Seventeen
His female was a skilled captain. Ghost’s chest expanded with pride. She flew ships like they were an extension of herself.
But not even she could outrun warships and battle stations in a skimmer.
And he couldn’t inflict much damage on the enemy vessels with the lone gun he had at his disposal. The skimmer wasn’t designed for battle.
He unfastened the straps confining his female, lifted her, and slid into her chair, seating her across his bare legs. She sighed with contentment.
That didn’t ease his guilt.
“Failed you.” He’d failed to safeguard her as he’d failed the other females.
She bracketed his face with her hands. “No male could have protected me”—her gaze moved to the Deneb female—“us.”—she amended—“better. I’m proud to call you my male.”
“If I hadn’t met you, I would have died of thirst.” Zielony shrugged. “The dryness is gone and I’m no longer alone.”
“We’re together.” His female smiled at him, her bravery, her beauty breaking his heart. “None of us will die alone.”
“Mine.” He held her close, burrowing his face into her hair, breathing in her distinct scent.
She petted his shoulders, his arms for three heartbeats. Ghost reveled in every stroke, every touch. Before her, he’d known such solitude, such pain. She brought him peace.
Love.
When she had said those words to him, he’d inwardly howled. This courageous, intelligent, giving human female loved him, a damaged warrior who struggled merely to form a sentence, who had failed to safeguard the beings in his care again and again.
He couldn’t fail her. He couldn’t.
Help, he transmitted over the cyborg lines, shamelessly pleading for assistance.
It was doubtful any warrior would be positioned near Deneb 9. The cyborgs stationed on the planet had already revolted.
And all of the males listening would know he hadn’t protected his female. If no assistance arrived, that would be his legacy, the one thing for which he was remembered. He’d be the cyborg who couldn’t safeguard the being meant for him, the being he loved.
But Ghost would accept that fate, sacrifice his pride to try to save her.
We’re coming, C Model. Force, the J model from the Humanoid Alliance armada, surprised him by responding. Transmit the frequency that the cyborg council sent us and stay alive. We’ll locate you.
Ghost accessed the control panel, complying with Force’s orders, doubting the J Model could help with the situation. How?
How long would they be waiting for a rescue? How long would they have to stay alive?
The J Models would be positioned in a different sector, far from Deneb 9. The planet wasn’t on the armada’s route to the cyborg Homeland.
Ghost need assistance now, not two planet rotations in the future.
When we freed ourselves, we turned around and followed you. Force’s tone was dry. We’re J models. It wasn’t very difficult.
They were close to Deneb 9. Ghost’s shoulders lowered slightly. But how close?
The communications system continued to beep, the Humanoid Alliance trying to hail them.
Fast. They hadn’t much time.
We’re sending out warships. We’ll be there soon. Force assured him. This is twice we’ve saved your female. You owe us your left nut for this.
Ghost grunted. He didn’t know why the J model wanted one of his testicles but he would pay that price to protect his female.
“Cyborgs coming.” He told her.
“They are?” Her eyebrows lifted in disbelief.
He nodded.
“When?”
“Soon.” Ghost paused. “Stay alive.” That was their mission.
“Yes, that would be a good plan.” His female laughed, relief in her mirth, a relief he shared. “We won’t do that if we stay here.” She swung her legs forward. “Once that Humanoid Alliance ship realizes we’re not responding to their hail, they’ll shoot us.” She tapped on the control panel. “If they can find us.”
Another captain might have moved her ship slowly, allowed it to drift around the battle stations, until the cyborgs arrived. His female zipped the skimmer through the crowded space, joined a formation of warships.
“Mine.” He growled, sensing the proximity of the J models.
“They won’t shoot at their own ships.” She grinned.
The warship to their right exploded.
“Or maybe they would.” His female veered the skimmer to the left, flying it under a battle station. The top of their ship glided along the larger vessel’s shield.
“Red dots all around us.” The Deneb female shook with fear. She hadn’t his female’s courage.
Ghost couldn’t shoot at the enemy. If he did that, the Humanoid Alliance officers would realize they weren’t one of them. He helped stabilize the skimmer.
Two warships flew beside them, one to their right, one to their left.
His female increased the skimmer’s speed. Components rattled.
The warships accelerated also. A third vessel trailed them.
“We’re boxed in.” Her face screwed up in determination. “I can’t shake them.”
You can fly, C Model. Force laughed.
Fraggin’ hole. Female, Ghost grumbled.
A human flies like that? The J model sounded impressed.
The other warriors whistled and made gibes.
“Cyborg,” Ghost told his female.
“Those are cyborgs?”
He grunted.
“Thank the stars.” His female’s shoulders slumped. “We would have been dead if they hadn’t been ours.”
Ours. Ghost’s lips curled upward. His female considered them to be her brethren also.
Follow us in, Force instructed.
He relayed that information. The warship on their right slipped in front of them. More warships joined their formation, escorting them into deeper space, blasting any ship that got in their way.
They approached a battle station.
“Ghost?” His female glanced at him, her pitch raised with her concern.
“Safe.” He understood her trepidation. It was formerly a Humanoid Alliance vessel. But it now transmitted the cyborg frequency and some of the chatter on the cyborg lines originated from the battle station.
“Are you certain?” the Deneb female asked.
“If Ghost says it is safe, it’s safe.” His female answered for him, her faith buoying his battered confidence. “I trust his judgment.”
“Cyborg,” he explained.
“There were cyborgs on Deneb 9.” The Deneb female crossed her arms in front of her. “They didn’t look like you. They resembled humans and they fought for the Humanoid Alliance, killing everybody they saw.”
“The cyborgs had to fight for them.” His female guided the skimmer into the battle station’s docking bay, following Force’s warship. “The Humanoid Alliance had them enslaved. But the cyborgs rebelled. They’re now free to be the honorable males they truly are.”
Ghost grunted. Only his female would consider him to be an honorable male, forgiving his past actions, his past failures.
“That was why the cyborgs suddenly left.” The Deneb female’s face brightened. “I wondered about that.”
“Yes, they escaped.” His female blinked. “With quite a few ships. Look at them all.” She gazed at the ships in the docking bay with wonder. “They’re beautiful.”
Ghost made a note in his processors to source a replacement warship for his female.
They found an open berth for the skimmer and cut the engines. The noise around him lessened. The voices in his head grew even louder.
Ghost stood, cradling his female in his arms. They were his brethren. His female was safe amongst them. Yet their proximity agitated him. They were too close.
“It’s okay.” His female stroked his chest as he carried her through the ship. “We’re safe.”
“Are we?” the Deneb female muttered, trailing them.
They exited the skimmer. Every cyborg in the docking bay turned and stared at them.
Ghost growled softly, shielding his female from their view.
“We saved your female yet again, C model.” Force strode toward them, a wide smile on his permanently tanned face, his humanlike brown eyes twinkling. He was wearing body armor and boots, was carrying an arsenal on his smaller form. “You owe us—”
He stopped walking, his nostrils flaring.
“Threat?” Ghost hunched over his female, protecting her with his body, and he turned, scanning the area, looking for the source of the danger.
He saw nothing that alarmed him.
“There’s no threat.” Force verified, breathing deeply. His smile turned goofy. “What is that delectable smell?”
“Mine.” Ghost’s grip on his female tightened. He wouldn’t allow the other male to touch her.
“It isn’t your female.” Force dismissed Ghost’s claim, wrinkling his nose. “She smells like you. That other scent.” He looked past Ghost. “Is that coming from you?” He gaped at the Deneb female.
She stepped closer to Ghost and his female.
“Ours,” Ghost said.
The J Model didn’t want his female. He wanted the Deneb female.
Ghost didn’t relax with that revelation. There remained too many males in the docking bay. The cyborgs gathered around them, their gazes curious. None of them had females of their own.
They wouldn’t touch his.
He curled his top lip, rumbling a warning.
“They are looking at us, cyborg.” His female petted his bare skin. “That’s all they’re doing. There’s no need to kill anyone.”
He huffed.
“And only you call our new friend Ours.” She smiled back at the Deneb female. “Her name is Zielony.”
“Zielony.” Force stared at the Deneb female. “You’re beautiful, little warrior.”
Ghost looked at the female. She wasn’t his, held no appeal to him.
“I’m alive.” The Deneb female locked gazes with the J Model. “That’s more important than being beautiful. If it weren’t for Ghost”—she inclined her green head toward him—“and Lethe, I’d be dead. They saved me.”
“You’d be dead,” Force repeated, his body stiffening. “You saved her.” His gaze swung to Ghost. “You saved my female.”
Ghost grunted. They saved a female. He hadn’t known the female belonged to the J Model.
“Delete my earlier comment.” Force’s gaze returned to the Deneb female. “You don’t owe us anything, C Model. I owe you. Anything I have is yours. All you have to do is ask.”
“Chamber.” Ghost immediately took him up on his offer. He needed a space where he could safeguard his female. There were too many beings around them.
“Take the commander’s chamber. It’s the largest.”
Ghost was moving before the J model stopped talking. The Deneb female squawked, as did his own. He ignored them. His female’s safety was his sole priority.
“Are there more females on the planet?” One of the cyborgs expressed what many of his brethren were thinking.
Ghost didn’t answer. None of the females he’d sensed had belonged to his brethren but that didn’t mean there weren’t any remaining on the planet.
“There are many more females on Deneb 9.” His female interpreted the question more literally. “And they all need rescuing. The Humanoid Alliance is trying to kill them.”
“Fraggin’ hole.” Cyborgs rushed for their ships, the transmission lines humming with excitement, every male hoping to find his female, to have someone, to no longer be alone.
“The cyborgs will save the Denebs and end the killing.” His female said with smug satisfaction. “That wouldn’t have happened without us, without me. By surviving, by taking that last seat on the last ship off Mercury Minor, I have helped save the lifespans of thousands of innocent beings.”
“Good deal.” He nodded. His female’s debt had been paid also.
“Yes, it was a good deal.” She laughed, the light bubbly sound filling the corridor.
Cyborgs stared at his female as they hurried past him. Ghost covered as much of her as possible, not wanting them to touch her, to look at her, to even listen to her.
One J Model ventured too close.
Ghost glared at him. Mine.
He shared footage of what he’d done to the Humanoid Alliance warriors on the warship. That was mild compared to what he’d do to a male daring to touch his female.
The cyborg lowered his gaze and stepped to the side. The other males gave Ghost a wider berth.
That was wise.
He was one wrong move away from killing them all.
“Easy, cyborg.” His female, reading his dark mood, brushed her fingertips up and down his neck. “We’re safe.”
They would be truly safe when they were alone. Ghost entered the commander’s chamber with her in his arms and locked the doors behind him.
The warriors were cyborgs. If they wanted to enter the chamber, they could force the doors open but that would take time, time he’d use to prepare.
Ghost walked through the space, examining every compartment, scanning the entire area multiple times. There were no threats, no dangers.
His processors told him his female was safe.
His primitive soul questioned that truth. Visions of past battles flooded his organic brain. His muscles remained flexed tight. Energy surged through his circuits. He needed to expel the pent-up tension, take action, fight, kill.
Or breed.
Ghost set his female on the sleeping support. “Mine.” He pushed the protective chest covering over her shoulders. “Need.” He grasped the collar of her garment and yanked, ripping the fabric off her lush body. “Now.” He had to be inside her.
“Now isn’t soon enough, cyborg.” She parted her legs, revealing her pink pussy lips. The fragile folds glistened with wetness. He breathed deeply. She smelled delicious.
Ghost cupped her ass, lifting her to his mouth. His gaze met hers. He extended his tongue and slowly licked her. Sparks lit her dark eyes and she trembled in his hands.
He rumbled with satisfaction. Her taste filled his mouth. Her scent teased his nostrils.
He burrowed his face into her pussy, eating her out with a vengeance, sucking on her folds, delving into her entrance with his tongue. She wiggled and whimpered, pressing against him and then retreating.
Ghost held her to him, laving her flesh, breathing her in. He wasn’t a J Model, wasn’t skilled with words, with compliments. He was a C Model. He showed her how he felt, cherishing her with his mouth, wearing her scent on his skin.
“Ghost.” She called his name, telling all of the cyborgs on board the battle station whom she belonged to. “Yes. Yes.” She beat the surface of the sleeping support with her tiny fists.
He plunged into her, breeding with his tongue, stroking her inner walls. She panted. Her juices wet his cheeks, dripped down his chin.
She was alive, safe, his. He nipped her pussy lips and she yelped, more wetness streaming from her core. Not a drop was wasted. He gorged himself on his female, mouthing over her, flicking her flesh with his tongue.
“Ghost.” She pleaded, her voice stretched with desire.
His female needed release and he needed to claim her. Now. Again. Always. He nibbled around her clit.
“Now, Ghost.” Her impatience made him smile.
He sucked on that little button and she screamed, smacking her pussy against his face. Her curves quivered. Her musk hung heavily in the air.
He couldn’t wait any longer. Ghost flipped her over, drew her hips back until she was positioned on her hands and knees in front of him.
“Yes.” She moaned. His female liked to be bred with this way.
He liked it too. It gave him more control and gifted him with a great view of her lush ass. He curled his fingers over her hips, probed with his cock, prompting more appreciative noises from his female before he found her tight little entrance.
He drove into her, submerging his cock up to his base.
Enhanced cyborg senses weren’t required to verify his female’s verbal ownership of him. Even a human could hear her cry his name.
“Mine.” He withdrew and thrust into her, withdrew and thrust into her, taking her wildly, fiercely. Her pussy vibrated around his shaft, their breeding extending her release.
“Love. Love.” She repeated that word, the sound of it on her lips crazing him with passion.
She loved him. Ghost pounded his cock into her pussy, spanking her ass with his hips. “Love.” He added his voice to the song. “Love.”
He loved her with everything he was, every shattered piece of him. She was the voice in the silence, the light in the dark, a soothing touch in a universe of pain, a reason for living when he’d had none.
At the beginning of them, of their relationship, he hadn’t the bandwidth to know anything else yet he’d recognized her, what she was to him, what she would always be. She pulled him back from the edge of insanity, calmed the savage beast he’d become.
He could have lost her this planet rotation. Ghost plunged into her warmth, into her snug embrace, needing that physical connection with his female, seeking that reassurance.
They rutted like it was their first time, their last time, the vigor of their breeding crashing the sleeping support against the wall again and again, the boom, boom, boom adding a tempo to their one word chorus.
Their skin heated at points of contact. Sweat beaded over his female’s back, wet her golden curls. He licked along her spine, tasting the exertion of their breeding.
She trembled under him, drove back on every thrust, meeting him halfway, strong, courageous, his equal, his only. Ghost’s balls tightened, hugging his shaft. Pressure formed over his simulated tailbone.
“Love.” His voice deepened. “Mine. Love.”
“Yes.” She arched her back. “Yours. Love. Always.”
Always. He’d take her to the cyborg Homeland, where she’d be safe, and spend the rest of forever by her side. Ghost lowered over his female, surrounding her with his body, with his love, intent on pleasing her, trying to delay his own release.
She had other ideas, clenching around his shaft. It was too good, too much. He roared, thrust into her until there was nothing left, and let go. Cum propelled from his tip, splattered against her inner walls. She screamed, bucking, writhing under him.
Operating on purely primal instinct, he contained her movements, not allowing her to damage herself, to sever their link. He wasn’t thinking. His processors had shut down. His brain could only hold the euphoria he was feeling. There wasn’t room for anything else.
She drained him of all his essence, massaging his shaft, loving him with her pussy. Bliss swept over him in heavy waves, rising and falling.
He shuddered. His arms folded and he fell, taking his female down with him. She squawked in protest. He rolled, taking her with him.
She lay on top of his body. The tremors jiggling her curves gradually subsided. She became still, her form limp.
“I love you,” she whispered.
His cock slipped from her heat as he turned her to face him. Ghost gazed at his female. Her eyes were soft. Her lips were parted. Her hair was mussed, her golden curls in disarray. There was a smudge of ash across her chin.
She was the most gorgeous creature in existence yet her beauty expanded past her mere appearance. It was reflected in her kindness, her strength, her bravery, her caring.
“Love you, Mine.” He allowed all of his feelings to show.
Her breath hitched. “You love me?”
“Love you,” he repeated. “Always.”
“Oh, Ghost.” Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “You always know exactly what to say.”
Ghost smiled at her. Only his female would think that.