Burning Up Flint Read online

  She nodded. “Will they be cyborgs?”

  He hesitated. “Probably. I’m mostly made up of human clone material but all cyborgs have children who are physically flawed. We were purposely engineered flawed and it has carried on to our children. Cybernetics will make our children whole and healthy.”

  “Okay.”

  “Will this bother you?”

  “Having little cyborgs?” She shook her head. “I hadn’t planned on having a family for some years but I never planned on meeting you either.”

  Flint chuckled. “I never planned on you, Mira.”

  “You saved my life yet again. I really would want to die if you let someone else have me. I want to stay with you.”

  His hand stilled and then he continued to brush his fingers through her hair. “Sleep. You need it.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Mira woke alone to find a tray of food at the end of the bed. Flint was gone but she was still in his room. That had to be a good sign. She used the cleaning unit and put on one of Flint’s shirts. The entire time she ate she wondered if Flint was talking to Iron. What if Iron wouldn’t sell her back? Fear hit her. It still hurt slightly that Flint had sold her in the first place. She finished breakfast.

  She paced. Being locked in Flint’s quarters was boring. He didn’t have any entertainment units. Most living quarters carried vid players or music players. Flint’s didn’t. Hours passed before the doors finally opened. Flint walked in, wearing his uniform. His grim expression made her heart slow in dread.

  “Is everything all right?” Mira asked, afraid.

  Flint hesitated while the doors shut behind him. “Iron wasn’t happy when I asked him to sell you back to me or when I reminded him of our longstanding friendship. I had to tell him how much I wanted to keep you to try to get him to revoke the sale.”

  “But did he sell me back?” She heard the desperation in her voice.

  Flint hesitated again. “With conditions.”

  She moved to the bed and sat. “That doesn’t sound good. What kind of conditions?”

  Flint crossed his arms over his chest, his features were set in a grim mask. “He wanted to use your body for a few hours.”

  Dread hit her hard. She shook her head. “No. Please, Flint?”

  His eyes narrowed. “I refused.”

  Relief washed through Mira as she nodded. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. He’s never had sex with a human but he was given one of the new females we took from the shuttle we boarded. He’s nervous about touching her. Cyborg women and pleasure ship females far out in space are not fully human. I won’t let him have you but he’d like to see a demonstration.”

  Startled, she let his words sink in. “I don’t understand. What kind of demonstration?”

  “He’s going to watch us. He wants me to show him how to have sex with a human.”

  Panic hit her. “No way.”

  “Would you prefer he not sell you back to me? The only reason he wanted you in the first place it seems was because you’ve had sex with me. He didn’t want to keep you long term because I’d branded you but he wants his new slave to enjoy his touch. He thought renting you out afterward would make the money back that he paid for you. I won’t force you, Mira—it’s your choice. I’m not particularly thrilled with the idea of performing for someone during intercourse. That’s not something I’m into but I am willing to ignore him to keep you. Are you willing to ignore him to stay with me? He won’t use your body. I made him swear to that.”

  Mira stared at Flint in shock. She wasn’t even sure how to respond to such a request. Did she really have a choice? If she said no then Iron would refuse to break the sale and he’d take her away from Flint.

  “It will just be Iron? No one else will be here?”

  “Just Iron and I won’t allow him to use your body.”

  “So he’ll be in the room with us?”

  Flint nodded. “He might ask questions. Iron is very curious.”

  “Isn’t sex with me just like sex with a cyborg woman or a pleasure worker?”

  “No. You’re more fragile. He doesn’t want to damage his female.”

  “Well, you figured it out. Can’t he just figure it out too?”

  Flint hesitated. “I am unique in the fact that I worked with humans. I have dealt a lot with sympathizers to our causes who help smuggle things to us from Earth. I made human male friends and had many conversations with them about sex when a few of the human females were interested in sex with me. I didn’t have to seduce them and make them want me as Iron will have to do with his slave. He’s interested in making a family unit with her as well. She is resistant to him so he wants to learn about how to seduce a human woman to pleasure her so his slave wants him.”

  “So I’m going to be a show-and-tell on how to turn on a human woman? Is that the sum of it?”

  Flint nodded. “It was the condition he gave me to release you from our deal of sale. It is your choice, Mira. I won’t force you.”

  She studied him. “Isn’t that the point though? This woman is unwilling and he wants to seduce her? You could seduce me. You have.”

  His eyes narrowed. “I see. You are agreeing, but you want to do this without saying the words aloud, as if you are unwilling.”

  She swallowed and repeated, “You could seduce me. All I ask is that you blindfold me.”

  She saw shock hit his features. “Why?”

  “I would be really uncomfortable looking at him, knowing he was watching you touch me. Do you swear you won’t let him use me?”

  “I swear to you that no man but me will take you. I’d fight him if he tried to possess you. You are mine, Mira.”

  She stared into his eyes. “I trust you. I need to be blindfolded so I can pretend it is just us.”

  Flint nodded. “Whatever makes it easier for you will make it easier on me.” He went to his drawers where he removed a few items. He tucked them under his arm. “Let’s go.”

  She paled. “Now?”

  “Now. He is impatient to touch his new acquisition.”

  She was nervous. “Okay.” She walked closer to Flint and gaze up at him. “I guess this is a small price to pay.”

  “You will be blindfolded. I have no shield to hide behind and I really am private about my matters.”

  She blushed. “So am I.”

  He gripped her arm. “Let’s go. He’s waiting.”

  “Where are we going?”

  She let Flint lead her out of the room to head away from the lift. “There is a room down the hall that isn’t in use at the moment. I didn’t want him in our room and he has his human female tied to his bed.”

  Flint stopped in front of a door to press his hand to the scanner. The doors slid open and Mira saw that Iron was already in the room. The man was leaning against a wall. He eyed Mira with then his cool look shifted to Flint.

  “Are you returning her to me or is she willing?”

  “She’s willing but she wants to be blindfolded so she doesn’t have to be aware of you watching her.”

  Iron grinned, looking highly amused as he met Mira’s eyes, arching his eyebrow at her. “Really?”

  Flint released Mira and pointed to the bed. “Strip and get on your back.”

  Mira’s face flushed as she looked at the bed, which wasn’t like Flint’s. This was just a metal single-size cot, though it was longer than a standard-size Earth one. Cyborgs were tall. She kept her back to Iron as she stripped quickly. She was really embarrassed because she knew he could see her ass. A hand gripped her arm and she gasped, her head jerking around, as she covered her breasts with her hands.

  Flint met her eyes and arched an eyebrow at her. “You’re a little jumpy. I told you that I’m the only one who will possess you.”

  “You startled me. I didn’t hear you come up behind me.”

  “I don’t have a blindfold but I brought a belt I use for sparring. Ready?”

  He released her. He showed Mira the bel