Taken by the Cyborg (Galactic Pirate Brides Book 4) by Tamsin Ley (classic books for 10 year olds TXT) 📗

cybernetic eye. Beneath his loose clothing, it seemed that much of his body was formed from hard, angular pieces. Every inch of him exuded strength. As if to prove that fact, he slowly lifted Rust off the floor by his throat.

Rust’s eyes bulged as he choked. “I didn’t mean nothing.”

The saluqan made a calming motion with both hands. “Take it easy.”

The new cyborg opened his fist, allowing Rust to drop to the floor with a thud. In a rough voice, he said, “The new Consort is mine.”

Grabbing Attie by one arm, he dragged her toward the door the cyborgs had entered through. It swished open at his approach, revealing a short, starkly lit hallway with a closed door at the other end. As he pulled her through, she could only pray that whatever this cyborg had in store for her wasn’t worse than what she’d just escaped.

Chapter 4

Doug bypassed the door mechanism and pulled Attie into the hallway, letting the door slide closed behind them. Hacking open the door in front of the other cyborgs had likely been a mistake; while they acknowledged him as the most powerful cyber-sensitive, he’d kept the true extent of his abilities hidden. He wasn’t entirely certain of their loyalties, and he wouldn’t put it past someone like Rust or Emilryde to rat him out. But he’d protected Attie for so long, his reaction had been instinctual.

Besides, the more trauma she endured, the less viable letting her go back to the admin pool would become. Normally, Consorts were not allowed to return to the general staff, but as long as he kept Attie off Dollard’s radar, he didn’t see the harm. He’d already purged her records from the Consort log in preparation for her release.

He just needed the AI first.

Pivoting, he pushed Attie against the wall and slid both hands down her arms toward her wrists, feeling for the AI. Her soft skin under his palms made him slow, pausing over the pulse points at the crooks of her elbows. His insides felt funny—like he’d just come out of free-fall. He seldom had physical contact with people, and when he did, it was in a clinical setting. Right now he was feeling anything but clinical.

She stared up at him with huge dilated eyes, and the tip of her tongue darted out to moisten her pink lips.

The sudden urge to kiss her flooded through him. Heat rushed over his skin, sending his nanite-regulated heartbeat into overdrive. He hadn’t felt this kind of desire since before an escape attempt had left him paralyzed from the waist down. Since then, he’d embraced his machine side whole heartedly. He had no interest in human passions. Until now.

His attention slid down to the soft rise of her breasts peeking above the tight orange top. Her flawless pale skin had a slight flush that made his mouth water. And she smelled amazing. Not perfumed and powdered like the other Consorts the project brought in, but clean and floral. Roses? He’d grown up in the slums of Whylon Station, and when he was very young—before his parents had died, his mother had pampered a potted shrub inside their small apartment. He remembered being infatuated with how such thorny branches could produce such fragrantly silken petals.

Her breath feathered across his skin. “What do you want?”

The sensation made him want to pull her body against him. She’d been given the aphrodisiac, but he felt like the one who’d been drugged. Or maybe it was because he’d been watching her for so many months he felt he knew her. Whatever the reason, he wanted to draw the plushness of her breasts against his hard chest, to slide both hands down her back to cup her perfect ass. To lift her up and settle her onto…

He shook his head and released his grip on her arms. His pants felt uncomfortably tight, which should be impossible considering his injury—Syndicorp had replaced his legs, but not the functionality of his manhood. He hadn’t had an erection in years.

But he did now.

And he wanted to use it.

But the clock was ticking. Someone would check the feed into the Consort Chamber at any minute. He forced himself to take a step back and look for the AI.

Her slender wrist was bare.

He checked the other.

Nothing.

She hadn’t brought it. Or it had come off in the scuffle. Alarm filled him. “Where is the AI?”

Attie’s eyes grew even wider. “Twerp?”

The door at the far end of the hall slid open and Dollard stepped through.

Fuck. Doug bent down and smothered Attie’s words with a kiss. Dollard must not know they’d been talking.

Attie struggled in his arms, trying to speak against his mouth. He hugged her more tightly and plunged his tongue between her lips.

The soft wet heat of her mouth exploded across his senses like a drug. Every part of him throbbed with a need he’d never expected feeling again. His hips flexed forward against her softness with exquisite pressure and he groaned. To his surprise, she leaned into him and opened her mouth wider, tilting her head back. He knew he should stop himself. She was drugged and taking advantage of her was not part of his plan.

But she was irresistible.

Sliding one hand up, he cupped the back of her head, enamored at how soft her hair felt beneath his fingertips. He wanted to touch every part of her.

“What’s going on here?” Dollard’s voice sliced through the haze that had taken possession of Doug’s senses. “Consorts are not allowed in this area. How did you bypass the door?”

Doug reluctantly broke the kiss and spoke with his lips only millimeters away from Attie’s. “The door was open.”

Attie’s cheeks were flushed, eyes closed and lips slightly parted. He crushed his mouth against hers once more, not needing to pretend his hunger for her was real.

“Release her and go back to your cell.” The doctor slapped the biometric panel, opening the door back into the Consort Chamber. “All of you,” he yelled.