Cyborg Fever

by Grace Goodwin

  “Dude, you could have just opened the door.” He shook his head and if he didn’t have silver, Hive integrated eyes, he probably would have rolled them.

  Dude? I hadn’t heard that expression since Earth. Angh’s sidekick was human. African-American, based on the accent. And from the South. I looked at him. “You from the South?”

  “Atlanta, Georgia.” He bowed low and Melody stepped forward.

  “I’m from Berlin. Germany.” Her voice was a bit higher than normal and I turned my head to narrow my eyes at her in warning. She ignored me, of course, and kept talking. “I saw you. On The Colony. I didn’t know they had any humans there. Except the mates of course.” She flipped her hair and smiled. A really big, come and get me, smile. I so did not need this right now. One set of female hormones getting us in trouble was enough.

  And I was in deep fucking trouble if the Atlan with the heaving chest was any indication.

  Angh just stared and breathed. Hard.

  The human gripped the door by the side and tugged. Angh finally let it go and I was shocked when the much smaller human man took the door like it weighed nothing more than a piece of driftwood and tossed it into the hallway.

  “Do you want me to notify security?” a male cadet asked, although I didn’t turn my head to see who it was.

  I shook my head. “Yes, although not because there is a threat. Notify them that everything is fine. I’m sure the door alarm was triggered.”

  “But—”

  “Stand down, Cadet,” I replied in the voice I usually used outdoors in the training simulator.

  The whispering began then. The murmurs. This was going to be talked about. Forever.

  Chapter Seven

  Kira

  I flicked my gaze to Melody as she came to stand beside me. “Um, Instructor Dahl…”

  She used my title since we were in the classroom, but I knew she wanted to say What the fuck, girlfriend? The hot Atlan beast you fucked just came to Zioria and ripped a door off your classroom to get to you.

  “If he’s going to make an ass of himself, that’s fine. I’m guessing you’re Instructor Kira Dahl.” Sidekick stepped forward, held out his hand in typical Earth greeting, a handshake. “I’m Denzel. Lieutenant Denzel Washington.”

  I looked over his shoulder at Angh, then met Denzel’s silvery gaze.

  Melody snickered beside me. “Denzel Washington? Really?”

  Denzel’s cyborg eyes shifted to her and I would swear they both stopped breathing. After a long, awkward silence, he grinned. “Only a human would find my name humorous.” While he’d been easy-going before, his entire expression changed. He was completely opposite of Angh. Calm, cool and collected. “Yes, my mother had a crush on the actor and just so happened to have the same last name. I was doomed.”

  “Doomed?” Melody asked. “You’re looking pretty good for a doomed man.”

  I couldn’t miss the flirting tone from Melody or the look of interest on the lieutenant’s face. Or my cadets. Every cadet in the room was craning to get a better view. And I soooo did not need this kind of gossip flying around the campus. I’d have ten different nicknames by this time tomorrow.

  “Class dismissed,” I called. “Be ready for the battle sim after lunch.”

  The group didn’t need to be told twice. Their whispers rose to full conversations as they practically ran out the doors, more than likely ready to spread all kinds of stories.

  Denzel was staring at Melody and when I turned my head to look at her, she was staring at him. She was beautiful. I had to respect his interest. She was tall and lithe with mahogany hair that fell to her waist and bedroom eyes, dark brown and eating him up like he was her favorite dessert. Neither of them spoke another word.

  All righty then.

  I moved out of their way and walked over to Angh. It wasn’t as if I could avoid him. I certainly didn’t want to walk out of the room and move any possible scene elsewhere in the building.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked. I had to tilt my head back, way back, to look at him. His breathing hadn’t slowed. The lips I’d kissed—a lot—were parted. His cheeks were flushed as if he had a fever, his muscles all but rippling as he eyed me. As if I were prey. This was how he’d looked at me as he’d curled his finger, beckoned me to his side at the fighting pit.

  My eagerness for him hadn’t waned. After a night with him, my libido kicked right back into gear and I wanted him, too.

  “I’m here for you,” he said, his voice deep. He wasn’t in beast mode, since he said more than one word, but it seemed it lurked right beneath the surface. “You left with no explanation, Kira. Not even a goodbye.”

  I nodded, licked my lips and his eyes dropped to my mouth. “I’m sorry. My transport was scheduled first thing and I didn’t want to wake you.” Lame answer, but the truth. When he just stared, not saying a word, I kept babbling. “I figured you were tired after…you know.”

  His gaze darkened and I could feel the heat pouring off him like a blast furnace. He was thinking about fucking me now. And I was thinking about his cock, and his mouth, and…everything else.

  Great. My cheeks were so hot they were probably the color of maraschino cherries.

  “Get out.” He spoke to Denzel and Melody, but his gaze hadn’t left me.

  Denzel took Melody by the elbow, escorting her to the doorway with a protective—and possessive—hand at the small of her back. But she twisted in his hold, craning her neck to check on me. “You okay with this, Dahl? I can call security.”

  I looked up at Angh, at the anguish I could now see in the lines of strain around his eyes and mouth. He was holding on by a very thin thread. I’d hurt him somehow—I wasn’t quite sure what this was yet—but I knew he wouldn’t harm me. Never. “Go on, Mel.” I looked deeply into Angh’s eyes. “He would never hurt me.”

  “Never.” The warlord confirmed. With a shrug, Melody returned her attention to Denzel.

  “What is going on?” Melody asked him. “What are you two doing here?”

  “Let’s go somewhere quiet so we can talk about that…and other things.”

  With every courtesy, Denzel led her to the hallway, lifted the door from the floor and set it back in place the best he could.

  We had the illusion of privacy, at least. The display screen windows were still clear, and we were gathering a crowd in the hallway on the other side of the glass.

  With a sigh, I moved to the wall control and blackened the screens once more. I had no idea what was about to happen with Angh, but I knew I didn’t need an audience.

  That done, I walked back to the Atlan, who stood in the exact place he’d been when he first saw me, as if he were an oak tree and his roots were so deep they touched the core of the world.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, repeating Melody’s question.

  He growled, eyes narrowed, and lifted his hand to crook a finger at me, just like he’d done at the arena. “Come here, mate.”

  And just like that, I couldn’t deny him or myself. I wanted to feel his arms around me almost as much as I wanted to breathe. I’d missed him and the longing erupting within me was strange and alarming.

  I closed the distance, pressing my face to his chest and wrapping my arms around his waist as his giant hands settled on my back, stroking up and down. He bent low and buried his nose in my hair.

  He stiffened. “Why do I smell Prillon blood in your hair? And ion blaster fire?” He dropped to his knees, not to talk to me, but to personally check every inch of my body for injury, starting at the ankles and working his way up. While his hands on me were clinical, I felt the touch everywhere. “Tell my why you smell of another male’s blood, mate, or I will not be able to control my beast.”

  “Angh!” I pushed at his hands as they squeezed and worked my thighs, my ass, pressed on my abdomen, felt my breasts, not with seduction in mind, but the single-minded intention of uncovering any hurt. Did he really think my boobs were broken?

  When he
got to my right elbow, I winced. I couldn’t help it. He froze, his gaze lifting to mine. “You are injured. This is unacceptable.”

  “I’m fine.” I was. It was sore, but it would heal, just like every other scrape or bruise, ache or pain I got from one of my missions. I’d had much worse.

  “Who hurt you, Kira? Tell me his name and I will destroy him.”

  Oh boy, I needed reminding as to why overprotective, dominant males were a bad idea for a one-night stand? Oh, yeah. This. So much this. Besides ripping my classroom door off, he looked like I’d struck him through the heart, like the bruise on my arm from the asshole Hive—whose hard as steel kick I’d blocked with my elbow right before I shot him through the heart—was the most important thing in the universe. He happened to be a former Prillon warrior and his blood had splattered all over my armored suit. Which meant my quarters probably smelled like his blood, too. Which was just freaking fantastic.

  “He’s already dead, Angh. It’s nothing. A bruise.”

  He didn’t seem mollified by my answer. “Why did you not seek medical attention?”

  “It’s nothing.” I didn’t dare tell him why I hadn’t gone to the med station, and not just because I hadn’t had time. If I went in, they’d have put me in a ReGen pod, and the sore, very satisfied feeling in my pussy, my physical reminder of him, of our wild night together, would be gone forever. I wanted to know he’d possessed me completely, filled me up. Made me scream. The tenderness between my legs was my personal, very private souvenir of our time together. I wanted more, had a feeling I would always want more when it came to this very sexy Atlan, but I had a job to do. I’d made promises. Signed contracts.

  I wasn’t in a place to start a relationship right now. The I.C. owned me for two more years. Every mission saved lives, sometimes one, sometimes a hundred. I couldn’t be selfish. My pussy was not in charge of this situation, no matter how badly my body was screaming at me to strip off my clothes and beg him to fuck me again. Right now. Up against the wall. On the desk. Even the hard floor.

  But I’d only be making things worse if I did that. Whatever this was, it had to end. My commanding officer in the I.C. would not be amused by the fact that I’d fucked an Atlan in the first place, and on a training trip. But mating one? They’d probably throw me in the brig. They made it very clear on a previous mission that there was no getting out of my service, and I didn’t want to. I saved lives. A lot of lives. And so would he, once the Vice Admiral got her claws into him. The warriors and civilians captured and tortured by the Hive needed me more than this Atlan did, more than I needed to feed the lust driving my libido to the next level whenever I looked at Angh. And the war needed him, my big, bad-ass beast.

  Fighting for patience, and control, I placed my hands on his cheeks and lifted his face up so he would look at me. For once, he was shorter than me. Barely, though, even though he was on his knees. “Angh, why are you here? Why did you kick down my classroom door?”

  “You are my mate, Kira.”

  He meant it. Shit. He believed it, transported to a different planet, broke down my door to tell me that. To come for me. The Everians with their marks weren’t the only insane ones out there. I now realized an Atlan and his beast were doubly crazy.

  “I’m not,” I countered, shaking my head. “We had one great night. One unbelievable, hot night, but I can’t be your mate. We weren’t matched. I’m not an Interstellar Bride. I know you were tested.”

  God help my stupid, idiotic brain. Last night, before I went on the mission, I’d tortured myself by using my high-level security clearance to look him up in the database. “You have a perfect, matched mate out there who could be linked to you tomorrow. And I can’t leave the Academy.” I put a hand on my chest, then on his. “You can’t leave The Colony. We live on two different worlds. We’re from two different worlds.”

  “You will return with me to The Colony,” he said, his tone fierce. “We will live there. Raise our children. You are mine, Kira. And I am yours. I do not want an Interstellar Bride. I want you. I wear your claim. I will pledge myself to you, only you. You own me already, mate. I am yours.” He lifted his hands, showing me the cuffs that remained locked around his wrists.

  He wasn’t growling or talking in single word sentences. He was in control, not his beast. Yes, the sex had been great. Amazing. Fucking fantastic. But we’d never talked about me being his mate. As in forever. “No. I’m not your mate. I can’t be.”

  With a sigh so deep his entire body shuddered, he leaned forward, his forehead pressed between my breasts. Breathed, held on. When he lifted his face, he was smiling. “All right, Kira. I will return to The Colony. But I would ask for one thing before I go.”

  “Anything.” It was a vow. Anything I could give him, I would. Except being his mate. I wished I could give him myself, but that was impossible. I belonged to the I.C., a tangible thing that was their property, just like an ion blaster or a desk. I was a piece of equipment used to fight the Hive and they were far from done with me. Or him.

  Angh belonged to the I.C. now, and someday, to some lucky bride who would be his perfect match. He deserved that. A woman who could stay by his side and be content—and she would be content with the way he wielded his cock as if it were a magic wand. He deserved a mate without torn loyalties. A woman who could be with him every day, every night, raise his children, and not torment herself with the body count of unsaved thousands. I couldn’t walk away from my job with the I.C. no matter how much I wanted him.

  “One more unbelievable, hot night of mindless fucking,” he said.

  He threw my own words back at me and my pussy went from hot to inferno in the space of a heartbeat. My nipples hardened, my panties ruined. My need for him was even greater than the first time I saw him in the fighting pit. I now knew who he was, what he was and how skilled he was. And all of that was focused right on me. Every virile, sexy inch of him. And there were a lot of inches. All over.

  “Yes.” I leaned over and kissed him, but tore my lips from his when it went hot and carnal in three seconds flat. I was already breathing hard as if I were outside in the outdoor training center and not inside with just his very skilled tongue making my knees buckle. “But not right now. I have to be on the training field in fifteen minutes for an instructors meeting.”

  “I want more than fifteen minutes.” He lowered his hands to cup my ass and pulled me forward so I could feel the hard length of his swollen cock. Every hot inch of him.

  “So do I. That’s why we can’t start now.” I kissed him again because I had to. He was my kryptonite. There was no resistance in me. None. Not when his big hands were on me, his taste was in my mouth, the feel of him was against me.

  “How long does this training take?” he asked.

  “A couple hours.” I could, perhaps, slip out early, but after the door ripping incident, probably not. “Then I’ll hit the showers, and I’ll be all yours.”

  He stood without a word and let me go. All at once, I felt cold. Alone. He walked to the door and lifted it to the side so it was propped against the wall. “For one night.”

  Nodding, I walked through the doorway ahead of him. “Yes. For one night.”

  By now, the hallway was deserted. Thankfully. I didn’t see Melody or Denzel, but they could take care of themselves.

  “It will be worth it.”

  I meant to ask him what that meant, but the late-morning bell rang and the hallway quickly swarmed with cadets, going to their next class or practical session elsewhere on campus.

  He stepped close, then leaned down so he could be heard. “What we did the other night, mate, was nothing.”

  Oh shit. Any better than before and I would die of pleasure.

  Chapter Eight

  Angh

  The cadets swarmed the grounds below like an army of insects. I stood next to the Academy training commander and watched the activity from an observation deck. On the rocky terrain below was a mock battlefield eerily similar to the groun
d I’d fought for on Latiri 4, before we lost it to the Hive. Before I lost everything to the Hive.

  Battlegroup Karter had been forced to retreat from the planet, and its twin, Latiri 7, when the strange new Hive weapon had been deployed. With Commander Phan, we’d managed to save the battlegroup, and I’d read reports that my old shipmates were steadily gaining ground in the sector once again. Most of that gain was due to the skills and talents of Commander Phan from Earth, and the strange Hive implant in her head.

  We’d been the only two who could hear them. The enemy. And although we’d managed to dismantle their offensive net of explosives, her implant was put in place by the Intelligence Core. Mine was pure Hive. Just like the implants in my arms and back, my muscles.

  I was contaminated. Commander Phan was not. And so she fought on with the Battlegroup while I’d been sent to The Colony to hope and pray to the gods for a mate, for some kind of decent life.

  But even that would be denied me and I’d given up hope. Yet now—

  “You have to tell her the truth. Tell her what will happen to you if she does not accept your claim.” Denzel stood on my right, shoulder to shoulder, as we watched the battle scenario unfold below. Somewhere down there was my mate, directing her cadets in a mock battle that looked all too real. It set me on edge, my beast pacing, even though I knew it wasn’t real. I’d seen real and didn’t want to go back.

  “Tell her the truth? I will not,” I told him. “She has made her choice.” I watched her move with a small strike team in a flanking maneuver. They hadn’t been seen by their enemy combatants yet, and soon it would be too late for them to recover. In a short time, my mate would be upon them with her team and the game would be over.

  Kira moved like a shadow, carried her weapon as if it were an extension of her arm. I only had eyes for her. Could pick her easily from a large crowd, or a mock battle. For others, she was obvious in her instructor’s uniform, the others with her in the uniform of the cadet. she was easy to see. When she aimed her rifle, she did not miss, no matter the distance. The other instructors on the ground were skilled. Patient. But they didn’t move as she did, like she was nothing more than a ghost passing through the darkness to destroy her enemies. It was obvious why she was an instructor. It was obvious she’d spent time in battle. She had stories I did not know, but I wanted to learn them all.