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Burning Up Flint Laurann Dohner Book 1 in the Cyborg Seduction series. Flint is tall, gorgeous and dangerous. He's a cyborg-the absolute ultimate alpha male. He takes what he wants and holds what is his. Mira is his now. He takes her aboard his ship and has her branded with his mark. He captured her, owns her, and she will serve his every need. Mira is instantly drawn to Flint, fascinated by his seductive appeal. The sex between them is smoking hot. Until she finds out he is a breeder, contracted to a dozen cyborg women, and she is no more than a possession. Mira won't share her cyborg and she belongs to no one-not even to a man who has captured her heart. She doesn't know if cyborgs feel...anything. Can Flint love her? Mira is determined to find out, no matter how much trouble she makes for the big guy. An Ellora's Cave Romantica Publication www.ellorascave.com Burning Up Flint ISBN 9781419926747 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Burning Up Flint Copyright © 2010 Laurann Dohner Edited by Pamela Campbell Cover art by Syneca Electronic book publication March 2010 The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora's Cave Publishing. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher's permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author's imagination and used fictitiously. BURNING UP FLINT Laurann Dohner Dedication I want to thank my husband David-for being who you are, for making the last twenty years the best ones of my life, and for inspiring me to follow my dreams. I couldn't do it without you! You've made me a believer that love grows stronger with each passing year-and I still think you're smokin' hot. Laurann Dohner Chapter One Mira frowned as the shuttle vibrated violently when it shouldn't have. The flight from Space Station Abaccas back to Earth was a straight shot of bursts. Sudden navigational changes caused vibrations, and judging by the way the shuttle was bouncing her around in a teeth-jarring way, they had to have changed their trajectory a lot, which frightened her. Was something in their flight path? It happened very rarely but sometimes shuttles were attacked by pirates. It was a horrible thought and an even worse reality if that's what was happening. The short four-day flight in the shuttle from Abaccas to Earth was never attacked since thieves liked to go after the heavily supplied, larger ships. The shuttle was a poor target to hit with its meager resources and few passengers to rob. She soothed her fears by thinking it had to be just space garbage the pilot was trying to avoid. Alarms screamed in the cabin and Mira's gaze flew to the only other passenger, General William Reed, who was her father's age-in his late sixties-and he looked furious. He met her gaze and reached for his side blazer. She stared at him, wondering what he meant to do with the retractable blade of synthetic steel. Knives and side blazers were the only weapons permitted. Guns or any other weapon that shot projectiles were regarded as dangerous to a ship's hull and weren't allowed on shuttles because, with the constant pressure changes, they could accidentally misfire. "Shit," the man cursed. He grabbed his seat, pressing the com link to the cockpit. "What is it? What is going on, pilot?" "Two vessels, Sir," the pilot sounded panicked. "We're being overtaken and they are blocking us in. They are faster than we are and we can't escape." "Who is it?" The general was yelling now. "I don't know, Sir," the pilot yelled back. "They aren't marked so they are probably pirates since they won't respond to our calls." The general cursed again and released the com. Mira watched him yank off his wedding ring to shove it behind the backrest cushion. He looked around the cabin critically until his gaze finally rested on Mira, who wasn't fond of the pompous man. The evening before, when she'd boarded the shuttle, he'd annoyed her with boring conversations and his inflated ego. "They won't get much but you." His lips turned downward into a frown. "I'm sorry, my dear. I have a daughter your age." He released his belt and stood. "I won't let them take you alive." She watched the man grab for his blazer again, his intent becoming clear as the blade shot out at the press of his thumb. The blazer looked like a dagger until the blade 6 Burning Up Flint extended into a short sword. Horror washed over her as she lurched for her belt release. Her fingers shook as she pushed the button, knowing he was going to kill her before he would allow the pirates to get her. "Stay away from me. You can't kill me." The man was thrown off balance as the shuttle jarred violently before the engines died and Mira felt the gravity on the shuttle waver. Her ass left the seat for a second before it was restored. Both actions caused the older man to stumble sideways as she slammed back into her seat. He tripped and fell hard when gravity sucked him back to the floor. "Do you know what pirates do to women?" He hauled his body up slowly. "You'll be lucky if the men on those two ships just rape you to death. I've heard stories that some women get taken back to their planet and forced into pleasure houses where you'll be used by dozens of men every day until you die within a few months." She clambered out of her seat and barely missed the blade he sent downward where she'd sat a second before, the sound of splitting fabric loud in her ears. She backed up and then screamed. There was a loud crunch of metal as the shuttle was suddenly shoved hard to one side, as if something had slammed into it, causing another alarm to shriek while red lights flashed in the large cabin. She was thrown across the shuttle but as she looked up from the floor where she'd landed hard she realized it had been a blessing. "We're being boarded," the pilot shouted from the front. "Disarm and hopefully they won't kill us." "They are coming," the general yelled at her. "Have a brain and get over here. I'll make it fast and painless." Mira had no intention of dying, knowing her family and her employer would pay for her safe return. She came from a rich and powerful family and knew she could talk whoever captured her into ransoming her. She ran for the bathroom just feet away from where she'd landed and made it inside. She slammed the door and pushed the lock. In seconds the general was beating on it, trying to gain entrance. "Stay away from me," she shouted. "I'll pay my way out of this. Are you crazy? I'm worth more alive than dead." "Damn it, they won't care." "Everyone loves money. They aren't pirates for the hell of living in space. They are trying to get rich." The man cursed. "Stupid woman!" He kicked the door but then it grew silent. Mira's heart pounded when the shuttle shuddered. The lights flickered in the bathroom but they stayed on so she wasn't left in the dark. She backed away from the door as far as she could get in the tiny compartment that housed only a toilet and a small foam cleaning unit in a corner. She bit her lip. Would the crazy general try to put his blazer through the thin metal to stab at her? 7 Laurann Dohner A long minute passed and then another. A knock sounded on the door. Mira jumped, startled. "Go away. I'm not going to let you kill me, General." Seconds of silence passed and then a deep voice with a gruff tone spoke. "I'm not a general and I have no intention of killing a woman. Open the door now or I'll have to blow the lock. I would hate to risk damaging you." Mira was certain that voice didn't belong to either of the two pilots or the general. She hesitated. "I don't have hours to spare," the deep voice rumbled. "Open the door." She moved slowly, reaching for the lock and sliding the bolt. If the door was blown it could end up killing her. Before she could reach for the handle, the door was jerked open. Mira stared in astonishment at the tall man who filled the doorway, knowing her mouth fell open, but she was helpless to stop it as she took in the sight before her. It wasn't a human man who stared back at her. The urge to faint was strong but Mira wasn't the fainting type. If she were she would have hit the floor. She'd seen pictures of men such as he. He was at least six-foot-four with jet-black hair that brushed the top of his shoulders. Intense dark blue eyes studied her. Dull black leather encased his wide shoulders and powerfully built arms. His full lips curved into a tight smile and when he blinked, his thick black eyelashes drew her attention. The skin of his face was a dull nickel color. "You're a cyborg," she whispered in awe. The smile grew. "You're human," he said softly, amusement sparking in his eyes. "But..." She swallowed. "They said all of you had been destroyed over twenty years ago." He shrugged his massive shoulders. "They lied. What is your name?" Her mind was reeling. "Um..." "Um is an odd name." "Mirasia Carver." She cleared her throat. "I am just shocked." "You look it. Come with me. I won't hurt you." He hesitated before holding out his large hand to her. She saw that he wore gloves and metal adorned the back of them like a weapon. If he were to backhand someone, it would break bones. She stared at the his hand and then realized he was offering to help her out of the tiny room. She was trembling as she lifted her smaller hand to place it in his, where only soft black material covered his palm. His hand closed over hers gently as he tugged her out of the bathroom. She was a little alarmed as she glanced around the cabin of the shuttle to see the general and both pilots were bound-their hands behind their backs, on their knees on the floor. Three more large cyborgs were assessing her and Mira couldn't help but stare back at each of the large men. It surprised Mira that cyborgs looked different from each other. She half expected them to be so similar that they resembled clones, since they'd been manufactured in 8 Burning Up Flint laboratories on Earth. She had read somewhere that cyborgs had metallic-toned skin to set them apart visually from humans. She took in the varying skin tones of all four men, ranging from a light dull silver gray to an almost pewter color. Their bodies were thick, buff, massive, and they were all tall-the shortest one was about six-foot-two while the tallest was inches more in height-but that was where the similarities stopped. One of the men had shockingly white hair while the other two had black hair like the one who gently gripped her hand. "Leave her with us," the general said gruffly. "You're machines so you don't need to rape a woman. Take whatever the hell you want and let us go." The redheaded pilot was unusually pale. "They won't let any of us go," he whispered. "They only attack when they're looking for spare human materials." The general paled noticeably and pure terror showed on his face. The other pilot moaned softly, shaking with fear. Mira looked up at the large cyborg still holding her hand to watch as he tilted his head slightly, studying the three bound men carefully. He turned toward the white-haired cyborg. "Take DNA samples of the males and strip the shuttle of anything we can safely salvage from them." The white-haired cyborg jerked his head in affirmation that he'd heard before reaching into one of the large pockets of his black pants to withdraw a small case. Mira watched silently as the man withdrew a small, white device from inside the case and gripped one of the pilots. He extracted blood and tissue from the man's arm. The pilot groaned in pain but it was over quickly. The cyborg extracted samples from the other two men and then his gaze lifted to Mira. "Her?" "No." The cyborg standing next to her shook his head. The other frowned. "But-" "Enough, Ice. Don't question me in front of the humans." He smiled coldly. Ice grinned. "So should we take human materials, Flint?" Flint looked amused. "Let me think about it while you strip the ship." Mira eyed the cyborg standing next to her, still gripping her hand. His name was Flint. The government had announced that they'd destroyed every last cyborg model made but they had obviously lied since she was staring at four of them. Supposedly, the last of the cyborgs had been stamped out of existence when she was a child, their destruction having been ordered by the government nearly twenty years before she was born. Out of curiosity, she'd read as much as she could about them, and from what she remembered, they had been assigned numbers instead of names. Part of her was excited at seeing that they had survived while part of her was ashamed because what had been done to them. 9 Laurann Dohner As the three cyborgs tore the shuttle apart removing what they wanted to take she let her mind drift to her history lessons. At first scientists and doctors had used cybernetics to replace missing limbs, failed organs, and they'd managed to map the human brain to help the mentally ill. They had also made advancements to help repair brain-damaged people to be fully functional again. Eventually they'd mated humans with technology enough to think they could increase lifespan to a projected two hundred years. With space travel advancing, the scientists had decided disposable soldiers were a brilliant idea. Mira had cringed in horror at learning that part of history. The military and the scientific community had gotten together for Project Cyborg. They had grown cyborgs in laboratories, made them tougher, stronger, bigger than humans and with longer life spans. They wanted to send them out into deep space for exploration. What they hadn't counted on were their perfect soldiers becoming self-aware when their human side overrode the programmed chips in their brains. Cyborgs had demanded basic civil rights and when they were denied those rights, the rebellion had started. Cyborgs hadn't been violent but instead they'd gone on strike, refusing to work for a government that wouldn't admit they were sentient beings. It had really pissed off the government. Fearing that the animosity would escalate and the cyborgs would call an all-out war against their creators, humans became afraid. The government had ordered all cyborgs destroyed. Sympathetic humans had tried to hide the cyborgs to keep them safe but it was announced one day when she was about twelve years old that every unaccounted model had been found and destroyed. Mira had cried when she heard that the last of the cyborgs were forever gone. She thought it was a screwed-up thing to deny them rights since they were human-at least mostly human-and she thought genocide of a created race was a horror. The Earth Government had definitely lied to the public. Mira watched as the cyborgs finished removing what they wanted from the shuttle. She realized the large cyborg was still holding her hand so she looked up at Flint. She smiled at him when he turned his head to meet her eyes. "I'm glad not all of you were killed. I thought it was wrong what was done to your people." She saw his black eyebrows arch in shock at her statement. She flushed a little, embarrassed. "My parents were sympathizers so they raised me to believe in freedom for all." The general uttered a foul curse. "You're being polite to that thing?" He spit on the floor. "They are machines that aren't worth speaking to. You may as well talk to the shuttle." "Shut up," the pilot hissed at the general. "So far they haven't killed us and they usually do. They usually take people for spare parts." Frowning, Mira looked at the pilot. "Spare parts? I don't understand." 10 Burning Up Flint The other pilot flashed Mira a frightened look. "They cut us up and use our skin and internal organs to make more of them." Her gaze shot to the tall cyborg standing next to her. Flint was frowning at the pilot. "You know," he said slowly, "I know a downed model about your size who needs repairs." Horror hit Mira as she yanked her hand out of the cyborg's hold. She turned, inching away from him, to put herself in front of the pilot. "You can't really mean that. He's a living person." The tall cyborg looked at Mira. "So are we. We breathe. It never stopped humans from trying to kill every one of us to benefit themselves." She swallowed. "We didn't do that to your kind. I wasn't even born when those idiots made that law to have your kind destroyed and he's not much older than I am." "You're right." The cyborg nodded, his attention turned to the general. "You are old enough to have been a part of it. You're a military man. Perhaps I should take you for spare parts." Mira glanced at the general. She bit her lip before moving out of the way. She saw Flint shoot her a surprised look, his eyebrow arching again. "Aren't you going to put yourself between us to save him?" "He tried to kill me and I'm not willing to die for a man who wanted to slice me up with his blazer. I think he's a little old to be useful but I don't know anything about what you need or could use." The cyborg shocked Mira and the three bound men by throwing his head back and laughing. She turned to see the other three cyborgs smiling, all obviously amused. Ice moved closer, stopping feet short of her to give her a once-over before turning his attention to Flint. "Just when we think that humanity is at a complete loss. She is cute." Flint nodded at Mira. "She is unique. We don't really use humans for spare parts. We take DNA samples because our gene pool is limited and they come in handy to our scientists when they need fresh ones to work with. We do not kill indiscriminately." Relief hit Mira as she smiled, believing him. He watched her carefully, his gaze studying her expression very closely, then sighed. He turned to one of the other cyborgs. "Have you salvaged everything we can use?" "Yes, Flint. We left it so they could make it back to Earth safely. Their excess fuel has been removed." The cyborg turned to the pilot and said, "Use a short burst. The trip will take longer but you will get there. We monitored for leaks and cracks from our boarding and the integrity of your shuttle is sound. We did no damage that will cause your vessel to fail." The other cyborg nodded. "One short burst. You could have an issue with it if you full burn. Do you understand? It could cause the tank to ignite." 11 Laurann Dohner The pilot nodded. "I got it." "What does that mean?" It was the general. The second pilot cleared his throat. "It means we're going to have to just give ourselves a little jerk to coast home. Instead of it taking a few days we're facing a good week of travel unless someone comes to refuel us when we get closer to Earth." "But you took our supplies," the general sputtered. "You might as well kill us." Flint shook his head. "We didn't take it all so ration what you have left. It won't be a pleasant trip but you'll survive." The two dark-haired cyborgs lifted the crates they had filled from the shuttle. Mira saw all their travel bags wedged in with the food supplies they were taking but she didn't say a word, thinking everything she owned could be replaced. They had also removed some of the entertainment equipment. That just left Flint and Ice in the shuttle. Mira watched them then her eyes locked with Flint's. He gazed back at her and extended his hand to her as if he wanted to shake hands. She only hesitated a second before putting her palm against his. "Thank you for not hurting anyone." He gripped her smaller hand. "We're not killers unless we're left with no other options." "Should I untie the men or let her do it when we're gone?" Ice waited by the door that docked their ship to the shuttle. The large hand gripping Mira's didn't let go. Flint actually rubbed his thumb over her skin lightly, caressing her, tilting his head to stare deeply into her eyes. "I am wondering something. Will you satisfy my curiosity?" She couldn't look away from his beautiful eyes. "Sure. What do you want to know?" He released her hand and pulled off his glove then offered his bare hand. Mira took it, surprised at how warm his skin was. His palm was slightly roughened with calluses. She thought it was odd that he wanted to shake her hand flesh to flesh but she was more than happy to oblige. His fingers squeezed her hand. A gasp tore from her lips as he jerked her forward, right into his muscular body. Mira stared up at the foot taller cyborg who still gripped her hand. Her free hand had ended up against the hard-shelled chest plate of his black uniform. Her body was flush against his since he'd pulled her there. His arm wrapped around her waist, locking her against him as he stared down at her. Flint just held her like that for long seconds, watching her. She wondered what he was doing, if maybe he wanted her closer to detect if she was lying or not. She'd read once that cyborgs were good at tracking a human's heart rate by touch. Was he holding her so tightly so he could evaluate her honesty? It was her best guess. 12 Burning Up Flint "Um...what do you want to know?" She was proud that her voice didn't shake in fear. Cyborgs were super strong. He could hurt her easily if he wanted to with that massively built body. He lowered his head so he could gaze into her eyes. He had mesmerizing blue eyes that she couldn't look away from. Cyborgs looked completely human except for their skin tone. He was a damn good-looking man. His hot breath fanned across her face. He smelled of some kind of sweet fruit. "Flint?" Flint didn't even glance at the other cyborg when he spoke to him, instead keeping his eyes locked with Mira's. "What?" "What are you doing?" Ice sounded amused. Flint ignored the question to rub Mira's hand again. "Do you have any children?" She'd never expected that question in a million years. She shook her head. "No." He took a deep breath. "Good. Then you will forgive me in time." She frowned. "Forgive you for what?" He took a step back and then another as he completely released her. "I do not care if you have a man in your life or if you have family you will miss. The one thing I could not take you from would be a child. That would be deplorable. You do not have any, therefore what I do is forgivable." Mira's mind tried to make sense of his words. She gasped as he grabbed her arm above the elbow in a viselike grip. His gaze tore from hers to the other cyborg. "Free the pilot so he can release the other two men when we are away. Let's go, Ice. I have the only thing I want from the shuttle. I have her." Flint's words sank in as he jerked her toward the door that attached the ship to her shuttle. She stumbled behind the man who gave her no choice but to follow. He kept walking, dragging a stunned Mira behind him. 13 Laurann Dohner Chapter Two Mira was in shock as she was pulled by the cyborg as he entered a larger ship. She glanced frantically at metal flooring that he walked on, hearing his boots clank as they moved down a corridor. Her attention flew to the walls as they passed, but the lighting was dim in the corridor as he led her from one into another. The sound of the engines starting couldn't be missed. Flint suddenly stopped to brace against a wall, tugging her none too gently against his side, tightening his hold. The ship moved, making them both sway a little on their feet, before he started walking again. "What are you doing?" Her voice shook now. "Please take me back." "We have already released the shuttle and are leaving it behind. In a few minutes, when we are clear, we will do a long burn and head for our planet. It is already done and you will not be returning to your shuttle, Mirasia Carver." He walked her inside a shaft and stopped. Doors slid shut and then Mira moaned a little as a queasy feeling hit her stomach at the fast movement upward, making her realize it wasn't a shaft after all but a lift. The hand gripping hers tightened. "No harm will come to you, so relax." Flint's voice was husky. "Why did you take me? What are you going to do with me?" He hesitated. "Right now I am needed in Control so we'll discuss that later. You will be quiet until I tell you it is a good time to talk. Are my instructions clear?" Her heart pounded with fear and adrenaline. "You're not going to sell me to a pleasure house somewhere, are you?" He chuckled. "Would you like me to?" "No! It's just that the general tried to kill me because he said if I were taken that's where I'd end up." "I promise you that other men will not be having sex with you." She blew out a breath of relief. "Thank you. I have a good job that will pay for my safe return since I'm a valued employee. You could ransom me for a lot of money." He ignored her suggestion. The lift stopped. "Be quiet until I tell you otherwise. Are my instructions clear? You do not speak or move in Control." "I understand." "Good." He walked out of the lift to turn down another corridor that ended in double doors that automatically slid open in front of them. Flint tugged her into a room behind him, stopping so suddenly just inside the doors that Mira slammed hard into his back. She 14 Burning Up Flint hit hard enough to bounce off him. His tight hold on her kept her from falling on her ass. She steadied her balance on her feet. When Flint released her hand she shoved at her blonde hair, pushing the long, curly strands out of her face. Mira stared up at Flint as he turned to face her, giving her an amused look. He studied her for a second before he pointed to the floor. "Sit." She looked at the metal floor, clenching her teeth over being treated like a dog in training, but sat where he pointed. Flint was a large man with wide shoulders and muscular arms that revealed his strength. She knew that in a physical struggle she would be no match. She sat cross-legged and was thankful she wore pants. When Flint stepped away, she took in her surroundings and that's when more surprise hit her. Flint's big body had blocked her view when they'd been standing but now she could see everything. She was in a large control room that was twice the size of her shuttle's interior. More than the four cyborgs she'd seen lived on the ship. She counted seven of them here, besides Flint. The three from the shuttle were not amongst them. So far, she'd seen eleven cyborgs. She sensed their attention on her so she openly stared back at them, curious. All of them were massively built and tall, with an array of different eye and hair colors. Some kept their hair long to their shoulders, as Flint wore his, while one had no hair at all. One of them even had a thick braid of flaming red hair that hung down his back almost to the ass of his black pants. They all had skin tones in shades of metallic gray. "Have they burst yet?" Flint asked. The one with the long red braid shook his head. "No, Flint. They are just sitting there. Should we wait for them to leave to see if they need assistance?" Flint hesitated. "They are far enough away from Earth that transmissions are unstable. We'll wait to make sure they take off before we blast away." A gray-haired cyborg who looked no older than thirty nodded. "They have started their engines." "Bring it up," Flint ordered. The screen filled with a view of space showing, to Mira's surprise, that they'd already put a lot of distance between the ship and the shuttle. She wondered how big the cyborg vessel was, wondering if it was larger than the space station she'd just spent two weeks visiting, since the lift Flint had tugged her into had gone up quite a few levels. "Shit," the gray-haired cyborg hissed. "They are fully powering up. Didn't you tell them to only do a short burst?" "Yes," Flint said softly. 15 Laurann Dohner Mira stared at the screen, watching as the shuttle's thrusters burned brightly, flaring from the back, and a second later the shuttle exploded. She was horrified as she witnessed it blow apart. Pieces flew in all directions. "Blast away," Flint roared. Mira had the air knocked from her lungs as the large cyborg suddenly turned, throwing his body at her, taking her flat to the floor under him when he tackled her. Her back hit the metal surface as his weight crushed down. The ship vibrated roughly as the engines revved around them. Her body slid a few feet even with the massive man on top of her, pinning her down. Long seconds passed where she couldn't breathe under Flint's weight. He pushed up to get off her when the shaking under them ceased. Flint climbed to his feet, not even sparing her a glance, as he glared at the viewing screen. "Did we escape the debris?" He sounded pissed. "We did," the redheaded cyborg cursed. "The idiot humans full blasted, making their tank explode." "Damn fools," the gray-haired cyborg spat. "If we knew they wanted to die we could have salvaged the entire vessel." Mira lifted her chin to observe Flint as she pushed up to a sitting position. She knew he'd saved her from really getting hurt when they'd suddenly had to blast out of range of the exploding shuttle. Without his weight she would have been thrown across the room. Her back hurt a little but she was relieved that he'd done it. Flint looked furious as he shook his head. "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." 16 Burning Up Flint 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 ...
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