by Anna Hackett
He stroked her feet, then circled her ankles. The look on his face made her breath catch. Like he was mesmerized. His hands slid upward, caressing her legs. Then his hands went back to her belly and his eyes closed.
“I’m okay,” she murmured. “We’re okay.”
He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her belly. Ever’s insides turned to mush.
“I should stay away from you.”
Her pulse jumped. “What? Why?”
Neon blue eyes looked at her. “You deserve a man who knows how to care for you. Who is good with women and relationships.” He lifted his palms. “Who wasn’t created to be a killer.”
“I only want you,” she murmured. “You just have to let me in.”
Needing more contact, she sat up, wrapping her arms around him. She pressed her mouth to his. They’d barely deepened the kiss, Ever tracing her tongue over the seam of his lips, when there was a knock at the door.
Magnus groaned. “Avarn.”
With a squeak, Ever realized she was naked. She tore at the covers, yanking a sheet around her body.
Magnus stood, and she watched as he adjusted the large bulge in his pants. She stared. Oh, God. She knew exactly how that long, thick cock felt inside her. Her belly burned. She wanted to feel it again.
“Ever. Stop looking at me like that.”
She dragged her gaze off his crotch. “Sorry.”
That faint smile was back. “No, I don’t think you are.” He strode to the door to let the healer in.
“I hear you’ve had an eventful morning, Ever?” Avarn called out.
“Something like that.” Ever tried not to feel embarrassed about the fact she was naked, and that the healer probably had a good idea what she and Magnus had been up to.
The healer pulled out a small scanner and checked her over. He studied the screen. “You’re perfectly fine. Although I suggest you avoid falling through any more glass ceilings for a while.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Avarn winked. “I suggest you avoid it at any other time, as well.”
Magnus made a strangled sound. He didn’t look happy that they were joking about her fall.
As the healer packed up his gear, Ever tried to control the faint trembling in her body. She was so turned on. She desperately wanted to get her hands on a certain cyborg imperator.
She pressed her thighs together and shifted restlessly on the bed.
Magnus saw the healer out. He closed the door and turned. The hot look in his eyes made her gasp.
He took one step toward her…and there was another knock on the door.
Magnus’ head bowed. “What?” His voice was a dark growl.
“Imperator Galen is here to see you.” A worker’s muffled voice. “And there are several women from the House of Galen demanding to see Mistress Ever.”
Ever cursed under her breath and dropped her head into her hands. When she looked up at Magnus, she clearly saw disgruntlement on his face.
She grinned. Oh, yes. He might fight them tooth and nail, but this cyborg definitely had emotions.
Magnus stood at the side of his bedroom, watching the Earth women fuss over Ever.
They were all here, including Harper, the human gladiator now bonded to the champion of the Kor Magna Arena. Curvy, blonde Regan stood with redheaded Rory, who had a tiny baby strapped to her chest. Just behind them, dark-haired Madeline and Winter sat with tiny, fair Mia.
Magnus stole a glance at Rory’s baby. It didn’t seem possible that soon there would be another child among the Houses—his and Ever’s. He glanced back at Ever.
She was now wrapped in a silky, green robe. He’d selected it for her only days before. He’d liked the color because it matched the green of her eyes. She was smiling at the women, clearly happy to see them.
“Did you settle on a name?” Ever asked Rory.
“We did.” Rory tilted the little guy. “Meet Finley. It’s a good Scottish name, meaning ‘fair-haired hero.’”
Ever smiled. “It suits him.”
“So this merchant Halla has been to Zaabha,” Galen said with a scowl, interrupting Magnus’ musing.
“Apparently.” Magnus forced his gaze away from Ever. “She also warned us that the Thraxians wanted Ever back.”
“Hmm.” Galen’s scowl pulled at the scar on his cheek. “She might know something they don’t want us discovering.” The imperator’s gaze went to Ever. “So there are no invites going out to Zaabha at this time.”
“Correct,” Magnus said.
Galen shook his head. “The Thraxians wouldn’t have closed it down.”
“Agreed. It’s too valuable to them.”
“But they must have a plan.” Galen let out a harsh expulsion of breath. “We just don’t know what it is yet.”
“Do you believe that Sam Santos is still alive?” The woman had helped them escape from the Zaabha arena. Her captors wouldn’t have been happy with her.
A muscle ticked in Galen’s jaw. “Yes. She’s tough.”
Magnus looked again at the women in the room. Ever was laughing. Not for the first time, he wondered if perhaps she would be more comfortable with the women, back at the House of Galen. The reason she’d come to his house in the first place was to have the implant removed, and that had been done.
Then she looked up, her gaze connecting with his. She smiled at him. The sight struck Magnus deep inside, and a feeling of protectiveness crashed over him.
No. Ever was his, and she wasn’t leaving him.
“I’ve offered many incentives for any information on Zaabha.” Galen’s face hardened. “Nothing yet, but I hope an informant comes through, sooner rather than later.”
“Someone out there knows something.”
Galen nodded. “Yes.”
Whatever it took to protect Ever, he would do it. For Magnus, this wasn’t just about rescuing Sam, it was about ensuring no one came after Ever again. That meant dismantling Zaabha once and for all.
His gaze was drawn back to her. Like she was a magnet and he was helpless against her pull.
Galen made a sound. “Not you, too, Magnus.”
He met Galen’s single, ice-blue eye.
The imperator shook his head. “You’re falling for her.”
“She’s carrying my child. I’d give my life to protect her.”
Galen shook his head, a slightly bewildered look on his normally stern face. “These women of Earth wield some sort of dark magic.” The man crossed his arms over his chest. “The strongest men I know are falling for them every time I turn around.”
For the first time in a long time, Magnus felt the need to smile. He couldn’t quite get his lips to fully form the movement, but they quirked. “One day, you’ll understand.”
Galen held up a hand. “I have a house to run, gladiators to train, and unlawfully kept slaves to save. I do not need a woman.” Then his gaze narrowed. “Are you smiling?”
“No.”
Galen made another rude sound.
But Magnus’ humor faded. “I will not stop until we find Zaabha. We have to end this.”
Galen nodded. “Agreed. If I hear anything, you’ll be the first to know.”
Chapter Seven
Ever moved between her new lab benches, scribbling down notes. She was going to need another book soon.
As the House of Galen women had prepared to leave, Magnus had disappeared to work, and Ever knew she’d go crazy thinking about Sam and imagining all of the horrible things that could be happening to her.
Work had always been her sanctuary. Just as her studies had been when her parents had died in a car accident when she’d been eight. Her aunt had taken her and Neve in. Ever squeezed her eyes closed. The bitter old lady should never have been given two grieving kids to raise. She’d been more interested in drinking the money their parents had left.
Pushing old memories aside, Ever stared at her notebook. She realized that beside her work notes, she’d been doodl
ing a sketch of Magnus.
Shaking her head, she scanned her lab. Pride filled her. Her very own space. Jax had gotten everything on her list, plus a few extras. Several alien animals sat in glass tanks that Ever had set up as habitats for them. Regan had stayed and helped Ever put it all together. The woman had been only too happy to help. Jax had been at their beck and call, shifting heavy things around.
He’d apparently sourced lots of things that Ever needed from Kor Magna’s underground goods market and the weapons market. Thinking of the weapons market again made her shiver. She cradled her baby belly and moved to the nearest workbench.
She lifted some high-tech fabric. It was amazing stuff. Shaped like a jumpsuit, it stretched to fit any size. She’d already started modifying the surface so she could start adding some of her own tech to it.
Ever was hoping that, in time, she could replicate the work she’d been doing on Fortuna Station. She arched her aching back, abruptly realizing how long she’d been hunched over her benches. One of the alien animals chirped at her, and she smiled at the lizard-like creature. It was very similar to the chameleons she’d had back on Fortuna. She’d had a collection of animals for her research—chameleons, an octopus, some cuttlefish, and lots of frogs. All animals that could change the color of their skin rapidly. Ever had been determined to adapt that ability into a stealth suit.
“You’re working too hard.”
The deep voice from right behind her made her jump. Ever pressed a hand to her chest and spun. She scowled up at Magnus. “Make some noise next time.” How could such a big man move so silently?
“I wasn’t designed to make noise.” He sat on a stool.
Magnus’ rainstorm scent tickled her nostrils and instantly heat arrowed through her. God, these pregnancy hormones would be the death of her. It seemed she spent her time either worried about Sam and Zaabha, or feeling turned on by the lightest brush of air on her skin. Or the tiniest glimpse of this man.
And she still wasn’t sure how he felt about her. If he felt that much at all.
“Where are you from, exactly?” She realized she really knew very little about the man, and Ever was suddenly insanely curious to know more about him.
“I was designed and bred in a lab on Orionix II. A military installation in the Zion sector. I was part of an elite military unit.”
How could anyone breed children purely as soldiers? She stroked her belly. You’ll be loved, peanut, I promise. “How did you end up here on Carthago?”
He was quiet for a moment, and she wasn’t sure he was going to answer. “My emotional dampeners became less effective. It gave me enough autonomy to no longer blindly follow orders. I didn’t like what I was being used for.”
She swallowed. “And what was that?”
The neon in his eye glowed. “I was an assassin, Ever. A very cold and efficient one.”
And yet she heard something buried in his voice. “You didn’t like it.”
“I didn’t feel. I went in, did my job, and left. Until I was tasked with killing an entire military base belonging to one of our rivals.”
He was silent.
“Did you do it?” she whispered.
“Yes. But my dampeners started to malfunction.” He pulled in a breath. “I started to have nightmares. A cyborg doesn’t have nightmares.”
“Magnus—”
“They betrayed me.” His voice vibrated with something. “They used me and they betrayed me.”
Her chest constricted. “So you left?”
“Not at first. I was struggling. I…did a few more missions, but I questioned everything. The men in charge were using me for private jobs, against people they had personal grudges with, and they had no regard for the rules of combat, or minimizing loss of life.”
She reached out and gripped his shoulder.
He lifted his head. “I stopped being so efficient and effective. They stepped up their efforts to rehabilitate me.”
They hurt him. He didn’t need to tell her, she heard it in his voice.
Then his voice turned Arctic cold. “Then they decided to decommission Jaxer. So I took him and left.”
Another betrayal. Jaxer meant something to him. She touched her belly again. Whatever happened, she’d ensure this baby meant something to him as well.
“And you decided to come to Carthago?” Skepticism coated her voice and her lips twitched.
The faint quirk of his lips made her feel like she’d won the lottery. “It’s a good place to lose yourself.”
“And reinvent yourself.” She looked around her lab, and felt the baby move inside her. That was what she was doing. What all the human survivors were doing. Making new lives, new homes.
“I was too enhanced to fight in the arena, but there were other fights.”
His flat tone made her realize that these “other” fights had been dark and dangerous. Her heart ached for that younger Magnus. After the strict regime of military life, making a new life on Carthago must have been hard for him.
“Over time, I saved my money, and eventually had the resources to create the House of Rone and hire my own gladiators.”
“Why start a house?”
“Money. Power. Security. I wanted to ensure Jax was safe, and any other cyborgs that left the program knew they were welcome to join us.”
She leaned her hip against the bench. “Your elite cyborgs…they were from Oroinix.”
He nodded.
So he’d saved them too. “I’ve talked to the people in your house, Magnus. You take in injured and damaged fighters. You give them new limbs and implants.”
“They become House of Rone,” he said simply.
He saved the people that no one else could. The people no one wanted to help. The broken and helpless. He helped them help themselves.
She stared into that impassive, handsome face. There was heat in him, and it was more than just a programmed response. He was man first, and machine second.
“Tell me about your work,” he asked.
Ever lit up. “You’ll regret asking me that.”
His gaze skated over her face. “I doubt it.”
She launched into her spiel on biological camouflage. “Chameleons were the main species I focused on. They’re able to change the color and pattern of their skin.”
Magnus grunted. “Advantageous.”
“It was speculated to be more than just camouflage, that they changed colors to communicate as well. But I focused on adapting that ability into a stealth suit. The chameleon has two layers built into its skin, one containing pigments, and another layer containing special crystals. They could change the space between the crystals, which in turn, changes the wavelength of light reflected off the crystals.”
“Which changes the color of their skin,” he finished.
“Right. I was on the verge of mimicking chameleon camouflage in a suit right before—” She broke off.
“Before the Thraxians attacked,” he finished.
She nodded, and once again, she thought of Sam. Out there, trapped at Zaabha, and already been through too much. The Thraxians would have punished her for letting them escape.
“This camouflage stealth suit is an ingenious invention, Ever. It is something my people could use.”
She smiled. “You’ll have to pay me for it.”
He cocked his head, studying her. “Oh?”
She laughed. “Absolutely.” Then she sobered. “I can never repay you for everything you’ve done for me, Magnus.”
“There is no need.”
When he leaned his cybernetic arm against the bench, she looked at it with hungry fascination. “May I?”
He went still and nodded. She lightly stroked her fingers up the limb, marveling at the silver skin. She touched the joints in his hand, then his elbow. It was a thing of beauty, and far more advanced than the prosthetic limbs she’d seen on Earth.
He shifted in his chair. Magnus never shifted restlessly.
“Does it bother you? Me touc
hing you?” she asked.
A shake of his head. “I had another memory from the desert. Of you stroking my arm.”
She felt heat in her cheeks. She was just as fascinated by the cyborg parts of him as she was by the organic ones. “Can you feel sensation on this arm?”
He nodded. “There are receptors in the synthetic skin. They’re very sensitive.”
She ran her fingers over the joint between metal and flesh at his shoulder, then she stroked across his chest. “Do you feel that?”
He gave her a tight nod. When she flicked her finger over his hard nipple, she watched it pebble.
His breathing was faster now, and gathering more courage, she let her hand drift lower. He had such a magnificent body. Hard and strong, yet with a lean power. He could move at lightning speed or absorb the full impact of a fall.
“Are there enhancements I can’t see?” she asked.
A nod. “I have tanium metal fused to most of my bones. I can take a lot of damage and it increases my strength.”
She went lower still, fingering the hard belly just above the waistband of his trousers. Her gaze dropped and when she saw the hard bulge straining the front of his trousers, her breath hitched.
“Ever.” He stared at her.
She cupped him, stroking his cock through the fabric.
He made a pained sound and jerked to his feet. “I will protect you at all costs. I will keep you safe and provide everything you need. You don’t owe me anything for that.”
“Owe you?” Confused, she stared at him, and then her eyes widened. “You mean pay you with sex?”
He looked almost flustered. “You don’t need—”
She jerked back, bumping into the bench. “I wouldn’t devalue myself like that. I have sex with people I like and respect.” She shook her head. “I think it’s time you go.” She turned back to her bench, tears stinging her eyes. Damn hormones. “I have work to do.”
There was silence behind her, and she waited for him to say something. To explain himself. The silence stretched on, and finally, she turned.
The room was empty. He’d gone. Leaving as quietly as he’d arrived.
