Tark opened the med bay and Suki bolted upright. He could see her pulse fluttering in her throat and he hated that she was terrified.
“My name is Tark, and your sister sent me.”
Her lips parted. “Yoko?”
He nodded. “I’m sorry, Suki, but Yoko couldn’t be healed. The med bay was able to heal your injuries, except for one. It seems you’ve been sterilized. Was it by choice?”
“I can’t have children?”
“No, I’m afraid not. Do you want a family in the future?” Tark asked. “It’s possible for the procedure to be reversed, if that’s your wish.”
She stared at him and didn’t say anything. Tark waited, giving her time to process what he’d told her. She hadn’t reacted to her sister’s passing quite the way he’d expected. Didn’t females cry when given that sort of news?
“I can choose?” she asked quietly. “Choose to have children?”
“Yes. You can choose.”
Her gaze roamed over him and he felt a little self-conscious, wondering if she pictured those children with him. And did the idea frighten her? They hadn’t spoken until now, and she had to be confused. He could tell she was scared, and he didn’t blame her. He was a complete stranger, and a brute of a male compared to most. He’d be concerned if she weren’t afraid of him.
“You’re safe now, Suki,” he said. “Did you understand what I said about Yoko?”
Suki’s eyes filled with tears. Her lower lip trembled and he heard her heart rate increase. She might not have reacted before, but she definitely was now. She placed her hand over her mouth as she sobbed. Her body shook and Tark wanted to comfort her, his hands flexing at his sides. He didn’t dare reach for her.
“She asked me to find you, Suki. I want to take care of you, if you’ll let me. I promise that no harm will come to you. I will protect you with my life.”
She took a shuddering breath. It took her a moment to get her emotions under control, but the tears slowed. After another few minutes, she could breathe easier and no longer seemed to be as distressed.
“I’m safe?” she asked.
“Yes, Suki. You’re safe.”
“With you,” she said. “I belong to you now?”
Tark rocked back on his heels. This wasn’t going as planned. Perhaps he hadn’t explained things well?
“I’m not your owner, Suki. No one will ever own you again. You’re free. I want to take you to my world, where you can find a mate. He would be like me, a Zelranian cyborg but you could have a family if that’s what you want.”
What he really wanted was to keep her, but he wasn’t about to take away her right to select her mate, not after everything she’d obviously suffered.
“Family,” she murmured, her gaze dropping to her lap.
Tark tried hard not to stare at her naked body. It had been so long since he’d been this close to a female, much less one without clothes. Yoko may have been naked as well, but she’d been so far gone he’d barely spared her a glance, and only seen someone damaged and dying. While there were three human females on his world now, he always kept a safe distance from them, worried his size would scare them. He wanted to touch Suki, to hold her. But as terrified as she was, after everything she’d been through, he didn’t know if she would welcome his touch.
She looked up at him again, once more tracing over his body with her gaze. If his size intimidated her, she didn’t show it this time. She seemed to be assessing him, but for what reason he didn’t know. Mere curiosity? Or something more? She focused on his metallic arm before meeting his gaze again.
“What are you?” she asked. “What’s a Zelranian cyborg?”
“Cyborg means I’m part machine, and Zelranian is my race. My arm is the only non-organic part you can see, but some of my organs are mechanical as well. My heart. Lungs. The bones in my body are made of metal. I have transmitters in my brain.”
“You can have children?” she asked.
“Yes. Aside from my cyborg status, I’m very much like the males of your world.”
She smiled faintly. “No one on my world looks like you. I’ve never seen anyone as big as you.”
“Is that a bad thing?” he asked.
“No. You’re strong. You can protect me.”
“Yes, I can protect you, and I will. But there are others like me, cyborgs, who would treat you well. My world is full of males who want mates. There are three human females there now, but it’s my hope that one day every male will have a female.”
She paled. “They will want me to service them, like the others.”
“No, Suki. You never have to service anyone again. You could choose a mate. I believe the Earth term is husband. The two of you could start a family.”
“Husband,” she repeated then looked up at him. “You could be my husband.”
Tark felt his heart kick in his chest. “I’m too large for someone as small as you.”
Her gaze fell to the front of his pants, and Tark felt his cheeks warm under her appraisal. That hadn’t been what he’d meant, but that part of him was rather large too. And it was getting larger the longer she stared. He shifted, wanting to hide himself. No one had ever stared at him like that before. Tark was used to females fleeing in terror, not sizing up certain parts of his anatomy. She couldn’t seriously be thinking of being with him, could she?
“I heard the master tell you that I was a favorite for princes, kings, and ministers. Did you know that he often took me Palua to service the princes? Sometimes all of them at once. Do you know what a naked Paluan prince looks like?” she asked.
He did. While they were not large males, they were rather well-endowed. And she’d had to service more than one at a time? That had to have been painful for her. If he could erase those memories for her, he would. She shouldn’t have to live with any of it. But if she’d handled the Paluan princes, then maybe… No, she deserved someone better than him, someone smaller and gentler.
“What about Duadaderans?” she asked. “Their minister often requested me for his parties.”
Bile rose in Tark’s throat. How could she have been through all that and still seem sane? Most females would have lost their mind. The Duadaderans looked like monsters with their green and yellow scales, spikes along their arms, reptilian eyes, and claw-tipped fingers. He’d seen one naked before, and the thought of her being with one of those males sent a shiver down his spine. He didn’t know how she was still here and in one piece.
“I want to stay with you,” she said. “Unless…”
“Unless what?” he asked.
“I’m used. Damaged. I’ve been touched by many. I would understand if you didn’t want me because of that. Or if you didn’t find me attractive,” Suki said. “I’m dirty, Tark. If you knew the things I’ve done…”
“I don’t care about any of that,” he assured her. “You’re very beautiful, Suki. Any male would be lucky to claim you. I just don’t want you to regret making this choice now. You should meet the other males on my world. Perhaps one of them would suit you better.”
“Yoko trusted you to come and get me,” Suki said. “She wouldn’t have told you to come for me if she thought you would hurt me. She saw kindness in you, and so do I. I want to stay with you.”
“I would be honored,” Tark said.
“Do you want children?” Suki asked.
“I would never ask my mate to bear children if she did not want to,” Tark said.
“But you want them?” she persisted.
He hesitated a moment, unsure if he should be truthful. He didn’t want her to reverse the procedure just because he wanted children. It should be something she wanted as well. But he didn’t like the idea of lying to her either.
“Yes.”
“Then I will have the procedure reversed,” Suki said, lying back again.
The lid closed once more on the med bay, and the robot pressed more buttons. Tark paced the room as the med bay did its job and repaired Suki, giving her the ability
to have children again. The machine hummed and glowed as it worked on Suki, repairing her reproductive system. Tark didn’t know enough about female anatomy to understand exactly what had been damaged to cause her to be barren, but he hoped being healed wouldn’t cause her more pain.
Tark glanced her way several times, uncertain what to make of the small female. How could someone as beautiful as her, as fragile and… He shook his head. It didn’t make sense. She should be quaking with fear just looking at him, much like she had when he’d first picked her up. He didn’t understand any of it.
Once she was healed, he would find her clothing and take her to the Wayfarer. He would care for her, watch over her… but it would be best if he didn’t claim her until she’d seen Xpashta and realized she had other options. Better males than him.
He wanted a mate, but Suki wasn’t what he’d expected. He would be honored to claim her, to raise a family with her, but he wondered if it would be a disservice to her. After all that she’d suffered, she deserved a happy life, and Tark realized that he would give her anything he could to make that happen.
Even if it meant she wouldn’t belong to him.
Chapter Two
Suki felt different after she’d been healed and had clothes, even if they were ill-fitting. She was still filthy but hadn’t wanted to wash at the med clinic. Despite the fact the large cyborg was with her and had saved her, she felt too exposed and worried her previous owner would come for her. Tark had brought her onboard a ship called Wayfarer, and now they were closed in a small room. There were no personal items around, and Suki wasn’t certain if she was staying in the room alone or sharing it with Tark. She’d agreed to be his, but he seemed reluctant. At first, she’d thought it was because of her, because of her past, but as she studied him she made a few observations.
Tark was large, probably the most massive male she’d ever seen. She’d been around large aliens before, but none that had both his height and muscle mass. If she had to guess, he was likely around six foot eight or so, and as broad as the American wrestlers she’d seen on TV back on Earth. And yet he seemed very insecure when it came to females. Or maybe it was just her. There was a longing in his eyes, but he kept away, only touching her when necessary. Suki had feared him at first, thinking he was like the others, but he’d taken her to a med clinic to be healed, had touched her with kindness, and Yoko had sent him. That was the most important part to Suki.
Her big sister had always watched out for her, and Suki was the reason Yoko had been taken to begin with. Knowing that Yoko had sent Tark was enough to make Suki trust him completely. Her sister had a gift that few knew about, a sense of knowing. She could look at someone and tell if they were good or evil, and Yoko would have never sent Tark after Suki if her big sister hadn’t been certain the male was good. Despite everything that had happened, she knew her big sister would have taken care of her, even if it used her last breath. Yoko had showed no ill will toward Suki, even though it had been her fault they’d suffered.
Tears blurred Suki’s vision and a great sense of loss filled her. Yoko had always watched over her. If Suki had only listened to her sister, then maybe they never would have been captured. But Suki never listened. She’d been selfish all her life, getting herself and Yoko into trouble again and again. Until the last time… when they’d been picked up by aliens and sold into slavery. If anyone had told her aliens existed before all this, she’d have laughed at them. And she’d have been wrong.
They weren’t cute, they weren’t friendly, and they’d only caused Suki and Yoko pain. She’d thought she’d never experience happiness again, would never know freedom. Suki had feared that she would die whoring herself out to aliens of all types, being drugged when she refused to obey and come out of the haze in extreme pain. It hadn’t taken long before all the fight had drained from Suki. If she fought, she was drugged and the abuse was even worse. Part of her wanted the drugs, but when they wore off, it was always more dreadful, the pain more intense. When she’d seen what they’d done to Yoko, she’d been so damn scared, worried they were both about to die.
Then Tark had come for her, had taken her from the hell she’d been living in for who knew how long. Now she sat on his bed, onboard his ship, and she was free to make her own choices once more. This time, she’d choose wisely, and everything inside of her was screaming that she needed to stay with Tark. Perhaps she’d gained a bit of knowing herself. Her mother and grandmother had both had it, and even though Suki had never shown signs of it before, maybe she was growing into it.
“Are you hungry?” he asked. “Have you eaten recently?”
“Master fed us every other day,” she said.
Tark growled. “Never call him that again. He’s not your master.”
“I’m sorry,” she said softly, not wanting to anger him. “It’s what we were supposed to call him. If we didn’t, then we were punished.”
She bit her lip, thinking he probably didn’t want to know exactly how she’d been punished. Just because he didn’t look down on her for the things she’d done, it didn’t mean he wanted the details. He was a large male, and likely feared for his size alone, but he also seemed to be tenderhearted.
“Do you want to stay here while I get something from the galley? Or do you want to come with me?” Tark asked.
“I can leave the room?” she asked.
His gaze darkened and he paced for a moment. “I told you that you were free. How many times must I say that you aren’t a slave before you believe me? Did you think I was going to lock you away? Keep you caged?”
“It’s what master did,” she said. “When we weren’t being… used. He kept us in cages. We had to sit in our own refuse, and he only allowed us to wash before we were meeting clients. For me, that meant anytime someone special had reserved me. He starved us, beat us.” Her hand rubbed over her belly. “Did things without our permission, changed us in ways we never wanted.”
Tark’s expression softened and he knelt at her feet, taking her hands into his large one. “I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through. And I’m sorry for the way I snapped at you. It was uncalled for, but… you have me on edge. It’s not an excuse, just an explanation.”
“Why is it hard for you to believe I would want to be with you?” she asked.
“Females don’t want me,” he said after a few minutes. “They never have. Even whores have run from me in fear. I’ve never…”
He looked away, but Suki could tell he was embarrassed. Was he trying to say he was a virgin? She couldn’t believe it. How could anyone turn him away? Tark was kind and protective. And he’d been gentle with her. Despite his mechanical arm, he hadn’t harmed her, not once. He was always careful when he reached for her, or carried her. She didn’t understand why women didn’t beg for his attention. On Earth, she’d been independent for the most part, hadn’t felt she needed a man for anything. She’d had boyfriends, but none that lasted longer than a month. But being a slave had taught her that out here in space, far from the world she’d called home, she did need a male, as long as it was the right one. She’d been too weak to fight them off, too weak to save herself and her sister. The thought of someone big and strong offering protection was tempting.
Suki stood and placed her hand on his bicep. He was so strong, so… He made her feel safe, and that was something she hadn’t felt in a very long time. If she could do anything, she wanted to make him realize that not all females feared him. She didn’t. If he claimed her as his mate, she would feel like the luckiest of women. She just didn’t know how to make Tark see that.
“I’m not running,” she said. “And I’m not afraid of you.”
He looked at her, his gaze holding hers. If he’d never been with a female, had he ever been kissed? Suki leaned forward and lightly brushed her lips against his. Tark froze, every muscle in his body tense. Suki moved her mouth against his, giving him the softest of kisses, until he began to relax. She pulled back and stared into his eyes. Tark looked stun
ned as he reached up and touched his lips.
“Do you want to do it again?” she asked. “You could kiss me this time, if you want.”
“Kiss you,” he repeated, staring at her lips.
“Yes.”
Tark’s gaze flicked up to hers then lowered to her mouth again. Slowly, he leaned in and pressed his mouth to hers. Suki placed her hand on the back of his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair. Suki parted her lips and touched her tongue to his lips. Tark groaned and opened, letting her in. She kissed him slowly, deeply. And all too soon, he was pulling away. Suki clung to him, not ready for it to end just yet. It had been so long since she’d felt anything like that, and maybe she never had. Kissing Tark felt different, but in a very good way.
“You need to eat,” he said, his voice deeper than before, gruffer. She knew he was aroused, could feel the tension in his body, see the need in his eyes. And yet he was choosing to take care of her and not take what he wanted.
Suki knew in that moment, that one day she would fall for Tark. Completely and fully, and the thought didn’t terrify her like it might have once. She looked forward to it. Love had always scared her, but with Tark she knew she’d be safe, that her heart would be safe. And maybe one day, he’d come to love her as well. If he’d never been kissed, never been touched, then he likely hadn’t been loved. Not romantically anyway. She wanted to be the one to give that gift to him. He’d freed her, given her life back to her, and that was something she could never repay. But maybe she could make him happy, and that would be enough.
Tark stood and led her from the room. Suki couldn’t keep track of the twists and turns, but they eventually entered the galley. The ship was far bigger than it seemed from the outside. She sat at a long table and watched as Tark fixed a plate for each of them. When he joined her, he sat on the bench right beside her, their thighs pressing together.
Saved by the Cyborg Page 2