Unclaimed (The Complex Book 0)

by Candice Gilmer

  This was more than just existing.

  Something she’d never realized she had been missing over the eons.

  Whatever this was between them, it was fiery and explosive, and it didn’t make any sense. And she needed it more than she needed air.

  He collapsed on top of her, sucking and biting and kissing her flesh. His fingertip caressed one of her scars on her shoulder.

  “You’re scarred.”

  “Battle wounds.” She ran her hand along his chest. “So are you.”

  “War will do that.”

  “Yes, it will.” They kissed, more, and he pinched her breasts, his kisses moving over her chest until he mauled her breasts, making her scream in ecstasy.

  Mori had experienced lovers before--many over the centuries. And many talented ones. Even some not as talented. But none felt like this.

  It was as though Cadell knew her code, like he had it hard-wired into his system, and was programmed with all the necessary steps to make her quiver beneath him.

  Make her want him so very much. And he succeeded.

  She wanted him in all the ways a female could want a male. She ground her hips into his, making him moan as he touched her. His hands slid lower down her body, pressing and touching and caressing all the places.

  He slid off her pants and continued his exploration. Kissing the scars and marks from battles long ago fought on this plane and in Valhalla. He kissed her hips, and guided her to her stomach so that he could caress her back. He rained kisses over her spine. His hands brushed over her shoulders and hips.

  “This is where your wings were.”

  She didn’t wince at the touch--she’d already bemoaned that loss, long before she’d stepped into the Complex.

  But his caress of the puckered scars stirred up more feelings. Intimate ones, deeper than this physical attraction they both experienced.

  “Yes.”

  He stroked her skin, up and down. “Do you miss it?”

  “I miss never falling,” she said.

  “I would like to never fall.”

  His words touched her in a strong way. So strong, she didn’t know what to do with the emotions they stirred. So much more powerful than she had ever imagined. This made no sense to her. None of this with him did. She didn’t understand why this was happening this way. What made this so much more than just physical release?

  This connection between them, how they were igniting feelings neither of them understood, burned so intensely, she had never felt it before.

  She doubted she’d ever understand it again either.

  It was a shining light in a horrible last few days, and she needed it. If only to recharge her soul so she could do what needed to be done.

  Though no matter how she tried to fool herself into this being less than it was, her heart knew better.

  Her fate knew this a long time ago.

  She needed to accept it for herself. Because she was falling.

  Hard.

  For the Butcher of P-Extinction.

  Mori twisted so she faced him, smiling at him as he leaned over her. “Falling isn’t all bad,” she said, and with a twist, had him flopped down on the bed with her on top.

  He reached up and caressed her cheek with his left hand.

  A jolt slammed her, another vision.

  But this one, she’d seen before.

  Her looking down at him. Leaning over, smiling. What she’d looked like, through his eyes. It was a powerful image; it painted her in the most beautiful way.

  His emotions thundered through her. Hers hammered back. He ran his hand over her side. She pressed her hips into his.

  Visions coming true…

  She was meant to be here. And that revelation hit her hard.

  That she was in the place she was destined to be…

  She shoved his pants down, for she needed to feel his naked body against hers. All of him against all of her.

  He needed it too--she could feel it.

  He lifted his hips, and they both removed any remaining clothing. She straddled his hips and savored the intimate contact. He rocked into her, moaning over each move she made as well.

  She reached between them and guided him in. As she lowered herself upon him, he moaned and groaned until their flesh was joined.

  She moved her hips.

  He moved his. She controlled the tempo, slow and fast and slow and fast, moving in all the ways she craved. He worked with her, arched his back to press deeper into her. Whatever she needed him to do, he instinctively knew and did.

  Or perhaps it was the connection between them.

  It was hard to tell where her thoughts ended and he began; their minds had wrapped so fast around one another.

  The sensations between them were so powerful, Mori cried out more than once. He followed her cries with his own, even rolling her over so he was on top for the last of it.

  When his hips slammed into hers, she thought the world was going to split apart and swallow them, the feeling so powerful.

  Cadell crested and collapsed on her, as spent as she was. Sweat glistened on his brow, and she imagined she had the same sweat on her face, their skin was slick against each other.

  For a few moments, neither of them moved, and they just lay there on top of one another, panting.

  “Um…” he whispered.

  “I know,” she said.

  Their gazes met, but neither of them had to say anything--their thoughts were combined, they were still connected.

  She could feel everything he felt.

  Cadell rolled off and pulled her into his arms.

  She threw an arm over his chest, laying her head in the crook of his shoulder and he stroked her hair.

  “I’ve never felt this before,” Cadell said.

  “Me either,” Mori replied.

  Felt it, no, but she’d seen it before.

  In the vision she’d had that had saved his life.

  Chapter Seventeen

  They must have dozed for a little bit.

  Luke woke with a pain in his shoulder--not his Human one, but the cybernetic one. A bit unusual, since it was mechanical and all, but it wasn’t the first time his body insisted there was still living tissue where there wasn’t.

  This wasn’t the same, but really, was pain ever exactly the same?

  He rubbed his arm and glanced around. Morrigan was no longer in bed with him but dressed, her hair tied up in a knot, and she was tense.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, ignoring the pain that kept firing through his arm.

  Damn! He was going to have to get someone to look at the wires. It had almost felt like a short that time.

  “I don’t think we can stay here much longer,” she said.

  “Why?”

  “There’s people outside. They’re looking for us.”

  “Why do you think that?”

  She raised her eyebrow. “I can smell it.”

  “Smell it? What the hell does people looking for us smell like?”

  “Men and women on a mission. Fire and hate and fury rolled into this aroma that radiates when someone is about to kill. I am almost sure Dumol is one of them.”

  “You know this scent?”

  “Of course I do. It is part of war.”

  He nodded. While he wasn’t thrilled to learn that she can smell aggression, right now, he needed all the advantages he could get. “How far off?”

  In his head, he started going through the map of this underground, determining the best escape routes. He’d made a point as soon as he arrived at the Complex to know the underground, just in case he ever needed to hide. He could get them outside of the Complex if he had to, but what would be the point? They wouldn’t last long on the planet’s surface without a ride, and getting away without being noticed would be hard if it wasn’t planned ahead.

  So, hiding in plain sight was probably his only option. What the hell he was going to do when they got back into the Complex proper, he wasn’t sure, but he had to do
something.

  He wasn’t working for Dumol anymore. He was making his own decisions.

  He’d fooled himself into thinking he’d come here because he wanted to when in truth, he had still been following orders.

  Human First’s orders this time, but orders, nonetheless.

  No more.

  This wasn’t just about him anymore.

  It was about Morrigan. He had to make sure she was okay.

  Morrigan kept closing her eyes like she was looking for something, but unable to see it. “I cannot be sure. I don’t know the layout. But it seems to be shifting, moving systematically toward us.”

  He rubbed his arm again. Damn, it hurt. Great, the last thing he needed was his parts acting up. “How long do we have?”

  “Not very long. Ten minutes maybe.” She glanced around his little safe house. “Is there a back exit?”

  He shook his head.

  “So, what are we going to do?”

  “I have a couple of exit plans, but I need to know where they’re coming from.” He took a step toward her. “Can you show me?”

  She blinked. “What do you mean?”

  “Look, somehow, we have this connection. I don’t know what it is.”

  “I do.”

  “Wonderful,” he said dryly. “Let’s use it. Can you see where they are?”

  “No. I can’t.” She rubbed her face. “Not anymore.”

  “Well, where were they?”

  She shook her head. “I mean I can’t do that anymore even if I wanted to.” Her shoulders slumped. “I’ve reverted to a Human with a good sense of smell.”

  He nodded. “Can you give me a--damn.” His arm fired again, a painful sensation, like his entire cyborg parts were electrocuting him.

  “What is wrong?”

  “My arm’s shorting out or something,” he said as he tried to shake his arm, but it was going stiff, the joints and pistons not working.

  “Has this happened before?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “Never. These parts are never supposed to go bad.” And then he started feeling the same kinds of jolts in his leg, and he shook. “What the fuck is going on?”

  She took a step toward him.

  All of a sudden, everything started to shift, and he started seeing a heads-up display in his eyes.

  “Um…” This is not good. This is really not good. He hadn’t seen a heads up display in his eyes since the war.

  “What?” she asked and put her hand on his arm.

  “Get away from me,” he said.

  “Cadell? Luke?” she whispered.

  His cyborg arm shot up. He had no control over its movement, and before he realized what was going on, he had his hand pinched around her throat.

  Morrigan twisted and jerked in his grip. “Luke!” she cried out as she tried to pull away.

  “I don’t know….” He spat, but even his throat felt constricted. “I don’t… This is…”

  She pulled out a small spray bottle and fired it at his arm.

  Immediately, the joints started to seize up, frozen in place, the fake skin turning black as it froze. She twisted out of the grip, his arm hard in the air as if he could still squeeze her throat.

  She shot it at his shoulder, and more of the gas came out.

  He blinked. “Freezing gas,” he whispered and was impressed that she’d thought ahead. Disappointed that she hadn’t trusted him, but, well, how many weapons were stashed in here?

  She sat the can down, and unwrapped the sticks in her hair. This time, when she held them aloft, one was a katana, the other a sai. And she pointed the sai at his shoulder, right where the joint was for his cyborg arm.

  “Talk,” she said.

  The heads up display was still flashing, and it zeroed in on Morrigan, with kill orders repeating in his eyes.

  “Dumol has accessed my cybernetic systems,” he said. “She’s running my body remotely.”

  His arm was still frozen in the air, and his fingers were itching to get back around her throat.

  “How does she have access?”

  “She was my commander in P-Ex. She had access to my systems in the war. She had all the codes and she programmed my missions.”

  “She used you.”

  He nodded, trying to ignore the flashing behind his eyes. Already, the freezing gas was starting to melt, the cybernetic parts attempting to fight back. “She’s going to again. This time to kill you.” And behind that, a secondary plan of action.

  Kill orders for a particular Meta female. One that once had an ambassador’s status during P-Ex.

  Fuck.

  This was not good.

  Morrigan swung the katana as she took a few steps. “It’s the programming that’s causing this.”

  He nodded.

  “Then you need a new programmer.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Here,” Luke said, and opened a panel in the wall.

  Inside was a collection of weapons. All sizes of segifs and other arrays of arms.

  “Stock up,” he said, putting his back to her.

  She put a segif on her hip and stuck a fresh charge in a pocket.

  She glanced at him. “Why are you not arming yourself?”

  He met her gaze and then glanced at his still outstretched hand that was starting to have more movement. “If I have access to a weapon, I might use it on you.”

  She nodded. “Let’s move.” She turned toward the apartment’s entrance and gestured for him to lead the way.

  “Stay behind me,” he said. “I have marginally more control if I can’t see you.”

  Marginally wasn’t the best word, but she’d take what she could get. His hand was moving again, but he wasn’t trying to choke her, so that was good. His arm, however, was still stuck straight out. That could be from her freezing the joints.

  He was leading then, though he looked like a zombie trying to find brains.

  She had maybe another blast of the freezing gas to stop him if she had to. She didn’t know if knocking him out would serve any purpose. If the systems were in his head, could knocking him out allow the system a hard reset? Or would it be worse--that he’d have no control over the data commands.

  And right now, he was struggling with control. Anything that gave the cybernetic parts more control could make things far worse.

  The only thing she was certain about was that she had to get him out of here and away from Dumol. That was imperative.

  Mori took a deep breath as they entered the tunnel. She held her weapons out, ready for someone lying in wait for them.

  She couldn’t tell exactly how many attackers were out there, but it was more than three, for certain.

  What she wouldn’t give for her Valkyrie powers. Even her wings would have been appreciated at this point.

  The smell was getting stronger--which meant they were getting closer.

  She gestured to the right because they smelled like they were to the left.

  Luke shook his head, gesturing back to the left.

  She leaned in. “They’re coming from that way.”

  “Door,” he said.

  His arm was starting to unfreeze itself. They didn’t have a lot of time.

  “Hurry,” she said, and he led the way. With every step, they were closing in on whoever was down here looking for them. The adrenaline pumped, and she kept glancing from point to point, looking for someone--anyone--to come around a corner.

  It didn’t take long.

  The door Cadell wanted was up ahead; she could see the indentation in the rock wall.

  Cadell held up his functioning hand to signal a stop. She raised her weapons, ready for attack.

  The smell was enveloping, now. They were close.

  Two men--Climintra officers came around the corner. Segifs at the ready.

  Cadell and Mori pressed against the wall behind a bulkhead in an attempt to stay out of sight.

  “Think they saw us?” Cadell asked.

  The blue ray o
f a seg fired toward them.

  “Think so,” she said as she twisted her wrist with her sword. The blade shifted to a shield, and she held it out to protect them. She pulled her own seg and glanced down, measuring the terrain in her mind and calculating how long they needed to get to the door.

  And the attackers fired, the ray just missing her hair, but she saw what she needed to.

  Cadell jerked her back. “Careful,” he said. “Got a plan?”

  She smiled. “I’m an angel of war. Of course, I have a plan.”

  It wasn’t terribly complicated.

  As the Intra officers closed in, she took aim.

  And shot six hard and fast shots.

  The shots hit the wall.

  “You missed,” Cadell said.

  “Wait.”

  The rocks fell to the floor.

  She grabbed his arm. “Go, now.” She squeezed her other sword, and it transformed into a dagger.

  They darted forward as the ceiling collapsed, stopping the Intra officers. They still fired their weapons, but it did no good.

  Cadell opened the door. Mori shoved him through. She followed, the door sealing behind her.

  For good measure, she shoved her knife into the control panel. Sparks shot out, and she got a bit of a shock from it.

  But it worked.

  “That’ll keep them back for a while,” Cadell said.

  She nodded. “Now, let’s get you sorted.” She noticed his arm was all the way down. “How are you doing?”

  “I’ll lead,” he said.

  He didn’t look at her anymore as he headed through the new tunnel.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “What?” Ula said, yawning as the door to her apartment slid open, her neon green pajamas a bit too bright and shiny so early in the morning. “It’s not even electric dawn yet.”

  Ula’s tired face greeted Mori and Cadell. She was her usual stage of grumpy, sleepy that she was every time Mori stopped by for an early chat.

  Cadell’s posture was rigid, and he kept glancing around all the way up to Ula’s apartment. Like he expected an Intra agent to step out of the shadows.

  Of course, so did Mori. The tension in the air was palpable. Cadell had objected repeatedly at heading into the living quarters. Where else would they go? Main City was locked down for the night.