After her dominant cyborg had finished fucking her brains out for the fifth time, making her come harder than she ever had, Briella began to accept a few world-tilting truths.
The first—he genuinely did desire her. Even now, as he cradled her in his lap, his huge cock pressed against her side. The male was insatiable, and she was the being he desired.
The second truth—Odium was right. A sleeping support might be a nice furnishing to have. The console had been unrelenting under her form during their fuckfests. She was bruised all over…in a good way.
The third revelation—Her warrior had also correctly foretold the goggles situation. She would have to remove them eventually. Her face itched, and she grew weary of seeing everything through their fogged lenses.
Once she did that, she would lose him. He, for some bizarre reason, wasn’t turned off by the scars on the rest of her body. But the marred skin around her left eye was much worse, and her mismatched eyes unnerved the toughest of warriors.
That wasn’t the most concerning shift in her reality, however.
“I tingle. All over.” The strange fizzing inside her had started during their first fuck and had spread throughout her body.
It didn’t feel…bad. But it was new. She’d never experienced anything quite like it.
“Those are my nanocybotics.” Odium pulled her closer to his warm form. “They’ll repair any minor damage you might incur, will extend your lifespan indefinitely, and they mark you as being mine.”
His nanocybotics would heal her wounds.
She touched her left cheek. Her hands were no longer bound. That reward had been finally earned after their last encounter. She slid her fingertips along one of her scars.
The groove didn’t feel smaller. The nanocybotics might take time to work.
“They won’t repair old damage, my female.” Her cyborg brushed an errant curl away from her face.
“Oh.” She lowered her hand, feeling foolish for wishing she’d been healed.
Odium grasped her fingers and squeezed them. That small act reverberated in her heart. He was beautiful and commanding and perfect, yet he somehow understood her.
“My real name is Briella.” It was important to her that he knew that. “Others call me Beast because…” Because of her scars, her different eyes.
“Thank you for honoring me with your real name.” Her cyborg rubbed her arms, up and down, up and down.
She reveled in his touch.
“Which name do you prefer?” His lips brushed against her forehead as he spoke.
No one had ever asked her that question.
She paused, considering how to answer it.
“I don’t look like a Briella.” She’d seen the disbelief, the mocking in other beings’ expressions when she’d shared her real name with them. That was why she defaulted to using her dreaded nickname. She had made an exception for Odium because she never thought they would meet. “Briellas are tiny and delicate and beautiful.”
“My Briella is tiny and delicate and beautiful.” He rested his chin on top of her head. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“I prefer Briella.” She murmured that confession into his chest.
“Then I’ll call you my Briella or my female.” He petted her hair, handling her as though she was treasured, cherished. “The cyborgs will call you Odium’s female. That is our way.”
They already referred to her as Odium’s female. She had given up trying to correct them.
“You can call me your warrior or your Odium.” Her cyborg once again gifted her with use of his name.
Guilt pricked at her. She deserved a reprimand, not a reward, because she hadn’t told him everything, was still concealing her eyes from her warrior.
The urge to run gripped her. She slid off his lap. “You’ve been away from your home planet for a while.” She was responsible for that extended absence. He and his cyborg buddies had stopped the Humanoid Alliance attack on her freighter. “You must have beings to meet with, tasks to complete.”
Her warrior stood also, looming over her. “I’m not leaving your side, my female.” He leveled a hard glance on her.
His dominance wet her pussy. “Odium—”
“Your Odium,” he corrected her.
“My Odium.” Briella wanted to tell him they were over. She would always remember him, would treasure the time they had together, and it was best that their relationship ended on a happy note.
But he wouldn’t accept that decision.
“I need to perform my sunrise tasks.” She grabbed her second-newest flight suit from a compartment in a wall panel, and she marched off the bridge in the direction of the closest cleansing chamber.
Leaving Odium with no explanations would be easier.
That was how her parents had severed ties with her. They asked her to retrieve an item for them from the freighter. When she tried to exit the ship with the handheld they requested, the doors were locked and her parents were gone.
She had survived that experience because she was strong. Odium would survive also, and she wouldn’t be as cold to him as her family had been to her. If he contacted her, she would accept his communications, would tell him they were over.
There would be distance between them at that point. She could suppress the visuals, wouldn’t have to see the disappointment in his eyes. The conversation would be short. She could hide her emotions from him during it. It would be fuckin’ manageable.
If she stayed in the cleansing chamber long enough, all that might not be necessary. He might become bored, might leave the freighter, find his buddies, forget about her.
Fuck. That possibility made her heart ache.
Briella spent almost a shift inside the cleansing chamber. It was a relief to discard her goggles, to not have to worry about judgment or rejection.
The only thing that prompted her to leave was her rumbling stomach.
There were nourishment bars stored on the bridge. She donned her eye coverings once more, opened the doors, stepped forward.
And smacked into an unrelenting wall of body armor-clad muscle.
“Fuck. What?” She tilted her head back, met Odium’s dark-eyed gaze and sucked in her breath.
Her cyborg hadn’t left the freighter. He had waited for her to reappear.
And he looked furious.
“I could hear your singing, and I could monitor your lifeform readings.” He lifted her until her face was level with his. Her bare feet dangled in the air. “That was the only reason I didn’t break down the doors.”
“I was in the cleansing chamber.” She mumbled her reply. “I wasn’t in danger.”
“I’ve killed beings in cleansing chambers.” He slung her over his right shoulder. Hard male connected with soft stomach, and she gasped. “I should’ve ensured the space was clear before I allowed you to enter it.”
She blinked.
Her cyborg wasn’t angry with her. He was angry with himself.
“You shouldn’t have loitered in there.” He smacked her flight suit-covered ass. A delectable pain radiated from that point of contact.
She bit back a moan.
He was angry with her also.
Odium carried her back to bridge, plunked her onto the console. “You need your boots.”
She stuck out her bare feet. “I can dress myself.”
“You’ll allow me to tend to you.” He put her boots on for her, fastened the footwear.
The leather had been polished. Her cyborg’s handsome face reflected on its surface.
Briella prided herself on being an independent female, but it was kind of nice to be cared for. “I can’t get used to this.” She planned to leave him.
“You will get used to this.” His tone was stern. “You’re mine, and I will tend to you. That’s my right as your warrior.” He plucked at the sleeve of her flight suit. “This garment is frayed also.” Her male frowned. “It will have to be replaced.”
“Fuck that.” She looked down at her flight suit. It had seen better planet rotations, but it wasn’t that bad. “It’s still wearable.”
“It isn’t worthy of you.” Odium scowled at her. “You—”
Her stomach growled. Loudly.
“You didn’t hear that.” She gripped her midriff. Her face flamed with embarrassment.
“I heard that.” He opened a compartment, extract three nourishment bars, unwrapped one, gave it to her. “Eat. Restore your energy levels.”
She bit into the treat. “You should eat also.”
Odium leaned over her and bared his teeth.
She stared at him. Her heart pounded in her chest.
He met her gaze. His eyes glinted with dark intent. He took a big bite of her nourishment bar and casually chewed.
Hot damn. She wanted him.
They’d fucked a gazillion times. She should be sexually sated. But her body hadn’t received that message. Her pussy dripped for him. She throbbed with need. All over.
Because he’d shared her nourishment bar. Stars. She had to get a grip on her desires.
Her seemingly oblivious male licked a crumb off his firm bottom lip, and she almost moaned with appreciation over that casual act. “I plugged into an energy outlet while you slept between breedings.” He straightened. “Finish the nourishment bar.” He slid a container along the console toward her. “And drink your liquids. This is all for you. Beverages are necessary for mostly humans to fully function. Cyborgs don’t require them.”
“You’re very commanding.” She took a sip of the beverage.
It was cool and refreshing, and she was extremely thirsty. She gulped more of the liquid.
His eyes shone. “You haven’t been taking good care of yourself, my female. Now that you’re mine, that will change.”
She broke off another bit of nourishment bar and popped it into her mouth. “I have to leave Mercury Minor. Soon.” Before he rejected her. “There are more beings to be rescued from the Humanoid Alliance and—”
“Have you received a request to rescue beings?” He studied her.
She fought the impulse to squirm under his perusal. “No.” She was truthful with him. “But—”
“There are no buts. You haven’t received a request to rescue more beings.” Her cyborg didn’t appear surprised by her answer. “You don’t have to leave Mercury Minor soon.”
She frowned. “Are you monitoring my communications?”
“Yes. I’m monitoring all your communications.” He unwrapped another nourishment bar and passed it to her, acting as though listening to another being’s conversations was normal.
It wasn’t fuckin’ normal. At all. She set the nourishment bar aside. They had to part before he took over more of her lifespan, uncovered more of her secrets. “We’ve had fun these past few planet rotations, but Odium—”
He lifted his eyebrows.
“But my Odium.” She corrected herself. “You don’t know who I am, who you are claiming or, in this case, stalking.” She twisted her lips. “You haven’t seen all of me.”
Acid burned the back of her throat as she considered the mere possibility he’d do that.
And with him following her every—fuckin’—where, that was destined to happen. She’d fuck up, accidently reveal her entire face, and he’d reject her.
It’d be a shit show.
That was not what she wanted—for him or for her. She had to convince her stubborn male to allow her to leave. Alone.
That required more fuckin’ chattering.
“You don’t want to see all of me. Trust me on that.” She stared glumly downward. “My eyes…yeah…they’re a fuckin’ mess, total nightmare material.”
“Cyborgs don’t sleep.” He pinched her chin, forced her to meet his gaze. “But if I did go offline, no processor-fabricated images featuring you could ever be a nightmare.”
He peered at her as though he could see past the lenses of her goggles.
Her breath hitched.
Fuck. He could see her eyes.
“You’re a clever female.” Her cyborg’s lips curled upward ever-so-slightly. “You process your words aren’t true. I have seen you, all of you.”
“That’s impossible.” But as she said that, she knew, with him, it was possible.
“Are you doubting your warrior?” He frowned.
“No.” She hastily assured him.
Her thoughts spun.
If he could see all of her now, he must have seen all of her before their fucktivities.
And that hadn’t dimmed his desire for her.
How could that be? Why would he want her?
She was confused. About everything.
“You are doubting me.” The disapproval on Odium’s flawless face made her cringe. “Your distrust of me and your lack of truth have earned you two reprimands.” He flexed his hands, giving her an indication of what those two reprimands would be.
Her ass twitched and her nipples tightened.
She was turned on, frightened, uncertain. “I want to believe…” But it was all too fantastical, like something out of her wildest fantasies.
“I’m not the beings who emotionally damaged you, my female.” He sighed. “I’m your warrior. I was fabricated for you, and I process your worth, see your beauty.” Her cyborg studied her face. “Every part of you appeals to me.”
He brushed his fingertips over her left cheek, back and forth, back and forth.
His touch was exquisitely gentle, almost reverent.
The turmoil inside her slowly dissipated. She was hypnotized by his caresses, by his voice.
“Every part appeals to me.” Odium reinforced that message. “Your right fully organic eye is primarily brown, but when you find release under me, shards of gold explode in its depths.” He brought his face closer to hers. “Your left eye is darker in color. It flashes with blue energy when you experience strong emotions…as you do now.” His breath was warm on her cheeks. “The scarring is more severe. The skin is puckered and lighter-colored, and it accentuates the exquisiteness of your mechanical eye.”
His description of her face was poetic, like the lyrics of a love song.
She gazed at him.
He gazed back at her.
“My eyes don’t disgust you.” She felt adrift. Everything she’d ever known about herself, about others, about her future, had shifted. “My Odium.”
His gaze softened for a heartbeat.
She sensed that he grasped how lost she was.
Then her warrior’s lips flattened and she knew he understood her. Completely.
“Your eyes appeal to me. I’ve already stated that.” He gave her the severity she needed. “And I’m a cyborg. Unlike mostly humans, I don’t lie.” His dominance focused her. “You’ve earned another reprimand for questioning my honor.”
“You’re monitoring my communications.” She deliberately provoked him, pushing him to dole out the punishments he’d promised. “Is that honorable?”
“I monitor communications, lifeforms, every movement around us.” Odium snapped his voice like a whip over her. “I do that to protect you, my female. It’s my duty as your warrior.”
She suspected it was also his default as a cyborg. His awareness would’ve kept him alive in the past. “I’m accustomed to being alone.” She felt compelled to explain that to him.
All the togetherness was a huge adjustment for her.
It felt…strange. She didn’t quite trust it.
The detached sensation returned. She gazed down at her booted feet.
“My female.” Her cyborg barked at her.
She lifted her head.
“You will never be alone again.” His certainty reassured her. “Come here.” He claimed the captain’s chair. “And lower yourself over my lap.” He patted his body armor-covered thighs. “You’ve earned six reprimands.”
The count had doubled.
She didn’t say anything because she wasn’t a fuckin’ idiot. Questioning his tally would only increase it. Her ass was in danger with six reprimands.
And she didn’t fight his orders either. She slipped off the edge of the console and carefully bent over his legs.
He slid her over him until the bulge in his protective garment pressed hard against her side.
Her cyborg was excited about her punishment also. She smothered a smile.
His palm connected with her cloth-clad ass, and she yelped, all her humor fading.
“Count, my female.” He added that humiliation to her punishment.
“One, my warrior.” She gulped air.
“Good, my mostly human.” His praise eased some of her pain.
His next swat rebuilt that agony. Her spine bowed. Heat spread over her.
“Two, my warrior.” She clasped his legs.
He smacked her once, twice more. She dutifully counted the spanks, silently cursing him. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
The fifth cuff on the ass sent her into space. She floated, high on hurt and on the pleasure accompanying it.
“Five, my warrior.” Her voice sounded as though it originated from a distance, from another being’s throat.
“Stay with me, my female.” Her cyborg massaged her backside, rubbing the burn into her skin.
“I’m here.” She hung, head down, over his lap. “I—”
He walloped her ass.
She shrieked, stiffening with bliss, with pain, with surprise. “Six, my warrior.” She tore the goggles off her face. They were hot and restrictive, and she couldn’t wear them one more moment.
“Give them to me, my female.” Odium took the eye coverings from her, placed them carefully on the console. “And come here.”
He pulled her upward, gathered her closer to his body armor-hard form. Her aching ass touched his thighs and she whimpered. He hastily shifted her body, ensuring her tender parts connected with air only.
“You’re strong.” He gently brushed his fingers over her cheeks, wiping her tears away. “And you’re beautiful.” He kissed the tip of her nose and she blinked. “And you’re mine.”
She looked up at him. There were no lenses, no goggles between them.
He was as handsome as ever.
She felt extremely vulnerable, physically and emotionally. All of her was bared to his perusal.
He could decimate her with one cruel word.
But then he met her gaze, and she knew that would never happen. She was safe with him. Pride and wanting and a hint of wonder reflected in his dark eyes.
Warmth engulfed her. “I am strong.”
She had always known that. Fuck. She’d endured pain and rejection that would have flattened others. And she had rescued beings no one else would dare contemplate retrieving.
“I am beautiful.” She smiled at her cyborg.
For the first time since the predator attack, since she’d lost her left eye, she perceived herself as being attractive. No, she was more than attractive. She was gorgeous.
And her confidence was due to Odium. He had seen her whole self, and his desire for her hadn’t abated. If anything, he wanted her more.
She grasped his hands. “I am yours.”
Her attempts at running were now over. Briella would stay with her cyborg until he rejected her.
She would risk everything to experience more of his caring.