Cyborg Nation by Kaitlyn O'Connor (english readers TXT) 📗

hanging out for a brood mare, this one is already well bred!”

Amusement flickered in his eyes. For a split second a pair of dimples appeared in his cheeks. “I will not say that breeding you has never entered my mind,” he retorted, his voice husky with promise—and no sense of self-preservation, “but you have far more to offer a man than only that. It is you that I want. As your man said, I could have looked elsewhere if I was only seeking a breeding mare.”

Mollified, Bronte smiled back at him before she thought better of it. Her men, she discovered, were studying her through narrowed eyes when she glanced at them guiltily. She shrugged apologetically.

“Mayhap instead of a challenge of skills, I will slay you and feed your corpse to the carrion feeders,” Gideon ground out.

Caleb’s face tightened. “And mayhap I will kill you and take your place!”

“Let’s don’t do this!” Bronte exclaimed in dismay, trying to struggle to her feet.

Ignoring her, Gideon, Gabriel, and Jerico exchanged a long look. Gabriel shrugged, turning to look Caleb over with interest. “You are not a Hunter?”

Caleb’s face reddened with anger. “I am not,” he ground out.

“I did not think so. What do you think, Gideon?”

“I believe that I will see if he is all mouth,” Gideon said coldly, pulling his sword from the sheath strapped to his back. “And then we will see if he worthy of our Bronte.”

“God! Not the swords, Gideon!” Bronte exclaimed in dismay.

He turned to study her for a long moment and then fixed Gabriel with a hard look, jerking his head toward the half finished structure behind them. Nodding, Gabriel strode to Bronte, scooped her into his arms, and began to bear her away at a brisk stride. “I will show you around our home.”

“I don’t want to see the house!” Bronte said angrily, feeling her heart clench in fright as she heard the clang of blades behind them. “Make them stop!”

“When I have you safely in the house,” Gabriel promised.

“Now, Gabriel! I mean it! Put me down! I’ll stop it!”

“This is why Gideon told me to take you into the house,” Gabriel said chidingly.

“He didn’t tell you anything!” Bronte hissed angrily.

“I knew what he meant.”

“I know you knew what he meant! You three are always doing that! I don’t suppose it occurred to any of you that this might not be what I want?”

“Then you can send him on his way when Gideon is done with him.”

Bronte glared at him. “It’s bad enough that the three of you are always pounding on each other! Now I have to look forward to you hacking at each other with swords?”

“We would not use swords against one another.”

“Just against anyone that might decide they want to join us?”

Gabriel shrugged. “There is always the possibility that someone will challenge us so long as we are only three and there is a place for another. I never was easy in my mind that we were only three.”

Bronte gaped at him. “You were expecting this?”

“We had thought that he would come sooner. It was clear that he wanted you … to us, if not to you.”

Her shock didn’t last. “But … this is no way to settle the dispute! Someone will get hurt … badly. I’ve seen the way you all swing those swords!”

“That was different. There was no doubt that that was a fight to the death when the trogs attacked. This is merely a contest to judge his skills as a fighter. We must be certain that he is not only willing to protect, but as capable of protecting you as any of us. He is a good man, but he has not had the fighting experience that we have. He was among the last produced and we had already been fighting for many years before he came.”

Bronte’s eyes narrowed. “Why did you ask him if he was a Hunter if you know so much about him?”

“Because the Hunters were the last. I could not be certain.”

“What do you have against the Hunters?”

He caught her gaze as he settled her on her feet at last. “Aside from the fact that they were designed to kill us?” he asked wryly. “They believe they are superior to us,” he added angrily. “And I do not want to share you with someone you might love more than me.”

Bronte searched his face, knowing it wasn’t that the Hunters thought they were superior but the fact that the cyborgs felt inferior. “I couldn’t love anyone more than I love you,” she said gently. “Don’t you know that?”

He stared at her with a mixture of uncertainty and tentative hope. “You do not think so?”

She shook her head. “I know so. After all we went through together, no one could break the bond we forged.”

He hauled her roughly against him and kissed her ruthlessly. She smiled up at him when he lifted his head at last. “Now will you go stop them?”

He smiled back at her. “No.”

“Damn it, Gabriel!” she snapped, pushing at him and trying to go around him.

He chuckled, hooking his arm around her waist, carrying her full circle before he released her. “I love you, Bronte … but, no.”

Grinding her teeth, she pushed his hands away and paced, trying to peer over his shoulder to see what was going on. He kept pace with her, blocking her view. “I can not stand the suspense!” she said finally. “Go and make sure Gideon isn’t hurt!”

The scrape of a booted foot on the foundation heralded the end of the battle.

“Oh ye of little faith!” Gideon quoted wryly.

Letting out a gasp, Bronte rushed around Gabriel and fled to Gideon, trying to examine him for injury. He grabbed her, hauling her upward for a gusty kiss that quickly turned far more hungry than merely affectionate when she surged readily against him and kissed him back with fervor. Heat spread through her rapidly as he explored her mouth with his tongue and her body with his hands with