“He was the only breeding male. The others were sterile. We tried but only Coal was able to produce for us. He refused to service our women so we had to take measures to force him to comply. After he started running from us and we were forced to track him countless times, we changed his status from free to slave.” Plono glared back at Ice. “All of our children are from him. Would you prefer that we did not breed?”

“Fuck,” Ice cursed. “You forced him?” Rage curved his hands into fists and his body tensed. “You enslaved him? Turned him into a breeding machine for any of your females who wished to have children? Is that what you’re saying?”

“It was the only option he left us with.” Her full focus turned on Dawn. “She freed him. I know he couldn’t have broken loose himself. I tied him down personally. I demand she be punished.”

The woman who had taken Davton from Dawn earlier stepped forward. “She saved the life of my son, Plono. She deserves mercy for that.”

Irritation flashed on the cyborg woman’s face. “Fine. I will only give her ten lashes instead of twenty for her helping my male escape.” She shot a dirty look at Iron. “You will help find him since your slave freed him. That is fair.”

Iron gripped Dawn’s arm. “If you touch my human I’ll take a whip to you and give you twenty lashes. No one touches her but me.” He jerked his head at Ice. “Let’s go. We’re going back to the Star and have a conversation with Steel and Flint over this.”

“What about my male?” Plono was still angry. “We are leaving the planet soon and without your assistance we won’t be able to find him. He is very cunning at hiding from us.”

“We’ll find him,” Ice hissed. “And we’ll make damn sure he’s off this planet and out of your control.”

“He’s mine,” Plono took a threatening step toward Ice.

“Enough,” Iron ground out. “We will find the male and then address his status.”

Ice shot a disbelieving look at Iron. Iron met his gaze and nodded. “We need to get back to the Star now to have that meeting.”

Relief flooded Dawn as she walked away with Iron and Ice, leaving the small camp behind them. As soon as they were out of earshot, Ice spoke.

“We’re going to find this male and make damn sure those females don’t get their hands on him again.”

“Agreed,” Iron sighed. “I didn’t want to fight with them. What they did was wrong but who knows what the council will decide. He was the only viable male but most of the council will have issues with his becoming a slave. Our main objective now is making Steel and Flint aware, and to find this male.”

“His name is Coal,” Dawn offered. “He’s about six-foot-four, really buff, with dark brown eyes and he’s bald.”

Iron stopped walking, studying Dawn. “Did you free him or did he break loose?”

“I cut the ropes.” She lifted her chin, daring Iron to get mad at her over it. “They had him tied down na**d to a bed and I was ordered to ignore him like he didn’t exist. It pissed me off.” She hesitated. “I told him to head for the shuttle we were working on and that I thought you’d help him. He thinks women rule all the men and that your women will just hand him back over to those bitches back there. I told him men outnumber women.”

Ice sighed. “Perhaps he will come to us so we don’t have to look for him.”

“Perhaps.” Iron let his hand trail down Dawn’s arm to her hand, which he grasped. “I worried that you’d run from me. I am proud that you saved the small child’s life.”

“I just hope your doctors can fix his legs. He’s so damn cute and it never would have happened if he wasn’t in those damn leg braces.”

Iron studied her eyes. “You care about him.”

“He’s a little kid. Everyone should care about them.”

“He’s a cyborg.”

Dawn snorted. “So?”

Iron looked away from her. “Let’s go.”

Her gaze wandered the area around them, hoping to spot Coal, but when they reached the old shuttle no one but Iron’s men were there. He gave them an update and then led Dawn back to where the Rally had landed. Ice had stayed behind to keep an eye out for Coal in case he showed up looking for help.

Depression flooded Dawn as they left the planet’s surface. She realized Iron was watching her as she sat on the cargo hold floor near him. Turning her head, she met his narrowed gaze.

“Are you well, Dawn?”

“I’m bummed.”

That drew a frown from him.

“You’re going to lock me back up in our quarters.”

His features softened with understanding. “My meeting won’t run long and then I’ll be back to my quarters.”

She didn’t miss how she had said “our quarters” and he’d said “my” with a definite emphasis on it. It might be habit for him to talk in the singular but she doubted it. She guessed it was a gentle reminder that he owned everything and that included her. Pain sliced through her chest.

After Iron left her locked in their quarters, Dawn stripped out of the borrowed clothing, going into the cleansing unit immediately to wash the river smell from her hair and body. She leaned against the wall as foam hit her na**d body, her thoughts all centered on Iron and his stubborn pride. Would it kill him to relax and not try to put walls between them? First it was his issue of not sleeping with her and now he was trying to keep her at arm’s length with petty wording.

The foam made her body tingle as it melted to liquid. She climbed out and dried off with one of Iron’s thick towels. She had to do something or she was going to be miserable. That wasn’t acceptable. Dawn shook her head. No way was she going to live with a man who made her unhappy. She dropped the towel, walked to the bed and stretched out na**d on it.

Fiona was bothering her as well. Would the woman be able to force Iron into her bed? If Dawn could go back in time she would have hit her harder when she’d punched her in the face. The cyborg seemed damn determined to make little redheaded babies with Iron. Dawn clenched her teeth and raw jealousy poured through her at the thought of him touching another woman, willing or not. He was hers, carried her name on his body, and they were married.

She got up and put on one of Iron’s shirts. It fell almost to her knees, so baggy she almost laughed. Her mood wouldn’t allow it though as she paced. If they went back to the cyborg planet and the council sided with Fiona, Iron would be forced to breed with that green-eyed bitch. He’d probably be tied to a bed and forced to suffer her touch the way poor Coal had been, forced to endure whatever the women who wanted him did to him while trying to get pregnant by using him as a stud.

Dawn started to worry as minutes turned into hours. Finally the door opened to admit Iron. One glance at his features told her he was furious as he stepped inside and let the doors close behind him. Their gazes met and held. She walked right up to him to put her hands on his chest.

“What’s wrong?”

A muscle along his jaw jumped as he unclenched his teeth. “We recovered Coal. He walked right up to Ice and introduced himself so we brought him aboard the Star. We listened to his story and then contacted the cyborg council to inform them of his mistreatment by the females from the Moonslip. They in turn contacted the surface, relaying the signals through the Vontage. Fiona and Plono made a strong case for their actions to the council since he was the only male with naturally viable sperm they could use. They aren’t going to hold those females accountable for making a slave of one of our males.”

“So they just get away with it?” A horrible thought struck her. “Are they ordering you to return him to them? You won’t do it, will you?”

“They aren’t ordering that. They were horrified at his treatment and he’s been assigned to the Star so no women are near him unless he wants them to be. The women will be transferred to Garden so they will have access to many males yet Plono still argued to try to keep him. She really angered me and the other males. Coal is safe now on the Star where he will remain. As of this moment he is in his private quarters down the hall.”

“Thank God.” She sighed, relaxing for a moment. “That poor man.”

Cocking his head, Iron frowned at her. “You care for him?” Something flickered in his eyes.

Dawn arched an eyebrow. “Are you jealous? Don’t be.” Her fingers explored his uniform shirt as her morose thoughts returned. “I just feel bad for him. They forced him to have sex with whatever woman wanted to get knocked up, tied him to a bed, and kept him as a slave. That would be a horrible life for anyone but I imagine it is worse for a big, strapping male. It had to play hell with his ego.”

“You are spending a lot of time considering how it affected him.” Anger simmered in Iron’s beautiful blue eyes. “Are you sure you aren’t drawn to him?”

“You are jealous.” Dawn couldn’t help but grin, a warm feeling spreading through her chest. “You do care about me.”

Iron’s entire body tensed. “You find this amusing that I don’t enjoy the concept of you being drawn to another male?” He wrapped his arms around her waist. “You are mine, Dawn. Never forget that. I won’t share your body, or space in your thoughts, with another man.”

“The only thing I’m thinking about is you.” She started unbuttoning his shirt. “And getting you naked.” She glanced up at him. “And then having hot, sweaty sex together.”

“Are you sure you aren’t drawn to him?” Iron searched her eyes with his intense gaze.

“Sexy, you’re the only man I’m drawn to. I swear.” She pushed open his shirt, lowering her focus to his broad chest. “You take my breath away. You’re a guy, but damn are you beautiful. I just want to run my hands over every inch of your skin and lick you in the worst way.”

He took a sharp breath and blood swelled into his cock, bringing it to life as it hardened against her where he pressed into her stomach. She loved that he reacted so strongly to her. She rid him of his shirt and started on the front of his pants as she eased back. He released her as she removed his belt and dropped it to the floor. His pants went down to his ankles and she shoved his briefs down too. She went to her knees before him and he lifted his feet to help her as she removed his boots and socks.

When she’d freed him of everything she straightened on her knees, inspecting a very aroused c**k inches in front of her face. “I think I should start here.”

“Dawn,” he said softly. “Don’t tease.”

Lifting her gaze to peer up at him, she smiled, licked her lips, and then breathed on the tip of his cock, which pointed at her. “Sexy, it’s only teasing if I don’t aim to please and I do.” Her hand wrapped around the base of his shaft as she opened her mouth.

She thought about teasing him but then just took him fully inside her mouth, wrapping around a good four inches of him. Her tongue rubbed the underside of his c**k as she suckled on him, her hand slowly pumping hard flesh. A soft groan was Iron’s response. His fingers slid into her hair, cupping the side of her head to massage her scalp. Her other hand slid up his inner thigh to his sac where she lightly raked her fingernails on the underside before cupping to gently massage.

Tilting her head, she took more of him until he neared the back of her throat, slowly sucking as she pulled back, almost releasing him but not letting go. She suddenly pushed forward, taking him again, turning her head straight and then set a steady pace, repeating the maneuver.

“What you do to me,” Iron softly groaned.

She knew what that was as his c**k hardened even more, taking on the consistency of his name. His sweet flavor teased her taste buds as pr**cum eased out onto her tongue. She moaned around him and his other hand slid into her hair, his fingers lightly gripping the sides of her head. His balls drew up in her palm, the skin tightening. She knew he was going to come when he started to move his h*ps in counter sync to her mouth. She slowed the pace and then eased him out of her mouth fully. Dawn opened her eyes and leaned back a little to stare up at him.