Consumed by the Cyborg (Cyborg Protectors Romance Book 1)

by Alyse Anders

  If that happened, then they’d see what kind of weapon he could become.

  Rykal reached out to the station’s AI to check the status of the quarantine.

  Let me in!

  Analyzing…unknown biology. Warning…unknown species.

  I don’t give a frak. Open these Gods dammed doors!

  Analyzing…species threat level zero percent…biology compatible.

  Commence decontamination.

  Analyzing…decontamination complete.

  The doors began to open as Rykal raced through them the moment he was able to fit through. Ignoring the shouts from behind him, his focus was solely on the ship and the woman inside. He stopped short of where the ship’s ramp would be and waited. Come out. I know you’re in there. Come out to me.

  But there was no movement at all. Rykal’s frustration grew as much as the itching in his brain was quickly becoming a throbbing. The doors needed to open right now so he could get inside and get her. He paced back and forth in front of the door and he could feel her there, waiting confusedly for something to happen. There was no reason to be confused, there wasn’t a reason not to come out so he could finally be with her.

  Frack it.

  He pushed past someone who’d come up beside him and grabbed the panel that protected what looked to be a manual release latch. The metal was old and damaged from radiation and space debris battering against it, making it next to impossible for it to open the way it should. Thankfully, Rykal was far from a normal person. Engaging his cybernetics, he grabbed the lever and braced his feet. With a roar he slammed the entirety of his weight and strength behind him and forced the metal to move. Inch by inch the stubborn metal squealed under the pressure as it moved open slowly.

  “Rykal stand back and let us help.” Aidric’s voice.

  He wasn’t about to stop, not when he was so very close to the person he needed.

  Another burst of adrenaline raced through him and with one additional mighty twist, the door unlocked, and the hiss of atmosphere raced out of the ship to fill the docking bay. The door chugged open revealing a woman standing on the other side, a breathing mask pressed to her mouth.

  All he could see was the mass of red hair pulled back behind her ears, her skin pale and her limbs long. There was recognition in her eyes as she finally looked up into his; she knew they belonged together every bit as much as he did. Rykal took a step closer and lowered his chin while he held her gaze.

  “Mine.”

  Chapter Three

  The last thing Lena thought she’d be faced with when she came out of cryo sleep was a half-naked cybernetic alien who clearly thought she’d understand what the hell he was saying. Not to mention the army of unenhanced aliens standing behind him, clearly uncertain if they should be pointing their blasters at her or at him.

  Not the least bit reassuring.

  And yet, there was something about him, the way he was looking at her that made her think that he wasn’t a threat to her or to the passengers still resting. Well, not yet at least.

  Their skin was a light tint of olive, dark hair and bodies that all appeared to be many inches taller and broader than the average human. Unlike her human passengers, there didn’t appear to be a wide difference in their physical appearances. Muscular builds, steel gazes and all looking ready to fight.

  She did have a weapon of her own, but she hadn’t had time to run a scan to see if it was even going to work after the years of sitting around while they floated toward their destination. The details about what they were going to find once they got into the sector hadn’t been particularly clear, but their other options would have been far more dangerous than setting the autopilot and going to sleep for a half century.

  The ship should have woken her from cryo sleep weeks before they entered their destination sector. Instead, she’d only had hours to get her feet under her, shake the dullness from her mind and figure out what the hell was going on. The tractor beam and the station were completely unexpected, and more than a little overwhelming given her current state.

  If these people turned out to be as bad as some of the factions back on Earth, there was little chance she’d be able to get her wards out of here safely.

  The cyborg man was still talking.

  Lena held up her hands, hoping everyone would realize that she wasn’t the least bit of a threat to them. “Ah, hi there.”

  Everyone’s gaze snapped to her.

  Shit. That wasn’t good, was it?

  “I’m Captain Lena McGovern of the ship The Kraken. I guess we’re refugees from a planet called Earth and I’m really hoping you folks are the friendly type. Because we’re pretty much screwed if you’re not.”

  The cyborg man cocked his head to the side, and his enhancements pulsed with some sort of light. Another man, someone who looked remarkably similar to the cyborg but lacking enhancements himself stepped up beside him. He held up his hand to her but turned to speak to the cyborg in a language Lena didn’t understand.

  She knew there was no chance that any alien race they’d come across would understand any of their Earth’s languages, but she’d hoped that at the very least they’d have a someone on board who’d be able to decipher what she was saying given enough time. Earth standard was easy enough to learn and with any luck whatever they spoke would be something Carys, the closest person they had to a linguist, would be able to figure out. Unfortunately, she was still sound asleep in her cryo stasis tube back in the Kraken’s loading bay.

  Whatever conversation they were having was becoming far more heated than Lena anticipated. The cyborg rounded on the other man, which drew the attention of every person with a blaster. The cyborg was angry, shouting words as his cybernetics glowed brighter, occasionally pointing at her.

  Yeah, this wasn’t going how she would have liked. And without knowing exactly what was being said, she couldn’t risk the lives of the people still sleeping on the Kraken. Her blaster was tucked neatly against her back in her rear holster. Whether these aliens didn’t see her as a threat or not, she had no choice but to play things safe. Reaching behind her, she pulled her blaster in a somewhat rusty manner and trained it on the cyborg.

  For exactly one second.

  She then slid her attention to the alien and leveled her sight on him. The soft whine of her blaster powering up drew everyone’s attention, even if no one moved to cover her. Which was odd given she was armed, but the others clearly didn’t see her as more of a threat than the cyborg.

  “Okay, let’s try this again.” She licked her lips as her gaze bounced between cyborg and alien, trying to determine who posed the larger threat. “My name Captain Lena McGovern of the ship The Kraken. We’re refugees from Earth. I have twenty-eight women in cryo sleep on board. I won’t allow anything bad to happen to them. Let us leave and we’ll go about our business.”

  Her body was still very weak from having the cryogenic reversal process forced through faster than would have been ideal. She had to fight to keep her arms up and her blaster locked on the alien, not wanting anyone ot think that she’d be easily overpowered.

  Despite the fact that a toddler would be able to take her down in that moment.

  The alien shot a glance at her as he continued to speak to the cyborg. Did he understand what she was saying? No way Earth standard had made it this far out into space. And yet, he turned to her once more, holding up his empty hands. He nodded toward her weapon and mimicked putting it back in her holster. Then he brushed his hands in an odd manner, as though he was trying to show that he held nothing that would hurt her

  “You’re not a threat to us?” She wasn’t sure, but it kind of made sense based on his actions.

  He nodded.

  “Wait, you understand what I’m saying?”

  He nodded once more, even as the cyborg let out a low growl and took a step closer to her. Lena couldn’t help but stare at him, feeling oddly unconcerned about his display of anger. There was no way she should trust him – shit, trust a
ny of these people – but she knew deep down in her gut that there was no way he’d do anything to hurt them. Which was completely screwed up because her track record with a man of any species wasn’t exactly stellar. If anything, she should be running far away from him. They hadn’t come all this way to simply give in to another potential threat.

  Even if he was kind of attractive.

  Still, when he said something to the other alien who looked a bit like him, who in turn said something to everyone with the blasters that had them lower their weapons, Lena felt her gut instinct might be justified. The cyborg mimicked the hands up posture of the other alien, but there was something about the way he looked at her that sent a shiver through her body.

  He took a step forward before pointing to his naked chest and then at her.

  Okay Lena. Time to put into practice all those diplomacy courses they forced you to endure back at the academy.

  “You want to come closer to me?”

  He nodded before pointing to his ear and then to her.

  “You understand what I’m saying even if I can’t understand you.”

  He nodded, smiling softly, even as she retrained her blaster on his face. The other alien behind him said something and another person handed him a small device that he quickly handed over to the cyborg. Turning his attention back to her, he held it up to the place behind his ear and mimicked pressing it against his skin before pointing to his ear.

  “So, if I let you inject me with something, you’re telling me that I’m going to understand what it is you’re saying?” He nodded again and took another step closer.

  Yeah, this wasn’t exactly the best idea she could be presented with, but she didn’t have many other options. The chances of her getting the door shut and getting the ship out of this docking bay while somehow avoiding their tractor beam was firmly fixed somewhere between slim and none. It could be poison, or a tracking device, and if Carys was awake she’d be informing her that this was a horrible idea. And yet, they could have killed her several times over by now if that’s what they’d wanted. She also got the distinct impression that their technology was far superior to what she’d managed to cobble together before they’d fled Earth.

  Unknown injection it was.

  Lena held up her blaster as a sign of submission before tucking it back into her rear holster. “I’m trusting that you’re not going to do something to hurt me here.” While she was willing to put her own life at risk, she wasn’t going to do anything that would jeopardize her passengers. “Let me come down.”

  The aliens all moved back, but the cyborg did not. He held her gaze as she jumped to the floor, his crystal blue eyes monitoring her every move. What no one seemed to expect was her ship’s response to her leaving the safety of its hold. As she straightened from jumping down, the inner emergency door behind her closed and locked with a slam that echoed in the docking bay. Those blasters were up and on her once again, with the lead alien looking more than a little annoyed.

  “What? I must keep my people safe. Besides, he brute forced his way in there once, I’m sure he could do it again.” Lena was surprised that the safety mechanism had worked given what the cyborg here had done to it.

  Be thankful for small blessings.

  And now for the real test. “So you’re going to press that thing to my neck and then I’m going to understand what you’re saying. And nothing else is going to happen to me?”

  He nodded before shrugging.

  “Very reassuring.” She let out a small huff and turned her head so he could better see behind her ear. “Have at me.”

  He didn’t move at first, which made Lena feel awkward and vulnerable. That was until he did move, and she realized exactly how large his body was. Heat seemed to radiate from him to the point it was nearly overwhelming. When he reached out to move her hair from her neck, Lena shivered once again, surprised at how intimate that simple act was. Shit, it really had been far too long since she’d spent any time with a man, let alone someone who treated her this tenderly.

  When he pressed the device to her neck the bite of the injection had her yelp and attempt to pull away. His hand gripped her shoulder and held her still, keeping her in place as whatever it was flowed from the device directly into her brain.

  That’s when the pain started. The sudden throb of a headache morphed into a full-blown migraine in seconds, as Lena reached up and gripped her head. “Fuck!”

  He didn’t let go, and she had no choice but to use his strength to help keep her upright as her brain was attacked. It took her a moment to realize that he was speaking to her, saying words that she didn’t understand but in such a way that she couldn’t help but be comforted. There was something about his tone, possessive but reassuring, that helped her relax.

  “Sa reh crencha, te letta. Met kama sat el sana like that. Letta te your body. Yes, like that. The nanobots are reh kama your brain. It won’t be much longer before you start to understand us.”

  Lena blinked rapidly trying to clear the sudden blurriness from her vision and shake the weird ringing from her ears. Nearly as sudden as everything began, she was able to look up into the cyborg’s eyes and realize that she now understood exactly what he was saying. “Whoa.”

  He nodded. “You understand me now. Good. My name is Rykal. I’m the leader of the Fallen, cyborg people who inhabit Zarlan, the planet below this space station. These people are the Grus and you are now mine.”

  “Oh good, that’s good to…” She shook her head. “I think there’s a problem with those nanobots. I thought you said that I was yours?”

  The other alien stepped closer. “I’m Aidric, commander of Grus Prime, and liaison between the Fallen and the Grus. Rykal you need to step away from the woman now. We need to take her to medical to ensure her and her people don’t carry any diseases that could infect us, or something we’re unable to contain.”

  The next few moments happened so unbelievably fast that Lena wasn’t entirely sure the exact order of events. One moment she was standing looking at the cyborg – Rykal – trying to figure out what they’d done to him. Then the next he’d picked her up in his arms, threw her over his shoulder, and ran from the docking bay as he dodged blaster fire.

  “What the fuck! Let me go!”

  He didn’t respond, leaving her watching Aidric and the remaining Grus scrambling to follow them before a door slid shut behind, blocking her view of their pursuers. Rykal’s grip on her was vice-like, making it impossible for her to break free. She tried to reach up and grab her blaster, but she couldn’t quite reach. Escape seemed to be impossible, nor did she know where she was or their intended destination. The twists and turns of the station became difficult for her to keep track of, especially with her head bouncing upside down.

  “Let me go, please!”

  “Stop!” He tightened his grip on her. “We’re nearly there.”

  The there turned out to be an escape pod that was barely large enough for one cyborg, let alone both of them. But like everything in the last few minutes, he didn’t give her a chance to protest, dropping her inside before following and shutting the door. He didn’t reach out to type any commands, instead closing his eyes. “The station’s AI won’t allow me to take a shuttle due to safety protocols, but there are no such restrictions on the escape pods.”

  “Where are we going?”

  He opened his eyes and lowered his face so his lips where only a few inches from hers. “I told you, you’re mine. I’m taking you home.”

  Lena should be shaking with panic, fear, anger, just about anything than the rush of lust that suddenly heated her groin and made her nipples hard. “Home?”

  “The planet.” He cupped her face with is large hand, rubbing his thumb across her lips. “I will keep you safe there.”

  Safe? That was a state of being that Lena hadn’t experienced in years. “Where I’m from, nothing comes without a price.”

  Rykal frowned and she was able to see that the crystal blue of his eyes w
as a result of cybernetic enhancements. “There is no cost. I have no need of currency.”

  “That’s not what I meant.” She couldn’t look away from his mouth, nor could she shake the urge to lean up and kiss him.

  Shit, this wasn’t like her at all; while she’d had sex in the past with the occasional partner, not once had she experienced this all-encompassing desire to be with a man she’d only just met – and met not under the best of circumstances. Everything about him drew her in – his smell, the heat from his body, the feel of his too hard muscles beneath her hands. With Rykal she knew he’d keep her safe, even if he demanded she give him everything.

  Rykal lowered his head until it was nearly impossible for Lena to keep her eyes open. “I want to taste you.”

  If his people had any concept of consent when it came to sex, he didn’t seem to show it. He leaned in and captured her mouth with his, his tongue thrusting against hers as he reached up and cupped her breast with his hand.

  Shit, I totally consent if that’s how he kisses. Lena moaned, not sure if she wanted to back away or press hard against him. Rykal pinched her nipple as he maneuvered his knee between her legs, the shift making her form-fitting space suit pull hard across her swelling clit. She gasped as the pressure increased and he continued to suck and lick at her mouth, only to shift those kisses along the side of her neck down to the spot just above where her space suit started.

  “I want you naked. I want to mark you as my own.” He nipped at the exposed skin hard enough to pull a gasp from her.

  “I…” But the rest of her thought fled her mind as the escape pod shuddered violently, sending her stumbling. “What the hell?”

  Rykal reached over and pressed a few buttons on the pod’s control panel. “We’re entering the planet’s atmosphere. Right through a stormfront.”