Steel was a powerhouse of strength and stamina as he moved on her, plowing her softer body with his hard one, driving her passion up by harmonizing the movements of his tongue with his cock, forcing moans from her. Rena’s vaginal walls clenched, tightening with pleasure and impending release. Steel groaned into her mouth, tearing his lips from hers in the next heartbeat, and buried his face in the crook of her shoulder, his hot breath tickling her neck.

“Come for me,” he rasped. “I can’t hold off unless I activate myself to do so.”

The idea of him not using any of his cyborg functions turned her on more, expanding her pleasure, knowing she was getting all of the human side of the cyborg making love to her. Rena cried out as her cl**ax swamped her senses, feeling sheer rapture sear through her body, starting at her pu**y and flashing through her from head to toe. She cried out Steel’s name.

His entire body jerked over Rena’s as Steel groaned loudly, coming deep inside her, his se**n shooting hard and hot enough that she could feel every burst of release from him. He jerked again, groaning louder as he continued to come, her inner muscles milking him as they twitched and fluttered in the aftermath of her orgasm. Slowly his body relaxed over hers and both of them lay there trying to catch their breath, locked together.

Rena realized they were still totally dressed from the waist up. A button on Flint’s shirt was digging into her lower stomach a little where the material had ridden up while he was f**king her. Steel was damn heavy. He rested over her from hip to chest but he’d braced his arms just enough so she could breathe without difficulty. She was loosely gripping his shoulders so she moved her hands, reaching up to run her fingers through his really soft and wonderful hair, loving the feel of it between her fingers and using her fingertips to massage his scalp.

“What are you doing?” Steel turned his head a little, resting it on the mattress, his lips brushing the side of her throat as he spoke. “Don’t you want me to get up? Your legs are still locked around my h*ps or I would have moved off you already.”

A grin split Rena’s mouth as she tightened her hold around his hips, crossing her ankles to make certain he knew she had no intention of letting him go. “I’m enjoying you right where you are so don’t you dare move. Don’t you cuddle after sex?”

“No.”

A laugh bubbled out of her at his horrified tone. “You do now.”

He tried to lift his head but she tightened her hold, keeping him in place. He took a deep breath relaxed on her. “Why? What is the point?”

“Relax, babe. We’re joined together. Feel my body still shivering a little from what you did to me? I feel so damn close to you right now and I want to hold you. I don’t give a damn about your logic or if there’s a real point to it. I’m feeling, just enjoying you and me together, and all you have to do is lie where you are and let me touch you.” To emphasize her point she released his head and shifted her arms around his ribs under his arms. She slid her hands down the back of his shirt and jerked it up enough to reach his lower back where she let her fingernails lightly rake his skin.

A sigh came from Steel as his body relaxed more. “That feels good.”

“If you had that damn shirt off it would feel better. Take it off for me.”

To her amazement, he lifted his upper body away from hers to give her enough room to work open his shirt. Between the two of them they rid him of his shirt and he settled back down on her, putting his face against the side of her neck. Rena smiled as she touched Steel, letting her hands and fingernails explore his broad back, enjoying the feel of the big man still on top of her, his body hot. The only thing wrong was she still wore a shirt but she wasn’t going to have him try to help her get it off since she couldn’t think of a way to do that without him having to withdraw from her body where they were still locked together.

“You’re still hard inside me.”

“I’ll stay that way if I allow myself. You feel good around my cock,” he admitted very softly.

“This cuddling thing isn’t so bad, is it?”

He paused. “I’m enjoying it.”

“Me too, babe. Me too.”

He sighed. “Why do you call me that?”

She turned her head, nuzzling her check against his. “Babe? It’s a form of endearment.”

“I know what it is. Why use it on me?”

Part of Rena’s heart broke but no easy answer came to her. He almost sounded the way a lost little boy would, asking that question, his tone showing that it confused him .

Hadn’t anyone ever shown him the least bit of care? I damn well will. He’s an amazing man.

“I just feel things for you,” she admitted softly. “Is it bad to be called babe? Do you mind?”

He was quiet for so long that she wondered if he was going to answer her at all but then he spoke. “None of this is required for me to protect you.”

Pain sliced through Rena’s chest for him, a man who was suspicious and thought everyone needed a reason to show him any real emotion or warmth.

She hugged him, her arms and legs tightening around him. “I know that, babe. I want to touch you, I want to be this close to you, and I love holding you. Don’t question everything, just feel.”

“I don’t know how.”

Massaging his back, Rena pushed aside her sadness for the things this man had never known. “Then I’ll show you how to relax and we’ll work on you not being so in control all the damn time. That can’t be good for anyone, I don’t care how you were made to be, we both know you’re a hell of a lot more than just a cyborg.”

Steel lifted his head, staring down into Rena’s eyes. “What else am I?”

She didn’t hesitate. “You’re a wonderful man, babe. You’re honest to a fault, you’re a decent man and I know that. You didn’t even know anything about me but you stuck up for me by not wanting your friend Flint to kill me. You rescued me from your cyborg buddies who interrogated me and then decided to play with me. You even stood up for me on that planet when those women weren’t real happy to see me. You didn’t have to do any of that but you did and it speaks volumes to me about your character.”

He continued to stare at her. “I don’t understand your motivation.”

“Do you have to question everything? It’s not all about logic, reason, or motivation sometimes. It’s more about following your gut and listening to your feelings which is what I’m doing right now. I want to get to know you and I want to get closer to you.”

Slowly Steel relaxed, his head lowered and he put his lips against her throat. “You know if we stay in this position that I’m going to f**k you again, don’t you? If you want honest responses from me you are going to get them when I start to move inside you to regain that pleasure you cause me to experience.”

Rena moved her hips, wiggling them, urging him on. “I’m all yours, babe. If you want me, take me.”

Steel lifted his head again, staring at her, and seemed to search her eyes for something. He shifted his arms, bracing his elbows on the bed and then started to move on her.

Rena softly moaned, her hands going for his hair to draw his lips down to hers. “Kiss me. I love kissing you.”

Steel’s lips lowered until their breathing mingled as he slowly f**ked her, his tongue darting out to flick against her upper lip. Rena opened up wide to him, swallowing his groan as his mouth fit over hers and their tongues met, moving in tune. Her h*ps bucked in rhythm to Steel’s.

They kissed while he continued slow, deep thrusts, drawing Rena to pleasure again minutes later. This time the cl**ax was softer but no less satisfying as bliss spread through her body and Steel whispered her name as he found his own release. He let her hold him without complaint afterward, her wrapped around him as he relaxed over her.

Chapter Nine

Fusion looked annoyed as she walked into Steel’s quarters the next morning carrying a tray of food. Rena studied the cyborg woman with dread, wishing that Steel was in his quarters but he’d left hours before to go to work, leaving Rena with access to his entertainment screen to watch older Earth three-dimensional holographic movie crystals.

Rena was tempted to ask the other woman how her session with Riker, the ship’s shrink, had gone but she stayed silent, keeping her distance from the other woman.

Fusion set the tray down but didn’t leave the room, instead glancing at the paused holo projections of two Earth actors standing in a portion of the room. Fusion moved toward them, stopping next to them with a frown.

“They are so much smaller than us.”

“Well, to be fair, those two men are six feet tall. Cyborgs were obviously designed bigger.”

Shrugging, Fusion turned her strange green gaze on Rena. “Why are you watching these? We have them in all of our rooms but they bore me.”

“I hardly ever had time to see movies so I now have tons of time and Steel has a lot of them loaded into the entertainment screen. They are almost like being there.”

“Not accurate. I once visited a dimensional theater where the floor moved and you could feel the wind on your face when they played these movie crystals. That was almost like being there if you removed the smell of food and could overlook the fact that it wasn’t real.”

“True. Watching these beat staring at the walls while waiting for Steel to get off his shift. It’s not as though I have anything else to do since he refused to give me access to the ship’s computer so I could read a book.”

“He had to go down to the planet after there was a problem with a few of the survivalists having issues on what has to be left behind.”

That news didn’t sit well with Rena one bit, wondering if Steel would have to interact with Fiona again, hoping the cyborg wouldn’t hit on him again. She hated feeling jealousy but she couldn’t deny it was there. Last night had been spent in Steel’s arms while they made love, getting to know each other’s bodies. She’d had fun with him, enjoyed the fact that he seemed to really enjoy the after-sex cuddling that she wanted from him and then he’d slept with her in his arms.

“Your regulated breathing has changed. Are you afraid that I’ll drag you to an airlock to vacuum your body out into space?” Fusion chuckled. “As tempting as that is since you’re sharing a bed with the male of my choice I wouldn’t get away with it since there are vid cameras on every floor so security would see me take you from his rooms.

You are his property and therefore untouchable without severe punishment.”

Rena was speechless, too appalled that Fusion would even say such a thing to even find a response.

“He could push me into an airlock as well if I disposed of you that way as an equal punishment for destroying valuable property that can’t be replaced.”

Opening her mouth to speak, Rena still had nothing to say so she closed it.

Fusion wasn’t without words. “Steel is a much-desired male for his intelligence, age, physical strength, and fighting skills. We value that in our males, along with their breeding abilities. To combine our DNA to create strong children is very desirable to us.”

The cyborg backed away from the holograms to cross her arms, watching Rena closely as she stared at her. “He has a very valued job as well with many privileges so the female in his life would have access to what he has. I think it is a waste that he’s sharing his body with you.”

“He obviously doesn’t agree,” Rena got out. “Can you please leave now? Thank you for bringing me lunch.”

Fusion didn’t look happy as she moved toward the door. When she reached it she turned to shoot a glare at Rena, placing her palm on the scanner to open the door. “You should watch your step, human, for I am not the only female who is irritated with Steel’s sexual preferences. Perhaps he didn’t share all the information about himself with you but are you aware of breeding pacts our males have? Ask Steel about it. If he won’t have me I’ll choose a male in Steel’s breeding pact, a male who has defective sperm, and then Steel will have to come to my bed.”