“Pippy, tell me where my wife is,” I murmur as I get in my car, irritated it’s so late already. My schedule was already overwhelming before I decided to start teaching too, but I didn’t mind it before now. Work gave me purpose and structure, and I never even noticed just how long my workdays are.
Not until I married Raya.
“Your wife is currently at home, Lex. She was on campus most of the day, then she went to her father’s company, after which she came home. Mrs. Windsor asked the household robots for some tomato soup at around seven in the evening and appears to have been studying throughout and after dinner. She took a short break to shower at around nine and then returned to studying. Mrs. Windsor seems to have figured out that the household robots can solve equations for her, and she’s utilized them to help her with her coursework.”
I chuckle, equal parts surprised and amused. “Thanks, Pippy.”
“My pleasure, Lex,” she says as I park in my driveway. My car locks itself, while my front door unlocks and swings open automatically.
I walk in to Raya standing in front of one of my robots, a long cream silk nightgown clinging to her body. “Okay, but do you feel like the emojis in your database are sufficient for you to adequately express your emotions?” she asks.
“Mrs. Windsor,” it replies, its face portraying an exasperated emoji. “We have been over this. I do not have emotions. I merely emulate human behavior to improve the user experience of those I interact with.”
“You say that, but you sound a little annoyed, Lola.”
Lola? Who the fuck is Lola?
“Again, I have been programmed to emulate human behavior, Mrs. Windsor. I was taught that repeatedly being questioned is meant to elicit an annoyed response. You’re not fooling me, Mrs. Windsor. I know that you’re just asking me the same question in different formats, using different words.”
I chuckle. I can’t help myself. Raya whirls around and flushes at the sight of me. “Oh,” she says, her tone high-pitched. “You’re home. I didn’t think I’d get to see you today.”
“Darling, are you arguing with the robots?” I murmur as I walk up to her, pleased I managed to catch her before she fell asleep today. Five days of marriage, and she’s turned me into an addict. Each day that I barely get to see her is torture, and she’s got me rethinking my whole schedule and workload. More than once, I’ve flown into Astor College just to catch a glimpse of her between meetings, and fuck, it just isn’t enough.
Lola’s face turns into a neutral one as it zips away, but Raya’s face reddens beautifully. “I was doing no such thing,” she says, her eyes wide. Fucking adorable. “I just don’t understand why she won’t call me Raya! She’s meant to be a smart robot, Lex, but she won’t listen to reason.”
I bite back a smirk. “Strange. I’ll look into that,” I tell her, pretending like I didn’t program all my tech to refer to her as Mrs. Windsor, simply because I fucking love the sound of it. There’s no way I’m admitting that. I’m not even entirely sure why I did it at all. It’s something I did on a whim, something I don’t want to think about too hard, for fear of what I’d find.
The last couple of days have been odd, as we’re both getting used to being around each other. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about having someone in my home, in my bed, but things have been better than expected, though perhaps that’s because we haven’t had much of a chance to spend time together. I’m not sure if our busy schedules are working in our favor or not. It’s like the people we are during the day and at night are entirely different.
Late at night, I’ll join her in bed, and she rolls toward me. I’ll kiss her, and she’ll whisper in my ear, issuing a dare I can’t resist, and I always end up losing myself in her. By morning, she’s barely able to look me in the eye, both of us hiding behind our busy days.
My hand wraps around her waist, and I pull her closer. “How did you even manage to piss off a robot? How long were you questioning it?”
She stares up at me innocently. “I wasn’t doing anything weird, I promise! I was studying for my Cognitive Engineering final, and I realized I had a perfect example of an intelligent system right next to me. I just wanted to test a few things.”
I grin and pull her flush against me, loving the way she’s looking at me. When I told her I’d try, that I wanted to date her, I wasn’t actually sure I could. I didn’t think I’d be able to let a woman in ever again, nor did I think I’d be able to cope with having her in my space, invading my privacy. How does she do it? How is she knocking down all my walls with such ease, so quickly? What is it about Raya Windsor that I find so enchanting?
“Sounds like you were annoying our robots because you were bored, my little fairy. I have the perfect remedy for boredom.”
“Oh yeah?” she says, her gaze darkening. “What’s that?”
“This little game I like to call Truth or Dare.”
She smiles, and my heart begins to race. “Then tell me, Lex. Truth or dare?”
“Dare.”
Her gaze roams over my face. “Kiss me.”
I slide my hand into her hair and tilt her face, my lips hovering over hers as I savor the moment, the way she sighs and rises to her tiptoes, taking what she wants. I smile against her mouth when she kisses me, my hands sliding down her body until I’m holding her hips. Raya moans when I force her pretty little mouth open, my tongue stroking hers leisurely, until her body starts to move against mine. A soft, needy sound escapes from the back of her throat when I lift her into my arms, and her legs hook around my waist as she buries a hand in my hair.
We’re both breathless by the time she pulls away, and I stare up at her, entirely fucking enchanted. “Your turn, darling. Truth or dare?”
She bites down on her lip as I carry her to the sofa. “Truth,” she says as I sit down with her still in my arms, so she ends up straddling me. Raya places one hand on my shoulder and caresses my temple with the other.
“Tell me whether you thought about me today.”
The way she blushes is enough of an answer, and I grin in satisfaction. “Just once or twice,” she murmurs.
“Yeah? What did you think about? The way I made you come last night? Or the way you begged for my cock shortly after?”
Her eyes twinkle, and she shakes her head. “You only get one question, Lex.”
“Fine,” I murmur. “I’ve thought of you countless times today, my little fairy. I’ve never been eager to go home before, Raya. I’ve never had anyone waiting for me, and I didn’t think I’d enjoy it as much as I do.” I didn’t expect to enjoy dating my wife as much as I do.
She averts her gaze, the sweetest smile on her perfect lips. “Your turn,” she whispers.
“Truth.”
She looks at me then, her gaze turning a little more serious. She hesitates, inhaling deeply before she speaks. “Tell me how you feel about going to my parents’ house this weekend.”
I pause. “Nervous,” I admit.
She nods like she gets it, but I know she doesn’t. Raya doesn’t understand how hard it is for me to sleep in a place that doesn’t have security systems I’ve checked and approved, where I know the location of each exit, each window.
She couldn’t possibly understand.
No one does.
