Burning Up Flint (3 page)

“What a waste.
Head home.
I’ll be in my quarters.”

The redheaded
cyborg
eyed Mira. “Should I even ask why you brought her off the shuttle?”

Flint leaned over to hold out his hand to Mira. She didn’t hesitate, letting him pull her to her feet. She noticed Flint’s irritated expression as he shot a dirty look at the man who’d questioned him.

“It’s none of your business. You have Control, Iron.”

The
cyborg
chuckled. “I’ll change the shift assignments so you won’t be needed until we reach home, Flint.”

Flint sighed.
“Understood.
Come along,
Mirasia
Carver. We are going to go talk.”

He kept hold of her hand as he led her away from the control room. They were walking back to the lift. Their bodies were almost touching as the doors shut. Mira hated the sensation of the floor under their feet falling so she grabbed the wall for support and clutched Flint’s hand harder. He turned his head to frown down at her.

“You do not like fast movement?”

She shook her head. “It makes me feel sick.”

“You will adjust.”

The doors opened when the lift stopped. Flint gripped her hand tighter, leading her into a dim hallway. He walked three doors down before he stopped in front of an electronic pad installed by the door. He reached up to press his palm on the device. It beeped once before the door slid open. Flint released her hand, motioning with his head.

“Go inside.”

Mira walked through the doorway and automated lights flared on. She stopped a few feet into the room, swallowing hard, eyeing the small sleeping compartment. It was similar to the one she’d just spent two weeks living in on the space station. The room was a box with built-in storage along one wall and a bed in the corner. Another corner held an open bathroom unit. She wondered why no walls separated bedroom from bathroom. Her former quarters hadn’t been quite like this after all. She turned, giving her full attention to Flint, as the doors slid shut behind him.

“This is mine,” he said as he glanced around the room. “They are built for one person. I apologize for the close living arrangements but we’ll be at my planet soon.” His gaze finally met Mira’s. “Remove your clothing.”

“What?” She’d never expected that to come from his lips in a million years. She was absolutely stunned, her heart pounding as she took a step back only to bump the bed, with nowhere else to go. “What did you say?”

He arched an eyebrow. “I said, remove your clothing.”

“Why?”

He calmly watched her. “I want to see you without them. If you won’t do it then I’ll do it for you.”

She stared up at him, too bewildered to move. She finally swallowed when her brain started to work. “You’re a
cyborg
.”

He arched an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “I am a
cyborg
, you are a human, and we have already established that. Now take everything off.”

“But…” She was at a total loss for words.

He just stared down at her, a frown on his face. “You do it or I will. You are small so I do not wish to harm you and I’d hate to bruise you if you fight me.”

She kicked off her shoes. Her hands shook as she reached for the front of her pants, unfastened them and shoved them down her legs. With shaking hands, she slowly removed her shirt next and shivered from the coolness of his room. Her gaze flew up to the large man silently watching her with narrowed eyes but he wasn’t showing any distinguishable emotions. Her hands paused when she’d stripped down to her panties and bra.

“Could you please tell me why you want to see me naked?”

“Do not make me repeat myself. Are your ears damaged from your ordeal?”

“I’m just trying to figure out your motive, damn it. If you were human I’d be damn worried right now about rape but if you were a doctor then I’d think you were examining me.”

His features softened and something in his eyes did too. “I’m curious.”

“I don’t know much about
cyborgs
except what I read and most of the public records were destroyed when they said all the
cyborgs
were gone. Do you have girl
cyborgs
? Is that why you’re interested in seeing me nude? I haven’t seen any women on this ship.” She knew she was rambling.

Dark blue eyes fixed on her. “Are you in need of assistance to remove the rest of your clothing? I do not have hours to waste waiting.”

“Great,” she muttered as frustration hit her, realizing he wasn’t going to change his mind no matter how long she tried to stall him and make sense of what he wanted. He was set on seeing every bare inch of her and he’d already stated he would make her if she didn’t do it herself.
“Fine.”

She knew her face was flushed from embarrassment since she wasn’t in the habit of stripping naked in front of strangers. It made her self-conscious about her body and uncomfortable. The man was scary large too, which wasn’t helping her any. Did
cyborgs
have sex?

Mira glanced at his large frame and shivered at the thought, hoping not. The guy was a good foot taller and at least a hundred pounds heavier than she. She wasn’t some blushing virgin, she’d shared sex plenty of times in her thirty-two years, but the man in front of her wasn’t completely human. He had a rough edge to him that she was a little afraid of since he didn’t look like a man who knew much about being gentle or tender. She was in a bad situation that was getting worse.

“Shit.”

He smirked. “Do you need to use the facilities?”

“It was a figure of speech.”

“Proceed please.”

Taking a deep breath, she unhooked her bra, dropping it at her feet, feeling her nipples instantly harden, thanks to the chilly temperature of the ship. She gripped the thin material of her panties and pushed them down her hips, letting them slide down her legs to pool at her ankles. She lifted both feet, taking a tiny step from them, watching the man studying her body. She didn’t see lust in his expression but then again she didn’t see any emotion in his face as his gaze slowly scanned her. His eyes paused for long seconds at the center of her body before his gaze lifted to meet hers.

“You do not have pubic hair.”

“I had it permanently removed when I hit adulthood after I got tired of having to shave it off. I also had the hair that grew under my arms removed so it doesn’t grow back. Can I get dressed now?”

“Turn around.”

With dread and embarrassment, she turned around to present her ass for his inspection. She was tense, feeling vulnerable and exposed. She turned her head, looking over her shoulder at him, to watch as he carefully examined every inch of her with his unblinking gaze. Their eyes met when he looked up.

“Lie on my bed and expose yourself to me.”

Chapter Three

Mira’s mouth dropped open again instantly, knowing what he was implying, but decided to play dumb. Maybe she was wrong and he didn’t mean he wanted to see more of her.

“You’re seeing me exposed.”

“Do it now. I can tell by your accelerated heart rate and increased breathing patterns that you know exactly what I want. Lie flat on my bed on your back and expose your vagina to me.”

She spun around to gape at him. “Why? That’s just not…proper.”

He actually smiled at her, his dark blue eyes sparkling with amusement. “I’m a
cyborg
. What would I know about manners? Are you going to do it or do I have to restrain you to position you on the bed the way I want to see you?”

She had to think about that one a few seconds, finally shaking her head. “I won’t do it. I’m not some show-and-tell for your curiosity about female human anatomy.”

He moved so fast Mira didn’t even have time to gasp. She was shoved onto his bed as the man came down on her. He grabbed her flailing arms, restraining them as his weight pinned her legs. His face was inches above her.

“You can’t win in a physical contest,
Mirasia
Carver.”

“Stop calling me that.”

“You said it was your name.”

“It is, but I don’t call you Flint
Cyborg
.”

“What are you called?”

“If you get off me, I’ll tell you.” She figured it was worth a shot since he seemed all about curiosity.

“You’ll tell me anything I want to know. Stay still and don’t move at all or I promise you that you will not like my teaching techniques for you to learn to obey me.”

That didn’t sound good. Mira experienced a little fear as she stared into his serious eyes.

“You’ll hurt me?”

“I’ll train you. You belong to me now that I took you off the shuttle. On Earth
cyborgs
were properties of humans and you aren’t on Earth anymore,
Mirasia
Carver. You are now mine. You will follow my orders or I will train you to do as I tell you. I would not enjoy enforcing any form of punishment on you but I would mete it out. Do you understand?”

She nodded, feeling fear. “Yes.”

He released her wrists and pushed off her, getting off the bed to face away as he stood. He paused and she saw him bend at his waist. She stared at the man’s ass, encased in his black leather pants—pants that molded his body like a second skin. He had a nice ass and muscular thighs. She shut her eyes, not wanting to stare. She heard something thump on the floor that caused her eyes fly back open. She watched him walk over to the storage wall and that’s when she saw that he’d removed his boots and socks since he was barefoot now.

He removed something from one of the drawers and turned, holding two belts in his fisted hand. Fear flooded her instantly.

“I’ll do whatever you want. Pleases don’t whip me.”

He
stopped,
his eyes darted to the two belts in his hand and then narrowed and fixed on her as he nodded at her. “Good. Then do as you are told.”

He sat on the bed. Flint’s mattress was longer and wider than standard but then
cyborgs
were big males. He probably took up most of the bed when he was lying flat.

“Raise your arms, grip the metal bars, and hold still. Do not move.”

She hesitated before lifting her arms, doing what he said, not wanting to be whipped. She wondered if that’s what had been done to them in the old days on Earth when they were punished and if that’s where he’d learned that barbaric method of training someone to do as they were told.

She was frightened as he used the thin belts to fasten her wrists to his headboard, binding each firmly but making sure they didn’t tighten painfully around her skin. When he was done he inched down the bed to study her body.

“Now lift your legs and spread your thighs wide so I may examine you.” His voice was husky.

It shocked
her a
little that his aloof tone of voice was gone. Mira’s gaze flew to his face but he refused to meet her eyes, instead watching her legs, waiting for her to comply. She shut her eyes and did as she was told, lifting her knees up and spreading her thighs. When she brushed the
cyborg’s
body with her foot her eyes opened. She watched him scoot over on the bed to sit between her feet. His full attention locked on her pussy.

She was breathing fast, a little afraid, and a lot embarrassed as the
cyborg
removed his remaining glove. She wondered if he was going to hurt her. She’d gotten plenty of physical exams in her life by doctors but she tensed when she saw him slowly reach for her.

“Please,” she gasped.

The
cyborg
froze as he looked up at her. “Please what?”

“Don’t hurt me.” She nervously chewed her lower lip for a few seconds, staring into his beautiful eyes. “Women are very sensitive in that area and you could hurt me really easily, Flint.”

She saw his lips twitch, amusement flicked in his eyes. “I won’t hurt you.”

“This is amusing to you?” Anger overrode her embarrassment. “I’m in hell and you’re enjoying this?”

His smile died. “I am sorry you think this is hell.”

“I’m tied down naked on your bed and you’re treating me like I’m some kind of specimen instead of a person with feelings and modesty. I’m frightened because I don’t know what you are going to do to me. An hour ago I was just on my way home from a job and now my entire life is gone. You threatened me with punishment and I don’t even know what that entails. I…do you feel fear? I do. Do you feel compassion?
Pity?
Anything?
How would you feel right now if you were in my position and someone you didn’t know was about to do God knows what to your penis?”

Flint stared at her. She saw something flicker in his eyes but she couldn’t identify what emotion it was because he was hard to read. Did
cyborgs
have emotions? She had thought so from observing the
cyborgs
’ interaction on the shuttle. They’d had a sense of humor and they’d laughed. If Flint and his men could feel amusement they had to feel other things. She knew they could feel anger since she’d seen that in the control room when her shuttle had blown up. She stared back at Flint.

He took a deep breath. “I will not hurt you as long as you do what I say. I have no intention of causing you pain or harming you in any way. I promise you this. Don’t fight me.”

“Like I could.”

He stepped back. She saw him reach for the front of his shirt and stared in open-mouthed shock, unable to look away as he removed it. The man was as muscular as hell, not showing an ounce of fat. His arms and chest were thick and well-defined muscles ran down his stomach. He had designs tattooed in black over both shoulders that disappeared out of sight toward his back. They were thick markings and like nothing she’d ever seen before, like strange writing, but it was a language she didn’t know. The design started just under his collarbone and rose up over the top curve of his shoulders. The black markings looked beautiful on his gray-toned skin.

He eyed his markings and looked back at her. “I thought you might be curious about me.”

“What do your tattoos mean?”

He glanced at the markings again. His finger rose as he traced a wiggly pattern before his gaze returned to her. “We created our own written language. These represent my name and who I am.”