Offered to the Cyborg
Series: Cy-Con #2
Publisher: Changeling Press
Cover Artist: Karen Fox
Genres: Science Fiction Romance, Alien Encounters, Cyber Punk
One look in her eyes and he wanted her. One taste and he knew he was never letting her go.
When the Zelranian cyborg's ship The Sphinx is attacked by a reptilian race called the Meori, Wrylack is the only cyborg left standing. Forced onto the Meori vessel, his skills as a medic are demanded in exchange for his life. But any plans Wrylack may have had to escape died the moment he laid eyes on Shaylee, the human female slave in the Meori med bay. Even injured, she's the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. And when the Meori realize they can use her to control Wrylack, they are only too pleased to give her to him.
Shaylee has only known pain and suffering all her life. First on Earth, passed around the foster care system, and later as a slave to one alien after another. No one has ever touched her with kindness, has ever cared what happened to her. When the sexy purple cyborg with the strange eyes and gentle touch says she's his, Shaylee is almost scared to hope that her life is changing. But the big male isn't interested in owning her as a slave. He wants a mate!
Excerpt
The ship grew quiet and Wrylack tried to communicate with his fellow cyborgs, but no one was responding. He feared they’d all been killed, which meant the Meori would come for him next, once they realized he was on board. He could hear the clang of boots coming down the corridor and braced himself. When the doors to the med bay slid open, he stared at the green and gold aliens, with their serpent-like eyes and tongues.
They looked him over, laughing when they saw the scalpel clutched in his hand. Two held ion blasters pointed at him, and he knew there was no way he was taking them out. Not on his own and only armed with the scalpel.
The three Meori in front hardly had a scratch on them, but the ones in back were pooling blood on the floor. Wrylack tried not to smile at the sight. It seemed his brothers had fought hard, even if they hadn’t been victorious. Would they kill him now too?
“The healer thinks to fight us,” the larger one up front said.
Little did they know he could kick their asses, if it weren’t for the unfair advantage of the blasters in their hands. He might be enhanced, but he wasn’t indestructible. Going into a blaster fight with nothing more than a scalpel would get him killed.
“Where’s my crew?” Wrylack asked.
The alien shrugged. “Alive, but incapacitated.”
Why hadn’t they killed everyone? What was it they wanted?
“And your plan for us?” Wrylack asked.
The alien smiled, his pointed teeth showing. “The others will be dropped at Alpha9, for a fee of course, and we’re commandeering this ship. You, however…” The alien looked him over again. “We need a medic. Ours died and since your cyborg brothers did some damage, my crew will need to be tended. Serve us well and you will be rewarded.”
Wrylack could read between the lines. Service would be required regardless, if he wanted to live. He would imagine the reward would be his freedom. What they didn’t know was that the moment he’d laid eyes on them, he’d hacked into the telecommunications system and had the computer send a message to the commanders on Xpashta, with their present location and who had taken command of the ship. It wouldn’t be long before the cyborgs’ other ships were on their way to lend aid. He only hoped it wouldn’t be too late.
One of the Meori gripped his arm tight, making the nerves in his arm go numb and the scalpel fell from his hand, clattering to the floor. Wrylack allowed himself to be dragged through the ship and taken aboard the Meori vessel. He wasn’t stupid enough to think he could take on two ships himself, which meant he had to follow orders and stay alive until backup arrived. The ship was much larger than The Sphinx and had probably once been a luxury liner, judging by the artwork on the walls and the dense carpet under his feet. Slave females of all races shuffled down the hallways and gathered in open rooms. Some were dressed in transparent tunics and he knew they were breeding stock. The thought made him ill.
When they reached medical, Wrylack was shoved inside and he froze at the sight before him. Two human females lay dead, the sheets covering them stained with blood, with a third huddled in the corner, her eyes wide in fright. Blood dripped down her arm and her clothes were torn. Anger welled inside of him and he turned to snarl at the Meori who had dragged him on board.
“You attacked innocent females?”
The Meori shrugged. “When we purchased them, we didn’t realize they wouldn’t be sexually compatible. Their master was raving about how good it felt to fuck them. We stopped a male from mounting the third when the first two died.”
Wrylack was horrified and sickened. Moving slowly, he approached the female in the corner. He knelt in front of her and used his cybernetic eyes to scan her. Aside from some bruising and the bite mark on her shoulder, she seemed to be healthy. All of her organs were in good working order, and he was thankful to note she wasn’t pregnant. Judging by the scarring in her womb, even if the Meori hadn’t been able to breed with her, someone had been successful at some point. The haunted look in her eyes spoke of someone who had lived this life for a while. His heart ached for her, imagining the horrors she’d probably faced as a slave.
Wrylack pulled aside her slave tunic and studied the bite. It was deep and the tissue around it was badly bruised. The Meori who had tried to mount her had likely bitten her to hold her in place. Wrylack hoped she’d fought like hell. No one deserved the fate of being a breeder, especially to the Meori. He stood quickly and rummaged through the cabinets until he found what he needed. With a tube of livron gel in his hand, he sank to his haunches in front of her again. Wrylack squeezed the gel onto his fingers and spread it over her wound. She flinched at his touch, but didn’t lash out at him. He knew the gel would cool the angry wound first, then numb it within minutes. If applied regularly, the wound would seal in a few days.
“My name’s Wrylack and I’m a medic,” he told her. “I’m going to help you.”
“She’s useless,” the Meori said. “No sense in treating her. We’re just going to toss her out an airlock. I can’t take the chance that she would sell right away when we reach Alpha9 and I don’t intend to stay there long. She’s a waste of space.”
Wrylack growled and glared at the Meori. “You’re not tossing her out an airlock.”
The Meori rocked back on his heels. “You seem rather fond of her.”
“She’s a helpless female.” Wrylack wasn’t about to admit that he thought she was the most beautiful female he’d ever seen. Looking into her eyes, he wanted to be her hero. But he was just as much a captive right as she was. But then, if they’d met under other circumstances, how likely was it that she’d have let a cyborg get anywhere near her? Especially him with his strange-looking eyes.
“And females are precious to your people, aren’t they?” the Meori asked slyly. Wrylack wasn’t certain he liked the look on the Meori’s face. “Do what we say, and you can keep her. Consider her your reward for good behavior.”
Keep her? Wrylack hesitated and glanced down at the female. Her hair was black as pitch and hung in long curls down to her ass. The elfin face that peered up at him had eyes a beautiful lavender, a color he’d never seen on a human before. The female’s skin was pale as ivory and had felt soft when he’d administered the gel to her wound. He lowered himself in front of her again, bracing his fist on the floor, and leaning in close. She didn’t shrink away or seem scared of him.
Her gaze met his, steady. When he reached for her, smoothing her hair back from her face, she didn’t so much as flinch.
“Do you know what I am?” he asked.
“No,” she said softly.
“I’m a Zelranian cyborg.”
“Is that why your eyes are so different?” she asked. “They’re beautiful when they glow. Why do they only glow sometimes?”
Her voice was soft and mesmerizing, much like her.
“My eyes are cybernetic, along with my lungs and heart. My eyes glow when I’m doing a scan to check for injuries. I’m different, even from my people. Does that frighten you?” he asked.
Her gaze strayed to the Meori in the doorway before returning to him. There was a question in her eyes that she didn’t seem to want to voice. The Meori had mentioned her previous owner had used for her sex, and the Meori had intended the same. It stood to reason she would wonder if he would hurt her if they were intimate.
“I won’t harm you,” Wrylack assured her. “Unlike the Meori, Zelranians are compatible with humans.”
Her cheeks flushed but she held his gaze.
“If they throw you out of the airlock, you’ll die,” Wrylack said. “Space is cold and your organs will begin to freeze, assuming you don’t die from asphyxiation first. I won’t force you to be mine, but it’s the only way I can save you.”
It hadn’t occurred to him until that moment that maybe she would prefer death. It saddened him to think she might feel that way, but there was something in her eyes that said she was a fighter.
“I’m Shaylee.” She smiled softly, seeming to accept that she was his now.
“Shaylee.” Wrylack reached for her again, smoothing his fingers down her cheek. “I will treat you well, this I promise.”
If you missed book one, Rescued by the Cyborg, you can get it here!
About the Author
Award-winning author Jessica Coulter Smith has been in love with the written word since she was a child writing her first stories in crayon. Today she's a multi-published author of over seventy-five novellas and novels. Romance is an integral part of her world and spills over from her professional life into her personal one. When she went on that first date with her husband, she never expected to hear the words /Marry me!' pop out of his mouth - and judging by the shocked look on his face, he hadn't meant to say them either. But, being the hopeless romantic that she is, Jessica said yes and they've been married since 2000.
Jessica firmly believes that love will find you at the right time, even if Mr. Right is literally out of this world. She's often gazed at the stars and wondered what, or who, else might be out there. Who's to say that hunky model on the hottest romance bestseller isn't really from some far off galaxy? Maybe that blue Martian you saw at Halloween wasn't really in costume. After all, there's an awful lot of space out there for us to be the only ones living in it.
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