Baring Grudge

by Cynthia Sax

That implied more than fate had blessed the not-yet-matured male.

  There was a 65.2594 percent probability his little thief was risking her lifespan, stealing medic packs and devices, to fund the offspring’s mechanical legs.

  After the third visitor dropped by the medic bay, noted the conveying support and decided to return at a later duration, Grudge increased that probability to 84.1258 percent and expanded his female’s benevolence to numerous beings’ mechanical limbs.

  The settlement was small, consisted of 78 domiciles. He projected his delicate little enhanced human was partially responsible for the functionality of many of their occupants.

  That secret of hers warmed his chest.

  He watched the doors.

  Half a shift later, when she emerged from the structure, accompanied by their offspring, all his circuits lit up. His big form shook with wanting, with wonder.

  The rays of the planet’s solitary sun illuminated her beautiful face. Her lips parted. Her cute little nostrils flared. The scent of her flavored the air, teasing him.

  Her hands lowered to the handles of her guns.

  He grinned from his hiding place. His fiery female wouldn’t hesitate to stun him again.

  If she spotted him…which she wouldn’t.

  “When beings see our new arms, they’ll know we’re badass.” The kid was animated as she chattered to his Taelyn. She vibrated with suppressed energy, almost dancing in place. “They won’t mess with us.”

  His female looked at Jasny for one, two heartbeats. Sadness reflected in her big brown eyes.

  “You are badass.” She squeezed the kid’s fully organic shoulder. “Don’t ever fuckin’ forget that.”

  Those were statements conveying goodbye. Sharp shards of guilt jabbed into Grudge. His female projected he would kill her, was mourning the end of her relationship with the offspring.

  By not correcting her faulty assumptions, he had emotionally damaged the one being he would have done anything to protect. He had hurt her. That, in turn, caused him pain.

  “Guide the conveying support.” His female pushed the kid toward the floating flat transporting tool. “We have to return it to Mulls.”

  “Ugh. You’re going to stay in the beverage outlet all planet rotation.” Jasny directed the now-empty conveying support. “And I will be left outside. Again.”

  “That’s your fuckin’ choice.” His female matched the offspring’s shorter stride.

  Grudge trailed them, staying out of view.

  His little enhanced human must have sensed him. She turned her head slightly. “You could return to the ship.” She gave the kid an option. “Or you could visit with Shravya.”

  “Shravya is a child.” Jasny spat on the ground. “Why the fuck would I visit with her?”

  “Watch your fuckin’ language.” His female scowled at her. “You could train with the girl. She has the same number of solar cycles as you do.”

  “She can’t fight. At all.” The kid listed off a long list of complaints about the young female.

  Shravya had no interest in fighting or being a warrior, had never seen a being die, had two mothers who protected her from life, according to Jasny. The offspring was soft and squeamish and had all her organic limbs. Shravya’s baby brother, a victim of an agri-lot accident, had seen more of the universe, and he only had three solar cycles.

  His female tried valiantly to defend the absent young female. Every comment was offset with more criticisms.

  Finally, his Taelyn was forced to admit defeat. She told the kid to do whatever the fuck she wanted

  Grudge approved of that advice. Their battle-obsessed offspring and the safeguarded potential friend were two different types of beings. The probability they would mesh was low.

  He followed his enhanced human and the kid to a dilapidated structure. It had images of beverage containers on the portal and smelled of fermented grains.

  His female directed Jasny to deliver the conveying support to the back of the beverage outlet. She entered the structure.

  Grudge circled the site, looking for potential threats, observing the beings lingering around its alternate exits.

  Two Tau Cetians packed familiar-appearing handheld devices and private viewscreens into a small freighter. They talked of selling the units off planet, said it might be the last shipment of them.

  His female must have informed them they wouldn’t receive more devices from her. She was preparing for her death. That faulty projection, one he hadn’t corrected, had not only emotionally damaged his enhanced human. It had impacted other beings also.

  Fraggin’ hole. He had made an error.

  His speed increased. He had to relay the truth to his female, repair the destruction he’d caused…if that remained possible.

  His little warrior would be angry with him. That was a 100.0000 percent certainty.

  He squared his shoulders, preparing to accept any reprimand she doled out to him. It would be warranted. He had been careless with her, was unworthy of being her warrior.

  The doors to the beverage outlet were now guarded. The kid sat on the ground with her legs stretched out in front of her and her arms crossed.

  The scowl on her face bore an adorable resemblance to the one his female often sported.

  He waited until Jasny’s head turned away from him. Then he slipped through the doors.

  Chatter immediately stopped. All the occupants of the space looked at him.

  The sole exception was the female whose attention he sought. She glared down at the container of beverage clasped between her leather-clad palms.

  Gazes tracked his movements as he approached her. A Palavian with three mechanical arms placed his hands on the hilts of his daggers. A red-eyed Balazoid female with one mechanical leg lowered her form as though preparing for an attack. A blue-furred Ungarian with two mechanical arms watched him closely as the male distributed containers of fermented beverage.

  Grudge didn’t acknowledge them. His focus was primarily on his female.

  She appeared heart-tuggingly despondent.

  He was responsible for that also. Abashed, he sat across from her, uncertain what to say, what to do to patch the situation.

  Every gruff, tough warrior in the space stepped closer to them. Hostility rolled off the battle-worn beings. They all had mechanical limbs, and they all were protective of his female.

  Grudge would wager his best dagger she had assisted them in obtaining those replacement parts.

  The kid was right. His chin lifted. His female was a badass.

  “Call off your guards, my delicate little enhanced human.” He would protect her now. She was his, and he would earn that right.

  “Or what?” She quirked one of her eyebrows upward, meeting his gaze. “You’ll kill all of them?”

  He resisted the challenge in her voice. “I could kill all of them. That would be entertaining.” He enjoyed battle. “But killing them would damage your emotional system and I would never damage you in any way.” He paused. “Intentionally.”

  He had damaged her by withholding the truth of their relationship from her and he regretted that. It carved at his soul.

  “You would never damage me?” Her laugh held no humor. “You plan to kill me.”

  “I never planned to kill you. You’re my female.” He would cherish her…if she allowed him to do that. “You assumed ending your lifespan was my intention. I didn’t correct that faulty logic.” He exhaled heavily. “That was an error on my part.”

  She stared up at him. “You don’t plan to kill me?”

  “I don’t plan to kill you.” He shook his head.

  There was a stretch of silence.

  “But you came here to retrieve me.” His female tapped her leather-covered fingertips against the beverage container. “The Humanoid Alliance isn’t known for the leniency. What do they plan to—”

  “I don’t answer to the Humanoid Alliance.” He hated his manufacturers. “They’re my enemies also.” He gripped her ha
nds.

  The Palavian growled. He and the other warriors moved toward them.

  They had killing in their eyes.

  Grudge didn’t release his female’s fingers. If he had to fight them all, he would do that. He would prove himself to her.

  “It’s okay.” She addressed her guards. “I can handle this.” Her gaze shifted from warrior to warrior. “The cyborg is mine.”

  Her protectors nodded and disbanded, returning to their beverages. The chatter resumed.

  “I am yours.” Relief swept through Grudge. He must not have damaged their bond beyond repair. His female had verbally claimed him.

  “You’re mine to slice into tiny little pieces.” The passion blazing in her big brown eyes hardened his cock. “If you’re not with the Humanoid Alliance, what the fuck were you doing on the space station?”

  “Cyborgs are warriors.” He shrugged.

  “And warriors like weapons.” His clever female processed what he was implying. “There were plenty of those on board the space station.”

  There were also warships. Those were the bigger prize. “I more than like you.” He craved her with every aspect of his being. His balls ached for her.

  “I don’t like you.” His female scowled at him.

  “You more than like me also.” He smiled cheerily back at her. She was so fraggin’ cute. “I want to lick you all over.”

  “I want to kick your ass into the next galaxy.” She shook her head. “You were always going to let me go, weren’t you? I sucked you off for fuckin’ nothing.”

  “You enjoyed sucking me off.” He brushed his thumbs over her leather-clad hands, rubbing small circles into the material, savoring that physical contact with her. “I certainly enjoyed it. I’ve replayed that footage fourteen thousand, two hundred and fifty-one times.”

  “You would do that.” She rolled her eyes. “Why are you here?” She didn’t deny she enjoyed sucking him off. “And if you say you followed me because you want to fuck me, I really will kick your ass.”

  There was an 87.1258 percent probability saying he sought to claim her forever would earn him an ass kicking also. That might be fun. But it could be paired with her trying to escape him again.

  He didn’t relish another separation from his female. The last one had been a trial.

  “We’re seeking the locations of the Humanoid Alliance space stations.” He decided to speak to Cadet’s goal. “We found the one near Rohini 9 by mere chance. It’s imperative that we uncover the coordinates of the others.”

  “You want information.” She expelled a deep breath. “That was what all this.” She swirled her fingers between them. “Was about—extracting that intel from me.”

  “This.” He mimicked her motions. “Has nothing to do with the information you might be retaining.” He wouldn’t allow her to replace one misconception with another. “I could have obtained that knowledge from you on the space station…before you sucked my cock.”

  He intentionally goaded her.

  It had the results he’d projected.

  His female’s head lifted, her sass returning. “You’re assuming I would have given that information to you.”

  “I had you restrained.” He recalled how he had straddled her, the feel of her form under him. His circuits hummed with need. His cock pressed against his body armor. “You would have given the information to me.”

  “I surrendered because I was protecting the fuckin’ kid.” She met his gaze directly. The passion shining from her brown eyes pulled at his balls and stroked his shaft. “If I knew you weren’t planning to kill her, I would have fought harder.”

  “You still would have lost.” He was 100.0000 percent certain of that. “You’re an enhanced human but you remain mostly human…and you’re tiny.”

  “This tiny enhanced human is truly going to kick your ass.” She glared at him.

  “You say that, yet here I am, with my ass unkicked.” He grinned at her. “We’ll fuck before we fight.” He drew a loud breath, sucking in her tantalizing scent. “I smell your need, my female.”

  Red bloomed high on her cheeks, under her dark skin. “I thought you wanted information.”

  “I want you and information.” His shoulders rose and fell. “I’m a cyborg. We excel at multi-tasking.”

  The disgusted look she gave him would have been more emotionally damaging if the musk of her arousal hadn’t intensified. His female liked that he wanted her.

  Which was good. Because he projected he’d never stop wanting her.

  She was his.

  “The universe doesn’t revolve around your cock.” She drew back from him. “Now that I know I won’t be dying, I have other things to do.”

  “You could revolve around my cock.” He leaned forward and clasped her hands once more, reestablishing that physical contact with his female, preventing her from escaping him. “The breeding variation I sent you four shifts ago was…intriguing.”

  It was fraggin’ stimulating. His balls throbbed with yearning merely processing its potential.

  “You’re a freak, cyborg.” Her eyes gleamed.

  His female was interested in trying that variation also. He saw that in her expression.

  They sat around the small horizontal support. He held her hands, caressing her leather-clad palms, stroking her, touching her.

  She didn’t pull away from him.

  He considered that to be another win. Soon, she would allow him to fully claim her.

  His body hummed with anticipation.

  “Your arm is green this planet rotation.” He broke the silence with that observation. Her mechanical limb had matched her garments the last time he’d met with her.

  “It is my strongest arm.” She gazed down at it. “Green is fuckin’ powerful.”

  “The kid is green.” He was 100.0000 certain the designation of green for power wasn’t a coincidence.

  “The Humanoid Alliance took everything from her—her arm, her family, her home.” His female didn’t meet his gaze. “But they couldn’t take away her power.”

  The arm was a reminder of that.

  His head dipped. “The Humanoid Alliance didn’t take away your power.”

  And they hadn’t taken away his.

  “They took everything else from me.” His female pulled her hands out of his grasp.

  “You have the offspring.” He reminded her of that. “You have a barely functional freighter. And now you have me.”

  She would always have him.

  “I don’t do relationships.” Her words were clipped.

  The statement might have damaged another warrior. Grudge viewed it as a challenge. “You do them now.”

  “Fuck.” She lifted the beverage container to her lips, tossed back the contents. “You and the kid are competing to be the biggest pain in my ass.”

  “I’ll win that competition.” He laughed, overjoyed by that comparison.

  His female loved the kid. She had placed him in the same category as Jasny.

  In the future, she would grow to love him, would say the human love words to him.

  He wanted that above all else.

  He also wanted her. “We should fuck.” He shifted in his chair. “I’m as hard as a dagger.” His aroused state was…distracting.

  “We’re not fucking.” His fragile little enhanced human played with the beverage container, batting it between her palms.

  One, two, three heartbeats passed.

  “Mulls.” She signaled to the Ungarian distributing beverages. “We’re using your working chambers.”

  Grudge grinned.

  There was only one reason to relocate to the working chambers.

  His female wanted to breed with him also.

  Chapter Ten

  The cyborg didn’t plan to kill her.

  Taelyn grabbed his hand and led him into Mulls’ working chambers, securing the door behind them. The space was soundproof, was perfect for what she intended to do with him.

  She’d die
some planet rotation, but that time wouldn’t be now. If she was fortunate, she might see Jasny mature into a warrior, a being able to protect herself.

  Then she wouldn’t have to fuckin’ worry about her.

  “You don’t deserve this fuck,” she informed Grudge. “You made me believe I was going to die. I told the kid she’d be following a new warrior around, stressing her out for no fuckin’ good reason, and now she’s being a complete pain in my ass, not allowing me out of her sight.”

  The kid was likely, right now, haunting the beverage outlet’s doors, watching for her to exit.

  “That was an error, and I warrant a reprimand.” The cyborg’s head lowered. “The Humanoid Alliance would decommission us, kill us in the most painful means possible, if we made an error.”

  Shit. She gawked at him. He must hate those cruel fuckers as much as she did.

  “I’m not going to fuckin’ kill you, you dramatic ass.” She covered her horror with gruffness. “If you want to fuck, remove your body armor.” She kicked off her boots. “We’re doing this properly this time.”

  Grudge stripped so fast his arms blurred. One moment he was fully dressed. The next moment he stood in front of her magnificently naked.

  Her lips twitched. His eagerness to fuck was a balm for her battered soul.

  And it temporarily distracted her from her trepidation. “I wasn’t born with a mechanical arm.” She tugged the hand coverings off her fingers, let them fall to the floor. “It doesn’t flow with my form as your limbs do.”

  The cyborg’s left arm and leg were fabricated from silver metal, were devoid of gray skin. That was their only variation from his right limbs.

  Her arm wasn’t as integrated as his were. It consisted of an implanted shoulder socket and a crafted limb. And the early socket installments had been rough. There were puckered skin and slashes of discoloration around the joint.

  Some males had been turned off by the sight of it. They hadn’t been able to hide their horror, their disgust.

  “If you don’t like what you see, you can fuck right off.” She would be devastated, but she would deal with the rejection. As she had dealt with it in the past from other males.

  “I would breed with you if you had no limbs, my female.” Her cyborg stroked his hard cock.