The Six: Genesis | A Reverse Harem Novel

Sixteen

I'd never let it go past a few late night kisses in bed... a few curious fingers, but I refused to go further. She couldn't know... He couldn't know I'd—

"Then tell me what this place is..."

"Well," I glance up, cycling through the images as they flit by on neon blue lights. "You're standing in my brain."

"Your brain..."

"Yes."

I point to the small brackets affixed to either side of my face. They fit snuggly, angling toward my eyebrows and cheekbones. They're infused with nano-tech and give me the ability to put my thoughts on the board without writing, typing and setting up a single thing.

"So... this is how your brain works?"

I nod, silently considering his facial expressions, body language, and judging his next words. Letters and numbers glide out of my mind, transforming into the needed formulas and calculations for my next project. The design floats forward—Saviors. They'll join, and replace, their predecessors.

"What about the designs for you?"

"For me? What about them?"

"Are you planning on making more of yourself?"

Raising my hands, I glare down at my skin. Beneath them, metal and tech lie in wait like a predatory sleeping. It moves whenever I bit now. My previous issues long forgotten with assistance from the man standing to my left.

Was I planning on making more of myself? Could I risk it? I didn't know the long-term risks or the side effects of the drastic change for anyone else.

Surreptitiously, I glance at Gatlin. He'd be a good start, tall, broad-shouldered, with a penchant for athleticism. And he wasn't like Levi... or I suppose isn't Levi.

The level-headed, strategic man who'd taken the United States military by storm crumbled apart right before my eyes. He'd never shown those cracks before—not once. Yet, I suppose we're all a little mad when it comes to love.

"If you were me, would you?"

"Maybe. If they were trustworthy and the right person."

It's too easy to roll my eyes at his words. "And how will I know they're the right person?"

His breath spears across my neck. Shuddering, I step away. He's too close and I want him too much.

We lapse into silence and my mind flitters deeper, swirling down a vortex toward the answers to my questions. The paradox of marrying technology to living breathing creatures. I need to conquer both to further humanity and propel us forward.

"Levi wants to be like you, you know."

Gatlin cups my cheek and tilts my head back. Eagerly, I let him do as he wishes, dropping into the gentleness in his eyes. My tongue dips out and traces my bottom lips, renewing his interest in them.

"Let me kiss you, Hawthorne."

Swallowing, I shake my head. "No."

"Then tell me why you denied Levi."

"No."

Annoyance flickers across his face, but it's gone just as quickly. There's a lead weight at the base of my stomach, pressing lower the longer I try to deny him what he wants. What I want.

"Blue, you don't have to pretend around me."

Laughing, I turn away from him. "You said you didn't care. So, why should I believe you do now?"