Brandi (27 page)

Sighing, she looked at Kent. “I want you all, but I have no idea how to be a parent.”

“It’s okay,” Kent declared. “We have no idea what parents are like. You got used to Gareth. Maybe you’ll get used to us. Gareth and I will make some family rules to help everyone adjust.”

“Oh really,” Brandi said, fisting one hand on her hip. “And what kind of
rules
are we talking about?”

Kent looked at the other two. He was trying to get Aggie to talk, but she just shook her head.

Brandi snickered. “I’m siding with Kent on this one. Spit it out if you’ve got something to say, Aggie. You need to start talking for yourself instead of for Stewart and Kent. We’re going to have to work on that.”

She glanced at Gareth quickly when she heard the girl draw in a deep breath. His gaze was glued to Aggie’s earnest face. Her chest clenched at his proud grin when Aggie cleared her throat.

“I think we should each get at least three hugs a day lasting a full minute each. It helps the body create endorphins which will help the bonding process. Our adoption and adjustment to our new family will go much smoother,” Aggie declared.

Brandi snorted as she looked at Marilyn. “What did they do? Hack your internet?”

“Yes. It’s Jesse’s fault. He bought them tablets with that wireless feature built-in. He thinks they’re funny to be so smart. You need to have a stern talk with him later,” Marilyn said, biting her cheek.

Brandi was smiling when she looked back at Aggie. “Three hugs a day sounds like a good first rule. Kent, you and Gareth can start your list on the ride home. Now you three run get your gear. You’re going to be sleeping on the floor for the next few weeks, but everyone’s getting a new sleeping bag. Gareth is building you a dormitory… I mean, he’s building you guys bedrooms. Damn it—that didn’t come out right.”

“Don’t worry about swearing,” Kent declared, shrugging hard. “Jesse says it’s a sign of passion. You’re definitely the most passionate person I’ve ever met, so I figure he’s right. We don’t have to put the no swearing rule on the list unless Gareth decides it’s important. He’s the one that brought it up on the plane.”

Brandi glared at her mate who had the good sense to duck his head as he grinned.

“Gareth might not get a say this time around. I haven’t decided yet if our family will be a democracy, a monarchy, or a dictatorship. I may decide to be the only ruler. We’ll discuss details on the ride back in the truck. Now get your gear… go… hurry. Can’t you see you wore your babysitter out? Marilyn needs a break,” Brandi ordered, pointing a finger to the tired woman as she tried not to grin.

Three laughing children smiled at Marilyn and raced each other into the house.

“Those three take a lot of energy to look after,” Marilyn said sighing. “And yet I still don’t want them to go. They are truly extraordinary. I’ll happily be your daycare provider if you two decide to work. So long as I get to sleep in once in a while.”

“I will gladly accept your offer. We’ll work out the details next week—after all the bonding I’m sure Aggie is going to want us to do as a family.”

“I’m sure she’s right on some level. Excuse me, I better go make sure they get everything.”

Brandi bit her lip when Marilyn walked away laughing. Panic started to set in again.

“What about school for them, Gareth? If they’re that smart, what’s the chances of a teacher or their friends keeping up with them? I’m not mentally equipped to raise geniuses. Ariel needs the genius kids.”

“It’s okay. We’ll deal with it, but not all in one night,” Gareth declared. His arm draping around her neck allowed her to sag against him for a moment. “You’re going to be a great prison warden… I mean mother. Though the term will probably apply before we’ve served our time as their legal guardians.”

Brandi snickered as she looked up into Gareth’s calm, laughing gaze. She still wasn’t sure how she’d gotten to the place where they were hugging and joking so easily. “It’s too late to back out, Gareth Longfeather. Remember that tonight when you’re not getting any.”

“What do you mean not getting any? I plan to talk you into sneaking out to the truck after the children have gone to sleep. It will take the edge off the transition for us. I’m definitely going to add having sex five times a day to our list. I mean our personal list… not the family one. Wasn’t the hug thing a great idea? I happen to know someone who can’t get enough of those lately. It sure has mellowed her out. Imagine what it will do for the rest of us.”

Brandi’s bark of laughter at his bragging disappeared as Gareth’s lips slid lovingly across hers.

# # The End # #

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If you enjoyed this ebook, please consider leaving a positive review or rating on the site where you purchased it. Reader reviews help my books continue to be valued by distributors/resellers and help new readers make decisions about reading them. I value each and every reader who takes the time to do this and invite you all to join me on my Website, Blog, Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads.com for more discussions and fun.

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~ Donna McDonald

KEEP READING in this ebook to read a short excerpt from,
Peyton 313,
BOOK 1 OF CYBORGS: MANKIND REDEFINED.
My cyborgs are hot, sexy, and more than just living machines.

Also included is a three chapter excerpt from
Ready To Were,
a hilarious werewolf romance from author Robyn Peterman. It is
BOOK 1 FROM HER SHIFT HAPPENS SERIES
.

Excerpt from
PEYTON 313

Book 1 of Cyborgs: Mankind Redefined

by

Donna McDonald

Book Description

Worst epic fail of her scientific career? Falling for a cyborg she helped create.

Kyra Winters never meant for her cyber science discoveries to be used for evil, but that’s exactly what happened. Now returning Peyton 313’s humanity is the last chance she’ll ever have to atone. She can’t get back the lost decade, but she can change the present by restoring the cyborg who was once Marine Captain Peyton Elliot.

Certainly her grand plan for rectifying her mistakes didn’t include madly kissing the confused, passionate Marine when he begged her to. The same scientific mind that constructed the cyborg creator code now warned her not to let Peyton’s tempting offers of heaven cloud her rational decision making. Yet it’s difficult to resist the cyborg she’s restoring when he’s also the most intriguing man she’s ever known.

About the Cyborgs: Mankind Redefined Series

This is a futuristic science fiction and fantasy series that takes place in the not too distant future. The Cyborg heroes are cybernetically enhanced military men who have been robotically imprisoned after a near apocalyptic global war. One by one the soldiers are now in the process of having their humanity restored. Each book deals with a different restored cyborg. For some readers, these stories will also be scifi romantic comedies. 

Available books in the Cyborgs: Mankind Redefined Series

Book 1:  Peyton 313

Book 2:  Kingston 691

Book 3: Marcus 582

Book Excerpt

Peyton fought the pain contracting his muscles as best he could while not allowing his face to show it. Over time, he had learned to channel the physical torture into a silent exercise that made his body stronger. Through the steady stream of current scrambling his circuitry, he heard the delivery guy speaking to his new wife.

“Lady, are you sure about this? Peyton 313 has been fighting his restraints all the way here. He’s not going to be easy to control.”

Kyra nodded without smiling. The thought of the constant torture the cyborg was experiencing made her ill. “Yes. I need a husband and he’s exactly what I’ve been looking for.”

“Listen. You’re a nice looking woman. Even at your age—and trust me you don’t look a day over fifty—you could be hooking up with a real man instead of this—this thing. Peyton 313 has had ten wives and they’ve all returned him. Even though he’s supposedly good in the sack, he eventually gets sent back for exceeding boundaries. Hell, this one’s programming has been upgraded so many times that they’ve had to replace his uplinks twice. The only reason he’s not been sent to a work camp is because my boss thinks he’s too pretty. They would disassemble him for sure if he acted up there.”

Kyra snorted, but told herself not to show her contempt for the man’s words. Compassion and protesting got you nowhere. Mankind in general was too far gone where the cyborgs were concerned. It was time for a new approach.

“I appreciate your concern for me. . .
Lyle
,” Kyra said as she looked at his Norton Industries ID. “But I’ve waited a long time for this particular model. I assure you there’s no need for you to worry at all. I’ll have Peyton 313 toeing the line soon enough. He’s not my first Cyber Husband.”

“Well okay, Dr. Winters—ma’am. My job is just to transport. You’re the one who paid for him. I figure I done my good deed today by telling you the truth. That’s all a simple man can do.”

Kyra smiled as pleasantly as she could, considering the man didn’t seem to be able to take a hint at all. “Yes. Thank you for the information, Lyle. Now if you’ll just hand over Peyton 313’s wrist controller, you can be happily on your way with another job-well-done stamp on your record. I’m sure you’ve got lots of other deliveries to make.”

She watched Lyle shaking his head steadily over her words even as he relinquished the wrist unit to her outstretched hand. Her fingers slid over the buttons until she found the restraint one. She waited until Lyle was halfway down the sidewalk before turning to Peyton. Raising a finger to her lips, she watched his pupils fluctuate in acknowledgement as she released him from the circulating pain.

Kyra kept her tone abnormally cheery in case Lyle was still within hearing range. “Hello, Peyton. You’re even better looking than your online profile. Let’s go inside and get acquainted.”

His simple nod as she ushered him through her front door was promising.

***

Free of the debilitating current at last, Peyton’s body got busy with his muscle recovery. In twenty minutes and four seconds, his muscles would be functioning at optimal capacity again. Before he’d developed his organic neural bypass, recovery would have taken several hours. The bypass hurt like hell to use, but it was effective and outside the control of the cybernetic chips embedded in his brain. He had even been able to recover some blocked memories, such as his original name and highest military service achievement.

While he followed Dr. Kyra Winters indoors, he reviewed what he’d learned. His name was Peyton Elliot. His rank was Marine Captain. He was forty-seven years old in human years but his body was in the physical condition of a twenty-five-year-old right down to his remaining organs. Part of that was the efficiency of his new cybernetic heart pump. He had wife number seven to thank for that. She’d run him through with a kitchen knife when he had refused to do something humiliating. 

But that incident wasn’t his first husband failure. Wife number two had upgraded him when he’d pretended to be stupid for a time. In fact, every wife had done something new to him, except for wife number six who had done nothing. She had just wanted his company. He had liked wife number six. He had been disappointed when she’d turned him in after meeting a non-cyborg man she had wanted to marry.

He could list facts about each of his ten wives to date, but none had been worth the memory space each now took up in his long-term storage. He had made sure his time with each of them had been as short as possible without raising concerns. If there was a plus to his current husband contract with Dr. Kyra Winters, being chosen again would provide the additional time he needed to finish researching his memories beyond his cybernetic data banks. He was trying to extrapolate enough data from those brain areas to piece together a story his human side could recall as his past.