Adonis was confused.
He went perfectly still. His massive hands, which had been gently anchoring her to his lap, tightened slightly on her waist.
His internal processor hummed, analyzing the audio input and cross-referencing it with her current emotional matrix.
"I do not like it when you say that," Adonis rumbled, his voice a low grating sound that vibrated directly against her chest. "You say 'sorry' as if you have committed an error. You have done nothing wrong, Kitty. You were a child placed in an unavoidable crossfire."
Nikki shook her head violently against his uniform, her fingers digging into the dark fabric.
"I did do something wrong," Nikki choked out, her voice ragged and thick with tears. "I spent years hating you. I spent every single day in the slums of Sector 4 cursing the AI, cursing the drones. I blamed you for taking my parents away."
She pulled back just enough to look at his face. Her dark eyes were red and swimming with a fresh wave of tears.
