by Naomi Lucas
She slanted her eyes at him. “No. Neither one of us is cut out to be around people. We’d make terrible leaders.”
“Terror, Ely. Reign of terror. And it works. I already have the iron fist, see?” he answered her question, flexing his hand.
“Is the ship...working?”
“Most of the damage you see is superficial. The pirates cracked some of my codes and looted a lot, but I’ve replenished most of the supplies. But enough about that.” They stepped into a large room filled with glass enclosures and thick flora. She wasn’t expecting to see a well-kept jungle smack dab in the middle of Gunner’s ship. The lush and vibrant greenery was out of place among the rubble and metal.
Gunner turned her to face him and grazed his knuckles over where her nipples had begun to peak under her shirt and sports bra. Elodie grasped him as they grew taut under her clothes. “You’re mine,” he whispered.
“Only if you’re also mine.” She leaned into him.
“Machine, man, and animal. All yours.” Her breath left her as he said it. She had needed to hear him say it aloud. “Which do you want first?”
The last time he took her, Gunner had dominated her. She wanted him to do it again.
Gunner didn’t give her a chance to answer as he stripped her shirt off and pressed her to the wall. Her breasts spilled out when he ripped the center of her bra, his mouth kissing and nipping them in the next instant.
Elodie arched into him and struggled out of her pants. His were already miraculously pushed down as he reached down and helped her. His cock sprang out to slide between her crux and through her folds. It was velvet and hot, the push and shove filled with demand.
She sank her nails into his shoulders as his hands spanned her behind, opening her up. Gunner pressed his thick, pierced tip to her opening, testing, and grazing his teeth from her nipples and up her neck. Her pussy clenched around it, deliciously stretched open to take him.
“Man,” she begged. “I want the man.”
With a growl, he speared her in one thick thrust. The back of her head slid up and down the wall as he fucked her against it. She held on, held him, magnetized to keep the connection, rocking her hips with his. Her first climax had her melting into him, and her second was in unison with his.
Gunner dragged the flat of his tongue over her face, licking off her sweat while his frantic thrusting continued for a short time after. When it was over, she was on his lap, on the ground, their arms wrapped protectively around each other.
“There’s just one thing.” He brushed his lips over her head.
“What?” she asked.
“I’m going to need help repairing it.”
“Oh?”
“Don’t let me rub off on you too much,” he teased but his eyes darkened as if he didn’t agree with his words. Her mouth dried up and her throat closed. Gunner was intimidating even when he wasn’t covered in blood and decked out in weapons. Weapons he threatened to penetrate her with. Her core tugged and her belly tightened and he grasped the back of her neck again and held her hard against him.
“I can help repair it,” she whispered, squeezing the words out. “I have steady hands and years of experience.”
His eyes narrowed and his teeth gleamed. “You’ll work for me. Not the EPED.”
Elodie nodded. “I have one condition.”
“Which is?”
“You can’t mark anything with your urine anymore. Even if it isn’t urine, but some super Cyborg serum I’m not aware of. It’s disgusting.”
Gunner’s lips slowly, devilishly curled up into a smile. “Deal. And...”
“And?” she asked.
“No more pretending that you’re a boy. Not that it wasn’t fun, but you’ll realize the act won’t fly once you see your new uniform,” he said.
“Ha. I’m not going to wear a uniform. Especially one chosen by you. Otherwise, deal,” she laughed and rubbed her pussy over his thigh. “Easy enough.”
He caught her chin and forced her to face him. “So you’ll stay.”
“I’ll stay.”
He searched her eyes. “I would kill for you. Have killed for you. And would do so again. You understand?”
“I would die for you,” she told him back. “I understand.”
Gunner dropped his hand and she rested her head against his shoulder. His heady warmth enveloped her while his ship descended into quiet, comforting silence. She closed her eyes against the broken metal paneling and the exposed wires—blocked out the vivid green plants. The grey didn’t meet her this time. But the red did. And for the first time since she could remember, Elodie looked forward to the future.
A burning, red-hot, wildfire future.
Epilogue Chapter One
SEVERAL MONTHS LATER.
Gunner helped her onto the medical bed. His hands were warm, constricting, yet soft in the way he handled her. Elodie would’ve been afraid if it weren’t for him. Or for the others that meandered in the background, preparing the drugs that would soon be within her system.
Drugs. Not just any replicator-synthesized, standard commercial drugs, but cybernetic drugs, ones laced with DNA altering capabilities. The kind that existed for some groups, like Cyborgs, but were otherwise unknown to the rest of the universe.
Her hands ran down the length of her thighs, rubbing the thick flannel cloth with her palms, over and over. Gunner caught her hands and kissed her knuckles, then turned them over and kissed her wrists, willing her to look up into his eyes. No words needed to be spoken. The look they shared said it all.
A woman stepped forward, fixated on the supplies she held in her hands. Dr. Rose Cagley, a Cyborg doctor—a female Cyborg in all its oddity—set the items down on the pallet next to Elodie and began to prep them.
“Are you nervous?” Cagley asked.
“No. Should I be?”
Cagley chuckled. “No. Not at all. But I think he is.” The doctor motioned to Gunner.
Elodie laughed back. “I think so too.”
“I’m right here,” Gunner brooded. “How long will this take?”
“Not long,” Cagley answered, unconcerned. The woman seemed to be one of the only people unconcerned with Gunner’s presence. Since the minute they arrived in Ghost City earlier that cycle, it had been a trial. At first, Gunner’s ship was escorted by two others into the giant docking arena, and when they stepped out of the hatch, armor-clad Cyborgs met them.
They didn’t greet them, but rather they loomed like scary sentinels off in the corners and down the walkways, watching with hands poised over their weapons. Elodie had seen them, even the ones that didn’t want to be seen. After a lifetime of hiding from the eyes of others, she always knew when someone was looking at her now.
The only reason they hadn’t been stopped would’ve been for Rose, who had met them outside Gunner’s ship. And a man named Matt, who, according to Gunner, had bought a small fortune of brew from him.
Walking from the ship and through Ghost City was an experience unlike any other. Elodie had expected a city. Or at least a busy star port, but what met her was a steely cavernous ship, not unlike the Peace Keeper battlemass, but much smaller and way more streamlined. The walls glittered in silver and white, galvanized and sleek. It was quiet and menacing in its top-of-the-line interior. The shadows in the corners were still grey though, and many ships docked throughout were personalized to such a level that they seemed out of place with the overall interior. But the quietness was what really got her, and the men.
So many battle-born men. Her eyes couldn’t take it all in, not in the brief period of her passing through, mainly because the men kept demanding her attention. They stared at her as if she was a captive, or a slave, and the realization came to her slowly.
They think I’m not here willingly. Not with him. They watched Gunner with even more scrutiny than they watched her. For the first time, she reached between them and clasped his hand. To her surprise, he accepted the gesture, threading his fingers through hers.
“Good,” Gunner said, shifting her thoughts back to the present.
Cagley cleared her throat. “The procedure doesn’t take long but the recovery can. It’s different for every person.”
“Do I need to remain here during recovery?” Elodie interjected quickly before Gunner could.
“I would recommend it but as long as—”
“We’ll be leaving as soon as she’s clear to go,” Gunner said.
Cagley nodded and smiled. “Probably for the best. The others don’t feel comfortable with you here, given your...” the doctor cleared her throat, “...reputation. But I won’t release her,” she turned to Gunner, “until I know she’ll be okay.”
Elodie wiped her palms on her pants again, feeling them dampen with sweat. She didn’t want to remain here longer than she had to either and it wasn’t because of the Cyborgs, or the animosity they had toward Gunner. Her trepidation wasn’t because she’d only encountered one woman on the whole ship—which would’ve alarmed her months ago—but because she didn’t like how open everything was.
It had been one thing, working on a giant mining rig in the past, because back then, ninety percent of her time was spent stuck in tight and enclosed spaces, but now that she had the ability to wander or go most anywhere, Elodie realized she preferred the confinement; she preferred being able to keep track of everyone around her.
A loner. She didn’t like the prospect of dealing with other people more than she had to. Gunner’s ship was her home now, and it was the only place she wanted to be.
“All right, Elodie, I’m going to need you to take off your shirt. Gunner, I’m going to need you to take a seat in the corner. Alternative, you can sit in the waiting room outside.”
Gunner didn’t move. Cagley appeared unfazed. Elodie shot him a look and pointed to the chair. “Sit in the corner.”
He smirked and moved to the corner. Elodie watched as he leaned back, put his hands behind his head, pushing his legs out, and relaxed—all devilish smiles. I know that look. I’ll be sitting in my own corner later. The idea made her belly tie up in knots and her pussy tighten. His smile grew.
Blushing, and being a tease, she lifted off her shirt slower than was necessary. Cagley snickered as she placed a glass box next to the supplies on the pallet. It was filled with long tubes filled with clear liquid. The box iced over and clouded as it defrosted from wherever it came from.
“Before we start, I’m going to give you an injection of pain-dampening nanobots. If you feel any pain, let me know. This is optional, but those who turn it down usually only ever do so the first time.”
“Okay.”
She prepared a needle and swabbed Elodie’s arm. A moment later a calming euphoria flooded her.
“While that kicks in, just hang tight, I’m going to lock the room and sanitize the space. Elodie, have you ever been in a cybernetics lab before?” Cagley asked as she punched in a series of numbers and an antiseptic smelling gas filled the space. It was gone the next moment and was replaced by a beam of light that traced the floors and walls.
“No. Only the one on his ship.” She looked at Gunner, who was still grinning like a demon.
“Ah. Then, don’t be perturbed by the scrubs. Some people are afraid of the lights. They think they’re radioactive but they’re harmless.”
When it was over, Cagley returned to her side and opened up the box. “These are virgin nanocells, ready to bond and reconfigure to your genome. They’ll significantly slow your aging and will increase your ability to heal. Having them won’t make you a Cyborg but will extend your natural lifespan, prevent nearly all illnesses from incubating, and will heal you of any illnesses you may already have.”
Cagley pointedly looked at Elodie’s hands and arms, which had years of burns and scars from the job. “They won’t be able to revert any physical wounds or scaring that may have already occurred.”
“Will they...change me?” Elodie asked.
“No. They’ll regulate your hormones but otherwise, no, they can’t cure any mental or emotional illnesses. They can only help.”
“How does it work?” Elodie ran a finger across the chilled glass box, her tip coming away wet.
“Besides forcing new cell growth, and without getting into days of explanation, the nanocells will, for the most part, mitigate your dependence on oxygen as fuel. The moment a human is born, oxygen begins to kill you. We need it to live but to live it very slowly gifts us with death. The nanocells will stop the death part.”
Elodie took a deep breath. “And breathing?”
“You’ll still need to breathe,” Cagley laughed. “Maybe not as much but I’ve never seen a person stop breathing after the procedure. That part of you is ingrained to the very fiber of your being. Even Cyborgs breathe, more than is necessary. It’s one of those strange phenomena that just signify...life.”
“That’s comforting.” Elodie took another steady, deep breath, just because she was now so focused on it. “You’ve done this before?”
“Many times. I’m not sure if you’ve met Katalina, but she went through it two months ago, and Norah, who recovered no more than three weeks ago.”
Elodie knew of Norah but not of Katalina. Norah was Stryker’s partner, and Stryker happened to be one of the only Cyborgs Gunner was friendly with. “And it’s always turned out fine?”
“Absolutely. You’re not the first human to fall in love with a Cyborg. This procedure has been around as long as they have. They are still only part machine, regardless of what they try to tell you.”
Gunner humphed.
“Fall in love?” Elodie giggled, feeling light-headed and giddy, glancing back at Gunner who looked like he’d just swallowed something slimy and wriggly. The guns on his cheeks warped and ballooned. “That man over there doesn’t like using such frilly words.”
Cagley looked back and forth at Gunner and her. “No, I suppose not. He can’t let all those other dangerous Cyborgs out there know he isn’t as badass as he appears. What would he do then?” she teased.
I like her.
“I’m sitting right here,” Gunner retorted petulantly.
“And you’re doing a good job of it,” Elodie burst out, laughing. Damn, he’s going to corner time me later. She liked corner time, how could she not? Gunner knew she liked it too, but she would never tell him out loud.
“Are you ready?” Cagley asked, pulling out a tube with her gloved hands.
Her smile wavered. “Yes.”
“This will feel strange.” She opened the tube and poured it into a long thin container.
“How so?”
“It’ll feel like you’re being tickled with a feather, everywhere at once. If you don’t know how that feels, imagine a...bug that is crawling just underneath your skin. Regardless, it will tickle and you’ll want to scratch. Lie back and give me your hands.”
Elodie watched silently as Cagley restrained her wrists to the pallet.
“How long will it last?”
“Until the transformation is done.”
HOURS HAD GONE BY AND she was still squirming like a maggot on the pallet. There wasn’t any pain but the need to scratch and tear at her skin had almost been a madness in itself. Cagley offered to put her to sleep, but Elodie refused. She was thankful for the restraints and the numbing effect that still tightly gripped her body, and although a billion different reactions were happening inside of her, she still retained a fairly clear head. Gunner had told her this would be over fast. She would have to talk to him about his idea of what ‘over fast’ meant.
Gunner sat beside her now that the nanocells had attached to her and didn’t have the ability to attach to him. Even if they did, his body would absorb them or kill them off. At least that’s what Cagley told her after the reaction had been going on for some time.
“How are you feeling?”
Elodie unlocked her jaw and winced. “Frustrated.”
&n
bsp; “Oh?”
“I really, really want to scratch or maybe dive into a pool of water. Maybe take a three-day shower or stand out in the freezing cold until I’m an icicle with no feeling left. Is there a cold planet nearby?”
Gunner chuckled. “You’re over sensitized. I’ll take care of that later.”
Elodie pursed her lips. “Take care of it now!”
“I don’t think so, Ely. Rose may be the only Cyborg on this ship that’ll vouch for me. If she came back in here to find me fucking you while you’re restrained, she’d drag me out before your orgasm ended.”
Her eyes widened. “Would an orgasm help?”
More laughter. “It probably couldn’t hurt. What kind of question is that?”
“The kind that distracts me.” She sighed and wiggled. Gunner loomed over her and crowded her space, pressing a soft, knowing kiss over her pouted lips. That small touch alone, that small relief, was enough to make her moan. He rose up.
“Another,” she demanded.
“Later.”
Elodie sagged with a grumble. Later.
A ping sounded by the door. “Come in,” Elodie yelled.
Cagley entered the space with a tablet in her hand. Gunner shifted slightly to let her near. She was the only being who Gunner willingly let near her. They hadn’t encountered many people as they repaired his ship, but he still felt the need to shield her. The fact that he trusted Cagley, in some small way, had Elodie trusting her too.
The doctor checked over her vitals quietly, unusually tense from their previous encounter. Her soft features now held an edge to them that hadn’t been there before. A minuscule crease between her brows and an even slighter crease to her lip.
“Am I okay?” Elodie asked after a minute.
“Very much so.”
Relief.
“Are we able to leave now?” Gunner stepped forward.
“Not...quite.” Cagley prepared another needle and injected a fresh dose of that numbing serum into her arm. Elodie sighed and settled back.
“What do you mean not quite?” Gunner asked.
“You’re being requested to join Cypher and several of the others above.”