Kissing Steel (23 page)

“Yes it is. If you won’t be with me, I refuse to allow a human to have you. If you

reconsider I’ll contact Zorus and tell him I was misinformed of the situation so he will

have the charges dropped.”

“Blackmail?” Steel’s eyebrow arched. “That’s very irrational and unstable behavior.

I refuse to join into a contract with you.”

Rage gripped the female cyborg’s features. “Take him to holding and his human as

well. They can enjoy each other’s company in separate cells.”

“That’s uncalled for.” Gene frowned at Fusion. “She’s not a prisoner.”

“They want to be together so let them.” Fusion spun on her heel and stomped away.

“Under council order, I am now in charge of the
Vontage
until we reach Garden. Follow

my orders.”

“I’m sorry,” Blackie said softly. “I didn’t file that report but when she did, they

stripped me of command. Fusion made it sound as if we blindly follow you so our logic is

flawed as a whole. I can have your guards treat you both with the utmost respect. It’s all I

can do until your trial. I will speak on your behalf. In the meantime, Wire has started to

remove the implanted chips. They are located at the base of the back of the neck so it will

be an easy procedure for our men. I’ll make sure Wire gets access to you while you are

here so she can remove yours.” Blackie glanced at Rena. “She will not pose a threat to

our men any longer.”

Steel nodded at Blackie then squared his shoulders and turned away. “Let’s go,

Rena. I’ll clear this up on Garden but until then we need to go with them to the holding

cells.”

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She was too stunned to say anything, just let Steel and the armed cyborgs lead her

out of the cargo area, down a hallway, to a lift. They traveled to what must have been the

bowels of the ship, judging by how many levels they dropped before the lift stopped and

opened to reveal a large room.

It was an open space with three large cages, beds and cleansing units set up in each

one. Steel kept his head up, his shoulders straight as he led her into the closest cage,

allowing one of the men to close the door between them before he moved to the cell next

to hers. The sounds of the cages closing were loud and scary to Rena as she stared at the

bars surrounding them and above their heads. The cage was about fifteen by ten feet with

two-inch thick metal bars on all sides.

“Will you bring us blankets? She can’t regulate her body to adjust to the colder air

down here.” Steel addressed one of the guards.

The man gave a jerk of his head, turned, and walked away. Steel turned to face Rena

and reached through the bars to take her hand again.

“It will be fine. We’ll arrive at Garden in a matter of days.”

She closed the distance to latch onto him with both hands around his. “You got into

trouble over me. I’m so sorry.”

“I have no regrets. You are here with me instead of captured and being hurt, so I

achieved my goal.”

“What is going to happen to you if they don’t think what you did was the best

thing?”

He hesitated. “I won’t be killed if that is your fear. This isn’t Earth Government and

we don’t terminate other cyborgs except in extreme cases. Most likely I would be

stripped of my position and I could be sentenced to do hard labor in one of the jobs that

are very undesirable if I am found guilty of a crime.” He paused. “You didn’t ask what

would happen to you.”

“I’m more concerned with your fate.”

A small smile played at his lips. “Thank you.” That smile died. “You belong to me

and they can’t strip me of ownership of you so they’ll take you to my home where I’ll set

up deliveries to care for you until I’m released, if I am found guilty.”

She was speechless.

“You will be a prisoner there but my home is comfortable and I have friends who

will protect you.” He paused. “I will have you branded as mine so do not fight if someone

arrives to do that. It will be on my orders.”

“But they won’t touch me, will they? Protect isn’t a nice word for saying they will

try to have sex with me, right?”

He chuckled. “They wouldn’t dare attempt it. You are mine, Rena. I want you

marked so all know it. Do you agree to carry my brand on your body?”

Her relief was instant. In cyborg language, she figured that was almost as good as a

marriage proposal. “Yes! I’m so damn sorry about all of this. I feel responsible.”

“You are not. Fusion is irritated with my decision to refuse her and she is being

vindictive.” He shrugged his broad shoulders. “We are sometimes emotional and clearly

let it show at times like these.”

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Kissing Steel – Laurann Dohner

One of the guards returned carrying a few folded blankets. He unlocked the cage

door and stepped inside. Rena reluctantly released Steel’s hand to accept them. The guard

surveyed her body, smiling.

“If you are cold I will be more than happy to warm you up.”

Rena backed away, gripping the blankets as Steel spoke, his voice harsh, deep, and

icy cold. “Touch her and I’ll kill you the first chance I get. I haven’t been found guilty

yet, Bortno, so keep that in mind.”

Bortno gave a sharp nod, backing up. “I understand. She is yours.”

“She is mine,” Steel confirmed.

The guard left the cage and walked away, leaving them alone in the large room.

“Thank you.”

“You’re mine to protect.”

“I guess we’re going to get to know each other really well if we’re going to be here

for a while.”

He smiled. “Yes.”

She moved to her cot and gripped it, throwing her weight into it as she started to drag

it toward the wall of his cell. The cot wasn’t more than seventy or eighty pounds so she

managed to maneuver it without too much trouble, pushing it up tight to the bars. She sat

down cross-legged, facing the bars. Steel was watching her, amusement etching his

features. He moved his own cot, mirroring its position to hers so the bars separated their

mattresses. He removed his boots and sat down, mimicking her position.

“If we can’t sleep together at least we’re close. She reached through the bars to rub

his knee. “And we can touch.”

“I wish we could do more.”

“Me too.” She laughed.

“Sleep, you look tired.”

“I’m exhausted actually but I’m also worked up, my mind is going a mile a minute.”

“A mile a minute?” He laughed. “That is another Earth saying that is amusing.

Thoughts are not measured in distance.”

Laughing, she squeezed his knee. “That’s good to know.”

Steel moved suddenly, stretching out on his side on the cot, making her release her

hold on him until he settled down, inches from the bars. “Lie down. Rest, my little siren.

We have a lot of time to catch up on your sleep cycle and for talking.”

She lay on her side, facing him. Steel reached through the bars and took her hand.

She gripped his as their gazes locked.

“Do you think you’ll beat the charges?”

“I have confidence that I can make them see the logic of my decision to go after

you.”

“And cyborgs are logical.”

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Kissing Steel – Laurann Dohner

“For the most part.” He smiled. “Do not worry. The worst they will do is issue a

difficult task for me to accomplish for a period of time. I can handle whatever

punishment they deem appropriate.”

A yawn surprised her.

Steel smiled. “Sleep. Rest. I am here.”

Nodding, she closed her eyes. Steel was holding her hand, inches from her and she

had to believe things would work out. She didn’t want to ponder any other options.

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Kissing Steel – Laurann Dohner

Garden was very similar to Earth with its lush vegetation and clear blue sky but the

city was vastly different as Rena stared at the uniform blue buildings that all looked to be

constructed from the same plans. The streets were remarkably clean, another huge

difference from cities at home. She was afraid as they were led into one of the buildings.

Steel was in front of her but they didn’t have him in chains. Four large cyborgs

surrounded them.

The city wasn’t that large, perhaps the size of a small Earth city but a seventy-five-

foot wall separated it from the woods surrounding it. Steel had informed her it was to

keep the city protected from the natural inhabitants of the planet, a humanoid-amphibian

race that so far they hadn’t had much luck communicating with. The amphibians had

tried to attack a few times but no deaths had resulted.

The room they were taken to was a courtroom, identifiable to Rena as she stared at

the rows of chairs on one side, an open space, and then a higher large desk-like structure

in the front of the room. Nine males and three female cyborgs sat behind that taller desk,

their faces emotionless, and all wore matching white shirts. The guards led Steel to a lone

chair in the center of the room where he stood. Rena was motioned to sit in a chair along

the wall away from the rows of seats. The room was eerily silent.

“Let them in,” one of the men behind the desk said.

“Yes, Councilman Zorus,” the guard stated, turning to nod at another guard by a set

of doors on the other side of the room.

Cyborgs came into the room in pairs. Their clothing varied, some in uniforms similar

to the one Steel wore, while others were dressed in casual two-piece sets in various

colors. Every face looked grim as Rena glanced at the strangers. They filled the five rows

of seats in a quick and efficient manner. It was obvious they were there to watch the

proceedings. Rena saw a few familiar faces, one of which she shot a glare at as Fusion

took a front-row seat.

Blackie and Gene sat next to Fusion and two of the males from the
Bridden
were

present—the pilot who had shuttled it to rescue Rena and the one who had blown up the

pod. Not one of them looked at her so she focused her attention back on Steel. He stood

there calmly, a bored expression on his face. Rena wished he’d look at her but he never

turned his head, just leaving her to stare at his profile.

“Begin,” one of the females behind the desk said softly.

Zorus nodded. He turned his head, his dark brown glare fixing on Rena. “We are the

cyborg council of twelve. I am Zorus. You are to be a witness and you will be honest. Is

that understood? We will be watching you closely and if we believe you are trying to

deceive us, we will order you to be held during testimony, to monitor your responses. Do

you understand?”

She swallowed hard. “Yes, sir.”

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Kissing Steel – Laurann Dohner

The cyborg frowned. “It’s councilman.”

“Yes, Councilman.”

He nodded and turned to glare at Steel. “Explain yourself.”

“What would you like me to explain? I retrieved her when it became apparent that

Earth Government realized she had been in contact with us and they made it clear they

would torture her to divulge that information. I realized she could not withstand their

methods for long. The choice was to allow her to be captured or to avoid the situation by

getting her back. I believe I made the correct choice.”

That was all Steel planned to say in his defense? Rena’s stomach was a bit queasy.

There was so much he hadn’t explained to help clear him of the charges. Why hadn’t

Steel told them all of it? She bit her lip, staring at the council members, trying to judge

their reactions. She looked at each face but they masked whatever they were thinking or

feeling.

“We’ve read all the reports,” one of the women members stated. “I saw your logic.”

She turned her head to study Zorus with an intense look. “I don’t know why we are here.

We don’t want Earth to know we have a home planet or that we were the ones who

liberated some of their vessels from deep space. It was a sound plan to retrieve the

human.”

Zorus’ features twisted with frustration as his mouth turned downward and his eyes

narrowed. “Then you also read the reports about the specifications of the
Bridden
. We

could clone the shielding technology from it and use that knowledge to help protect

ourselves, yet he risked losing that potential asset over a human life.”

A blond cyborg councilman frowned as his blue gaze locked on Zorus. “Yet his

mission was successful without any damage to the
Bridden
. We have the human and

Earth does not. Why are we here?”

Zorus looked enraged as his skin darkened noticeably. “He risked what doesn’t

belong to him for a human. Am I the only one to see this?”

The blond male stood and so did the black-haired cyborg to his immediate left. The

blond spoke. “We are all aware you hate humans but you are wasting our time going after

an honorable member of our society with your personal cause.”