Born

She moaned and arched beneath him. “What was that? It felt  incredible.”

His balls had drawn up tight at her gasp, he was so ready to come he thought his cock would explode.

“Are you ready for me now?”

Eyes wide, she nodded. Rearing back he withdrew and plunged inside her, as deep as he could go.

She cried out and for a moment he feared he’d hurt her. But then her fingers worked her nub faster and he knew it was ecstasy she had gotten lost in.

With a yell, he let himself go, bucking wildly, glorying in the sounds and scent of sex for the first time in his life.

Again and again, her hot little sheath milked his cock, but he resisted the pull, wanting to savor this moment in time with her.

Sweat slicked their skin, dripped from his hair onto her breasts. His arms shook. Rearing back, he gripped her hips and position her higher so he could angle himself to penetrate her deeper.

“Yes, Cormack, oh, yes!” Her hand abandoned her clit so she could sink her nails into the muscles of his buttocks. Tears tracked down her face, even as her amethyst eyes glowed up at him with the same wonder he felt.

Release hit him with the impact of a boulder nudged off a cliff and he shouted out her name, spending inside her, gaze still locked with hers.

She went wild beneath him, as though experiencing his orgasm had ignited her own.

Writhing, bucking, demanding that he give her everything he had, all that he was.

Shuddering, he did so, not wanting to exist if it meant denying her anything. He collapsed on top of her spent and blissed out of his mind.

“Cormack,” a smile laced her voice when she breathed his name. “Is it always like that?”

“Never,” he rasped, unable to articulate further.

Basking in the afterglow, he snuggled to her, resting his head between her breasts, listening to the steady thrumming of her heartbeat. They were in uncharted territory, possibly surrounded by Cyborgs, yet he had never felt more content.

Whatever tomorrow brings, I will endure.

17

Allora could have easily fallen asleep with Cormack acting as her blanket. All too soon, he moved off of her, shifting his weight to help her up. “You should get dressed, be prepared for when they come to get us.”

Propping herself up on her elbows she winked at him. “Had enough of me, already?”

“Never.” Gaze locked on hers, he spoke the word with smoldering intensity.

Her smile faded. “I don’t know what the Cyborgs want with me, what they’ll do to me. If you can find some way to escape—”

“I’ll go nowhere without you.” Retrieving her shift from the floor, he tugged it over her head. “This is not the end, my task mistress.”

His absolute certainty filled the dark shadowy places inside her. “The best thing we can do for ourselves is be prepared for whatever comes for us.”

Cormack’s face closed up, “I’ll kill any Cyborg that dares touch you.”

Worrying her lower lip, Allora thought about her interactions with the machine-men. “I don’t think they want to hurt me. They had plenty of opportunity to do so already. And they weren’t after the journal until I mentioned it.”

Her lover scowled. “They wanted you specifically, had a record of your thumbprint to scan. How is that possible?”

“I was born in Cyborg territory. My biological father is one of them.”

Cormack tensed and she feared he would look on her with disgust. After all, she had witnessed his hatred for the Cyborgs. But he reached out and took her hand, stroking his thumb over her knuckles in a soothing gesture. He was so different than the Born, who would crucify a child for the sins of the parents.

“How is that possible? From everything I’ve ever heard, the Cyborgs cannot reproduce, they assimilate others, raid communities and steal children to propagate.”

Shrugging helplessly, Allora murmured, “I wish I had answers for you. Was my mother captured and brainwashed? I always thought a Cyborg had raped her, that she’d been taken prisoner, but after meeting them…”

“What?” He prompted.

“I do not think they are prone to violence the way we have always been told. They seem too calculating, too detached for such acts.”

“And how many have you met? I’ve heard stories that would cause ice crystals to take shape in your blood. First generation Breds fought them during the wars, were captured and tortured for information.

Emotionally stunted does not mean stable or safe.” He caressed her cheek. “Borns are funny about parents, about connection, but please Allora, be wary, just like when you were on patrol.”

“But these questions have dogged me my entire life.”

“All we can do is wait and see.” He bent his head, dropping a kiss on to her lips. Cormack helped her finish donning her armor then wrapped himself in the blanket stained with her virgin’s blood. Holding the journal she snuggled into his embrace, smiling. “The first thing we need is to go find you some pants.”

Burying his face in her still unbound hair he murmured, “Yes, my task mistress.”