Heart lodged up in her throat, she scanned the crowd as the robot continued speaking, and she spotted Graves with his dark head bent over and a shoulder propped against a wall. He held a small pad in his hand and busily typed instructions with deft fingers. He looked…there were no words.
In a dark designer suit and an orange Hermès horse-patterned tie, Graves Buchanan was the sexiest, most quietly vibrant thing Chloe had ever seen in her life. His ebony hair shone under the lights, his skin beautiful and tan contrasting with the starchy collar of his crisp white shirt. He was princely and elegant in his business suit; tall, handsome, with his beautifully proportioned body making her mouth water and his symmetrical features and striking face making her want to melt to the floor.
She kept waiting for him to make eye contact with her, but he didn’t.
He kept handling the robot, loving every minute of it—she could tell by the occasional twitch of his lips, and it made her own lips curve upward, too. All the kids went crazy when the robot started impersonating voices of famous people, making special moves that matched what he said.
Not a single one of these children noticed the dark, reserved man who handled him.
But Chloe had eyes for nothing else.
She noticed Graves’s lips would curl into a smile a good few seconds before the robot said something funny and the kids laughed. His fingers were long and tanned and the tips of her breasts had never, in her life, felt so excruciatingly sensitive against her bra than when she saw those hands move, every inch of her body dying to be stroked by those beautiful long fingertips.
Then Tot spoke to the kids, saying in a crisp robotic voice, “Thank you for spending time with me today! Before I leave, I will leave you with something to think about. You see, I was born in 1993 as an idea in the mind of an orphaned kid like you…”
Kids glanced at each other in wonderment, and even Lisa and Marie exchanged a meaningful look.
“It actually took over a year to gather all my parts, and to build me out of all the things people didn’t want anymore. Old radios, old telephones, old TVs. I was so ugly in the beginning and there wasn’t much hope for me. But here I stand with you today. One of the first of millions of robots spread all across the world. We’re your protectors, your loyal workers, and your friends.”
A wave of soft, innocent “wows” spread across the robot’s captivated audience, and Chloe was touched by the awed manner in which the kids gazed up at Tot, like he was the greatest invention since lighting.
“Quitting was never an option for us. And if it had been, then I would still be all metal parts with nothing to hold me together. I’m so glad I wasn’t given up on. And I sure hope you never give up on your dreams, either. So those ideas in your head? Your hopes? Your ambitions? Keep them alive in your heads at all times—all times. No matter how tough it gets, it can only get better. So, believe you can do it, find your own ‘Tot’ and make good things happen!”
The orphans cheered in utter captivated delight at those last words, and Chloe’s windpipe clamped shut with repressed emotion. She hadn’t really paused to think about this aspect of Graves’s personality. How he had grown to feel more comfortable with equipment—predictable, controllable, and reliable—than with the chaos he had grown up with.
Orphaned, from foster home to foster home, he’d been a runaway. He’d never had a real “education,” but he was so smart and so hell-bent to pull himself upward. He could’ve become a hacker. A thief. An alcoholic or a drug addict like the ones Danny said he used to “bunk” with at fifteen.
Instead, Graves had forged himself into a man of honor and character, keeping his eye on the ball and not on his empty basket. He didn’t drink so much as a drop of alcohol, having been surrounded by crazed alcoholics. He despised anything that even hinted at a remote lack of brain sharpness, much less a loss of control. He was organized, methodical, careful, and patient. Admirable, because despite his enormous power, he didn’t fuck up the people or institutions who had failed to provide him with safety as a kid. He was a man who looked to the future instead of the past. He was tough, street smart, and a fighter to the end. He was hard but fair, and always harder with himself than with anyone else. And just look at him now. He was so…perfect to her. Even if he didn’t like kissing, touching…
Chloe could not think of a man she admired more and wanted more.
In fact, she couldn’t see why she hadn’t thought of inviting him to the orphanage before. But he was such a reserved man—he didn’t enjoy attention like Luke did—that Chloe hadn’t wanted to put him on the spot. Silly, now that she thought about it. He’d turned out to be so motivating in such a real way, she was utterly dazzled. No makeup, no gloss, no Luke Preston bullcrap. Graves was real and raw.
The sudden thought of him as a little boy with the sad, lonely eyes in an orphanage crushed her.
While her insides burst with emotion, Tot began dancing to “Thriller” to wrap it up and the kids screamed in delight. Chloe laughed in surprise. She started edging in Graves’s direction as the kids jumped to their feet and formed a circle around the dancing robot whose moves could put MJ to shame.
Graves approached the circle to watch the robot’s feet, but Chloe continued advancing toward him, her eyes on his beautiful profile as she fervently wished those golden eyes would turn and acknowledge she was here.
She noticed he’d slipped the keypad into the pocket of his jacket, as though the dance routine had already been wired and programmed into the robot.
Her heartbeat accelerated. Then, she was there. Right beside him. Her elbow grazed his jacket sleeve, but with the music and the shouts all around her, she couldn’t really talk to him. She clutched the rose in her hand while at the same time moved her free hand the tiniest fraction in search of his. His knuckles brushed tantalizingly against the back of hers, and she held her breath.
Though he stood watching the robot at her side, Graves surprised her when he hooked his index finger around hers. Desire flooded her. The move was so unexpected it made her tremble with longing inside. He squeezed her finger meaningfully with his and then he gently tugged her aside. Chloe helplessly let him guide her weakened legs to follow him to the fringes of the circle, where the music wasn’t so loud.
He stopped at the very edge and positioned himself behind her, his hand sliding down her arm and resting at her hip. Her heart hammered and her skin tingled and her entire system went on hyperalert. And for a moment she just wanted to stand here and enjoy this. Being with him. His scent. The heat of his hand.