“I don’t understand.”
“They either think I’m a source of amusement by putting me down for being a woman or think I’m onboard for them to sexually harass. I don’t take kindly to either endeavor. It’s kind of fun to toss them onto their asses. Sometimes I play holoball with the computer. It doesn’t slam into me on purpose to cop a feel.”
“To what?”
She bit her lip. “Maul me. You know, bump into me to grope my ass or my breasts.”
He frowned. “Humans are crude. Are you joined in a family unit?”
“No way.” She shook her head.
“You are antisocial?”
“Let’s just say I’ve dated over the years but it never worked out. I learned to just avoid the entire uncomfortable situation.”
Icy blue eyes narrowed. “What was uncomfortable about dating?”
He was talking. It might not be about something she wished to discuss but it beat the silence. “Well, first off I always knew it couldn’t be anything long-term. I don’t age. I think after a decade or so they’d start to notice. There was also the whole faking-my-death thing I have to do after a certain amount of time. I didn’t want to hurt anyone when they believed I’d died. I sure couldn’t tell them the truth. There’s a huge reward on the heads of unauthorized artificial Models. Clones and work drones who appear human fall into that category. It’s illegal to try to pass as totally human and they’d have ordered me destroyed. I don’t believe I’ve ever met anyone who could resist that kind of high payment just to wake up next to me every morning. Call me cynical but love has its limits when cold, hard cash is on the line, considering it means everything to most humans.”
“You never told anyone you are different?”
“No one knew except the small team. There were six people total who were in on the project, all emotionally vested, and any would have died to protect me. My mother died when I was young so the team became the only family I had. This is the first time I’ve allowed anyone to know my secret. It’s not as though I can talk about it freely without it feeling as if my head is going to explode.”
“You’re not in any pain now.” He studied her face. “I’d see it.”
“I am, but if I’m careful about what I say, the headache will fade. The pain is not severe because we’re talking without me going into detailed specifics of how I was made or who did it. And no names. Those are major triggers.”
“Are any of them fatal?”
“You mean would my head really explode? No. It just cripples me with the pain and could make me lose consciousness. It sucks.”
A bell sounded and Krell frowned, rose to his feet and glared at the door. He didn’t spare her a glance as he passed her chair. He paused by the door to touch the panel. His body tensed and the door slid open.
Two cyborg males stood on the other side of the door in red uniforms. They peered past Krell until they spotted her. Both men stared until Krell shifted his stance to block their view.
“Why are you here, Ovis and Naglis? Our meeting isn’t for another five days.”
The one on the right, the blond, cleared his throat. “We were informed of the situation and wanted to meet the female.”
The other one, a brunette with two girlish braids streaming over his shoulders put his hands on his hips. “We get along well with you and decided to approach you about an alliance.”
“Unbelievable,” Krell snarled. “Go away.”
The blond stepped forward. “They showed footage of her. We’re willing to bargain with you. We do get along well.”
The braided one nodded. “You have to acknowledge that you would be difficult for a female to handle on a full-time basis and you enjoy your solitude. We’re willing to take her off your hands whenever you need a break.”
Cyan stood and crept closer, curious what they were talking about. She knew the two guys spoke about her but why would they want to volunteer to help Krell babysit her?
“What is going on?”
Krell turned his head to stare at her, anger tightened his handsome features and his lips parted. Before he could speak though, the braided guy suddenly lunged between the space of Krell’s body and the wall to enter the living area. He grinned at Cyan as his gaze raked down her body, hesitated on her breasts.
“I’m called Ovis. It is an honor to meet you. I’ve come with my friend for you to consider.”
Krell grabbed the man’s shoulder, jerked him back and planted his big body between her and the guy invading his home. He snarled. “Leave.”
“She should be given a choice.” The blond stepped through the open doorway. “You’re undesirable. She hasn’t met many males since her arrival.” He fixed his green gaze on her. “I’m Naglis. I’m easy on the eyes and well versed in pleasuring a female.”
Cyan knew her jaw dropped. She had to close it firmly. Krell snarled again, threw Ovis backward, and shoved him directly into Naglis. Both of them stumbled into the hallway before they fell in a mass of tangled limbs to the floor. Krell slammed the door before they could struggle to their feet. He turned, glaring at her.
“I knew you’d be trouble.”
The door beeped.
“What did I do?” Cyan stared at him, confused.
“You’re beautiful and desirable to males.”
She was at a loss for words.
The door beeped again. Krell spun, slapped his palm on the panel and tore it away to face her once more. He really appeared angry when he did. “I shut off the chime and sealed the door. They won’t annoy me any longer and can’t gain admittance.”
“What is going on? Why are you so pissed at me? What did I do?”
“The council decided to share the news of your existence with our people and showed them your image. More of them will come.”
“I’m trying to follow the logic here but I’m totally confused. Why are they so eager to babysit me?”
Krell advanced a step to glower down at her. “They aren’t unless your version of babysitting involves stripping naked to engage in sexual contact.”
Shock tore through her. “They came here to hit on me?”
“They came here to introduce themselves to you and offer their bodies for your pleasure in hopes you’d agree to join a family unit with them.” He growled. “Now more of them will come. I never should have agreed to this.”
Cyan took some deep breaths and ignored the muted pounding noises. They’d given up ringing the bell Krell had turned off and were beating on the door instead. She’d had plenty of guys hit on her but none had shown up in twos, offering her pleasure before. She suddenly grinned at the way he’d said that and the images it presented in her mind.
“You find this amusing?”
“I’m just wondering what they would have done to try to convince me is all.”
Rage darkened his features and he spun around. To her shock he pressed his hand on the panel and the door opened. He stepped back, flashed her a heated glare and pressed against the wall.
“Find out then. Don’t allow me to stop you.”
The two males hesitated outside the door, glanced at Krell and quickly entered his home. Cyan backed up to keep space between her and the two cyborgs who were looking at her as if she were their prime objective. Both were large, intimidating males, but not nearly as big as Krell. The door closed behind them and they kept pace with her as she continued to try to keep a good five feet between them.
“Stop,” she demanded.
Both men paused, staring at her. She shot Krell a dirty look where he remained by the door against the wall, watching with anger. She could relate to that. The bastard had taken an innocent, flip comment and turned it in to some kind of challenge.
Braids grinned at her. “You wish to consider us?”
“Hell no.”
That killed his smile. “The offer is sincere.” He stared at her breasts openly, not hiding his interest. “We are much better suited for you than Krell.”
The blond, Naglis,
inched a little to the left. “I’m the most used male in the breeding pact I belong to.”
“I don’t even know what that means.” She held still but her muscles tightened and her fists clenched to strike out if need be. She remained on alert.
The blond frowned. “We’re assigned to breeding pacts, which consist of twelve males, and when a male is unable to impregnate his female, I am called upon to have sexual interaction with her. I have very viable sperm, I’ve bred with dozens of females and have the most experience. I not only enjoyed the women in my pact but I’ve tested the compatibility with twice as many as that.”
“My sperm is viable too,” Ovis grumbled. “I’ve been called upon often as well and know how to please a woman. Between the two of us we could satisfy your every need.”
“Unbelievable,” she muttered. “Seriously?”
“Yes.” Naglis grinned. “Would you agree to test our physical compatibility?”
“Not in this lifetime.” She inched away from them. “Keep your hands to yourself.”
Ovis scoffed. “You can’t seriously mean to just allow Krell to touch you. He doesn’t belong to a breeding pact. No female wishes to have him donate his sperm. He’s undesirable since they’d have to touch him. Breeding requires physical contact. Other measures have failed.”
“We checked before we arrived and he’s not listed as having been with a female for over sixty months. No female has requested an audience with him to ask for his sperm or to interview him as a potential male to add to her family unit. You should know this before you allow him to engage in physical activity. Leave with us now and spare yourself the boredom of his touch.”
Her gaze shifted to Krell. He wasn’t looking at her anymore, instead he was staring at the wall, and she saw something she hated to see on his handsome, scarred features. Humiliation. It pissed her off that Braids and Blondie would dare insult him in his own home.
“We will care for you and tend to your needs.” Ovis reached out and gripped her waist. “We will convince you to join a family unit with us and promise you won’t have to share a bed with your primary male. Krell is irrelevant. Even the council is aware of his flaws. They deemed him unfit to be part of a breeding pact. Our women won’t touch him. Come with us.”
She looked down at the hand curved on her hip. “Remove it or I’ll do it for you.” She lifted her chin, glaring at him. “The answer is no. Get out.”
He gripped her tighter instead of releasing her and Cyan had enough. She shot her hand out, her palm impacted with his throat and he choked as he stumbled backward. She spun around, lifted her foot in a fluid motion and nailed him with her bare heel to his stomach just to knock him on his ass.
Her gaze turned to the stunned blond. “Naglis? Get out and take your buddy with you or you’ll end up next to him on the floor.”
He backed up, his features confused, and held out a hand to his braided friend who was having a hard time catching his breath. He hauled Ovis up, gawked at Cyan, and Krell opened the door silently. Both men fled. The door closed and Krell’s blue gaze met hers.
“Don’t ever do that again.” She slowly approached him, not caring how much bigger he was. “That was all kinds of screwed up. I don’t want to be hit on.”
“You seemed interested and I didn’t want to stand in your way.”
She paused before him, inches between their bodies, and had to tilt her head back to keep eye contact with him. She reached for his hand, slid hers over the back of his, and laced their fingers together. He allowed it, a slightly stunned look on his features, and she raised their joined hands to the panel on the wall until his palm pressed against it.
“Lock and seal the door. I mean it, Krell. No more guys coming in here to hit on me.”
He glanced away from her to the panel, adjusted his hand slightly, and her keen hearing heard something click. It was probably him sealing the locks into place. She kept hold of the back of his hand though as her other one reached up to press against his firm stomach, covered only by thin material. She could feel his tight muscles. His head turned back, chin lowered, and their gazes met again.
“It sucks if that’s your idea of humor.” She kept her voice low. “I don’t enjoy being touched and that creep put his hand on me.”
He swallowed, his Adam’s apple sliding along his scarred throat. “You’re touching me now.”
“I kind of like you but if you do that again it can change really quick.” She paused, feeling his six-pack abs tense more in response to her words. “That wasn’t all kinds of fun for you either. I’d strongly suggest getting new ones if those are your friends. They were total assholes.”
“They are work associates. I have few friends.”
“I’m shocked,” she stated sarcastically. “You’re so talkative, after all.”
His eyes narrowed and his lips pressed firmly together as they stared at each other. “Why are you touching me?”
“Why are you allowing it? That’s the real question.”
“You’re small and I don’t want to push you away. You could fall.”
“Your reflexes are fast enough to catch me before I hit the floor.” She inched her hand a little lower on his stomach. “What were those guys talking about? Why won’t cyborg women date you?”
His expression hardened and an angry glint made his eyes appear downright chilly. “It’s obvious.”
His scars. Her hand left the back of his and she released his stomach. She reached up slowly, always careful not to move too fast around him to make certain he didn’t mistake her actions for an attack, and cupped his face. Her thumb softly traced the worst scar along his cheek.
“I guess cyborgs aren’t as smart as they think. These don’t distract from how handsome you are and they only prove the strength it took to survive.” She glanced at the ones on his neck, the ones peeking out from the top of his shirt, before she met his gaze again. “You’re lucky you didn’t die from what those asshole guards did to you. I’m so sorry you suffered so much inside that cell. It never should have happened.”
He reached up and gripped her wrists, lowered his head to peer deeply into her eyes, and seemed to be looking into her soul. The coldness of his stare seemed to soften. They didn’t talk, just stood there watching each other until she became aware of something hard pressing against her stomach. She broke eye contact with him to glance down.
“Damn.”
She stared at the bulge of his cock that tented out his pants. The guy was really hung and it was currently touching her through their clothes since she had to notice once more that he obviously wasn’t wearing underwear to contain his arousal and the material didn’t hold his straining cock too tightly against his body.
He released her wrists and gripped her hips suddenly. He shoved her back, released her as quickly as he’d touched her, and stomped into the living room.
“Unbelievable,” he snarled.
“I agree,” she muttered.
She stood there watching him throw his big frame back into the black chair and met the angry glare he directed her way. He reached over, grabbed a pillow from another chair and dropped it over his lap. It didn’t do much but make it more obvious he was trying to shield something from her view. She already knew she affected him.
“We’re not done talking.” With a wave of his hand, he motioned for her to sit.
Cyan forced her legs to move. She sat across from him, tried not to glance at the pillow, and instead focused on his face. It obviously pissed him off to be attracted to her. She felt more confused than angry at feeling the same way about him. He wasn’t her type, was too tall, too gruff, and obviously didn’t welcome the thought of any type of attachment to her.
“What do you want to talk about?”
“It was your bet and you won it. You wanted five hours of my time.”
Five hours seemed like a really long time now and talking wasn’t first on her list of things she wanted to do with him anymore. Her body responded to his. She had
n’t dated in a long time, could chalk it up to that, but wouldn’t allow herself off the hook that easily on a flimsy excuse. She inwardly winced at that assessment. Krell was hot, damaged, a cyborg, and nearly irresistible to her. The fact that he had an amazing body and sported the most impressive cock size she’d ever seen only added to his magnetism.
“We were discussing your implants.” He shifted his leg to spread his thighs a little in the chair.
She wondered if his hard-on was making sitting uncomfortable for him. “Right.” She cleared her throat. “We were.” Ignore the elephant in the room, or in Krell’s case, the massive wood mast he’s sporting. She smiled at the thought. “What do you want to know?”
“You said it can’t kill you if you trigger the conditioning but it causes pain and can cause unconsciousness.”
“That’s right.” She shifted in her seat, aware that she had her own discomforts to deal with now that her lower region seemed to ache. Krell’s physical reaction to her made it worse because she knew he wanted her too. “This body is basically human…for the most part. They did an amazing job.”
“Can you safely discuss what was done?”
She hesitated. “I don’t know the details but they transferred ‘me’ into this body.” She met his gaze, held it and couldn’t resist running her hands over her thighs. He lowered his gaze, watching her movements with keen concentration. Being aroused seemed to distract her enough to avoid the usual pain while discussing her past.
“Go on. I’m interested in hearing this.” His voice came out low and husky.
“It seems that I’m not affected by the aging process. At least I don’t think so. I haven’t gone senile yet. As far as sensations go, this body feels totally human.” She licked her lips, knew she was playing with fire, and traced her hands upward to her waist, along the sides of her breasts, and paused there. “It can feel everything, every touch, even a breeze.”
She paused when he tensed, his hands gripping the edges of the arms of the chair enough to see his fingers dig into the material. He looked ready to lunge at her and she wondered what she’d do if he did. She doubted she’d say no if he wanted to touch her. She couldn’t ever remember wanting to know what it would be like to have a man make love to her as much as she wanted Krell. She wasn’t sure if he’d be tender or not. He was a mystery and obviously, from what his friends said, a little sex starved. She could relate. He didn’t leave his chair though. She felt disappointment.