Seth: Futuristic Spy Romance (Cyborgs: More Than Machines) (6 page)

“Fucked
us
over.”

“Whatever. If you knew they did that
, then why did you keep working for them? Because I remember how you felt about liars.”

“
I didn’t let on that I knew their charges against you were bogus. I needed an in and access to their intel if I had any hopes of finding you again.” He shrugged. “I didn’t want to help the bastards, but I knew I wouldn’t stand a chance of finding the truth, or you, if I left. So I stayed on in the hopes that I’d eventually locate you and get you to listen to reason, to see past their damned attempts to brainwash. But events conspired against me. Against us. The edicts to exterminate cyborgs came down, and well, we both know how hectic life became. It doesn’t mean I didn’t harbor a hope that one day I’d get to clear the air with you.”

“Is this where you tell me you’ve loved me this entire time?”

“I did. I still do.” He caught her gaze as he made the declaration, willing her to believe him. Hoping for … he wasn’t sure what. A sign she still felt the same? No such luck.

The snort was loud and disdainful.
“What a crock of shit. Next thing I know, you’ll be telling me you haven’t slept with any women since our breakup.”

“I’ve slept with women. Just like you’ve slept with men. I said I had hope, not that I’d become a martyr. You left me
, remember? Your love for me wasn’t strong enough to see past the web of lies they built, and you walked out. I won’t deny that hurt. Still hurts. But we know the truth now. We can work together on building a future, and—”

She held up a hand and stopped him.
“Even if what you say is the truth, and much as it galls me to admit it, it makes the most sense, nothing has changed. Too much has happened. I’ve changed. You’ve changed. The whole fucking world has changed. Not to mention, I’ve moved on. Or have you forgotten I’m involved with someone else now?”

He fought back the primal growl that threatened at the reminder.
“I remember what you said. The real question is, do you love him?” Seth didn’t wait for her reply. He didn’t want to hear it. Didn’t even want to contemplate Anastasia loving another.

He’d
discover the truth the only way he knew how. By touch.

Despite her claim she’d moved on, s
he didn’t even make a token protest when he pulled her into his arms. On the contrary, her lips parted for his kiss, and while she didn’t cling to him, neither did she move away. He embraced her with the pent-up passion of a thousand lonely nights. He tried to show her that, despite it all, his fervent desire for her had never abated. By the end of the long kiss, they were both breathless, despite not needing to inhale, and flushed, even though they were capable of regulating their temperature.

“You shouldn’t have done that.”

“You’re my wife.” He never tired of saying it. Seth didn’t have a possessive bone or machine part in his body, except when it came to her.

“I betrayed you. You should hate me.”

“I forgive you.” And he did. He couldn’t hold her accountable for a decision and emotions forced upon her by outsiders. The military and the company who made the cyborgs were the ones to blame for their past. They’d twisted their love for each other and used it as a weapon to separate them.
To hurt us.
For that, they would pay.
What do you know? Aramus and I finally agree on something.

“
I am sorry. I wish we could rewind time and that I’d realized just what they’d done to me. But I didn’t.”

“So we start over. I am ready to forget the past and forge a new future.”

“It’s not that simple. I’m taken.”

He snorted. “Oh please. Tell me your new boyfriend can make you lose control of your machine and touch your humanity?”

She didn’t answer, but the fact that she refused to meet his eyes said it all.

“I still love you, Anastasia.”

“But sometimes,” she said, anguish and regret heavy in her tone and eyes, “love isn’t enough. Goodnight, Seth. I’ll see you at the rendezvous point.”

And
, with that, she turned on her heel and went into the small cabin that housed a pair of bunks.

It occurred to him he could follow and force her to admit she still cared for him.
That he could seduce her body, warm her heart, and have her cry out his name. He could also hack into the autopilot on the ship while she slept and turn it around. Or, given the madness spinning his subroutines into a loop, he could drive their craft into the sun. He could do anything he damned well pleased while she slumbered.

But I won’t.

None of those things would change her stubborn mind. Only time would. Time and trust and proximity. He’d managed to seduce her once before with his charm and utter awesomeness. The challenge was, could he do it again?

Damned straight I can because I know deep down inside she still loves me.
She just needed time to process what happened and come to the realization that she did.

Patience. Understanding.
A moment to reflect. He could give her that. He would give her the world or anything she wanted, starting with his help on this mission. A mission that grew more and more intriguing.

Just what secrets hid in her pretty little head
? Exactly whom would they rendezvous with? He couldn’t wait to find out.

And
he wanted to meet this boyfriend of hers. Actually his fist did. It itched to say hello. His commanding officers always did say he had a problem with impulse control. Some things never changed.

Several months after their acceptance into the project, still buried deep underground.

Seth never did get to first base with Anastasia, despite the fact he’d chosen the right door. And it wasn’t for lack of trying. Once Dr. Osgoode accepted them as candidates in the project, there was little time for anything but training and testing, followed by more training and testing.

Who knew the human body had so much blood
, sweat, and curses to give?

All the recruits
participating in the program—a grand total of eight once they’d been weaned down from a starting point of thirty, their initial ten plus others gleaned from other recruiting bases—were housed underground instead of in the barracks. Forget the dorm-style life. They were given separate quarters and locked up tighter than a virgin in a convent guarded by a pack of gun-toting, fervent nuns. Seriously. The only time they got to socialize was at meal times under supervision or on training exercises. Which, given the strenuous nature, left little breath for talking.

In spite of the fact they were treated like well-loved lab rats, Seth had the time of his life.

Seth dropped his ploy of finishing middle of the pack. He didn’t have a choice. To ensure he kept up with one taunting blue-eyed temptress, he had to drop his devil-may-care attitude and actually apply himself. To his surprise, he enjoyed indulging in his competitive side. Especially since he’d finally found a worthy opponent. The love of his life, whether she’d admit it or not, was more than up to the task of keeping him on his toes. And shoving him off balance.

For every hurdle he crossed, Anastasia was
right alongside him. For every puzzle he solved, Anastasia was seconds before or after him. He’d never met someone with such an ambitious streak, and they fed off each other, leaving the others in their dust. It became a game to see who would finish first. More often than not, they ended in a tie. But the times they didn’t … he laughed as she cursed him and his forebears out. She smirked when she completed a task ahead of him. Their taunts became almost legendary, and Seth caught, more than once, the grudging exchange of money as those watching bet on the outcome. They truly were made a well-matched pair.

Except when it came to
bouts of strength.

Seth’s
bigger size gave him an edge because, unfortunately for her, they went through the same hand-to-hand combat training. Every move she attempted on him, he knew the counter. She threw a punch; he blocked it with ease. He tossed one back, and while she defended well, she couldn’t help but grunt or give a little behind his greater mass.

Yet she
never cried uncle or gave in. Not Anastasia. Wrestling and sparring, their skill and speed growing the more they practiced, they built up a sweat and incurred many a bruise on the mats. Their skill was such that they often ended up with a ring of spectators, watching and goading.

But
, in the end, when it came down to sheer strength, if he managed to get a grip on her and hold on, Seth won.

And
, boy, did it piss her off.

“This is so unfair,” she grumbled from her position beneath him
, a position he quite liked. However, given they were both sweaty, aching, tired, and wearing clothes, not to mention being ogled by an avid audience, the moment didn’t exactly scream romantic.

“Face it, gorgeous. I am your master.”
Yeah, he totally deserved the jab to his kidney. Excruciating pain or not, he still grinned. “What’s wrong? Truth hurt?”

“You’re such a jerk.”
She glared at him.

“Aw, you say the sweetest things. I love you too.”

And he did. He loved her intensity and drive. The way she analyzed things and saw past the veneers people used to hide motives and clues. He totally enjoyed the fact that she didn’t give in to his charm and made him work for every smile and every stolen kiss. Damn did he love those kisses, rare as they were.

D
espite her attraction to him, Anastasia wasn’t the kind of girl who just jumped into bed with a guy and had her wicked way. She possessed, as his mother would have called them, morals. It annoyed, even as it charmed the hell out of him. It also made him more determined than ever to make her his.

Now if only the damned military and its project managers would lighten up.
Or at least ease their living conditions.
Would it kill them to give in to my many requests to save on costs and make her my roommate?

Apparently, his letter of recommendation that he share a room and bed with her
, thus reducing the amount of cleaning staff hours required for their rooms and the fact that they’d need only one set of sheets, didn’t sway his superiors. But he’d not given up. One way or another, he’d find a way to spend some time alone with Anastasia.

It didn’t happen th
e day he pinned her to the mat and rubbed his nose against hers to the laughter of a crowd. As for the next day, Anastasia was missing.

“Where did
Recruit Kettle go?” he asked his trainer.

“None of your fucking business,” snapped the sergeant in charge of his physical workout. “Now drop and give me two hundred.”

“Is Private Kettle okay?” he queried the nurse who took his daily vitals.

“No idea. But I’m feeling a little frisky,” she purred with a wink.

Everyone he questioned had no idea where his feisty nemesis and almost lover had gone to. It worried him.

Almost a week
passed, a week full of worry and depression. It was with a glum face he entered the gym only to stumble to a halt as he noticed who did stretches on the mat.
She’s back.

His heart stuttered to a halt as he soaked
in her appearance. Wherever she’d gone, it hadn’t affected her outward appearance. On the contrary, she appeared more vivid than ever. Her skin shone with health, she vibrated with energy, and he couldn’t help the surge of lust that roared through him as he eyed her sweet ass in the short gym shorts she sported.

“Gorgeous!” he exclaimed. “I missed you.” More than he
could have ever expected. How light he felt and happy to see her again, not to mention relieved.

She pivoted with impressive speed and smirked. “
Missed me? Ha. You just missed having real competition.”

“What can I say? No one can compare to you.”
He spoke truthfully.

Her eyes sparkled at his compliment. How he wished he could find them a private room with five minutes alone so he could make them smolder instead.

“Feel like working off some excess energy?” She tossed the challenge at him with a coy smile.

“Depends, are you taking off your clothes?”

A husky laugh escaped her. “Tell you what, if you can pin me to the mat, I’ll let you get to second base during lunch.”

“Only second base?”

“Second and maybe I’ll let you sneak into third,” she added with a lick of her lips.

Now there was a contest he wanted to win.
Piece of cake. “Prepare to have yourself fondled,” he announced. Apparently, she’d missed him, too, because they both knew she couldn’t pin him. It seemed absence made the heart grow fonder or her body horny enough to take things to a new level. Whatever the cause for her change of mind, he’d take it.

For some reason, she felt a need to talk when they engaged, exchanging
lazy shots easily blocked as they warmed up. “Did you know there are several more levels below this one?” she said in a conversational tone as she jabbed him with a left hook, pouring on the speed despite them just starting out.

Oho. She wanted to play rough
, did she, and distract him? Ha. As if that would work. Seth could take a few shots for the team. In the end, he’d run the bases.

“Yeah. This place is massive. One of the guards let slip that there’s actually fifteen floors
, although he didn’t see all of them. Apparently the elevator only goes to level ten. Anything past that requires special clearance.”

“Because that’s where they keep the really top secret stuff.” She swept her foot, so fast he stumbled as he leapt over it.

“Are you implying you’ve seen these levels?”

“Seen,” she admitted with a left hook that grazed his jaw and sent his head snapping. “Stayed
for a while.” She followed up with a knee he caught barely with his thigh. “And experienced.”

That final word caused him to
freeze, and he didn’t counter the sweep of her foot that took him down to the mat. “What do you mean experienced?” he asked from his prone position. He rolled before she could land atop him and sprang to his feet.

“
Watch and see.”

If he’d thought her faster than usual before, now things got ridiculous. Seth could barely get his arms in position to block the rapid
-fire flurry of punches and kicks aimed his way. And fuck, did they hurt. Each impact drew a grunt. A gasp. A silent “holy shit!”

It was
as if his sweet Anastasia possessed super strength and speed.

As if she’d been
… enhanced. The revelation paralyzed him, and he couldn’t stop himself from toppling to the ground. Nor could he stop the little dynamo from leaping atop him and pinning him. And when he said pinned, he meant it. She held him with her same little hands and lithe body, but with a strength greater than his own.

“Aha!” she crowed. “Gotcha!”

Elation shone on her face, but Seth could only whisper, “What have they done to you?”

“Say hello to the new and improved me,” she announced, rolling off him. She stood and offered him a hand. He didn’t
exert himself at all as she pulled him up. He didn’t have to. She yanked him to his feet all on her own.

“You let them experiment on you?” he asked as he mopped his sweating—and yes, bruised
—face with the towel kept in a stack by the locker room door.

She shrugged. “Not
so much experiment as improve.”

“
Improve how?”

“I’m not supposed to tell.”

He frowned. “Did they hurt you? Threaten you?” The thought they might have coerced her angered him, not that he could do much about it. As a simple soldier, he had no say or power to do anything. But an impotence when it came to protecting didn’t mean he didn’t want to know.

Taking a long pull from a bottle of water, she paused before answering. “No one twisted my arm if that’s what you’re
asking. Dr. Osgoode simply asked me if I’d be willing to try something that would give me an edge.”

“Did he mention if this edge came with danger or side
effects?”

“Yeah, jealous recruits who can’t handle the fact they got their ass handed to them by a girl.”

“I’m not jealous.”

“Then why can’t you act happy for me? For once, I’m not the one getting her butt plastered to the mat. Now, even though you’re bigger, I don’t have to concede. If I lose
, it will be because my skills are lacking not because I don’t have a Y chromosome or a piece of meat hanging between my legs.”

“Hey, watch what you call my man parts. You’ll hurt
Arthur’s feelings.”

“
Arthur? What the hell kind of name is that for a penis?”

“
It’s a mighty name. A name fit for a king.”

She shook her head.
“Only you would name your dick.”

“Oh please, like you don’t have a pet name for your girl bits?”

“It’s called a vagina.”

Seth recoiled and placed a finger on his lips. “Shhh!”

“What do you mean shhh?”

“Don’t ever use that word to describe nirvana.”

“Why ever not?”

“
Because it makes me think of my seventh grade biology teacher and the semester we spent studying the human body. That man took a perfectly good word for a beautiful body part and turned it into something that makes me shudder when spoken aloud.”

“Vagina.”
She smirked. He winced. “V-a-g-i-n-a.” She drew it out, smiling all the while.

“You’re an evil woman, Anastasia.”

“I know. And do you want to know how evil?”

“
How?”

She leaned in closer, her lips
near enough to flutter warm breath across his. “So evil that I’m now going to laugh about the fact you lost the bet. No second base for you.”

W
ith that taunt, a wink, and a swing of her perfect hips, she sauntered away.

Leaving him more in love than ever.
And determined.