The lift opened for him since it was motion-sensor controlled. He entered Control seconds later. “Status?”
Veller rose from his command seat, stepping aside. “It’s good to see you recovered.”
“Take the chair. I am here to get an update.”
Veller frowned.
“I’m offline. I can’t link to our ship. You can. The hull patch?”
“Complete. No additional damage. You almost had it melded on when the incident occurred.”
He didn’t want to think about when his suit had been pierced. It had been traumatic. He’d survived, and that was all that mattered. “Any other problems?”
“None. We’re just watching the countdown until we try to leave the dead zone.”
“Display it for me.”
Veller sat back down and placed his hand on the pad at the chair. Stag wished he could do that. The front monitor came on and showed how much time remained.
“We’ve seen no other signs of thrusters. No other bombs attached except to the one solar panel that blew.”
“Good.”
“We’re in a safe sector until we move. They would have been drawn to our hull if any were within range. We kept an eye on the unaffected solar panels as they drifted outward, until we lost visuals on them. They remained intact.”
“You didn’t use exterior lights to track the panels, did you?”
Veller shook his head. “No light sources. I remembered your orders. Were your implants damaged?”
“I can’t be certain until they are online again.”
“That must be difficult.”
He met Veller’s direct stare. “It is.”
“I imagine it would be like losing a limb. Is it?”
Stag’s patience came to an end. “Why your curiosity?”
Veller slid his gaze away. “I apologize.”
Stag was tempted to return to his quarters and avoid the rest of the crew until he was back to standard, but that would mean spending time with Nala. He took a seat at coms. “Crew status?”
“Hellion and Parqel are doing routine maintenance. Kelis and Yammer just went off shift and are sleeping. Maze is currently in your quarters.”
“Two men should always be in Control at all times. You know the rules.”
“Maze was called away by the Earther. You’re here now.”
But I’m useless. Stag refused to share that information. “Get Maze back here.”
“Contacting him now.” He paused. “He’s on his way.”
Stag fisted his hands in his lap and looked at the dark space being displayed on the pads. He could watch for lights. He didn’t need his cybernetics for that.
Maze returned for shift duty within minutes. He took a seat at the weapons station and glanced at Stag. “Would you allow me to scan you?”
“I’m fine. How long will I be offline?”
“Your systems should reboot soon.”
“Why did this happen?” He was furious that he couldn’t access parts of himself. He kept trying but they didn’t respond.
“You suffered heart failure. It was better to shut everything down than risk parts being damaged by the electrical current it took to bring you back.”
“Understood.”
“Nala refused to allow me to scan her. I did insist on looking at the injury.”
He didn’t like the medic seeing Nala without her shirt. “Conclusion?” He hated that he’d hurt her, even if he hadn’t been aware of doing it. There was no honor in harming someone so weak. She was little and fragile.
“It will heal. She said she had no pain from moving her arms or taking deep breaths. It’s doubtful any bones were broken. It’s just soft tissue damage. I’d still like to scan her.”
“Leave her alone for now.” Stag just wished he could stop thinking about her. An image flashed inside his mind of her head bent, her mouth suckling at his nipple. He’d never experienced anything like it—or what happened after.
His cock began to respond and he shifted in the chair, focusing on the pad. It had to be because he’d been vulnerable without his implants. He couldn’t mute any of his responses to her. “Right now we have more important things to deal with.”
He’d avoid Nala until he was completely in control of his emotions and physical responses again, and forget all about what had happened on his bed. That was the best course of action to take. He’d nearly died, after all, and had woken disorientated. That had to be why he’d allowed her to get to him.
No Earther would get the best of him. They were deceitful, and males who fell under their seduction were naïve. Stag wasn’t.
* * * * *
Nala woke when the door opened and Stag entered. He didn’t spare her a glance as he began to remove his boots. He stored them in one of the touch drawers that slid back into the wall when he was done. He entered the cleansing unit next.
“So we’re ignoring each other?” She sighed, lay back down, but scooted to the wall to make room for him when the cleansing unit went off. She drifted back to sleep until he spoke.
“Did you eat?”
She rolled over, opening her eyes. He’d dimmed the lights and only wore a pair of shorts. Memories of him without them surfaced, but she tried to wipe that from her mind. “Yes. Maze not only brought me dinner but gave me a shot to help speed up healing.”
“How is your back?”
“Fine. How was your shift?”
He turned away, crossed the room and stretched his arm up. She knew that drawer—and it pissed her off as he opened it and withdrew the belts.
“No way. Nope.”
He gazed back at her. “What?”
“You’re not restraining me so you can sleep. Give me a break.”
“It’s a requirement.”
“Fuck you.” She rolled onto her side, back to him, and curled her arms to her chest. “I could have killed you when you were helpless. I didn’t. You should seek treatment for your paranoia, if cyborgs have therapists. You’re a mental case, Stag.”
The bed dipped. “Give me your wrists.”
She curled into a tighter ball. “I should have smothered you with your pillow when I had the chance.”
“Nala,” he warned. “Wrists. Now.”
She was tempted to flip him off but he had fast reflexes. He might grab her hand if she exposed it to him. “Good night. I’m going back to sleep now.”
“Don’t make me force you.”
She turned a little more, pulling her arms inside her shirt and pressing them against her skin. “Sleeping now. Go somewhere else if you can’t trust me.”
“You’re acting childish.”
“And you’re acting like an unreasonable ass.”
He surprised her when he gripped her waist and rolled her flat onto her back, straddling her in a heartbeat. He sat on her hips with his spread thighs pinning her in place, but kept most of his weight off. She glared up at him as he noticed what she’d done. Her arms were still curled tight to her chest, under her shirt. He frowned.
“Stop being a control freak. Get off me.”
“Wrists.” He had the restraints thrown over his bare shoulder, the other one still bandaged.
“No.”
He gripped the lower edge of her shirt and tugged it up a little, revealing inches of her stomach. He paused, staring at it. “Wrists,” he rasped. “Or I’ll be forced to find them myself.”
“Let me help you with that.” He was going to win in a physical contest. She lifted her shirt, shoving it up and over her head, then crossed her arms again, curling her hands between her breasts. “There.”
He stared at her chest. Her breasts were pushed up by her arms, exposed. A muscle flexed near his mouth but he didn’t move.
“Just grab them. Go ahead.”
He held very still.
“My wrists…to be clear.”
His gaze lifted and he reached for the restraints. She tensed. He was going to force her arms up and tie her to the top of the bunk again
. It would cost him though, since she’d be sleeping topless next to him.
He tossed the belts at the head of the bed and bent, his fists catching his weight on each side of her near her shoulders as he crouched down. He leaned in, holding her gaze. “What are you doing?”
“I’m not suffering alone.”
“What does that mean?”
She slowly reached up and slid her fingers into his hair, stroking the short strands. He had thick, great hair. “You want me tied up next to you? Fine. But it’s going to bother you that I’m topless. So do it.” She released his hair and lifted both arms up, arching her back. It was provocative and she knew it. “If I remember right, being tied up and naked saved my life. You must have a fondness for seeing me that way. Want the pants too? Take them.”
He didn’t move but he wasn’t holding her gaze anymore, instead watching her breasts.
“You’re attempting to seduce me to see if you can.”
“I already did,” she boasted. “You might want to pretend nothing happened, but it did. It felt really good too.”
He lifted one hand and reached for the belt. She tensed. He might want to strangle her with it for the taunt she’d just thrown down, but she didn’t think he’d really hurt her. He would have by now if he really hated her. She was starting to suspect that was a problem for him.
“You go too far, Nala. It’s as though you enjoy angering me.”
“It beats you being so cold.” She reached for him and splayed her hand on his chest. “Warm up, Stag. I like you when you’re hot.” She brushed her thumb over his nipple and it hardened, turning instantly erect.
He climbed off her—and she knew she’d pushed him too far.
Stag gently wrapped his fingers around her wrist and secured it with the belt, then attached the other end to the frame above her. She offered up the other one without making him fight for it. He said he was a person but he could be as cold as a machine. She’d tried to reach him, but he wasn’t going to let his guard down twice. He didn’t say it, but she understood.
“I’ll explain a part of cyborg society to you.”
She held still as he attached her other wrist. “Fantastic.”
He sat on the edge of the bed and put his back to her. “We have family units. They are the same as an Earther marriage…only your kind murdered most of our women. So few survived that we had to adjust the concept. Women take on more than just one husband, so most of our men have the opportunity to be a part of a family.” He turned then, watching her. “Our women are very selective of the men they choose to share homes with. They have various methods of judging prospective men. One is their job title and status. Another is their genetics. Flaws are not permitted.”
“Like being paranoid? Do you have a wife?” She hated the idea, already jealous, and even a bit horrified, because what if he wasn’t single? They’d had sex. His wife had other husbands, if what he said was true, so maybe cheating was accepted as the norm with cyborgs. It still didn’t sit right with her.
“I’m single. When I was younger, I considered joining into a family unit until I became aware of the ramifications.”
“What would those be?”
“The wives control every aspect of their husbands’ lives. They aren’t allowed to make a decision without consulting her first and getting her agreement.”
“Ah. Control freak you said hell no to that.” He wasn’t married and wouldn’t ever be. She was relieved by that news.
“Some of the women had certain other requirements, if you passed the status and genetic ones.” He stood up, walked to the end of the bed, and leaned over. “Physical ones.”
He gripped the bottom of her sleeping pants and tugged hard. He ripped them down her legs and she gasped, stunned. He tossed them aside as he straightened up and hooked his thumbs into the waist of his shorts, easing them lower.
“You want to play at seduction, Nala? You’re out of your league.” He freed his cock, already semi-hard, and shoved his shorts low enough to let gravity take them to the floor before stepping out of them. “I’m the best at everything I decide to do, so I’ve studied everything about a woman’s body.” His gaze languidly trailed over her body. “Cunnilingus. Stamina. Prepare to be schooled, little Earther.”
She was staggered by the change in him. He climbed on the bed, gripped her ankles, and lifted them to place her feet on his chest. He lowered to sit on his legs on the bed, skimmed his hands down the underside of her calves to her knees, then shoved them wide apart. He dropped forward, going flat on his stomach. It put his head right over her pussy. He kept watching her, licked his lips and smiled.
She would even call that spark she saw in his gorgeous blue eyes malicious.
“You want hot? You’re going to get it. I’m going to set you on fire, Nala. You’re going to beg me to fuck you, and I’m going to. Do you know why?”
No one had ever spoken to her that way before, and the things he threatened to do sounded heavenly. She didn’t care what his motives were. “Don’t be a dick.”
His eyes narrowed; she was pretty sure that response pissed him off. “No words then. Just learn.”
He shoved her thighs farther apart, his strong hands clutching them to adjust her pussy the way he wanted, then he dipped his head.
She thought he might tease her, but she was wrong. He licked her clit, teased it, and then clamped his mouth around that bundle of nerves with a near roughness that had her almost flinching.
The one boyfriend she’d had was super gentle when he’d gone down on her, but it seemed Stag didn’t know the meaning of the word as he began to suck and lash his tongue against her clit.
She twisted her wrists, grabbed hold of the belts and squeezed her eyes closed. Pleasure and ecstasy radiated through her until it was almost painful. She was going to come hard and fast. Moans tore through her and her body grew rigid, every muscle locking up in anticipation of him getting her off. He didn’t disappoint, sending her over the edge. She cried out as her hips bucked, the climax brutal.
He didn’t stop. She fought to get air into her lungs and frantically struggled to break away from his mouth, because she was oversensitive, but he stayed locked on her, licking and sucking.
Words came out of her mouth as she thrashed on the bed but he easily held her down. It was pain and pleasure. She lost track of time, couldn’t think, and was shocked when another burst of rapture tore through her.
He eased off her clit then and she lay panting, her body coated in sweat.
“I’m just starting, Nala.” His voice came out deeper. He released one of her thighs and she moaned when he ran his fingers down the seam of her pussy. “So wet. So ready for this.”
She cried out when he pushed two fingers inside and began to fuck her with them. He curved his fingers a little and quickened the pace. She tried to close her legs because it felt too intense, too good, but he pushed his shoulder against her free leg to pin it to the bed and lowered his mouth, trapping her clit with his lips. He unleashed his tongue again.
The cyborg was going to kill her. She came a third time, and would have screamed, except she didn’t have the strength or will. Her moans had left her throat feeling a bit raw. He pulled his mouth away as she rode out the climax, her vaginal muscles squeezing around his fingers. He slowly moved them, drawing out the orgasm.
He withdrew his fingers finally and released her thigh with his hand, lifting his shoulder off her other one.
Nala opened her eyes, out of breath, and stared at him as he climbed over her leg and stretched out on his side next to her.
“Now I’m going to fuck you.”
He grabbed her hip and turned her onto her side, facing the wall. He was so strong. She’d give him that. While she felt like a wet noodle that had been wrung out. He hooked her around the waist, pressed up against her back, and then let his hand skim over her stomach to her hip, then over the top of her thigh. He slid his hand farther, grasping and lifting her leg. He scooted down, molding
his lower stomach against the curve of her ass as he hiked her leg a little higher.
“Lift your head.”
It took effort but she did it. He slid his other arm under her cheek, his biceps becoming her pillow. They were plastered together spoon style. He curled his knees, shoving her bottom leg forward on the bed. His stiff shaft ended up wedged against her pussy when he adjusted them one more time. He let the hand holding her leg trail lower, just under her knee, and hooked it over his thigh. He let go, reached over her hip, and gripped his cock.
He slid the head of it against her pussy and she moaned as he entered her, curving his body even tighter around hers, until he was seated deep.
He twisted the arm under her head a tiny bit to jerk her even closer to his chest. “Your smaller size is an advantage right now. You’re trapped inside my arms.”
She actually liked it. He was wrapped around her tight, and he was so warm. She just wanted to pass out and sleep like that. She even yawned, completely spent.
His mouth moved next to her ear and he chuckled. “Worn out so easily? You’re in bed with a cyborg, Nala.”
He arched his back. She could feel his stomach press tighter ass. It also withdrew him a bit from inside her, his cock moving. He thrust his hips, driving back into her deep. She moaned and tugged at the restraints holding her arms above her head. One was pinned under his arm though, so she couldn’t move that one. The belts didn’t have much give in them this time.
“We covered cunnilingus but we haven’t gotten to stamina yet. I can do this to you for hours.”
He moved, slowly fucking her. It felt incredible. Nala moaned, and Stag cupped her stomach, ran his hand lower, his fingers pressing up against her clit. Every glide of his hips had him massaging her intimately.
“Don’t touch me there,” she pleaded. “Too sensitive.”
“You don’t know the meaning of the word yet.” He nuzzled his face against her throat and began to place kisses on her shoulder. He thrust into her deeper, faster, and applied more pressure against her clit.
Nala cried out, unable to form words anymore.
Stag was going to kill her. It just wasn’t in a way she’d ever imagined. He was going to screw her to death—and probably give her a heart attack brought on by orgasms.