Loving Deviant Read online

  “I thought the scariest part was knowing I was the only woman with seven men on the ship. Now I’m more afraid of the guy with a grudge.”

  He smiled. “You’re mine, Venice. I will protect you. We’ll reach Garden and everything will be fine.”

  She wanted to trust him. It sure beat still being on the station with Darbis hunting her down, trying to force her to work in a brothel.

  She really liked Deviant, and was starting to care about him more than she should. Her heart might get broken in the end if she didn’t rein in her feelings. It was just tough not to be attracted to him on every level. She reminded herself that one day he wanted to join in some family unit thing with a female cyborg.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Anything.” He led her to the bed and sat.

  She took the seat next to him. “What’s wrong with cyborg women?”

  He arched his eyebrows in question.

  “I still can’t understand why you’d have a problem dating them.”

  Deviant hesitated and then blew out a deep breath. “My mother had a difficult time conceiving me. I wasn’t her first child, but I was her last. She already had four sons but it was decided I’d be her fifth.”

  “That’s a lot of kids.”

  “She had one son from each of her other three husbands and two with my father. He was her fourth.”

  “She was married four times?”

  He reached out and took her hand. “She has four current husbands.”

  Venice was stunned. She’d heard of some weird family relationships on Earth. Sometimes the rich would keep a spouse and a known lover, but it was rare for it to become public knowledge.

  “The cyborg males vastly outnumbered the females when we fled Earth. It was logical to have them take as many males as possible into a family unit to avoid fighting.”

  She was confused, and it must have shown because he shrugged.

  “I know it’s not the way it is on Earth. We had to adapt. The males might have started to fight amongst themselves, killing off the competition to win a female’s attention, and we needed to make certain our race survived. Some females have more than four husbands, but four is the standard number.”

  “More?”

  “Some keep six or seven. I have even met one male who was the eighth. It depends on how fertile the female is and how many males she’s willing to accept. Each of us must produce a child to ensure the future of our race.”

  He was a virgin, or had been before they’d met. She refrained from asking him if he had any kids since that seemed highly improbable. “Okay. I guess I can see how that could happen if there are so few women and a lot of men. Don’t the husbands get jealous and still fight?”

  “They don’t live together. The females split their time between the males in their family units. The women move between the homes the males keep, taking their children with them. Jealousy isn’t a factor that arises much.”

  “That’s hard to believe.” Venice tried to relate by imagining having to share Deviant with another woman or a group of them. She didn’t like the thought one bit.

  “It’s difficult to explain.”

  That was an understatement. “So in other words, there are so many men that it’s tough to find a woman who doesn’t already have a ton of husbands?”

  “We located more cyborg females recently, so the numbers aren’t as uneven as they used to be. My mother had to take experimental drugs to produce me. I told you that she had two children with my father. Dalk was born first, and showed exceptional intelligence at a young age. My mother stripped my father of the right to raise him by giving him to another male as his son.”

  “That sounds really messed up! She was allowed to do that?”

  He inclined his head. “It was. She has a strong bond to her first husband. Their child was born with flaws. Perfection is desired with cyborg parents, a source of pride, so she allowed him to claim Dalk as his own so he’d have a healthy son. My father was stripped of the right to raise and be a part of Dalk’s life. He protested, but she ignored his wishes. So my father took my mother before the council, and they ordered her to have another child that he could retain established rights to. He had also promised to have a child for his friend Krell, who wasn’t able to meet his requirement to produce a child for our society.”

  Venice opened her mouth, found no words since she was so confused, and ended up just sealing her lips. His world sounded pretty complicated.

  “Krell is heavily scarred and no female wanted to join in a family unit with him. He and my father are close friends, and have been since they fled Earth together. I’m legally registered to Krell, to fulfill his obligation to our race. But as I stated, my mother had a difficult time getting pregnant. Or perhaps she was angry enough over the council’s ruling that she attempted not to have another child. The experimental drug the council ordered her to take to conceive had unexpected results.” He released her and fisted his hand. “My skin tone is much darker than that of any other cyborg.”

  “So?” Venice glanced at his hand, then back to his face. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  His gaze and expression softened. “I am glad you believe so, but flaws in our society are an embarrassment to parents and to our race. Most children born with defects are able to overcome them with surgeries. That’s not possible with me. They attempted to treat my skin when I was younger with pigmentation therapy but it only darkened it more.”

  Anger stirred fast inside her. “That’s bullshit. There’s nothing wrong with your skin!”

  “My eyes are another flaw.”

  She peered into them, shocked. “They’re gorgeous.”

  “They hold a luminosity factor that wasn’t expected.”

  “They’re very bright but they’re breathtaking.”

  “Thank you.” He took her hand again, lacing his fingers through hers. “Some cyborg females are uncomfortable looking at me. They don’t want my flaws passed down to their children, and it’s probable those traits are hereditary. They banned the drug to make certain no others were born like me.”

  She let that sink in. “So that’s why you’re not married? Women on your planet are dumb and superficial?”

  He chuckled. “Yes.”

  “Their loss in my gain.” She leaned in closer and reached up with her free hand to press her palm against his chest. “You’re the best-looking man I’ve ever seen.”

  The pained look that flashed across his face, and the way he studied her as if he wasn’t sure she was being honest, about broke her heart. She released his hand and stood, straddling his lap.

  “I mean it, Deviant. I get turned-on just looking at you. You’re perfect. Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise. Believe me.” She trailed her hand up his chest to his shoulder and leaned in. “Do you think I’m flawed because three of my limbs are add-ons?”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “Would they think that on your world?”

  “Possibly.”

  “Then fuck them. All that matters is what we think—and guess what? I want you…and I hope you want me.”

  He wrapped his arms around her waist. “You’re perfect to me too, Venice. I want you as well.”

  She smiled. “We’re on a bed. Isn’t that convenient?”

  He smiled back. “I like the way you think.”

  “I like the way you do everything.”

  Chapter Five

  Venice woke and stretched, the firm, warm body behind her causing her to smile. She rolled over, facing Deviant, who slept on his side. Memories of the evening before almost had her chuckling.

  The handsome cyborg had let her ride him once they’d shed their clothing, but then he’d tried to get dressed again to go to sleep. She’d refused to let him.

  It had stunned him a bit to consider sleeping nude with her, but she’d shown him the advantages by roaming her hands all over his chest and lower. That had turned into another bout of sex. He was a fast