Page 84 of On a Rogue Planet
His eyes glowed a faint green. “Some sort of computer screen. It looks integrated into his arm.”
Hmm, so Forge was a little cyborg as well.
Suddenly, the scrap robot statues around the room whirred to life. They all took a synchronized step forward and turned to face their master.
She gasped. Not statues, syndroids.Incredible. Well, they were a little too crude to be called syndroids. She was sticking with the old-fashioned word robot.
Forge smiled and gave a small bow. “Welcome to the greatest party on the galaxy’s edge.”
The crowd cheered. The robots moved again, mimicking his bow. More wild cheering.
“For now, eat, drink, dance, and stay tuned for my great reveal. Thepièce de résistanceof my techno collection.” With an athletic move, he leaped off the metal creature, somersaulted, and landed on the floor.
“Well, he’s got style.” Mal would choose a Rabin freightership for Forge. They were all kinds of quirky, and renowned for doing things a pilot never expected.
Xander’s brows pulled together. “He’s all show.”
She bumped her shoulder against his. “Don’t worry. Some girls prefer contained and quiet. Still waters, and all that.”
His lips quirked.
“I saw that. That was another smile.”
“I don’t smile.”
She gripped his head, yanked him down, and pressed her lips to his. “Liar.”
“I don’t?—”
She waved him off. “I know, I know. Look, we should split up. Do a round, see if we can spot anything to do with the Antikythera.”
He nodded. “But don’t go too far. I want you in visual range.”
“You’ll scan me anyway. If my heart rate so much as trips, you can ride to my rescue.” Again, she stole another quick kiss. “I like having my own private cyborg.”
His hand clenched on her waist, then he released her with great reluctance. “See you soon.”
She watched him stride away. He looked the part of a ball guest, but you’d never mistake him for anything other than focused and lethal.
And boy, she was going to have fun removing that tuxedo later.
Of course, he’d be celebrating having the mechanism back. Her smile melted away. That meant once they were back in charted space, he’d be gone from her life.
Ignoring the uncomfortable pain in her belly, she wandered through the crowd. She spied plenty more robots made from space junk. She had to admit, Forge had a talent for recycling. His creativity was admirable.
She’d leaned in close to study one of the robots, when a firm hand gripped her bare shoulder. She spun.
And everything inside her turned to ice.
She pasted on a fake smile. “Aston.”
“Malin, you look incredible.” With a galaxy-wide smile, Aston Granger stood there, eying her and twirling a tall glass of some neon-pink drink.
Her smile turned even more brittle. “Oh, well, it took me an entire day to scrub the grease off my hands, but a girl does what she can.”
She saw his practiced smile slip before he shored it up.
“I’ve never seen you look this radiant.”
