Tempted Cyborg (5 page)

“Leave,” she told Soul and Jade.

They shot her a surprised look.

“Are you crazy?” Jade said. “I'm not leaving you in here alone with him. You should leave and come back when he feels better. Right now, there is nothing you can do.”

“I've signed the papers,” Avril reminded Jade. “I know what I am doing. You need to leave. Please.”

“No way.”

Avril took a deep breath. She was ready to fight for what she believed in, and right now, that was Hunter.

“I don't care what you think or want,” she told Jade. “I am here to help Hunter and he needs me. Please, just do as I ask. I need to do this.”

Avril didn't miss the anger in Jade's eyes. “Soul stays outside the room and you will not lock the door.”

Avril nodded. She could agree to that. She turned her focus back to Hunter as Jade and Soul left the room. She heard the door close behind them, leaving her on her own with an unstable Fighter who could kill her if she wasn't careful. Honestly, Avril had no idea if she was doing the right thing or not, but deep down, she hoped that she was.

“You should have listened to Jade,” Hunter suddenly said, making her flinch from hearing his cold voice.

She clenched her fists and tried to stay strong, but it felt almost impossible to do as the nervousness swept over her. “I will not give up on you.”

“I could hurt you without meaning it, Avril. I'm burning up. It literally feels like my body is on fire. It is as if it wants to explode, and all I can do is scream as it forces me to live through the havoc.”

Avril wasn't sure that she understood what he meant. “Why does it feel like that?”

“Because of you. It's all your fault.”

Avril held her breath as she heard his accusation. A cold chill traveled through her spine, and for a split second, she considered leaving. There was nothing but pure anger in his shining eyes, and that anger was directed at her.

She swallowed hard. “I don't understand. What have I done?”

“My programming wants me to accept you as my bound one. It has never reacted this strongly to a woman before, but for some reason, you are driving it crazy. I'm trying to hold it back, but the more I fight, the more I lose.”

Avril licked her lips. “Would it be so bad being bound to me, Hunter?”

“Yes! I believe my programming has chosen you because of our friendship in the past, but you can't base a relationship on that. Once I'm bound to you, I will crave you in ways you can't even grasp yet.”

She dared to take one step closer to him, but it only made him tense.

“Stay away, Avril. I don't want you, doesn't matter what my programming tells me. I will not be happy with you.”

Avril tried to hide how much his words hurt, but it wasn't easy when she felt tears gather in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away.

“On the contrary,” she said. “I believe you would be very happy with me.”

His gaze darkened. There was a flicker in his eyes that didn't seem to want to stop. The shining increased and then decreased, over and over again. She had no idea what it meant but assumed his programming was up to something. The way he threw his head with jerky moves wasn't promising. It was almost as if he hung on a thin thread that would break any second. And when that second came, he would attack her. She had to be careful. He was many times stronger than her, plus that he was bigger in every possible way. He could break her into two without even breaking a sweat.

She took another step closer to him even if she knew that she was playing with fire.

Hunter pressed himself against the wall and showed his teeth almost in a snarl.

“I'm warning you, Avril. Stay away. I will not bind myself to you.”

“Why? Do you find me unattractive? Are you repulsed by me?”

He winced. “Of course not. Why do you think that? You have no idea how much I want to touch you, and that is why you are dangerous to me. I didn't recognize you at first, but once I did, all I wanted was to hold you. I remembered how protective I was of you when you were a child, and my programming remembered it too. Now, it wants to protect you as my bound one.”

Joy filled her, pushing away some of that wariness she felt toward him. “You feel overprotective of me?”

“Yes, damn it!” he hissed. “But this time, it is not like when you were a child. This time, my programming sees you as an adult woman and not as the child you once were. It screams inside my head like crazy, telling me to rip your clothes off and to take you hard against the wall.”

Avril felt heat fill her body as she couldn't help but imagine what he had just said. “Then why don't you?”

The shining in his eyes intensified as his anger grew. “Because you want to bind me to you for the wrong reasons!”

She shook her head and tried to remain calm as he got louder. “No, I don't.”

He flew up from the bed, but he didn't approach her. “Yes, you do! Don't lie to me!”

Avril took a deep breath. It was time to tell him.

“I'm doing this because I love you.”

CHAPTER 6

Hunter winced when he heard Avril say that she loved him. He felt the shock go through him like a wave of cold air. His programming reacted by going just a little bit crazier. It made him groan when the need to go to her intensified. His heartbeat increased and he was unable to pull his gaze away from her. She just stood there, several feet away from him, and looked at him. Her eyes were sad, but her posture was relaxed.

Damn, she was so beautiful ... and he wanted her bad ...

“You love me?”

She nodded. “Yes, I always have.”

With those simple words, she gave his programming the last piece it needed to initiate the bond. All he had to do now was to touch her and his eyes would flash. He felt a strong and uncontrollable pull toward her, and as in a trance, he took one step closer to her. He reached out his hand, unable to stop listening to the mantra that played inside of his head.

Touch her. Bond with her. Touch her. Bond with her ...

He was losing the battle, he knew it. He wasn't able to resist much longer. For twenty years, he had fought against his own programming, trying to keep it in check. Losing Sarah had devastated him, but he had somehow managed to keep himself in control, but when it came to Avril, that control was gone. It was because she was familiar to him, because they had a history as friends. His programming knew that, and therefore, it saw her as the perfect candidate. A friend was much more appealing than a stranger.

She lifted her hand with the palm toward him and took a step back. “Stop, Hunter.”

He jerked to a halt as realization of what he was about to do hit him.

“Fuck,” he cursed and immediately backed away. That had been close. One more step and he would have touched her. It didn't even need to be an intimate touch anymore, not when it came to Avril. His programming was so worked up because of her that it wasn't even funny.

He sat down on the bed, resignation filling him. His hands hurt, especially his knuckles from hitting the walls, but he ignored it.

“Why did you stop me?” he asked. “I thought you wanted me to bind myself to you.”

“I do, but not like this. I want it to be on your terms. Not on mine or your programming's.”

He liked hearing that. “Thank you, Avril. That means the world to me.”

There was a short silence. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Avril shift her weight to her right leg.

“Do you want me to leave?” she asked.

He took a deep breath. “It would calm my need to bind with you if you did, but no, I want you to stay.” He looked at her. “I want you to tell me more about your feelings for me. You said that you have loved me a long time. Did you love me when you were a child too?”

She nodded. “Back then, it was more of a childish crush. You and Sarah were my whole world and I often wished that I would one day meet someone like you. As I already told you, I was devastated after you both disappeared from my life. I never stopped thinking about you. I always wondered what had happened to you, if you were still alive. And I guess, over the years, that childish crush slowly turned into love as I grew older.”

“So you are here because you love me.” He had to say it aloud to actually believe it. It sounded almost too good to be true, but he didn't doubt her words. He had no idea why he trusted her on this when he had called her a liar just a few minutes ago. Maybe it was because it made him happy to hear it.

“Yes,” she said. “I hope that is the right reason.”

His lips twitched. It sure was. “I never knew.”

“You were bound to Sarah and you wouldn't have taken a twelve-year-old girl's crush seriously.”

He agreed. “Tell me, Avril. What would life be like with you?”

She licked her lips. “I hope it will be a happy one. I am determined to make it work so that the both of us are happy. I don't have much to offer you, but I'm sure we can create the life we want to have ... together.”

He saw her reach out her hand toward him. Everything about her told him how much she wanted to come closer to him.

“You want to hold me?” he asked.

“Yes. You have no idea how much.”

He stood up from the bed and looked straight at her, but he didn't move closer. It made her lower her hand.

“It won't be easy, Avril, even if the bond is in place. I have so many issues because of my damaged program. Are you really ready for that?”

“Yes. I want to stand by your side and help you through it all. I have never abandoned you, and I never will. I am here because I love you and because I would do anything to see you well again.”

He saw the seriousness in her eyes and his trust for her grew stronger. He became more and more certain of that Avril knew what she was doing and that she didn't believe in a fairy tale between them.

It was funny, but he was actually considering binding himself to her. Things had changed fast during the day. Yesterday, he had been sure it would never happen even if he had found her appealing. Today, he yearned for her. He wanted to rest in her arms. He wanted to close his eyes, lean his head against her chest
,
and just listen to the sounds of her heartbeat. He would find most healing there, in her embrace, than anywhere else. It would bring him calmness, it would bring him peace. He could feel it, so why was he still hesitating?

He had no idea how to answer the things she had just said, so he just nodded. Too many emotions lived inside of him. He wanted to just approach her, grab her hand, and initiate the bonding process, but at the same time, he wanted to stand here, away from her. After all, he had a duty to the Fighters. Nightmare needed him. Not many of the Fighters were suitable for the things that Nightmare needed help with. Hunter was one of them, and he had information that could be fatal for the Fighters.

But he was so tired .... just so damn tired ...

Twenty years had passed since Sara's death. He had been with the Fighters most of that time. He had seen a lot. He had experienced a lot. He had become a close friend to many of them, and he had helped many of the new ones to adapt, just like Nightmare had helped him. But the thing he could remember the most was the pain and the suffering, mostly emotional suffering caused by the broken bond. Avril could take all that away. She could give him a chance for a good life again. It wouldn't be easy, but he knew that things would become better. No more fighting, no more robbing places for sustenance. No more killing, or having to watch other Fighters lose it. No more having to watch them being terminated.

Avril loved him. That thought alone brought him some calmness while the thought of returning to the Fighters filled him with stress.

He took a step closer to her. That made her tense and insecurity filled her eyes. It was an insecurity he felt himself. It was as if two sides of him struggled. He wasn't sure yet, but considering his options, this was the best one.

Getting him out would be difficult for Nightmare. With Silver it had all been planned, arranged. With him, nothing was planned. He hadn't been able to escape after Nightmare, Edge, Heaven, and himself had been brought out of the house to be taken to MedAct. Nightmare had tried to remove Shade's bond to Phoebe. Hunter hadn't liked it but had agreed to go through with it for the greater good. Unfortunately, it hadn't worked. He had no idea if Shade was still alive or not, but he had seen the cyborg struggle and he had seen how it had affected him. It hadn't gone in the right direction.

“Hunter,” he heard Avril say, bringing him back to the present.

He met her gaze and gave her a gentle smile. He was calm now. He didn't feel like wanting to hit the wall again, but there was a gaping, emotional hole inside of his chest, and it only grew bigger.

“You don't have to decide now,” she said. “We have all the time in the world.”

“And what if I, in the end, tell you “no”? Will you be able to let me go?”

He saw her bite her lips and clench her fists. She was fighting with herself. That told him how much she really wanted him. He saw the desire in her eyes, the need to go to him radiated through her whole being.

“Yes, I will let you go if that is what you decide.” Her words didn't come easy, but she was ready to sacrifice her happiness for his. She wouldn't force him into a bond, and that made him want to go to her even more.