Melting Iron (9 page)

Iron in the thrall of passion was a sight she never wanted to forget as pure emotion twisted his features. His lips parted as he groaned loudly, his head tipped back. His big body slowly relaxed under her, his mouth closing, and she watched his eyes open to gaze into hers. For those precious moments, she saw genuine warmth staring back at her.

Dawn leaned down, flattened her body on his torso and looked away from him to press her cheek to his chest. His heart pounded under her ear as she lay there on him, both of them catching their breath. She smiled when his arms wrapped around her to hold her. She could stay that way for a long time. She was warm, sated, and happy.

“Are you sure your head is okay?”

His hands rubbed her back. “If it will make you feel better I’ll have Doc look me over first thing when his next shift starts.”

She nodded against his skin. “I’ll worry less if you do. Thank you.”

He didn’t move for a long time, just allowed her lie on him with their bodies still joined. When he finally did move, she experienced regret as she sat up to get off him. She hated separating their bodies as he helped her to her feet. He stood up next to her. Dawn lifted her chin and held out her hand.

“Please stay with me.”

He frowned but took her hand in his. “Lie down. I’ll hold you for a little while.”

She climbed into his bed and he got in with her, the bed small so they had to curl tightly together on their sides. He spooned her in front of him, one arm under her head to pillow her cheek, his other arm wrapped around her.

“I like this,” Dawn admitted, pressing more firmly against his naked body.

Iron hesitated. “It is pleasant.”

She yawned. “Stay with me, Iron. Sleep with me.”

He just held her and refused to answer. She hoped he’d change his mind about spending all night with her. She yawned
again,
tired from the stress she’d been under and from pacing his room.

Chapter Six

Dawn clenched her teeth as she glared at Iron. “Something has to change.”

Iron tilted his head while he stared at her with narrowed eyes. “I see nothing wrong with our arrangement.”

“You wouldn’t.” She shook her head. “You leave me all day and then you just spend a few hours with me. I don’t see you again until you bring me breakfast and then you leave for your shift. I’m going batty.”

“I brought you entertainment. You can watch holographic films and you seem to enjoy music since you are always listening to it when I come in.”

“I’m going crazy in this damn room. At least take me for a walk. You don’t even have a window in your quarters. Staring at black space is better than these damn walls, Iron. Do you want me to beg? Is that it? I’ve lost track of days. How long have I been here? How long ago was it when you let me talk to Cathy for those two minutes so I knew she was fine?”

He frowned. “It isn’t important, Dawn.”

Hot tears burned behind her eyes. The sex between them was terrific. He was a talented lover and he was always willing to please her. She had no complaints there but he wouldn’t sleep in the bed with her and he refused to use the foam cleansing unit in the room so she could see his hair free again. He kept her at a distance unless they were hot and heavy during sex. He held her afterward for a while but the second she fell asleep, she knew he left her. It was progress that he cuddled after sex but she wanted more.

She walked over to where he sat on the bed. She hesitated and then just straddled his lap. She saw shock widen his eyes as she gripped his shoulders and adjusted her legs to wrap them around his hips so she was comfortable. His hands gripped her butt as he stared into her eyes.

“You want sex now? You haven’t finished your dinner yet and you need to eat.”

“Do you want me to beg?” Her voice broke and she hated it. “I will at this point. Please, Iron? Take me for a damn walk. I need out of this room.” She saw his frown deepen and her heart sank, knowing he was going to refuse.

He shook his head. “It is not a good idea.”

“If you don’t then I won’t eat anymore.” She hesitated. “I mean it. If I have to make myself sick to get taken to medical, I’ll do it at this point. Do I have to break my arm or something to get out of here even for something like that? I’m to that point, damn it.”

He searched her expression. “You’re serious.”

“Duh.
I’ve been saying it for days and I mean it. I’m going crazy, Iron. I’m a mechanic. I’m used to doing things, fixing things, and now I sit here all damn day just waiting for you.” She curled into his chest, tucking her face in the crook of his neck, inhaling his wonderful masculine scent, which she had grown to love. “Please? Just a walk up and down the damn hallway out there would be better than this.”

His hands rose to the small of her back. “All right, Dawn. I’ll take you out of here for a few hours.”

Excitement and surprise had her lifting her head to grin at him.
“Really?
Thank you!” She gripped his face and planted a kiss on his stunned lips. She moved and climbed off him. “I’ll put on my boots and my pants!” She almost hopped across the room. “I’m so excited!”

“There are a few conditions you must agree to first.”

His words killed her joy as she turned to face him. Their gazes locked. “What conditions?”

“I want you branded.”

“Branded?”

He opened his shirt to reveal the tattoos on his shoulders. “These are my marks, my name in the
cyborg
language we created. If I take you out there for a few hours you need to carry my mark on your body to show to the other males that you are mine.”

“I wondered what those were but I haven’t asked.” She stared at the black tattoos and then her gaze slid to lock with his. “Why? I don’t like tattoos. They are fine for you,” she said quickly. “I just don’t want them on my body.”

He stood up. “Then I can’t take you out of the room.”

She glared at him.
“Seriously?
Tattoos are expensive to remove. What happens when—” She slammed her lips together before she finished that sentence. One day she’d escape and then she’d have to pay some doctor to remove them to wipe away the memory of her time with Iron. “I just don’t want them.”

“When what?” He slowly stood up.

“How about when you get tired of me and want a new slave? Then I’d still have your name on me and hell, I won’t put any man’s name on my body.”

“I will not grow tired of you. I will never give you away or release you.” He took a step closer. “I own you. You will carry my name on your body.”

Lifting her chin, Dawn stared at him. Her heart fluttered a little over his declaration of never releasing her. They stared at each other for a long time before Iron crossed his arms over his
chest,
the habit she knew meant he was frustrated.

“We could argue and yell.” He paused. “Or I could knock you out and have it done while you are drugged. It is going to happen.”

“Really?”
She crossed her arms over her chest, shifted her feet until she mimicked his stance completely. “Is that so?”

“That is a fact. You can either agree or I will make you.”

“You know what? Every time I decide you’re not a total asshole you pull this shit.”

“I won’t take your defiance.”

“And I won’t let you put your name on me.”

They glared at each other until Iron finally spoke. “I am going to go work out. While I’m gone you can consider your options. If you want to be able to leave this room you will do what I want.”

Frustration, anger, and desperation all hit her at once. She moved and blocked his way to the door. “Don’t you dare just stalk
out.
Don’t give me hope that I’m going to get the hell out of this room, dangle it in front of me, and then take it away.”

“You heard your options. You may agree to take my brand or move out of the way, Dawn.”

She blinked back tears. She’d be damned if she let him see that he’d made her cry. Iron frowned when she didn’t budge. His arms dropped to his sides and he took a few steps toward her, stopping inches in front of her.

“Move, Dawn. I am going to give you some time to weigh your options. When I return in the morning we’ll discuss this again.”

“In the morning?
You’re not coming back tonight?”

He shook his head. “I think you need the time to reflect on your situation.”

“You’re punishing me, in other words,” she hotly accused. “Damn it, Iron. Don’t do this to me.”

“You are doing it to yourself. If you would just agree we would both be walking out of this room right
now.
”

“I have pride,” she said softly. “Don’t do this. Don’t force this on me. I’ll hate you.”

A muscle in his jaw flexed and his features softened. “I don’t wish that.”

“Then let’s find a compromise we can both live with.”

“What kind of compromise?”

She drew a blank for a few seconds and then swallowed. She’d never thought she’d ever get a tattoo in her life.
Then again
, she thought,
I never thought I’d find myself in this kind of situation.
A sudden idea entered her mind.

“I’ll get a tattoo if you get one as well.”

Dark red eyebrows arched. “I already have them.”

“You want me to have your name on my body then I want my name put on your body. That’s fair.”

Iron couldn’t hide his shock at her suggestion. He stepped back, a frown marring his features. “Is this a joke?”

“Is it? You tell me. I’ll agree to take your name on my skin if you take mine.”

His eyes closed and he took a deep breath before they opened again. “Just Dawn or do I have to carry your last name as well?”

It was her turn to be shocked. She hadn’t honestly thought he’d even consider it. “What do your tattoos mean?” She glanced at them. “I sure as hell can’t read them.”

“My name.”
He touched his right shoulder. “This is Iron
Cyborg
and this…” He touched the marks on the left. “This is my rank.”

“Rank?”

“I’m an original, the first of my kind. We’re marked for generations and it shows my importance in my society as a commander of a ship.”

Licking her lips, Dawn swallowed hard. “Just my first name would work. Do I have to have your rank put on me too?”

“Yes.”

She looked at the tattoos on him again. They weren’t ugly or anything, just different, similar to ancient tribal markings. Her attention went back to his face to find that he still watched her. She put out her hand to him.

“It’s a deal then. I’ll take your name on me and you’ll put my name on you.”

Iron glanced down at her hand and then took it. She expected him to shake on it but instead he lifted her hand and to her surprise, he turned it palm up to brush a soft kiss on her wrist. He released her, jerked his head at the door, and sighed.

“We’ll go see Doc right now.”

Excitement hit Dawn at the prospect of leaving Iron’s quarters. She really had lost track of days. She was sure at least a week had passed. The doors slid open behind her, thanks to Iron silently signaling with his mind. She wished she had that ability, one she would find damn useful in her line of work, and turned to almost run out of the room. Just stepping through the doors into the hallway was exhilarating.

A hand clamped down on her upper arm, Iron’s fingers curling around it, and she stared up at him as he stepped up beside her. She gave him a dirty look.

“I’m not going to run.”

“I didn’t say you would. If you were considering it, there is nowhere to go. All the emergency pods have been deactivated.”

She kept silent as they walked, not about to explain to him that she could easily steal one of his precious life pods from the
Star
. She could hotwire anything with an engine. Of course she was also smart. While the
Star’s
life pods were fast, they weren’t built with large fuel tanks. She would burn up too much fuel trying to outrun the
Star
and when her reserves were low, she’d have to slow. The other ship would then be able to catch up with her easily and capture her again.

She wasn’t a novice in space either. She had no idea where she was but she figured she was in deep space, far from the regular outposts and space stations.
Cyborgs
would want to stay far off Earth Government radar. The only things out in deep space were obviously
cyborgs
and a hell of a lot of mutated pirates. She shivered as she walked, never wanting to come across them again.

Iron stopped walking and stared down at her. “Are you well?”

“I’m fine.”

“You looked frightened. I won’t allow anyone to harm you, Dawn. Do you doubt my ability to protect you?”

“You said something about the life pod and I was thinking how stupid it would be to take one, if you want the truth. I’m guessing we’re pretty far off the beaten paths of travel routes so there have to be a lot of pirates out this way.”

“Yes. There are. They like to stay far from the travel routes because they know the standard is to shoot at them upon sensor detection. You need not worry about the
Star
being attacked. The
Rally
and the
Star
are a team, both ship and shuttle travel together. It dissuades even the more aggressive pirates from attacking.”

She nodded. “You’re smart. Unfortunately those crazy bastards rarely do the sane thing. They’ve attacked the
Vonder
a few times over the past year.”

A frown marred Iron’s lips as he hit the button to call for the lift. “The
Vonder
is a large station. It would be suicide for them to attack it. We wouldn’t even do that.”

“Yeah, well, nobody said pirates were bright. We have a kick-ass defense system but its slow getting parts out to us from Earth sometimes. We had four of our lasers go down after we took some fragment hits from a passing comet so we had a blind side that one of their ships slid through before we could turn the station. We were in spin mode, enabling us to continuously fire at them.”