B Clones, page 5
She wrapped her legs around his waist and tried to grab ahold of his wrists, but the hands on her ass were moving too fast, still manipulating her body. She tightened her stomach in a sit-up maneuver. That worked. Her fingertips brushed his biceps, then she had a good grip on him. Pulling her upper body against Big’s, Gemma clutched at his shoulders, her covered nipples rubbing against his chest every time he slammed the cradle of her thighs against his pelvis, fucking her fast and deep.
She tilted her head forward to rest on his shoulder and held him tight in her arms as he pounded her. It felt incredible; their bodies locked together as they were made his lower belly rub against her oversensitive and still swollen clit.
She dug her nails into his back, crying out as she climaxed a second time.
Big groaned loudly and his body quaked. He stilled her hips, just keeping them locked together with his cock buried deep inside her pussy. He brought his knees up, so she was essentially sitting on his lap. He rocked her hips against him gently, groaning softer.
Gemma closed her eyes, trying to catch her breath.
Big brushed a kiss against her neck. “I’m not letting you go, Gemma,” he whispered.
“Good. This is perfect. I like being close to you.” They were wrapped around each other tightly.
Something bumped against her foot, and she opened her eyes, peering over Big’s shoulder. His hair floated around his head but she could still see what had touched her toe. It was one of his boots. She was also startled to learn they had floated upside down at some point, their bodies now near the closet. She straightened her leg to kick out and the footwear went sailing toward the wall, where it hit and bounced back.
“Shit,” she muttered. “Incoming.”
He lifted his head and stopped teasing her neck with light kisses. “What?”
The boot must have hit him, because he grunted and twisted his head. He looked at her then and smiled. “Maybe we should do this with gravity on.”
Motion drew her attention as the boot floated across the room again. It hit the wall and came back toward them. It was like the world’s slowest ping-pong action going on. “Here it comes again.”
He unbent his knees. “Hold on.”
She changed her hold around his neck and clasped her legs tighter around his hips. He must have been able to reach something with his feet because they were suddenly moving toward the floor. She looked down—or rather, up—at it, a bit weirded out that they were upside down yet it didn’t feel that way. It just seemed wrong to see the room from that view.
He flattened his hands when they reached the floor and pushed off. They floated back up until his feet touched the ceiling. He pushed off again and they were moving once more.
Gemma closed her eyes. “This is too weird. I want gravity.”
“I’m working on reaching the panel.”
She pressed her face against his throat and his arms went around her again. They hit something, but he cushioned her with his body. His muscles tensed as he pushed off some surface, possibly the floor again. She opened her eyes as he maneuvered his body, turning them until their bodies were horizontal.
“Almost there,” he chuckled.
She tilted her head way back and saw the beach coming at them. She regretted looking. It disorientated her seeing it from her position, giving it the impression the waves were on the ceiling.
“Gravity for sure,” she agreed.
They hit the wall and Big stretched out his arm, pressing his hand against the glass. “Got it.”
They fell fast, and Big cursed. They hit the carpet on their sides but she had to give the man credit. He grabbed her head at the last second and cushioned her cheek with his palm. His head didn’t fare so well as he smacked into the floor.
“Sorry. I only had a second to shut it off before we went across the room again. I didn’t have time to gradually restore it.” He rolled onto his back, lifting her away from the carpet. “Are you okay?”
She shifted her lower leg, trapped under him, and he helped by adjusting his body. She ended up straddling his lap. They weren’t intimately linked anymore. All that moving he’d done had unseated him from inside her.
“I’m good.”
He sat up, and it made her almost tip backward off him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and jerked her upright, until she sat on his semi-hard cock. He kept her in his arms, holding her close.
Big regretted the no-gravity thing. He should have programmed the controls to restore gravity after a time but he’d been too eager to get his hands on Gemma. He’d wanted to seduce her, and had succeeded, but it wasn’t as smooth as he’d have liked.
He hadn’t even taken her top off. He slid his hands up her back now and snagged the material, gently pushing it up. Gemma lifted her arms to help. He threw the thing, promising to burn it later. It was biodegradable clone-issued clothing direct from the factory, and she deserved better.
The sight of her breasts made him hard all over again. It helped that she sat on his dick, her pussy still so wet.
He drew his knees up to brace her and sat up straighter, forcing her to lean back. He dipped his head and captured one of her nipples in his mouth. She clearly hadn’t expected that, and she sucked in a sharp breath. Big feasted on her. Her nipple hardened against his tongue and he nipped it with his teeth. Gemma’s moan made him more aroused, and he reached down, gripping her hips. He lifted her, wiggled his ass on the carpet until she was right where he wanted her, then eased her down onto his shaft.
Gemma dug her fingers into his shoulders and moaned as he settled all the way inside her. He probably should have given her some recovery time, but after years without sex—long before he escaped Clone World—he was horny as hell. He’d forgotten how amazing it felt to be buried balls deep inside a woman. He had a lot of time to make up for.
He used his hold on her hips to move her up and down. He released her breast from his mouth and went for the other. He’d missed that, too. Touching and tasting. He loved the way Gemma moaned and how one of her hands dug into his hair, her fingernails lightly scratching his scalp.
He released her breast when her pussy started to tighten to the point of near pain. He eased her down his shaft, released her hips, and held her close as he leaned back. Then he rolled over to pin Gemma under him.
He braced one arm to hold his upper body weight from hers and ordered her to spread her legs wider. She did it, and he slipped his hand between their bodies. He brushed his thumb against her clit, spread his legs to adjust the angle of his hips, and fucked her hard, thrusting his hips faster and faster. He rubbed her clit with his thumb all the while and watched her face. Gemma’s eyes were closed, her mouth open. Sexy moans poured from her throat—and then her features tensed, her head tilting back as her mouth opened wider.
“Come for me,” he rasped. He was going to blow. His balls were drawn up tight and he knew he couldn’t last much longer.
Gemma cried out his name and her pussy squeezed him, hard. He clenched his teeth, fighting to move inside her and that was it. He came hard, shooting his semen deep into her body.
He tore his hand away from her clit and threw his forearm down to keep from collapsing on top of her, crushing her with his weight. He swore right then that no matter what it took, he’d make damn sure she accepted what she was and remained with him.
He hadn’t been lying when he told Gemma he was keeping her.
Chapter Five
“I’m sorry.”
Gemma held still as Big rubbed a cool, creamy substance on her ass and lower back. Her skin burned slightly but the stuff he gently worked into her skin made it stop. She wasn’t even concerned that she lie face down on the bed with her hips over his lap. They were both still naked. She was too lost in her thoughts and a bit confused.
“Are the drugs wearing off, since I can feel pain?”
“This cream will heal you, Gemma. It takes about five minutes. I stole a crate of it as well from that transport. It’s for minor surface skin injuries for clones.”
“No, I mean…I was burned. I didn’t feel the pain before, but now I do.”
He paused in applying the stuff.
She lifted her head, staring at him. “What’s going on in the real world? Do you know? I’m still dreaming but I can feel the burns. Does that mean the doctors are trying to wake me up by easing me off the pain meds?”
“You need to stop.”
“Stop what?”
Emotion twisted his features. “Your skin was too soft for the carpet, and that’s why you are experiencing a slight burning sensation. My fucking you on the floor caused small abrasions along your ass and lower back. That ‘real world’ you refer to no longer exists. That’s in the past.”
She dropped her head as he spread more of the creamy stuff over her skin. “Maybe I’m in a coma and my boys refuse to shut off life support. That would account for how long this dream has lasted.”
Big’s tensed under her, and he paused rubbing in the cream once more. “Forgive me for this, sweetheart.”
“For what?”
Gemma jolted when he sharply slapped her ass with one of his big hands. The sting burned and tears filled her eyes. She tried to twist off his lap onto the floor, but he locked her in place by pressing his forearm against her lower back. She looked back at him, pissed that he’d hit her.
“That hurt!”
“I know.” He nodded. “This is real life, Gemma.”
She frantically wiggled, clawing at the bed. “Let me go, you sadistic bastard!”
He refused. “I took no pleasure in that. But do I need to do it again?”
“Don’t you dare!” She tried to roll again, but he pinned her more firmly with his hands now, keeping her trapped on his lap.
“You need to face reality.” He’d softened his tone, and a look of almost regret flashed in his eyes. “You’re not the Gemma Grady from 2020. She died. You were created in a clone manufacturing plant. I’m real. This is reality. It’s the year 2141. I’m not a figment of your imagination or some dream. I’m a clone, as well. We’re alive, Gemma.” He tenderly caressed the spot on her ass that he’d smacked. “That pain you just felt was from my very genuine hand on your very real, very luscious ass.”
She stopped trying to get away. “That’s impossible.”
“Why? Because the technology didn’t exist in your time? You seem like a smart woman. I want you to think back to when you were a little girl. Can you do that?”
“Of course. I’m not senile.”
“Do you remember the technology inside your home when you were about five years old?”
“Sure.”
“How old were you in 2020?”
“Fifty-six.”
“Imagine your childhood, and then fast forward to your age at the time of your death. How much had technology changed in fifty-one years?”
She debated that a moment. “A lot. Computers where these huge beasts of machinery that only high-tech companies owned. They filled rooms yet barely did anything.” She hesitated before going on, not liking where his logic was headed. “They advanced so much that computers became handheld devices that could do almost everything. Phones used to be chunky devices plugged into walls with cords. Now they make pocket-size cell phones that you can take anywhere. They’re so complicated that my boys are forever having to show me how to use the features with every upgrade.”
“It’s been one hundred and twenty-one years since then, Gemma.” He caressed her skin, no longer holding her down. “Think about that, and all the possible things that could have advanced in that amount of time. Be rational, instead of focusing on what you want to believe.” He finally let her go.
Gemma crawled off his lap and sat on the bed. The wheels of her brain churned. Televisions flashed through her mind. They’d been bulky boxes when was a kid, with grainy reception and rabbit ears. The television in her living room the day she’d been in the explosion was a seventy-inch wide-screen with amazing clarity, surround sound, and a sixth of the weight of the one from her childhood. It even hooked to the internet. Movie rental places were a thing of the past, since she could just order them directly from home through her TV.
“What would the child in you have thought of the things you had in 2020? Imagine five-year-old you stepping into your life all those years later, seeing the things that had changed.” Big turned on the bed and leaned in closer. “That child would have believed it was a dream, that it was all untrue, correct?”
Tears filled her eyes as she stared at him. So did Panic. Her dream was quickly turning into a nightmare. “It can’t be,” she whispered.
“Answer my question.”
Her chest hurt, and it became hard to breathe. Her heart pounded. “I—she would have freaked out.”
“Five-year-old you wouldn’t have thought most of that technology was possible. It was beyond her imagination. Just as what I’ve told you is beyond yours right now, but it’s real.” He reached out and took her hand. “I’m right here with you, and you’re safe. I won’t let anything happen to you, Gemma. I’ll help you adjust to this new life.”
She pulled her hand away and got off the bed, pacing. “No.”
He stood and stepped into her path, gripping her shoulders. “Breathe.”
“I am!”
“You’re hyperventilating. It’s okay, Gemma.”
Pure panic hit her as it sank in that he might be telling the truth. Everything he said made chilling sense. Her kid self would have freaked the hell out if she’d suddenly stepped out of a time machine into the future. She’d have had a rough time convincing her five-year-old self that it was, in fact, reality.
What if Big was telling the truth? No dream had ever lasted so long before. It was also super realistic. She could smell and see with absolute clarity. Most of her dreams had always been a big foggy, and when she’d realized she was dreaming, she woke. Drugs could keep her down—but Big slapping her ass had hurt. Surely that would have jerked her out of any dream.
“Gemma?”
She glanced up at the sound of his gruff voice, seeing concern on his handsome face. He looked real. Too real. Everything did.
“No. It can’t be.”
He suddenly bent and scooped her into his arms, returning them to the bed. He sat down, settling her sideways across his lap as he leaned against the headboard. “Everything I’ve told you is the truth. Your original body died and was stolen by JDJ Cryo Corp. Someone mistook you for a famous singer and they replicated you into a clone body. It was cruel of them to keep your mind totally intact, letting you wake thinking you were in that hospital from the end of your previous life. That’s why it’s illegal to make clones with memories. I’m not going to allow you to let this knowledge drive you insane, though.” He held her tighter, rocking her gently. “Cry, Gemma. Grieve the life that was once Gemma Grady, and then you’ll start to heal. You can face this new future with me.”
Hot tears spilled down her cheeks as if waiting for his permission, and she clutched at him. Big felt real and solid. Warm. “It can’t be,” she repeated yet again. Even though…she was starting to believe.
He rested his chin on top of her head. “It is. You are the person you were in your mind and heart, but your body is new.”
She stared at her hand resting on his chest. There were no age spots, no wrinkles, and no slight swelling in the knuckles from arthritis…
Her dream had turned downright cruel, but she had to admit it was the most realistic one she’d ever had.
Her ass still stung from where Big had slapped it. The cream he’d put on her had already helped with the burning sensation from the rug burn.
What if he’s telling the truth? What if I really am a clone? Am I in the future? It seemed too unrealistic to be true, but the sinking sensation in her stomach clued her in.
Things like this don’t really happen. Or do they? She paused. Not in 2020, at least. But according to Big, it’s 2141.
He stroked her back, and it tickled a little. “It’s going to be fine,” he soothed. “There’s nothing to fear. I’m going to take care of you. You’re not alone.”
She tilted her head back and studied his face. He was too handsome. Men that good-looking had stopped giving her any attention since she’d hit forty. Of course, her divorce had depressed her, and she’d grown addicted to chocolate as a result. Which made her ex-husband sneer when he’d picked up the boys, the few times he’d wanted to see his sons right after the divorce.
The jackass had made snide comments about her weight gain. Sixty pounds later, she’d finally realized she had a problem and tried to shed some of it.
“Remain calm,” Big urged.
“Do you see me screaming?”
He arched his eyebrows.
“I’m just slightly panicking.”
“Tell me your concerns, and I’ll alleviate them.”
“I’m still trying to decide if this is real. I haven’t gotten past that part yet.”
“We’ll be completely safe at my home base. I have enough supplies to feed us and our plasma needs will be met. It means I don’t have to raid any shuttles for a long time. I was stockpiling supplies for the future. I can hold off on doing that for a while, now that you’re with me. Raids are the only time I face any real danger, but I won’t take you with me. You’ll stay at the base, where it’s safe.”
“On a moon base? Even that is suspect. There was a television show from when I was a kid about that very subject. It just sounds crazy, Big.”
“We have three generators, and I have all of them working smoothly. We could survive on one, if need be. There are six air recyclers. The base runs on two, but there are four more replacements in storage. We have power and oxygen.” He paused. “Food. Plasma. That’s all we need. I even hid the original entrance to the base. Anyone who knew of its existence will believe it has been destroyed. The authorities can’t find us.”
“You hid it?” That seemed unrealistic to her.
“The mining company stationed the base deep inside a crater of the moon. I covered it. It looks as if an asteroid slammed into it and destroyed the base.”
She tilted her head forward to rest on his shoulder and held him tight in her arms as he pounded her. It felt incredible; their bodies locked together as they were made his lower belly rub against her oversensitive and still swollen clit.
She dug her nails into his back, crying out as she climaxed a second time.
Big groaned loudly and his body quaked. He stilled her hips, just keeping them locked together with his cock buried deep inside her pussy. He brought his knees up, so she was essentially sitting on his lap. He rocked her hips against him gently, groaning softer.
Gemma closed her eyes, trying to catch her breath.
Big brushed a kiss against her neck. “I’m not letting you go, Gemma,” he whispered.
“Good. This is perfect. I like being close to you.” They were wrapped around each other tightly.
Something bumped against her foot, and she opened her eyes, peering over Big’s shoulder. His hair floated around his head but she could still see what had touched her toe. It was one of his boots. She was also startled to learn they had floated upside down at some point, their bodies now near the closet. She straightened her leg to kick out and the footwear went sailing toward the wall, where it hit and bounced back.
“Shit,” she muttered. “Incoming.”
He lifted his head and stopped teasing her neck with light kisses. “What?”
The boot must have hit him, because he grunted and twisted his head. He looked at her then and smiled. “Maybe we should do this with gravity on.”
Motion drew her attention as the boot floated across the room again. It hit the wall and came back toward them. It was like the world’s slowest ping-pong action going on. “Here it comes again.”
He unbent his knees. “Hold on.”
She changed her hold around his neck and clasped her legs tighter around his hips. He must have been able to reach something with his feet because they were suddenly moving toward the floor. She looked down—or rather, up—at it, a bit weirded out that they were upside down yet it didn’t feel that way. It just seemed wrong to see the room from that view.
He flattened his hands when they reached the floor and pushed off. They floated back up until his feet touched the ceiling. He pushed off again and they were moving once more.
Gemma closed her eyes. “This is too weird. I want gravity.”
“I’m working on reaching the panel.”
She pressed her face against his throat and his arms went around her again. They hit something, but he cushioned her with his body. His muscles tensed as he pushed off some surface, possibly the floor again. She opened her eyes as he maneuvered his body, turning them until their bodies were horizontal.
“Almost there,” he chuckled.
She tilted her head way back and saw the beach coming at them. She regretted looking. It disorientated her seeing it from her position, giving it the impression the waves were on the ceiling.
“Gravity for sure,” she agreed.
They hit the wall and Big stretched out his arm, pressing his hand against the glass. “Got it.”
They fell fast, and Big cursed. They hit the carpet on their sides but she had to give the man credit. He grabbed her head at the last second and cushioned her cheek with his palm. His head didn’t fare so well as he smacked into the floor.
“Sorry. I only had a second to shut it off before we went across the room again. I didn’t have time to gradually restore it.” He rolled onto his back, lifting her away from the carpet. “Are you okay?”
She shifted her lower leg, trapped under him, and he helped by adjusting his body. She ended up straddling his lap. They weren’t intimately linked anymore. All that moving he’d done had unseated him from inside her.
“I’m good.”
He sat up, and it made her almost tip backward off him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and jerked her upright, until she sat on his semi-hard cock. He kept her in his arms, holding her close.
Big regretted the no-gravity thing. He should have programmed the controls to restore gravity after a time but he’d been too eager to get his hands on Gemma. He’d wanted to seduce her, and had succeeded, but it wasn’t as smooth as he’d have liked.
He hadn’t even taken her top off. He slid his hands up her back now and snagged the material, gently pushing it up. Gemma lifted her arms to help. He threw the thing, promising to burn it later. It was biodegradable clone-issued clothing direct from the factory, and she deserved better.
The sight of her breasts made him hard all over again. It helped that she sat on his dick, her pussy still so wet.
He drew his knees up to brace her and sat up straighter, forcing her to lean back. He dipped his head and captured one of her nipples in his mouth. She clearly hadn’t expected that, and she sucked in a sharp breath. Big feasted on her. Her nipple hardened against his tongue and he nipped it with his teeth. Gemma’s moan made him more aroused, and he reached down, gripping her hips. He lifted her, wiggled his ass on the carpet until she was right where he wanted her, then eased her down onto his shaft.
Gemma dug her fingers into his shoulders and moaned as he settled all the way inside her. He probably should have given her some recovery time, but after years without sex—long before he escaped Clone World—he was horny as hell. He’d forgotten how amazing it felt to be buried balls deep inside a woman. He had a lot of time to make up for.
He used his hold on her hips to move her up and down. He released her breast from his mouth and went for the other. He’d missed that, too. Touching and tasting. He loved the way Gemma moaned and how one of her hands dug into his hair, her fingernails lightly scratching his scalp.
He released her breast when her pussy started to tighten to the point of near pain. He eased her down his shaft, released her hips, and held her close as he leaned back. Then he rolled over to pin Gemma under him.
He braced one arm to hold his upper body weight from hers and ordered her to spread her legs wider. She did it, and he slipped his hand between their bodies. He brushed his thumb against her clit, spread his legs to adjust the angle of his hips, and fucked her hard, thrusting his hips faster and faster. He rubbed her clit with his thumb all the while and watched her face. Gemma’s eyes were closed, her mouth open. Sexy moans poured from her throat—and then her features tensed, her head tilting back as her mouth opened wider.
“Come for me,” he rasped. He was going to blow. His balls were drawn up tight and he knew he couldn’t last much longer.
Gemma cried out his name and her pussy squeezed him, hard. He clenched his teeth, fighting to move inside her and that was it. He came hard, shooting his semen deep into her body.
He tore his hand away from her clit and threw his forearm down to keep from collapsing on top of her, crushing her with his weight. He swore right then that no matter what it took, he’d make damn sure she accepted what she was and remained with him.
He hadn’t been lying when he told Gemma he was keeping her.
Chapter Five
“I’m sorry.”
Gemma held still as Big rubbed a cool, creamy substance on her ass and lower back. Her skin burned slightly but the stuff he gently worked into her skin made it stop. She wasn’t even concerned that she lie face down on the bed with her hips over his lap. They were both still naked. She was too lost in her thoughts and a bit confused.
“Are the drugs wearing off, since I can feel pain?”
“This cream will heal you, Gemma. It takes about five minutes. I stole a crate of it as well from that transport. It’s for minor surface skin injuries for clones.”
“No, I mean…I was burned. I didn’t feel the pain before, but now I do.”
He paused in applying the stuff.
She lifted her head, staring at him. “What’s going on in the real world? Do you know? I’m still dreaming but I can feel the burns. Does that mean the doctors are trying to wake me up by easing me off the pain meds?”
“You need to stop.”
“Stop what?”
Emotion twisted his features. “Your skin was too soft for the carpet, and that’s why you are experiencing a slight burning sensation. My fucking you on the floor caused small abrasions along your ass and lower back. That ‘real world’ you refer to no longer exists. That’s in the past.”
She dropped her head as he spread more of the creamy stuff over her skin. “Maybe I’m in a coma and my boys refuse to shut off life support. That would account for how long this dream has lasted.”
Big’s tensed under her, and he paused rubbing in the cream once more. “Forgive me for this, sweetheart.”
“For what?”
Gemma jolted when he sharply slapped her ass with one of his big hands. The sting burned and tears filled her eyes. She tried to twist off his lap onto the floor, but he locked her in place by pressing his forearm against her lower back. She looked back at him, pissed that he’d hit her.
“That hurt!”
“I know.” He nodded. “This is real life, Gemma.”
She frantically wiggled, clawing at the bed. “Let me go, you sadistic bastard!”
He refused. “I took no pleasure in that. But do I need to do it again?”
“Don’t you dare!” She tried to roll again, but he pinned her more firmly with his hands now, keeping her trapped on his lap.
“You need to face reality.” He’d softened his tone, and a look of almost regret flashed in his eyes. “You’re not the Gemma Grady from 2020. She died. You were created in a clone manufacturing plant. I’m real. This is reality. It’s the year 2141. I’m not a figment of your imagination or some dream. I’m a clone, as well. We’re alive, Gemma.” He tenderly caressed the spot on her ass that he’d smacked. “That pain you just felt was from my very genuine hand on your very real, very luscious ass.”
She stopped trying to get away. “That’s impossible.”
“Why? Because the technology didn’t exist in your time? You seem like a smart woman. I want you to think back to when you were a little girl. Can you do that?”
“Of course. I’m not senile.”
“Do you remember the technology inside your home when you were about five years old?”
“Sure.”
“How old were you in 2020?”
“Fifty-six.”
“Imagine your childhood, and then fast forward to your age at the time of your death. How much had technology changed in fifty-one years?”
She debated that a moment. “A lot. Computers where these huge beasts of machinery that only high-tech companies owned. They filled rooms yet barely did anything.” She hesitated before going on, not liking where his logic was headed. “They advanced so much that computers became handheld devices that could do almost everything. Phones used to be chunky devices plugged into walls with cords. Now they make pocket-size cell phones that you can take anywhere. They’re so complicated that my boys are forever having to show me how to use the features with every upgrade.”
“It’s been one hundred and twenty-one years since then, Gemma.” He caressed her skin, no longer holding her down. “Think about that, and all the possible things that could have advanced in that amount of time. Be rational, instead of focusing on what you want to believe.” He finally let her go.
Gemma crawled off his lap and sat on the bed. The wheels of her brain churned. Televisions flashed through her mind. They’d been bulky boxes when was a kid, with grainy reception and rabbit ears. The television in her living room the day she’d been in the explosion was a seventy-inch wide-screen with amazing clarity, surround sound, and a sixth of the weight of the one from her childhood. It even hooked to the internet. Movie rental places were a thing of the past, since she could just order them directly from home through her TV.
“What would the child in you have thought of the things you had in 2020? Imagine five-year-old you stepping into your life all those years later, seeing the things that had changed.” Big turned on the bed and leaned in closer. “That child would have believed it was a dream, that it was all untrue, correct?”
Tears filled her eyes as she stared at him. So did Panic. Her dream was quickly turning into a nightmare. “It can’t be,” she whispered.
“Answer my question.”
Her chest hurt, and it became hard to breathe. Her heart pounded. “I—she would have freaked out.”
“Five-year-old you wouldn’t have thought most of that technology was possible. It was beyond her imagination. Just as what I’ve told you is beyond yours right now, but it’s real.” He reached out and took her hand. “I’m right here with you, and you’re safe. I won’t let anything happen to you, Gemma. I’ll help you adjust to this new life.”
She pulled her hand away and got off the bed, pacing. “No.”
He stood and stepped into her path, gripping her shoulders. “Breathe.”
“I am!”
“You’re hyperventilating. It’s okay, Gemma.”
Pure panic hit her as it sank in that he might be telling the truth. Everything he said made chilling sense. Her kid self would have freaked the hell out if she’d suddenly stepped out of a time machine into the future. She’d have had a rough time convincing her five-year-old self that it was, in fact, reality.
What if Big was telling the truth? No dream had ever lasted so long before. It was also super realistic. She could smell and see with absolute clarity. Most of her dreams had always been a big foggy, and when she’d realized she was dreaming, she woke. Drugs could keep her down—but Big slapping her ass had hurt. Surely that would have jerked her out of any dream.
“Gemma?”
She glanced up at the sound of his gruff voice, seeing concern on his handsome face. He looked real. Too real. Everything did.
“No. It can’t be.”
He suddenly bent and scooped her into his arms, returning them to the bed. He sat down, settling her sideways across his lap as he leaned against the headboard. “Everything I’ve told you is the truth. Your original body died and was stolen by JDJ Cryo Corp. Someone mistook you for a famous singer and they replicated you into a clone body. It was cruel of them to keep your mind totally intact, letting you wake thinking you were in that hospital from the end of your previous life. That’s why it’s illegal to make clones with memories. I’m not going to allow you to let this knowledge drive you insane, though.” He held her tighter, rocking her gently. “Cry, Gemma. Grieve the life that was once Gemma Grady, and then you’ll start to heal. You can face this new future with me.”
Hot tears spilled down her cheeks as if waiting for his permission, and she clutched at him. Big felt real and solid. Warm. “It can’t be,” she repeated yet again. Even though…she was starting to believe.
He rested his chin on top of her head. “It is. You are the person you were in your mind and heart, but your body is new.”
She stared at her hand resting on his chest. There were no age spots, no wrinkles, and no slight swelling in the knuckles from arthritis…
Her dream had turned downright cruel, but she had to admit it was the most realistic one she’d ever had.
Her ass still stung from where Big had slapped it. The cream he’d put on her had already helped with the burning sensation from the rug burn.
What if he’s telling the truth? What if I really am a clone? Am I in the future? It seemed too unrealistic to be true, but the sinking sensation in her stomach clued her in.
Things like this don’t really happen. Or do they? She paused. Not in 2020, at least. But according to Big, it’s 2141.
He stroked her back, and it tickled a little. “It’s going to be fine,” he soothed. “There’s nothing to fear. I’m going to take care of you. You’re not alone.”
She tilted her head back and studied his face. He was too handsome. Men that good-looking had stopped giving her any attention since she’d hit forty. Of course, her divorce had depressed her, and she’d grown addicted to chocolate as a result. Which made her ex-husband sneer when he’d picked up the boys, the few times he’d wanted to see his sons right after the divorce.
The jackass had made snide comments about her weight gain. Sixty pounds later, she’d finally realized she had a problem and tried to shed some of it.
“Remain calm,” Big urged.
“Do you see me screaming?”
He arched his eyebrows.
“I’m just slightly panicking.”
“Tell me your concerns, and I’ll alleviate them.”
“I’m still trying to decide if this is real. I haven’t gotten past that part yet.”
“We’ll be completely safe at my home base. I have enough supplies to feed us and our plasma needs will be met. It means I don’t have to raid any shuttles for a long time. I was stockpiling supplies for the future. I can hold off on doing that for a while, now that you’re with me. Raids are the only time I face any real danger, but I won’t take you with me. You’ll stay at the base, where it’s safe.”
“On a moon base? Even that is suspect. There was a television show from when I was a kid about that very subject. It just sounds crazy, Big.”
“We have three generators, and I have all of them working smoothly. We could survive on one, if need be. There are six air recyclers. The base runs on two, but there are four more replacements in storage. We have power and oxygen.” He paused. “Food. Plasma. That’s all we need. I even hid the original entrance to the base. Anyone who knew of its existence will believe it has been destroyed. The authorities can’t find us.”
“You hid it?” That seemed unrealistic to her.
“The mining company stationed the base deep inside a crater of the moon. I covered it. It looks as if an asteroid slammed into it and destroyed the base.”
