Page 9 of Bound

He tears apart a large chunk of meat with sharp fangs and chews noisily.

Maybe he has been replaced.

I sit at the end of the island as the bot places my food in front of me along with a hot drink called Fee which tastes a little like chai.

I move the food around my plate. My appetite has been terrible since the worst symptoms of the virus left me. The kitchen bot does its best to create things which are tasty and nutritious, but I’m still left staring at my food wondering why I don’t want to eat it.

“Not hungry?” Rych asks in his deep baritone after we sit in silence with just the sound of his munching for a while.

“I…I’m never that hungry in the morning,” I lie.

“You should eat,” he says, cocking his head on one side, with what appears to be a turkey drumstick slick with grease poised in one hand. “There’s nothing to you.”

“Rude,” I blurt out.

Rych’s wings flare involuntarily, and he knocks off several kitchen items behind him which clatter to the floor. The bot zips towards the mess, and he bats it away.

“Vrex off!” he growls. “Vrexing bots,” he adds as he picks up what he knocked off and puts it back. “I did not mean to be rude, little spark.”

“Commenting on a female’s weight is rude,” I point out, taking a mouthful of food, which is absolutely delicious. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you?”

“No,” Rych concedes. “I didn’t have a mother to tell me anything.” A sly smile appears on his face. “What about telling a female her body would look great pressed against your own?”

My cheeks flush instantly, and I fork another mouthful in to cover my reaction.

“Notasrude, but a bit creepy,” I respond.

“Hmmm,” Rych rumbles and strokes his chin, his dark stubble rasping under his claws. “I’ve never been called creepy by a female before.”

“First time for everything,” I retort, taking another mouthful. “I’ve seen you in action.”

“Have you?”

I can feel the flush on my chest as I realize he knew I was watching him earlier.

“On vids,” I say hastily.

He sits up. “In the dome.”

“I don’t get time to watch a lot of vids, but I’ve seen the trailers.”

Rych smiles, the points of his fangs appearing over his bottom lip. “What did you think?”

“About the violence and death? Not much.”

Some of the smugness leaches out of him. I don’t think he’s used to being told the truth. Rych shrugs.

“It wasn’t the only thing I did. I do this too,” he says.

“This?” I’m enjoying playing with him.

“Security.”

“Security? Is that what you call it?”

“You feel safer with me around, don’t you, little spark?” His grin has returned, and he leans back in his chair, tucking one arm behind his neck, the feathers on the shoulders of his wings lifting and dropping back into place in a ripple.

And the way he smiles at me makes me realize I am absolutelynotsafe around this dangerous predator because my heart is beating out of my chest under his gaze.

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