“All right now?”
“I’m fine, thank you.” She wanted to say something else, to find some way to bridge this awkwardness between them. “Jonah—”
“I brought the seat from the mining buggy,” Bill said eagerly as he rushed back into the room with a big padded chair. “It has a spring-loaded base.”
“Put it over there by the window so she can see out,” Jonah ordered, then looked at her. “That is, if you’d like it there.”
“That would be perfect.”
He gave an abrupt nod and began opening some long boxes. Bill brought in a few more and then joined him in opening additional boxes. Despite her desire to move around, she soon found that her feet hurt as well as her back and settled into the new chair with a sigh of relief. The springy base allowed her to rock a little and she soon found herself watching the men instead of looking out the window. They worked together within easy, almost silent precision, obviously the results of many years together, as they began to assemble the pieces of what was clearly a bed. A very large bed. Her mouth dropped open as Bill fastened a pillar to one corner of the frame and she realized he was building a canopy bed. The pillar was intricately carved, as was the rest of the frame.
Jonah, too, rocked back on his heels to study the bed.
“Where the hell did you get this?”
Bill became very busy inspecting a joint he had just put together.
“It was for sale in town,” he said vaguely.
“One of the settlers had the money to pay to have this shipped? Then sold it?” He scowled at the younger man. “Only place I know that would have something like this is Madam Cherry’s.”
“I’ll just go get those last boxes,” Bill said as he jumped up, but Jonah’s hand on his arm brought him to a rapid halt, and he sighed. “Oh, all right. I knew they would be anything appropriate in the general store, so I went and asked Cherry.”
“You bought my wife a bed from a whorehouse?”
A small part of Daisy was unexpectedly thrilled to hear Jonah refer to her as his wife, but it was quickly overridden by outrage. She glared at Jonah.
“And how do you know what a bed from this Madam whoever’s place looks like?”
“He doesn’t,” Bill protested, but red touched his cheekbones. He was such a poor liar that she would have been amused if she weren’t so angry. The thought of her new husband—of either of them—cavorting with another woman, a woman who wasn’t big and pregnant, caused a surge of unreasonable anger.
“He most certainly does.” She pushed herself to her feet and put her hands on her hips. “Just like you knew where to go to get it. Why don’t both of you just go back to this friend of yours and leave me alone?”
Wetness trickled down her cheek and she realized to her horror that she was crying. The long journey, the uncertain circumstances, and the never-ending surprises of the afternoon finally caught up with her. She swayed dizzily as more tears followed. She heard Jonah curse and a moment later he lifted her into his arms. Her feeble attempt to push him away was completely ignored. He checked her pulse, then scowled at Bill.
“Did you feed her?”
“I didn’t even think about it,” Bill said, his expression contrite.
“I’m not hungry.” She knew she sounded childish and petulant, but she didn’t have the energy for anything else. Jonah’s arms were warm and strong as they wrapped around her body and despite her annoyance, she nestled a little closer, tucking her head under his chin. She felt him tense, but she ignored it. He had picked her up; now he could just hold her.
“What food did you bring from town?”
Bill had been staring at her in Jonah’s arms, an odd expression on his face, and he jerked at the question.
“Food?”
“Yes, you young idiot. You said you bought food. Did you bring soup or something like that?”
“I don’t know. I just told the shopkeeper to put in whatever he thought a lady would like. I’ll go look.”
He rushed over to one of the boxes and Jonah took one step towards her chair.
“Don’t you put me there,” she muttered. “And don’t think I’ve forgotten about your lady friend.”
He moved closer to the chair anyway but before she could protest, he spun around and sat down with her in his lap. Hmm. This is kind of nice, she thought as she nestled closer, then realized that she was snuggling against a very large erection. Her eyes flew to his, but he turned his head away so all she could see was the human side of his profile.
“Not going to apologize. Not going to apologize for knowing Cherry, either.” At the reminder, she tried to wiggle out of his arms, but he held her easily in place. “You called her my friend and I reckon that’s what she is—but that’s all she is. A friend. I go talk to her sometimes when we’re in town.”
“A friend?” she repeated skeptically.
She wanted to believe him, she really did, but how many times had Richard come home smelling of perfume and said it was because he had hugged a friend? But then, in the end, when it had all gone so horribly wrong, he hadn’t bothered to hide the truth.
“Men get bored with a single woman,” he said. “Especially when she’s an ignorant little girl.”
“You said you liked the fact that I was innocent,” she had whispered.
He had shrugged. “Maybe the novelty wore off.”
“Then let me go.”
“Never. You belong to me now.”
The memory made her shudder, and Jonah’s arms loosened.
“Not keeping you here.”
There was that look in his eyes again, as if he expected her to reject him. He really didn’t have anything in common with Richard’s smooth arrogance and, with a little sigh, she relaxed back against him, deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt. She only hoped she wasn’t being a fool a second time.
Chapter Six
A short time later, Bill brought over the steaming bowl of soup. It smelled wonderful and her stomach growled. Jonah snorted.
“Not hungry, eh?”
She expected him to let her up, but instead, he readjusted her in his lap and began spooning soup into her mouth, carefully testing the temperature first.
“You don’t have to feed me.”
He ignored her and presented her with another spoonful.
“Why do I get the feeling that you don’t pay any attention to anything you don’t want to hear?”
Bill, hovering over the two of them, started to laugh.
“She’s got you pegged there, Sarge.”
A slight smile twisted Jonah’s lips but again he didn’t respond. She stopped protesting. There was something oddly comforting about this, about being cradled in Jonah’s arms while he cared for her. She curved an arm around her stomach. Soon enough, she would have someone else to care for in the same way.
When she finished eating, she slumped back against him. A full stomach on top of her exhaustion soon had her eyelids drooping. She was vaguely aware of Bill continuing to assemble the bed, but it wasn’t until Jonah stood up with her in his arms and carried her in that direction that she realized he had finished. Her eyes widened. In addition to the elaborate carving on the frame, the bed was now covered with pale pink sheets, while filmy drapes hung from the frame. It was impossibly feminine and out of place in the primitive dome, but it also looked incredibly welcoming.
As Jonah started to put her down, the baby kicked right over her bladder and she put a hand on his arm.
“I need to use the facilities.”
He and Bill exchanged a doubtful glance, then frowned in the direction of the small bathroom.
“We haven’t been as good about housekeeping as we should have been,” Bill said, tugging his ear. “Can you wait a few minutes while I tidy up?”
“You’d better be quick.”
He scurried off, leaving her still cradled in Jonah’s arms.
“You can put me down now,” she said, even though she was still enjoying the nove
l experience of being cared for this way.
“Not bothering me.”
“Jonah, I’m pregnant. I’m not an invalid.”
He didn’t respond and she huffed, poking his extremely hard chest with one finger.
“Remember what I said about you ignoring things you don’t want to hear?”
At that, he looked down at her, an unexpected flash of humor in those dark, intense eyes.
“Didn’t disagree with you.”
She couldn’t resist smiling up at him, even though she shook her head.
“Men.”
The humor vanished. “We’re not men. The government took that away from us a long time ago.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You still have emotions, feelings. You’re still human.”
He might not like to share those feelings, but every single one of his actions since she had arrived had proven that there was a deeply caring individual behind that stoic mask.
His jaw tightened and he looked away, truly ignoring her this time, and for the first time, she felt a distance between them, despite their physical proximity.
Bill popped back out of the bathroom. “I did the best I could, but I’m afraid the water is going to be cold. I’ll start the heater now.”
“You don’t use hot water?” She stared at him in appalled horror. All of the water on Mars was reclaimed from the subdural ice. It must be barely above freezing.
Jonah set her gently on her feet. “Cyborgs don’t care about the temperature.”
As soon as he was sure she had found her balance, he let go of her and stalked out of the dome.
“What did I say?”
Bill shook his head. “He thinks being a cyborg is a punishment. He’s never forgiven himself for what happened to us.”
She wanted to ask more, but Bill’s face had assumed the same stern mask. And she really did need to use the facilities.
To her surprise, the bathroom unit, while small, was almost spotless. She attended to the necessities, shivering as she hurried to wash under the icy water. When she emerged, Bill had drawn back the covers on the big bed. She thought about changing but she was too tired to do more than sit down on the edge of the bed. She didn’t even protest when Bill carefully removed her boots. Rolling over on her side, she wedged one pillow under her stomach, another one under her shoulder, and was asleep before he finished pulling the curtains closed.
As soon as he could tell from Daisy’s breathing that she was asleep, B-669 decided to go find his partner. He hated to leave her alone, but it was time to face the music.
As he expected, the Sarge was perched on one of the boulders at the edge of their site looking out over the valley far below. They both had a tendency to do that, to seek comfort in the knowledge that they were not chained in a lab, not packed into the transport ship with the other cyborgs, not subject to human control, but in charge of their own destinies. Sarge’s horse was standing next to him, also looking out over the valley. Not a real horse, of course, but one of the robotic constructions modeled on the legendary animals. The horses served as transportation, defense, and, he had come to realize, companions.
He joined them, sitting in silence as he waited for the older man to speak.
“Why did you do it?” Jonah asked at last.
“Because you’re not getting any better.”
“Better?” A harsh laugh. “Fucking government made me damn near indestructible. How much better am I going to get?”
“I don’t mean physically.”
“Just spit it out, boy.”
“Sarge, you’re alive. I’m alive, because you saved me.”
“Saved you? So you could be turned into a damn machine?”
“Why don’t you believe me when I tell you that I’ve accepted that? That I’m okay with it?”
“How can you be?” The words were tortured.
“Because I am alive. Because I get to be part of settling a new planet. Because I get to do it with the best man I’ve ever known.” He nudged his partner with his elbow.
“You’re a fool, boy. You should hate me.”
“Well, I don’t, and you’re just going to have to accept that. And that’s why I sent for Daisy. Maybe she can help you learn to enjoy living again.”
“Not the one for her.”
“Yes, you are. I don’t know what she’s been through, but she needs someone to take care of her. Also, I think she needs to feel safe and I think you do that for her.”
“Me?”
The obvious shock on the Sarge’s face made him grin.
“Yes, you. She seemed pretty happy when you were holding her.”
For a second, Jonah’s face relaxed, then he shook his head.
“She needs someone like you. Young, good-looking, unreasonably cheerful.”
A bolt of longing shot through him at the words. He would give anything to have Daisy as his wife. But the Sarge needed her so much more than he did, and he suspected that she needed him just as much. It also hadn’t escaped his notice that she viewed him with a certain amount of suspicion. He forced a smile.
“Nah. Pretty sure you’re more her type.” He stood up, slapping the other man’s back. “Guess she likes them big and ugly.”
Jonah’s horse nudged him hard and he almost stumbled, swearing at the big machine. Perhaps not surprisingly, Jonah had chosen a horse with a defect. A series of deep scratches covered the left half of his body, and his left eye was clouded.
“You know I didn’t mean it, Storm.”
“Storm?” Jonah raised an eyebrow.
He shrugged. “The women seem to like it when the horses have names. I’m calling mine Galahad.”
“Typical,” the Sarge snorted and returned to gazing out over the valley.
But as B-669 started to walk back to the habitat, he saw Jonah reach up and pat the horse’s nose, and his enhanced hearing heard him murmur the new name.
When he entered the dome, he could already tell the difference Daisy’s presence had made. It was more than just the hint of her delicate floral scent and her quiet breathing—he could feel the life she had brought to their habitat. He quietly approached the bed to close a gap in the curtains so she would be undisturbed. She was curled up in a small bundle on the far edge of the big bed, looking both desirable and vulnerable, and an unexpected ache appeared in his chest. Jonah did need her, more than he would ever acknowledge, but he felt the same sense of longing.
Resolutely closing the curtain and turning away, he surveyed the rest of the dome. He hadn’t realized until he had seen it through her eyes just how unwelcoming it must appear. There wasn’t much he could do to make it more comfortable, at least not tonight, but he could clean.
Moving quietly around the space, he tidied away as much of their clutter as he could before sweeping and wiping down every surface. By the time Jonah entered, everything was as spotless as he could make it.
“She asleep?”
“Yeah. I was just trying to organize the place a little.”
“I see that.” Jonah shook his head. “No place for a woman.”
He looked him directly in the eye. “It can be.”
“Better off in town.” But despite his words, Jonah’s eyes were focused on the ridiculous pink bed.
“You told her she could stay. And she doesn’t want to be in town—she didn’t even want to stop there to make any purchases.”
Jonah ran his finger across the scars beneath his eye in a familiar gesture. “Not like any woman I ever knew. Reckon she’s in trouble?”
“I’m sure of it. But hopefully she left it behind on Earth. Maybe you can get her to tell you what happened.”
Jonah snorted. “Not the kind to encourage confidence.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it. You knew the secrets of every man in our squad. Dammit, don’t do that, don’t turn away from me. It wasn’t your fault. We were outnumbered and outgunned.”
Jonah’s shoulders relaxed, just a fraction, and B-669 heaved a s
ilent sigh of relief. Normally even the mention of what had happened could be enough to drive Jonah into the mine for days at a time. Maybe Daisy was already making a difference. He cleared his throat.
“I didn’t think this all the way through—”
“You think?”
“—but I should’ve picked up another living module. Do you want me to rest in the mines tonight?”
While he was cleaning, he had placed Jonah’s bunk right next to the big bed and moved his all the way over next to the airlock, but it still wouldn’t allow for much privacy.
“Don’t be ridiculous. This is your place just as much as it’s mine.”
“But you’re married now. You deserve privacy.”
“Not going to be doing anything that requires privacy,” Jonah said firmly.
He opened his mouth to argue—he had seen the way Jonah looked at Daisy, not to mention his all too obvious arousal—but he decided to let it drop. Jonah was going to have to work through this on his own.
“Agree you didn’t think it through, but if she’s staying, we need to make her comfortable.” Jonah looked around the dome uncertainly. “What does a woman need?”
He shrugged just as uncertainly. “I don’t know. I should’ve asked Madam Cherry.”
“What were you doing there anyway? You know it’s not allowed.”
Although a number of Cherry’s girls were perfectly happy to service the cyborgs, there were too many human males who didn’t trust them. She had forbidden the cyborgs to visit the establishment during working hours in order to prevent trouble.
“I went to ask her about the bed. That’s all.”
“You sure?”
“You know she doesn’t take customers. And she’s too old for me anyway.”
Jonah snorted. “You’d be damn lucky to have her. Course, she ever heard you say that, you’d be damn lucky to be walking.”
“And you and she really never—”
“That’s what I said. I’m not lying—to either one of you.”
A Few Cyborgs More (Cyborgs On Mars Book 3) Page 4
