“I can’t wait to see this place.”
“I did two years of duty in our agriculture gardens in my youth. My father felt it would give me an appreciation for our planet, and it was peaceful work. I’d be happy to give you a tour.”
“I’d like that.”
“I’ll make arrangements when we arrive home.”
“Tell me about this planet. I admit I’m curious.”
“I would be as well. I’ve never been to Earth since I was born on Garden. My father assures me it’s vastly different. There’s only one established city, as you would know it. The rest of the planet is lush with vegetation and a lot of ocean. The natural inhabitants of the planet are amphibian. They only dwell in the water, or the land surfaces near it in caves. We don’t know that much about them since they don’t seem eager to interact with us. We built our city farther inland, where they don’t seem to visit often or wish to live.”
“An amphibian race? That’s so cool. What do they look like?”
“Humanoid with some aquatic qualities.”
“You said they don’t interact with you? Why not?”
“It could be a culture thing, or perhaps we frighten them. We built walls to enclose our city to avoid conflicts. Some have approached our walls in the past, but took off quickly when we tried to peacefully greet them. We’re hoping in time they might wish to communicate with us and form a friendly alliance. We study them from afar and are always learning more about them. Our main goal at the moment is to show them we mean no harm, and wish to share the planet in peace with them. It takes time to establish trust.”
“Your people are so not like Earth Government.”
“No. We are not.”
“Earth Government found a planet several years ago that could support life. It was all over the news that they’d cleansed the planet to make a new colony. That’s the polite way to say they took over the planet and killed anything that stood in their way. They were actually selling animals from that planet to the wealthy who wanted unique pets.” She shuddered. “But they weren’t really animals. I mean, they didn’t look like animals to me, regardless of what the government labeled them.”
“I don’t understand.”
She spaced her hands about two feet apart, one over the other. “They were about this big, and I think they were the residents of that planet. They were like mini winged bird people, with two arms and legs. They looked as if they understood what was being done to them, and it was clear they were terrified. They reacted like people do, clutching at each other when they were being shown off to sell. It broke my heart. They were cute though, so Earth Government figured they could make a profit off them. I can’t imagine some asshole race coming to our planet, then grabbing people and selling them off as pets.”
Deviant shared her anger. “Those poor aliens.”
“Yeah. That was how I felt too, especially when it came out shortly after that they didn’t survive in captivity. They probably died of broken hearts after being locked up in cages and separated from their families. I hope Earth Government never finds your planet. They’d steal your neighbors and try to make them into pets too. The rich could put them in large fish tanks or something. That’s so messed up.”
“We’d defend them.”
She reached out and took his hand. “I believe you would. You saved me.”
His features softened. “You saved me as well.”
His words surprised her. “From what? You’re the one who risked your life by smuggling me off the station. And even now, I know it’s going to cause you a bunch of trouble if other cyborgs find out you have me inside your room.”
“I was lonely. I’m not anymore. I have you.”
Heat blossomed inside her chest and she knew his words had created that pleasant sensation. Probably my heart melting, she deduced. He could be really sweet. “I’m so glad I worked up the courage to rush inside that brothel room. I was terrified to do it.”
“I regret pointing a weapon at you.”
“You didn’t fire it. That’s all that counts now.”
He reached out and ran his fingertips down the side of her arm. “I’m glad you came into that room as well. You turned one of my most humiliating moments into something life altering.”
“Why were you so embarrassed? Lots of men visit automated brothels. They’re very popular on Earth.”
“I wasn’t aware there was a shortage of women on that planet.”
“There isn’t.”
“Men choose to live alone?”
“It’s not a marriage breaker, legally, if a person pays for the use of a sex bot. A wife or husband could file for divorce if their spouse sleeps with another live person, but sex bots are considered more of a sexual aid than anything else. Bots can’t result in a pregnant or expose a person to any diseases. It’s a loophole a lot of couples use if they don’t enjoy having sex together anymore.”
He frowned. “Our males contracted into family units are forbidden to touch sex bots. The females would take offense and end the contract. It’s rare to get permission from a female to use an automated brothel. I’ve only known one cyborg whose female allows it. He is her fifth husband, so she rarely has time to spend with him. He has high status in our society and it was probably prearranged by them before signing their contract, since he also spends a lot of time in space. For the rest of us, using sex bots usually means we couldn’t obtain our own female.” He dropped his hand away from her and color darkened his cheeks. “It’s a source of shame to some.”
It was obvious to her that he spoke of himself. “You have a real woman now,” she gently reminded him.
He nodded. “And I don’t have to share you with other males.”
“Thank you for agreeing to my terms.”
“I must be honest, Venice. I would fight any male who attempted to touch you. I like that you belong to only me. We’re not contracted into a family unit but I promise you’ll be the only female I touch. No loopholes, Venice. I don’t want a sex bot.”
In that moment, she knew she was falling in love with him. “You’re the only one I want too.”
He smiled. “We’re in total agreement.”
“We are.”
“I will provide well for you. I don’t want you to worry about being mistreated or what your future holds. I have mentally gone over any concerns you may have. You will be safe on Garden, and I’ll keep you by my side when I travel on my next mission into space. I would never leave you for weeks alone on a foreign planet with strangers.”
He glanced around his quarters. “I apologize for the lack of space we currently share. This is my first mission on the Varnish. It’s a small ship. I am usually assigned to the Star. It’s much larger. But my father and I volunteered when we learned the Varnish needed a few replacements for this mission, because some of Stag’s regular crew was required to spend a month on our planet. Our council demands we stay home at least that long, for our males who work on ships. They feel it helps us keep connected as a society. I can request couple quarters on the Star once I legally establish that you belong to me. They will be more comfortable for you, and you’ll be able to accompany me around the ship.” He peered deeply into her eyes. “How are you at withstanding confinement? Please tell me the truth.”
“I’m okay. I didn’t leave my quarters when I traveled to that space station you found me on. It was too dangerous because there were only two women aboard. Men can get stupid, as the captain pointed out. The room was a bit bigger and I had a space port, but there wasn’t really anything to see. I do wish I had access to some entertainment vids.”
“I can arrange that for you.”
“Cyborgs make entertainment vids?” That excited her.
“No.” He looked amused. “We do not act out plays the way Earthers do to amuse others. We do, however, have an extensive library of Earth-made vids.”
“Do you have any vids of Garden? I’d love to see some footage of it.”
“No. We purpos
ely scrub our computer logs of anything associated with our home planet when we are on missions. It’s always possible we could be attacked and our ship taken over. Someone could discover Garden’s location if we don’t take precautions. We must protect our people. We store the coordinates inside our minds only. All cyborgs are prepared to fry our internal chips if we are compromised.”
“What does that mean?”
He reached out and stroked her cheek. “It means we’re willing to die if an enemy captures us and there is a real threat that they might acquire Garden’s location. We can cause the chips inside our minds to malfunction and cause brain hemorrhages. It will damage the brain tissue around those devices so they aren’t able to obtain any useful information.”
“That’s horrible.”
“Every cyborg aboard this ship would die with honor to protect our family and friends on Garden.”
“Why do you leave Garden then?”
“We patrol our space to make certain no one gets close to finding our planet. Sometimes we also need to trade for things we need, which is the reason we were on that station where you found me. Have you ever heard of Marcus Models?”
“No.”
“You were held captive for years and probably didn’t have access to news while you recovered from your ordeal, before leaving Earth. Marcus Models were produced. They are androids with flesh exteriors that appear human. Earth Government created them to replace us as a workforce. They probably thought they’d corrected their error by making them androids beneath flesh instead of growing them. It was another mistake. They became self-aware, too—and they believe their race is superior to all others.
“Some of those models escaped and sought out cyborgs. Some council members believed they wanted to form an alliance and were just looking for a safe haven from being hunted by Earth Government. We met with them off-planet.” He paused. “They are not sentient beings, but instead, more of a single linked computer mind in many bodies. They have no emotion, no compassion, and their plan was to capture cyborgs to exchange us for more of their models being stored on Earth. We fought them and won. It made us their enemy. They are a threat to our existence and to anyone from Earth. Sometimes they attack space stations, murdering all aboard. We must find them before they track down Garden.”
“That’s terrible.”
“We thought we’d destroyed all of the ones who broke free but more escaped from Earth after we met with them. Earth Government attempted to cover it up and the investigator they sent to track some of them wasn’t even told the exact number of models that are unaccounted for from the storage facility where they’re kept.”
“They can’t be that big of a threat, or why wouldn’t they just attack Earth and steal more androids, if they want them so bad?”
“It’s too well guarded. We’ve theorized that after we defeated them, they hunt for the location of our home planet to leak it to Earth Government. They’d send every battle cruiser toward Garden to exterminate us.”
Venice grimaced. “Say no more. I see where this is going. It would leave Earth unprotected while they attacked you. The Markus Models would have an easier time of getting through their defenses and stealing whatever they want from the surface if the patrol battle cruisers were too far away to be of use.”
“Exactly. Earth Government should destroy every model and the manufacturing plants that created them, but it’s doubtful they’ll do so.”
“They wouldn’t want to waste that much money. They’ll try to fix the flaw in the first batch.”
“That is our exact fear. They won’t give up on the idea of having intelligent artificial life with flesh exteriors that they believe they’ll be able to control. They attempted to annihilate us because we are living beings. That’s not so with the Markus Models. They’ll want to save the bodies and reprogram their brains.”
“Damn.”
“I’m sorry for alarming you. You asked why we must go on missions. That’s a big part of it, aside from acquiring supplies.”
“You said you grow your own food.”
“We refuse to strip our planet of minerals and other resources. We’d rather trade for them or take what we need. Our city is made from vessels we salvage for building materials.”
“You don’t live in tree houses?”
He chuckled. “No. They are not structurally sound or long-lasting. We do enjoy our comforts, and Garden is our home. We have no interest in ever leaving it.”
“Why were you at the station? Were you there to steal something?”
“We traded fresh food supplies for data chips and other upgraded equipment we need. We also were seeking information about the Markus Models. There have been no recent attacks in the area. That is good.”
“It was really lucky for me that you came there.”
Deviant leaned in and brushed his lips over Venice’s. She returned the kiss eagerly, opening her mouth so he could explore her with his tongue. He felt lucky as well that he’d gone to the station, and that his father had insisted upon him visiting that brothel. Venice was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
The tray between them got in the way so he just pushed it to the floor. It clattered loudly but he knew the sound wouldn’t carry through to the hallway or other quarters next to him, potentially allowing Stag to learn she was onboard.
He drew Venice closer. He couldn’t touch her enough. Her soft moans excited his libido. Blood rushed to his dick and his clothing in that area quickly became uncomfortable. He broke the kiss and began to strip. Venice didn’t need any urging to do the same. He enjoyed watching her bare every inch of her skin.
She lay back on his bed and lifted her arms, inviting him to join her. He couldn’t wait to stretch out along her side and run his hand over her belly, then lower. She spread her thighs to allow him to touch her sex. He leaned over and brushed wet kisses on her shoulder.
“That feels so good.”
“I love your soft skin,” he admitted. He traced the line of her pussy with his fingertips and grew more aroused when he discovered she was already wet and ready to take him inside her body. He applied a little pressure on her clit, rubbing. A louder moan came from her parted lips. “You’re perfect, Venice.”
“I think you are too.”
He gazed into her eyes and noted no deceit. She really did find him attractive.
He took care to bring her pleasure, the need to please her more important than the desire to be inside her body. The bundle of nerves swelled, hardened under his fingertip, and she restlessly shifted her hips, wiggling against him.
“Yes!” She reached out, placing her hand on his chest. Her fingernails lightly raked his skin. “Deviant…”
He watched her climax then shifted his body, coming down on top of her as she recovered. He hiked one of her legs up, spread her thighs apart enough to fit his hips, and gently entered her. Her pussy tightly encased his cock and pure pleasure was found with the joining.
He rocked his hips, moving inside her, relishing the moans he drew from her lips. She belonged to him—and he was never going to let her go.
It amazed him that one female could mean so much to him, but Venice did. She made him happy, made him feel such amazing emotions and physical delight. Then he stopped thinking altogether, lost in the way their bodies fit together and the urge to spill his seed inside her.
He bent his head, buried his face against her throat, and came so hard it seemed to splinter him in two. Venice clung, wrapped around him, and he remembered to be careful not to crush her with his weight. She was smaller and fragile. He rolled a little, keeping their bodies locked together, and smiled against her skin.
He had a reason to be happy. Her name was Venice, and Deviant finally felt he had become a part of something wonderful. Her.
Chapter Seven
Venice laughed, curled up next to Deviant on the bed. The small vid player had been set up feet away, hooked to the wall beside the bed. He’d kept his word and downloaded some pr
ograms for her. She’d chosen a comedy romance since he’d wanted to experience one with her. He chuckled too.
“Earthers are silly. It amazes me that the females can be drawn to a male who acts that way. He’s kind of scrawny and weak.”
She ran her hand over his biceps. “Not all men are created equal. You had some help there, muscles. He’s got a great sense of humor though. That’s why she’s attracted to him. The hunky guy in the beginning that she dated was a jerk.”
“He was. He treated her poorly. She should have decked him in the mouth.”
Venice grinned. “She probably wanted to avoid being sent to prison. He had high standing in society and she doesn’t.”
“He could have her arrested for that?”
“It’s an Earth thing. It’s why she fled. She was probably afraid she’d lose her temper and get payback.”
Deviant reached up, pausing the vid. She turned her head, peering into his eyes.
“I’d hope you’d punch me if I ever said things that hurt your feelings. You wouldn’t be arrested for it. I always want you to feel secure that you can be honest with me and not hold anything back, even anger.”
That surprised her. “You’re nothing like that jerk.”
“Do I make you laugh enough?”
“Yes. Why do you ask?”
“No reason.”
He reached up to start the vid again but she caught his hand, stopping him. “Talk to me. What are you really thinking?”
He was silent for long seconds, his gaze taking in her face. “I am contemplating if you wish I were different. I don’t have a silly side the way the male does in the vid. The female in this story is falling in love with him for having that trait. You stated this was one of your favorites. That means you probably wish for a male to be more similar to him.”
Another piece of her melted. He was feeling insecure. “It’s one of my favorite stories because she had such a rough upbringing, and then found a man who makes her happy. She thought she’d be stuck having to marry that jerk and be miserable for the rest of her life. That’s the draw. It’s the fact that two people find each other and fall in love.”