Touching Ice (27 page)

group of cyborgs standing about ten feet away with their backs turned. Four other

capsules were taking up space on the floor near them.

“We’re on the
Star
,” Ice stated.

“I know.” She slowly eased off his hips, embarrassment still warming her cheeks as

they separated, and she lifted up enough for Ice’s cock to totally withdraw from her

body. “Shit. They just saw my ass,” she whispered.

“You have a very attractive one.” Ice chuckled.

Her gaze lowered as she frantically reached back, feeling for her discarded pants.

So, he found the situation funny. She sure didn’t. She eased completely off him and he

pulled his pants up, covered his flaccid cock, and fastened his pants. He sat up and

pulled his legs out of her way. She sat up, yanked on her pants, and kept low so no one

could see her movements. Ice climbed out by using the edges to lift up and swing a leg

over the rim of the capsule.

Megan fastened her pants and then Ice bent over her, one arm hooking under the

back of her knees while his other one wrapped around her waist. When he lifted her,

she wrapped her arms around his neck as he straightened, turned, and then gently set

her on her bare feet on the deck of the cargo bay.

Flint turned and walked close again, his humor gone and his expression tense.

“Now that you’re alert, where is Councilman Zorus? We recovered three council

members and Roan. They had reprogrammed the computers by remote linking and

hacking the pods to head back to this ship and signaled us to meet them when they

were within range. We immediately traced the path of the enemy shuttle and found

your pod floating dead in space.” He paused. “Why didn’t you reprogram your pod to

reach us?”

A sheepish expression crossed Ice’s features. “I wasn’t aware of the onboard

computer until it made its presence known seconds before it gassed us. I was

distracted.”

“You decided to have sex.” Amusement had Flint grinning.

“I had an episode.” Ice glanced at Megan and sighed. “I know I need to address my

issues with tight spaces. Luckily Megan kept me from panicking. It seems sex overrides

my fear.”

Flint turned serious. “The sixth pod hasn’t been located. Did it deploy? The shuttle

from Earth blew up into large pieces that we found scattered in space. We checked the

debris field but did not find it or his body but it was a mass of objects, too many and too

tightly compacted to search. It’s possible we missed it. The council is very agitated to

discover the fate of Zorus.”

Ice opened his mouth but before he could talk, Megan stepped forward to draw

Flint’s attention.

“Zorus and Coal are out there somewhere in the sixth capsule. We have to find

them.”

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Laurann Dohner

“I don’t understand why Zorus didn’t link to and reprogram the computer to pilot

him toward my ship, as the others did. We were scanning as we looked for you and did

not find them.” He paused. “Coal is with him? I thought he returned to the
Rally
.”

“Um,” Megan swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. “Zorus was out cold.

He, um, hit his head. Would Coal have reprogrammed the capsule to return to the

Rally
? Maybe that’s where he’s heading.”

“Zorus has been injured?”

Ice sighed. “He was after I hit him.”

Megan winced. Why had he admitted that? Would he be in trouble? Worry ate at

her as she darted a glance at Flint, seeing his dark eyebrows rise in reaction to that

information.

“You struck him?”

“He ordered me to leave Megan behind to die.”

Flint’s gaze hardened. “I would have punched him as well if he ordered me to

abandon my wife.”

“I do not know where he is. Coal struck me when I ordered him and Megan to take

the last two capsules. I had planned to stay behind with Zorus on the enemy shuttle.”

“Coal told me he would put them both into the last one,” Megan said softly. “He

wanted them to have a chance at survival. We could smell wires burning and he said

the fire had reached the conduits inside the walls and he thought life support would fail

at any time.”

A loud sigh escaped Flint. “I will inform the council that we have no idea what

happened. I’ll contact the
Rally
and have them backtrack to our location and scan for

them. We’ll start a search grid and attempt to locate that capsule.” He fixed his full

attention on Megan. “Did they launch before you did or after?”

“After. Coal sealed the lid on the capsule Ice and I were in. The last I saw of him, he

stood over me, but I know he planned to put himself and Zorus into the other one.”

Another cyborg approached. Megan did a double take when he did. He had the

silver-gray hair that came with old age but his face contradicted that. He didn’t look a

day over thirty-five. His bright-blue eyes drew her attention and held it. The unusual

color was so pale and blue they nearly glowed. For a second, she wondered if he was

blind. He gave her a tight smile, glancing directly at her, and then met Ice’s gaze.

“They may not have had a chance to escape.” He had a really unusual voice with its

gruff, raspy tone.

Flint nodded, his expression grim. “The explosion that destroyed the Earth shuttle

was severe. We’ll do an extensive search, cover the area, and if we don’t find them we’ll

assume they didn’t survive.” He addressed the cyborg with the strangely beautiful

eyes. “I’m off shift so it’s all yours, Sky.”

Ice wrapped an arm around Megan, pulling her to his side. “What of the Markus

Models?”

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Touching Ice

“We saw one of them drifting in space.” Sky shook his head. “It survived the blast.

It attempted to wave its arms to flag us down to pull it inside our ship. It was creepy as

hell to see it and I hope to never do so again. They really appear human. Seeing him

floating out there, moving around, was freakish, and then to top it off, he attempted to

throw small debris items at the
Star
to get our attention, as if we weren’t aware of him.”

Ice’s body tensed. “You brought it inside the
Star
?”

The large cyborg shook his head. “Hell no. We left it out there. It can drift in space

until it uses up all its battery power or something slams into it. I’m hoping a big

asteroid smashes it into tiny pieces. They are not allies, and with Zorus not here to

demand we do otherwise, we decided it wasn’t worth the risk. They wanted to turn us

over to Earth Government so it can kiss my ass. It’s lucky I didn’t think it was worth

some target practice.”

Flint chuckled. “I’m glad to have you back, Sky. I’ve missed your unique

assessment of matters.”

Ice chuckled. “Sky is our Earth expert. He was assigned by the council to listen in

on all Earth vessel transmissions. He tends to speak as they do and take on some of

their traits.”

“He has picked up of their amusing language.” Flint grinned. “Kiss your ass?

Really? I hope that’s not a literal statement.”

“Bite me.” Sky grinned. “And no, not literal.” His gaze lowered to Megan. “You’re

hot, babe. Ever done a cyborg?”

Ice tugged Megan tighter against his side. “She’s my wife.”

Sky’s grin died. “Sorry. I wasn’t informed you’d joined a family unit. I had hoped

you’d rescued her from the Earth shuttle and she happened to be an unattached female.

I’d love to possess one of my own.” He laughed suddenly. “To help with my language

skills, of course.” He winked.

Flint chuckled. “If you’d arrived in the cargo bay a few minutes earlier when we

opened the capsule you wouldn’t have had to ask if she’s familiar with a cyborg male.”

Megan’s cheeks burned and Ice shook his head. “Stop teasing my female.” He

hesitated. “Is there anything I can do to help with the search? I can take Megan to my

quarters and settle her there before reporting for duty.”

“I have it.” Sky shifted his stance. “How hard do I really have to look for Zorus?

He’s not my favorite person. He ordered me into his special project, and let me assure

you, I haven’t enjoyed being stuck on Garden with his uppity attitude. As soon as we

find him, he’s going to drag my ass back there. The only reason I’m here is because he

thought I might be of use with those freaky machines that can pass for human. I am in

no hurry to go back or have him barking out orders at me. The guy is a first rate

asshole.”

Flint hesitated.

“Coal is with him,” Ice reminded them.

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Laurann Dohner

“Got it.” Sky muttered something under his breath. “Poor sucker. I feel sorry for

anyone stuck with Zorus.” He turned on his heel and marched away.

Flint smiled, watching Sky leave the cargo bay, and then turned to face Ice. “It

wouldn’t be a tragedy if Zorus didn’t survive.” His smile faded. “Coal, on the other

hand, would be a loss. I like him, though we’ve only briefly known him.”

“Hopefully they escaped the shuttle before it blew.”

“Hopefully. You’ve survived an ordeal. Take your wife to your quarters and I’ll

have some food sent to you. Relax. I’ll tell Sky to inform you of the results of the

search.”

“Thank you for picking us up.”

Flint studied him. “I’m surprised you’re alive and didn’t fight your way out of that

tiny life pod. I know you have issues with being enclosed in small spaces.”

“Megan kept me calm.”

“Is that what she was doing on top of you? When my wife is half naked, sitting on

my lap, I’m anything but calm.” Flint grinned.

“Funny.” Megan shook her head at the two smiling men, seeing their shared

amusement at the joke. “I’m more than ready to get out of this outfit.”

“You were just out of half of it,” Flint pointed out, chuckling.

Ice laughed, tugging at Megan. “I don’t believe she’s amused by our teasing. She

doesn’t enjoying the weight of the uniform I gave her. We’ll be in my quarters. The

Rally
is great but it’s tighter on space and as you mentioned, more is my preference. I’ll

be happy to spend time in my quarters here.”

“I am glad that you survived.” Flint moved away, walking toward the cyborgs who

were moving the capsules to the side of the bay, clearing the center of the large room.

“Come with me,” Ice ordered softly, releasing her waist as he offered her his arm.

She gripped it and walked beside him. Five minutes later they entered his living

space on the
Star
. “Nice. It’s about ten feet bigger than your other one.”

“Yes. I do enjoy commanding the
Rally
but I mainly live here.” He paused. “I’ll put

in a request for larger quarters. They have them for the males in a family unit who have

their female travel with them.”

Megan watched Ice remove his clothing. She hesitated and then stripped out of the

uncomfortable uniform, planning to take a foam cleansing. Her thoughts were on the

cyborg who had saved their lives and what it would mean if Zorus hadn’t survived.

“What is wrong?”

She lifted her chin. “I was just thinking about Zorus and Coal.”

He closed the distance between them and peered down at her. “You have a worried

expression. They might have survived.”

“Zorus is the one who hates humans and the one who really pushed for that vote

for everyone to decide to kill me, right?”

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Touching Ice

“He swung the council’s vote that way. He makes no secret of his hatred of

humans.”

“If he died…” She hesitated.

“What is it? I won’t be in any trouble, Megan. No one will hold me accountable for

his death.”

“That’s good to know and half of my worry just left.”

“Half?”

“If he’s dead, does that mean you don’t have to be in a family unit with me any

longer to keep them from killing me?”

A tinge of anger showed on Ice’s features. “We are a family unit and his fate has no

consequence on that.”

“I want to know the answer. If he’s dead, do you have to be in a family unit to keep

them from ordering me killed in the future?”

He gripped her hips and jerked her hard against his naked body. It surprised

Megan. She gripped his upper arms as she watched him glare at her. He lifted her high

enough that her feet left the floor and she rose until they were face level.

“You’re mine and even if you aren’t willing to accept it, that is your fate. I will not

release you from the contract.” He paused. “Ever.”

Staring into his beautiful silvery-blue eyes, she swallowed. He looked so angry it

stunned her. “I―”

“Belong to me. You’re mine, have been mine since the moment you asked me how

you could serve me. I gave you the opportunity to stop what was happening between

us but you allowed me into your body and then you asked to stay in my quarters with

me to keep you alive.” He paused. “You already know I have feelings for you. Do you

think they would change just because it’s no longer a necessity to keep you safe from

the council’s orders?”

“I also know that you didn’t want to join a family unit. You didn’t want to get

attached. If Zorus is dead then the option is there for you again. Nothing is stopping

you from just walking away from me.”

“Have your feelings for me changed, Megan? Do you want me to release you?”

“No.” She wouldn’t lie to him. “I am worried if Zorus died that you might
want
to