Claimed By The Cyborg Commander: (Cybernetic Hearts #2) (Celestial Mates)

by Aurelia Skye

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Amourisa Press and Kit Tunstall, writing as Aurelia Skye, reserve all rights to CLAIMED BY THE CYBORG COMMANDER. This work may not be shared or reproduced in any fashion without permission of the publisher and/or author. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  © Kit Tunstall, 2017

  Cover Images: Depositphotos.com

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  Cover design by Amourisa Designs.

  Editing by N.G. and CM Editing Services

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  Claimed By The Cyborg Commander (Cybernetic Hearts #2)

  Aurelia Skye

  Blurb

  Celestial Mates—Romancing the Galaxy…

  For ten years, Gwen Harrison has tried to make peace with the cyborgs so they can unite against their common enemy. Now that they’re finally open to a truce, she agrees to have the cyborg commander, JSN42, stay at the human enclave as the cyborgs’ liaison. She’s drawn to him in a way she never expected, and he clearly feels it too. After losing her husband at the hands of the synths and becoming a single mother with two young children, she vowed she would never love anyone again—but she didn’t expect to have a Celestial Mates agent bring them together. Their bond is tentative, but getting stronger, until an act of sabotage threatens the humans, the cyborgs, and their fragile ceasefire.

  Can a love fated outside of time and space survive the challenges they face? Find out in this latest installment in the Celestial Mates (and Cybernetic Hearts) series, brought to you by USA Today bestselling author Kit Tunstall, writing as Aurelia Skye.

  This story can be read as a standalone, but the overall story arc is strengthened by reading each in order.

  Prologue

  Freydon Rote was indulging in a rare night off, though he was still tethered to the mainframe by the implant in his neck. It kept him abreast of any situations that might arise. He knew his coworkers often teased him about working too hard and reminded him that whatever happened in his cases’ time could be fixed in his own, when he had a free moment, since he existed outside of time and space. It was a logical point, but it felt wrong to him to risk leaving any of his matches in dire situations, though he could simply pop into their timeline at any time and any moment. It wasn’t something he could easily explain, so he did his best not to mention it to his coworkers.

  A soft humming sound buzzed pleasantly in his head, and while he still continued to converse with his coworkers, with whom he was having a drink, he devoted part of his attention to reading the reminder that had flashed behind his eyes, and he smiled softly. He realized abruptly he had made eye contact with a friliangarnat as he smiled, and he quickly looked away. The last thing he wanted to do was trigger estrus in a friliangarnat, because they could be quite relentless when pursuing a mate.

  Speaking of mates, the system was notifying him that another one of his matches was about to meet for the first time. Of course he knew who they were as their pictures appeared. The human, Gwen Harrison, and the cyborg commander, JSN42. The system was merely providing a preset notification to remind him that their relationship was taking shape.

  He foresaw no difficulties they couldn’t overcome that would require his intercession, so he wouldn’t have a direct role in their mating, but by bringing together Carrie Morgan and DVS84, he had set in motion the matings that would occur from their joining. This was the next one, and he let out a faint trilling sound of satisfaction before dismissing the reminder and returning his attention to the flaming martini in front of him. He could certainly enjoy the rest of his night off without needing to rush back to the office or solve any crisis for Gwen and JSN.

  Chapter One

  After ten years, Gwen Harrison’s attempts to reach out to the cyborgs had finally culminated in this moment. She stared around the circular table where they all sat. Besides Leith, her second-in-command, she was the only human at the table. The general’s mate, Carrie, had recently been healed with cybernetic technology, so she had a bit of a half-and-half appearance. Otherwise, every other cyborg at the table had pale blue skin with luminescent lines running through it. It was a daunting sight.

  The color of their skin didn’t bother her. It was more the knowledge that they could easily destroy her, her children, and the rest of the enclave, that made her nervous. Logically, she had known forging an alliance with the cyborgs was the fastest and probably the only way to end the war between the humans, cyborgs, and the synthetics that hunted them both. Having the reality of four cyborgs seated at the table was a bit different.

  Gwen spent a moment meeting each of their gazes, finding a mix of emotions. Carrie’s was encouraging, while General DVS84 maintained a stern expression. The shorter female cyborg beside him, who had introduced herself as Raven, seemed to be practically humming with energy and enthusiasm.

  It was the last cyborg who really caught her attention though. He had introduced himself as JSN42, and just like the first time she’d met his eyes, her heart stuttered for a moment, and she found it difficult to breathe. This reaction wasn’t fear. It was anything but fear. The low pulsing ache of desire filled her, reminding her how it felt to desire and be desired by a man.

  That was a key difference, and it helped her keep her expression neutral. The last time she’d been with a man, her husband Stephen, everything had been familiar. He’d had golden-brown skin that was several shades lighter than her own, and his veins had been normal. They hadn’t resembled glowing circuitry. It was unsettling to be attracted to the cyborg, even though she knew he had once been a human male.

  Honestly, it was unusual for her to be attracted to anyone. She hadn’t felt so much as a spark of desire since Stephen had gone on a mission and never returned. While out scouting for a daily meeting coordinate, to accompany the transmission she sent to the cyborgs every day with Leith’s help, she had stumbled across his remains more than two years after he’d gone missing. Gwen had updated the enclave about Stephen’s status, but she had never shared with anyone the trauma of moving what remained into a nearby cave and barricading it with rocks, since she lacked the proper tools to bury him, and it had been unsafe to stay out too long in case she ran across a synthetic patrol.

  Why was she thinking about this right now? She occasionally still thought of her husband, but most of the time, the memories were the good kind now. She rarely allowed herself to think about that last day she’d seen what was left of him. Now definitely wasn’t the time when she needed a clear head and cool logic to negotiate some sort of treaty with the cyborgs.

  The silence stretched for another half a minute before Carrie broke it. “I’ve never negotiated a treaty before. It wasn’t really a skill I needed as a claims processor.” She laughed softly. “How does this work?”

  Gwen licked her lips before finding her voice. “I’m not entirely certain, Carrie. I assume we both agree that we won’t be fighting each other anymore?”
Her gaze moved to the general as she asked the question.

  DVS nodded. “That’s agreed. We should find a way to work together.”

  “I agree.” Gwen let her gaze move around the table again, studiously avoiding the icy blue eyes of JSN42.

  “I’d like to leave a liaison here at your enclave, to learn about your operations, who will report back to me. Then we can figure out how to proceed together and find the best solution to ending the synthetics once and for all.”

  Gwen struggled not to frown, uncertain how she felt about having a cyborg remaining at the enclave. “How long do you anticipate the liaison would need to stay?”

  “That depends on how open you are with us,” said DVS in what could only be construed as a warning tone. “We have more to offer than you do.”

  Gwen glared at him. “That’s an arrogant thing to say. Do you have the pulser that disrupts the synthetics’ attention?”

  He inclined his head. “That’s a fair point. It would certainly give us an advantage in battle, but unless you have a platoon of human soldiers waiting in the wings, it seems quite obvious to me that my cyborgs would be the ones doing the fighting. What can you bring to the table besides the pulser?”

  “Davis, you don’t have to be rude,” said Carrie. “We’re supposed to be finding a way to get along.”

  Gwen grimaced when the cyborg general nodded. “That’s our goal, and we share a mutual enemy. It’s true that we don’t have the fighting capabilities you have. Most of the young, healthy men and women have been wiped out over the years as we’ve scrounged to survive. We might not be able to enhance your fighting capabilities, but we aren’t completely useless either. We have an extensive aquaponics system to grow our food. Do cyborgs eat food?”

  “Of course we do,” said Raven. “We have that technology though.” The younger cyborg seemed to be regretful when she imparted that information, clearly more empathetic toward the humans than her leader.

  Gwen swallowed, wondering what else she could offer them. “We’re not in a viable position to fight, but we aren’t useless. At the fundamental level, we’re all human, aren’t we?”

  JSN spoke for the first time, and his voice sent shivers down her spine that were wholly inappropriate for the topic at hand. “We do all carry human genetic information still, but we’ve been enhanced over the years.”

  “That doesn’t make you better than us,” snapped Gwen.

  He held up a hand. “I didn’t say it did, Ms. Harrison. I was just answering your statement that we’re all the same. There are a lot of similarities between us, but also differences too. I think the differences might strengthen us. You’re sure to have a different approach for various things, and even if you don’t have military might, you have a different perspective and ingenuity that might lead us to find great things together.”

  Even though she knew he was referring to the cyborgs and humans as a whole, her mind conjured up a different meaning entirely of the two of them together—just the two of them, with his arms around her. She blinked and cleared her throat. “That sounds intriguing.”

  The general nodded abruptly. “Then it’s settled. JSN, you’ll remain behind as our liaison. Spend some time getting to know the humans and the enclave before you report back to me, and we’ll discuss how best to merge our groups and how we can help each other at that time.”

  The formality of the meeting seemed to fade after that, and they spent a few minutes talking more casually. As they moved from the meeting room and through the enclave, Gwen was painfully aware of the stares of the humans around her. She saw a mix of distrust, hope, and outright fear in the faces with which she was so familiar. She flashed a reassuring smile upon occasion, but kept her attention focused mainly on the cyborgs.

  As they were starting to leave, she stiffened when Pollux suddenly emerged from the crowd, throwing himself against her with exuberance. She braced herself at the last moment to absorb her four-year-old’s impact before bending down to swing him into her arms. She propped him on her hip, and he leaned forward to press a kiss on her cheek.

  She had been speaking with Carrie, and now the general’s mate turned her attention to Pollux. “Do you know what a dog is, Pollux?”

  Pollux shook his head, his brown eyes wide with curiosity. “What is it?”

  “It’s a four-legged furry companion.”

  “Does it talk?”

  Gwen smiled. “Penny barks, and I’m sure she’s telling me lots of things, but I don’t understand her language.”

  Gwen bit back a smile when Pollux replied, “You should have Leith look at her. He can fix anything.”

  Carrie chuckled. “It’s not a matter of fixing her. She’s a different species. Dogs are a lot of fun, and Penny just had babies. When they’re a bit older, maybe you can come see them.”

  Gwen didn’t miss the way DVS stiffened and gave a negative shake of his head just once, all without taking his gaze off the people in the enclave surrounding them.

  “Or I can bring Penny and her babies here when they’re a little bit older.” Carrie was smooth, quickly inserting that option.

  “What are puppies?”

  “They’re her babies,” said Carrie.

  Pollux bounced in Gwen’s arms. “I was the last baby born here.”

  Carrie frowned. “That makes me sad. I like babies, and the cyborgs don’t have any either. I’ll be very sad when Penny’s babies grow up, because I don’t see how we’ll have more. Maybe our healer can synthesize some daddy doggie DNA for future litters.”

  Gwen chuckled when she saw Pollux’s mystified look. He clearly had no idea what Carrie had just said. “If that doesn’t work, we have an entire repository filled with DNA samples of all the flora and fauna that existed before my ancestors unleashed the ionic separator.”

  There was a sudden hush among the cyborgs, and Gwen frowned when DVS shot an intense look her way. Had she offended them by mentioning the weapon her ancestors had used in hopes of destroying the cyborgs, but in actuality had only destroyed the remaining life aboveground? Maybe it was a forbidden topic in their society.

  “You have DNA samples of every animal and plant?” asked DVS in a neutral voice.

  Gwen hesitated before answering, but saw no reason not to be honest. “As many as they could collect. The collection also contains DNA from some animals that had gone extinct long before the war. I know I’ve seen canine DNA listed, though I’m not certain which breeds we have available.”

  “Have you created clones?” asked Jason.

  Gwen shrugged. “Leith did a couple of years ago. He wanted to see if the equipment still worked, so he grew a piglet from one of the samples. Everything is in working order, but it requires too many resources to regularly use the lab. We devote as much as required to keep the samples preserved, but we have limited ability to clone and nowhere to start repopulating. You can’t raise animals easily underground.”

  They had learned that with the piglet. Despite synthetic sunlight and Leith’s painstaking research to ensure they were feeding the animal the optimal diet, it had been sickly and had never thrived as well as it should have, based on the research available to them.

  “I’d like you to show JSN what you have at some point during his stay with you.” DVS phrased it as a question, but it was clearly a subtle command.

  Gwen wondered if she should for a moment. The cyborgs seemed interested in the technology, and it was clearly something they didn’t possess. It might be the only thing she had to offer for an alliance, but she was realistic enough to know that if it was something they deemed truly worthy, they would be able to easily take it from the enclave. “I’ll consider it.”

  DVS grimaced, but didn’t press the point. “We should leave. I’ll expect a report from you every day, JSN.”

  JSN stood close to her, close enough that she could sway forward and touched his shoulder with hers, and she was relieved when Pollux squirmed to get down at that moment. She set him carefully on his feet
before standing up again, just in time to hear Carrie parting with him. “Be nice while you’re here and mind your manners, Jason,” said the general’s wife with a grin.

  Jason suited him much better than JSN, but it was clear the other cyborgs called him by his designation. Perhaps he would allow Gwen to use it as well, since JSN seemed so impersonal. Of course, she would only ask for the privilege if they moved beyond diplomatic relations to more intimate interaction.

  Friendship, of course. Nothing more intimate than that. Gwen had learned her lesson about loving someone else beyond the point of reason. Of course she loved her children, but she had long ago decided she would never risk giving her heart to another again. It was too painful to lose them, and the risk of losing anyone she loved was staggeringly high.

  After the others had departed, she turned to Jason—JSN, she mentally corrected—and smiled cautiously. “I can show you to a room. You do sleep, don’t you?”

  He nodded. “I do all the things humans do.”

  Surely she was imagining the smoky tinge to his voice when he said that, as though he was referring to something more personal than eating and sleeping. “Don’t you require some sort of nutrient fluid?”

  He nodded. “I see you are somewhat up-to-date on the science. In the old days, we used to submerse ourselves in a tube filled with the nutrients required. Over time, we’ve enhanced the process, and now the nutrients run through our vascular system, which is why it has a luminescent glow.”

  Without thinking, she reached out and ran a hand down his arm, tracing one of the bioluminescent veins with her finger. They both stiffened at the touch, and she immediately withdrew her hand. “How will you get your nutrients while you’re with us? We clearly don’t have anything like that around.”

  He chuckled. “I have enough in my reservoir to last me several days. If things got dire, I could reduce to half-rations, though it reduces my strength as well. If I have to do that, I’ll just rest a little more and eat more food. I imagine I’ll be back with the other cyborgs before it’s a concern.”