by Cynthia Sax
The bubbling inside her intensified. She savored his metallic taste, gripped his nape with her leather-covered fingers.
The male was hard for her, the big bulge in his body armor pressing against her stomach.
Her desire spiraled upward, out of control. Thoughts of capitulation, of death, of danger, dissipated, were scorched to ash by her wanting.
She hooked one leg around his and moved against him. The pressure against her leather-covered pussy was exquisite. His body armor brushed against her garment-clad nipples, battering her with sensation.
Metal creaked as the cargo doors opened.
She paid it no heed, moaning. The sound was muted by Grudge’s mouth. Their lips fused together. Their tongues swirled and twined. She—
“Yuck.”
The kid’s voice breached her passion fog. Taelyn broke the kiss, drew her head back, closed her eyes for a heartbeat. The cyborg’s chest rose and fell against hers. “What the fuck am I doing?”
She was kissing her enemy. Again.
Her fascination with Grudge had to stop.
She gazed up at him. “I surrendered to you.”
“You did surrender.” He nodded.
Her part of the deal had been upheld. It wasn’t her fault he hadn’t restrained her.
“Then I can do this.” She stepped backward, drew her guns, aimed them at him.
“That is a possibility.” Grudge’s gaze didn’t leave her face. “You warned me you would kick my ass after you capitulated. You’re short. It would be difficult for your foot to reach that part of me.” His expression was unconcerned. “Utilizing a gun would be much more logical.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. He was a cyborg, was faster, stronger than her. She knew her abilities and his. The male could have grabbed her weapons, disarmed her. Easily.
Yet he hadn’t done that.
Because the damn cyborg didn’t believe she’d shoot him.
He was wrong, very, very wrong.
“Utilizing a gun would be much more logical.” She slid the settings on her weapons to stun. “Never underestimate me, warrior.” She met his gaze and calmly tapped the triggers.
The male’s eyes blazed with amusement as his body jerked, then froze in place.
She released her breath. Cyborgs could be stunned. She hadn’t been certain about that.
Killing him hadn’t been an option. She’d ended lifespans in the past. Those beings hadn’t granted her mercy, however. They wouldn’t have vowed not to hurt the kid, an innocent.
She turned.
Jasny was gawking at her. Hero worship shone from her eyes.
“Where is the fuckin’ conveying support?” Taelyn snapped at her. She was too damn upset to worry about her language. “We have to load the medic packs.”
That had to be done before the cyborg recovered from being stunned. She hadn’t many more moments of living left, and she couldn’t waste any of them.
“Go.” She roared with frustration.
The kid rushed in the direction of the beverage outlet.
Grudge’s eyes flickered. He didn’t turn his head, but he was tracking Jasny’s progress.
Taelyn frowned at the cyborg. “How can you see us?” That shouldn’t be possible.
She ventured closer to Grudge, rose onto the toes of her boots to get a better look at him. His eyes appeared to be completely mechanical. They swirled with energy.
“Only your organics must be impacted by the stunning.” Which meant…
Her gaze lowered to his left arm.
“Oh fuck.” She hastily stepped back.
It was too late. He hooked his mechanical arm around her waist and drew her forward, securing her to his muscular form.
His eyes gleamed with triumph.
She was captured. Her heart pounded.
But she remained alive.
He had access to his guns, could have retaliated by shooting her. Yet he hadn’t done that.
Grudge splayed his fingers over her lower back. It was an act of possession, and the message was clearly conveyed—the damn male would never let her go.
Her lips flattened. She should have shot him. Fuck her honor and what she thought she owed him. This was a him-or-her situation. There was no room for mercy. Only one of them would survive.
That being had to be her. Or everyone on Antares II would be at risk.
As though to emphasize that point, loose stones crunched under boot heels behind her. Jasny had returned.
“They’re kissing…again.” The kid muttered that incorrect statement under her breath.
Grudge lowered his hand, exploring Taelyn’s back, following the seams in her leather garment, the lines of her body. He swept his fingertips over the gun she had stuck in her waistband. Its barrel was snug against her spine.
He could draw that gun, use it on the girl.
“Don’t.” Taelyn whispered that plea, stiffening against him.
He moved his hand higher, rubbed his palm up and down her form, as though to soothe her, to reassure her he wouldn’t take that action.
There was no reason for him to do that unless he was sincere.
She relaxed. They were negotiating. Again.
“I didn’t expect you to arrive this early.” It vexed her to have to ask for leniency. “I need a planet rotation to put my affairs in order.” She lowered her voice, not wanting the kid to hear her. “Give me that, cyborg, and I’ll fuck you so hard, so thoroughly, you’ll have to create a new breeding database for all the freaky things I do to you.”
She tilted her head back, meeting his gaze, showing him all the desire, the need in her soul.
Bolts of energy surged in his eyes. Her offer interested him.
She extended her tongue and slowly licked his chin, tasting the metallic flavor of his skin, giving him a sample of the pleasures to come if he agreed to her terms.
His fingers curled against her back.
“No one can match me in fucking.” She murmured that declaration. It was bravado. Her experience wasn’t that extensive. But he didn’t know that. “You’ll never have anyone better than me.”
She met his gaze and waited.
Grudge didn’t move, didn’t signal any sort of agreement.
Fuck. Her pussy skills hadn’t been enough, and she hadn’t anything else to offer him.
She doubted he needed the medic packs she’d taken from the space station. The devices had been transferred to Mulls, were likely already sold and transported off planet.
A cyborg wouldn’t benefit from her fighting skills. He was one of the best warriors in the universe.
“That doesn’t interest you?” She glared at him, hiding her trepidation behind indignation. “Then fu—”
Grudge released her.
He was accepting her deal. Exhilaration coursed through her.
She’d have her one more planet rotation and she would fuck him into the ground, something she would have done for no incentive.
“Thank you.” On impulse, she rose upward, brushed her lips against his.
He cupped her cheek with his mechanical hand.
She pushed against his big palm for one, two heartbeats. It wasn’t like her to crave connection with someone, to savor such a gentle touch.
And it was unwise. She danced backward. “Kid, have you loaded those medic packs yet?” She turned and stalked toward the floating conveying support.
Moments later, the medic packs were loaded. They started to guide the conveying support toward the medic bay.
The cyborg remained immobile. Only his eyes moved as he watched them.
“Is he dead?” The kid looked up at Taelyn. Her face was pale green. Her forehead was furrowed with worry lines
The girl was no killer.
“He’s stunned.” She reassured her young protege. “Stunning doesn’t work on mechanics. Remember that if it ever fff…frothin’ happens to you.”
“I’ll be able to move my arm.” The kid grinned. “We’re badass.”
“Your mate is badass also.” The kid’s view of Grudge hadn’t shifted.
Taelynn didn’t correct her. The kid was protective of her, might fight the cyborg if she viewed him as the enemy, and that could put her in danger. Jasny wouldn’t be as antagonistic toward Grudge if she saw him as her mentor’s mate.
That might save the kid’s lifespan.
They left the loaded conveying support by the entrance to the medic bay. It would be emptied by past patients seeking to repay her former guardian. No one would dare steal from the female, not if they wanted to live.
The two of them entered the structure.
“I’m in here.” Medic Neidan’s voice originated from the direction of one of her mechanical-limbs-production chambers. “Mulls said you had a delivery for me.”
“It’s outside the medic bay.” She easily located the older female. The walls in that part of the structure were transparent. The medic claimed that increased the illumination.
Taelyn pushed through the equally clear door.
The kid, as always, followed, not allowing her mentor out of her sight.
Medic Neidan was bent over a mechanical leg. She looked upward, set her tool down. “What is it?”
Taelyn sighed. There was no fooling the female. Her former guardian could always read her thoughts. “We want to order some new arms.” She inclined her head toward the kid, signaling she didn’t want to have the discussion in front of her. “We’re thinking silver and preferably shiny for this set.”
Medic Neidan nodded. “I might have something like that in the database.” She picked up a private viewscreen, handed it to Jasny. “Scan through the images and show me what you’d like.” She moved toward the door. “I have to discuss the next procurement with Taelyn. There’s a specific ointment I need. It’s easier if she saw the container it is usually stored in.”
“I should see it too.” The kid refused to be left behind.
“You should find the fuckin’ arm design we want.” Taelyn barked at her. Her fear and dread over her impending death was shredding her patience.
Medic Neidan hissed. The female didn’t like curse words used in front of the kid.
“And don’t fff…mess it up.” Taelyn didn’t wish to spend her remaining moments alive monitoring every word she spoke. That was tiring, required concentration she didn’t currently have. But she would make the effort to please her former guardian. “When I come back, I don’t want to see any of that glow-in-the-dark shhh…stuff you think is badass. A glowing-in-the-dark warrior is a dead warrior.”
“You’re coming back.” The kid whispered that as she plunked her non-existent ass into a chair.
“I’m coming back.” Taelyn confirmed. They would part soon but not now.
She left the kid in the chamber, walked with Medic Neidan through the structure.
“You shouldn’t use that language around Jasny.” Her former guardian clucked her tongue. “I couldn’t stop you from cursing. You never listened to me as I wasn’t the warrior you wanted to be. It was always Mulls fuckin’ this and Mulls fuckin’ that.” She rolled her eyes. “But the kid worships the ground you walk on. She copies everything you say and do.”
“That’s not my problem.” Taelyn blew out her breath. “Not anymore.”
“What’s happening?” Medic Neidan clutched her arm. “When you entered the chamber, you looked…stunned.”
Stunned was an appropriate description, considering what she had done to Grudge. “I encountered a cyborg on the last mission. He followed me here. I…I have to go with him. Without the kid. She stays here.”
Her former guardian studied her. “Jasny won’t like that.
That was too fuckin’ bad. “I don’t like that.” She met Medic Neidan’s gaze. “Kutta, the Silan warrior I told you about, is to take over the kid’s training. She won’t be here for another planet rotation.”
Medic Neidan blinked once, twice. “You’re not coming back, are you?”
Taelyn shook her head, unable to say the words.
“Oh, my dear, brave girl.” Her former guardian hugged her. “I’ll take care of Jasny. You don’t ever have to worry about that.”
Taelyn tilted her head back. Unshed tears stung her eyes. She wouldn’t allow them to fuckin’ fall. “You have the funds I set aside for her.” The medic had access to her extra credits. “Mulls owes her more. It isn’t a lot.”
“It’s more than enough.” The older female squeezed her arms.
She wished it were more. She wished… It didn’t matter what she wished.
The duration for hopes and dreams had passed. Death, and a certain cyborg, had come for her.
“Don’t tell her until I’m gone.” She issued that advice. The kid would try to find her.
“I won’t.” Medic Neidan brushed the tears off her sun-kissed cheeks. “She’s like you, you know. When I saw her, all fight and determination, I saw you when I did that first socket install. I knew I’d love her as I love you.”
Taelyn loved her former guardian with equal ferocity. If the female had allowed it, she would have officially claimed her as her mom solar cycles ago.
But the female had been young when she took responsibility for her. She had worked hard to become a medic and had insisted Taelyn use that title.
Taelyn, eager to do anything for her, had sucked back her wanting and had referred to the female as she desired, as Medic Neidan.
Now, they would be saying goodbye also.
“The kid is a fuckin’ pain in the ass.” She buried her sorrow deep inside her and sealed it over with gruffness.
“You were a fuckin’ pain in the ass too.” Her former guardian laughed. “Come on.” She wrapped one of her arms around Taelyn’s waist. “Let’s design one more arm together.”
That arm would be her last gift to the kid. Taelyn squared her shoulders.
And it would be fuckin’ shiny-cyborg silver.
The irony was not lost on her.
Chapter Nine
His delicate little enhanced human had stunned him.
Moments later, as Grudge slowly regained use of his organics, he continued to marvel over his female’s actions. He had misjudged her, hadn’t projected she’d tap the triggers.
Believing he was the enemy, his honorable thief had sought to protect herself and the beings she cared for. She did what she had to do to immobilize him.
That filled him with pride.
His female was a fraggin’ force, and she belonged to him, a fraction of a warrior.
Their bond had also been proven by her actions. He had been frozen in place, yet she hadn’t attempted to end his lifespan. She must have felt the connection between them, subconsciously recognized he was hers.
He would fully claim her. Soon.
The fingers of his right hand twitched.
Before he did that, he would tell her he wasn’t under the Humanoid Alliance’s control. He didn’t seek to kill her, would die before he allowed anyone or anything to damage her.
That communication would alter their relationship…and decrease his amusement. Countering his female’s moves had given him more entertainment than he’d enjoyed in solar cycles.
But it had to be done. She should process who she was breeding with. There should be truth and trust between them.
Utilizing his purely mechanical leg, Grudge stepped in the direction his female and the kid had ventured. He dragged his not-yet-mobile leg behind him, following his feisty thief’s scent.
She was transporting the medic packs somewhere. There was an 84.1285 percent probability she was selling her ill-gotten gains for credits.
His speed increased as his right leg became more and more functional.
He couldn’t process why humans and humanoids had a fascination with cre
dits. They were merely numbers in a system, were easy to manipulate. He could give his female all the credits she desired with a couple taps of his fingertips.
She wouldn’t have to place her lifespan at risk by stealing from others in the future.
He followed her trail to a medic bay. The conveying support had been left outside its entrance, was now empty. He circled the structure, looking for clues, smelling the air. His female’s scent didn’t lead from it.
She must still be inside the medic bay.
Grudge faded into the shadows and waited for her to emerge.
A few moments later, two human male offspring raced toward the doors. They pumped their little arms, smiling and laughing. The offspring didn’t appear to detect his presence, appeared oblivious to all danger.
One of the not-yet-matured males sported two mechanical legs.
He was the winner, reaching the entrance first. “I’m the champion.” He lifted his arms in victory. “I remain undefeated.”
“Aargh.” The other offspring stomped his booted feet. “I was so close.”
The fully organic offspring hadn’t been close at all. Grudge’s lips twitched.
“Better luck next time.” The winner shrugged and stepped toward the entrance.
The doors opened.
“Wait. Wait.” A fully mature human male sprinted forward, catching up to them. He pulled the enhanced offspring out of the structure. “The conveying support is here. That means Medic Neidan is busy. We’ll come back later.”
“The conveying support is here.” The faster offspring repeated that statement. “Yay!” He jumped into the air. “She’ll have the credits for my new legs now. I’ll be even faster.”
“That’s not fair.” The other offspring kicked a loose stone as they walked away from the structure. “How come he gets new legs and I don’t?”
The fully mature human male didn’t answer for a moment.
“Fate has blessed him in that way, I guess.” His voice was brusque with emotion when he finally responded.
Grudge tilted his head to the side, processing the conversation. The offspring equated the presence of the conveying support with the medic having credits for his new legs.