“You expect me to take orders from you?” His tone sharpened, turning gruff. “You want to control my life?”
“No. That’s not who you are. I meant the sex parts. You could school me a lot and keep me too tired to want to get out of your bed. I really enjoyed when you taught me about oral sex and stamina.”
A mischievous glint showed in his eyes. “That might imply I want you to join a family unit with me.”
“I don’t fully understand what that entails, but I’m willing if it means we stay together long-term. I won’t agree to stay if you keep threatening to hand me over to your council.”
“You don’t have a say in the matter. I’m keeping you, Nala. You belong to me. Every time I sleep, you’ll be in my bed with me. I won’t ever let you go.”
“You have to stop tying me to the bed. That’s a sticking point with me.”
“Sometimes I might do it if you misbehave, and I want to…school you properly. You tend to wiggle around a lot when I’m between your thighs.”
“Fair enough. Plus, really hot. Do I ever get to tie you up? You seemed to enjoy it that one time.”
“We’ll negotiate that later.”
“You mean when you’ve outgrown your paranoia and are certain I won’t suffocate you with your own pillow?”
He cracked a smile. “Yes.”
“I can work with that.”
He inched closer. “I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you. I won’t.”
“Good. I’ve grown attached to you too. I told you, you die, I cry. I meant that.”
“You can’t compartmentalize your body from your feelings.”
“No.”
“I’ll have to use that to my advantage.”
She smiled. “I totally believe you will.” She cupped his face and kissed him.
He groaned deeply, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her tight against him.
She gasped, feeling pain, and broke the kiss.
Stag cursed, jerking his arm away from her. “I forgot about your back. You’re injured and need a few days to recover.”
“I could be on top. I want you, Stag.”
A chime sounded, and they both cursed.
“Your crew has shit timing.”
“Tell me about it.” He pulled away from her, rose up, and crossed the room. He slapped his hand on the pad next to the door. “What?”
Nala watched him. He didn’t speak again, but his expressions changed, as if he were reacting to a silent conversation. He didn’t look pleased when he dropped his hand and sighed, staring at her.
“I need to go to Control. I won’t be long. I’ll get food if you’re hungry.”
“I’m good, but could you arrange it so I can contact you if I need to?”
He nodded and placed his hand back on the pad, keeping eye contact with her the entire time. “Done. Just say my name. I put it on audio command so you don’t have to get out of bed. The speaker coms will be active.”
“Thanks.”
“Rest. Get better.” He reached down, adjusting the front of his pants. “Sooner would be better.”
She grinned. “I like that I make you hard.”
He left without commenting.
Nala lay back and felt happy. Her cyborg wanted to keep her. The L word hadn’t been exchanged but they had built the foundation for that. His wanting her said it all. “Stag?”
“What’s wrong, Nala?”
“Nothing. I was just making sure it worked. I think my back will be fine if I stay off it and on top of you. I did love that position.”
“I remember. You’re going to make me enter Control with an erection. I knew you were trouble.”
“I guess your crew will figure out we’re doing more than just sleeping in your bed.”
“I’ll make certain that they do. I know some of them have made you offers. They won’t do that again.”
“Good. And Stag? I’m the fun kind of trouble. I’ll show you when you get back.”
“I need to address this situation. Behave. Stag out.”
“Okay.” Coms silenced, and she chuckled.
Stag stormed into Control, glaring at Maze. His entire crew had assembled there, and he had a feeling it was the medic’s fault. “What’s going on? What is the emergency?”
“Maze stated you’re keeping the female.” Veller stepped forward, glowering. “I protest.”
“It’s not your call, Veller,” Yammer replied, crossing his arms.
“I think it’s wonderful.” Hellion grinned. “I like Nala.”
“You like everyone,” Kelis rasped. “What do you think, Parqel? I’m neutral. Stag did tell us we could keep one of the sex bots.”
Parqel shrugged. “The Varnish belongs to Stag. He can keep the Earther if he wants. As I said before he arrived, it’s none of our business.”
“Exactly.” Maze pointed at Veller. “You’re the only one with a problem with it. You can transfer duties once we reach Garden and assign yourself to another vessel.”
“I like this one because there are no females aboard. And put your hand down.”
Maze lowered his arm. “You’re outvoted.”
“Well, now it has a female aboard, and I’m glad,” Hellion said. “It means we can get females too one day.”
“You only say that because no one else wants to work with you, so you’re stuck on the Varnish.”
“That’s right, Veller.” Hellion’s good humor faded and he advanced, his hands tightening into fists. “This is my home, more so than yours. Nala stays. You go.”
Stag was done. He’d feared keeping Nala might have an adverse effect on his crew, and he’d been right. A few of them appeared ready to fight. “Enough!”
All the men looked at him at the loud bellow.
“It’s not a vote or up for debate. Nala belongs to me. You are more than welcome to no longer assign yourself to my ship once we reach Garden, Veller.”
The male grimly regarded him. “You’re really set on allowing an Earther to live on your ship?”
It was an easy answer for Stag. “Yes. She stays.”
Veller snarled and spun, pacing the floor.
“I don’t know what your problem is, nor do I care.” Stag watched him warily, prepared if he attacked. “And this was a brilliant idea, Maze.”
“I figured you might delay informing them of your decision. I had hoped they would all agree Nala might be a good thing for this entire crew.”
“Anyone touches her and I remove their fingers.” Stag gripped his sidearm. “I’m not sharing her. I’ll allow you to keep two sex bots. You can figure out where to store them though. I don’t want them leaving the crew quarters area.”
“That’s agreeable to me.” Parqel smiled.
“I didn’t mean Nala should sleep with us.” Maze shook his head. “You micromanage us all, Stag. Nala will keep you occupied and give the rest of us more responsibilities. You can be a bit overbearing.”
Veller paused, interest finally showing on his features. “That’s true. I didn’t think of that.”
Hellion snorted. “You can take the helm more often. That makes you happy, doesn’t it? Stag won’t work as many shifts if he has a female.”
“Can I lead a mission?” Veller stepped closer. “Just one? You’ll need to bond with that female. That means you should spend a good week or two with her. Perhaps you could do it on Garden. You can trust me with the Varnish.”
“Earthers have honeymoons. I remember that. It’s where they enclose themselves and have lots of sex.” Kelis nodded. “We could go on a mission without you, Stag.”
“Over my dead body are you getting me to leave my own ship.” Stag considered Veller’s request briefly. “I will let you lead a mission, though but I’m staying onboard. I don’t like spending time on Garden. It’s why I went to the trouble of stealing this shuttle.”
“So we have a plan.” Hellion grinned widely. “Nala stays. Everyone is happy. Stag spends more time with the Earther so he’
s not too controlling with us.”
“And we get two sex bots instead of one.” Yammer smiled too. “I like this compromise.”
Stag eased his hold off his weapon. “Are we done here? I’d like to return to the captain’s quarters. I’ll be staying there from now on. Nala and I need the extra room.”
“There’s our answer to the sex bots. We can store them in your old quarters when they aren’t in use.” Parqel nodded. “Once we do repairs, of course.”
“Veller, you’re in charge.” Stag spun, leaving Control.
It could have gone a lot worse. It would be difficult hiding two sex bots aboard his ship, keeping them from the council, but his crew deserved something for all the dangerous missions they went on. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d left something out of his reports.
He smiled, entering his new quarters. Nala waited—and it felt good.
Chapter Fifteen
Ten days later
Stag sat at the helm, checking systems.
“Everything is perfect,” Hellion stated from a few feet away. “We went over every inch of the Varnish while we were grounded on Garden doing repairs. Go spend time with your Nala. We have this.”
“We do,” Veller agreed. “As you can see, we’re on course to Gerard Station. We’ll be there in approximately eleven hours.”
Stag turned his head, staring at Kelis sitting at weapons control. “Do you have anything to add?”
“It’s a simple mission, one we can easily handle. Two of us will dress up to hide what we are and interview the survivor of the pod that landed there.”
“We have the authority uniforms in our hold.” Hellion smiled. “We will be on and off that station within an hour, two max.”
The doors to Control opened and Nala entered. She walked straight to Stag and sat down across his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Are you driving your crew nuts again? You were supposed to be getting us food but I knew I’d find you here instead.”
“Don’t make me regret giving you free access to the shuttle.” He kept his tone soft though, playful. He found it amusing that she’d hunted him down.
“What are we talking about?” She glanced away from him to his crew.
“Someone reported being attacked by a cyborg.” Hellion answered first. “We’re going to interview the survivor. It will be another false lead, but we always check them out.”
“Can’t you just ask other cyborg ships if they did it?” She peered at Stag.
“We are always hopeful other cyborgs escaped Earth. We weren’t able to free all of them when we left. Sometimes reports of sightings are made, and we always hope to find survivors to take them home to Garden.”
“The last time someone said they’d captured a cyborg, it was an Earther mechanic who fell into engine fluid and his skin had been turned blue.” Hellion chuckled. “The authorities held him for two days before figuring it out.”
Kelis laughed.
“That’s horrible. Poor guy.” Nala made a face, scrunching her nose.
“It was funny,” Stag admitted. “This time, a supply shuttle was attacked and one survivor made it into a pod that reached the Gerard station. We’re on our way there now.”
Nala tensed and climbed off his lap. “Display that sector on the main screen, please.”
No one moved.
“Come on.” Nala glared at Stag. “I said please. I know this route well. I used to deliver to that station. It’s a big entertainment one.”
“Do it,” Stag ordered.
Nala turned, strode to the front of Control, and waited. The map showed up. “Amplify this section here, please?” She used her finger to motion where she wanted.
Stag nodded at Hellion.
Nala pointed. “This is Gerard Station.” She pointed to a blip close to it. “This is Erosa. It’s a breathable planet with a few thousand residents. They grow food.” She pointed to another blimp. “This is the Arris Station. It’s bad news. It’s crime central, and I avoided docking there.” She turned briefly, facing his crew. “Now here’s the interesting part.”
She faced the screen again, pointing to three grouped moons. “Captains talk frequently. A lot of freighters were hired to take dome habitats to this center moon right here.” She put her finger on it, then looked over her shoulder, holding Stag’s gaze. “They were hired by the military. EG is setting up operations on this moon. Based on what they ordered, I’d guess a few hundred soldiers will be stationed there. I don’t know if it’s operational, but it’s a only few hours’ fly time from Gerard Station. Rumor is the colony on Erosa asked them to come because of the traffic going to Arris. They worried about being robbed since, as I said, it’s crime central. Arris Station visitors have left the Gerard Station and the planet alone so far but…” She shrugged. “That could change. Be careful.”
“Shit,” Hellion muttered. “That’s bad.”
Nala continued to study the monitor. “I’d fly by way of the Quellis sector and bypass those moons entirely. That way, if they are operational and get an alert, we could be in and out of there before they have a chance to send soldiers to the station. That is, if you still want to interview the one who claimed to see a cyborg.”
Stag stood. “What would you do, Veller?”
The male didn’t appear thrilled with what he’d learned. He seemed to think about it. “Do you think your information is accurate, Nala?”
“Yes.”
“I’d change course. Stag trusts you, and that’s good enough for me. It will add a day to our travel but we can avoid entering the moon’s sensor range for as long as possible.”
Stag crossed the room to Nala and surprised her by scooping her into his arms. “We’ll be in our quarters. It’s your mission. Only contact me if it’s an emergency.”
Nala wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her cheek against her chest. He carried her back to their quarters and sealed the door.
“Did you hear that? Veller trusts me.”
He chuckled. “He said I trust you.”
“Close enough.”
He took a seat on the bed, adjusting her on his lap. “Thank you for sharing that intel with us.”
“Your crew is my crew. I’m only looking out for them.”
His eyes narrowed.
She laughed. “We’ll work on that one still. Sharing is caring. It’s a good motto.” She kissed his chin, then nibbled on his lower lip, finally pulling back. “What about food? I specifically remember you promised me a meal.”
He twisted, tossing her on the bed and pinning her under him. “I specifically remember ordering you to stay inside our quarters. I think you need to be taught a lesson.”
Her blue eyes sparkled. “The hot, sexy kind?”
“You’re not supposed to look so excited when I threaten you.”
“You don’t scare me anymore.” She slid her fingers into his hair, playing with it. “You’re a big softy.”
He adjusted his body, wiggling his hips between her thighs. She spread them for him and he pressed his groin against hers. “What were you saying about soft?”
She suddenly sobered and he wondered what he’d said wrong.
“I love you, Stag.”
Her admission didn’t surprise him. He’d suspected she had strong feelings for him. But he was surprised by his reaction. Joy hit—a powerful emotion that tightened his chest.
“I know you love me too. You just don’t say it because you’re a badass cyborg and it’s going to take time to wear you down until you become more wordy. Your actions tell me what your mouth can’t.”
He smiled. “Is that so?”
“Yes.”
He slid down her, gripped the front of her pants, and began to remove them. “Let’s put that to a test. I think I’m very skilled with using my mouth to express my feelings.”
She grinned. “Give me your worst, cyborg.”
He paused, holding her gaze. “You’ve become the heart of me, Nala. I’ll only ever give you
my best.”
Seducing Stag Page 16
