by Cynthia Sax
“Repairs I didn’t approve.” She glowered at him and his desire for her escalated. Their female wouldn’t accept less than perfection from her males. They weren’t defective. They were preferred. “The changes could have taken down critical systems.”
“That was improbable.” Thrasher said what Ace was processing.
Their Carys’ hard gaze moved to the warrior. “What is the probability I’ll jettison your insubordinate ass into space?”
Thrasher opened his mouth.
“That was a warning, not a question.” Their female shook her head. “Make another decision affecting my battle station or my crew without my authorization and we’ll find out if cyborgs can survive in space.”
They couldn’t. Not for long.
“Hurt my crew and--”
“Hurting your crew would damage you.” Ace had investigated her officers. They were loyal to their commander, would die for her. Keeping them alive would increase their female’s protection. “We would never damage you.”
“You’ve killed.” Her tone was accusing.
“We have killed.” Although it was a statement, Thrasher responded. “We’re warriors.”
“Did you end the lives of children?”
Ace exchanged a glance with Thrasher. He heard the pain in their female’s question. “Our brethren have killed offspring. When we were controlled by the Humanoid Alliance, we had to follow orders. If we didn’t, we’d die.”
Thrasher bumped against him. “Some warriors chose death over tasks they viewed as dishonorable.”
Their Carys’ gaze met the warrior’s. “They refuse to kill children?”
“Some refuse to kill offspring.” Thrasher’s head dipped. “Some refuse to kill females. Some refuse to kill any being. The price for that refusal is death. They’re deemed defective and the Humanoid Alliance decommissions them. If too many warriors in one batch are deemed defective, every warrior is decommissioned.”
“You all die.” Their female’s eyes widened. “By refusing to kill his target, a warrior could condemn his brethren, the beings who mean the most to him, to death.”
“That’s how they control us.” There was very little Ace wouldn’t do to save Thrasher’s life. “Thrasher and I have ended the lifespans of Rebels. We’ve ended the lifespans of females.”
Their female was a Rebel. If she had been apprehended, she would have faced one of his cyborg brethren in the training ring.
She could have faced them.
That possibility tormented Ace.
Thrasher stepped forward, snapping the restraints around his ankles. “We haven’t ended the lifespans of offspring.” He rubbed their Carys’ arms.
Ace joined him, unable to resist touching her, the contact soothing him, reassuring him. She was alive. She hadn’t been apprehended, hadn’t faced his brethren in the training ring. “We escaped before we faced that decision.”
“Good.” Some of the stiffness eased from her stance. “You were slaves, forced to obey the Humanoid Alliance.” She leaned into them. “Now that you’ve escaped--”
“We can act with honor.” Thrasher puffed out his chest.
He was a fool. Ace pushed against him. Thrasher pushed back, jostling their Carys. She pitched backward. Ace caught her. Thrasher did also.
Their hands clasped, linking below her shoulder blades. Sensation surged along Ace’s arms. He lifted his fingers.
Let go and I drop her, Thrasher warned.
He wouldn’t damage their female. They both knew that.
But Ace didn’t let go. The coarseness of Thrasher’s palm contrasted vividly against the softness of their Carys’ curves. Both of their scents were on her skin. Her generous chest rose and fell.
He rubbed his thumb over Thrasher’s hand and petted his female’s side with his other hand. They touched him also, not talking, seemingly as content as he was simply to have that connection, to relish their bond.
Moments passed. Their Carys’ body grew more and more stiff.
Our female is suffering emotional damage, Thrasher expressed Ace’s thoughts.
Wait for her to share the cause. Their female would resist any prodding. She’d bark orders at them and retreat to the bridge, a place she was in control.
Thrasher grumbled. Ace stroked their female, attempting to repair her damage that way.
She sighed. “I owe you an explanation.”
“You don’t owe us anything,” Ace assured her.
Thrasher cast him a dark glance, muttering his disagreement through their transmission line. The male wanted to know the source of her damage.
Ace did also but he wouldn’t push her.
“I need to explain,” she amended. “I judged you and your brethren harshly and you should know why.”
She hurried to a container, opened the lid, unwrapped a pair of tiny boots. They were black, sturdy, had scuffed toes. He breathed in. They smelled like their Carys and an unknown female.
She held the boots up for them to view, her gaze remaining on the footwear, her eyes reflecting the depth of her emotional turmoil. “These belonged to my daughter.”
Daughter. Their female had offspring. Ace and Thrasher moved closer to her, to the boots. Why hadn’t she mentioned her? Why hadn’t they met her daughter?
She had concealed that huge part of her lifespan from them. That shouldn’t hurt Ace. They’d only known each other for planet rotations. His reaction was illogical yet he couldn’t explain the pain away, couldn’t suppress the distress her secret caused him.
The boots shook. Their female’s hands were trembling.
His questions could be asked later. Repairing her emotional damage was his priority now.
Ace placed his fingers over hers, steadying them. Thrasher did the same, all three of them holding the tiny footwear.
Their Carys inhaled deeply, held her breath for three heartbeats, exhaled. “Pimmy died in a Humanoid Alliance attack.” Those shocking words rushed out of her mouth.
It took all of Ace’s control not to react. He thought of Thrasher, of the agony he’d experience if the male died. It was doubtful he’d survive that.
Their female had survived, had endured such a loss. Her offspring had died.
In a Humanoid Alliance attack. His processors whirled. She judged cyborgs harshly.
Fraggin’ hole. “One of our brethren killed her.”
Thrasher cursed softly.
“I don’t know if a cyborg killed her.” Their Carys’ face hardened. “I do know that a cyborg stopped me from saving her.”
With their female, that would have been worse. The warrior had prevented her from taking action, from protecting her offspring, and that offspring had died. She’d blame him, blame herself, blame them.
It would take a strong being to move past that, to judge them for themselves. Ace didn’t know if he would have that strength if something happened to the beings he loved.
“When I was feeding the bovines, I noticed we were missing one.” Their Carys stroked the heels of the little boots, touching the footwear as though it were her offspring’s skin. “The stupid creature was always venturing into caves to escape from the heat and getting lost. I left Pimmy, my daughter, at the domicile.” Their female winced. She must have regretted that decision. “And I searched the caves.”
“Alone? Where was your male?” The vision of their Carys with another male made Ace’s systems almost shut down. The thought of her being unprotected angered him even more.
Males, when they were fortunate to find their females, safeguarded them, not allowing them to venture into danger alone.
“He was my mistake, not my male.” Her eyes flashed. “He stayed at the domicile.”
He was weak and unworthy. Thrasher’s disgust mirrored Ace’s.
They would be strong and worthy. He straightened. She would consider them to be her males, never refer to them as mistakes.
“I searched the caves, was preparing to leave one when I spotted him—a big gray-skinned c
yborg in fully body armor. He carried a huge gun, was positioned outside the entrance. If I had left, he would have seen me, would have killed me.”
“He would have had no choice.” Ace’s lips flattened.
“I waited and waited and waited.” She carefully set the boots in the container and wrapped them in fabric, handling them like they were a newly manufactured offspring. “By the time he left, it was too late.” She gazed at the boots one more time and closed the lid. “I rushed back to the domicile and she was lying on the ground, dead, a single shot to the heart.”
One of our brethren killed her, Thrasher muttered through their transmission line.
Ace agreed.
A Humanoid Alliance warrior would have tortured the tiny female. They were cruel beings, had no honor.
That the kill had been fast and clean meant one of their brethren had been forced to complete the task. The warrior had done what he could to minimize her suffering. Their female’s offspring…daughter would have felt little pain.
“They were all dead. Pimmy, Pimmy’s father, the workers.” Their Carys’ eyes were haunted with dark memories. “I saw that cyborg at the cave. I could have warned them. If he had moved from the entrance of the cave earlier--”
“You would have died also.” Ace pulled their female into his arms, pushing her face against his chest. They would have lost her, would have never known the joy of claiming her. “That warrior saved your life.”
“Not deliberately,” she mumbled, determined to believe the worst.
“Yes, deliberately.” His brethren had purposely blocked the exit, trapping their female, hiding her existence from the Humanoid Alliance’s human officers. “He could sense you. He realized you were there.”
She gazed at him, her eyes gleaming with unshed tears. “But if he sensed me--”
“He should have killed you. Those would have been his orders from the Humanoid Alliance.” Those would have been Ace’s orders if he had been in the warrior’s position. “He deliberately disobeyed those orders.”
“He risked his life to save me.” Their female was intelligent. She realized the enormity of their brethren’s actions.
Silence stretched as she struggled with that revelation, that the being she’d viewed as evil for much of her lifespan had truly been her savior.
“They could have saved Pimmy.”
The pain in her voice sliced through Ace. It was too much for him to handle. He looked at Thrasher.
The male nodded. He would answer for Ace. “If Pimmy had stayed hidden, they might have been able to save her.”
“She wouldn’t have stayed hidden.” Their Carys drooped against Ace.
Thrasher moved behind her, supporting her lush form.
“Pimmy would have heard them approaching.” Their female relived the planet rotation. “She would have thought it was me and would have run outside to greet me.” Her breath hitched. “She always did that.”
“She loved you.” Thrasher bent his head and kissed her nape. “And you loved her.”
Ace heard the yearning in the male’s voice. They both envied that love, wanted her to care for them the same way. In the future, perhaps she would.
“I loved her more than life.” Their Carys’ words were muffled. “I thought I would die when she died.”
“You didn’t die.” Ace threaded his fingers through her hair, sensing that their female didn’t show her vulnerabilities often, honored by that act of trust. “Because you’re strong.”
“I’m not strong enough to love again.” She said that as though she believed it. Ace hoped she was wrong, as there was nothing he desired more than her love. “And I never want another child. I know it’s possible. There are medical procedures that allow older females to have babies. But I couldn’t experience that loss, that pain a second time.”
She gazed up at Ace and then at Thrasher. The sight of her face wet with silently spilled tears made Ace want to kill someone.
“We don’t require offspring.” Thrasher’s grin was forced, the male as affected by their female’s sharing as Ace was. “I have my hands full keeping Ace out of trouble.” He knocked against Ace.
“Ha.” Ace rolled his eyes. “You’re the one always acting impulsively.” He slammed his shoulder against Thrasher’s.
“The word is passionately, ass.” Thrasher shoved him. “Not impulsively.”
“I said I didn’t want a child.” Their Carys brushed the back of her hands over her cheeks, removing the remnants of her grief. “But I seem to have obtained two of them.” The hint of a smile curling her lips belied her words. “Behave yourselves.”
“Yes, Commander.” They stopped their play.
She shook her head, not hiding her disbelief over their sudden acquiescence. “Do cyborgs eat?”
Their Carys extracted nourishment bars from her pockets.
“We eat.” Ace selected two for Thrasher and two for himself. “We also use energy inputs.” He revealed the slots in his wrists.
“We utilized one of your wall circuits to replenish those.” Thrasher provided more information.
Their Commander frowned.
“It wasn’t required for any other purpose.” Ace rushed to reassure her. “In the future, we’ll ask your permission before making modifications to your chambers.”
“These are now your chambers also.” She was starting to accept their relationship, granting them partial ownership of her private spaces, and that warmed Ace’s heart. “You don’t have to ask my permission.”
Thrasher glanced at him.
We have to ask her permission. Having heard some of the details of their Carys’ past, how she had lost her daughter to an unforeseen attack, Ace understood why she sought control in all other areas of her lifespan. “Will you eat with us, Commander? We’ll explain the system modifications as we replenish our nourishment levels.”
They would earn her trust.
“You haven’t restricted my access to my systems, have you?” She moved to a seat by a horizontal support.
“Your access to your systems remains the same.” Ace claimed a chair beside her. Thrasher sat on the other side, ensuring their female was between the two of them, protected by their bodies. “We don’t wish to erode your power, Commander.”
“Then why are you here?” Their Carys met his gaze directly.
She was a powerful female and appreciated blunt communication. Ace experienced gratitude once again that she was theirs.
“You’re the female we’re destined to be with.” Thrasher drew her gaze to him. “There is nowhere else we prefer to be.”
She wrinkled her nose.
“We have a common enemy,” Ace added, giving her a more logical, less emotional reason.
“The Humanoid Alliance still has your brethren enslaved.” Their female’s eyes gleamed. “You’re planning to free them and you need my help.”
She guessed our plans. Thrasher’s transmission was edged with satisfaction.
She’s a clever being. There was nothing in Power’s instructions about her guessing their plans. The E Model had underestimated their Commander, hadn’t factored her intelligence into his schemes.
“If that was our plan.” Ace kept his expression blank. “We’d be sworn to secrecy until it was time to take action.”
“If that wasn’t your plan, you could deny it.” Their Carys’ lips lifted in a smug smile. “But cyborgs can’t lie, can they?”
“We can’t lie,” Ace confirmed. “We can avoid telling the truth.”
“A being who was aware of that restriction would view evasion as confirmation.” She understood what he had implied.
Ace was relieved. They had followed orders. They hadn’t revealed the cyborg council’s plans. Yet, thanks to their female’s cunning, her intellect, her battle strategy savvy, they no longer had to deceive her.
“I can’t promise to help you, not until I hear your plans.” Their Commander appeared arousingly stern, her jaw jutted, her fingers linked in front
of her. “I have to do what is right for my crew and for the Rebel cause.”
“We respect that.” Ace and Thrasher inclined their heads. They’d expect nothing less from their strong female.
That answer seemed to please her. She smiled at them. Her beauty illuminated the chamber and made Ace’s senses tingle. “Tell me about the system modifications.”
Chapter Seven
Carys had spent almost half of her lifespan hating C345925, a cyborg who, according to Ace, had risked his life to save hers. The male she had considered to be her greatest enemy, the top being on her want-dead list, had, in reality, been her protector.
She struggled to wrap her brain around that.
It distracted her from a much larger issue. She was developing feelings for the two warriors seated beside her, something she’d vowed never to do. Caring meant pain and loss, yet the connection between them was undeniable.
With her world spinning out of control, Carys focused on the systems changes, something she could manage. The males explained each modification in detail, patiently answering her questions.
She wanted to nix at least one of their decisions, show Ace and Thrasher she knew more about her battle station than they did, but the changes made sense.
Damn it.
Carys devoured her nourishment bar. That was something she could take action on.
The warriors talked about the improvements they would make on her battle station if they had the resources and if they had her permission to implement them. They were powerful males, had skills far surpassing hers, yet they appeared surprisingly content to follow her command.
She told herself that it was because they had been slaves, they had submission in their programming, but she knew that was another lie she told herself.
Submissive slaves didn’t rebel.
Ace and Thrasher bowed to her authority because they respected her, cared for her, looked at her as though she were a precious gift from space, the greatest wonder of the universe.
That truth was in their touch and they did that constantly—touch her. They stroked her arms, back, thighs, ran their hands over her body.
Arousing her. Her nipples ached with wanting. Her pussy was slick, her musk scenting the air around them. Ace and Thrasher were cyborgs, had enhanced senses. They must smell her desire.
