Free Mated with the Cyborg by Cara Bristol

against his. His erection thrust against her soft belly. The scent and touch of her stormed his human senses, fried his cyborg circuits. His heart pounded a rapid beat, echoed by a throb much lower. He kissed her, plundering the deep recesses of her mouth, then dragged his lips across her cheek to press against the corner of her eyes, her temple, her ear.
    Defenses crashed. In truth, they’d been fragile to begin with. Even before he’d seen her face, she’d intrigued him. Her fluid grace, her soft voice, the vulnerability he’d glimpsed in her beautiful eyes. Her resilience and courage. An indomitable, pure spirit that somehow had remained uncorrupted by evil.
    “Are you sure you want this?” he murmured.
    She nodded.
    How could she know? She had little experience to enable her to judge the situation. He felt like the worst sort of asshole to use her and then leave her.
    “I can’t make you any promises,” he said. “I won’t be able to stay. I have to rejoin…my unit.” How was that for a pick-up line? Hey, babe, wanna fuck?
    Although sex with her wouldn’t be part of a long-term relationship, it wasn’t meaningless either. He would carry the memory forever. A bit of heaven and a dose of regret tied together by duty and desire. He didn’t want to sleep with her for the physical release; he needed the physical release because he desired her .
    She shook her head. “I don’t care.”
    But she should, and only a selfish jerk would accept her words at face value, but the price of doing the right thing cost too much. He sought her mouth, and she moaned and melted against him. He explored the slope of her neck, her throat, her collarbone. She slid her hands underneath his shirt to caress his back, drag the pads of her fingers down his spine.
    Kai led her to the double-wide berth. He grabbed the hem of his shirt then hesitated. He needed her to be certain. “Are you sure?” he had to ask her again, though it killed him. What if she said no? What if she had second thoughts?
    She huffed. “Are men from your planet always so difficult to seduce?”
    He chuckled. “Not usually, no.” Kai followed through on removing his shirt then shucked out of his boots and pants. He paused and then yanked off his underwear. Her cheeks reddened, but she held his gaze. He tugged off her tunic then divested her of the leggings. Her underwear consisted of filmy thin briefs and a sleeveless top, the straps of which did not fully cover her spiral birthmark.
    Note to self: right shoulder off limits. He’d gone this far; he didn’t want her shrieking and fleeing from his bed. He eyed her taut nipples tenting the fabric. There was much more to focus on anyway.
    He pulled her to him for another steamy kiss, lifting her off the ground so that her toes skimmed his shins. He ensured her body slid down his as he settled her back on her feet. She clutched at his arms. “Do all Terran men look like you?” She kneaded his biceps with her fingers. “Are they as strong?”
    No. Enhanced musculature came with being a cyborg. He’d always had a well-defined physique, but not this developed. The nanocytes injected into his blood had modified the muscle fibers. “More or less,” he answered. A few non-cyborg Terran men after rigorous weight lifting training approximated his bulk.
    She brushed his erection. “As…large?”
    He grinned. No enhancement there. “More or less .”
    She trailed her fingers over his temples and his forehead. Her touch lit a path of fire. “Men—people—on your planet don’t have ridges.”
    “No.”
    “Dale is Terran, then, too.”
    Kai snarled, and she yanked her hand away, her body tensing in alarm.
    What the hell was wrong with him? The jealous rumble had burst from his throat before he could stop it. “I’m sorry.” There had been no sexual intent to what she’d said, but he disliked her mentioning another man in any context—especially one who’d flirt with her in a heartbeat if given the