Saph flicked her eyes to Raint. “I’m assuming you were part of the group who supported your emperor in his efforts?”
Taun held his emotions in check. They had been through so much; being rounded up, made to stand in a sham of a trial, forced onto a prison transport, the attempted killing and the escape, that he hadn’t thought about the previous intentions of this cyborg group.
They weren’t technically a unit, or pod since their togetherness was the product of an escape for their lives. While he had been a rebel, he hadn’t thought to ask the others. What was the desire to know that information now, and did it really matter?
The short answer was, yes. Mainly because those cyborgs who’d thought nothing of following Shui’s orders, even after Shui began targeting military family members, would most likely try their best to redeem their name in Shui’s eyes and what better way to do that than to present those who’d escaped back to Shui so he could finish the job?
Taun glanced at Zema and Vril. Their expressions were unreadable. If they had the same thought as him, they kept it to themselves. Then again, if they were Shui supporters they wouldn’t have his same fears.
“Don’t assume to know anything about me,” Raint snarled.
Saph turned around in her chair, abandoning the console and crossed a leg over the other, leaned back in her chair and focused on Raint. “I like to know what type of person I have on my ship—in my home. Are you the conquering type or one with morals and values?”
Raint threw back his shoulders and in doing so his chest puffed out. “Little female, you couldn’t handle knowing what type of person I am.”
Saph snickered and Taun swore a glint of amusement passed behind Vril’s eyes, but it was gone just as quickly as it had come.
“Cute.” Saph lifted one side of her mouth into a smirk. “X-9?”
“Yes, Saph,” a monotone voice replied over the room intercom.
Saph’s eyes stayed on Raint. “In an emergency how soon could you make it up here?”
“Seconds,” was the reply.
Saph smiled slowly as she watched Raint. “You may have hyper alloy bones, nanobots and all, but can you come back from the dead?”
Raint stretched his neck from side to side. “Is that a threat?”
When Saph made a move to stand, Suni placed a hand on her leg, stopping her. “It’s not a threat,” Suni said on a sigh. “It’s a fact. That voice you hear is our A.I., X-9. He has orders to kill you all if you pose a threat. So, both of you settle down so we can figure out how to get our sister back.”
“Does this mean you’re agreeable to our plan?” Vril asked.
“X-9 goes with you,” Saph said. “He’ll protect Tayan. That way you all can focus on getting in and getting her out safely.”
“Why haven’t we met this A.I. of yours before now?” Vril asked.
Saph lifted a shoulder. “We all had our secrets, didn’t we?”
Chapter Fourteen
Ding. Ding. Ding.
Suni rolled over in bed and focused on her bedroom door. No one rang her doorbell. Saph would’ve knocked and breezed in. Suni could count the number of times Yovit had been to her room on one hand, and Tayan… Tayan would’ve opened the door without warning.
Her little sister was like a breath of fresh air. She was always happy and found joy in even the smallest of things. Suni would pretend to be upset with Tayan for barging in, but the annoyance would’ve been short-lived. Tayan brought new life and energy to any space she occupied.
And Suni missed Tayan with all her heart.
“Come in,” she called out.
The sliding door opened on a whisper and standing there, taking up all the space in the doorway, was Taun. Her heart did that fluttering thing it always did whenever he was near. There was no time for wayward feelings. Her feelings were the reason why Tayan was gone. Suni clamped down on it, trying to snuff out the lingering effects.
When she had first met Taun, she had known he was out of her league. At the time she couldn’t put her finger on why, but the lingering feeling of, “I’m not good enough for him”, had plagued her. Even with his disheveled clothes and almost dead vessel, he seemed more.
He had seen more.
Done more.
Been through more.
Experienced more.
Just…more.
Now she knew why she didn’t feel like she measured up to him.
Taun was a cyborg.
He was part machine.
No wonder she felt like he was more than her. He literally was. He was an elite warrior. And she was Suni. Just Suni. A nobody.
Taun tilted his head to the side as if questioning what she was thinking. She wouldn’t divulge her thoughts to him. She had already made a fool out of herself by tripping over him endlessly. No, she would be keeping her thoughts to herself from now on.
He wore the same clothes he had on since his arrival. If Saph had invested in a replicator, not only would the cyborgs have new, fresh clothes, but Suni wouldn’t have been on Ocea to get new clothes and Tayan wouldn’t have gotten abducted. She sniffled.
“Hello,” was all she could say. She didn’t trust herself to say more.
He was every bit as handsome as the first time she had seen him standing at the jumper’s entrance. Raw animal power vibrated through and around him, calling out to her. She longed to be in his presence. Needed to feel a part of his power and let it coat her. She wanted his protection and comfort.
“We’ll be close enough to Kenzi’s vessel in a few hours.”
Suni wrapped her arm around her pillow, adjusting it to support her neck. “They won’t get a read on us?”
Taun crossed his arms over his well-defined chest and leaned his shoulder on her door frame. He looked content and non-threatening, but that power…he couldn’t hide it no matter how nonchalant he acted. “Your sister finally gave Zema limited access to the computer systems. Zema was able to change the call sign of this ship. To anyone wondering, we’re a cargo transport vessel.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
“For letting Tayan get taken. I should’ve stayed vigilant.”
“You already apologized. There’s no reason to apologize again. Besides, I was the one who’d sent you away. This isn’t your fault. It’s all on me. If I hadn’t been trying so hard to impress—” She stopped mid-sentence and buried her face in her pillow as pain, regret and failure coursed through her.
“Impress?”
She shook her head, not allowing herself to look at him.
“We’ll get her back.” His voice was closer. “I promise.” There was a creak followed by a dip on her bed.
“Don’t promise that, Taun. You have a plan in place, but anything can happen. If I’d been paying more attention to Tayan than you, she would still be here.”
Taun didn’t respond and she didn’t need him to. They sat in silence.
Finally, he said, “I’ve been in the military a long time. The training I went through to become a Cyborg Elite was brutal. I’m who I am because I’m good at what I do. You telling us to leave shouldn’t have mattered. I know better. I left because of you.”
“I know. I told you to leave.”
“That’s not it.”
Suni unburied her face to study him where he sat on the edge of her bed. He looked so massive on her small cot.
“I left because I couldn’t stand to be around you any longer.”
Suni groaned and buried her face in her pillow again. “This is getting more and more embarrassing.”
“I’m the one who should be embarrassed. I know how important missions are and I messed this one up because I couldn’t stop thinking about you long enough to focus on mine.”
Suni lifted her head again and cocked one eye open to look at Taun. Had she heard wrong? “Say what?”
Taun hung his head. “I should’ve pushed my feelings for you to the side and staye
d with you to do my job. But I needed to get away—to breathe without smelling your scent and think properly without having my thoughts muddled.
“Whenever you’re around my brain processes things differently and I can’t focus on much anything else. I’m too busy analyzing the scent of your body wash and the ingredients in your shampoo. I just have a hard time focusing. It’s unprofessional.”
Suni pushed the blanket from her legs and sat up.
“Wait. Are you telling me that you like me?”
He blinked in confusion. “Well, yes. I thought that was apparent.”
She frowned, trying to think back on any indication that he had feelings for her and came up empty. “How is that apparent, Taun? You won’t stay more than a few minutes in my presence.”
He stared at her blankly.
“Oh, I see. That was because you like me?”
He nodded.
“How does that work exactly? With your brain?”
“The same way it works for yours except mine is in a constant state of processing.” He held her stare. “Nothing can come of this. I don’t have the capacity to have a relationship with you. We’re on the run and we have to find our brethren. All the relationships I’ve had before were before my transition and after then…my intention and purpose became clearer. I can’t give you what you want, need or deserve.”
Want. Need. Deserve.
Those three words had never held the weight for her that they did now. She had always lived within the moment, not knowing where they would end up next or for how long. She had figured that once their debts were cleared and they returned home, she would eventually find a mate and raise a family of her own. That dream had seemed more and more unattainable the longer they stayed in space.
“I don’t need anything or any promises.” And she didn’t. What she wanted was to live in the moment and in this moment, she wanted Taun.
“But you deserve it.”
I deserve you.
The thought ricocheted through her. She held her hand out to him and he took it, slipping his larger fingers through hers. She lay there, looking at their entwined hands. Their colors didn’t match, and the sizes were off, but somehow, they belonged together.
Taun brought their hands up to his mouth and turned hers to kiss the back of it. He lowered them, then abruptly brought her hand back up to his lips and kissed it again. It was light and gentle, and so were the kisses that followed across her knuckles, on her wrist and up her arm.
The bed creaked as he leaned over her, using his other arm against her side as he hovered above her. Suni’s stomach fluttered and danced at his closeness. Taun was perfection. He smelled clean and fresh. His touch sent pulsations of pleasure and anticipation coursing through her. When his mouth reached her collarbone, she shuddered.
“Is this alright?” he whispered.
“Yes,” came out her breathy answer.
Taun kissed up the side of her neck and she craned her head to the opposite side, giving him full access to the sensitive skin there. Her chest constricted as her breaths came out hard and ragged. She ran her hands up the side of his body. She had longed to feel his hard muscles under her hands since the first time she had laid eyes on him. Taun’s teeth nipped her chin and she arched her back on a groan.
“Suni,” he said with a growl.
She had thought he would continue to her lips and take her mouth, but his head dipped, and in an instant, he was inhaling the fabric of her shirt between her breasts. He kissed around the swell of her breasts and the underside of them, everywhere but where she longed for him to kiss.
“Taun, please.”
He pushed up her shirt and leaned back to watch her. “So beautiful.”
“They’re too small. I’m saving credits to have them augmented.”
Taun shook his head. His eyes were dark with unbridled lust. “They’re perfect just the way they are.”
“But—”
Her words were cut off by his tongue swiping across her nipples.
“Ancients,” she cried, fisting her hands in his hair.
Taun lavished licks and kisses on her nipples, alternating between the two. She arched into him, craving for his touch. Wetness pooled between her legs, and she ached with need. His hand lingered on her stomach and then, with painstaking slowness, made its way down to the juncture between her thighs. She let out a relieved breath as his finger grazed her clit. Even over her underwear, his touch sent bolts of pleasure through her.
Suni moaned and pumped her hips in time to his exploration. When he pushed the crotch of her panties to one side and plunged a finger inside her wetness, Suni let out a strangled cry. This wasn’t a bumbling touch, as Baenon had done. No, this was skilled. Taun’s finger went directly to one spot—the pleasure sensor located deep within her vagina.
Her eyes rolled back when he found it and began a slow and measured caress that sent waves of delight down her spine. Only then did he finally take her mouth, kissing her deep and hard as his finger made her melt with joy.
“So tight,” he breathed into her mouth. “Are you a…?”
Suni shook her head. Technically she wasn’t a virgin. She had never been with a male before, but the sexual devices she had bought and used had rid her of her maidenhood years ago.
“I don’t know how I feel about that,” Taun growled.
Suni reached to cup his crotch and wasn’t disappointed. His hardness was more than a handful. “Ancients, Taun. Is this augmented too?”
“No, that’s all me.” He chuckled deep.
Her hand stroked the outside of his pants before she got up enough nerve to push her hand inside his pants to feel the raw steel of him. He was both hard and smooth. Her fingers grazed over the pronounced veins. She stroked him, from the base to the mushroomed tip. Taun moaned under her touch. His hips seemed to move reflectively against her hand.
“Take me.”
He pulled away from her lips, looking down at her with such passion that she said a silent prayer that he would always look at her this way. “Are you sure? You’re vulnerable because of losing your sister.”
She gripped his cock a little tighter, letting him know it was hers, if only for a little while. “This is what I want and need right now.”
Taun pushed from the bed and stood. In one swift movement he pulled his shirt over his head, revealing a chiseled chest and perfectly sculpted abs. Dark hairs dotted well-defined pecs. Pink nipples were erect and lickable. He undid his pants and pushed them down his legs. He kicked off his shoes and his pants, but Suni wasn’t paying attention to any of that. Her eyes were caught on his cock. It was bigger than any of the sex toys she had acquired over the years. It stood erect and glorious.
Her mouth watered. She needed to taste it, to feel in on her tongue and between her cheeks. Suni pushed herself to the edge of the bed and sat up.
“You don’t have to do this,” he said.
Too late. Her hand was already gripping the base of his cock and her mouth was on the head. Taun let out a muffled cry and grabbed fistfuls of her hair in his hands. He let her set the pace as she stroked his cock with her mouth. Her mouth was overcome with saliva. With each stroke she went deeper and took more. Her eyes watered as his cock tickled the back of her throat, making her gag with each pass. His hips pumped toward her mouth as his hands gripped her hair and head. Soon, she didn’t need to move her mouth at all. He did all the work, fucking her face, and she loved it.
Without warning he plucked her mouth from his cock. When she tried to lick the pre-cum that seeped from the tip, he pulled away. “If you lick me again, I’m going to come. And I don’t want to come. Not yet.”
With a firm hand, he pushed her back onto the bed and, with the other, he pulled down her panties. He groaned at seeing her naked and displayed in front of him. She opened her legs and touched her clit, then ran a finger down her wet folds. She was ready for this. She was ready for him.
Taun’s face went slack as he watched her pleasu
re herself. His hand grazed his cock, up and down. Taun settled between her legs and pushed her legs back. In one deep stroke he breeched her opening and filled her completely. Suni’s eyes rolled back. She arched her back on a yell. Her toys had never felt like this. They were cold, plastic instruments. Taun was hot, hard and alive.
His strokes were deep and hard, driving into her and lifting her butt off the bed. Suni whimpered and begged for him to be gentle, to go deeper, harder, faster, slower, to hold back and give her more. She was all over the place, wanting every and anything he could give. Taun grabbed her hands and held them above her head as he fucked her. When her moans and cries were too loud, he covered his mouth over hers. When she thought she couldn’t take anymore, he pulled out. The void that was left was too great. She wanted to cry, but instead she begged him to give her more.
With a sly smile, Taun dipped between her legs and placed his hot mouth over her mound.
“Oh, my!”
She had read about oral sex but had never had it done. Baenon wasn’t a fan and she had never pressed him. She doubted Baenon could’ve ever done what Taun was doing her clit now. His tongue lapped and licked. His lips kissed and sucked. He went fast and slow. She couldn’t keep up with the amount of pleasure he gave her. She cried and whimpered. She bucked and rocked. She fisted his hair and fucked his face. She came over and over again.
After she was spent and could give no more, Taun came up and crawled up her body. With one hand he cradled her head and the other he stroked his cock onto her tongue. Suni held her mouth open and tongue out, ready for everything he wanted to give her. His seed spurt into her mouth. His moans were louder than hers.
Chapter Fifteen
“Are we ready for this?” Zema asked.
They stood in a circle in the transport bay. The jumper was primed and ready for the flight. When Zema had changed the call signature for The Renegade, she had also done the same for the jumper. Taun had been vibrating with energy ever since he had awakened with Suni in his arms.
There’d been relationships before he had joined the military, although the word relationship was a stretch. They were teenage-fueled outings with a lot of fumbling. After joining the military, there had either been paid interactions with females or, if they were in the military like him, fast and hard hook-ups to relieve stress and pass the time. Then, after he had been accepted into the cyborg program, he had had to put his priorities in order. The military was his life, and he didn’t have time for anything else.
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