“I’ll make this up to you later.”
She couldn’t talk. Flint was pounding into her body. The pleasure was almost painful. She stared up into his face with, fighting the urge to shut her eyes to feel the bliss of him but she wanted to watch Flint’s face. His eyes were closed and then she saw an almost agonized look on his face a second before his body tensed as his mouth opened. He jerked inside her with every spurt of semen that shot into her as he came.
Flint’s beautiful eyes opened when he stopped moving his cock inside her. His expression was solemn. “I knew I wouldn’t last. I felt the need to claim you and I got too turned-on to hold out.”
“It’s all right.”
He chuckled. “I’ll make it up to you in our room.” He shifted his weight so he could balance on one arm. He eyed the restraints and then slowly grinned. His gaze lowered to hers. “Or I could make it up to you now.”
“I’d like to go back to the room.”
He smiled. “You can’t stop me though, can you?”
She stared at him, unsure of what he would do. He smiled wider as he backed up so he knelt between her spread, tied-open thighs. His eyes lifted and she saw his sexy eyes narrow.
“How many times can I make you come for me?”
She was speechless. She didn’t know the answer. Flint chuckled as he reached for her, his fingers teasing her clit. He never looked away from her.
“We’re going to find out.”
Her heart pounded as Flint’s other hand reached up her body. His fingers cupped her breast. He squeezed hard enough to make her moan but he didn’t hurt her.
“I never want you to forget who you belong to, Mira. I’m going to make you come over and over again. Sometimes I’ll fuck you between bouts of you screaming out my name.”
“Flint,” she moaned.
“That’s right. Tell me you belong to me.”
He pinched her clit, teasing it by giving light tugs as the thumb and finger of his other hand repeated the same action to her nipple.
She was turned-on again. “I’m yours, Flint. I belong to you.”
“Don’t ever forget it, Mirasia Carver. Never run from me again. Swear it to me.”
“I swear,” she moaned.
Chapter Twelve
Mira was damn nervous as she dressed in the shirt that bared her shoulders and put on pants. She paced, her gaze kept going to the door, knowing that at any moment Flint was would return. They’d reached Garden and Flint had gone to Control two hours before when they’d flown within range of the planet. He was due any time to collect her and take the Rally down to the surface.
What would life be like on Garden? When she’d asked Flint, being his vague self, all he had told her was that it would be fine. She hated vague. She was bursting with questions. She was about to be transferred to a planet of cyborgs. She paced the room again and was startled when the doors slid open. Flint arched an eyebrow at her when he stepped inside, the doors sliding shut behind him.
She realized that she missed his long hair. He looked handsome with the short cut but the longer hair had been really sexy. She supposed it was her fault that he’d cut it when he’d been angry with her. Mira bit her lip. “Why did you chop off your hair?”
Flint studied her for long seconds before he answered. “You subconsciously played with it and after you left it was a reminder of you that I no longer wished to keep.” He paused. “You look frightened. It is just me.”
“It’s not you I’m afraid of. What is going to happen on the surface?”
“We’ll land and then I have a meeting to go to. We’ll go to my home right afterward. You are frightened for no reason. No one will harm you. You belong to me.”
She was grateful that he hadn’t called her his property. She’d realized since the day he’d broken the deal to sell her that he had not called her property again. He just stated that she belonged to him. In her mind, belonging to him beat being called property. She nodded.
The past four days had been wonderful between them. Flint had stayed in their room with her from the time he’d untied her from the cot until he’d left that morning to go to Control. He had even helped her pack up their belongings though she only owned a few articles of clothing. He leaned down to grab the bag. He almost looked amused.
“The Rally waits for us. Let’s go.”
She moved to him and gripped his hand. He froze, looking down at their hands. She frowned, staring up at him.
“What’s wrong?”
No emotion showed on his face or in his eyes. “It is inappropriate for you to touch me in public.”
Hurt hit her. “Oh.” She released his hand. “I don’t want to embarrass you. Should I walk five feet behind you or something like a good slave?”
His dark eyes narrowed. “Garden is not Earth. I would not be embarrassed by you touching me but public displays of physical relationships are not done. The fact that we’re physical will be apparent to anyone who sees my brand on you. A male doesn’t mark a female as I have you unless he values her greatly. I’d be…” He paused. “Dead if I wasn’t aware of you sexually and didn’t fully appreciate you in every sense. It isn’t appropriate to hold hands or kiss in public places here. That just isn’t done with cyborgs so touching me wouldn’t be proper conduct.”
Some of her pain eased. “Oh. May I hold your hand while we’re still on the Star? It’s not like we’re walking down the center of town.”
“It’s a city and some of the new crew has arrived already. You will see new faces as we board the Rally. The Star is set to go on a mission in twelve hours. The crew returning to Garden has replacements who reported to the Star over an hour ago.”
She nodded. “So should I walk behind you? Beside you? In front of you? I don’t know what is expected of me.” She paused, trying not to sound flip. “What is proper slave etiquette?”
“You may walk at my side and always stay close to me. When we enter the government building you should walk behind me. Never speak unless you are spoken to but no one should speak to you.”
Her gut twisted just a little. “Why wouldn’t they talk to me?” She was afraid he’d say that she was comparable to a pet and that she wouldn’t even be worthy of someone talking to her since she was just property.
“You belong to me. You are mine. Without consent first it would be rude for someone to address you.”
She could live with that. She nodded. “Okay.”
He moved suddenly, his large palm cupped her cheek, a smile curving his generous lips. “Don’t worry, Mira. In a short time we will be home and it will be more comfortable for you. You might be stared at when we are in public. While there are some humans on Garden, human females are a rarity and even then they are a lot older. You are also smaller than the humans I’ve seen here so you will draw attention. Just stay close to me and everything will be fine. I would never let anyone hurt you.”
Mira’s hands brushed his chest. He was wearing his black outfit with the chest plating under the leather material. He looked sexy in his uniform but she hated not being able to touch his skin. She gave him a smile.
“Thank you for comforting me.”
“We must go.” Flint released her face, turning to palm the scanner so the doors slid open.
Mira almost ran to keep up with Flint’s lengthy stride. The man had long damn legs. She touched him in the lift because they were alone. When the doors shut she reached over to grip his arm as the lift dropped.
“I really hate this damn thing. Would it kill someone to slow the speed on it?”
Chuckling, Flint grinned at her. When it stopped and the doors opened Mira released his arm. She walked quickly after him, following him into a large cargo area. She was shocked as she spotted a lot of strange cyborg men. She sensed eyes on her and met more than a few curious looks from the large cyborgs.
“They are unloading their things and resupplying the ship,” Flint said softly as they walked to where the Rally was docked to the Star.
Iron was waiting for them by the docking sleeve, wearing his uniform. He smiled at Flint. Flint stopped to nod at the other man. Their eyes locked.
“You’re lucky that your shift is over. I guess I’ll see you in six months.” Iron gave Flint another nod. His gaze jerked to Mira and then back to Flint. “Good luck.”
“Good luck to you. How is your human coming along?”
Iron smiled. “Your instructions were excellent.”
“Safe travel,” Flint said softly. “Keep in contact. Otherwise I’ll see you next shift.”
The Rally’s cargo area was packed. Flint led her to a corner free of boxes, dropped his bag and then one of his arms suddenly encircled Mira, pulling her into his body. That arm locked around her waist as his other arm reached up to find a grip on the wall. Mira stared up at him.
“I thought you couldn’t touch me in public. If we were any closer…” She winked at him.
Flint grinned down at her. “The Rally is about to drop from the Star. It literally drops. Hang on to me tightly.”
“Oh shit, it’s not as bad as the lift, is it? I hate that falling feeling.” As she spoke she locked her arms around his waist and clasped her fingers together at his spine.
Flint’s arm around her waist tightened. “It’s worse. I’m sorry. We’ll drop from the Star and then hit the atmosphere. It can get a little bumpy. Just hold on to me tightly.”
“Where are the damn seat belts?” She frantically looked around the cargo area.
A chuckle came from Flint.
Mira’s head shot up and she sent him a dirty look. “That wasn’t a joke. Where are seats with belts?”
“We’re cyborgs. We just brace and hold on. It will be fine.”
Her mouth dropped open as she stared at him. She heard a loud, short, fast pulse of an alarm sound. “I’m not a cyborg.”
“Hang on, Mira.”
His body tensed and she wanted to curse a blue streak but instead she buried her face in his chest. She felt a sharp jerk like something bumped the Rally right before they fell, making her stomach feel like it hit her throat. If Flint hadn’t held her around her waist she knew she would have been thrown to the floor when the falling sensation suddenly changed to a sharp jerk that sent vibrations shock-waving up her legs from the floor.
“The atmosphere,” Flint said softly. “It will be over soon.”
Mira whimpered in pain. The deck was vibrating hard enough that she could feel each painful jolt in her bones. The ache grew worse, more powerful, into sheer agony.
“What’s wrong?”
“It hurts. My legs…” She whimpered as the floor vibrated harder.
The hold on her waist tightened as Flint lifted her up his body with one arm so her feet left the floor. She released him around his waist to reach up. She gripped his shoulders, climbing higher up his large frame. The relief was instant when her feet left the floor, the pain radiating up her legs gone. Mira ended up with her arms wrapped around his neck and her knees gripping his hips. She couldn’t wrap her legs around Flint’s waist because his back was braced against the wall. She knew he couldn’t release the bar above his head. His hold on it was keeping them both from being thrown to the floor.
“Better?”
“Yes. Isn’t that hurting your legs? It felt like my bones were going to shake apart.”
Flint met her eyes. “I’m sorry. Your bone density isn’t as strong as ours and you don’t have enough muscle mass. I didn’t think it would hurt you. Is my body absorbing enough of the vibrations so you aren’t in pain?”
She nodded. “Yes. Am I holding up enough of my own weight?”
“You’re doing great.”
When the Rally stopped shaking a minute later, Flint had her ease back down his body. She was glad the floor wasn’t a big, painful vibrator anymore. She turned her head to study the cargo area, spotting three cyborgs in the cargo area that she hadn’t noticed before. They were braced against the bulkheads like Flint, gripping onto the ship to keep them in place. They had to have watched everything that happened between her and Flint. She jerked her attention back to Flint, who was watching her silently.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “We’re in public and I was just literally on you.”
His lips twitched with amusement. “This was acceptable.”
She grinned back. “I see. So you can touch me and I can climb up your body if we’re hurtling toward a planet surface?”
“Exactly.”
The Rally landed with a light bump. The strong engines powered down as Flint released his grip above his head, gently releasing his tight hold on Mira too. “Are you all right to walk? Do your legs hurt still?”
“I’m good.”
He reached down to grip his bag. She heard the cargo doors open as a loud motor sounded. Warm air whooshed into the cargo area. Mira breathed in fresh air, instantly enjoying the luxury. It had been weeks since she’d smelled anything so wonderful. A huge difference separated artificial oxygen from natural air. The scent of life came with the real thing and she smelled it in the woodsy and terrific scent drifting into the shuttle.
Mira followed Flint out of the cargo area to a metal ramp that ran from the Rally to the ground below. She stared in open-mouthed wonder at the sight before her. Large trees decorated the sides of the landing site. She looked up in wonder at the sun. She thought Flint had told her it was smaller but it looked bigger than the one on Earth. Flint was halfway down the ramp before he paused, turning his head to study her.
“Let’s go.”
She nodded, forcing her legs to move. “I was just looking.”
“I want to get home, Mira. You can look your fill for the rest of your life. We have a great view from our home.”
It hit her suddenly that this was her new home and it was a stunning feeling to not call Earth home anymore. She shoved her thoughts back though to follow Flint to a large open vehicle that waited for them. Flint walked up the ramp into it and turned, holding out his hand to assist her since the ramp was steep. Mira gripped his hand gratefully as he helped her walk up into the open space of the bed of the vehicle. It wasn’t like any kind of vehicle she’d ever seen before, just a box on wheels with no cab in the front and from what she could see, it had no driver either.
“What is this thing?”
“This is a completely automated transport designed for hauling cargo. When the ramp is lifted it will carry us to the intake center gate.”
He moved to the side and dropped his bag, motioning her to move closer to his side. “Hang on.”
She gripped the side of the vehicle and looked toward the Rally—from the outside, she realized it was a huge ship by shuttle standards—before returning her full attention to her new surroundings.
“Is the entire planet like this?” She motioned to the trees. Thick woods surrounded everything but the landing. “It looks like a thick forest with the exception of that wall I see peeking over the trees.”
“No. Garden is mostly water. We’re inland on one of the few land masses. This is the largest land mass on the planet.”
“So there are large oceans?”
“Fresh water oceans. This isn’t like Earth. We don’t have saltwater oceans. You could drink the water anywhere on the planet.”
“Cool.”
He nodded. “You seem to be breathing fine.”
“The air feels a little different but it’s great. It could just feel different because it’s fresh.”
“If you have problems let me know. I can take you to Medical and they can implant you with something to help you while you adjust.”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
The three men from the cargo area climbed in, along with about nine men she recognized from the Star. When the ramp lifted the vehicle jerked into motion instantly. Mira tightened her grip, watching raptly as it moved along the road.
“How large is the city?”
“There are just over fifty buildings. Building has bee
n slow.”
“What about housing?”
“We live in the cities. We found it is safer.”
That statement made Mira jerk her head in his direction and meet his eyes. “Safer from what?”
He hesitated. “The planet’s inhabitants aren’t friendly. We’re the superior life on the planet but other life exists here. We would never harm existing life on a planet so we surrounded the city with a security wall to keep them out.”
“What kind of life exists here?”
He hesitated again. “There are amphibian-humanoid life forms. They are not as civilized as we would wish but they haven’t tried to war with us. They stay near the oceans so we took the inland areas, which they mostly avoid. There is a lot of small animal wildlife and some large species that are dangerous, like Earth’s bears and tigers. The only intelligent humanoid life forms are the amphibians though. We try to keep the peace with them.”
“Wow. What exactly do they look like?”
He hesitated. “You will see.”
“Some of them are in the city?”
He shook his head. “No. They avoid us and we avoid them. We’ve found that we get along better that way. They have attacked some of our scouting parties in the past. There are vids of them that I can show you if you are curious.”
She nodded. They approached the huge wall that ran as far as the eye could see. “Wow. That’s some damn wall.”
“Yes. It is a seventy-five-foot-high defensive line. No Garden resident life forms can breach it except harmless bird species and bugs. You will be safe inside the wall. Just never leave the city, Mira. This is not a world you want to explore. You’d end up being captured by the amphibians and I have no idea what they would do in that situation. When we catch them we just release them unharmed but they have never captured any of our people so we are unsure of their intentions.”