Programmed To Protect (The Tau Cetus Chronicles)

by Jenna Ives

  He climbed off the bed and crawled over to her. He spread her legs and positioned himself behind her, but took a moment to run his right hand appreciatively over her rear cheeks. He hadn’t lied when he’d said he’d been fantasizing about her beautiful ass since he’d met her. Under his fingertips, she felt smooth, soft, so very lifelike.

  His rigid cock was aching in anticipation.

  “You can enter me whenever you’re ready, Leith.”

  Hell. He always forgot there was no need of foreplay with her. She was a woman primed for sex at a moment’s notice. Every man’s dream.

  With his breath hitching in anticipation, he guided his cock to her small opening and pushed into her.

  His eyes fluttered shut.

  Damn, it was incredible. Like sinking himself into a silken sheath. But so tight. So damned tight that he could feel the grip of her all along his shaft.

  He pulled back, and then sank into her again, groaning in pleasure at the long, stroking stimulation along the length of his cock. It was like pushing through a fist. The fist of a tight hand, a knowing hand, an expert hand. A hand designed to give him maximum pleasure.

  He pulled out. Pushed back in. A line of sweat formed on his brow. “Fuck, Ginger, this feels incredible. You feel incredible. I’ve gotta move.”

  “Go right ahead, Leith.”

  His rhythm increased, along with his pulse rate and breathing. Every thought flew from his mind except this intense pressure, this incredible pleasure of fucking her from behind. Hell, at this rate he wouldn’t last more than a minute.

  And then Ginger began to move. Her back suddenly arched up like a cat’s might do in fright. The position changed the feel of him inside her. There was no difference in the tight grip on his shaft, no, but Ginger’s arch forced the head of his cock downward, to rub against something – what the hell was it? – something pulsating, something electric inside of her. Then, just as quickly, her belly sank toward the floor, this time forcing his cock upward, his super sensitive tip once again jolted by that tiny spark of electricity.

  Fuck. It was amazing.

  She threw him a glance over her shoulder. “Keep moving, Leith. It will be better for you that way.”

  Wyatt realized that he’d paused in his thrusting, awed by the sensations he was feeling. But he definitely wanted more of this unusual pleasure, so he started moving again. Harder this time. And fast. Still, he should have known that Ginger had more to give him: namely, her full nineteen-mile-an-hour speed.

  Up. Down. Up. Down. Her body moved in rapid, rhythmic, undulating waves. Updownupdownupdownupdown. Faster than Wyatt’s body could even register the changing sensations. His cock jerked uncontrollably with the pleasure of it, and his head was on fire from the short, sharp bursts of energy coming from deep inside her.

  Too good. It was too good. He was drowning in it. Hell, he was lost.

  “Ginger…ah…ahh…ahhh…fuck!”

  His body convulsed violently, his cock spewing inside her, the powerful pleasure literally robbing him of breath. On and on it went, until she milked him dry. He collapsed onto her back, gasping desperately for air, his heart hammering in his ears, his torso nothing more than an exhausted mass of muscle. And even though his knees were shaking on the carpeted floor, his cock was still trapped in her tight ass.

  “Fuuuck.”

  The word came out of him like a prayer of gratitude. Like a paean of awe. He had never, ever, felt anything like this.

  Turning his head slightly in order to lay his cheek on her left shoulder blade, his hands came around her waist to hug her tightly. Luckily, he knew she was strong enough to support his weight.

  “Ginger… That was… unbelievable. Incredible.”

  “Thank you, Leith. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

  A feeble laugh made its way past his lips. “Every sexual experience with you seems better than the last. If we keep this up you’re going to kill me.”

  He could feel her go completely still underneath him. “Kill you?”

  “Not literally, sweetheart. Figuratively. But even if it did, it would be a helluva way to go. I only wish I could give you half as much pleasure.”

  Ginger seemed to pause. “Just keep me, Leith. It would give me pleasure if you keep me. That would make me happy.”

  Wyatt’s heart expanded three sizes in his chest. He loved this woman. He would not let anything happen to her.

  He raised his head and dropped a kiss on her shoulder blade. “Forever, Ginger. You’re mine forever. I promise.”

  #

  Theus laid his personal communication device on his desk and rotated his aching shoulders. It had been a long day. Night had fallen hours ago, but in the artificial cocoon of his underground office, he rarely knew whether it was daylight or darkness outside.

  And sometimes, not even which day it was.

  Such was his life as the premier of Tau Cetus’ High Council.

  It was a heavy, lonely responsibility. But he’d accepted it a decade ago, knowing full well the sacrifices the job entailed, and the importance of the safety of the people he protected. Tau Cetus depended on him.

  He leaned back in his chair to contemplate this latest crisis.

  Anson Carron.

  Theus had been a fool to let Carron live after he’d shot Marque Callex almost a year ago. Carron was a dangerous man, a man Theus thought he could control by keeping him close. It was a disastrous miscalculation. He should have known Carron’s ego would never be satisfied simply with the honor of supplying his robot soldiers to the High Council. Theus should have guessed Carron would try to wrest control of the entire planet for himself.

  Since agent Wyatt had left earlier, Theus had spent his time attending to the details of Wyatt’s proposed plan. First, Theus had arranged for his best men to train with Wyatt and the sexbot, Ginger, starting tomorrow. The police agent’s strategy to protect the Council from Carron’s assassination attempt by preemptively shutting the robots down before they could act was a clever one. The element of surprise was a powerful tactic in any confrontation, but even the best laid plans carried an element of risk. So Theus had reworked it slightly.

  Instead of five men in the council chambers, there would be ten.

  Five of them would allow the robot soldiers to ostensibly demonstrate their abilities on them, while in reality those men would be the first line of offense in shutting the robots down. If those first five failed, the second five – who would start out the demo pretending to be personal guards of the five High Council members – would have another chance. A desperate, final chance, before Carron’s robot soldiers killed every council member.

  Including Theus.

  He rubbed the back of his neck to ease some of the tension there.

  This would be the fourth assassination attempt on his life. He supposed it was an inevitability of the job. Certain men were always greedy for power, and would do anything to get it. The trick was to survive the attempts. And for that, he needed to be as prepared as possible.

  So he’d spent the last few hours contacting the other four members of the High Council to explain the situation, and informing them that in order to guarantee their safety, there would be pseudo Council members in their seats during the demo. His fellow legislators had been suitably grateful for Theus’ plan, and agreed to send a representative from each of their respective territories to impersonate them.

  Hell, maybe Theus would ask Wyatt to train those men as well.

  And perhaps himself, too. The more people who knew where that robotic ‘off’ switch was located, the better.

  He steepled his fingers, thinking.

  In addition to another layer of defense, he was also hoping that the second set of five men guarding the impostors would serve to convince Anson Carron that they were the real council members. Because if Carron did succeed in killing everyone in the room, the four remaining counselors – safe in their home territories – would be able to regroup and hopefully challenge Carron to win
back control of the planet.

  But there was no such option for Theus, no second chance. Anson Carron knew him well. He must be present at the demonstration for this plan to work.

  A heavy resignation settled over him, which he seemed unable to shake off. Usually when challenged by a rival like this, Theus’ hackles would rise and he’d spoil for the fight, enjoying the challenge of outwitting an enemy. But his characteristic bring-it-on attitude had worn thinner with each passing year, until there were times when he actually wished for the mantle of power to be lifted from his shoulders.

  He sighed deeply. “Keira, my dark one…”

  From behind the folding screen in the corner of his office, the Beautiful Doll responded to his verbal command. She came out of the darkness and into the low light, slowly approaching his desk.

  She was beautiful, there was no doubt of it. Her hair was as black as his own, her eyes piercing blue starbursts, her body his ideal of a lean, athletic build.

  A decade ago, Anson Carron had gifted Theus with the Doll, hoping to curry favor with him, and through him, the entire Council. Theus had allowed the ploy to work, but only so far as it served him to do so.

  Now, Theus watched Keira as she walked toward him. He was aware that some former clients of Beautiful Dolls preferred their sexbots to be naked at all times, but personally, he liked a bit of mystery. The thin silk sarong she wore left little to the imagination, but enough to excite his interest.

  However, it wasn’t sex he wanted tonight.

  “Keira, come here and rub my shoulders. I need a massage.”

  “Yes, Theus.”

  The Doll obediently moved to stand behind his chair, sinking her strong fingers into his tight muscles, eliciting an initial hiss of pain from him. Damn, he was tense. But thankfully, the pain quickly settled into a bearable, burning ache as she firmly kneaded, manipulated and squeezed her way along his taut shoulders and then up one side of his neck, breaking down the knots she found there.

  Theus tilted his head to the side to give her greater access.

  By rights, the Doll should be a comfort to him in this job. After all, she had a perfect body, she was an expert at sex, and she obeyed his every command. She asked for nothing and needed nothing. She wasn’t a liability – no one could threaten her safety in hopes of manipulating him.

  On the other hand, if he didn’t speak to her first, she would never even utter so much as a word to him. And if Anson Carron managed to kill him, would Keira miss him? Not at all. And during those dark moments when Theus longed to confide his problems in someone and ask for advice, could she offer him any guidance? No.

  She had no life experience. She was nothing but a machine.

  “Wait.”

  The Doll paused in her kneading. Theus stood up from his chair, and turned to face her. He slid his hand slowly down her left side and settled at her waist, his fingers probing the thin silk for the indentation on her body that Wyatt had described. It was exactly where the police agent had said it would be.

  Why hadn’t Theus ever noticed it before? Taking a breath, he pushed hard on the spot and heard a quiet click. Keira went completely still, her blue-eyed gaze as lifeless as usual.

  That’s what she was. Lifeless. It’s what he basically was, too.

  A man without a life.

  That heavy cloak of resignation descended on him once again. She was exactly what he deserved, but damn it all, sometimes he felt ready to give up everything he’d attained just for the chance to have a real woman in his life.

  #

  “Wake up, Wyatt.”

  Wyatt opened his eyes the next morning at the auto-alert’s dulcet command, blinked, and then smiled sleepily at the vision that came into focus. Ginger was cradled spoon-like in his arms, her head on his pillow, her back pressed against his chest, her perfect ass snuggled cozily into his groin.

  Dear God. That perfect ass…

  “Mmm…” He couldn’t stop the small groan of satisfaction that escaped from his lips.

  His hips nudged forward automatically, and his smile widened as his brain reran the amazing pleasure her ass had given him last night. Hell, he’d never felt anything like that, and he was certain he’d never tire of exploring everything he and Ginger could do together, whether it was the long list of sexual positions she knew, or hopefully, a few more they could come up with together.

  Despite the dangerous challenge they faced from Anson Carron’s planned takeover attempt of Tau Cetus, Wyatt was a happy man.

  “You’re awake, Leith.”

  Ginger stirred, turning over in bed to face him. The loss of contact with her incredible body was quickly replaced by the satisfaction of seeing her perfect face.

  “Yes, sweetheart, I’m awake.”

  Ginger glanced at the bedroom wall. “You hibernated for nine hours and thirty-two minutes, Leith.”

  “Really?” He couldn’t seem to wipe the silly smile from his mouth. “I guess that means you wore me out last night. I really needed to recharge my batteries.”

  The Doll hesitated, obviously confused by his smile. “Is that a good thing?”

  Wyatt barked a laugh. “Wearing me out with sex? Yes, it’s a very good thing.”

  Ginger smiled back at him. “Then I will endeavor to wear you out often.”

  Wyatt leaned in and kissed her briefly on the lips. “I look forward to it, sweetheart. But right now, it’s probably time to get up. We have a full day of training ahead of us.”

  Wyatt suggested that Ginger stay in bed while he showered, shaved, dressed and took his morning nutrition pill. By the time he was through, the hour was getting late. They were due at the High Council headquarters by nine.

  Catching his reflection in the mirror above the bathroom sink, Wyatt paused to give himself a quick pep talk.

  “We will win tomorrow. There is no acceptable alternative. I will not lose Ginger. I will not fail the High Council. I will keep the planet safe.”

  Sending those positive thoughts out into the universe was as close to praying as Wyatt could come. With a determined nod at his reflection, he returned to the bedroom.

  “Come on, sweetheart, let’s get you dressed.”

  Ginger threw back the bed covers and stepped easily into the jumpsuit Wyatt held out for her. Zipping it up, Wyatt frowned.

  “We’ve got to do something about getting you shoes. Or boots. I don’t like you going around barefoot. You’ll hurt the soles of those beautiful feet.”

  “I am made of the strongest material available, Leith. If my soles wear out, my feet can be replaced.”

  Wyatt paused. When she said things like that, it was hard to deny she was a machine. Not that he was deluding himself that she was anything else, but with her newfound sentience, it was her humanity he saw when he looked at her, not her mechanics.

  “Still, I’d like to protect you, sweetheart. And speaking of that, if you don’t mind, I’d like to keep your sentience a secret between you and me and Theus for right now.” He gave her a smile. “You’re unique, special, and very important to me. I don’t want to have to worry about someone stealing you away from me while we’re dealing with this takeover threat. Okay?”

  “Stealing me away?”

  Wyatt laid his hands gently on her upper arms. “Do you remember how you hid your sentience from Mr. Carron and Titus Veraine?”

  Ginger nodded.

  “Just do that. Just take my orders during our training session like a regular Beautiful Doll would. Can you do that for me?”

  “Yes, Leith. I don’t want anyone to steal me from you.”

  “Perfect.” He kissed her quickly, then glanced at the time readout on his wall. “Okay, we really have to get going.”

  In Wyatt’s transport, Ginger seemed as fascinated with the trip to the Council headquarters as she had been yesterday. Her gaze took in everything that passed by the window – buildings, people, scenery. But he did notice that her head didn’t skew around nearly as much as usual. Good. She was
getting used to the outside world, the world beyond his tiny apartment and Titus Veraine’s lab. Wyatt looked forward to the day he could show her Tau Cetus in leisure.

  When they arrived at the Council headquarters, they were greeted by the same small, androgynous-looking government aide who had launched Wyatt on this perilous assignment with Anson Carron a week ago. Today the silvery-blonde aide led them not to Theus’ office, but to the High Council chambers, where a small group of men were already waiting.

  Wyatt had never been here before, and his gaze took in the impressive room. A massive rectangular table was set atop a foot-high dais, with five huge chairs arrayed behind it. Hell, they weren’t mere chairs, they were cathedra. Gilded, throne-like seats for the five most important men on all of Tau Cetus.

  The vast room had an open area directly in front of the Council’s table, where Wyatt knew representatives from around the planet had once come to present important matters for the Council to discuss and decide upon. It’s where Theus’ men were now milling around, waiting. Beyond this public area was row after row of seats set in a semicircular pattern, where at one time any citizen of Tau Cetus had been welcome to witness the legislative sessions.

  But in Wyatt’s decade as a police agent, he could remember hearing about this room being used less than a handful of times. Hell, he was surprised there wasn’t a layer of dust on the furniture. It took a natural disaster, the threat of war, an imminent crisis, or a weighty matter of state to bring all five Council members together these days.

  Tomorrow would be one of those times.

  Anson Carron’s assassination attempt was definitely an imminent crisis.

  There was a low rumble of conversation among the group of men, which drew Wyatt’s attention. He’d expected only five men but there were… He counted quickly. Ten.

  He was about to guide Ginger over to the group when Theus swept into the room.

  Everyone fell silent, watching as the premier made his way onto the dais to stand by the center chair. Wyatt could feel the power of the man emanating from every inch of his black-haired, black-clothed frame. Hell. Theus was undoubtedly a leader, the embodiment of Tau Cetus’ highest authority.