Free Peyton 313 by Donna McDonald Page B

never legally marrying doesn’t mean there weren’t plenty of women in my life,” Peyton declared.
    “There’s no need to defend your kissing skills to me, Captain Elliott. You have one of the highest ratings in the Cyber Husband program for your bedroom skills, and one of the lowest for your level of cooperation during all other activities. Apparently, your wives bought you for a handsome lap dog only to find out you were mostly a mongrel.”
    Tired of talking about Peyton’s life with other women, Kyra rose and paced around the room while he thumbed through the file again.
    “It says my price is fifteen million. Did ten women actually pay that for me?”
    Kyra snorted at how Peyton posed his question. There was no disbelief in the exorbitant amount, just amusement. “That pleased tone of voice kind of gives away how you feel about being worth so much. You might want to stop smiling and take this seriously. Being a Cyber Husband wasn’t the glamorous life you’re imagining.”
    Peyton snorted. “It’s an obscene amount of money to spend for a man’s company—that’s for sure. And probably bullshit too. I keep waiting for you to tell me what the punch line is to the joke.”
    Kyra turned and glared at him. “Fine. Here’s the punch line. I paid eight million dollars. You were on sale. ” It made her incredibly happy when the folder fell to Peyton’s lap.
    “You’re lying.”
    “No. I assure you I am not,” Kyra replied dryly, glad to hear at least a little doubt ringing in Peyton’s denial.
    “Where the hell did you get eight million dollars? No offense, but if I’m number three, it stands to reason you paid big bucks for the others as well. Are you just some bored cyber scientist who gets her kicks from tweaking the cyborgs she buys?”
    Peyton’s accusation irritated her but only because it had come up so soon. She had always planned to reveal the truth while he was still safely in the cage. She had just hoped to gain a smidgeon of trust from him first. Apparently, trust was not going to be a possibility. She was going to have to settle for grudging respect.
    “My ex and I were separated and divorced years ago, but as his only human wife, I remained his only eligible legal heir at his death. When one of his Cyber Wives killed him, she went back to Norton for complete redefinition. Not that they would have let her keep the money, but apparently I was still named in his will. We never had any children together because Jackson didn’t want them.”
    “Jackson?”
    “Yes. Jackson Channing. For almost fifteen years, I was married to the primary creator of the Cyber Soldier program.”
    Peyton set the file aside and rose to walk to the bars. “He’s in my human memories. He helped me choose my enhancements. I remember talking to him before they were done. He didn’t seem very evil to me.”
    Kyra nodded. She understood what Peyton was saying. That early version of Jackson hadn’t been the warped one.
    “Programming for cybernetic enhancements was very straight forward when the first soldiers were converted. Cybernetic programming was used mostly to increase natural abilities and repair the soldier’s bodies when necessary. Programs didn’t run codes concurrently without pause. That discovery came later, as did others that made your participation in the Cyber Husband program a possibility. Before the peace pact was officially signed, Jackson had figured out how to completely control anyone with a cybernetic processor and torment chips installed. The first work I did for you was to remove all those capacities from your cybernetics. I’ve come to think it’s reprehensible to subvert someone’s humanity so totally.”
    Peyton lifted his shoulders. “So you want me to believe that you’re a reformed cyber scientist with a guilty conscience. And I’m also supposed to believe you did this restoration to help me.”
    Since she didn’t even harbor it as a fantasy, Kyra shook her head. “I’m