Spending time with Zephyr was amazing. He was smart, which didn’t surprise Kyle, but the droid knew everything about everything and Kyle wanted to know all of it. It was obvious by the amount of surgical equipment in Zephyr’s home that he was a doctor of some type. No doubt he wasn’t certified as such, but no one was any longer. After the world had fallen, education had taken a backseat to survival. Like in Kyle’s case, he was good with his hands. If something was broken, and he could take it apart, then Kyle could fix it. But the rest—history and science, all the things he should’ve learned in his last years of school—he didn’t have those lessons. Every question Kyle had, Zephyr had the answer.

Zephyr was also a tinkerer. He had several small inventions in the works that he shared with Kyle, giving Kyle the chance to shine by letting him offer his suggestions on how to make things work. Those were the torturous moments of being together. Zephyr’s guidance, his praise, and his breath caressing the back of Kyle’s neck as he watched Kyle handling his work, those moments slayed Kyle. He soaked them up and took them to bed at night, turning them over in his head. Every day, his feelings jumbled a little more.

They talked each day for hours. Many times, the sky had turned dark and light again without their conversations ebbing. Still, they always somehow found the topic of droids and droid rights. Zephyr was getting better at not walking away from the conversation. Kyle did his damnedest not to judge. For the most part, Kyle couldn’t stop pushing because it was the one topic that erected a wall between them. Kyle needed that buffer. Otherwise, his feelings scared the hell out of him.

“Tell me this,” Kyle said, incapable of leaving it alone, mostly because he loved hearing Zephyr’s thoughts. “Now that you’ve secured your liberty—in the better half of the world, I might add—what have you done with your freedom?”

“Okay, to be fair,” Zephyr said, talking with his hands the sexy way he did. “If I could’ve found a way to secure Dead-Zone, I would’ve taken that instead. We don’t care about the weather.”

Kyle sat, staring at Zephyr expectantly. When he didn’t say anything else, Kyle huffed. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“What kind of question is that? What do you do with your freedom? Sleep in? Drink until you pass out? Eat artery-clogging goodness? Tie someone to the bed, torturing them for hours before finally allowing yourself release?”

The way Kyle’s breathing deepened was beyond his control. Zephyr was beautiful. The way his eyes glowed was unnatural yet hauntingly beautiful. The droid made his mouth water and his body ache with desire. Every time Zephyr left him alone, Kyle fought the urge to slip his hand inside his underwear and embrace the fantasy. The only reason he never gave in to temptation was the fear Zephyr would burst back into the room, thinking Kyle’s health had declined at the rapid change in his vitals. Kyle wasn’t sure Zephyr kept an eye on those numbers, but he wasn’t willing to risk it.

Kyle’s skin heated.

“I’ve never tied anyone to the bed,” Kyle admitted. The huskiness in his voice couldn’t be denied. He didn’t try to hide it. Zephyr’s words had brought an image to Kyle’s mind that Kyle couldn’t shake. He wanted to know how Zephyr would look under those circumstances. Ropes wouldn’t hold the man. Would desire?

Zephyr stood. His gaze never wavered from Kyle. If Kyle didn’t know better, he’d swear Zephyr was turned on. “That’s too bad. You’re wasting your freedom then, aren’t you?” With one final hot and sweeping gaze, Zephyr headed for the door. Kyle’s gaze slid down Zephyr’s back and landed on the man’s perfect ass. “You should get some sleep,” Zephyr said over his shoulder, bringing Kyle’s eye-fucking under control.

Kyle nodded. “Probably. Good night, Zephyr.” Even as Kyle said the words, he knew sleep would be hard won. Zephyr was too close—right down the hall. This was as close as Kyle would ever come to having him.

* * *

The moment the door shut behind Zephyr, he leaned against it and tried to quiet his mind. Desire raged through him. Sometimes there was something in Kyle’s tone. The man was always on the cusp of a huge hormone release, but that was typical for a strong man like Kyle. Occasionally, it felt like more. Like it did now. Zephyr fought the urge to throw open the door and push for more—to force Kyle to tell him his thoughts. Tell him the truth. His hand slid to his hard cock. He couldn’t hide this. That was the real reason he didn’t throw the door open again. Kyle always stimulated Zephyr’s mind. His body never failed to be one step behind. Intelligence was Zephyr’s biggest weakness. It was sexy as hell.

He needed to work; focus on anything else. Instead, his feet carried him to his rarely used bedroom. The door closed behind him. Zephyr stared at his private space. The large bed taking up one corner of the room was still made from whenever he used it last. He couldn’t remember when that was. Normally, Zephyr would close his eyes wherever he sat, and recharge when the need arose. He hadn’t gone to bed every night since… a lifetime ago.

He crossed the room and sat on the edge of the mattress. His gaze collided with his reflection in the huge mirror covering the opposite wall. Looking at himself was another thing he rarely did. He never changed and never would. Staring at his reflection was a pointless endeavor.

Now, he wondered what Kyle saw. Was he the man’s enemy—his captor? Most likely, he was nothing more than a machine who had information Kyle sought. He hadn’t been looking at Zephyr like a machine a few minutes ago. For a moment, Zephyr had been a man. Without thought, Zephyr tugged his shirt up and over his head before dropping it on the floor at his feet.

They were different. Kyle was tall and took up space. Zephyr was small. People hadn’t liked their droids to be big and imposing. They’d liked to fool themselves into thinking they were in control. Since helper bots were strong and fast—that control had always been an illusion, but lying to themselves was how most people got through the day.

Zephyr had never considered his size before now. It hardly hindered his day-to-day life. Did Kyle prefer tall men? Chances were good Zephyr would never know. He liked to think Kyle could find him attractive. Zephyr wanted to believe the man’s half-veiled desire was for him.

Lying back, Zephyr stared at the ceiling. He focused on the room next door. “Camera five on.” An image of Kyle staring at his ceiling flared to life across Zephyr’s vision. “Give me his vitals.” A series of numbers appeared at the corners of his eyes. The sound of Kyle’s steady heartbeat filled Zephyr’s ears.

Kyle winced as he shifted positions and pulled his shirt over his head. A huge yellowing bruise covered one side of Kyle’s body. He fingered the mark for a second before dropping his head back to his pillow. Zephyr enjoyed the view. The sheet covered Kyle’s body from his hips down. It didn’t matter. Zephyr had seen it all already. He couldn’t stop staring at the hard pads of the man’s chest. It was obvious he’d endured hard labor most of his life.

Kyle closed his eyes. His chest expanded as he took a deep breath. A smile tugged at the corners of Zephyr’s mouth. It was ridiculous how happy watching Kyle breathe made Zephyr. Kyle’s hand slid down his torso, stopping at the edge of the sheet. Zephyr’s stare slid lower too. Kyle was aroused. His erection tented the sheet. Zephyr wondered what the man pictured behind his closed lids. Kyle didn’t touch his cock. Zephyr wished he would. The longing was suffocating him.

Instead, Kyle seemed to fight against his body’s needs as if he didn’t want to give in to temptation. Zephyr wasn’t as strong. He couldn’t take the torment. His hand slipped lower. Without a single qualm, he set his cock free. The part of him that over-analyzed every situation wondered if he was wrong for watching Kyle like this.

“Camera five off.”

It didn’t matter if he couldn’t see Kyle any longer. An image of the man burned in Zephyr’s mind. He wondered what it felt like to be held against that large chest. Zephyr stroked his erection. Would it feel the same if his dick slid across the silky skin of Kyle’s? What did the man taste like? Zephyr concentrated on the sensation of his palm sliding up and down his cock. Tiny pops of electricity surged through him. He reached for more. Sexual relief wasn’t something he sought often. It wasn’t something he needed as a human would. Occasionally, he met a human who made him crave it. Kyle had flipped that switch inside Zephyr. He made Zephyr long for the sensation of a plump lip held between his teeth as he found release.

Zephyr’s frame tightened as he strained to reach for the looming explosion. Everything disappeared except the feel of his fist tightening on his dick. He stroked faster. An involuntary twitch hit his system as an orgasm tore through him. The pulsing in his cock brought wave after wave of pleasure along with a hint of loneliness. He wanted Kyle like this. Kyle would never want a machine. Zephyr was doomed to suffer in silence.