of bluish-purple juice, which tasted like a cross between grapefruit, strawberry, and melon.

  It was the best food she’d eaten in months, ever since Gorn had bought her and brought her to his house and Anna finished it down to the last crumb. She was tempted to lick the plate as well but restrained herself. Instead, she wondered how she could get the tray back to the kitchen without being seen. Of course, it wasn’t absolutely necessary that she do it now but, well, she wanted to.

  Don’t you mean you want to see Dark again? whispered a little voice in her head.

  Anna swatted it away like an annoying fly. Of course she wanted to see him again—she wanted to thank him for the delicious meal and warn him not to leave food out for her any more—it really wasn’t safe now that Gorn had declared that she could only have Trollox food.

  But he’s a robot—a Replicant. Isn’t it silly to want to thank him or warn him when he isn’t even real? the annoying little voice asked.

  Anna pushed it away again. Never mind her reasons, the point was, she wanted to get to the kitchen but she didn’t dare leave the safety of the bedroom and remind her captor of her presence. She wished fiercely that Gorn would leave for a while so she could accomplish her covert mission.

  Just then, as though some kind deity had heard her and granted her wish, she heard Gorn’s heavy tread and the sound of the front door slamming.

  Perfect!

  Anna picked up the tray and whisked it down the hallway, moving as lightly as she could in her bare feet. Before she knew it, she was easing through the swinging metal door and into Dark’s domain.

  At first the big Replicant didn’t seem to hear her. He had his back turned to her and he was chopping something with a huge cleaver—some piece of gristly green meat which would no doubt be served for supper—she thought with a shudder.

  At least it didn’t smell too bad though—some of the meat Gorn ate smelled like road-kill after it had been sitting out in the hot sun for a week. This stuff just smelled slightly gamey and Dark had the window open, which let in the artificial breeze that circulated through the garden It mitigated the odor. The warm scent of growing things and soil was almost stronger than the smell of the meat and it felt good on her face when the breeze caressed her.

  Now that she was here, Anna suddenly didn’t know what to do or say. Should she apologize for running out on him so abruptly the night before? Or just thank him briefly for breakfast and warn him not to leave food for her again?

  Uncertain what to do, she cleared her throat.

  At once, Dark turned to face her. He was stripped to the waist, wearing only a long white apron that covered his chest and left his broad shoulders bare. The apron had green streaks on the front of it from the meat he was chopping.

  “Oh—Anna.” His face broke into a smile and he put down the cleaver and went to wash his hands at the decontamination sink. “Come in,” he said, motioning to her when she still hesitated. “Did you enjoy your First Meal?”

  “I did—it was amazing,” Anna said quickly. “But you can’t do it anymore—can’t leave food out for me, I mean,” she explained. “Because if Gorn finds out, he’ll tear you limb from limb—literally. I appreciate the gesture more than I can say and the food was amazing but I don’t want…don’t want to see you get hurt,” she finished, feeling foolish.

  “Let me worry about my limbs, all right?” He dried his hands and walked over to her. “Did you come for that walk in the garden we talked about last night?”

  “Oh, uh…” Anna wasn’t sure what to say about that. “No, I just came to bring the tray and dishes back—why would you think I wanted to walk in the garden?”

  “Because you said we could only go when Gorn was out—and he is. He won’t be back until Last Meal tonight—he told me not to bother fixing Mid Meal. So we have some time to explore a little outside if you want.”

  Looking up into his dark bronze eyes, Anna found herself tongue-tied. He was so handsome with his sharp, hawk-like features and those amazing metallic eyes. Not to mention the fact that he was so muscular and tall enough to make her feel small, which was almost impossible since she was six feet tall and plus-sized herself.

  He looked like exactly the kind of guy she used to wish would notice her back when she was a teenager on Aka’ja mining station. And now he was asking to go on a walk with her.

  A walk outside—alone with him, whispered a fearful voice in her head.

  Anna pushed it aside—along with her feelings of awe for the big Replicant’s perfection.

  He’s a robot, she reminded herself. He doesn’t have the equipment to hurt you and he’s not remotely interested in you. Not that it would do you any good if he was—you belong to Gorn, remember?

  That was a sobering thought. She felt her pulse rate go down a little and she could take a deep breath again.

  “All right,” she heard herself saying. “I’ll take a walk with you outside. As long as we don’t get too far from the house—in case Gorn comes back early.”

  “That works for me.” He smiled easily. “Come on then, let’s go. Oh, but first…” He looked down at himself and grimaced. “Sorry—I’ve been butchering a dergrin heart this morning. It’s kind of messy work. Here.”

  He pulled the green-stained white apron over his head and tossed it into a cleaning chute built into one of the side walls. This left him wearing nothing but a tight pair of black leather trousers and tall black boots.

  Anna tried, but had a hard time not staring at his broad, bare chest. Whoever had made him had done an excellent job on this part, she decided. His muscles were heavy and well-formed without being over-pumped or veiny in that gross body-builder way. Also, he had a small patch of black hair between the copper disks of his nipples. She liked a man with a hairy chest as long as the hair was neatly groomed, as Dark’s was. It was sexy—very masculine, like the beard stubble on his strong jaw.

  “Shall we go?” he asked and she realized she’d just been standing there, staring at him.

  “Oh. Um, of course.” She nodded at the hallway that led to the kitchen. “I guess we could go out the service entrance.”

  “After you.” He motioned courteously and Anna nodded and went down the hallway. She got to the service entrance and reached out a hand to open it…then hesitated, uncertain.

  She couldn’t forget the last time she’d tried sneaking out here—how ang