The Rebel's Cyborg

by Maya Carnage

  James taps his fingers on the table. The noise sounds harsh as everyone in the room quiets. He can hear the thundering of the old man’s heart without even focusing in on it. “My first priority is saving my team. If that means working with them then so be it, but don’t bother asking me to like ‘em because that sure as shit ain’t going to happen.” He shoves his chair back from the table and stomps out of the room. The rest of the rebels follow him out, except for one.

  A man with a grizzly beard leans back in his chair, staring at Kayla. “Your old man was never much for going along with what others wanted.”

  “We don’t have time for his stubbornness!” She combs her fingers through her hair, pulling at the strands.

  “It ain’t ever going to be shits and giggles with him and them. He blames them for Meredith, kid. He ain’t ever going to get over that.”

  “It was a Malvik who killed her. The cyborg didn’t do anything.”

  “That’s the point. He stood by why his master butchered Meredith, and that’s still going on today. Look, I get it. This will only work if we come together, but that’s not going to happen overnight. James is a hardhead. You’re not going to convince him of a damn thing with words, Makayla.”

  She rubs at her eyes, and Rodrick notices the dark circles beneath them. “I’ll deal with him later, Uncle Grimm,” she said, waving her hand at the door. “What are we going to do about the wards? Any ideas?”

  He scans the many faces around the table, stopping on Pax. The man wears a bored expression, rocking in his chair. Rodrick’s never worked closely with him, but Axe has for years, and he has only ever praised the pilot’s amazing work ethic.

  Rodrick squints at Pax. He has a weird feeling in his gut. For someone who’s a hard worker, Pax looks like he’d rather be anywhere but here.

  “What about you? You got anything to say, Pax?” he asked curiously.

  He leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. “We need someone on the inside, and I think that person is Gregor.”

  The room erupts in laughter.

  “He’s the reason we’re in this mess, son,” Ian said.

  “You’re asking a lot from both sides.” Pax levels his gaze on Rodrick. “The humans hate us because of our connection with the Malviks. I don’t like them, and I’m not loyal to them, but that’s because they took things from me. There are others who don’t know the cruel and vindictive side of them. Those cyborgs take their duty to the Malviks seriously, and what you’re asking is dishonorable to them. Gregor did what he thought was right, and any one of us would have done the same if we were in his place.”

  Pax’s right as much as he hates to admit. But what can he expect? Does he really have the right to ask one of them to be loyal to the rebellion and betray the people who’ve had their loyalty for over a hundred years? That’s puzzles him just thinking about it. “Why would he join our side now?”

  “Since Dawn’s arrival, Gregor’s temper has been short. She was crossing every boundary he had in place for humans, rebels, and prisoners. It’s likely that when he found out about the cyber-attack, he panicked. Given enough time, I think we could convince him to help us,” Pax said.

  “We don’t have that kind of time,” Kayla said gently. “The Malviks may very well execute the two wards. We need to move quickly.”

  “We do need a man on the inside though.” Grimm scratches at his beard. “You know anybody else?”

  He doesn’t and by the troubled expressions on the others’ faces neither do they. “Do you really think we can convince him?”

  Pax nods. “I’m sure of it.”

  Leaning back in his seat, he glances at Kayla. There’s a sour taste in his mouth at just thinking about trusting Gregor, but it looks like he’s their only choice.

  She takes a deep breath in before exhaling slowly. “I’m willing to give him a chance, but if it comes to it, we’ll move forward without him.” She jabs her finger at Pax.

  “Who’s all going to Earth? James and I will be there, but what about the rest of you fuckers?” Grimm asked.

  Kayla raises her hand with a snort, and he curses under his breath. He should have known she’d volunteer. He fights back the urge to yank her arm down and raises his own. He was already planning on going, but now he does to keep an eye on her. Left to her own devices, she’ll run right into danger. His chest tightens just thinking about it.

  As others begin to join the rescue team, he thinks about what he can say to convince her to stay behind. She’s stubborn, so it’s going to be difficult.

  “You good?” Her voice jars him out of his thoughts, and he finds her staring up at him with a frown.

  “Thinking about what’s ahead.” In more ways than one.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kayla

  She drops her jacket on the couch as she makes her way to the bed, plopping down with a sigh. “I hope this divide between the cyborgs and the rebels goes away after we rescue Rosalind and the others. My head’s killing me from spending a couple hours in a room with them!” She rubs at her forehead, grimacing.

  “They’ll learn how to get along in time. We have to be patient, and keep pushing them to work together,” Rodrick said, shutting the door behind him.

  Going up onto her hands and knees, she crawls up the bed until she reaches the headboard. She turns to face him, find his gaze locked on the area where her ass was moments ago. She smirks and waggles her brows. “Did you see something you liked?”

  A devastating smile touches his lips, and he saunters over to where she rests. He places a knee on the edge of the bed and leans over her, placing his hands on either side of her body, successfully boxing her in. “I can’t help it if I find your ass sexy. Your hips sway and rock as you move, it makes me hard every damn time,” he growled.

  “I do it on purpose because I love making you uncomfortable,” she whispered before leaning up and kissing him. Twining her arms around his neck, she opens her mouth and touches her tongue to his.

  He groans, dropping his weight on her, forcing the breath from her body. Shit, he isn’t light. He goes up on to his forearms and glances down at her, concerned. “Are you good? I lost my mind there for a second.”

  “Hey,” she said, grabbing his chin in one hand. “I’m not breakable, so quit acting like I am. Whatever you want to toss my way I can handle.”

  He chuckles and moves down her body, peppering kiss across her jaw and down her neck until he’s above her breasts. She shivers as the feeling of his hot breath leaks through the thin material of her top and caresses her stiffening peaks. A ripping sound reaches her ears, frowning she looks down to see her shirt ripped down the middle and pushed to the sides, revealing her bare breasts. Rodrick groans, dropping his face down to nuzzle the valley of her chest. She runs her fingers through his hair, lying back to enjoy the nips and licks of his mouth across her sensitive skin.

  A moan escapes her when he leaves her aching breast, sitting back on his haunches, staring down at her. “You better not be done?” She gives him a lazy grin.

  The man doesn’t have many faults, and the moment she finds one she’ll be sure never to let him forget it. After having experienced his talents in lovemaking, Kayla knows she isn’t going to leave this bed anything but well-pleasure. She might even walk bow-legged tomorrow, and she won’t regret it at all.

  “Take your clothes off,” she demanded.

  He arches a brow before reaching back and tugging his shirt off.

  She swallows thickly. Her eyes glued to the ripped set of abs and amazing pecs his stripping reveals. If she was a touchy-feely kind of woman, she might take the time to rub her hands all over his sexy body. Ah, hell. Why not?

  Her sudden movement surprises him, and he falls back on the bed. She straddles him and sets her hands on his shoulders, pausing. Where to first? She bites her lip, trailing a finger down the center of his chest. His cock jumps beneath her as she gets closer to the waist of his jeans. Laying her hand flat on his happy trai
l, she rises on to her knees and slips her hand underneath. He grunts as her finger encircle the hard length of him.

  A sense of pride warms her chest as she listens to her man moan beneath her while she strokes his cock. A bead of precum leaks from the tip and she uses it to glide more easily over his flesh.

  “Stop, stop,” he said gruffly, gripping her wrist. He tugs at her hand, and she releases him with a sigh. He always wants to ruin all her fun.

  “I was just getting got the good part,” she said, pouting.

  He wraps an arm around her back before rolling until she’s beneath him. “What I have planned for you will be more fun, I promise.” He presses his mouth to hers, kissing her deeply.

  She gasps when he pulls away and gets off the bed. A complaint’s about to leave her when he starts to push his jeans down over his hips. With a happy sigh, she leans back on her elbows to watch the show.

  Her core clenches as she feels her underwear becoming wet. She squeals, heart racing, as he tugs her to the edge of the bed by her ankles. By the time he undresses her and shoves her farther up the bed, picking her legs up to set her ankles on his shoulders, she’s panting. Her fingers curl in the blanket beneath her, looking up at him her heart clenches.

  She isn’t the type to scare easily, but lying here close to him, the beginnings of gut curdling fear begins. So many things could go wrong. Hell, he might realize he can do a whole hell of a lot better than some measly rebel with an attitude problem. She doesn’t want to lose him, but at the same time, she doesn’t know if she can keep him. Rodrick doesn’t know how to relax, and even though he doesn’t know, she saw how he tensed up at the meeting earlier. He didn’t want her to volunteer, but what other choice did she have? She’s not the type of woman that can sit back and let her world go up and flames and do nothing, especially, if she happens to have a pail of water at her disposal. She’s a rebel, a born fighter. She’ll always follow her heart and most of the time it will leads her to danger, but can he handle that?

  “What are you thinking so hard about?” He turns his head, kissing the inside of her ankle.

  She opens her mouth, but closes it, thinking better than to speak. Given the chance she might just spill what’s weighing on her mind. Smiling, she says, “Well, I was wondering what’s taking you so long.”

  She shudders as his rough hand slides down to the cleft between her thighs. He thrusts two thick fingers into her core. A breath hisses out of her at the sting of her flesh stretching, but it quickly turns into a moan as he begins thrusting in and out of her. The sounds of her sopping wetness fill the room. She should be embarrassed at how aroused she is, but the burning sensation low in her belly builds to a roaring fire, and she comes, arching her back she clamps down on his fingers. Her release pulses deep inside of her.

  He pulls his hand away from her, and she whimpers. Quickly, he grabs her thighs and pulls her butt into the air, impaling her on his cock. His fingers dig into her thighs, and his eyes meet hers. The breath leaves her body at the intensity in his gaze.

  The need to feel his hard body against hers is overwhelming, and she can no longer ignore it. She leans up and pulls him down to her, locking her mouth onto his. His thrusts become fast and hard until he’s hammering between her thighs, eliciting a strangled moan from her as she comes unexpectedly. Her fingernails dig into his back, embedding herself in him. He grunts above her as his cock jerks inside of her, spending his release.

  He collapses on top of her, breathing heavily in her ear.

  “Who knew the cyborg could improve upon last time,” she muttered.

  He laughs, rolling over in bed and pulling her on top of him. His hand comes down on her backside with an echoing smack. The sting of his palm heats her tender flesh and causes her to moan.

  “What was that for?” she asked thickly.

  “For being such a smartass.”

  “Well, just so you know, you’d never be able to beat that out of me.”

  “I wouldn’t want to because you wouldn’t be you without it.” He kisses the top of her head, and a fuzzy feeling fills her chest.

  His fingers trail up and down her spine as she draws odd shapes above his heart. It would be easy if she gave in and let herself love him, but her brain doesn’t shut off, and every reason why she shouldn’t be with him is popping into her head.

  She takes a deep breath, gathering her strength and says, “This is just the beginning with the Malviks, and it’s only going to get worse. We’ll be putting our lives on the line, and I’m going to be at the forefront, Rodrick. I saw the way you looked earlier. You didn’t like the idea that I joined the rescue team.”

  “I don’t want to see you get hurt.” He sighs. “The cyborgs could handle it on their own, but we need the rebels to gain the humans’ trust.”

  She stiffens. “Seriously?” She sits up and frowns down at him. Her cheeks become flushed, burning from the anger rising inside her. Did he really insult the rebels by demeaning their abilities in fighting the Malviks? Cyborgs got created for war but so were the rebels. Every single one of them has devoted their lives to battling the injustice wrought upon them by those who look at them as if they are nothing but pesky vermin.

  “You know what? It isn’t just the rebels who need to work on their prejudices. Maybe you should look in the mirror.” She storms away, grabbing her discarded clothes on her way to the door.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Rodrick

  Zekk’s ship stands out sharply in the open field where it is hovering. He didn’t even put it park for them, and when Axe contacted him, asking for another favor, he groaned at having to return to Teraz so soon after having left it. “Honestly, the place isn’t anything special. It wouldn’t be too hard to go another solar year without seeing the place and all of your ugly faces,” he said, rolling his eyes.

  Rodrick doesn’t want to work with the sarcastic pirate, but his ship is the only one they can use to enter Earth’s atmosphere without alerting the Malviks. His gut cramps at how low he’s sunk. It’s all for the good of the rebellion and freeing all those enslaved, but he finds himself pausing at the idea of working with a criminal.

  “Oh yeah, what about the rebels?” a voice in his head said. “Aren’t they the same as the pirate?”

  No, they are not. The rebels break the rules fighting against injustice and pirates do it for their own selfish gain. Rebels risk their lives to protect those weaker than them where pirates are egotistical people looking out for themselves. It’s unlikely Zekk has ever put his life on the line for anyone but himself.

  Zekk smokes as he lounges on the stairs leading into his ship. A pipe hangs from his mouth, and grey smokes billows out of his nostrils as he watches the rebels and cyborgs climb the loading ramp with boxes of supplies for the mission ahead. One leg is extended out, and the other one is propped up on the step below him, resting an arm on it, he leans back against the railing. For someone who wanted them to hurry up, you would think he’d offer to help, but nope, it looks like he’s content to sit there and watch.

  Seeing Rodrick for the first time, Zekk lifts his hand in a small wave, smirking around the edges of his pipe. He rolls his eyes and moves to turn away but pauses as he notices the unusual female cyborg out in the field. Kris Zigzags around the stacks of boxes and the cyborgs hauling them to the ship, beelining for Zekk.

  His gaze locks on the pair as Kris stops in front of the pirate. He hasn’t seen Kris in years. The last time was before she got sent to prison. He had tried to convince them that she’d be more useful to them if she was allowed to continue working as a pilot, but the Malviks couldn’t trust her. He understood why they made the decision they did seeing as how quickly she joined the rebellion.

  Kayla had a run in with her yesterday at Dawn’s and found her odd. She assumed that it was because of her stay at The Gregory, but since he’s known her, she’d always been unusual. He had to pry that information out of Kayla this morning before they came here. Since she ran out on hi
m, she’s barely said a word to him unless he starts the conversation. Even then she gives him the bare minimum.

  He pinches the bridge of his nose. Clearly, he insulted her last night, but he doesn’t know what it was he did that made her mad. With her it could have been anything, it’s not like she’s a coolheaded person.

  “Hmm, I didn’t know they were friends,” Ian says, surprising him. “You know anything about that?” He nods his head toward Kris and Zekk.

  Lost in his thoughts, Rodrick didn’t realize they had moved closer to each other.

  Zekks moved from where he was sitting earlier and is now standing on the ground with one arm hanging on the railing, staring up at Kris who stands halfway up the staircase with the pirate’s pipe sticking out of her mouth. She wags her finger in his face as she says something that causes Zekk to throw his head back laughing.

  Rodrick arches a brow and turns to Ian.

  He shrugs. “There are two stacks left, and then we’ll be ready to head out,” he said, moving on from the confusing scene in front of them. “Where’s Kayla?”

  “She’s around here somewhere. She wants to talk to her father before boarding the ship.”

  “I saw the two of you when you arrived. Neither of you looked all that happy. What was that about?”

  Ian’s a nosy man, but he doesn’t have it in him to scold his friend for putting his nose into his relationship with Kayla. He doesn’t have an idea of what to do, and he needs to fix things with Kayla. Everything was going great between them until last night. He should learn to keep his mouth shut.

  “I may have made her upset yesterday,” he said.

  “Well, are you going to tell me what you did or am I going to have to guess?”

  Raking his fingers through his already disheveled hair, he says, “We were lying in bed, and she brought up the war against the Malviks. I said what was on my mind, but she didn’t appreciate the honesty.”