Mated with the Cyborg (8 page)

She blushed. “You flatter me.”

“I tell the truth.” When he could. She returned her attention to the stars, and Kai took advantage of her study to open a channel to Brock.

Yes?
His fellow cyborg responded right away.

Find out what you can about a woman named Alondralin. She’s Mariska’s mother, a former mate of Obido.

Where is she living now?

She’s not. She’s deceased.

It’s hard to get info on Lamis-Odg, but I’ll do what I can. Anything in particular I should watch for?

Find out if there are any Terran connections.

It would be helpful if you could send me a sample of Mariska’s DNA.

Her brush poked out of her bag. The Panthera was equipped with a small science lab. He could slip a strand of her hair into the analyzer and transmit the gene sequence to Brock.
I’ll see what I can do.
He closed the link.

Mariska clasped her hands. “I’m sorry about the way I acted before,” she said in a low voice. “Running out.”

“No apology needed,” he said.

“Why did your friend call you ugly?”

He chuckled. “It’s a guy thing. Insults show we care.”

“It’s odd.”

“I can’t argue that.”

“I have a lot to learn.”

He couldn’t argue that either. “I’ll help you.” Due to the Association of Planets’ embargo, her people had been cut off from cultural interchange as well as trade. As a female, she’d been kept illiterate, and she had been ostracized because of her supposed deformity. Given her isolation, it was amazing she’d been able to adapt as much as she had.

She took a deep breath, which lifted and swelled her breasts. “I have never mated with a man.”

Kai blinked. That was an about-face. “Oh.”

“You do not seem to be repulsed by…my appearance,” she said.

Oh. No. He could see the direction this conversation headed, and so could his cock, which perked up.
Pick me! Pick me
! Blood rushed south. “Mariska…”

“Would you—could you—show me what it’s like?”

“Show you how?” He hoped she wanted to watch a porn vid. And hoped she didn’t.

“Would you mate with me?”

What the hell did he do now? Making love with her wouldn’t be a hardship. Far from it. But he would be taking advantage of her innocence and ignorance because, as soon as he figured out a permanent solution, he would resume his regularly scheduled life—after facing whatever punishment Carter meted out.

What if rejecting her tempting offer delivered the killing blow to her budding self-esteem? Perhaps making love to her might help to convince her of her beauty and worth.
Yeah, because sleeping with a woman and then leaving her flat always does wonders for her ego.

Mariska placed her palms against his chest and slid them up to his shoulders. He grabbed her wrists to remove them, but her racing pulse stopped him. “You seemed to like kissing me,” she said.

More than she knew, but he shouldn’t have done it. He needed to keep a clear head and sense of purpose.

She rose onto tiptoe and brushed her lips against his.
Pick me! Pick me!
Her sweet scent enveloped him like invisible ropes binding him to her. This was what happened when he allowed his little brain to do the choosing. Kissing her had been the worst possible thing he could have done. Of course she’d gotten the wrong idea.

“I do. Uh, did. But I’m not sure it was wise.” He still held her wrists, but now his thumb caressed the underside. His body and Mariska’s had teamed up to conspire against him.

She flicked her tongue against the seam of his lips. Kai growled, tucked her arms around his neck, and covered her mouth with his.
A few kisses to convince her I desire her, then I’ll let her down.

Who are you fooling?

He encircled her waist with his hands, locking her pelvis against his. His erection thrust against her soft belly. The scent and touch of her stormed his human senses, fried his cyborg circuits. His heart pounded a rapid beat, echoed by a throb much lower. He kissed her, plundering the deep recesses of her mouth, then dragged his lips across her cheek to press against the corner of her eyes, her temple, her ear.

Defenses crashed. In truth, they’d been fragile to begin with. Even before he’d seen her face, she’d intrigued him. Her fluid grace, her soft voice, the vulnerability he’d glimpsed in her beautiful eyes. Her resilience and courage. An indomitable, pure spirit that somehow had remained uncorrupted by evil.

“Are you sure you want this?” he murmured.

She nodded.

How could she know? She had little experience to enable her to judge the situation. He felt like the worst sort of asshole to use her and then leave her.

“I can’t make you any promises,” he said. “I won’t be able to stay. I have to rejoin…my unit.” How was that for a pick-up line?
Hey, babe, wanna fuck?

Although sex with her wouldn’t be part of a long-term relationship, it wasn’t meaningless either. He would carry the memory forever. A bit of heaven and a dose of regret tied together by duty and desire. He didn’t want to sleep with her for the physical release; he needed the physical release because he desired
her
.

She shook her head. “I don’t care.”

But she should, and only a selfish jerk would accept her words at face value, but the price of doing the right thing cost too much. He sought her mouth, and she moaned and melted against him. He explored the slope of her neck, her throat, her collarbone. She slid her hands underneath his shirt to caress his back, drag the pads of her fingers down his spine.

Kai led her to the double-wide berth. He grabbed the hem of his shirt then hesitated. He needed her to be certain. “Are you sure?” he had to ask her again, though it killed him. What if she said no? What if she had second thoughts?

She huffed. “Are men from your planet always so difficult to seduce?”

He chuckled. “Not usually, no.” Kai followed through on removing his shirt then shucked out of his boots and pants. He paused and then yanked off his underwear. Her cheeks reddened, but she held his gaze. He tugged off her tunic then divested her of the leggings. Her underwear consisted of filmy thin briefs and a sleeveless top, the straps of which did not fully cover her spiral birthmark.

Note to self: right shoulder off limits.
He’d gone this far; he didn’t want her shrieking and fleeing from his bed. He eyed her taut nipples tenting the fabric. There was much more to focus on anyway.

He pulled her to him for another steamy kiss, lifting her off the ground so that her toes skimmed his shins. He ensured her body slid down his as he settled her back on her feet. She clutched at his arms. “Do all Terran men look like you?” She kneaded his biceps with her fingers. “Are they as strong?”

No. Enhanced musculature came with being a cyborg. He’d always had a well-defined physique, but not
this
developed. The nanocytes injected into his blood had modified the muscle fibers. “More or less,” he answered. A few non-cyborg Terran men after rigorous weight lifting training approximated his bulk.

She brushed his erection. “As…large?”

He grinned. No enhancement there. “More or
less
.”

She trailed her fingers over his temples and his forehead. Her touch lit a path of fire. “Men—people—on your planet don’t have ridges.”

“No.”

“Dale is Terran, then, too.”

Kai snarled, and she yanked her hand away, her body tensing in alarm.

What the hell was wrong with him? The jealous rumble had burst from his throat before he could stop it. “I’m sorry.” There had been no sexual intent to what she’d said, but he disliked her mentioning another man in any context—especially one who’d flirt with her in a heartbeat if given the chance.

Maybe Dale can take Mariska under his wing when I return to Cy-Ops.

Dale with the broken nose could take Mariska under his wing. Kai would bash in his friend’s face. Panthera or no Panthera.

“What did I say wrong?”

“Nothing.” He leaned his forehead against hers, closed his eyes, and strove for calm. When he’d gotten a grip, he opened his eyes and then pulled her undershirt over her head. Her breasts were as he’d imagined: large, rose-tipped handfuls. He pressed them together then buried his face between the mounds.

She giggled. “Your beard tickles.”

He shifted and drew a nipple into his mouth. She stopped laughing and sucked in a breath. While he teased the buds to greater tautness, he hooked his thumbs into her briefs and drew them down. He slipped a hand between her thighs. Wetness coated his fingers as he massaged. She gave a little gasp. Against her breast, Kai smiled.

Her hands closed around his cock. Gripped in her small but tight fist, heat surged.

“Is this all right?” she asked.

“More than all right.”

She slid her hands the length of his erection, pumping the shaft. “In addition to receiving instruction in the home arts, women are taught how to please our mates sexually.” She squeezed and cupped his balls. “I haven’t mated, but I’ve been tutored in the process.”

Sure Lamis-Odg were terrorists. But they weren’t all bad. Pleasure streaked through his body. He groaned. “Show me what else you’ve learned.”

A sly smile crept across her face, transforming her to a sultry seductress. In this, she felt sure of herself. He loved her confidence more than anything. “Would you like to remain standing? Or would you care to recline?” she asked.

“Maybe I’d better lie down.” He had a feeling she was going to transform his legs to rubber. He stretched out on the berth, and she crawled up beside him. Her face glowed. Holy crap, she was beautiful. The words to tell her so balanced on the tip of his tongue, but he held back for fear uttering them would disturb the promise of the moment. She would not react well to the compliment.

Instead, he cupped her face with one hand and drew her close. Her hair draped around them as he claimed her mouth in a deep kiss which she returned with fervor. Hard nipples brushed his chest, and his groin tightened.

Though innocent, Mariska was no shrinking flower, but had expressed herself with a boldness he would not have expected.

With a slow hand, he explored the length of her back, appreciating her smooth skin, the dip of her waist, the tiny twin dimples above her buttocks. Her curvy ass. She dragged her mouth away from his and trailed kisses along his jaw to his ear. Warm breath teased as she nipped at his earlobe.

He cupped her breast and rubbed the nipple with his thumb, and she moaned. “I’m supposed to be pleasuring you,” she murmured.

“I’ve never been one to pay attention to supposed tos.” He tilted her face so he could stare into her eyes. “I’m more into mutual pleasure.”

Their lips met, and their tongues danced a slow one before she broke off and kissed her way down his body. Silken hair and her caressing hands electrified every nerve. And when her steamy breath heated his groin, he braced himself.

For all the good it did. She drew his cockhead into her wet mouth and white-hot sensation sizzled and snapped, lighting up his body like a supernova. She must have been a hell of a student because she sucked and licked his hard-on, from tip to base with the skill and finesse of a courtesan. She hummed, and the vibration shot into his abdomen.

He’d assumed her
tutoring
had been lecture only. As she applied the right amount of suction to drive him insane, a disturbing idea assailed him. What if there had been
practice
sessions? Irrational jealousy surged. With great effort, he beat the green monster into a dark corner of his consciousness and locked it in. It rattled the cage.

With a growl, he grabbed her arms and hauled her up, pressed her against the berth. He crushed her mouth with his lips and laid siege. He would make her forget whoever her
tutor
had been. For now, this moment, she was his.

She melted against him, and her surrender soothed the raging emotional torrent but not his desire. He kissed her with ferocity. He laved and sucked the buds of her breasts to red peaks, slipping his hand between her thighs to massage her clit. Mariska arched with a keening cry, tangling her hands in his hair.

Need overcame logic, remorse, regret.

Kai scooted up and guided his cock to her entrance. Marshaling his self-control, he pressed forward and met with the usual resistance. Due to his size, he’d never been able to let loose. He’d had to allow the woman’s body to accommodate him.

She wound her arms around his neck and rocked her hips. “Please. I want you inside me.” Invitation weakened control. He pulled back then thrust forward and plunged into her channel. A barrier gave way, and Mariska jerked and cried out.

Unmated. Virgin. She’d admitted she was, but then had said she’d been
tutored
and he’d assumed…. His head reeled, and warring emotions thundered though his chest. Atavistic satisfaction swelled because
he
was her first. No
practice
sessions had occurred—at least not coital ones. Lust spiked, leaving him shaking to complete the deed. Guilt tinged desire causing it to spike.

He hadn’t even begun to consider what he should do when her heels locked around his buttocks. Reassured by her encouragement, his hips moved on their own accord. He managed to control his thrust to a slow advance and retreat.

Balancing on knees and one elbow, he reached between their bodies to massage her clit. Her breathing quickened, and a deep flush stole across her face and chest, merging with the spiral birthmark.

She climaxed, her pussy clenching and contracting around his cock. He managed to hold off until he was certain she’d finished before surrendering to his rapacious need. Growling, he thrust hard and deep, his cock spasming almost painfully as he wrung himself dry.

Shuddering, he collapsed and buried his face against her neck. He breathed in her scent, the slight dampness of her skin mingling with the sheen of perspiration on his. He licked her throat. Salty. Sweet. Satisfying. He kissed her shoulder but avoided the spiral. He waited until his cock softened inside her before he pulled out, flopped next to her, and tucked her against him.