Breathing Vapor (18 page)

Vapor grumbled words she couldn’t hear and followed her. Strive did the same.

The guards in the outer ring stared at her, maintaining the circle. Their aims didn’t falter. One press of a trigger, any trigger, and she’d be dead.

They didn’t shoot her but they also didn’t lower their guns.

Mira stopped in front of the guards. “I’m Mira Breazeal, the Designer’s daughter. Clearly I’m human and not a threat.” She curled her top lip, giving them her best look of disdain. “These are two of my father’s most advanced cyborgs.” She nodded at Vapor and Strive. Only loyal members of Humanoid Alliance would have access to cyborgs. They were better than pieces of identification. “I have business inside the docking bay.”

The guards looked at her, at the cyborgs, then at each other. They shrugged and stepped aside to let them through.

One barrier breached. One more to go.

Mira walked up to the second line of defense.

“Ma’am, you shouldn’t be here.” One of the males stepped toward her. His uniform told her he was higher up in the ranking, would likely be more experienced, perhaps more intelligent. He’d require more convincing than the previous guards. “This is a secure area.”

“It had better be.” She gazed at him as though he was a rodent. “There’s a transport ship with four hundred and ninety-two cyborg warriors in your bay. We don’t want those falling into the wrong hands.”

“She’s right,” another guard confirmed. “I saw them being loaded.”

“Of course, I’m right.” Mira snapped. “We don’t have time for small talk. I didn’t navigate through a war zone, losing my ship and destroying my garment in the process.” She plucked at the formerly white fabric. “To shoot the shit with you. There were supposed to be four hundred and ninety-four cyborgs loaded. These two required upgrades.” She indicated Vapor and Strive. “I’m delivering them.”

The guard extended his hand. One of his buddies passed him a private viewscreen. “Do you have clearance?”

“I have two cyborgs.” She rolled her eyes. “Do I require clearance?”

“What is your name, ma’am?” The guard was determined to be a pain in the ass.

“Mira Breazeal.”

“The Designer’s daughter?” The color drained from the male’s face.

“Who else would transport his cyborgs?”

“A group of thirty-one humanoids are approaching,” Vapor relayed, his voice robotic. “They are heavily armed with missiles, long guns, guns, daggers--”

“Yes, yes, we are under attack. We get the picture,” she stopped him.

“Go.” The guard waved them through. “Prepare for battle,” he yelled to his buddies.

Mira took four steps.

Vapor pulled her behind a loader. “You’re reckless, female.” He clasped her to him, burrowing his face into her hair.

“It worked, didn’t it?” she mumbled.

“It did work.” He lifted her upward, draped her over his shoulder, and moved from shadow to shadow.

“I can walk.”

“Noisily.”

She made a face but didn’t say anything. Compared to a cyborg’s tread, any human’s stride was loud.

Vapor carried her, padding swiftly and silently toward a large ship. Strive grinned behind them, guns in his hands.

A boom split the silence. The structure vibrated.

Humans burst into action around the ship, rolling machinery away, removing hoses. Distracted, the crew didn’t notice that they gained three more passengers.

Vapor ran up the ramp and along the hallway, transporting her directly to a large storage chamber. The other cyborgs must have explored the ship.

“Secure the door,” he instructed his friend.

Strive accessed the control panel. Vapor continued to hold her.

“Are we in danger?” she asked him, peering around them. Containers of nutrition bars, cleaning cloths and other supplies were stacked to the ceiling. It wasn’t luxury accommodations but it would be safe. She was accompanied by two big cyborg warriors and there were plenty of places in the chamber to hide.

“There’s always a possibility of danger.” Vapor transferred her from one hand to the other as he holstered his guns. “But the risk is manageable now.”

“Then you can put me down.”

“I’m not ready to release you, not yet.” Vapor nuzzled her neck. “You love me.” Her big cyborg trembled. “You didn’t lie about that. It’s the truth.”

It mattered to him—that she loved him. Her insides turned to mush.

“It’s the truth.” She stroked his nape, savoring the contrast of his soft skin over his hard metal frame. “I love you, Vapor. I will always love you.”

Chapter Seventeen

Mira loved him.

Vapor continued to cycle that revelation through his processors.

She loved him. He snapped the cleaning cloth he’d freed from a container and carefully wiped the grime off his female’s back.

Before he met her, he’d had no experience with the emotion. Everything Vapor had learned about love, Mira had taught him, through her recollections, her actions, her words.

Love was kneeling beside a parent, not giving up on her even though she was long dead. Love was taking on a mission that a beloved being could no longer complete. Love was risking your life to try to protect another being’s offspring.

Mira would die for the beings she cared for, would trade her safety for theirs without hesitation, would put their happiness first, sacrifice everything for them.

That’s how she felt about him, a cyborg warrior, a male other humans viewed as a machine, a weapon to be utilized.

He’d ensure she never regretted loving him. Vapor would keep her safe, care for her as she cared for him. He curled the cloth around a strand of her hair, cleaning it.

The ship had taken off and had exited Humanoid Alliance heavily regulated airspace. None of the crew suspected they had additional passengers. They weren’t aware that the cyborgs had removed their tracking devices and had freed themselves from their flimsy restraints.

It’s time
, Ace announced through their private transmission lines.
We have to live on this ship for many planet rotations. Keep the killing neat.

Only you’d say that
, Thrasher muttered.

Dispose of the bodies and your tracking devices through the chutes.
Ace ignored him.

Have fun.
Thrasher wouldn’t be silenced.

The cyborgs cheered. They were designed for killing and it brought them tremendous satisfaction to undertake what they had been manufactured to do.

Death made his little human anxious. Vapor gazed at Mira’s raised shoulders. Tension oozed from her form.

“Are you coming?” Strive nudged Vapor’s left arm. His eyes glowed with anticipation.

Ten planet rotations ago, Vapor would have been as excited as Strive was to kill the human crew. Now, he preferred to comfort his female, to keep her safe. His gaze dropped to her plump ass. To breed with her.

“I’m staying.” Vapor slid his hands inside his battle armor, removed his taped-on tracking devices, passed them to his friend. “Get rid of these for me.”

“Consider it done.” The cyborg grinned and jogged out the door.

Mira tossed her cleaning cloth to the side and turned to face him. “Go with your friend. I’ll wait here.”

A man shrieked, the sound coming from outside the door. “They’re—”

She placed her index finger on Vapor’s lips. “I know what they’re doing. I also know you’d enjoy it. You’re a cyborg. Killing is part of who you are.”

He nipped at her finger. Mira pulled her hand away from him, her cheeks flushing, the scent of her arousal increasing. She wanted him and he wanted her.

“This is part of who I am also.” Vapor slanted his lips over hers. She sighed, parting for him, and he plunged inside, tasting her concern, her love.

He cupped her head, holding her still, as he ravished her mouth. He surged forward. She retreated. He feinted right. Not falling for his tricks, she struck left, playfully stabbing her tongue into his.

Vapor chuckled against her lips. Life with his female would be filled with constant challenge. He’d have to pay attention, continue to improve his skills, be the best. He twined his tongue along hers, stroking, caressing her flesh.

She wiggled, plucking at his body armor. Without breaking their kiss, he stripped, discarding this barrier. Her hands met his bare chest and his muscles twitched, bliss flowing from her touch, along his arms, legs, cock.

He was hard, had been that way since entering the chamber. Her musk tantalized him. Vapor nibbled down her neck, breathing her in.

He progressed lower, licking the swell of her breasts, diving into the enticing hollow between them. Mira’s fingers slid over his shoulders, down his back. Vapor shuddered, the thrill of her fingertips on his skin stripping his control strand by strand, making his processors stutter to a stop.

Though the transmission lines, he heard cyborgs shout with triumph as they secured the ship, redirecting it toward the Homeland.

“We’re free, female.” Vapor smiled against Mira’s fabric-covered breasts. “There’s no more need for you to lie, to hide your true self from others. All you need to be is mine.” He bared his teeth.

“Vapor.” She stiffened.

He grasped the bodice of her garment with his mouth and yanked downward. Fabric tore. Vapor repeated the motion, shredding the white cloth, removing that symbol of the Humanoid Alliance, and then rested his cheek against her curved stomach.

“I’m yours.” She ran her fingers over his hair. “And you now answer to no one. You only have to obey the commands you believe in, kill the beings you think need to be killed, fight the battles you care about.”

“You’re all that I care about.” He lived for her. His little human’s body was bare except for the boots on her feet, her skin pale, her nipples pink, the blonde curls between her legs damp. He smelled her arousal and that intensified his desire for her.

Mira held him. Vapor pressed his face against her lush form. They stayed like that for several heartbeats, delaying the breeding that would come, savoring each other, the love they’d found.

Because it was love. He mouthed over her curves. For him, as well as for her. “I’ll give you everything you need, female.”

“I’ll take everything I need, cyborg.” She tugged at his hair. He allowed her to draw his head back. “And what I need right now is your cock in my pussy.”

Vapor would follow that order.

Because he wanted to, not because he had to.

He stood slowly, rubbing his chest along her body, ensuring she felt the power in his form. “I’ll give you my cock.” He lifted her high against a clear expanse of wall.

“I’ll take your cock.” She lifted her chin. His little human’s feet dangled above the floor, yet she continued to push him.

Her defiance was so fraggin’ sexy. “How do you plan to take my cock?” He leaned his forehead against hers.

“Like this.” Mira wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled him forward. A newly manufactured unit had more physical strength than she did.

Vapor didn’t move for one moment, relaying the message that he was in control.

Mira refused to receive that communiqué. She kicked his ass with the heels of her boots.

“You push me, female.” He filled the space between her thighs, pressing his shaft against her wet pussy lips. “I’m free, as you pointed out. You’re not my master any longer.”

“I was never your master.” She sucked on his chin and he groaned, unable to resist her. “You were always my male, my equal.”

“I’m the best.” Vapor rubbed his cock against her, teasing her clit with his tip, moistening his length with her juices. “And I deserve the best female. That’s you.” He brushed his chest against her nipples and her breath hitched. “I want you.”

“You have me—my heart, my body, my soul.” She undulated against the wall, massaging him with her curves.

“That’s not enough. I want more.” He fluttered his tongue against the pulse point in her neck. “I want your honesty and your lies, your submission and your rebellion, your unbreakable spirit and your unending softness. I want to be your now and your future, the male you wake up with and the warrior you fight beside.”

“I want you to fuck me.” Mira slammed her booted heels against his ass.

“Behave.” He nipped her skin and her heartbeat sped up. His aggression aroused his feisty female. “Tell me a truth, any truth, and I’ll breed with you.” Vapor laved the pink mark he’d left on her neck.

“And if I don’t?” She pulled on his hair.

His little human wanted to be punished. “If you don’t, you won’t sit for the rest of the planet rotation.” He squeezed her ass hard.

“Mmm…” Her eyes sparkled and her lips curled upward.

“You also won’t come.”

Her smile faded. “You’re merciless.” She smacked his right pec.

Frag. She heated his circuits. “I’m waiting.” Vapor ground his shaft against her feminine folds. She was dripping for him. “Tell me a truth.”

Her gaze dropped to his chest.

She wanted to confess to him.

“Say it.” He slid his cock along her softness, building her passion higher and higher. “Share your truth with me.”

Her lips moved. Even with his cyborg hearing, he couldn’t hear her.

“Louder.” A bead of nanocybotic-infused pre-cum formed on his tip. Vapor skimmed it over her clit.

She whimpered, clutching him with her arms and her legs. Her pussy clenched his hard flesh, trying to draw him in.

It took all of his restraint not to yield to her sweet temptation.

“Mira,” he barked, his control frayed.

Her spine straightened. “When you told me that I hadn’t shot Lydna, that you had, I was relieved.” She looked down at his chin. “She deserved death. She was a terrible being and would have hurt more innocents. I knew that, yet I didn’t want to kill her. That makes me weak but—”

“You’re not weak.” Vapor gazed at his tormented female, his heart swelling with emotion. “You care about life, all life, good or bad. That takes strength. I love you for that.”

“You do?” She blinked up at him. “You love me for caring?”

“For caring, for seeing the universe in a different way, for challenging me, for being.” He pressed his lips to hers. “I love you for everything you are.”

“You love me.” Her smile dazzled him.

This beautiful creature was his. “I love you.” Vapor prodded her entrance with his cock head, aligning himself properly. “You’ve been a good human and deserve a reward.”

“Yes.” She pushed her hips forward, impaling herself on his tip.

He gritted his teeth. She was hot, wet, thrillingly tight, fitting him like his body armor. He sank deeper and deeper. Her inner walls hugged his shaft. Mira clawed at his shoulders, the bite of pain accentuating his pleasure.

He filled her completely, then paused, gazing into his female’s eyes. They were a darker blue, warmed by her wanting, eyes a male could stare into for a lifespan.

Mira wasn’t that patient. “Fuck me now, cyborg.” She whacked her boot heels against his ass. “I’m not getting any younger.”

She wasn’t getting any older either. He pulled out to his tip. His nanocybotics would extend his female’s life almost infinitely. They’d never age, always be together. He thrust back into her, slamming her ass against the wall.

Mira must have liked the spank of hardness against her curves. She gasped, clenching his shaft with her inner walls.

Vapor grimaced, her grip on him shredding his control. He retreated once more and then thrust harder. She squealed, her boots bouncing against his skin.

Retreat, thrust, retreat, thrust. He set a heart-pounding pace, spurred on by Mira. Her urgings of
more, faster, deeper
, were punctuated with the smack, smack, smack of her skin against the wall.

She’d be sore after this breeding but that fate didn’t dampen his female’s enthusiasm. Her wetness streamed down his shaft, coating his balls with her scent. Her arms and legs trembled and her eyes were excitingly wild.

Loving her was what he was designed to do. Mira was his focus, his reason for being. He had been wrong when he said she was part of him. She was all of him, every cell and every mechanic.

Vapor rutted into her. His thigh muscles flexed and his biceps bulged. Not from his effort. He used only a fraction of his strength, aware of how breakable his human was.

The strain on his body was from not coming. He gritted his teeth. She was delicate and soft and yielding, embracing him with her entire form.

“Vapor.” She called to him, her head flung back against the wall. “Vapor.” Her voice was husky and raw, the edges of his name smoothed with a love he heard, tasted, felt. Her face glistened with sweat, glowing like a moonbeam in a universe that would otherwise be too dark, too harsh.

She was his female, his love. He licked her cheek with the flat of his tongue and she quivered, her inner walls closing around his shaft, creating more delectable friction, more seductive sensation.

“Please.”

Mira waited for him, for his approval. She was strong, the best, the only.

“Come for me, female.” He retreated. “Come now.” Vapor slammed back into her, driving her ass against the wall, and he swiveled his hips.

She screamed, constricting around his cock. That was too much for him. He crashed into her with a fierce roar, unable to hold back. Everything he had, he poured into her, all of his essence, all of his strength, all of his love. He gave and gave until there was nothing left.

Mira battled her release, raking long grooves in his chest with her fingernails, pummeling his ass with her boots. Vapor felt only the most exquisite ecstasy, the smuggest satisfaction, his processors whirling, his circuits buzzing.