They’d stripped her down to underclothing. As he watched, Blackie lunged forward.

“She didn’t like it when they tried to f**k her,” one of his men chuckled. “I don’t think she’s cyborg friendly. They had her pinned between them and began stripping her when she started to fight. She’s f**king hot. I can’t wait until they are done playing with her to wear her down a little before they take her.”

Steel spun away from the screen. He realized he was running as he reached the lift, punching the panel in his haste to hit the right level. He’d ordered Blackie not to hurt the human. She was his. Blackie knew it, yet they’d tried to do more than interrogate her.

He ran out of the lift, toward the interrogation room where they held Rena. He pressed his hand to the door, heard it buzz, and then shoved it not waiting for it to automatically swing open.

* * * * * Rena gasped as her back hit the wall with enough force to knock the air from her lungs. Blackie had grabbed her, lifted her off her feet and then spun her, slamming her into the wall. She stared into his eyes as he suddenly forced his legs between hers while she was stunned. His body pressed tight against hers, his hands gripping her wrists that he jerked above her head. He managed to grip both of them together with one hand, freeing up one of his hands while she gasped in air.

He grinned at her. “What are you going to do now, sweetheart? You can kick, but with me between your thighs, it’s not effective. I’m holding you low enough that all you can hit is my chest if you decide to headbutt me.” He paused. “If you bite, I’m going to bite you back so let’s be nice to each other.”

“Let me go.”

He shook his head. “And waste someone with your spirit on an engineer? No way.

You just need handled right and I’m going to make you want me.” He put his hand on her breast, curving around it to give it a gentle squeeze. “I was trained for seduction. You might be difficult to break but I’ve got all the time in the world. I was bored, so this will be fun. Do you want to make a bet on how long it takes me to turn you on until you’re begging me to be inside you?”

“Go to hell.”

“I’ve lived in it most of my life.” His smile died. “I made a mistake by asking Gene to share you. You’re not that kind of woman, are you? You just appeared so relaxed in his arms that I thought you’d accept us both. That was my mistake.”

“I was relaxed because Steel said you couldn’t hurt me. Let me go.” She struggled but wasn’t able to break free. “I don’t want you.”

“But you will.” He lowered his face, staring into her eyes. “I’m going to strip you, touch you until I learn what turns you on and then I’m going to take you over and over.

When I’m done I’m going to start again. I’ve really missed humans. I’m keeping you.

You’re going to belong to me body and soul until I get bored with you.”

“I’ll leave,” Gene sighed.

“Stay. You might learn something.” Blackie grinned. “Besides, I might need help holding her down if she’s really tough to break.” He paused. “Actually I’m so turned-on that I want to skip a few steps. Come here.”

Dismay filled Rena as she saw Gene walk closer. His eyes were on her body and not her face. “What do you want me to do?”

“I want you between her and the wall and I’m going to transfer her wrists to you.

Cross your arms over her waist and hold her. I’m going to strip her and then show her what my mouth can do to her. She’s going to be begging me to take her in five minutes or less. Want to bet on it?”

Gene hesitated. “I’ll give her ten minutes. She’s stubborn.”

“You’re on. Count of three. Ready? She’s fast.”

“Mark,” Gene whispered.

It happened instantly. Rena could barely gasp before she was jerked away from the wall and then slammed back into Gene’s big body. They’d lied and not counted at all. He had her wrists before she knew it, holding her upper weight. She tried to kick at Blackie in front of her but he gripped her thighs, his big hands pushing her legs together. He went to his knees in front of her, grinning up at her horrified expression. He was going to go down on her and she knew it. She screamed out but she couldn’t get away.

Blackie suddenly leaned into her legs, pinning them between his body and the cyborg’s behind her, holding her. His hands were free to reach up to grip her panties. He winked at her, his face suddenly against her belly to plant a kiss under her navel, his tongue swiping her skin, making her jerk at the shock of it. He tugged her shorts down an inch, letting his mouth follow.

The door to the room suddenly burst open. Rena stared in relief at Steel as he stormed into the room. He never glanced at her but instead glared down at Blackie who turned his head, his mouth leaving Rena’s lower stomach.

“Let her go now.”

Blackie frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“I told you,” Steel almost growled the words. “Not to harm her.”

“I don’t plan on hurting her.”

“I order you to let her go.” Steel took a menacing step forward.

Relief swept through Rena as she was eased down Gene’s body until her feet touched the floor again, totally releasing her. She inched away from both men and ran to Steel, getting behind him so he was between her and the two men. He still didn’t look at her, his full attention on the men he glared at.

“She’s mine and you tried to use her body, which belongs to me.”

Blackie slowly rose to his feet, frowning. “You said yesterday you didn’t want her and stated you are giving her away to an engineer. I want her and I’m even willing to buy her from you, Steel. I don’t know why you’re so agitated.”

Rena experienced fear at the prospect of Steel selling her to that ass**le, praying he wouldn’t do it since she knew she had no say in it. She inched closer to him, touching him, her hands opening up on his back as she peered around him to glare at Blackie and Gene. They frowned at Steel.

“That was yesterday,” Steel finally said softly. “She’s not for sale and I’m not giving her away. She’s mine just like I said before. Am I clear?”

Blackie smirked. “Perfectly.”

“Good. You got the answers from her, right?”

“Yes,” Gene nodded.

Steel turned and let his gaze roam down Rena’s body. “Where are her clothes?”

“Destroyed,” Gene said.

Steel’s mouth tensed. He reached for his shirt, unzipping the leather top, and tore it off his body and thrust it at Rena. “Put that on. I’m taking you back to my quarters now.”

“Not so fast,” Blackie chuckled. “You can’t take her until you get the chip removed from your head. Until it’s gone, your little human there can knock you out.”

Spinning around, Steel glared at Blackie. “She won’t want me incapacitated. Unlike you, I don’t have to force her to do what I want. She wants me awake and conscious to protect her against males like you and Gene.”

Rena zipped up the huge shirt. It dwarfed her body, fell to thighs, but she was happy to be covered up. Steel turned to her again, jerking his head toward the open door.

“Move.”

She turned gratefully and walked out of the small room. She glanced up as Steel gripped her arm gently as he walked next to her, guiding her past an amused guard and down a hallway to a lift. Once inside, Steel released her to punch a button but didn’t look at her.

“Are you unharmed?”

Tears filled her eyes. “Thank you.”

He glanced down at her, frowning. “Don’t thank me yet. I don’t know what the hell to do with you but I don’t want you harmed.”

“So I can stay with you, right?”

He hesitated. “For now.”

Chapter Six

Steel was really quiet as he paced the room while Rena watched him. He hadn’t spoken to her since he’d returned her to his room. She was perched on the edge of the bed where he’d pointed when they’d entered. A good five minutes had passed while he moved back and forth by the door, deep in thought, the only thing he’d done in that time was put on a shirt. He finally stopped walking and turned to face her, his blue gaze locking with hers.

“You could have easily killed me both times when I was disabled, yet you didn’t.

You were just doing your job when you came after the Star thinking you were going to retrieve it from pirates, a mutual enemy of humans and cyborgs, so it wasn’t a personal attack against my kind.” He paused, watching her with narrowed eyes. “You don’t want to be given to other male cyborgs so I’m going to grant your request to stay with me.”

Rena stared at his grim expression. “But? You look like you aren’t happy to keep me.”

“You’re correct. No cyborg female will agree to be in a family unit with me if I have a human female in my bed. Our females are pampered that way.”

Eyebrow arching, Rena just stared at him. Pampered that way? What the hell does that even mean? He seemed to realize he’d lost her in the conversation as he walked a little closer.

“Cyborg females are rarer than our males. In a family unit there is one female and usually three to four males who share that female. It is not…” His fists tightened. “It was not the way we wished it to be but it was decided unfair for over two thirds of our population to not have access to our females if we went with a traditional family unit. We try to schedule it so no males are with her at the same time.” He paused again. “We don’t share well when we are faced with the reality of it on a day-to-day basis. The females are shared between the males in the family unit but it is not tolerated for those males to seek out other women. Our women would refuse to enter into a family unit with me if they thought I was sharing my body with you.”

Rena was absolutely stunned. “But you didn’t want your wife anymore because she cheated on you. If—”

He cut her off. “She had two other males in our family unit. One is an ambassador who travels extensively while just spending a few weeks a year on Garden with her. The other male is damaged extensively. He can’t share her body, just her conversation skills.”

He paused. “I could tolerate the family unit I signed into because she was exclusively mine except for those few weeks a year. I travel often with my job so she made sure I didn’t know when the ambassador was on Garden. Now she has another male in our family unit, one who lives on Garden and one I would have to share her with on a daily basis when I am on the planet.” He paused. “Do you understand?”

She was a little horrified and a lot disturbed by this information but she nodded.

“What about whatever woman you start a new family unit with? Won’t you have to share her too?”

He hesitated. “We found more cyborg survivors, most of them females we thought were lost to us after we fled Earth. Their ship disappeared and we couldn’t find them.

They had malfunctions that caused them to crash off course. The mission I am on right now is bringing those females home to Garden, making it so all new family units formed with those females will be two males to one female.” He paused. “I am hoping that I can find a female willing to accept another ambassador as her other male so that I can be happy with the arrangement.”

Rena stared at him, a little more than dazed and a lot confused. He wanted to marry a woman, knowing she’d have to be married to another cyborg besides him when he was obviously the possessive type. She knew all about being married to someone who slept with another person. It had devastated her to find out her marriage was a farce and her husband was a two-timing bastard. Even the thought of Chuck touching her, knowing he slept with other women, made her stomach turn.