Chapter Ten

Melissa felt a flush creep over her cheeks as the massive cyborg lifted his body off her and bent to retrieve his clothes. She had never met a cyborg before, and now she had fucked one. To make matters even more embarrassing, they were underground in prison, and there was an entire horde of cyborgs above their heads. Her blush intensified and she wondered if they had heard everything.

But there was something about Thunder that was impossible for her to resist. She didn’t know if it was his massive body, with those strong arms, wide shoulders, and solid legs. There was his face, too, with a lantern jaw and Roman nose that were entrancing. He had full lips that begged her to kiss them. Gorgeous green eyes that sparkled like gemstones when they stared at her. For some reason, Melissa had expected a cyborg’s eyes to be flat and lifeless like a robot, but she had been completely wrong about that.

The fire in him attracted her as well. Thunder wasn’t a typical college guy who wanted to get laid and go back to a party. He had dominated her, taken her, and made her hunger for more. The two of them together were like magnetism, a force that couldn’t be stopped or fought against without extraordinary effort.

The other guys she had known back home were nothing like him. They were immature and only interested in enough sex to satisfy themselves before they went back to their video games. Melissa had to admit that she hadn’t been interested in fulfilling them, either. She’d never wanted so badly to do whatever a man wanted and to keep him happy.

She pulled on her jeans and reached for her shoes, reflecting on other men she had been with before. Melissa had always gone for the scholarly types. They were slim and geeky, and they spent their time in front of a computer screen or at the library. There wasn’t anything wrong with that, but she wished she had realized a long time ago how sexy it was to see a man like Thunder.

He was vigorous and resilient, and she doubted that anything ever scared him. The cyborg wasn’t the kind of person to launch headfirst into a dangerous situation without having a plan, and he would do whatever was necessary to get what he wanted. Even though they hadn’t known each other for very long, these aspects of his character were evident from his behavior.

Melissa watched Thunder as he dressed a few feet away from her. He didn’t seem embarrassed about his nudity as he pulled cargo khakis over one muscled leg. She couldn’t help but admire his washboard stomach until his t-shirt came down over it. Even clothed, he was a striking figure, strong and formidable. Thunder was a warrior, a beast, a man like no other. Her breath caught as she relived their coupling.

Thunder had instantly taken charge of the situation. Melissa wouldn’t have been able to resist the soldier even if she wanted to. His quick actions ensured that she had no chance of escape. Feeling his lips, touching his hard body, and remembering the way his big hands wandered appreciatively over her curves made her melt inside. The cyborg created a blazing sense of need that refused to disappear. The woman had been intimidated by the size of both his body and his cock, but she had to know what he felt like inside her.

And he had felt amazing. Thunder hadn’t been gentle, but she knew that he felt the same urges she did. His cock had buried itself deeply into her pussy, and her core tightened around it like it would never let it go. Melissa wanted to keep him in her arms forever so she could have him all to herself. It was strange to be so attracted to someone and terrified of him at the same time. He had not done anything to her that she didn’t want, but she didn’t know what he would do next.

Poor, pathetic Jake. He thought they were taking a road trip for a grand, glorious adventure and a little bit of pussy on the side. All of his wishes could have come true if he knew how to be a man about it. Compared to Thunder, Jake was nothing more than a child. Melissa didn’t know what she had ever seen in him. She hoped he was safe somewhere, but she wouldn’t feel sorry for him if he had managed to get himself into trouble with Purity Force. That was his own fault.

The fact remained that she was Thunder’s prisoner. Even if he felt differently about her now, the cyborgs upstairs would not agree with his conclusion. And once she got out of this building, either with Thunder or without him, Purity Force would be waiting for her. Did they know she was a cyborg sympathizer? If they suspected she was, they wouldn’t let her stroll out the door. Enemies and obstacles were everywhere, and the sex had only been a brief distraction.

Thunder set his mouth into a grim line as he finished tying his boots and loomed in front of Melissa. The girl slowly raised her head, lingering on each element of his firm body until she met his eyes. She fought to keep a silly grin from overtaking her face. “What now?” she asked quietly. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answer. It wouldn’t be as simple as walking out of the building and living happily ever after. Melissa didn’t even know if the cyborg would want to interact with her again.

“I’ll have to figure out what to do with you.” Thunder looked at her like he was a scientist who had just discovered a new species. Despite the way he had talked earlier in front of the other cyborgs, he seemed less self-assured when he was by himself.

She nodded, trying to find the right words to express how she was feeling. Melissa didn’t want to embarrass herself and fall at his feet or beg Thunder to let her stay with him. She would have done anything to fuck him again, but emotions couldn’t influence a cyborg. “Do you still think you can use me to get past Purity Force?”

Thunder squinted his green eyes slightly. “Maybe I could have if there were fewer of them. At first, I thought we would easily overpower them. I wouldn’t need a hostage or to make any threats because we could blast our way out. But the entire perimeter is covered now. It’s going to be a long fight to get out of here.”

Melissa looked around the room, paying attention to it for the first time. She had been too scared when she came down to notice anything and had focused on Thunder. Now that she could given it meticulous attention, she saw that the shelves were full of canned goods. “At least we won’t be hungry.”

Thunder shook his head. “I don’t mean that we should wait around while they lay siege to the building. It’s going to be dangerous in here with Purity Force on the brink of invasion and the cyborg resistance. The building is secure, but that’s not necessarily to our advantage.” His viridian eyes drifted up to the ceiling. Unfortunately, his ears were not cybernetically enhanced. He had no way to hear what the other cyborgs were saying while they formulated a plan of their own.

“Are you saying that there aren’t any other ways out?” She scanned the walls, ignoring the shelves full of provisions in the hopes of finding a passageway out of the basement. “It’s an old building. You would think there would be a coal chute or a crawlspace.”

Melissa wanted to talk to Thunder about what they had done together. Had it meant anything to him? What about the future? It was easier to worry about escape and avoid the subject.

The cyborg looked briefly at the cinder block walls but shook his head. “I’ve already analyzed this building. There’s a door on each side, but those are the only exits. There are no visible windows, fire escapes, or ventilation hatches. Think about it. If there were other ways out of here, Purity Force would have someone guarding them.” Thunder sounded confident even though he wasn’t happy about the information.

Melissa threw her hands into the air. She didn’t know how to help him. In fact, she didn’t know why she was even trying. Thunder had trained for these circumstances. She had never been to war or escaped from anything more dangerous than a post-holiday sale at the department store.

An idea struck her that might not have occurred to the cyborgs. “What if I talk to them?”

Thunder had been pacing the floor, and he looked at her curiously. “What do you mean?”

“I could make a phone call. I might have to go through the local police to reach Purity Force. I don’t know how it would work exactly, but I could try to explain that you just want to live. Maybe I could negotiate with them so you could leave peacefully.” Melissa didn’t have any experience breaking people out of jail, so she felt like she didn’t need any experience as a negotiator either.

She felt confident about her idea. If the cyborgs tried to storm out of the building, they would just start a firefight. They needed someone who could act as an ambassador between the two parties. Purity Force would never listen to a cyborg who was nothing more than a killing machine. There was a chance they would listen to her.

Melissa didn’t know if a cyborg could laugh, but the look on Thunder’s face suggested that he wanted to. One corner of his mouth turned up, and his cheek on the same side moved toward his eye. “Do you think you can talk your way out of here? Purity Force isn’t interested in anything you have to say unless it is ‘kill all the cyborgs’.”

She got up from the bunk and suddenly thought about Jake. The memory was awkward, considering what she had just done with Thunder and what she wouldn’t do with the college boy. Thunder had intriguing ideas. Jake had imagined they could break in and save the cyborgs, and the only weapons they needed were their words. Jake might not have been quite right, but it didn’t mean that he was entirely wrong.

“They might be,” she countered. “Do they know there’s a human in here with you cyborgs? Purity Force is more likely to listen to me than they are to you, no offense. It’s worth a shot.” She started to pace around the room, ready to put a plan into action. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a phone with her. Jake had insisted they leave everything behind when they came to rescue the cyborgs. There must be a phone in the building somewhere.

“It’s how to get yourself shot.” Thunder pointed at the ceiling with a thick finger. “Did you notice how angry my leader became when he saw you in here? He knows the anti-cyborg coalition will not react well when they find out you’re here. They’ll either assume you are a sympathizer and cart you away to prison, or they’ll decide you’re a victim and make them want to kill us all immediately. The end game doesn’t look good.” He was getting furious.

Melissa couldn’t blame him. A shadowy government organization wanted to destroy the cyborgs, and they had the public’s support behind them. Purity Force wasn’t known for being kind or easy to talk to. She sat back down on the bed.

“Okay, maybe you have a point. What do you suggest?”

“I propose we go back in time and stop your band of Liberators from coming here in the first place.” He scowled down at her and Melissa slid back farther onto the mattress. “I don’t care how noble your intentions were. It was stupid.”

She stuck her tongue out at Thunder. Melissa didn’t like being insulted, and his words hurt more considering she had just fucked him. “We were trying to help. Everyone concerned about cyborgs is protesting or an Internet warrior. They aren’t doing anything productive. Jake thought that if we came here and did something, people would start waking up.”

“Jake?” Thunder spat out his name like it left a bad taste in his mouth. “Is that the sniveling wimp who left you here with me instead of trying to defend you?”

Melissa hadn’t thought about it that way. She didn’t want to admit that Thunder was right. Jake hadn’t even tried to talk to the cyborg, much less take action to save her. He had left her without bothering to look back. “Yes, that was Jake,” she admitted. “But what I’m saying is that he had a good idea. If we were able to free just one cyborg, we would have made a statement to the world.”

“You made a statement all right. It just wasn’t the one you wanted people to hear. You ended up trapping all of us.” Thunder kept his distance from her, making his hands into fists. “From what I’ve seen, it’s easy for humans to get big ideas and think they can change the world.”

“I’d like to,” Melissa whispered. “I had never met a cyborg before you, but it’s an experience I’ll never forget.”

“Are you saying I was your first?”

“Shut up.” Melissa turned her head so Thunder wouldn’t see her smile. Laughter was out of place, but it made her feel better. Thunder might not have agreed with the Liberators, but she thought could get him to understand.

Time was what she needed. Lying back on the bed, Melissa wondered if she and Thunder would make it out of the building alive.