Burning Up Flint Read online

  The gate in the wall automatically opened as the transport vehicle approached. Cyborg City came into view, showing Mira dark blue buildings that were all uniform—same height, color, and shape. The streets were perfect, as if someone had taken the time to exactly measure everything. There was no litter, making it the cleanest place she’d ever seen.

  Cyborgs walked from one building to another, mostly wearing loose blue clothing like jumpsuits, while fewer of them wore black pants with different-colored shirts. She saw some women and she couldn’t help but stare. The cyborg women were tall, well-muscled, with athletic proportions. She didn’t see a single white-skinned person like her. She saw cyborgs in all shades of gray, from a very light, almost dolphin-blue shade to a color much darker than Flint. A few were almost charcoal gray.

  When the transport stopped in front of a building, the ramp automatically slid out. Flint leaned down, gripped his bag and nodded at Mira. “Stick close to me.”

  Flint didn’t even have to tell her that. Mira was afraid. She was the only human she could see. She saw heads turning, some cyborgs halted, giving their full attention to Mira. She even noticed some of them were coming out of buildings to stare openly at her as she reached the top of the ramp. Flint braced his legs halfway down, reaching back to offer his hand to Mira.

  “Ignore them,” he said softly. “Some of them haven’t seen a real human woman before. We have a few elderly human females who left Earth when we did, sympathizers, but they stay inside for the most part. They are just curious about you.”

  He helped her down the steep ramp but released her hand at the bottom. He turned on his heel, heading for the nearest building. Mira glanced around nervously, seeing that there had to be a hundred cyborgs staring at her and it looked like more were walking their way to get a better look at her. She almost ran behind Flint, not wanting to let more than a few feet get between them. She was betting, with human/cyborg history, that humans probably weren’t real popular in the cyborg world.

  A male dressed in a black uniform nodded at Flint as they entered the building. When he saw Mira he lunged into her path, getting between Flint and Mira. She gasped, jerking to a halt to avoid slamming into the huge, muscular cyborg. He scared the shit out of her. His eyes were black to match his hair and his skin was startling in contrast—a light blue-tinted gray. He looked furious as he glared down at her.

  “What are you doing?”

  Flint was there all of the sudden, moving around the man, shoving the other cyborg away from Mira as Flint gripped her arm. He jerked her farther back, stepping in front of her to block her body from the cyborg in black.

  “She’s human!” The cyborg sounded furious. “You can’t bring one of them in here.”

  “She’s my property. Are you blind to her markings? She goes where I go.” Flint snarled the words. “Is your training so inept that a little thing like her is something you consider a threat? I’ll protect you from her, guard.”

  The two cyborgs glared at each other as Mira’s fear mounted. The guard seemed to hate her and she was shocked that he considered her a threat. She swallowed hard before finding her voice. She was terrified Flint and the other cyborg were going to come to blows over her and she wanted to avoid that.

  “I’m just a sales representative from Firmaline.”

  The guard moved a little so he could see her better. A slow frown formed on the man’s lips. “Firmaline? Is that the Earth company that sells beauty products to females to keep them from aging?”

  She nodded. “We call them health enhancers. We sell a lot of products to men too. They aren’t just for enhancing looks. They literally slow the aging process.”

  The guard actually chuckled and his black gaze slid to Flint. “You enslaved a beauty consultant?”

  “I’m a sales representative, not a beauty consultant.” Mira was irritated.

  Flint sighed. “May we pass now? She’s not a threat.”

  The guard nodded. “Proceed. I can’t wait for Arrion to meet her. Did you bring her as a present to Arrion?”

  “No.” Flint sounded pissed. “Don’t purposely aggravate me. You can see from her markings that she’s mine and no gift.”

  “That’s a shame.” The guard chuckled. “I would have escorted you to Arrion’s office myself, just to see the reaction of being gifted with a beauty consultant, if you had grown tired of owning a human.”

  Flint looked annoyed. “Follow me, Mirasia Carver.”

  She had noticed that Flint addressed her by her full name when other cyborgs were around. She followed him into a lift. When the doors swished shut Mira realized that Flint still looked furious as he shot her a grim look.

  “I apologize. Are you all right?”

  “I can’t believe he thought I was dangerous.”

  A grin split Flint’s lips. “It was amusing. You’re not secretly a trained human assassin, are you, Mira?”

  “If I were, I would have kicked mutant pirate ass when they boarded the pod.”

  His smile instantly died, looking pissed off in a heartbeat, making Mira want to kick herself for reminding him that she’d run away from him. She swallowed as the lift stopped. Flint didn’t look at her as he stepped out of the small space so she just followed him closely. She saw glass doors leading into a large office with a male cyborg in a blue jumpsuit sitting behind a desk. The cyborg looked up and nodded at Flint as they walked into the room.

  “You’re back,” the cyborg grinned. “How was deep space?”

  “It is the same as always.” Flint chuckled as he spoke. “How are you, Zare?”

  “Good. I’m the same as before. Arrion is waiting for you.” The man’s focus slid to Mira. “You brought a souvenir back?”

  “This is Mirasia Carver.”

  Zare frowned at her. “She’s human.”

  “She is.” Flint sighed. “I won’t keep Arrion waiting.”

  Flint moved forward with Mira on his heels. He’d told her to stick close so she followed him to a room with an open door. As Flint walked inside, Mira got a look at the large private office with a terrific view out the large windows along one wall. She could see the edge of the city and the woods. In the distance an ocean was visible. It was barely in view but there. They had to be on a high floor in the building to get such a scenic view.

  A female cyborg walked out of a side door. Mira turned her attention to the woman, noticing immediately that her skin was almost the same light shade as Flint’s. She had white hair, big blue eyes that were startling in their light color, with long white eyelashes that surrounded those compelling eyes. The woman wore a tight black shirt that revealed cleavage and she wore a black leather miniskirt with high-heeled shoes. The woman’s legs were muscular and well shaped. She was a gorgeous Amazon of a cyborg woman.

  “Flint,” the woman almost purred. “You’re back.” She closed the distance in a few long-legged steps to throw her arms around Flint, hugging him hard. “I’ve missed you.”

  Flint tensed, hesitating before giving the woman a hug by gripping her hips. He let her hold him for a few seconds before releasing her to step back, almost forcing the woman to let him go. They were almost the same height. The woman had to be six-foot-two in low heels. Mira’s jealous streak roared to life. Were Flint and the woman lovers? Ex-lovers? The cyborg woman looked as if she were sexually interested in Flint, making Mira instantly dislike her. She didn’t like feeling the green monster that gripped her.

  “This assignment was too damn long.” The woman sat on the edge of her desk and spread her thighs a few inches apart, her ass barely touching the piece of furniture. She crossed her arms under her breasts, which pushed up her cleavage dangerously high, to the rim of her shirt, exposing a healthy amount of cleavage. “I’ve really missed you. Have you considered my unit offer?”

  Flint looked irritated. “Arrion, I considered it but I decided I have to refuse your offer.”

  Shock showed on the woman’s face. “What?” She let her arms drop to her s