Blood and Metal

by Nina Croft

  Shit. Ultra strong, cool wings, and they wouldn’t make her puke if she bit them. He gritted his teeth; he was starting to feel inadequate.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Nothing. I’m glad you’ve already got some candidates. I’m surprised you haven’t given any of them a try before now.”

  She shrugged. “I didn’t really feel in the mood. Just hungry.”

  Until he’d come along. Then she’d gotten in the mood pretty damn fast. That had to mean something. Just nothing that should mean anything to him. He had things to do.

  He swung his legs around and stood up, felt her eyes on him, and stretched. His dick was already semi hard, ready for another go, and it jerked under her stare. He crossed the room, picked up his pants and pulled them on. She might be able to subdue her hunger through sex; he needed food and lots of it. And coffee.

  He got a bowl of porridge from the dispenser and wolfed it down while standing. After refilling the bowl, he took it back to the bed.

  “You eat a lot,” she said.

  He was lean, bordering on skinny. It took a lot to keep him going these days. “My metabolism is a little weird from the change.”

  “How changed are you?”

  “This”—he waved his artificial arm in the air—“and a few other things.”

  She regarded him, her brows drawn together. “What other things? What did they do to you at Cybercom? You’re super strong, your brain’s like a computer, you—”

  “—are an amazing lover with exhausting stamina.”

  She blew him a kiss. “Of course you are. That doesn’t all come from your arm. So what else is different?”

  Secrecy was ingrained in him. Truth was, he hadn’t confided in anybody since he was eight years old and his mother had died. He’d also signed a confidentiality agreement when he’d been admitted to the secret program at Cybercom. He’d gone in there ostensibly to get an artificial arm. He hadn’t bothered to tell them that he’d actually had a medic friend amputate the limb so he’d have an excuse to get into the company. Because it hadn’t been artificial limbs he’d been interested in—well, not until he needed one, anyway—but the extras that Cybercom had been rumored to be working on. Cybernetics at the genetic level, a new form of micro engineering that changed DNA into a self-regulating, self-repairing new form. A form that would improve the human body, make it virtually indestructible and self-renewing.

  Daisy was looking at him expectantly, and he realized that nearly all the people with any interest in that confidentiality agreement were dead. All the chief executives of the company had been executed soon after they were taken. It was amazing that Stefan hadn’t been killed along with them, and Fergal had no clue why. He was only grateful. With Stefan alive, there was still a chance.

  “Cybercom was developing a microchip that could be inserted into the bloodstream to combine with the DNA. It became self-replicating.”

  “But what does it do?”

  “Hopefully, it makes you immortal.” No point in telling her the downside—that it might also turn him into a mindless drone.

  Back when he’d joined the program, the Meridian treatment had still been available—at a price—but over the years, Fergal had come to realize he was never going to earn enough to get immortality that way. Besides, he’d heard a rumor that Meridian was running out. He heard a lot of rumors in his profession. So Cybercom had seemed like the only answer. His plan had always been that one day he would stand in front of his fucking father, laugh in the bastard’s face, and tell him the devil was never going to get his hands on Fergal. A shiver ran through him, and he automatically rubbed at the old burn scar on his arm. He no longer believed in the devil or God, but that fear had been instilled in him at such a young age, he doubted he would ever be totally free of it.

  “Wow.”

  “I don’t know about ‘wow.’ Immortality seems to be pretty common around you.”

  She pursed her lips. “I never wanted it, you know. Immortality, I mean. I could have gone with Callum and Tannis, gotten the treatment but—”

  “I thought Meridian was gone, finished?”

  “It’s a—”

  “Long story?” he interrupted. Soon she was going to settle in and tell him some of those long stories. “Why didn’t you want immortality?”

  She traced a pattern on the mattress with her finger while she considered her answer. “I’m not sure. I wasn’t in a good place. Maybe I thought everyone dies. My friends, my parents… Maybe I didn’t want to be alone forever. I don’t know. Given more time, I might have changed my mind. I was still young—hard to think seriously about dying when you’re only twenty-four.”

  He frowned. She did look young—it was one of the things he’d noticed when he first recognized her—but he’d put it down to some sort of vampire shit. But how could she be only twenty-four? That would have made her three years old when they first made love, and he would have noticed that.

  “No way are you only twenty-four. You know, I think it’s time for one of those long stories.”

  She studied him, head cocked on one side. “Why not? I’ll try and make it a quick long story, but you might as well get comfortable.”

  He placed his dish on the floor and patted the bed beside him.

  Daisy sank down, wriggled, and settled back with a sigh. “So, you know the black hole at Trakis One?” He nodded, and she continued, “Well, six months ago, we went through there and into a whole different universe. There were these aliens, and Thorne’s people, including Saffira. Anyway, it turns out she can do this time travel thing. She took us back to Earth before it was destroyed and saved everybody, and afterward, she brought us back here through a wormhole. But she’s still learning how, so we lost a few years. And that’s it—here we are, two decades later but only six months older.” She grinned. “Hey, not such a long story after all.”

  Fergal sat with his mouth open. He had a thousand questions but couldn’t decide which to ask first, so he snapped it shut. Okay, just one question. “Why did you go through the black hole at Trakis One?”

  “Tannis was dying of the Meridian poisoning—you know the only cure is to take the treatment?”

  He nodded.

  “Well, there was none left here, but we found out that there might be more on the other side of the hole.”

  “Okay. Makes perfect sense. Not.” His head was spinning. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked. “I need more food.”

  He got another bowl of food and ate it while he was standing, studying the room. The cable he’d used to tie her up lay coiled on the floor, and blood drained to his groin. He’d had enough talking. He picked the cable up on his way back. The bunk was attached to the wall with sturdy metal posts. He tested one as he got back.

  “If you don’t want that T-shirt ripped, I suggest you take it off.”

  She looked from the cable in his hand to the bunk, then gripped the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head, baring her breasts. Her nipples were already tight.

  She glanced at him and raised one arched brow as if to say, what next?

  “On your back,” he said.

  “Are you sure?”

  He nodded. If he tied her tight enough, she wouldn’t get at him. “I want to watch your face this time.” He grinned. “And your breasts. You have amazing breasts.”

  Without waiting for an answer, Daisy lay on her back and stretched her arms above her head, and he got to work. After looping the cable around both her wrists, he wound it through the bars that held the bunk to the wall. “That is seriously hot. Did I mention the amazing breasts?” They were thrust upward, and he trailed his knuckles over one, then the other, until she squirmed on the thin mattress.

  What next? Threading the end of the cable underneath the bunk, he wrapped it around one slender ankle before fastening it to the corner support.

  Daisy raised her head from the pillow and peered at him through narrowed eyes. “What are you doing? I’m hardly likely to bite
you with my feet.”

  “Hey, whose fantasy is this?”

  She kicked out as he grabbed the other ankle, but she was giggling, so he presumed she wasn’t totally against the idea. He tied her second foot to the opposite corner and stood back to admire his handiwork. He let out a low whistle. “Holy. Mother. Of. God.”

  She was stretched out before him, legs parted. He forced his gaze upward to her face. She’d stopped giggling, her expression serious. Had that darkness thing woken up inside her? She shifted restlessly, breathing hard, her eyes gleaming with little glints of crimson. Her lower lip was caught between her teeth, and she looked ready to snap, she was wound so tight.

  Perhaps this hadn’t been such a good idea, but as he watched, she shut her eyes and took control of herself.

  He didn’t want her in control. He considered her for a moment then reached out and stroked his fingers from her elbow over the soft skin to her armpit and tickled her.

  Her lids flew open. “Stop that.”

  “Make me.” And he tickled her again. “Death by tickling.”

  A small giggle escaped her, and she struggled against the bonds, the movements making her breasts jiggle. He liked that, a lot, and he repeated the process on the other side until she twisted and turned.

  “You’ll be so sorry for this,” she muttered as he gave her a moment of respite.

  “No, I won’t.”

  He stripped off his clothes and crawled onto the bunk between her thighs, fisting his already rock-hard dick in his hand. Glancing up, he found her gaze fixed on him, eyes wide but clear of the darkness.

  “You ready?” he asked.

  She nodded. “Fergal?”

  “Yeah?”

  “If I forget to tell you, I…” She gave a little shrug.

  “Come on, out with it. I have an agenda here.” He waved his dick in her general direction.

  “I don’t know what’s going to happen when we get back, but whatever it is, I want you to know that I like you, and that I had…fun. And there hasn’t been too much of that lately.”

  He grinned. “I like you, too.”

  Placing a hand on the bunk on either side of her, he lowered his body until his chest brushed the tips of her breasts and slowly pushed inside. “Fan-fucking-tastic.”

  This time he was going to take it slowly.

  Twelve hours later, they made landfall on Trakis Two. Not in the city, as he’d expected, but in some weird-shit fortress a few miles from the capital. A huge place built of black rock that merged into the darkness.

  Trakis Two was known as the planet that never sleeps—despite being a land of constant night. No daylight ever touched the dark side of the planet. It was a cesspit of vice with every perversion known to man available—for a price. It was also rumored that other things flourished in the darkness.

  Things like vampires, maybe?

  Fergal’s curiosity stirred as the top of the black fortress opened, and Daisy lowered the ship gently down. For so long, he hadn’t cared enough to be curious about anything. The change was down to Daisy. Maybe she was restoring a little of his faith in humanity. He’d lost that so young that he hadn’t even known it was missing. Strange that he should learn about humanity from a woman who wasn’t even human.

  Though she was trying. Which was maybe a mistake. There was no turning back. She needed to accept what she was and not try to find a way to control or ignore it.

  Helping her do that was in no way a hardship. He only had to look at a piece of cable to get a hard-on these days.

  He’d tied her to the bunk, bent over the pilot’s chair, stretched out on the floor, on her front, her back…and a few other variations. Even with his increased healing, his dick was sore. But she’d gotten jittery after the first day was over—hungry—and sex seemed to calm her.

  He watched as she strolled down the ramp, her nostrils flaring, no doubt at the scent of all that fresh blood just wandering about the place. All those willing donors with tasty blood and cool wings.

  The place was buzzing. People moving about with purpose in the great cavern, and at least fifteen ships were docked in the space. He recognized The Blood Hunter—by far the biggest, baddest ship there—parked up in the far corner.

  “It’s a goddamn army,” he muttered, coming to a halt beside her at the base of the ramp.

  “Yeah. People have been joining us from all over. Thorne’s people, what’s left of Devlin’s rebels, even some of the Collective—Skylar put out a call.”

  He looked around. “What are you planning?”

  She grinned. “We’re going to attack Trakis Five. We’re going to take out the Church once and for all, destroy them completely. And Temperance Hatcher is going to die.”

  He turned to her abruptly. “Why Hatcher in particular?”

  “He killed my friends.”

  A sick feeling rose up in his throat. More people dead at Hatcher’s hands.

  Did they have the power to destroy the Church? Looking around he suspected that they might. He wouldn’t care if the Church was torn down. And Hatcher…he cut off the thought.

  But Stefan was on Trakis Five, and if Fergal’s intel was correct, he was in the prison at the Church’s headquarters. If they attacked, in all likelihood Stefan would be killed. And if Stefan died, then Fergal’s future did not look bright.

  Shit.

  He needed to get Stefan out of there. Would they even let him go now he’d seen this place? He had to find a way.

  “You could stay and help,” Daisy said. “We need a good techie person.”

  He wanted to. And he couldn’t believe it. When had he ever wanted to work with anyone else? But it would mean he could stay with Daisy for a while. He scrubbed a hand over his face,

  Fucking impossible.

  He had no choice but to go. Well, maybe he did have a choice, but it was one that would end up with him dead. Or worse.

  After he’d found Stefan… He didn’t know. Truth was, he’d never cared, either. Until now.

  He didn’t want to put Daisy on her guard, but at the same time, some part of him needed her to know that whatever he did—he didn’t do it lightly.

  “I can’t stick around for long.” Just long enough to find out what they were planning and whether it would affect his hunt for Stefan. “I have to go.”

  “Why? What’s so important?”

  “I have to find a man. And if I don’t find him very soon, I’m dead. Or worse.”

  Chapter Ten

  The usual cynical twist to his lips was gone. He appeared deadly serious.

  Daisy glanced away, trying to ignore the tightening in her chest as she struggled to keep her expression blank and not reveal her disappointment.

  He was leaving, and she was an idiot.

  But an idiot who didn’t want him to go.

  At least not yet.

  She ransacked her mind for some way to make him stick around. “Maybe we could help you?” she said. “Find this man, I mean. After we’ve finished with the Church, we could help you search for this person.”

  “That will be too late.”

  “Why?” She searched his face, but he gave nothing away.

  “They’re not my secrets to tell, but I’m running out of time.”

  “Oh.”

  “Besides, I’ve never been a team player.”

  “Things can change.” God, she was starting to sound desperate.

  “People can’t change. Not in my experience.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled. “I don’t like relying on others and don’t like them relying on me.”

  The words sounded like a warning. Why was she pushing this? She should let him go before she got even more attached. The truth was, she wanted him to stay because he’d known the old Daisy, and he made her feel a little bit like that girl still existed somewhere deep inside. That she might even come back. But the old Daisy was dead and gone. She was a monster, and she had no right to forget that. “Well, don’t worry—I’m not relying on y
ou.”

  He gave her an odd glance. Maybe his comment hadn’t been aimed specifically at her. But he was leaving. Soon. Time to stand on her own two feet. He’d helped her, shown her that she could get a measure of control. She couldn’t expect anything more from him. And he was right; ultimately everyone was on their own.

  “Let’s go find out what’s happening,” she said with a bright smile. “Then you can go.”

  Some emotion flashed across his face, and he reached out a hand to her. “Daisy—”

  “It doesn’t matter.” She took a step back. “Hey, we had fun, and I never expected true love or any of that crap. I’m a goddamn bloodsucking monster. We don’t do true love or any other kind.” Except Rico had found it with Skylar, though it had taken him nearly two thousand years. “I’m not going to get all clingy or anything.”

  He reached for her again. This time she held herself still, and he slid his hand behind her neck and pulled her to him. As his lips touched hers, something twisted inside her. She wished he hadn’t done that, because she really didn’t want to get clingy, but she could feel her fingers curling into the hard muscles of his shoulders, holding him tight.

  “I hope you two have been practicing safe sex,” Rico said from behind them, and Fergal went still against her. He drew back slightly, and she forced her fingers to unclench from his skin.

  “Well, he’s still alive, so I’m guessing so.” Rico studied her for a moment, a lazy smile curling his lips. “You look good.”

  “I feel good. A little hungry, but nothing I can’t handle.”

  “We’ll sort something out after the meeting.”

  “There’s a meeting?”

  “We’re waiting for Tannis to get here.”

  “The captain isn’t here yet?”

  “No, they had a tail they needed to lose first. But they’re only a few minutes behind you. Which is good, because if I have to put up with Mr. Lovesick Werewolf any longer, I might lose the will to live.” He waved a hand across the cavern, and she caught sight of Jon. He was pacing the sandy black floor, his figure radiating tension. Every few seconds, he’d pause and stare up at the ceiling and a low growl would emerge from his throat.