by Lisa Lace
“Hey there, big fella,” Nick said amiably. He didn’t realize Fury could see his heart rate skyrocketing. “Is Natasha home?”
“It doesn’t matter if she is or not. You’re not going to speak with her.”
“That’s not a problem. Maybe I could talk with you for a few minutes.” A thin smile spread across Nick’s lips, and he glanced sideways at his companion. “This is my friend Colin. He could use a handyman, so we thought we would come by and interview you.”
Fury replayed the scene between Natasha and Nick from the other night. Fury was not a handyman, and he didn’t know why she had said that. He was willing to go along with the ruse until he could talk to her. “I’m busy right now.”
“Busy doing what?” Nick challenged. “My wife?”
Fury’s fists clenched unconsciously. This man had no right to refer to Natasha as his possession. The cyborg didn’t care if she was married to him or not. “I think it’s time for you to leave.”
“We will in a minute,” Nick replied, putting up a hand to placate the big man. “But first, my friend has a few questions for you.”
The man with the sweaty armpits had a tablet in his hands, ready to take notes. “What’s your serial number?”
Fury squinted at him, wishing for the hundredth time that his facial recognition system was live. It had always been buggy, but it was nearly non-existent after the upgrade. The only people he could reliably identify were Natasha and John. Everyone else was just a guess. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“How about your lab of origin? Do you know that?” Colin leaned toward the cyborg, his tongue flicking out to wipe a bead of sweat from his lip. It made him look like a frog catching a fly.
The soldier shook his head. There was the lab in the basement. Was that what Colin meant? Fury didn’t go down there anymore unless Natasha asked him to carry a box to the storage area. Vague memories of another lab haunted him at night, where he was in a different holding cell. He experienced pain and anger there, more than he could remember at any other time in his life, but the recollections only came in flashes. Fury didn’t know the location of that other place. Even if he did, he wouldn’t have told this miscreant about it.
“Don’t get me wrong, but I thought all the cyborgs who went through the rehabilitation program had that information burned into their memory banks.” Nick had a gleam in his glassy eyes. “And aren’t you supposed to be living in housing designated for cyborgs?”
Natasha’s husband must have known more about the cyborg program than Fury did. He was not familiar with the concept of cyborg housing. It was impossible to tell if this skinny man was speaking the truth or just trying to be irritating.
When the soldier didn’t answer, the two men on the porch looked at each other and exchanged a conspiratorial glance. “Why don’t you come with us?” Colin asked. “I have a shed that needs painting. Maybe you can take a look at it and figure out how much you would charge for your handyman services.”
Fury noticed Nick held a small syringe in his fist. It was the same thing Natasha had used on him once before. At the time, he was angry at Natasha for using the needle, but he understood it later. The chemical helped keep him in control. Back then it was okay, but he did not want to experience the feeling again. The sedative made his vision dim around the edges and numbed his muscles. He didn’t trust anyone but Natasha.
An enormous brown truck pulled up at the curb. A smiling man with dark hair and a brown uniform matching his vehicle hopped out. He carried a box. “Hi there, guys!” His teeth were straight and white and his smile dazzled in the sun. “I have a package here for Natasha Daniels.” He looked at the three of them, waiting to see who was willing to claim the delivery.
“I’ll take it,” Fury said without taking his eyes off Nick.
The driver stepped up, scanned a barcode on the box, and handed the parcel to Fury.
“Thank you.”
“You guys have a great day!” The driver waved as he walked back to the truck, jumped inside, and drove off.
Nick and Colin shifted uncomfortably. Fury had the advantage over them now. “He’s seen you here. There’s proof of exactly when he was here. I suggest you leave.”
“Are you afraid of us, big boy?” Nick seemed to enjoy pushing the limits.
“Yes. I am afraid I might do something to you that Natasha will regret.”
“Fine.” Nick slipped the tranquilizer in the pocket of his jeans and took a few steps toward his car. “We’ll be back. I know there’s something not right about you. I’m going to find out what it is.”
The two got into the ugly car and drove off, leaving big puffs of blue-gray smoke in their wake.
CHAPTER 22
Natasha’s phone beeped, but she didn’t bother answering it. It had been unattended on the passenger seat ever since she left the office. Nick had been texting her all day, regardless of whether she responded or not.
Most of the messages were typical fare from a rejected lover, alternately begging her to come back, then blaming her for the divorce. He would never have cheated if he had what he needed. She would never be happy with anyone else. Though his words were lies, they were beginning to get through her resistance.
There were other nonsensical texts as well. Nick said he knew what was going on, and that it was all going to come out soon. He had his plans laid out, and she better cooperate with him. She wondered if he could be talking about Fury, but Nick’s mind didn’t work that fast. He might know something, but he was probably just trying to intimidate her.
Either way, Natasha wanted to get home and collapse on the couch. Fury met her at the door with a grim look on his face.
“Is everything all right?” she asked instantly.
“Yes.” His response came unusually quickly, and it only made Natasha worry more.
After a meal of baked chicken, rice, and a salad, she decided to try again. “Is there something you want to say?”
Fury didn’t answer her right away. He appeared to be concentrating on loading the dishwasher. It was odd to watch a cyborg do such a menial task. It made her think about how much he wanted to get out. A man like that needed more than cooking or cleaning in his life. But what was she supposed to do with him? Some liked to work on cars or play pool, but those things didn’t sound like they would suit him. Cyborg Sector created a soldier. What could she find for him to do?
“You’re right. I want to talk to you.”
“Oh. Okay.” Natasha retreated into the living room and sat down slowly. This wasn’t the kind of thing she expected to hear from Fury. “What do you want to talk about?” She swallowed, and her throat felt tight.
“You told Nick that I’m a handyman. I want to know why.” Fury did not sit, choosing instead to stand at the far side of the room. His arms were crossed in front of his chest, making him look even wider than usual. He also looked angry.
“I couldn’t tell him the truth,” Natasha explained. “I’m sorry. I thought you understood that.”
“But you lied to him,” the cyborg replied. “What else have you lied about?”
“Nothing!” she said quickly. “And I only lied to protect you.”
The cyborg nodded, but he wasn’t satisfied. “I don’t need your protection. I am here to protect you.”
“I know you feel that way, Fury. But there’s a lot to the world out there, and you only remember a tiny slice of it.” She started to panic as she tried to convince herself that she hadn’t done anything wrong. What could she say to make everything better?
“I know more than you realize,” he countered. He had come close without Natasha noticing. “I know you want me, for example. You pretend that you don’t, but I can tell the truth. I don’t care what Nick or anyone else thinks. You shouldn’t either.” The cyborg peered directly into her soul. “Am I wrong? Tell me you don’t want me right now.”
“I can’t.” She wanted to reach out and run a hand down the length of his stomach. She wanted to belong entirely to him.
There was no denying herself when he asked a direct question. Fury had the ability to make the rest of the world go away when they were alone.
“Show me.” Fury’s voice was deep and barely above a growl. “Show me you want me like I know you do.”
Slowly, with shaking limbs, Natasha pulled herself away from the couch. Fury stood close enough that their bodies were forced to touch each other. The redhead spread her fingers on his chest, feeling the power of his heartbeat. She slowly leaned forward and put her cheek on top of her hands. The sound of blood rushing through veins met her ear, and she started to relax.
The cyborg’s arms came down around her, squeezing her tightly. “I want you, Natasha. I’m going to have you, either now or later. You belong to me, and you know it.”
She had wanted to resist temptation ever since she first laid eyes on him. Fury was sexy, constructed perfection, and one hundred percent male. He was the complete opposite of what Nick had been for her - a selfish, needy prick who had only his concerns at heart. Fury wanted to own her, to possess her, and she wanted him to. “Yes, I do. I belong to you.”
“And you’ll trust me? You’ll let me do what I want?” The words sounded like thunder in her ears.
“Yes, Fury. Anything.” Looking up, Natasha grabbed the cyborg’s head and kissed him. His lips felt warm as they kissed her back. His erection pressed against her body. It was easy to feel through the thin material of his pants and enough to make her moan softly as a pulse of energy shot through her body. She couldn’t deny him now.
Careless of where they were or the unlocked front door, Fury picked up Natasha and tossed her onto the couch. She bounced against the cushions and giggled. He was unbelievably strong, and he could throw her around like a rag doll.
“I want to see you,” the cyborg growled as he worked her top off. He put his fingers inside the waistband of her pants and pulled them down slowly, revealing her inch by inch. Her panties came next, but he didn’t rip them off with his hands. Instead, his teeth gently nipped through the fabric before he slowly pulled them down her legs.
Natasha reached behind her back to undo her bra, but he stopped her with a glare. “No, let me.” He pulled down each strap before moving the cups down around her ribs. The cyborg buried his face between her jiggling orbs as he pushed his hands underneath her to undo the clasp and completely remove the garment. He flung it across the room, and Natasha heard it hit the lamp.
Fury’s tongue roamed over each of her nipples, relishing in them as he worked them into hard buds. Natasha arched her back, which only encouraged him. He took as much of her ample breast in his mouth as he could, sucking gently and making her sigh with pleasure.
Natasha ran her hands through his dark hair, not bothering to propose moving to a different room or changing positions. Fury wanted her, and she was going to let him have her. It might be only for a night. There was no telling what would happen in the morning. She needed to know there was a man who was what he said he was. He would take what he wanted and give her what she required in return. She trusted him.
The soldier’s clothes came off quickly, and she could see the hard cock between his legs. She expected him to mount her and shove himself inside like their previous encounter, but the cyborg had different plans. When he climbed on the couch, his cock was over her chest. He kept his weight off her but laid the length of his erection between her breasts and guided it gently back and forth, looking at her face.
The firmness of his cock against her soft breasts made her wet. Using her hands, Natasha pushed her quivering mounds together so they locked his erection in a cave of supple flesh. The head pushed out the top of her cleavage. It looked close and enticing. Natasha flicked her tongue out to touch the hot end of his cock, letting her saliva lubricate his progress. The redhead wanted to feel his dick inside of her, shoving its way down her throat or plunging into her pussy.
“Do you like it?” Fury asked huskily. “Do you like my dick on you?”
She managed to catch the head in her mouth for a moment before he slid it out again with a pop. “Yes. Oh, God yes. I love it when you fuck my tits.”
The cyborg pumped harder as her breasts jiggled around him. “Spit on it,” he commanded.
She followed his order, spitting down the rift in her mounds to moisten it for him. She couldn’t believe how good it felt to have him on top of her. It let her look in his eyes, but not face-to-face. A sigh of satisfaction escaped her lips.
The soldier pushed her hands away and took over her breasts, pushing them hard against himself as he slammed into her. “I’m going to come all over your face,” he warned.
It wasn’t a matter of asking permission. Fury was going to do it, and her core rippled in anticipation. Natasha’s hands were free now. She pushed between his legs to reach her quivering wetness. The nurse didn’t need much encouragement from her fingertips before her hips started bucking against the couch cushion.
He plowed into her, letting loose a roar as he exploded. She opened her mouth, but it was too late. The cum was everywhere. Natasha happily groaned as she licked it off her lips.
She was his.
CHAPTER 23
Fury opened the bathroom door to see a beautiful sight. A nude woman was in the shower. The glass doors didn’t do much to hide Natasha’s curvy figure as she ran soapy hands over her body.
It had been hot to see Natasha on the couch with cum sprayed all over her body. She had spent enough time trying to figure out what she wanted from him. Fury just helped her make the decision. Natasha belonged to him, and he had proven it to her.
“I’m going to take a walk,” he said to the steamy figure in the shower. Now more than ever, he needed to get out of those walls. Natasha said she would trust him.
Her arms had been up shampooing her hair. Now they dropped to her sides. “Oh. Okay.” Fury heard the disappointment in Natasha’s voice, but she didn’t argue with him.
It was completely dark when Fury stepped outside and locked the door behind him. The evening breeze rippled through his short hair, and he paused to breathe it in. A couple of short trips out into the back-yard had been nothing compared to total freedom, and Fury had barely begun to taste it. He shouldn’t have waited so long to take over his life.
The suburban neighborhood had few street lamps, and the shadows provided ample camouflage. The cyborg turned his head from side to side as he got farther from Natasha’s house, memorizing the location of each house. If he were to come out the next morning, he would remember that the green two-story house at the end of the cul-de-sac needed someone to mow the lawn. The biochip could still handle manual visual processing.
Fury had mapped the area through the windows of Natasha’s house, but he found the Internet was useful to augment his internal maps. Perhaps that was part of the becoming human journey Natasha was excited about, but it was also inconvenient. Spending some time with her computer had allowed him to memorize satellite images of the entire town.
The area was quiet now. Families were at home, watching television or talking about their plans for the rest of the week. Children were in bed texting their friends. It was odd to realize that he knew the usual behavior for humans. From his memories, he was aware that he had lived that kind of life before he ever saw the inside of a lab. The mundane reality of existence was familiar to him even though he couldn’t recall his name or what he had done for a living.
As he turned the corner and headed up the next street, the cyborg heard a faint scream. He brought up his computer interface, analyzing the scene around him. Infrared scanners showed two figures in a dark alleyway near a tall apartment building. Fury amplified the sound, but his ears only caught muffled curses and feet shuffling in the gravel.
The soldier moved toward the alley while making as little noise as possible. When Fury was at the entrance, he paused to let his vision adjust to the light again. He could clearly see the scene before him.
A man had pushed a young girl up against a dumpster. Tea
rs streamed down her face and dirty clothes. She pleaded miserably, but her words were garbled by fear. Her assailant wore a sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over his face. One of his hands held the girl by the throat, and the other wielded a sharp knife. The alley was closed off at the other end, providing no escape route. Pieces of trash fluttered along the ground in the breeze.
“Quit squirming, you little bitch,” the man said. He held the point of the knife to the hem of the girl’s short dress. “If you would just shut up we could finish this.”
“Please, don’t!” the girl screamed. The girl was in her late teens — just old enough to be desirable but too young to be on the streets in the middle of the night. “I won’t tell anyone if you just let me go.”
The man was determined to get what he had come for. He took a step closer to the girl and moved the knife to her throat.
It didn’t take a computer for Fury to know that this was not the same situation he had with Natasha.
“Leave her alone.” Though the cyborg had not been particularly loud, his words echoed off the walls of the alleyway until they boomed. The man with the knife jumped and turned toward the street.
“Who the fuck are you?”
Fury seemed to get that question a lot. “It doesn’t matter. Let her go.”
The man slid the knife up his sleeve and wrapped an arm around the girl’s waist. She shied away from him, but the motion only caused the man to yank her closer to his side. “Maybe she’s my date. Beat it, pal.”
In all the time that he had lived in Natasha’s house, Fury had never felt the urge to use a weapon. He had raw physical power, and that was enough. The man’s actions were infuriating. Without his bidding, the squeal of the plasma gun in his hand pierced the night air.
“What was that?”
Fury didn’t bother answering. He advanced into the alley, moving slowly but with determination as he imagined all the ways he could incapacitate his enemy. A thin shaft of light from the moon made its way down into the narrow passage between the buildings, illuminating the fear on the man’s face as the cyborg approached.
