Maggie’s hands trembled and she clutched them together in her lap as she watched the cyborg, who seemed content to stare at her. It was almost as if he’d never seen a human before. He tore his gaze from her body and looked around the room before glancing back at her again. There was something about his gaze that left her unsettled. She’d seen lust burning in men’s eyes before, but this time her body responded to the call. She should be screaming her head off, demanding to be taken back to Earth, but the truth was that something about the cyborg made her feel safe.

She’d heard of cyborgs, of course, but she’d never met one before. Her father had once warned her the only thing more dangerous than a pirate was a cyborg, but so far Lathim hadn’t seemed to want to hurt her. If the hard cock straining against his pants was any indication, he had other plans for her. Maggie knew she should be terrified, but she couldn’t deny that the cyborg was rather sexy with his scruffy jaw and long hair, even if it was pure white against his pale lavender skin.

The way he’d touched her in the cargo hold had been gentle and calming. There had been no malice in his touch, no promise of pain. He’d been kind and had kept the others from touching her. She knew it had more to do with the fact he wanted her for himself, but he could have easily passed her along to his crew and allowed them to do whatever they wanted with her. But he hadn’t. For some reason, he wanted to claim her for himself.

His leather suit creaked as he walked closer and knelt at her feet. Slowly, he reached for her hands, clasping them gently. While there was lust blazing in his eyes, she saw kindness there too. Maybe the stories of his kind had been exaggerated? Or was he only being nice to her because he wanted her in his bed? Her cheeks warmed as she thought about them being tangled together where she sat.

Being in space most of her life, and never far from her father’s watchful eye, she’d never been with a guy before. He’d been overly protective. She’d had a few stolen kisses from some of the younger crew members, but once her father found out, they always found themselves off the ship and far away from Maggie. But her father wasn’t here now. Her eyes misted as she thought about the pirates killing him in front of her. Ever since her mother died, it had just been the two of them, and now she had no one.

A tear slipped down her cheek before she could stop it, and the cyborg reached out to wipe it away.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” the cyborg said softly, his voice deep and rich.

“They’re all dead,” she whispered. “My father, his friends… all of them.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “The men who killed them have been dealt with and can no longer harm anyone. I would bring your father back if I could.”

There was a chime that filled the room and he stood, moving to the door. It slid open and revealed another cyborg on the other side, holding a box. He looked over Lathim’s shoulder and raked her with his gaze. Focusing on his captain again, he squared his jaw.

“I’d like to claim the human,” the cyborg said.

“No.” Lathim took the box from him and stepped back, letting the door close in the cyborg’s face. Anger flashed in his eyes when he turned to face her and Maggie hoped it wasn’t directed at her. “You’re going to be a lot of trouble, aren’t you?”

She bit her lip and refrained from commenting. Her father had always called her trouble, said the men flocked to her. It seemed the same was true with cyborgs. She remembered Lathim’s words about being the only female on a ship of ten males. Maggie wasn’t stupid and knew that if they decided to take her, to force her to submit to them, she would have little choice in the matter. They were bigger, stronger, and far outnumbered her. The only hope she had of escaping such a fate was the man standing in front of her. Her life rested in his hands.

Lathim set the box down and moved a little closer.

“You have a decision to make, Maggie. I could claim you, make you mine in every way possible, without even asking if that’s what you want. There are nine other cyborgs on this ship, and right now, they all would like to possess you. A female who can’t run from us in terror is an anomaly.”

“Why would I run from you?” she asked. Sure, he was large and maybe a little scary with those bulging muscles, but she knew a good man when she saw one. And Lathim was a good man.

“Do you not fear me? Does the fact I’m cyborg not terrify you?”

She hesitated, but realized that was telling enough. Maggie found him attractive, and something told her that she could trust him. It wasn’t so much that she was afraid of him, but more afraid of what would happen if she displeased him. If she kept him happy, he’d keep her safe. But what would happen if she made him angry?

He gave a humorless laugh. “As I thought. And yet you’re here, in my quarters, with nowhere else to go. I could tie you to my bed and do whatever I wanted to you.”

Her thighs clenched together at the thought of the rather sexy cyborg claiming her. She wasn’t scared of him, but the others… At least he’d said they each wanted to possess her. She hoped that meant they had no plans to pass her around and share her amongst the crew like the pirates had planned to do. She’d known that someday she would get married, but she’d always dreamed a prince would come and spirit her away. Nowhere in any of her fantasies had there been a bearded cyborg with an erection so large it both fascinated and scared her.

His gaze skimmed over her body and a smirk graced his lips. “Or perhaps that scenario doesn’t bother you as much as I’d thought it would. Perhaps little Maggie would enjoy being tied to my bed.”

Her cheeks warmed but she held his gaze.

He reached for her, pulling her to her feet and pressed her against his chest. “Is that what it is? You want to feel me pound into you while you scream my name?”

She gasped and her hands plastered to his chest, feeling his steady heartbeat beneath her fingers. Did he have a real heart or a mechanical one? And did she really care? There was a glint in his eyes that should have warned her, but nothing could have prepared her for the devastation of his kiss. His lips devoured her, his tongue thrusting into her mouth to bend her to his will. His beard was soft, but he was hard everywhere else.

His walked her back toward the bed that was bolted to the floor. His hands slid from her hips to her ass, giving her a gentle squeeze as he lifted her. Maggie wrapped her legs around his waist and couldn’t help but moan at the feel of his hard cock pressing against her. Lathim eased her onto the bed, never breaking contact between them. Her mind screamed that he was a stranger and this was insane, but her body came alive with every touch.

His lips caressed her neck, his teeth lightly grazing her. Maggie’s heart pounded out of control as he made her body respond as it never had before, made her crave things she’d never wanted until now. Yes, she’d been curious with other men, wondering what happened behind closed doors, more how it felt than the mechanics, but no one had ever made her want to surrender herself to them before. For the first time, she wondered if those romance books she’d sneaked into her quarters were true. Did the earth really move? Would she see stars? Could the cyborg make her feel complete in a way no one ever had before? Or was it all just fairytales meant to entertain?

A chime sounded again and he growled against her sensitive skin.

“Go away,” he barked before continuing his seductive assault on her body.

“Captain, we have a problem,” a voice called through the door.

He cursed and pulled away from her, storming over to the door. Before it opened, Maggie pulled her legs up to her chest and made sure the shirt adequately covered her. The doors slid open and another cyborg stood in the doorway, the one who had been with the captain when he’d found her. What was his name? Rorwick?

“What can’t possibly wait?” Lathim asked with bite.

“There’s a problem with engine two, the men are fighting over the sex bots, and there’s a distress call from a life pod a few hours from here.” Rorwick hesitated. “The life pod indicates there’s a human inside. Could be a female.”

Lathim sighed and turned to face Maggie. “I need to take care of a few things. Your belongings are in that box,” he said pointing to it. “You’re not a prisoner in this room, but if you venture out into the ship be warned the others may try to convince you to mate with them.”

The last thing she wanted was to face off against nine cyborgs who wanted her for their own, but she didn’t think she could handle being locked in this room with nothing to do either. Not after having hidden for so long from the pirates. She needed something to do. It was doubtful they’d packed any of her books. Being men, they probably hadn’t thought of such a thing. She dug through the box and pulled out a blue shirt and black leggings. Her boots were in the bottom of the box. Two sports bras had been thrown in, but she didn’t see a single pair of panties.

While she didn’t want to wash away Lathim’s touch, she did want to get rid of any remembrance of the pirates and quickly moved into the cleansing unit. It was similar to the one on her father’s ship and she quickly cleaned up and got dressed. Her hair soaked her shirt and she dug through the box until she found her hairbrush and a package of hair ties. After braiding her hair, she stared at the doors that led to the hall and the rest of the ship. She hadn’t paid much attention when Lathim had brought her on board, but how hard could it be to locate him?

She stared at the doors and waited for them to open, but nothing happened. He hadn’t given a voice command to open them. There was a panel beside the door and she tried placing her hand over the screen. The doors still didn’t open. Maggie growled in frustration and looked around the room. Maybe if she could pop the panel door off, she could figure out which wires would open the doors. She stared at the panel again and pressed a few buttons to see what would happen.

“Maggie, what are you doing?” Lathim’s voice said over an intercom.

“Trying to leave the room. The doors won’t open.”

A moment later, the doors slid open and his voice filled the room again. “I’m in the command center. Take a right out of the room and when the hallway splits, veer left, then taken another left.”

Right. Left. Left. She nodded and set off to find Lathim, her boots clanging on the metal floor of the ship. A few cyborgs gazed at her in curiosity as she passed them, a few giving her a smile, but no one bothered her. She wondered if Lathim had warned them away, or if they were just giving her some space. The cyborg who had come to Lathim’s quarters and asked to claim her was walking down the hall and she tensed a little.

His gaze slid over her and the look in his eyes clearly said he wanted her. She made to pass by him, but he stuck his arm across the hall, blocking her way. Maggie took a step back, putting some room between them. He advanced until she backed into a wall.

“Little human, I would treat you very well if you were mine,” he said. “We could have a lot of fun in my quarters until we return to my world.”

Maggie shook her head. “I just want to find Lathim.”

His jaw hardened. “The captain shouldn’t claim the first woman we find. He should give you to a crew member instead of being selfish.”

“Please let me pass,” Maggie said softly. “I don’t want to belong to you.”

His gaze hardened and he took a step back, allowing her to squeeze by him. She hastened her steps, hurrying to Lathim’s side, and hopefully to safety. She didn’t think the other cyborg would harm her, but he seemed quite intent to claim her for himself. There was something about him that chilled her and left her wanting to flee his presence. There wasn’t laughter and kindness in his eyes, not like Lathim’s. The determined cyborg seemed harder, deadlier. If she made him angry, she would fear for her life.

When Maggie burst into the command center, Lathim smiled at her, but the smile slipped from his face and he hurried to her side. His hands gripped her biceps as he stared down at her.

“What’s wrong, Maggie?”

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

His eyes narrowed. “Don’t lie to me. My scan of your body says your heart is racing and your body is in distress. Did someone harm you on your way here?”

She shook her head. “I ran into the cyborg who came to your room wanting to claim me. He didn’t want to let me pass.”

“Did he threaten you?” Lathim asked softly, his voice far too calm for the tension in his body.

“No, but I don’t like the way he looks at me. The others I passed were friendly, but he scares me.”

Lathim turned to the cyborg in control of the ship. “Contact the Wayfarer and request they meet us at the Alpha9 trading post. I think it’s time Haftyr worked on another ship. Request Norkov to be traded to us.”

The cyborg gave him a grim look but nodded. She didn’t see or hear him open communications, but a moment later he spoke.

“It’s done. They’ve changed course to head that way.”

“Thank you, Zorlok.”

Lathim took her hand and led her over to an empty seat. He sprawled in it, pulling her down onto his lap. Maggie felt a little self-conscious with the other cyborgs watching them, but she tried to ignore them and watched out the large window at the chunks of space rock floating past them.

“Sir,” Zorlok said. “The life pod has not yet been retrieved. Its location is on the way to Alpha9. Should we still intercept it?”

“Yes. With some luck, there will be a female on board.”

“And if it’s a male?” Zorlok asked.

“Detain him until we reach Alpha9, then set him free. Make sure the crew knows not to harm him. The last thing we need is someone else spreading rumors that we’re vicious killers.”

Zorlok nodded.

Maggie curled against Lathim and rested her head on his shoulder. Exhaustion pulled at her, and with his arms cradling her safely against his broad chest, she let her eyes close and her body relax. It had been two or three days since she’d last slept, but her belly cramped from hunger and she couldn’t sleep. Her stomach rumbled and Lathim’s hands tensed on her.

“When is the last time you ate?” he asked softly.

“Before the pirates boarded us,” she said.

He cursed softly and held her tighter. A few minutes later a cyborg came into the command center with a plate of food and a cup of something orange to drink. Maggie sat up and reached for them, but her hands shook. Lathim accepted them from the cyborg and urged her to eat.

“Anything else, Captain?” the cyborg asked.

“That will be all for now, Tenz. Thank you.”

Maggie’s hands were shaking so badly she could barely get the food into her mouth.

“Easy,” Lathim crooned in her ear. “Eat slowly so you don’t make yourself sick. There’s plenty more. Fill your belly and then rest a while. I’ll hold you and make sure no one disturbs you.”

Lathim set the cup down next to his seat and picked up a slice of meat, offering it to her. Maggie bit into it and chewed before swallowing and opening her mouth for another bite. He fed her every scrap of food on the plate then helped her drink the sweet juice. When she was finished, someone carried the empty plate and cup away while she curled against Lathim again.

His hand rubbed her back as she settled against him and closed her eyes, and within minutes, she was asleep.