“She’s got an identification chip but I don’t think it’s got tracking abilities.”
“I don’t have any chips.” Mira frowned, staring at the round object on the screen. “I mean, I’d know if I had one, right?”
The scanner was set aside and cool hands touched the top of her ass. Flint’s hands tightened on her breasts. “Why are you touching her?”
Doc sighed. “Is it all right that I’m feeling how deep it’s embedded? The scar is old so they probably had her tagged as a baby. They usually don’t do that unless the family is political or has money, making the chance of abduction high. It looks like someone thinks your woman is important.”
“Remove it,” Flint ordered.
“I can’t at this angle since you’re behind her. She’s going to have to bend over or lie flat on the table without you in the way for me to get to it.”
Flint leaned over her and adjusted his hold so his arm was back across her breasts. He gripped the shirt and held it in front of them. “Put it on.”
She snatched it from his fingers and put it back on, grateful to be dressed again. She tugged the shirt down, hiding her body, the material settling on her thighs as they both straightened. Flint released her and moved away, shoving her shirt down to her ass so it covered her completely. He jumped off the table and reached for her. She locked her thighs together as Flint lifted her and put her on her feet. He glanced at her and then the table before he moved her to the end of the med bed.
She was facing the room now, her gaze roaming the group of cyborgs staring at her, noticing that a few more had arrived so she counted again. Twenty-four cyborg men were in the room now. She backed up and bumped into Flint. He sighed heavily.
“Ignore them.”
She turned her head to stare up at him. “Are you joking? Is that supposed to be funny?”
“It’s unavoidable.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “They are curious because you are the only female on board and you are human. You are safe with me, Mira.”
“Can’t you insist they leave?”
“It’s an all-access part of the ship so they have as much right to be here as we do. Shut your eyes, bend over, and forget they are here. Obey me.”
She shut her eyes and bent over the table, her fingers digging hard into the med bed in anger. “If you weren’t such a strong, big son of a bitch I’d at least try to slap you for that ‘obey me’ crap you keep saying. I’m not a lap dog.”
She heard a male chuckle. It wasn’t Flint. She knew it came from Doc.
“You have to move out of the way for me to reach her, Flint. I have to hike up her shirt and touch her to remove it.”
“Watch where you touch,” Flint warned.
“I’m not going to molest her. Goddamn, Flint, I’m old enough to be her father. It might be a long damn time since I saw a naked woman but it hasn’t been that long. Move farther back to give me room to work. I have to give her a shot and then remove that ID chip. I’ll scan the back of her legs while I’m here. Are you sure you want me to brand her?”
“You know it needs to be done to protect her.”
Doc sighed. “Right. I spend too much time on this ship.”
Chapter Five
Mira didn’t open her eyes but she jumped a little when her shirt lifted to expose her ass. She flushed. If she opened her eyes she knew she’d see twenty-four cyborgs watching her. Her only comfort was that she was facing them so her backside wasn’t exposed to their view. She kept her eyes closed and tried like hell to forget their existence but it was impossible to do.
“Are you branded, Doc?” She decided to sidetrack her thoughts.
“Nope.” Something cold was wiped against her skin numbing the area. “I live on the Star—the ship we are on now. I’m the full-time medic who takes care of the crew.”
“How did you end up on the ship?”
He chuckled. “She’s full of questions, Flint. Am I allowed to answer her?”
“That’s fine if you don’t mind her curiosity,” Flint said softly, standing very close to her elbow at the side of the table, watching Doc closely. “She seems to like asking questions.”
“I used to be the medic on this ship when humans still had her. The Star was a recon ship looking for other habitable planets until pirates hit us four years ago. I was one of the lucky ones to survive the takeover since they needed a breathing medic. I was stuck in that hellish situation for a year, little more than a prisoner forced to work for them, while they barely kept me alive. Then one day we got boarded by these fellows. They rid me of the pirates and offered to send me back to Earth on the next ship they stopped that was heading that way since they were keeping the Star. I decided to tag along instead since I don’t have anything on Earth to go back to and this is my home. I’m pretty happy here. They feed me well, keep me stocked in reading material, and the company is good. I even get a trip to the Borian every few months when we go there to trade.”
“What is the Borian? I haven’t heard of that.”
The Doc hesitated. “Well, now, um…”
“It’s a floating pleasure ship,” Flint said softly. “We barter with them. Garden is a lush planet. We grow many crops and have plenty of water. We exchange with them for what we need.”
Mira’s eyes snapped open and she turned her head to stare up at Flint in shock. “You trade that for sex?” She didn’t like the idea of Flint sleeping with pleasure workers. She had heard about those ships, that they were floating gambling casinos for the most part with female sex workers where diseases ran rampant, even with current medical technology.
Flint frowned. “No. We trade for materials for our clothing, electronic equipment, and supplies we can’t obtain on Garden.”
Relief hit her. “Oh.”
“We pay money for that,” Doc chuckled. “They only deal in currency for sex.”
Flint looked away from her, turning his full attention on her backside. “He’s got the ID chip out.”
She was shocked it was over that quickly. She hadn’t experienced any pain. Doc had already given her a shot to fight infection before slicing out the tag. She grimaced at the thought of him cutting into her ass.
“Is the cut bad?”
Flint shook his head. “It is under an inch and it was shallowly put. You don’t have much fleshy tissue there.”
“Can you check me for diseases, Doc?” Mira glared at Flint. “I was clean sexually but I know how dirty those women on those ships can be. I’ve obviously now been exposed.” The idea of Flint with pleasure-worker women was enough to make her clench her teeth.
Flint shot an angry look at her and his mouth slammed into a tight line. “Belay that. I do not have diseases, Mira.”
“Pleasure workers are loaded with diseases.”
He clenched his teeth. “I always use medicondoms and have regular exams.”
“You don’t always use condoms.”
“You are the only female I haven’t used a condom with because you are mine. You have not been exposed to sexual diseases.”
“Children,” Doc chuckled, “you might want to save this discussion for later, no matter how amusing everyone is finding it.”
Mira turned her head, suddenly reminded about all the men on Flint’s ship, seeing amusement on a few faces. She softly cursed before dropping her head. Her forehead rested on the soft med bed as she shut her eyes. She was definitely going to have a talk with Flint later.
“All done. She’s been scanned and there are no more hidden surprises. If you have her sit down and bare her upper body I’ll brand her for you.”
Flint shoved her shirt over her ass and down her thighs. She opened her eyes and sat up on the med bed while Doc walked to a cabinet. He returned with a bag. She eyed it with dread. She’d never wanted her skin marred. If she was getting tattooed to match Flint, she’d have wiggly patterns over both shoulders.
“Bare your body,” the doctor told Flint. “I’ll use the imager on you and then get to work so the
y are exact on her.”
Flint removed his shirt without hesitation, giving Mira a great view of his tattoos. They were thick black images on his beautiful metallic-gray skin. She glanced at her shoulder. It wouldn’t be too bad. They were just on the curve of the shoulder down the front of Flint’s chest a few inches. Then Flint turned. She hadn’t gotten a look at his back because when he’d been naked he’d been facing her. The markings went over his shoulders and down onto his shoulder blades.
The Doc removed what looked like a tiny camera and pointed it at Flint, who slowly turned. They repeated the process on each side. The doctor nodded.
“I got it.”
“Wait,” a deep voice said loudly.
Flint tensed and spun around. Mira swallowed hard, turning her head, watching the large redheaded cyborg with the braid down to his ass approach. He walked closer, his eyes locked with Flint’s, stopping five feet from them.
“What do you want, Iron?” Flint’s voice sounded like gravel and he looked angry. “Why are you halting Doc?”
The cyborg cocked his head, studying Flint. “I will trade you for her.”
“No.”
Relief hit Mira. She didn’t want to be traded. The cyborg with the braid looked pissed. “You haven’t even heard my offer.”
“I do not wish to trade her. There is nothing that I want more than her.”
Iron took a deep breath. “I will give you the Levi. You like my shuttle so I will trade it for the human.”
“Why would you trade the Levi for her?”
Fear hit Mira hard since Flint didn’t say no immediately. Asking questions was a bad sign. She didn’t want to be given away. She didn’t want to end up belonging to the other cyborg. She liked Flint. She didn’t worry that he would hurt her or sell her to a pleasure house. He’d saved her life when he’d taken her off that shuttle because if he’d left her there she would have blown up with it.
“I find myself attracted to her and you seem to enjoy her since you look pleased. Unlike you, I am assigned to the Star for six more months. She would make my off shifts enjoyable.”
“I won’t trade her. Your offer is very generous but I want her for more than sex. I have plans for her.” Flint said the words softly. “She is not for trade.”
Iron looked pissed. Flint tensed as they watched each other. Mira feared that they’d fight, and they looked evenly matched, both being large males, so worry ate at her. She held her breath until Flint finally spoke.
“I will give my consent to stop the Piera shuttle. They usually carry human females if you want to own one so badly.”
The other cyborg nodded and his body relaxed almost instantly. “I can live with that compromise.”
Flint nodded. He turned around to glare at Doc. “Brand her now.”
Mira jerked her attention to Doc as he removed something from the case. She’d never seen anything like it before. It looked like a wrap pad but it was thicker and bulkier than the heated wrap pads used for sore muscle relief. Doc hooked the camera into a cord that trailed from the wrap. He moved forward, holding it.
“Bare her.”
Flint moved. He gripped her shirt and yanked it over her head. Mira grabbed her breasts, trying to cover them when Flint didn’t bother shielding her this time from the men in the room. He did toss the shirt on her thighs so her lap was hidden. He gripped her arms right above her elbows to hold her still.
“Do it fast,” Flint almost hissed. “I see dissent. The longer she is unmarked the more dangerous it is. I should have had you brand her the second I brought her on board.”
Doc nodded, looking nervous. “Hold still, Mira. I’m going to put this on you and then give you a shot for pain. Whatever you do, don’t move.”
Doc dropped the wrap over her skin. She gasped as the thing seemed to move on its own to snugly pull tight around her shoulders and back. It hugged around her front as if the thick pad had a mind of its own. Her frightened gaze flew to Flint.
“It is forming to you,” he said quietly, gripping her tighter. “Don’t move. You don’t want to mess up the branding.”
Doc turned away to grab a syringe that he jabbed into Mira’s arm before she could even get a good look at it. It hit fast and hard. In seconds she swayed a little as the sensation of her body getting heavy and her limbs getting numb hit her. It worked up her shoulders and into her throat. She experienced a total loss of feeling and control of her body from her neck to her waist.
“Can you feel?”
“What have you done? Am I paralyzed?” Mira heard the panic in her voice.
“Do you have her? The transfer is ready,” Doc said to Flint.
“She won’t move. Do it.”
Doc gripped the camera-like device and punched in something on the small screen. Mira couldn’t feel a damn thing. Flint held her firmly by her arms. She could feel her ass and legs fine, it was just from waist to throat that was deadened. She didn’t have the urge to fall over but she might have if not for Flint’s grip. She took a breath and then frowned, sniffing.
“What is that smell? Is it time to eat?” Mira smelled food.
Flint and Doc glanced at each other. Doc frowned at Mira. “You can eat soon. This won’t take long so just hold still. The imager copied Flint’s designs exactly. It even factors in his bone placement so the design is perfectly aligned in the imager and then the wrap forms to your body and the imager can replicate the markings exactly to the precise locations as the donor markings. It’s an amazing thing.”
“This wrap is giving me a tattoo? It is doing it right now? But I’ve seen tattoos done and they use needle machines to stamp them into the skin after the machine gets the right image to imprint.”
“Those are standard tattoos and the ink can be removed later with dermis layer removal. These markings aren’t so simple to remove.” Doc shifted his weight, looking uncomfortable. “These are placed a little deeper than just under the skin. They will look like standard tattoos but no skin doctor can remove them in his office.” He paused. “It’s a system that puts small needles into your skin and removes a minute amount of fatty tissue to replace it with a special tattoo dye that the imaging wrap can manipulate. Think of the dye as tiny magnets that will move under the skin and are directed to exactly create the pattern of Flint’s brand. This is actually less invasive than a tattoo artist’s machine. There are a lot less needles involved and you’ll heal very quickly.”
“Oh.” She inhaled again. “I’m getting hungry.”
Doc cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable as he shot a frown at Flint. He bit his lip and didn’t look at Mira. She frowned knowing they were hiding something from her so she decided to ask them flat out.
“What is going on?”
“Nothing,” Flint said softly.
The other cyborg was still standing where he’d been when he’d offered a trade. Iron chuckled. “You smell something cooking and it makes you crave food, correct?”
Mira couldn’t turn to look at him but instead she glanced up at Flint seeing his angry look. He turned his head to glare at Iron.
“That is enough, Iron. Do not say another word or I’ll make sure you get the least appealing female on that shuttle.”
Something beeped and Doc looked relieved as he nodded. He put down the handheld device he’d used to start the branding. “It’s done. She can move.”
The wrap was snug and it didn’t seem to want to loosen at first as Doc carefully tugged it gently from her skin with Flint’s help. When they opened the wrap, the smell that had been teasing her grew stronger and horror hit her. Her mouth opened as she stared down at her shoulder. Her skin was marked with black ink and she saw a faint redness around the surrounding skin from the tiny needles. She sniffed.
“I think I’m going to be sick. It was me that I smelled, wasn’t it? Did it burn the black marks into me?”
Flint moved fast to grip her face by wrapping his hand under her chin, jerking it up, to almost go nose to nose with her. �
�Look at me. Take shallow breaths through your mouth to lessen the smell. Do not get sick. Just look into my eyes, Mira. What you smell is the small amount of fatty tissue that was exchanged with the ink. The wrap disposes of it by burning it up after it is removed from your body but your skin wasn’t harmed at all.”
She locked gazes with him and took shallow breaths through her mouth. That helped a lot since her stomach stopped heaving. She blinked back tears that rose at the idea of her fat being disposed of and the horror of getting hungry at the smell. Flint’s grip on her chin didn’t release. She heard someone close to them laugh and knew it was Iron. She suddenly had another name for him. Asshole fit him really well.
“You are fine. I would never allow you to be hurt. By the time the pain meds wear off, it will just be slightly uncomfortable. I will have Doc give me a cream to put on your skin to relieve even that. In two days you won’t even feel it. I told you that I don’t want to hurt you, Mira, so trust me.”
“Okay. I’m not going to throw up. I just… God, it smelled good, like barbeque. How sick is that?”
“I personally like the way you taste and smell,” Flint said softly. “Do not feel sickened by your scent making you feel hunger. I hunger for your body right now, even before you smelled like food. I just don’t want to eat you with a fork and knife.” He winked before releasing her.
Mira blushed at his words, knowing Doc had heard every one. He tugged the shirt back over her head, careful of her new branding as he smoothed it down. Flint turned, nodding at Doc.
“Thank you. I am in your debt.”
“A bottle of some hard liquor would be great.” Doc chuckled.
Flint nodded. “Done. I have a case on Garden so I will give two bottles if you’ll measure her for clothing. She needs clothing that will show her markings. It will dissuade anyone from thinking about trying to take her.”
Doc looked at the men standing in the large cargo room. “No shit, Flint. They are almost panting.” He gave Mira another shot with an injector.
Burning Up Flint Page 5
