“Thank you.” She gazed up at her warrior.
Hoarse was breathtakingly handsome. His countenance was primitive. His black hair was cropped close to his skull. His eyes were a brilliant blue and blazed with dazzling bolts of energy.
A letter, followed by numbers, was inked in black under one of them.
That denoted him as a cyborg, as a being originally manufactured to kill. The human male, recognizing Hoarse’s species immediately, had called him a machine.
Arlicia knew he was much more than that. He was a passionate doll fabricator, a fast and appreciative learner, a great listener, and her protector.
“You saved me.” She touched his square chin.
A jolt of awareness flowed through them, traveling from him to her. The connection she had felt with him since their first verbal exchange grew stronger.
“I could have lost you.” His expression turned bleak. His hold on her tightened. “If you hadn’t invited me to meet with you, if I hadn’t arrived a planet rotation early, hadn’t followed you from the ship, you would have—” His voice broke.
She would have been killed, would have never seen his face, looked into his eyes, touched him. “I didn’t die.” She caressed his skin. It was smooth and warm yet unrelenting, the softest fabric over the hardest form.
“I waited too long.” He pushed his chin into her palm. “I wanted to complete the ulu, the doll, to prove I was worthy of you. That selfish desire almost killed you.”
He was seeking to communicate his caring in a way she, of all beings, would most understand. “I didn’t die.” She would say that as many times as he needed to hear it. “And I’d deemed you worthy when I agreed to train you.” She summoned a smile. “You’re the only being I’ve ever mentored.”
Others had asked but that wasn’t her preferred role.
Hoarse stared at her. “I’m the only being you’ve ever mentored?”
She nodded.
“You deemed me worthy.” A smile spread across his face, his joy warming Arlicia to the bone. “I’ve earned the right to be your trainee.”
“You earned the right to be my everything.” She’d taken many risks this planet rotation, would take one more.
His eyebrows lifted. “I’ve earned the right to be your warrior?”
“Wasn’t that what this was all about?” She looked around them.
That was a mistake. The pools of blood expanding from the fallen bodies turned her stomach.
She swallowed bile and pressed her face against his chest, hiding from the carnage.
“I’m your warrior.” Hoarse’s big form vibrated as though with happiness. “And you’re my female.”
His words rang with a thrilling sincerity.
She didn’t question his certainty, didn’t doubt his conviction that they were meant to be together. She felt the same way, experienced the same sense of rightness when she was with him.
There was a connection between them. They’d talked for many planet rotations. She’d told Hoarse things she’d never shared with anyone else. He’d fought for her, had risked his lifespan to protect her.
And she wanted him. Intensely.
Whatever they had might not last past the next planet rotation, but she had nearly died a couple of moments ago. She would take this opportunity.
“I had planned to purchase a chamber in a domicile for the rest cycle.” She turned her head, rested her cheek against the curve of Hoarse’s shoulder. “You could share that chamber with me…if you want to do that.”
“I have a ship.” He carried her from corpse to corpse, retrieving his weapons, cleaning the blades on the dead’s garments, sliding the daggers back into their sheaths.
Arlicia focused on his devastating response and not on the death all around them. “You have a ship.” He didn’t want to share her chamber, didn’t want to spend the rest cycle with her. “Oh.”
She had offered him sex and he had turned her down. Her cheeks heated. She must have misinterpreted his statements, his body language.
“The ship is safer than 86.2359 percent of domiciles.” Hoarse grasped her pack. “And it’s located close to here.”
“Your ship is likely safer than the domicile.” Her mind spun and a flicker of hope revived inside her.
His tone implied she was joining him on his ship.
“I have wanted to claim you since I first heard your voice, my female.” His gaze met hers. The emotion in his blue eyes curled her boot-clad toes. “My need for you is great.”
Mercy. Her mouth dropped open. She was joining him.
They were returning to his ship to fuck.
Her pussy dripped with anticipation.
Hoarse breathed deeply. His nostrils flared. “Do you authorize that plan, Arlicia?” His voice lowered to a thrilling rumble.
“I’m authorizing that plan, Hoarse.” She gripped his shoulders. “I’m saying ‘yes’ to spending the rest cycle in your ship, ‘yes’ to being claimed by you, ‘yes’ to your great need.”
She didn’t know what would happen in two planet rotations, when their visit to Pollux Pequeno was over. They might remain together, or they might part.
But she would end this planet rotation in her cyborg’s arms.
That was a certainty.
Chapter Three
Hoarse carried Arlicia at cyborg speed toward the shuttle craft. Their surroundings merged into streams of color, of scent, of sound. All his senses were engaged in monitoring the terrain around them.
He had almost lost his female this planet rotation. A shudder rolled down his form. He wouldn’t take any additional risks with her, would convey his fragile human to his private chambers on board the small vessel. She would be safe there.
Relay had accompanied him to Pollux Pequeno. His friend was currently guarding the shuttle craft, would provide an extra layer of security while they occupied it.
While inside their chambers, the small ship, Hoarse would breed with his little fabricator, share his nanocybotics with her. That part of him would repair any existing and future damage to her, extending her natural lifespan to forever.
He would never leave her side again. That would protect her from any other threats.
His skills at fabricating ulus needed improvement. He accepted that deficiency. But he could defend his female. He had spent many human lifespans honing his ability to do that. No one fought like he did. He had earned his place as Captain’s second-in-command.
And he would earn his role as Arlicia’s warrior. She would never regret bonding with him. He would care for her, keep her safe, give her everything she needed.
Relay. He transmitted to the E Model. I’m returning to the transport with my female.
You’re a lucky bag of bolts, C Model. Envy edged the warrior’s words. What is our destination?
We aren’t moving the transport this shift. He hadn’t yet received the coordinates from his female. I’ll introduce you to my female. Briefly.
He wanted privacy, but he didn’t want his female to be surprised by Relay’s presence.
I’ll be waiting by the doors. The male was also curious about Arlicia.
All cyborgs yearned to meet their females…including Relay. Some of their brethren wouldn’t accomplish that feat, would be subjected to an almost endless lifespan without that bonding, without that companionship.