IntimateEnemy by Jocelyn Modo Page A

wealthy owned such advanced personal companion equipment as a baby bot.
This one was as cute as a doll, its metallic skin shimmering pink in the
brightly lit hall. She approached the male on short, wobbly legs, tiny arms
outstretched—a robotic toddler with hair the same color and cut as the male and
big, baby doll eyes the color of a clear day planetside.
    “Found you, Pemmi,” the baby bot squealed, her metallic
teeth flashing silver as her smile plumped her little girl cheeks. “I told you
I could find you anywhere. Even with all these people running around.”
    She did a little hop where she stood in front of the male.
He reached down and picked her up, his stance, his whole state of being
changing to a protective joyfulness that was so opposite his mood from seconds
ago that it took Azure several moments to catch up with his change.
    Gathering the bot against his chest as if she were his real
child instead of a piece of state-of-the-art equipment, he smiled into her
shiny face and looked even more striking than he had before.
    “I knew you could find me, Sar. You are brilliant!”
    She giggled, a mechanical birdlike sound that eased the
tension and fear in Azure’s body and mind.
    Innocence overcomes all ,she thought, relaxing
as the “father” and “child” congratulated each other on a job well done.
    “Let’s do it again!” Sar exclaimed, squirming until the male
put her down.
    With an indulgent smile, he said in a rich voice, “Last
time. We have peace talks in less than an hour.”
    “Okay, Pemmi!” The robotic child raced off, weaving in and
out of the crowd on stubby baby legs that were made of metal strong enough to
punch through a wall or a sentient being’s head.
    A soft sigh escaped Azure’s lips. The male turned, cocked
his head, and gave her a smug half-smile that seemed to say, I know something
you don’t know.
    She squirmed under his intense, neon-green gaze, her mind
racing with questions, but before she could find the nerve to voice them, the
male nodded to her with a sudden air of solemnity and walked away in the
opposite direction from where his baby bot had gone.
    The hormones firing through her urged her to go after him,
but because he was not her intimate she was able to ignore her body.
    Priorities.
    After three unsuccessful attempts at contacting Trius
Daylor, she had risked everything to travel to the Equate Space Station to find
the legendary union leader who had the ability to conceal her and Corra from
those who pursued them across the galaxy, not drool on some depressed male
model who spent ridiculous amounts of credit on experimental bots to play games
with while at peace talks.
    Never mind the horrifying promise of a marriage forced upon
Azure. Corra was already trapped in a bad marriage back on their home planet,
World One, and Trius was their best chance for a better life. Too bad neither
she nor her cousin had more than a passing idea what the male Trius Daylor
looked like—other than strong, virile lethal. She was here because of a rumor
that Trius used to come to all the peace talks. But that had been with his
intimate, and since his female had been killed in the war, maybe Trius had
given up on peace. The leader might be nowhere near the Equate Space Station.
    With a growl of frustration, she stood and wove her way
through the throng of people until she reached the open balcony. She looked
down to the busy courtyard several levels below, where clusters of Vitca and
Nashete talked separately of peace.
    A solid, strongly built male caught her eye. He couldn’t be
much older than Azure, but the throng of servants following on his heels told
her that she was looking at a powerful person, one who just might be Trius
Daylor. And he was working his way through the crowd toward the lifter.
    A thrill of excitement tightened her chest as she raced for
the lifter that was coming up, carrying the male with it. She made it inside
just as the doors began to close on her floor.