“I wanna get up,” Kami demanded a week later.
“Not until Uncle Jonah says you can,” Addie said firmly. Over the past week of daily visits, J-817 had become Uncle Jonah to both of them. Despite his forbidding appearance, he had been both kind and patient with her fears and Kami’s increasing restlessness. Her daughter had recovered with amazing speed.
“The resilience of youth,” Jonah had said, shaking his head. “I wish there was some way to bottle that as a medicine.”
“Youth and a very talented doctor,” Sam added. “We are forever in your debt.”
Jonah shrugged, clearly uncomfortable with the praise. “I’m just glad that my medical background paid off. This time.”
Addie had wondered about the bitterness in his words but didn’t press him.
“I’m just grateful that you came when I asked,” Sam said. In addition to sending a message to General Biggs, he had contacted the cyborgs at the mining claim to request assistance. At the time, he had assumed that Derrick would be the only one coming after them and he had simply asked one of the men to join him. Thank God Jonah had been on his way when Derrick found them.
Now, as if in response to Addie’s thoughts, Jonah appeared in the doorway.
“How’s my patient today?”
Addie sighed. “She wants to get up.”
“Well, let’s take a look, shall we?” He bent over Kami. “Is my assistant ready?”
She giggled and handed him Rupert. Jonah and the bear gravely inspected the wound, then had a muffled conversation.
“Dr. Rupert says that you can get up and I concur.”
“Really? Yay!” Kami started to throw up her arms, then winced.
“Careful, baby,” Addie said anxiously, giving Jonah a worried glance.
“Listen to your mother, young lady. And Dr. Rupert.”
“Okay.”
Sam appeared in the doorway just as Addie helped Kami swing her legs over the edge of the bed.
“What are you doing? Are you sure she should be getting up?”
“She’s fine, Sam,” Jonah assured him. “It will be good for her to have a change of scenery.”
Since the surgery, Kami had been ensconced on a cot in their room, but she had been getting harder and harder to keep in bed. Sam still looked worried and her heart melted. He had been her rock for the past week, soothing her anxiety and dealing patiently with Kami’s complaints. He had done more for her daughter in one week than Derrick had done in a whole lifetime of being a father.
The thought of her ex made her shudder and Sam dropped a big hand on her shoulder as if he knew what she was thinking. He probably did; he had held her through more than one nightmare. At least she would never have to worry about Derrick again. Blackie’s blow had been fatal. Sam and Jonah had taken care of the remains and she hadn’t bothered to ask how.
Kami stood up cautiously. Her legs trembled and both she and Sam reached for her. She clutched their hands, then smiled.
“I’m standing.”
“Yes, you are. Do you want to try walking, or do you want Sam to carry you?”
“Walk,” Kami said firmly.
She managed to totter into the other room and Addie could see Sam struggling to resist the urge to swoop in and carry her. Fortunately for his self-control, the effort exhausted Kami enough that she let him pick her up and put her in the chair by the window.
“I wish I could see Blackie,” she said wistfully.
“I’ll bring him over to the window,” Sam said immediately and disappeared.
Jonah laughed quietly. “She has him wrapped around her finger, doesn’t she?”
“I think it goes both ways. She adores him.”
“I’ll be back tomorrow to check on her. But if she wants to move around some more, I’d let her. The exercise will be good for her.”
“Are you sure?”
“Don’t worry, Addie. She’s just fine.”
“Thank you, Jonah.”
Kami squealed and they both looked up as Sam and Blackie appeared outside the window. The horse brushed his head against the glass right in front of Kami.
“Absolutely remarkable what he did,” Jonah murmured. “They were designed to protect themselves, of course, but to come to the rescue like that…”
“I think there’s a lot more to the horses than you all have been willing to see.”
“Perhaps you’re right. Or perhaps it’s the civilizing influence of a woman. Your sex has the most amazing ability to change things.”
“For the better, I hope.”
“Definitely.” He smiled and he didn’t look the least bit forbidding. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”
They let Kami stay up for the rest of the afternoon and she collapsed into bed after supper, obviously exhausted but smiling more than she had in days. Sam tucked her in, then led Addie into the lab room. There on the floor were the two bunk mattresses.
Her pulse sped up and she felt the expectant ache low in her belly. They had been so preoccupied with Kami for the past week that they hadn’t had time for more than a quick kiss in passing and she suddenly realized how much she had missed being with him. She looked up to find him watching her hungrily.
“Why, Sam, did you have something in mind?” she asked, fluttering her lashes at him.
“I have a mind to bury myself in that sweet little cunt,” he said bluntly, and her clit throbbed. “I need you, Addie.”
“I need you too,” she whispered, her playfulness disappearing at the hunger in his eyes.
She moved towards him, her hands eager as she unbuttoned his shirt, trailing kisses down the firm muscles of his chest and across the ridges of his abdomen. His hand cupped her head, his fingers tangling in the short strands of her hair, and she realized that she could let it grow again. She had cut it in defiance of Derrick’s wishes, but now she could please herself—and Sam. Her hands tugged impatiently at his pants and she heard his breath catch as she freed his erection. Her mouth watered as she studied him—long, thick, perfect—and she bent her head to swipe her tongue across the pearl of liquid at the tip.
“Angel,” he groaned, his hand clenching in her hair and sending a spike of excitement straight to her clit.
Still holding his cock, she dropped to her knees in front of him, then licked him again, circling the broad head. His whole body shuddered and she looked up to find him watching her, his face strained. He loomed over her, his massive body all she could see, but she felt no fear, only a mounting excitement. Teasing him with small kisses, and quick touches, she let the tension build until his muscles were like iron bands, until she could feel the slick heat between her own legs.
With one last tantalizing stroke, she pulled away, then got down on her hands and knees in front of him, giving him a provocative look over her shoulder. A giddy pleasure at her own ability to tease, to seduce, warred with the throbbing demand from her aching clit. She needed him.
“Do you want me, Sam?” she purred.
He growled and fell to his knees behind her, testing her readiness with the head of his cock before thrusting into her in one long, demanding stroke, stretching her, filling her, taking her. She buried her face in the mattress to muffle her cries as a fast, hard climax washed over her, her channel convulsing around him. He didn’t pause, his hands firmly gripping her hips, holding her in place as he plunged into her over and over again, their bodies slamming together as she thrust back to meet him, her excitement building again. His pace increased and she felt his cock vibrating, setting every nerve ending on fire with pleasure as he buried himself completely, hot pulses filling her as a second climax roared over her and her vision sheeted white.
Afterwards, they lay curled in each other’s arms. Addie felt completely limp, boneless with contentment.
“Sometimes this all seems like a dream,” she murmured. “I can’t believe we finally found our way back to each other.”
Sam sat up suddenly, pulling her with him.
“What is it? Is something wr
ong?”
“Absolutely nothing.” He took a deep breath. “Addie, will you marry me? I know it’s not really legal, but I love you and I want everyone to know that you are my wife and Kami is my daughter and-”
She finally recovered from her shock and threw herself at him, peppering his face with kisses. “Yes, yes. A thousand times, yes.”
“Really?”
“How could you doubt it? I’ve loved you since the moment I met you and I’m going to go on loving you for the rest of my life.”
He grinned, his face alive with happiness. “Then all we need is a new judge to perform the ceremony.”
“You’ll always be the only judge for me,” she whispered and drew him back down into her arms.
Epilogue
Two months later
“Daddy, Daddy!”
Sam turned his head as Kami came flying out of the newly expanded habitat towards him, dressed in the little black pants and shirt that Jonah’s wife Daisy had made for her. She was still determined to be his little deputy. It had taken her less than a month before she was calling him Daddy and he often wondered if she even remembered her biological father. Except in the dreams that sometimes woke her in the middle of the night, when she would crawl into bed with them and tuck her cold little feet against him. She never said what drove her to seek them out and in the morning she was her usual happy self, but he had his suspicions. He wished he could kill the man all over again.
“What’s up, buttercup?”
“Silly Daddy. I’m not a flower!”
She leaned against him to inspect the frame was assembling for an additional greenhouse. Although they had discussed moving, the habitat had proven to be an ideal home. It had the lab equipment necessary for Addie to continue her work and the advantage of isolation, but at the same time, they could be in New Arcadia for his monthly trials in less than a day. A new ranger had arrived to take over his patrol, although Sam hadn’t met him in person yet. T-539 had been one of the last to arrive from Earth even though he was easily Sam’s age.
“Whatcha doing?” Kami asked.
“Building a greenhouse. So I can grow more flowers like my little buttercup.”
She giggled. “I didn’t come from a greenhouse. I came from Mama’s tummy.”
“Yes, you did.”
Her nose wrinkled thoughtfully. “Do you think she has any more babies in there?”
“I don’t know. Would you like that?”
He and Addie had discussed the possibility of having a baby together, but their family was still so new that neither one of them wanted to add to it just yet.
“Uh-huh.” Her little head nodded emphatically. “I wanna baby sister.”
“You might get a baby brother instead.”
Her face screwed up. “You can’t make it a girl?”
“Afraid not, buttercup. It would be a surprise for all of us.”
“I guess a brother would be okay. But try and get a girl.”
“We’re going to have to wait a little while before we look for either one.”
“My birthday’s in a little while,” she said hopefully.
He laughed. “It doesn’t happen quite that quickly.” Although given his insatiable desire for Addie, he suspected that once they started trying, it wouldn’t take long. “But we’ll see what happens.”
Apparently satisfied with his answer, she turned back to inspect the frame. “Does that piece go on next?”
He followed her finger and realized that she was correct. Her intelligence often surprised him but then again, she was Addie’s daughter. “Yes, it does. Do you want to watch me put it up?”
“Nah. I’m going to go visit Blackie and tell him that I’m getting a baby sister. Or brother.”
“Kami, that’s not what I said.”
“It’s what you meant. You said, ‘we’ll see,’ and everyone knows that means yes.”
She skipped off without waiting for an answer and he shook his head. Perhaps he and Addie needed to revisit the conversation about children. The thought made his cock start to stiffen but he sternly brought it under control. With Kami around, they had to find their moments when they could and it was a long time until her bedtime.
He returned to the frame, listening to Kami whisper to the horse where he was standing at the end of the plateau in his favorite position, looking out over the valley floor. Sam didn’t know if it was due to protectiveness or curiosity, but the horse spent much of his free time standing there, seeming to keep watch over their surroundings.
He heard Kami cry out and he was across the clearing almost before she finished her exclamation.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I hurt my leg,” she sobbed, pointing to a small scrape on one knee.
“Poor little buttercup. Why don’t we go in the house and let Mama put a bandage on it?”
“A purple bandage?” Her tears dried up as if by magic and he laughed as he lifted her into his arms.
“If she has one.”
She smiled up at him, despite the tears still sparkling on the ends of her long dark lashes. Those big purple eyes, so like her mother’s. He gently wiped the tears away and suddenly realized her face was bare.
“Kami! Where’s your breathing mask?”
“Over there.”
She waved a vague hand but he didn’t bother to look, taking off for the habitat at a run.
“Addie!” he yelled as soon as he was inside. “I need you.”
She came racing out of the lab dome. “What is it? Has something happened to Kami?”
“I hurt my knee, Mama,” his daughter said, pouting.
“Her mask. She didn’t have her mask on,” he said frantically.
Addie went pale.
“Can you tell if there’s any damage?”
“Bring her into the lab. Hurry.”
A frantic few minutes later, she looked up at him and sighed with relief. “Everything looks fine. She’s perfectly healthy. She must not have had it off for long.”
They both turned to look down at their daughter who was staring up at them with wide eyes.
“What happened to the mask, baby?” Addie asked gently.
Kami screwed up her face. “I don’t like it. It itches.”
“But you need it to breathe. You can’t take it off. And unless you promise me you won’t do it again, you won’t be able to go outside and play by yourself.”
Kami’s lip trembled. “But I don’t need it, Mama.”
“Yes, you do, young lady.”
“I don’t either. I ‘sperimented. Just like you do.”
“What?”
“I ‘sperimented. I took it off for a little while and I felt fine. So I tried it again. I don’t need it.”
He suspected his face mirrored the look of horror on Addie’s face.
“How long, Kami? How long did you take it off for?”
“When I went to play with Blackie.” She beamed up at them. “He likes it when I take it off.”
“She was over there for a good fifteen minutes, maybe even longer,” he said slowly. “How can she be fine?”
“I don’t know.” Addie collapsed down on the lab table next to Kami. “An adult couldn’t last more than ten.”
“Can I go play now?” Kami demanded.
“Yes, but inside the habitat. Don’t you dare go outside,” Addie said sternly.
“Okay. I want to go tell Rupert about my baby sister.”
“What?” Addie turned to stare at him as Kami danced off, no longer concerned about her knee.
“She misunderstood what I said.”
“Really? We’re going to have to talk about exactly what you said. Later.” Her brow furrowed. “I don’t understand. Has the atmosphere changed without us noticing?”
“I don’t see how.” Nonetheless, he went to check the monitor that tracked outside conditions. “There’s been a marginal increase but only along the expected parameters. You couldn’t survive without a mask for ver
y long.”
“But our daughter can.”
She was still sitting on the lab table looking worried, so he picked her up and carried her to the long bench in front of the window, sitting down with her in his arms.
“Could children somehow be able to adapt?” he asked. “To learn to do naturally what the government did to us artificially?”
“What the government did to you,” she repeated. “By putting nanites in your bloodstream.”
His mind raced to the obvious conclusion.
“You think the transfusion is responsible?”
“What else could it be?”
“But your experiments with my blood don’t work that way.”
“But they were never with another living being. One who you were trying to save.”
They stared at each other.
“There’s one way to know for sure,” Addie said slowly. “I could take a blood sample from her.”
“She hates getting stuck.”
“I know and… I’m not sure I want to do it, Sam. If what we suspect is true, I would need to follow up. And I’m not prepared to start experimenting on people.” She took a deep breath. “I’m making progress with the latest tests. It’s slow but it’s working. I think I should continue with those.”
“But what about you? I want you to be safe out there as well.”
“As if you’d ever let me come to any harm.” She smiled up at him, the smile she reserved just for him. “Let it go, Sam. My work will get us there eventually.”
“But—”
“Let it go.” She put a finger across his mouth and leaned into him, her soft breasts pushing against his chest. “Now what was that about a baby sister…”
Much later that night, Addie stood in her daughter’s room watching her sleep. Her beautiful, perfect daughter. Now a little more perfect. They were going to have to be very careful to protect her secret. She shuddered to think what would happen if GenCon found out.
A pair of warm arms slipped around her waist.
“What are you doing?” Sam’s warm breath in her ear sent a shiver of pleasure down her spine.
“Just looking,” she whispered. “Sometimes it’s still hard to believe I have her back.”
A Fistful 0f Cyborg (Cyborgs On Mars Book 2) Page 16