by Cynthia Sax
“Fuck.” Her pitch grew higher, her beautiful face twisting with frustration.
She needed more, was unable to give herself that extra push. He had to help her, had to propel them both over the steep cliff of satisfaction.
Vengeance caught the tip of the sheath, lifted it. She growled, tried to wrest it from his grip. He smacked it down, hard, slapping it against her clit, battering her feminine folds.
She released a battle cry to rival any warrior’s, her body bowing, his female magnificent in her release, her fulfillment driving his.
He pressed his lips together, swallowing his bellow. Covering his cock head with her ass coverings, he came hard, jets of cum spurting from his very depths.
His balls emptied. His cock softened. But a step in the process was missing, the encounter off, not quite right.
He hadn’t achieved full bliss, the processor-frying kind he’d experienced while inside her. He needed his female for that, her arms around him, her body under his, her scent on his skin.
“Fuck,” she whispered, sounding as dissatisfied as he was.
He had to repair the situation. Their standoff was damaging both of them. He sagged against the wall, his processors spinning.
If he surrendered, she might perceive him as being weak, unworthy. He couldn’t risk that.
There should be no ramifications if she declared defeat. He would never perceive her as anything other than the strong female she was.
Requiring an energy boost, he inserted wires into his wrist sockets, bit into a meat bar, chewed, and winced. They remained horrible tasting. He hadn’t yet gotten used to it, as his female said he would.
But he ate them because they reminded him of her.
He had to ensure she was reminded of him. Constantly. His lips curled upward. That was the key to defeating her and righting the intolerable circumstance they now found themselves in. The reminders would strip her control.
It would also leave no room in her thoughts for other males.
He cleaned her garments, rubbed his scent over them, polished her boots until he saw his countenance in the leather, left them and a handful of nourishment bars on the horizontal support.
“You have to eat more, my female.” He told his sleeping human, concerned about her thinning form. “A warrior maintains her energy levels.”
He’d ask Death’s female to scan her more thoroughly, ensure she wasn’t damaged.
“Mmm…” She hugged his sword’s sheath to her chest.
Covered with her wetness, that item now smelled more like her than him. He pulled the sheath out of her grip. Something rattled inside it.
“No.” She frowned, stirring, her eyelashes fluttering against her cheeks.
“You’ll like this better.” He gave her the armor fabricated for his right forearm. “It has my scent on it.”
She clutched the hard form to her body. Her nostrils flared and she smiled. “Mine.”
“Yes, yours.” He would always be hers. His warrior female had captured him completely. He would never be free.
Judging by her white-knuckled grip, his body armor would share his fate. Satisfied with her acquisition, his female became still once more, her breathing deep, her mouth slightly open.
Did she know he watched over her, protected her?
He brought the sheath to his nose, inhaled her scent. Frag, it was intoxicating.
He turned the sword covering upside down. An object fell out. He caught it in his left palm and his heart squeezed.
It was the predator tooth.
His female had attached a strip of leather to it. No, not a strip, three strips, plaited in a similar fashion to her hair, forming a large loop.
It was too large for her small neck. She’d fabricated that addition to the tooth for him.
Because she cared for him. He gazed at her. She was sleeping. There was no need to hide his emotions. He allowed all of them to show—his adoration, his wonder, his passion.
She was a being unlike any other and she was his.
He donned her gift. The tooth hung between his pecs, close to his heart. He folded his fingers over it.
Cyborgs had been manufactured as weapons. Weapons didn’t wear decorations. They weren’t given gifts.
His female considered him worthy of both. He stood taller.
“Thank you, Astrid.” His voice was husky with emotion. “I will take great care of it.”
As he’d take great care of her. He dressed in his body armor, not replacing the missing piece. They weren’t under attack. That protection wasn’t necessary and he wanted her to know whose armor it was, to have no doubts about who’d given it to her.
It was an inadequate gift, but would have to suffice until he found something better.
He strapped the sheath to his waist, slid his favorite sword into the leather case. His female must have admired the weapon. She had chosen that sheath out of the hundreds in his collection. Wearing it might please her.
He wanted to please her, to impress her. She’d never truly seen him in battle. When he had fought her, he was trying to capture her, not kill her. He’d held back, not wanting to damage his human female.
Battle was where he excelled.
She was a warrior female, admired strength, skill, speed. If she witnessed the full extent of his fighting prowess, desire might overcome her. She might touch him, ending their frustrating standoff.
His female might view him as worthy, say the human love words to him.
“I’ll show you all of me.” He glanced once more at Astrid, filling his processors with her beautiful face. There were mere moments of rest cycle left. She would wake soon.
He turned and strode out of the chamber, determined to set his plan into motion.
Two of his best warriors were stationed outside the doors. They nodded at him as he passed, the males as enamored with his female as the rest of his brethren were.
She was undamaged, safe, remained his. He would communicate with the males later, listen to their updates. There were more urgent tasks to complete.
He found the being he was searching for in the council chamber. Alone.
Power sniffed the air. “You have no control, C Model.”
The reproach in the E Model’s words angered Vengeance. Astrid was his. No one else should feel possessive of her. “I have a surplus of control. I didn’t touch my female.”
“You didn’t touch the female.” Power corrected, his spine as straight as a support beam. “You’re seeking to sever your bond with her. She isn’t yours.”
“She’s mine. My nanocybotics haven’t faded inside her.” Vengeance repeated knowledge his nemesis already knew. Death’s female updated the entire council on their test every planet rotation. “Our bond won’t be severed.”
“Your bond won’t be severed naturally.” Power’s head dipped. “Death’s female is investigating other ways to decrease the nanocybotics inside the female.”
The controlling ass wanted to force the split. Vengeance folded his fingers into tight fists. “You won’t experiment on my female.”
“Why not?” Power lifted an eyebrow. “You’re experimenting on her.”
“She agreed to our test.” He wanted to say his test hadn’t damaged her, but based on his observations, that wasn’t true. His female had lost some of her curves, was as frustrated as he was. Those were signs of emotional damage.
“She might agree to our test also.” The E Model shrugged. “No being wants to be with someone who doesn’t want them.”
He wanted her. More than he had ever wanted anyone or anything. He couldn’t envision a future without her.
Vengeance bit back those words and focused on the reason he wanted to speak with the warrior. “I challenge you to a mock battle.”
Power’s gaze met his. “Council members don’t fight each other in the mock battles. We decided upon that rule solar cycles ago.”
“We unofficially decided upon that rule.” The logic was the council was to alway
s appear unified in front of the other warriors. That prevented the models from fighting. “Now, I’m unofficially changing it.”
Power looked at him. Vengeance met his gaze squarely.
His arguments with Power had grown increasingly heated over the solar cycles, the two of them struggling for control over the council and the Homeland. They would have fought physically eventually. The warrior’s fascination with Astrid had merely hastened that confrontation.
“You want to do this?” Power finally asked.
Vengeance twisted his lips. “You want to do this also.”
His nemesis might be an E Model, but he was still a cyborg. Fighting was the preferred solution to any problem between males.
“We’ll form teams of twenty.” Power, being the warrior challenged, had the right to determine the terms. “The warriors are to be a mixture of Models, and we’ll fight with blades.”
“Agreed.” Vengeance nodded, pleased. Mock death by blade was slow and painful. The E Model would feel his rage.
“Astrid is a warrior.” Power appeared as smug about the impending event as Vengeance felt. “If you lose, you’ll lose more than the mock battle, C Model.”
“I won’t be the losing warrior, E Model.” Vengeance walked away from his rival.
He would win the mock battle and win his female.
Chapter Fourteen
Astrid prowled around the private chambers she shared with her stubborn cyborg. And she did share the space with him. She woke this planet rotation to find her garments cleaned and folded, her boots polished, nourishment bars set on the horizontal support, a piece of his body armor clasped in her hands.
Her frustratingly obstinate male had visited her during the rest cycle. She missed him terrifically yet he hadn’t woken her, hadn’t touched her, hadn’t fucked her. The actions she’d taken to try to invoke his jealousy appeared to have no effect on him.
Perhaps she had misread him. Perhaps he didn’t care for her more than he valued his reputation. She tapped her fingertips against the overly large piece of armor she’d strapped to her wrist. Her heart ached. Her self-confidence was battered.
She couldn’t walk away from her cyborg. Giving up on him wasn’t a weapon in her arsenal. Her love for him, like his nanocybotics, hadn’t faded.
She had to utilize a different strategy, a more aggressive attack.
The viewscreen on the far wall buzzed, flashing light and dark. She sucked in her breath, forcing herself to calm down. It wouldn’t be him. It was never him.
She placed her right palm on the surface. “Yeah?”
“It’s Power.” The E Model’s face appeared on the screen.
She hid her disappointment.
Vengeance didn’t desire her enough to fight for her, to swallow his overinflated pride, to admit his theory about their connection dissipating over time had been wrong, so very wrong.
But that wasn’t Power’s fault. That male did want her, his attention soothing her tarnished sense of self-worth. He treated her with respect, looked at her with admiration, wanted her company.
She, unfortunately, only desired a certain unbending C Model. “Come in.”
The doors opened. Power entered the space, looking around him, his dark eyes glimmering with curiosity.
She had given Vengeance’s enemy access to his private chambers. Her cyborg wouldn’t like that, but her cyborg wasn’t here. She lifted her chin. Fuck him.
“Are you heading to the training chambers?” She asked the E Model, hoping the answer was yes.
“I am.” Power wrinkled his nose. “It smells like breeding in here.”
Her face heated. She’d been masturbating multiple times a planet rotation since her male had taken fucking off the agenda. “It wasn’t me. I haven’t touched anyone since arriving on this damn planet.”
“Vengeance told me he hasn’t touched you either.” Power appeared pleased.
They had talked about her. Likely decided her fate without her input.
“He’s reassuring you now?” She crossed her arms under her breasts, trying to guard herself from the hurt she felt. “Letting you know you still have a chance with me? Because that’s not his decision to make. I won’t be passed from warrior to warrior like a defective dagger.”
“I don’t view you as a defective dagger.” Power’s eyes glowed. “You’re everything a warrior could wish in a female—strong, fearless, intelligent, beautiful.”
“And bonding with me would give you even more power on the council.” She narrowed her eyes, not buying his lines. “Except you can’t bond with me. I’m already bonded to Vengeance.”
“We’re working on ways to break that bond.”
“We’re working on ways to break that bond.” She seized onto that statement. “Who is this we?” If Vengeance was part of that plot, her heart would break.
Not having anything left to live for, she would then kill him, truly kill him. He’d be a dead cyborg.
“I have a team of medics and scientists working on the project.” Power informed her.
Vengeance wasn’t involved. Some, but not all, of her pain eased.
“And I don’t need you to obtain power.” The E Model stuck his nose in the air. “I can rule the Homeland on my own.”
He was as arrogant as her male was. “Then why do you want me?” She had thought she’d known his motivation and had clearly been wrong. “I’m not your female. I can’t give you kids. I’ll never have that special bond with you.”
“I have no female.” Power’s voice softened. “There’s no match for me in the databases. And you’re correct. We won’t manufacture offspring. We will never have the genetic bond. But we could have affection. We could have the human love emotion. We could fight together, talk, touch. I could safeguard your secrets. You could protect mine. Neither of us would ever be alone again.”
The loneliness in the warrior’s voice destroyed all of her plans. She couldn’t use him to make her male jealous, couldn’t hurt Power more than he was already hurting.
Astrid blew out her breath. “You would settle for me.”
“I would care for you.” Power insisted. “I would never look at another female.”
“Even if your female is added to the databases?” She met his gaze. “I fought on planets with humans and humanoids no one else knew existed. The Humanoid Alliance and the Rebels thought the planets were unoccupied. Information about the females on those planets doesn’t appear in any databases.”
He stared at her. “No one logged their details?”
“They weren’t registered in any system. There are many planets with beings like that.” The universe was large and much of it was unexplored. “Would you deprive your female of the bond she could have with you? Would you doom her to death? Because without your nanocybotics, she’d die.”
The warrior’s face darkened. He was as protective of this unknown female as she had once believed Vengeance was of her.
Now, she didn’t know…about his feelings. She was certain of hers.
“I haven’t given up on my male,” she murmured. “You shouldn’t give up on your female.”
Power blinked slowly. “You feel the human love emotion for Vengeance?”
She nodded and summoned a smile. “Tell him I admitted that and you’re dead, E Model.”
“If your male hears about any part of our conversation, I’m dead.” The cyborg grinned, looking happier and more hopeful than she’d ever seen him. “You stopped me from making a huge mistake, Astrid Ragnhild. I will stop your male from doing the same.”
“What do you plan to do?” It irked her that she required another being’s assistance to win her cyborg’s affections. She wasn’t enough.
But sometimes additional forces were necessary to win a war.
“There’s a mock battle this planet rotation.” Power extracted a dagger from a sheath on his body armor and tossed it to her. “You will fight on my team.”
She caught the weapon, examined it. The blade
had been modified for the mock battles. “Will Vengeance be fighting with us?”
“He’s leading the opposing team.” Power met her gaze.
Her smile turned genuine. “Then I’m going to mock kill him.”
Vengeance’s pride was a barrier between them. She would remove it.
And inflict some pain while she did it.
Because she was hurting, and he should too. He’d recover. He was a cyborg.
“You can mock kill your male after I’ve defeated him.” Power’s dark eyes gleamed. “He challenged me to this mock battle. I will fight him first.”
She doubted the E Model could defeat Vengeance. Her C Model had skills. “You can fight my male first, tire him out.” She conceded, slipping the dagger into one of her sheaths. “That will make him easier to mock kill and I—”
The viewscreen on the far wall buzzed yet again. Was that Vengeance? Had her plot to make him jealous finally worked?
She rushed to the device, placed her palm on it. “Yeah?”
“It’s Medic Tifara.” The female’s face appeared on the viewscreen and Astrid once more bit back her disappointment. “I’m here with Death, my male, to scan you.”
“Come in.” She glanced at Power. “I’m in demand this planet rotation.” Some beings wanted to see her. Not the male she desired, however.
“Great warriors are always in demand.” The E Model gazed up at the display of weapons. “Are some of these yours?”
“Yes.”
The doors opened. Medic Tifara hurried inside, followed by her warrior. She stopped short when she saw Power. “Did you touch her?”
Astrid’s face heated. “He didn’t touch me. No one has touched me for planet rotations.” That irked her. “We’re training together.”
“Uh-huh.” Medic Tifara narrowed her gaze at the E Model. “You will have to train together later. I’m completing a full scan this planet rotation. That might take a long time.”
“I don’t require a full scan.” She needed to burn off her sexual frustration and practice for the mock battle. Those were higher priorities for her.