He dragged her to the nearest chair and quickly tied her to it.
She tugged at her restraints, trying to free herself, but it was useless.
“You have no right to do this. This is my house, not yours, you’re the invader,” she fumed, sounding more frustrated than scared.
“I know. I totally agree with you. But I don’t have much time left, so I’m not going out there looking for another shelter,” he said shamelessly. “This place is big enough for the both of us.”
“I come here looking for peace and quiet. Not to be manhandled by a… a…” she stuttered, looking for the right word to describe him, seeming to realize for the first time he wasn’t a regular man.
“I believe cyborg is the word you’re looking for,” he helped her, scowling.
Her eyes almost came out of their sockets. It was obvious she had never seen a cyborg before and surely, she hadn't expected to see one in her home.
“I thought cyborgs were grayish, and more mechanical…” she muttered, sounding as astonished as she looked.
“I was human before they turned me into a cyborg, my skin is gradually changing color,” he explained, in a flat tone. “Listen, I know this isn’t what you had planned, but I’m not going anywhere. If you promise not to run out the minute I untie you, I’ll set you free,” he promised.
“You can’t expect me to simply stay here with you! you’re a stranger, and as far as I know, you could be a lunatic,” she muttered, struggling with the tape that imprisoned her.
“I’m a soldier, turned into a fugitive right now, but still a soldier. I won’t harm you, I just want a place where I can hide for a while,” he replied. “We can do this one of two ways: the easy way, where I untie you and we stay here together. Or the hard way, where I keep you locked up in a room until it’s time for me to leave.”
She looked at him, clearly upset.
“For the record, choosing the easy way and then trying to escape wouldn’t be a wise decision. I’m a lot faster than you and my sensors would find you in the blink of an eye. There’s no escape from me,” he added, his tone colder than ever. “Please, choose. I’m tired and I would like to get some rest.”
“I don’t really have a choice, do I? Please, untie me,” she grumbled.
“Wise choice.” A hint of a smile cracked his face.
“But get some clothes on first, please,” she asked, when he approached her, his erection quite obvious underneath the towel he was using to cover himself. “You’ll find men’s clothing in my room’s closet. They belonged to my father.”
He allowed a full smile to light his face. “Thank you, that will be of use.” But he untied her before he left the room.
He wanted to test her. He wanted to make sure she would keep her word and wouldn’t try to escape, and though he wished she didn’t, he was sure she would. As he walked into the room to get the clothes, he set all his sensors to monitor her.
He could even hear her labored breathing as she got up from the chair he had left her on.
She was there for a few seconds, before she walked to the main door. She stood there for a few moments. But to his surprise, she didn’t open the door and run out. She returned to the kitchen area and grabbed something from the fridge.
Bewildered, Jarcor put on some shorts and a t-shirt before he returned to the kitchen.
“Are you still hungry? I was thinking about making us some supper,” she asked, as if she had not a worry in the world.
“That would be nice, thank you,” he replied, still aroused by her presence. He couldn’t explain why he was feeling that way about her. He had never reacted to a woman the way he was responding to her. And the worst part was her age. She couldn’t be much older than twenty, twenty-one, and that made her a lot younger than him at his thirty-five.
“What would you like?”
“Anything will be nice, believe me.”
She started working, grabbing food from the cabinets and the fridge. “You said you were a fugitive. Why did you escape?” she asked, apparently too curious to hold back the question.
“I got tired of being treated like a machine with no rights. The government decided to ignore cyborgs are part human, with hearts, souls, and needs like any other person and I’m afraid I don’t agree with that,” he explained, in a stern tone. “I know their decision makes it easier for them to send six years old cyborgs into the battlefield and feel no remorse, but that only makes things more reprehensible,” he explained, taking a seat on a chair at the kitchen table.
He could tell his presence made her feel nervous, but she did her best to hide it from him.
“I thought cyborgs were some sort of android?” she queried, while she prepared the food.
“We’re not.” By now, he considered himself more cyborg than human and he actually felt proud of it, despite the human’s intents on making him feel less important for it. “Though cyborgs aren’t conceived in the usual way, they still come from an egg and a sperm. Of course, they are genetically enhanced and, inside each one of them, lives a true army of Nanocybots that protect their bodies, but they’re still mostly humans.”
“I had no idea, the government’s propaganda doesn’t mention any of that,” she stated, with a frown.
“Of course, it doesn’t, that wouldn’t suit their purpose.” He rubbed his face. So far, he hadn't noticed anyone around the cabin, so he assumed the signal blocker was working as expected and he allowed himself to relax. “What are you doing up here all alone? Don’t you know there are Taucets around looking for women just like you?” he asked, in a scolding tone.
She stood in silence for a few moments before she answered his question. “My father passed away last week. He died of a stroke, after refusing to take his meds the way he was supposed to. I guess he lost all interest in life after my mother died last year.” She let out a deep sigh. “I just needed some time alone.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. But it’s too dangerous for you to be up here all alone,” he insisted.
“Well, I’m not alone anymore, am I?” she asked, with sarcasm.
He nodded. “I’ll protect you while I’m here,” he assured her.
She turned to look at him. “And who’s going to protect me from you?” she asked, with a mocking scowl.
“If you keep your word, you have nothing to fear from me,” he promised, in a stern tone.
“You seem to forget I saw your reaction to me,” she pointed out.
“That doesn’t mean I’ll act upon it.”
She snorted and went back to what she was doing.
He got up and closed the distance between them, imprisoning her between his arms and against the kitchen counter. “I'm not alone in this and you know it. Should I worry about it too?” he asked, ironically.
She turned around to face him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about…” she mumbled.
He inhaled deep, his nostrils flaring as her scent flooded his senses. “I can smell your arousal and I can hear your heart pounding in your chest,” he warned her. “You can’t lie to me.”
She gulped. “What I feel is private, you have no right to intrude,” she protested.
“Oh, but I do, especially when it concerns me,” he assured her, leaning towards her, capturing her lips in a deep, passionate kiss.
For a moment, he thought she was going to push him away. She even put her hands on his chest, but it only lasted a second. She quickly surrendered to the passionate kiss and her hands slid up to his neck and wrapped themselves around him.
He only released her lips when they were both breathless. He picked her up in his arms and lifting her onto the kitchen counter, to get better access to her. They kissed each other insatiably, lost in their passion until the microwave oven warned them the food was ready.
“God…this is insane…” she mumbled as she pushed him away and jumped down from the counter.
Jarcor considered going after her and kissing her again, but something told him not to push her too far. She didn’t know him. He had invaded her home and imposed his presence on her, it was only natural she felt uncomfortable around him.
She served the food she had prepared and invited him to join her at the table. “I would appreciate if you would stay away from me,” she said, in a measured tone, when he took a seat in front of her. “You forced me to accept your presence in my house and I know there isn’t much I can do about it. But unless you’re planning on raping me, I really would appreciate you stay away from me.”
“You want it as much as I do.”
“Maybe, but it’s my prerogative to act or not on it,” she retorted, coldly.
He nodded but didn’t promise anything. He could still feel the passion between them, burning fiercely.
They ate in silence and when finished, he helped her to clear the kitchen and put the dirty plates in the dishwasher.
“There’s only one bedroom here─” she started saying when they were done.
“You can use the bed. The living room couch is more than enough for me,” he interrupted her, walking towards the piece of furniture in question. “I’m sure you’ll feel a lot safer with a closed door between us,” he added, sarcastically.
She snorted but turned around to head to her room. “What are the chances you’ll be out of here by morning?” she asked, without even looking at him.
“None. I’ll stay here as long as I can.”
She clearly didn’t like the idea, but she refrained from saying anything else. The slamming of the door was more than enough to let him know how she felt about it.
He chuckled, shaking his head. He would take care of her in due time. Right now, he had more important things to do, like using the computer he had spotted on a desk in the corner of the living room to work on hacking his circuitries and chips. He wanted everything ready for the moment he was inevitably captured.
Jarcor spent almost the whole night working on the computer and though he did his best to forget about the woman sleeping on the next room, his concentration was often broken when images of her crossed his mind.
The sun was about to rise in the sky when he decided to take a small nap. He needed to recover his energy, but a few minutes of sleep would be enough.