Chapter 4

Kaden curled himself around the fragile female as his ship whirled, out of control. Systems down.

Athena remained silent.

Calie too, was quiet in his arms, burrowed against him, trembling.

He cursed himself for being careless with his precious cargo, allowing himself to be distracted by watching her eat and listening to her talk, every move, every syllable from her fascinating him, all while arguing with Athena and wrestling for command.

His body pounded into every fucking hard surface in the galley, bouncing from one point to another. Flesh ripped. Blood flowed.

Rage burned in his gut. The Zyphorrans would pay for their affront, just as soon as his ship ceased its tailspin.

Should’ve known the curs hadn’t given up. Their cloaked scout had revealed itself a mere moment before delivering three rapid strikes to his vessel. Activating the shields after the first blow had mitigated some damage, but he needed the AI to wake up and fly his damn ship because there was no way he would leave Calie unprotected.

Athena!

No reply.

Fuck .

His head bashed against the ceiling. His left eye flickered, his processors racing to keep his systems online while also attempting to gain control of his vessel. The fast attack craft hadn’t fired again, and that had alarm pinging through his system. They wanted him, or more likely Calie, alive. He opened a channel, connecting to the cyborg collective, and sent out a distress call with their coordinates. Too damn close to the mining planet Q’Larev Quarry-09. Athena hadn’t wasted any time returning there, in search of Calie’s pack.

What was so bloody important about a blasted case?

The power winked out. Blackness enveloped them. The vessel plummeted.

Ignoring his many and varied injuries, Kaden sprang to his feet and sprinted to the cockpit with Calie in his arms. He flung her without preamble into the co-pilot seat, securing her, then slammed into the pilot’s chair, bashing his palms against the console. The ship made a partial reboot, enough for manual nav.

Ahead of them, the planet loomed, coming up too fast. There was a ninety-five point eight percent probability they would crash, and an even higher possibility of a mortal wound, at least for Calie.

Your vessel is a subpar hunk of junk, cyborg, Athena grumbled, her volume so low it was almost imperceptible.

They entered the planet’s atmosphere. Below them, Kaden noted a lake he could skim over to help with what was guaranteed to be a chaotic landing. His vessel was a fucking mess, and with the scout on their tail, their best option, their only option, was to take the battle to the ground. He could hide Calie then do what cyborgs do best—annihilate the enemy.

As his ship quaked and groaned and the surface loomed closer and closer, he spared a glance at the little human, surprised to find her watching him with a singular focus, as if the outside world had disappeared. As if nothing mattered to her, but him.

Her blue eyes were wide and locked on his face, her lips parted, shallow breaths sawing in and out of her, too fast. Her hands clutched the straps securing her to the seat, and he wanted nothing more than to free her, collect her in his arms and hold her tight. Never let her go. Spare her what came next. He would do that. Soon. In mere seconds, by his calculations.

“Deep breaths. Nice and slow. Close your eyes, Calie.”

The water seemed to rise up in greeting.

They collided with the surface.

* * *

Pain roused Kaden from the darkness.

Fuck .

Everything hurt. Everywhere.

But, he was pleased he’d survived.

His little female was alive as well, judging from the sensation of her fingertips fluttering over one side of his face and neck. He liked the sensation, but he did not like the whimpers of distress escaping her throat.

“Please, please, please don’t be dead.” Calie’s voice pulled him closer to full consciousness. He seemed to be suspended over her. Well, his torso hovered above her, but his lower half seemed locked in place by—

Right. His memory bank flared to life, replaying the landing, the haphazard hopping and skipping over the lake’s surface, then their inevitable cessation against a rocky cliff on the shore.

The moment before impact, he’d relinquished nav to shield her with his body—a wise decision, judging by the debris weighing down his back.

“Kaden? Can you hear me?” Her voice sounded from below him. “I’m going to get you out of here.” Her touch disappeared.

He sensed her crawling out from under him and the helm and rounding to his back. She grunted, and whatever held him in place rocked back and forth over the base of his spine and glutes, searing his circuits with pain. Her panting increased along with the momentum of the object as well as his discomfort, but her efforts succeeded. The pressure disappeared, and the object clattered off to the side. He slid onto the floor in an ungraceful heap.

“Shit!” Calie rolled him onto his back. “Oh my God, you’re so heavy.” With great difficulty.

He sure wished he could open his eyes, tell her he was fine, but his primary processors seemed to be malfunctioning. His body wouldn’t respond to his commands to snap the hell out of it, to get up, and take care of business. Take care of Calie.

Her breath wafted against his face, warm puffs tinged with the spice of the food she’d eaten. The heat from her body soothed him as she pressed on the vein in his neck. His pulse thrummed under her touch, a little faster than usual, an indication his cyborg nanobots were doing their job of repairing him as quickly as possible.

“Your pulse is strong,” she murmured. “Why aren’t you breathing?”

He took a deep breath.

She squeaked and twitched, her touch disappearing for moment, then she palmed his chest. “Hm. Can you open your eyes?”

His lids peeled back.

“Blink for me.”

He blinked.

Intriguing. His body responded to her as if she were in control of his processors. What did it mean?

Her face appeared over his, her features blurred, his vision far less than crisp.

“Say something,” she whispered.

“Something,” he rasped. Barely a whisper, but better than nothing. The worry lines on her forehead and around her eyes sharpened as his sight returned to optimal functioning.

She bit her lip. “Can you get up? I heard a ship fly over a minute ago.”

The Zyphorrans.

His brethren hadn’t responded to his call, but he trusted they were en route. They wouldn’t arrive before trouble, however.

He sat up, muscles protesting the movement. Blood trailed down the side of his face, and something hung from his jaw...

He grabbed it.

Flesh.

He removed it and flung it aside. His sensors confirmed his metal frame was on display from the top of his skull to the middle of his cheek on the injured side. It was impressive the female didn’t shrink away in horror. Instead, she gripped his wrists with her small hands and tugged.

“Let me help you up.” Another tug. “Fuckity fuck-fuck, you’re so heavy,” she murmured, repeating her earlier comment. “And wait. You can’t stand. Your leg is um...really messed up.”

True. His lower left leg sat at an incorrect forty-five-degree angle. One of his shoulders was dislocated as well.

Shoulder first.

He eased his wrists from her grasp then rammed himself into the edge of the console. His nanobots did the rest.

Calie winced, in sympathy, he presumed.

When he leaned forward and grasped his injured lower leg, she gasped and rose to her feet. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

He wrenched it into place.

Pain pulverized him for a split second then his nanos swarmed the area, alleviating the ache while correcting internal issues. As for external problems, such as missing skin, his protective clothing was intact, so it appeared the only lost flesh came from his skull. Ah. And the top of his left hand. It would regenerate. A fine gray film already covered his fingers. Given the tingling on the surface of his skull, the same was true for his injured face.

Calie stood over him, hands clutched to her stomach, his body corrections having clearly upset her. “Can you stand now?”

She extended her hands, offering him help.

Her kind gesture stunned him speechless for a millisecond, then he found himself taking her hands in his as he rose to his feet. Without relying on her assistance, of course, since his weight would topple her.

Her fingers felt damn good enveloped in his, a connection forming so unexpectedly between them, it rendered him unable to move. Or at least, unwilling to.

Waves of energy surged through his system, seeming to originate from these points of contact with her. Would he feel this...energized, this aware, if more of him touched her?

The thought hardened his muscles, and he stepped closer.

A soft gust of air left her as she tilted her head to maintain eye contact with him. She bit her lower lip, drawing his stare downward to her mouth.

Yearning blazed through him. He’d never in his life been so attracted to a female, as if he didn’t kiss her now, he might lose his damn mind. Danger be damned.

She swayed toward him. “We should go,” she whispered.

“Yes.”

Neither of them budged.

“In a sec...” She raised up on her tiptoes. “Don’t want to hurt you.” Her gaze scanned the injured side of his head where he could sense the bots, busy repairing damage.

Again, she showed her caring. For a cyborg. Most thought of him as an emotionless, unfeeling machine, yet there she stood, looking at him like he was all man.

A man she might be attracted to.

“The only thing that would hurt would be you walking away.” The confession escaped him without permission.

“Oh...” Her pupils swamped the beautiful blue of her irises.

She was aroused. By him.

The thought shot satisfaction through him. He lowered his head, nuzzling her cheek with the tip of his nose, breathing her in. She was sunshine, a clear sky over a field of fragrant flowers. Potent beauty.

He brushed his lips over her smooth skin, following her jawline to her wild braids. He nuzzled the silky tresses aside and exposed her ear to his caress, teasing the shell with little nips of his teeth.

She quivered and melted into him, her chest plastered to his, her head canted to one side to allow continued access to her ear and neck. A satisfied smile tugged at the side of his mouth, her reactions gratifying him deeply.

“Kaden.” Her voice trembled. The musk of her arousal assaulted his superior senses.

A growl trickled from his throat as he ran his tongue down the slope of her neck, chasing the goosebumps he seemed to be eliciting from her. Fine shivers undulated her body against his. He wanted to rip off the minuscule tube of cloth covering her breasts, feast on her pebbled tips, peaked and pressing against the fabric, tempting him. Wanted to chase the signs of her desire down her torso, divest her of her leg coverings and devour her. Own her.

She’s mine.

A foreign, possessive furor raged within him unlike anything he’d ever experienced. An urgent need to claim her, to make her his in every way. Care for her, protect her from harm, nurture her.

I want to give her the world.

He released his grip on her hands and curved his around her waist, clutching her close.

“What have you done to me?” he growled into the hollow of her bare shoulder.

“Please,” was all she said.

Her head pressed against his pecs, and she scratched at his back, fingers flexing and stretching, as if she were attempting to burrow into him.

He clasped her nape and tipped her head upward.

Her lips parted, and she slid her eyes shut. “Please...”

Energy. Connection. Wicked want.

All of it rioted in the air around them.

Inside, molten desire seared a path through his circuits. Through his blood. Through his cyborganic soul.

He kissed her.

A soft meeting of mouths, a whisper of sensation, yet stronger than a supernova.

“Kayden...” she breathed against his lips, then wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again. Harder. Faster. Insistent. She bit his lower lip then licked his stinging flesh.

His breath froze in his chest even as his heart drummed a violent and chaotic beat. His world shifted on its axis, and he knew, with one-hundred-percent certainty, that his life would now and forevermore be irrevocably changed by this female.

She is giving me the world.