by Cara Bristol
“My son!” Omax cried.
March grabbed the dagger.
“Stop right there or I’ll snap her neck like a twig,” Omax growled, and tightened his hold until she gagged. “Drop the knife!” He squeezed her harder.
March didn’t need a knife to kill Omax—only an opportunity. He tossed aside the blade, kicking it far out of Omax’s reach in case he decided to dive for it.
“Get back!” the councilor ordered as he retreated toward the exit, hauling Jules with him. Her feet dragged as she was deliberating hindering his progress.
“Do you remember what I taught you?” March asked. It was so many years ago. What if she’d forgotten the techniques?
“Stop talking!” Omax shouted.
A muscle twitched in her cheek.
Seconds later, she stomped her heel atop Omax’s foot. He howled, and she went limp, becoming dead weight. Her head dipped below the man’s shoulders. Faster than a blink, March grabbed the blaster concealed beneath his shirt and shot Omax in the head. He fell backward and hit the floor.
Jules flew at him. “You came back!”
“I had to know the truth.” He held her at bay to check for injury. “Are you all right? Your throat?”
“I’m fine. Now. I didn’t mean what I said. None of it.”
March dissolved the space between them and pulled her into a tight embrace. He buried his face against her neck.
“I love you,” Jules said. “Omax threatened to have you killed. I had to send you away.”
March expelled his breath in a whoosh. He’d almost left for good. “I can take care of myself,” he said shakily. What if I hadn’t come back?
“I see that.” She twisted to peer at the bodies.
“Speaking of which, they’re not dead, only unconscious, so we need to act before they come to.”
“I can handle that.” The emperor swept into the bay accompanied by four guards and the seer. “Arrest them.” He jerked his head at the fallen men. Grabbing Omax and Kur by the arms, the guards dragged them away. The emperor turned to Julietta. “Are you all right?”
“I am now.” She tucked herself tighter under March’s arm and hugged his waist as if she never wanted to let him go. He vowed he would never part from her again.
Dusan’s relief was evident, too. For a moment, his aura of command and certainty slipped, revealing a father’s worry and love for his child. Then the shield snapped behind a controlled countenance.
“Omax and Kur killed Naimo,” March said.
“I suspected from the beginning,” the emperor replied.
Julietta gaped. “Why didn’t you do something at the start, then?”
“Because I needed proof for the council—and for Omax’s tribe. Discontent—incited by Omax—has been brewing among his tribe and in his region. I’d hoped that your bonding to Naimo would quiet the stirrings, but after he was killed…they would have revolted without absolute proof.” The emperor shook his head. “When you departed for night side—and Mr. Fellows ended up there, too—I assumed you’d be safe while the investigation proceeded. I had my own side investigation going on in addition to the official one.” He looked at March. “Of course, I checked you out immediately. That’s why I insisted you take a sightseeing tour. My secret security team turned your quarters inside out, so when the poison vial was later reported as having been found, I knew it had been planted.”
He nodded at the wise woman. “The seer served as my eyes and ears around the palace.” The emperor twisted his mouth ruefully. “When you two arrived from night side together, it played right into Omax’s hands, and I had to act as if I believed the manufactured evidence.” He lifted his shoulders. “I assumed if Mr. Fellows was in custody, he would be safe until Omax and Kur could be brought to justice.
“But then the councilor stepped things up, so I arranged for the seer to release Mr. Fellows to ensure his safety.”
“All shall be as was meant to be.” The seer laced her gnarled fingers. “And it is so.”
“About that…” Julietta slipped out of March’s arms. “I get the impression you approve of my relationship with March, yet you chose Naimo as my consort.”
“I do not approve of Mr. Fellows,” the woman said.
March blinked. Okay…
“But…you freed him—you came to my quarters…” Julietta stammered.
“If it were up to me, I would wish you had bonded with a Xenian. Naimo would have made a fine and honorable consort. But I follow the will of the ancient ones. On the day of your birth, I experienced two visions. In one, you ruled with Naimo at your side and change occurred slowly. In the other, change occurred swiftly, but the vision of your mate was shrouded. I could not see who he was. Now I understand why.”
Julietta glanced between her father, the seer, and March. “Why were there two visions? What does that mean?”
“It means the ancient ones gave you a choice. This has never happened in my two hundred years.” The woman turned. “Now, if I have answered your questions, please excuse me. It has been a long day, and I grow weary.”
“Of course.” Julietta nodded.
“Thank you,” March said.
The woman shuffled away.
Julietta looked at her father. A silent communication seemed to pass between the two of them. “We need to talk, but first I must speak with March.”
The emperor nodded. “I will…hold off on any announcements until I hear from you.” He embraced his daughter in an awkward hug. Xenians were not used to showing affection. “I am glad you are safe.” He released her and left.
“Why don’t we go to my quarters?” Her tone and manner sounded ominous, but he reminded himself she’d declared her love. He hoped it was enough, because human and cybersenses were telling him she had something big to confess.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Julietta’s heart had lodged somewhere in her throat. It beat rapidly, hopefully, but fear remained. March had returned for her. As long as she lived, she’d never forget the sight of her cyborg flying across the bay to her rescue. He’d been through so much at the hands of her people—falsely accused, imprisoned, physically attacked, and threatened with execution. He loved her, but did he love her enough to stay when he heard her proposal? She rubbed her throat, a little sore from having been choked, and moved into the parlor.
“Hey,” he said in a soft voice, grabbing her hand. She yearned for the comfort of his embrace, but it wouldn’t be fair.
“Hey, yourself,” she said, resisting the tug. “We, um, need to talk.”
“Let me hold you first.” He enfolded her in his arms, his heart beating strong and sure in his chest. He rested his cheek on her head. Prickles of beard poked at her scalp.
One minute. I can take one minute. She clung to him. He buried his face in her hair. Warm breath steamed her neck. A shift, and then he found her mouth and brushed his lips across hers as if he feared spooking her. Tenderness and gentleness did more than demand ever could.
She kissed him back, her body agreeing with her heart that what her mind demanded could wait. Strong shoulders provided a kneading board for her fingers. A muscled chest beckoned her to rub her breasts against it. Eyes as blue as the Terran sky heated and then closed, as he took control of the kiss.
Clothing fell to the floor, scattered on the way to the sleeping room. “I love you, Jules. Don’t leave me anymore,” he said.
“I won’t,” she promised. He might be the one to leave. “I love you.”
They tumbled into the bed where she’d sobbed her eyes out a few hours earlier. He licked and kissed her nipples until they beaded with desire and need curled in the pit of her stomach. Her core wept for him. They explored each other in tandem, reacquainting and recommitting their love. No part of her body, like her heart, remained untouched by him.
“You’re mine, Jules. Mine,” he murmured.
His possessive words and tone thrilled her, relaxing her worry of conversations to come.
�
�Always.” She would be his forever. Even if he left her, she would live the rest of her years in the comfort of memories. She captured his bottom lip. He had such a beautiful mouth—sexy, masculine. And thighs, and ass, and shoulders, and—
His cock stood stiff, the large crown wet with his essence. With his shaft in her hand, she licked the saltiness from the tip and drew him into her mouth. Pleasuring continued until he wrested himself away and parted her thighs then teased her to the highest peak of desire.
“Now, please now.” She pulled his hair.
He mounted her, entering with one delicious thrust that stretched and filled her with satisfaction. She locked her heels into the cheeks of his ass and tilted her pelvis. Together, they danced with needful longing. Pleasure swirled like a vortex of heated air, stealing the breath from her lungs and worries from her mind. Nothing else mattered except March and his hard-driving body, forever and always.
Tension tightened veins to bulging threads in his neck. Her desire was just as taut, and then orgasm broke over her in a crashing wave. With a shout, March pounded into her, claiming his climax, claiming her.
Desire spent, they clung to each other in the aftermath. Curled against him, Jules shivered as the cold demands of reality chilled her well-being. She couldn’t put off the discussion any longer.
March’s arm around her tightened. “What did you want to tell me?”
Julietta scooted up on one elbow to peer into his face. “I love you so much it hurts.”
“Why doesn’t that sound like a good thing?”
“You offered once to remain on Xenia. Did you mean it? Is the offer still open?”
He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. The tenderness in his gesture eased her worry a little. “Let me guess. You want to become empress,” he said. “To stay and rule.”
She nodded. “I know I said I didn’t want to, but I cannot abandon my people. They need me.” She took a breath. “I am asking you to stay with me.”
A glint twinkled like silver stars in a blue Terran sky. “Will you make an honest man of me?”
She frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“Make me your consort.”
“Of course! That’s my plan.”
“Then I accept.” He grinned.
It was that easy? She stared. “Really? You’ll stay?”
He nodded. “I can live anywhere. You’re right. Your people need you. Your planet teeters at a critical juncture. They can either revert to the old ways—or move forward. I felt guilty asking you to leave everything behind.”
“My people do need to move forward, but you shouldn’t feel guilty at all. I’d always said I didn’t want to rule—and I thought I didn’t. Perhaps I needed to find my consort first.”
“Is that what you wanted to speak to your father about?”
She nodded. “I told him I’d planned to abdicate, but after Omax revealed his plot, I changed my mind and decided to accept the scepter if you would stay with me. I think my father might suspect my change of heart.”
“He might,” March agreed. “He’s a perceptive man. And you will be a progressive, courageous ruler.” He paused and then cocked his head. “Perhaps you might consider allowing an alien base on your planet.”
She faked a gasp. “Are you trying to use your relationship as my consort to gain political favor for your people?”
Eyes as blue as the Terran sky twinkled. “Would it work?”
“Maybe. Kiss me again.”
He claimed her mouth in a long slow, kiss. When he released her, her lips throbbed and her breath came in little pants. “You have a very good chance of getting a base,” she said. They would talk more later for real.
He chuckled and then sobered. “I imagine we will have a hard row to get your people to accept me.”
“Many will not be happy, but the situation has changed already. We have my father’s support and the seer’s, and with Omax in disgrace, it will not be as difficult as it might have been.” A slow smile slid across her face. “And you won the Sha’A’la, which proves your worthiness.” He’d been powerful. Masterful. A true warrior. Her heart fluttered.
He shrugged. “Against Naimo.”
“No.” She shook her head. “Against Kur! In the shuttle bay. You fought for your mate and you won. And it was a real battle, not a ceremonial rite.”
“I did, didn’t I?” March looked pleased with himself. He rolled her under him. “You, Princess, have been claimed by the cyborg.”
The End
Titles by Cara Bristol
Stranded with the Cyborg (Cy-Ops Sci-fi Romance 1)
Mated with the Cyborg (Cy-Ops Sci-fi Romance 2)
Captured by the Cyborg (Cy-Ops Sci-fi Romance 3)
Trapped with the Cyborg (Cy-Ops Sci-fi Romance 4)
Married to the Cyborg (A Cy-Ops Sci-fi Romance 1 extra)
Breeder (Breeder 1)*
Terran (Breeder 2)
Warrior (Breeder 3)
Reckless in Moonlight*
Destiny’s Chance
Goddess’s Curse
Longing
Long Shot
Intimate Submission*
Secret Desires*
Educating His Bride
Stolen Moments
Domestic Discipline
Unexpected Consequences (Rod and Cane Society 1)
False Pretenses (Rod and Cane Society 2)
Body Politics (Rod and Cane Society 3)
Disciplinary Measures (Rod and Cane Society 4)
Reasonable Doubts (Rod and Cane Society 5)
Irresistible Attractions (Rod and Cane Society 5)
Naughty Words for Nice Writers
Anthologies
Pets in Space
Portals
Body Talk
Spanked!*
Correcting the Coeds*
Bound, Spanked & Loved*
Coming to Terms*
Milestones*
Audiobooks
Stranded with the Cyborg
Matted with the Cyborg
Books in Print
Captured by the Cyborg
Goddess’s Curse
Naughty Words for Nice Writers
*Books marked with an asterisk are no longer available. Some of them (Breeder, Reckless in Moonlight) will be re-released at future date.
Author Bio
USA Today bestselling author Cara Bristol got her start in publishing by writing spanking romance, but has branched out to mainstream science fiction romance. No matter what the genre, she writes character-driven stories with a touch of humor and sizzling chemistry between the hero and heroine. She has been the no. 1 best seller in science fiction romance, BDSM erotica, and holiday fiction on Amazon and a best seller in science fiction romance on All Romance ebooks. Cara lives in Missouri with her own alpha hero, her husband. To keep up with new titles, subscribe to her newsletter: http://eepurl.com/9aRJj . Check out her website at www.carabristol.com
Acknowledgements
Many people provided helpful input. For their hawk eyes and red pens, I’d like to thank editors Kate Richards, Nanette Sipe and Meredith Gurr. Author Sienna Bloom suggested the name Dusan, when I got stuck (that happens sometimes!), and Winter Bayne helped me with the blurb for Claimed by the Cyborg. And always, I’d like to thank my readers, my Street Team, and the many reviewers who continue to support me.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty<
br />
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two