I think it was for the best that Cindy didn't have the chance to answer Ian before Wade suddenly showed up. The situation gives her a lot to deal with, so it's only natural that she doesn't know exactly what she wants or feels yet.
However I don't agree that she sees Ian as a means to an end. She definitely craves attention and wants to feel desired, and Axel offers that, probably more than anyone else could. But I also think the chemistry between her and Ian is very clear. Ian's less successful than Axel, and looks less like someone "nazis made in a lab", but what he could offer that Axel doesn't, is a more genuine interest in Cindy. If you remember the dialogue in the back alley at the end of chapter 7, Cindy asks if she's "so unlikeable that I have to beg for people to go out partying with me". The confirmation that she's likeable and an interesting person is something Ian is way better suited to give than Axel. Axel is clearly written to be a threat to Ian's advantages towards Cindy, but if Ian plays his cards right, there's no way Cindy will choose Axel over him.
But it all depends on our choices, though, right? I can see a version of Cindy choosing Ian over Axel, for sure, just as I can see a version of Cindy choosing Axel over Ian, even if she gets burned like others before her. I'm not sure why stating this would upset some readers on here with
very thin skin; not you personally. I think that there's definite, simmering sexual tension between Cindy and Ian, which is one of the highlights of the game, no question. What I don't see is a lot of chemistry between the two characters, relative to the chemistry between Ian and Lena, or Ian and Holly, for that matter. I see chemistry as being on the same psychological wavelength and having enough in common to get on well, regardless of sexual tension; I associate it with depth of interaction, too. That's all it is. I see Ian as a guy who can get complex about topics of interest, for instance, with the likes of Lena, Holly, and, in theory, even a more mature, experienced and redeemed Jessica. Cindy strikes me as too simple to care about any of that, at least where she finds herself currently in life. I love how she's been written, Cindy. I just don't see long-term romance as realistic between Cindy and Ian. It's just a matter of perspective.