Containing Malice, page 8
Malice lifted his huge fists off the sleeping support. The restraints bent, the metal stretching around his wrists.
Fuck. She looked down at him. That took tremendous strength.
The injection had worked. Professional pride meshed with her other emotions.
He rotated his wrists, opened his hands.
It took her two heartbeats to realize what she was looking at. A strip of light-blue fabric had been hidden in his tight grip.
That was a remnant of the flight suit she’d worn during the rest cycle, the one he’d shredded. Why had he kept it? She reached out to touch it, to assure herself it was real.
He closed his fingers over it. His chest rumbled. That ominous sound conveyed a clear message. The strip was his. He was keeping it.
Her pussy dripped. Her grieving heart lightened.
Retrieving the fabric wasn’t the act of a male who hated her. It was an act of possession, of desire, of need.
Illona blinked once, twice. Perhaps Medic Febris hadn’t been the only being in the lab who cared if she existed.
Perhaps she had someone else to live for.
She could delay her death for a few moments. Waiting until after their private rest cycle rendezvous to face her fate, to walk through the door, wouldn’t make much of a difference.
“I’m so fuckin’ tired.” She gazed down at her cyborg’s right fist, at the hand concealing the fabric. “But I imagine you are tired also.”
They both wore masks. She had her serene medic act and he had that blank machine-like expression he sported for the monitoring equipment. And their facades hid anger, sorrow, pain, loneliness, despair.
“Were you able to contact your brethren on the outside?” Had they accomplished something this planet rotation, not merely endured the cruelty of the universe? “Lift your hand for yes.”
She stared at that part of him, willing it to move, to give her some snippet of hope that someone would escape the horror around them, find peace, happiness.
Nothing happened for a heart-twisting moment. Her optimism faded. She—
Malice lifted his hand.
Illona released the breath she’d been holding. He had contacted his brethren. “My friend didn’t die for nothing.”
They had fulfilled their mission, given him and Valor, his friend, an opportunity to free themselves. The cyborgs could track his transmission, determine their location.
She had to prepare him for their arrival, for what was sure to be a bloody, violent liberation.
“I have to inflict more pain on you, unfortunately.” She removed the injection gun from her jacket. “The nanocybotics boosters appear to be working, and you might need that extra strength and speed when you escape.”
She should be interspersing her private comments with louder more mundane statements. The Humanoid Alliance would expect her to chatter as she always did. But she didn’t have the energy for that performance this planet rotation.
“You can add this to your lengthy list of reasons to hate me.” She pressed the nuzzle of the injector gun against Malice’s right shoulder.
That reminded her of another injection, another shoulder, frailer, as beloved. Her breath hitched. The grief was so fuckin’ acute, cutting through her.
She pushed her emotions away and tapped the trigger.
Her cyborg convulsed. His big body shook. His jaw clenched. His eyes blazed. His skin pulled tight over his flesh and frame.
His fists didn’t open. He held onto the strip of her flight suit he’d claimed, not allowing it to flutter to the floor. That touched her heart more than it should.
She was tempted to scan his form, to confirm that his nanocybotics count had increased. But, if she did that, the reading would be on the handheld. If the Humanoid Alliance got hold of the device, they would realize she’d succeeded. She had devised the formula they so badly wanted. They would investigate her activities more thoroughly, might uncover something that would help them.
Their evil would spread. More innocents would die.
“Your first priority should be escaping from here. With Valor. Safely.” She didn’t know if Malice could hear her. He must be in excruciating pain. “But if you can do it, quickly and without harm to yourselves, destroy the lab and everything in it. Leave nothing for the Humanoid Alliance to retrieve, to use. That would repay Medic Febris for her sacrifice, would honor her bravery, her—”
Her voice broke. She looked away.
Malice’s arm pressed against her side. That could have been an involuntary movement due to his reaction to the injection. Her gut said it was something else.
Her cyborg was seeking to comfort her.
The sleeping support beeped, warning her he would soon be shocked.
Fuck. The universe wouldn’t give her a moment of solace.
She swallowed a profanity and edged away from him.
His form gyrated once more. Another round of pain hit her warrior.
Because that was his life…and hers – continuous agony.
The hurt passed. He became still.
She covered Malice’s clenched right fist with both of her hands, curling her fingers around his, wishing she could heal him, could ease the burdens he bore. “This will soon be over.”
The torture would cease for both of them. That was a certainty, was one vow she could make to him and know it would be kept.
How it would end remained unknown.
Chapter Eight
This will soon be over.
A shift later, Malice paced in front of the entrance to his chamber. He strode back and forth, back and forth. His bare feet were soundless against the tiled floor. His little medic’s statement looped in his processors.
She must have been referring to her experiments. They had been successful.
His circuits surged with energy. He was stronger, faster, than he’d been a planet rotation ago. His systems were operating at a level he’d never experienced. His scanning range had expanded.
The injections had been painful yet effective. His now-refined abilities would be invaluable during their escape.
But it was rivaled by his female’s other contribution to their liberation.
The remote access chip Illona had inserted in the slot in the back of his neck connected him and Valor to the Humanoid Alliance’s systems. It hadn’t been functional when she first gave it to him, but it contained all the data, all the parts they needed and, with Valor’s assistance, he’d repaired her atrociously bad programming.
The information in the Humanoid Alliance databases, along with the instructions on the other chip she’d given him, was illuminating…and infuriating. Malice moved faster, his aggravation and concern escalating with each step.
The blasted female risked too much. She was too reckless with her lifespan.
That angered him.
We could escape now, free ourselves now. Wanting lilted Valor’s transmission. We have access to everything. You have a weapon. We could kill them all and leave.
That was fraggin’ tempting but it wasn’t logical. We can leave the structure. We can’t leave the planet without a ship.
His clever human had processed that need, had understood the dangers of exiting the structure before transport arrived. The lab was situated on a rock formation in the middle of a frame-dissolvingly acidic sea. There were few places to hide, to shield themselves against attack. They would be at a severe strategic disadvantage if they left the structure too early, could die before meeting with their brethren.
Cadet said he and his crew were arriving in two planet rotations. That could be five shifts from now. Malice preferred to have a more exact rendezvous time. That wasn’t possible. Communicating with their brethren required downing the transmissions blocker, and that could set off their enemy’s alarms. The Humanoid Alliance could reach us before they do. According to the databases, they have World-enders.
They could destroy the entire planet with us on it. Valor sighed. Then our plan is to stay where we are.
We stay where we are…for now. Malice didn’t worry for himself or his friend. They were cyborgs, could survive five more shifts of torment.
He was concerned for Illona.
His normally serene female had been heart-wrenchingly sad and then gloriously angry when he’d last seen her. Her cheeks had been wet with shed tears. Her brown eyes had glittered with a rage rivaling his own. She had cursed the Humanoid Alliance, him, the universe.
He was 88.2536 percent certain she had planned, within those few first moments, to walk out of the chamber and trade her lifespan for a brief taste of vengeance. It was an act he might have taken, would have applauded—if he hadn’t spoken with her, bred with her, considered her to be his.
Fraggin’ hole. She had changed his processing completely.
When she had entered his chamber and dissolved into chest-heaving sobs, his strong small human coming apart against that blasted door, he almost broke free of his restraints and went to her.
Only his awareness of the monitoring equipment, of the Humanoid Alliance watching them, had stopped him. And he projected only his presence had stopped her from taking permanent and bloody action.
He wasn’t by her side at the moment. And he couldn’t process where she was.
His female was surprisingly skilled at deactivating monitoring equipment. He couldn’t follow her every move, had lost her in one of the main hallways, hadn’t detected her since then.
She could be avenging her fallen friend, the medic she claimed gave her lifespan for his and Valor’s freedom.
The prospect of a universe without Illona in it was…unsettling.
Malice lifted his right hand, opened his fingers slightly, breathed in her scent. It clung to the strip of fabric. He hadn’t released that piece of her flight suit all planet rotation.
His need for her drummed at him. His balls ached. His cock was hard.
But his concern for her overrode his wanting.
She had vowed she’d return to his chamber during the rest cycle, allow him to end her lifespan…if she was alive. That if disturbed him.
Malice paced faster. She—
He detected her on the Humanoid Alliance monitoring equipment. She was walking along a hallway, moving in his direction.
His little medic remained alive.
Some of the tension within him dissipated.
Picton and Bonin stood outside his door. The human males weren’t visible. They must have deactivated the monitoring equipment in that section of the hallway.
Malice had his own scanning capabilities. He determined the guards’ positions through those.
As Illona neared his chamber, his scans tracked her approach also. His processors hummed. His control was challenged. Seeking to supplement it, he retreated to the far side of the chamber, flattened his form against that wall and waited for her.
His medic and the head guard exchanged a tense volley of words. Picton claimed the machine was agitated. Illona told him she wasn’t seeking his input.
The door opened. She stepped into the chamber.
“You’ll get my input.” Picton sneered at her back. “And much more.” Silver flashed in his hands.
Malice rushed forward, jumping over the sleeping support.
He was too slow.
The guard slashed at Illona with a dagger, then backed away from her, retreating into the hallway like the coward he was. “The machine will end your lifespan now.”
The male smirked at him as the door closed.
Malice suppressed the urge to strike at him. His focus was, would always be, his female.
She gasped, grasped her side. The scent of freshly spilled blood teased his nostrils. Her face turned pale. Her legs buckled under her.
He caught her before she hit the floor. “The male touched you, damaged you.” A guilt-fed fury meshed with his concern. She was his and he hadn’t protected her.
“I’ve been damaged for the past solar cycle and a half.” His tiny human’s voice was alarmingly faint. “I promised to let you kill me. Picton might have forced me to break that vow.”
“No one will kill you but me.” Malice’s voice was gruff with emotion.
He stripped her white jacket off her. It dropped to the tiles. He removed her boots and flight suit next, revealing brown skin, slight curves.
And a hand-length gash on her side. Crimson flowed down her hip, along her leg.
He lifted her high against the wall. She didn’t protest that treatment. That was testament to how damaged she was.
Malice bent his head, extended his tongue, and licked over the wound. His female hissed. The metallic taste of her blood filled his mouth. It was mixed with the tingle of his nanocybotics.
They should repair her. He laved the cut again and again, transferring additional nanocybotics to her. She threaded her fingers through his short hair, curved them over his scalp, holding him to her as he tended to her, as he fixed his fragile human the only way he processed how.
Her torn flesh slowly pulled together. A thin layer of skin formed over the damage.
She would live. He released a ragged breath and rested his forehead against her form for one, two heartbeats. Relief flowed through him.
His little medic stroked the back of his head, his nape. That light massage soothed him, taming his rage, reassuring him.
She was alive, was with him. Her damage was repairing.
He could hasten that process, do more for her. “Breeding would relay a larger quantity of nanocybotics to you. That would repair you faster.”
“Yes, breed with me.” She wiggled against him, her sensuous movements teasing his already-aroused body. “As a medic, I approve of that treatment. Wholeheartedly.” His female lowered her hands to his shoulders. “Fuck me.” She hooked her legs around his waist. “Fill me with your healing cum.”
Her wet pussy touched his bare skin and he shuddered, his wanting carving him into pieces. He yearned to take her hard and fast, to pound into her with everything he had.
But she was damaged. “Be still.” He pressed her against the wall, stopping her movements, and he ruthlessly contained his lust, setting perimeters around their breeding, putting his machine in charge. “I fuck you.” He utilized her word for it. “You don’t fuck me.”
Her pussy juices dripped down his form. “I’m yours to fuck.” A need matching his darkened her big brown eyes.
“You are mine.” He brushed his lips over hers, rewarding her for her submission. “You won’t exert yourself. This time.” They would breed more vigorously later, when she was whole once more.
“This time.” The smile she gave him strained his systems. She was so fraggin’ beautiful.
And she belonged to him.
He positioned himself at her entrance and pushed inside his female. She was decadently snug, embracing his shaft. Heat rushed along his length. He sank deeper and deeper into her.
The bliss was extreme. He groaned, unable to stay silent.
That sound was echoed by Illona. Her lips parted. Her head tilted back.
She was gorgeous. His base touched her pussy lips and he paused, gazing at her.
He didn’t trust her. Not 100.0000 percent. Doubts remained around her motivation, about why she was helping him. The past five hundred and fifty-eight planet rotations of torture weren’t erased from his databases.
But he admired her beauty, her strength, her passion. She belonged to him now. It was his cock inside her tight pussy. He reveled in that realization.
“I missed this.” She met his gaze. Specks of gold shone in her brown eyes. “I missed the connection with another being, with you.”
Malice grunted, rocked into her, holding back his wanting, his need. He had missed her also, missed the physical contact, her chatter, her warmth. She had become part of him.
He couldn’t kill her. That would damage him.
His choices were to leave her in the lab when he escaped or capture her, bring her with them. More inputs were required for that decision. He advanced and retreated, advanced and retreated. The feel of her around his shaft was exquisite.
Her nipples brushed against his chest, the most tantalizing of caresses. Her hips hitched. She smacked her heels against his ass.
Her responses excited him, threatened to dissolve his restraint. “Stay still.” He growled at her. “Your damage isn’t fully repaired.”
Her spine straightened. Her pussy grew wetter. “I’m a medic.” She muttered that reply. “I know how much I can take.”
“You will take what I give you.” He drove into her with a bit more fervor. “And you aren’t a medic in this moment.” Her white jacket was on the floor, not hanging from her slender shoulders. “You’re mine and you will follow my orders.”
Her eyes widened slightly. Her grip on his shoulders intensified. “I’m not scared of dying.”
“Death won’t be the reprimand.” He glowered at her, not liking how casually she treated that possible fate. “You should be scared of me.”
“Stars, yes.” Her inner walls rippled over him. For some illogical reason, his threat aroused her.
That aroused him. He huffed, taking her again and again. Her scent swirled around him, teasing his nostrils, inflaming his desire. She panted, those breathy little sounds tugging on his cock. The softness of her skin, the slight swell of her curves, was decadent.
He captured her lips, tasting her sweetness. She sucked on his tongue, drawing that part of him inside her also.
Fraggin’ hole. He was losing himself in her, and he no longer cared about consequences of that action. All he processed was her, her mouth, her form, her hold on him.
He ravished his female against the wall, careful not to aggravate her damage, thrusting into her with a jaw-clenching moderation. She clasped his nape, splaying her fingers around the remote access chip. Their tongues tumbled, twined. Their forms slapped together.
Pressure built at the base of his simulated spine. Release quickly approached, and he didn’t fight it. His fragile human required his nanocybotics. They had the entire rest cycle to spend with each other, could breed multiple times. He would savor her more thoroughly, give her satisfaction once he’d repaired her.
