"Are you sure this is the right ship?"
Cael looked over her shoulder from the copilot's seat at the demand. Her slender
fingers moved over the controls in front of her in an elaborate dance as she brought the
cloaked shuttle into the best alignment for a concealed boarding of the vessel above
them.
A cancer-class cyborg, she didn't have to look at the screen in front of her to know
the docking clamps were almost in place. Her dual onboard comps were linked to the
shuttle's computer system, so what the sensors saw, she saw too.
The docking tube clamped into place, the sound echoing both in cyberspace and
through the deck beneath her feet as she rose from her seat and made her way back
toward Archon. One of the Geminis onboard, he was more arrogant than his quieter
brother, Eoin.
"Am I or am I not…" She walked her fingers up his broad slab of a chest. "This
section's Cancer class?"
"Yeah, we know that. Your point?"
Archon didn't bother to stop her touching him. He'd hinted more than once he'd
have her in the sack in a hot second. Cael knew he'd be good. He was a Gemini, there
was no way he wouldn't be good. Designed as infiltration units, G-classes had
seduction coded into their genes before they reached the maturation tanks.
She didn't look at the silent brother cleaning his rifle just feet away, but she knew
he was there. Sure, she wanted Archon, but not without his brother. Considering it was
a cyborg woman who'd broken Eoin's heart and given him the three vicious scars
across his face and the heavy limp, it would be a cold day in hell before she'd manage
to become the meat in this Gemini sandwich."She means you're dumb and she knows what she's doing, dickweed. Now shut the
fuck up so we can get this done, get Lyon off this tin can and get home." Eoin's voice
was a growl as he surged into movement, giving Cael a wide berth as he headed for the
boarding hatch. "And if you two wanna fuck, then get a room already."
The two looked after him in shock as Eoin boosted himself up into the tube, putting
himself perilously close to the cutting arc of the boarder. Sparks flew and dropped
down around his legs and booted feet. Cael tried not to stare at the brace on his left leg.
No one in the section looked at it directly. They were all uncomfortable that one of their
number might be less than physically perfect.
Archon looked back at her, his sinfully full lips quirking. "So what about it,
gorgeous? Want to grab a room after this and do the horizontal tango for a night?"
Cael punched his arm in answer. Even female and a Cancer, a class known more for
its computing power than brute strength, she was heavily enhanced. Archon rocked
back on his heels as he absorbed the power of her blow. He gasped and held his hands
over his heart. "Lady, you wound me."
"Get a derma-bandage." She threw the words over her shoulder as she followed
Eoin into the boarding tube.
* * * * *
The boarding was fast and furious. As soon as the cutter was done, the three
cyborgs dropped into the corridor below, rifles at the ready. The Valkyrie was an
exploration and fast-response vessel. Cael's interrogation of the Fleet databases had
revealed that there was a marine detachment stationed on board, so there was going to
be a certain amount of resistance.
Sure enough, within seconds of them breaching the ship's hull, the marines were on
them. Ignoring the laser bolts whizzing past her head, Cael slid behind Eoin's bulk,
dropped her rifle to the deck and yanked an access panel off the wall. She didn't have
time to search for an unsecured access point, so it would have to be brute force. Peering into the mass of cables under the panel, she picked out the data cable. Knife
in hand, she stripped the protective casing back, ignoring the electrical shock that
tingled over her skin. All cyborgs were protected against electrical shock and EM pulse,
but none more than Cancers, who were designed to deal with power and data systems.
"Gotcha."
The knife cut the plastic sheath easily. Below it, the tritanium-copper alloy of the
data cable winked back at her. Without hesitation, Cael reached in and grabbed it. The
metallic access points buried in the palm of her hand like a spider's web sparked into
life and then she was into the system.
"Bypassing firewalls. Shit, they've got the TM-twenty-seven," she announced to the
two men providing covering fire. To all intents and purposes, the battle for the ship was
taking place in the corridor as the two forces, cyborg and Fleet, exchanged fire. The
reality was far different. The battle was in cyberspace, between Cael and the ship's
defense computer.
Eoin flicked a glance over his shoulder. The first time he'd looked at her fully in a
long time, since before his accident. "You can do it, babe. I know you can."
Surprised by the support as well as the warmth and interest in his eyes as he flicked
his gaze over her still form, Cael just lay there for a moment. Snapping herself out of it,
she rerouted all available processing power to cracking the Valkyrie's defense net. For
long moments her body grew heavy and she even allowed her breathing to stop as she
disappeared into cyberspace.
With a crack, the net broke. Whooping in triumph, Cael surged into the computer to
take command. Straight away she shut down all the alarms, locked out command access
with a mutating algorithm and created an all-access wireless link so she could maintain
control even when she let go of the cable.
Opening her eyes, she looked up at the ceiling. "Marine weapons shutdown in
three…two…now!""That was…amazing."
Even to Samara, her voice sounded shaky. It should do, she'd just had the most
amazing sex in her life. She wrapped her arms around Lyon with tenderness. He was
still breathing heavily, his body buried deeply in hers. It was more than the sex, she
admitted, stroking his back as she waited for him to calm down. He was a cyborg, the
supposed scourge of the galaxy, yet he was trembling in her arms.
He grunted in answer and pressed a kiss into the curve of her neck. Leaning her
cheek against him, she allowed her eyes to close and let it all fall away. It didn't matter
that she was naked in a cell with a guy she'd only met a couple of days ago. It didn't
matter he was a prisoner.
All that mattered was he was holding her, his big body wrapped around her
protectively. An orphan of the Heral system war, she was used to being on her own.
The feeling of being held and protected was an almost forgotten, and very seductive,
one.
"Awww. Isn't this nice?"
She jumped at the sound of a voice from the corridor. They'd been discovered.
Expecting marines to pour into the cell at any moment and tear him away, she wrapped
her arms tighter around his neck. She didn't want this to be over. It couldn't be over.
Not yet.
Lyon shifted position slightly, keeping the bulk of his body between her and the
open front of the cell, his face still buried in the curve of her neck.
"Archon. Do me a favor and fuck off."
A wholly masculine chuckle was the reply. "Seems like you're doing enough of that
for the both of us. Want me to leave you two lovebirds to it? I mean, it's only your own
goddamn rescue. Nothing important."
"I swear to God, I'm going to wring that fucking Gemini's neck.""You know him?" The instant the words slipped from her mouth, Samara wanted to
kick herself. Of course Lyon knew him. How else would he know his name?
"Aye. Rescue party. And they're late. Archon, turn your back." Lyon's voice was
hard as he looked back over his shoulder.
"Awww, Lyon, man. You've gotta be kidding me…"
"Now."
She jumped at the snapped command. Beyond the broad shoulders which were
cutting off her view of the rest of the cell came the sound of boots on the deck and
Archon grumbling. Something about never getting to see any action. Samara couldn't
help it, he sounded so much like a sulky teenager that she giggled. Granted it had a
note of hysteria, but it was still mostly a sound of amusement.
Lyon slipped out of her, then let her down gently, holding her as her feet touched
the floor. She scrambled for her discarded clothing as he pulled his ship-suit into place
again. Heat flared over her cheeks as she shoved her arms and legs into the suit, then
yanked the zipper up with a sharp movement. He'd taken her while still mostly
clothed.
Sliding her feet into her slip-ons, she finally met his eyes. Like a patient cat, he
simply watched, green eyes impassive over the small tattoo on his cheek. Rescue party.
He was leaving. Disappointment crashed over her like the waves on a beach. Was she
just a quick tumble, a bit of fun while he had a spare five minutes?
The other man stepped into the cell. Like Lyon, he had a tattoo on his cheek, but
unlike Lyon, he had a more slender build, with shoulder-length blond hair and looks
that would raise the pulse of any red-blooded woman. Apart from Samara…she didn't
feel a thing when she looked at him.
"Boss man, you done with the chick? Because we have a bit of time and if she's
hot—"Lyon was snarling as he turned. Violence in every line of his body, he grabbed the
other cyborg by the throat and propelled him into the wall behind. "No one touches her
but me. Understand?"
Archon gasped for breath as Lyon's hand clamped around his throat. His heels
thudded against the metal bulkhead of the cell. Samara gasped and stepped forward
without thinking to lay her hand on Lyon's arm.
"Understand?" Lyon snarled into Archon's face. His whole body was rigid with
tension and fury as he tightened his grip. Archon's face started to go blue.
"He can't speak. Let him go. Lyon, please?"
The soft request broke through the red haze of fury. Abruptly Lyon released his
hold, letting Archon drop to his knees, coughing and spluttering. All cyborgs were
hardy, but none of them could stand up to a Leo for long. The best they could do was
hope to outrun the heavier class and stay out of range. Even that was an achievement.
Big as they were, Leos were fast.
"Nanites' balls, man. I got it. You only needed to say it once, not break my neck to
prove it," Archon gasped as soon as he was able to speak. Rubbing at his neck ruefully,
he looked up and smiled as he looked Samara over, an instinctive male reaction to a
beautiful woman.
Lyon snarled again. He knew what Archon saw. Samara's dark hair cascaded over
her shoulders and her curvy frame filled the ship-suit in a way that would whet any
man's appetite. Particularly a randy Gemini's. He stepped between Archon and Samara,
pushing her behind him.
"Whoa. She's pretty. That's all. Not touching, I swear!" Archon protested at Lyon's
challenging look. Why he was reacting this way over a quick shag, he didn't know, but
one thing was for sure…there was no way Archon or any cyborg was laying a hand on
her. Not while he had breath in his body.Archon glanced around, looking at anything other than the woman who was
peeking around Lyon's shoulder. His gaze landed on the cuffs abandoned on the
narrow bunk and he grinned. "Pretty and persuadable, it seems."
"No. Just not familiar with mag-cuffs."
Lyon turned to Samara, swept a quick eye over her appearance and then sighed.
She looked like a woman who'd been thoroughly loved. With brisk efficient
movements, he zipped her suit up as far as he could to conceal her cleavage. He didn't
want Eoin or Archon drooling over her or he'd have to break some bones.
"Put your hair back up," he ordered her in a soft tone. Her eyes were wide and dark
with apprehension and the tension that hummed through her body was wary now. Not
a problem, he'd soon sort that out in his quarters tonight.
As quickly as that, Lyon made his decision. She was coming with them. Human or
not, he wasn't letting her go. His reaction to Archon's suggestion had proven that. Just
the thought of another man touching her, caressing those voluptuous curves, was
enough to tip him into fury.
"Do we have control of the ship?" he asked, watching as she picked up the pins
he'd scattered over the floor of the cell and started to put her hair up. Latent arousal
flared into life as she shook her hair back, then lifted her arms above her head to twist
the heavy mass into a plait above her head. The action tightened the fabric over her
breasts. Lyon gritted his teeth as blood pooled in his groin, his cock hard in a flash.
What was it about her that affected him so much?
"Yeah, locked down tighter than a Novariam's horde."
Good. Where are Eoin and Cael? Confident now that their internal communication net
wouldn't be interrupted, Lyon switched to silent comms. If Cael was aboard, then she
had the ship's computer locked up so tight it would take a team of human experts a
month to wrestle control back.
Back aboard the Chameleon. We're going to need to hurry, boss man. These lanes are
heavily patrolled. With this thing dead in the water, we could get pinged any moment…Archon didn't need to complete the thought. Taking control of an enemy craft was
child's play for three experienced cyborgs. Even the youngest of their number, Cael,
had a list of battle honors longer than Lyon's arm. But taking on an enemy battleship in
their own territory was nothing short of suicide. He'd rather avoid that if he could.
Where's the entry point?
Knowledge flooded into his onboard as Archon transmitted a schematic of the ship.
Drilling down through the layers, Lyon easily found where they'd breached the
Valkyrie's hull.
Watching like a hawk, he waited until Samara, blissfully unaware of the telepathic
exchange, shoved the last pin into her hair. Grabbing her hand, he marched them both
from the cell and down the corridor toward their escape.
"Hey! What are you doing? Where are we going?"
She dug her heels in and pulled at his grip on her wrist. It was like a fly buzzing
around him. She had no chance of breaking his grip. The only reason she'd managed to
do so in the cell had been because he hadn't been expecting her to try anything.
Irritation swirling through his veins he turned, a scathing comment already poised
on the tip of his tongue. If she couldn't figure out what was happening after he'd
already informed her that Archon was part of the rescue team, then perhaps she wasn't
as intelligent as he'd taken her to be.
At his side, Archon got that "blank" look his section used when someone had asked
a dumb question, and moved swiftly ahead to avoid being caught in the fallout.
The comment fell silent on his tongue as he registered the fear in her eyes. It was
well hidden, but to someone who could read her heart rate and measure the dilation of
her pupils, she might as well put a banner over her head to announce she was scared
out of her wits. His anger vanished. She wasn't a member of his crew, used to life-and-
death situations every day of her life. She was human and he had to make allowances
for that.Pulling her into his embrace, he wrapped an arm around her waist. The hold
pressed her petite, curvy little body flush against his. Tucking his finger under her chin,
he made her look up to meet his eyes and did nothing to conceal the arousal that was
turning him inside and out.
"We're going home."
Before she could answer, he ducked his head and kissed her. Not hard, not
demanding. This time he explored and took his time as he savored the embrace.
Immediately she opened up for him with a little shudder and a moan that drove him
crazy. It…she…was soft and gentle as she accepted him without a fight. All his life
Lyon had struggled and fought for everything. So to have this one thing, to have her,
without fighting was a balm to his jaded soul.
He groaned and pulled her closer to deepen the kiss. She didn't complain, settling
her curves against the solid planes of his body. She fit perfectly, as though she'd been
made for him.
Jilan-ma. Perfect match.
The cyborgs as a race were too young to have many myths and legends, but there
were a few. Most were centered about their creators, and that one of the techs involved
in their development was more than human. That the human scientists were guided by
something, or someone, divine during their creation. That they weren't the creation of
the humans they despised.
He thought most of the stories were total crap. Wishful thinking. But there was
another myth, one he'd already half believed in. That for every cyborg there was a
perfect match, a soul mate, out in the galaxy somewhere, waiting for them.
Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and her delicate hand cupped the back of
his head. His body, already hard again, pulsed with need and her delicate touches
inflamed him like none before. All he could think about was getting her back to his
ship, holing up in his quarters and taking at least a month getting to know every inch of
her luscious body."Er, boss man. I hate to interrupt what is obviously an intimate moment. But we
really do need to get out of here."
Lyon sighed as he tore his lips from hers. The soft sound of frustration and her pout
pleased him immensely as he set her back on her feet from where she'd been all but
plastered over him.
"We do. Come on," he said, Samara's hand clasped firmly in his as he started down
the corridor again.