Ashes and Metal (Cyborg Shifters Book 5) Read online

  Time seemed to slow to a pause as she brushed his hair with her fingers, pulling it softly away from his face. His ghoulishly dead-looking eyes watched her, but she couldn’t read them. Neither one of them wanted the moment to end.

  Strangely, as she continued to pet him, comfort him, needing the contact just as much if not more than he did, Gunner began to heal before her eyes. It started with the bruises clearing his face and chest. The swelling went next, until all that was left was the deep welts of his electrical burns until they were gone altogether too.

  When it was all over he caught her hand and brought it to his mouth.

  The whole universe could be looking at them at that moment and she wouldn’t care.

  His lips touched her palm, kissing it, sucking on it, his hold tightening as he moved her hand up to bury his nose at its center as his tongue licked her wrist.

  An electrifying jolt shot straight from her red-hot cheeks and down between her legs. Her insides knotted and her core clenched as she stared at him sucking on her wrist. His eyes never left hers. The ache grew with each passing second, making her feel emptier and emptier. The only thing that could fill her back up was him, his power, and the steady unrelenting assurance he exuded. Whether it was with words or with his body, she didn’t care.

  Her fingers twitched as she pressed her legs together, his gaze holding hers captive. It would be a lie if she didn’t imagine him staring at her as he spread her legs, as she imagined his rippled arms caging her in. Despite everything, the fantasy was something she no longer wanted to fight. The flat of his tongue settled hotly over her wrist.

  Slowly, Gunner sat up, pulled his mouth from her skin, released her, and leaned his back on the wall. Elodie hugged her hand to her chest, her heart strumming beneath it.

  They continued to watch each other in measure. The rest came and went.

  Elodie could feel his power break open and crumble her many shells, laying her out naked and vulnerable and there was nothing she could do to stop it, because in turn, she was doing the same to him. He offered all his secrets willing while hers had to be pried out.

  It wasn’t until one of the androids flitted by, dropping a new set of rations in their cells, that their enchantment broke.

  She and Gunner shared their food in silence and as the light water gel was rushing down her throat, she decided to make the first move.

  “Will you...” she started. His eyes hardened and she swallowed, beginning again. “Will you save us?”

  Gunner turned his face from hers and looked slowly around the brig. More time went by and she couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, waiting for him to answer.

  “My price is high,” he said at last.

  Elodie nodded, knowing it would be. “I’ll pay it.”

  He returned his attention to her, his entire body strained with tension. Her pulse jumped.

  “I don’t think you understand the price.” Gunner’s voice darkened her ear.

  “Me?” she whispered.

  “And more.”

  Her brow furrowed. I don’t have anything else to give... However, she knew what she was asking for was worth more than just her body.

  Elodie shifted under his gaze, uncertain. “More?”

  He moved like a predator stalking inside a cage, waiting to pounce. Suddenly, Gunner gripped the bar, starling her.

  He didn’t speak—didn’t elaborate—and she nodded in agreement. His hand joined the other and she hugged her arms to her chest tighter. His intensity was frightening.

  She needed to do something before he broke the metal that twisted under his grip and gave them away.

  Elodie placed her hands atop his and squeezed. The touch immediately eroded the power in his body and he visibly shuddered from the contact. She pressed her thighs together tight as his abs rippled with the aftershock and the huge tent over his groin became apparent.

  More emptiness and anticipation filled her as she stared at it, imagining the feel of it pushing against her quim all over again, and his hands feeling up her body.

  “Ely,” he ground out, jerking his hips in her direction, half on his knees now, fully facing her.

  “Elodie.”

  “What?”

  She chewed on the inside of her cheek. “My name’s Elodie.”

  “Elodie,” he repeated. “I like it. It’s mine now.”

  His? Her body convulsed and her core throbbed. Am I his? She’d never been anybody’s before. Can I even survive belonging to a Cyborg? Survive him? Her body cried out in a way that wanted to writhe and moan and wail yes. Her mind and the emotions that went along with it thought differently.

  An android moved by them and she dropped her hands, sliding away, watching it as it continued on down the rows and the remaining prisoners.

  “Tonight,” Gunner said when it was gone.

  She nodded.

  “Remember. You chose this.”

  I know.

  HE STOOD SLOWLY AND everyone’s eyes locked on him. His body ached, his cock painfully erect, and with his energy levels half-depleted from healing, Gunner prowled about his cell leisurely, quietly.

  The six androids that hung around the entrance, only moving through the brig once every hour, no longer belonged to the pirates. He spent the day lying in his own blood, cuddling up under his swollen human flesh, just so he had enough power to feed them with looping videos on repeat.

  If he were smart, he’d lay low for another day, continue to recharge, but no amount of pain could erase Elodie’s taste in his mouth. It was embedded in his systems now. His body craved a return to the contact.

  Even when the guards knocked out his teeth, even when his mouth filled with his own blood, it couldn’t erase her taste.

  The anticipation was tangible.

  His eyes slid to her as he moved toward the panel. Her face contorted with worry.

  It’s been a lifetime... Gunner deleted the thought before it could finish.

  His hand met the cold metal cell door and he seeped into the systems.

  The first thing he knew was that there were more androids powered on than before. The second was that the men were all now in groups of twos and threes. Most of them were on the move, patrolling. The fire had been lit under them but they had yet to ignite.

  Tonight, though, his target was Ballsy. Not because the man had done anything to him personally... Besides try and crack the codes on his ship—Gunner hissed through his teeth—but because of the information he held. Information that would leave the captain and the bridge crew intact until the very last moment.

  His hand palmed the AutoMag on the inside of his thigh.

  He fell back into his body, momentarily weaker than he was before. His eyes roamed over the prisoners that watched him.

  “Gunner.” Elodie’s voice made him turn. “Don’t hurt my dad.”

  She tastes so fucking sweet.

  I’m going to take everything from her.

  He corrupted the security feeds.

  She has no idea.

  The lock pinged open and he stepped out. No one spoke, the androids didn’t move, and with only his teeth, his fists, and his gun, he slipped from the brig in silence.

  Chapter Twelve

  ELODIE PUSHED HER HAIR out of her face and looked around at the other prisoners. There were fewer than ever before and it felt odd to have the cells on either side of her and Gunner’s empty. His was empty now too.

  She caught the eyes of the prisoner across the hallway from her. She didn’t know him, only knew his face, and that he was a quiet type like herself. He nodded at her before turning away.

  The lights faded out.

  Her breath softened. The sounds of the brig all at once quieted and the hush of uncertainty spread like smoke.

  No one knows about Gunner besides me and they place their hope in him anyway. Elodie knew Gunner didn’t do it out of altruism, and even knowing that, she had let her barriers down for him.

  Her body responded to him. Her skin rose
in gooseflesh from his whispers alone. She dropped her hands to her groin and pressed hard against it, eliciting a shiver. It wasn’t right. It isn’t right. The creeping want and lurking lust spread through her nerves.

  She pulled her hands off herself and sank against the wall, feeling helpless, and once again, alone.

  The dark pulled out her most wicked desires.

  Elodie clenched her muscles.

  Closed her eyes.

  And wished he was still next to her.

  He makes me feel safe. And that safety is lulling me into a dangerous position. Gunner also made her feel like a woman—made her feel feminine—and feeling that safety and acceptance was like a drug.

  Elodie rubbed her face hard enough until it burned.

  The lights flickered on overhead and she stiffened, her eyes lifting, catching quick glances of the brig. It went dark again shortly after, but not before the androids stationed throughout began to make their circuits. The sounds of their clicking metal and forced out air filled her ears that she didn’t notice when the brig door opened, the sounds muffled.

  Only the shock of a distant scream and three shots going off had her upright in fear. The door closed. The sounds blocked out.

  Gunner...

  The lights flickered again and the other prisoners were poised, wide-eyed, watching, and waiting.

  The silhouette of a man made its way toward her.

  GUNNER DUCKED THROUGH the hallway and into the first side room he found, taking off his boots and setting them aside. He was on the move toward his target a moment later, recalibrating his systems to project nothing but silence, as though he were nothing but air.

  He dashed through the halls like a wraith, one that couldn’t be picked up by any of the five senses. His body was nothing more than a static blip throughout the many security feeds he passed under.

  There was only one man stationed nearby and Gunner swept past him without notice. He eyed the man’s back, sensing something about him but moved on when he realized the empty bottle dangling from his hand had knocked him out.

  The androids that were littered throughout the level, guns cocked, were distant brethren. A simple connection, a brief code, and they allowed him passage without objection.

  He pressed his back into the wall when the elevators opened and a trio of pirates came out. Their bodies reeked of stale tobacco and alcohol.

  “Fucking waste of time,” one of them slurred. “It’s not like the prisoners are causing the chaos... Fucking waste of all our time checking on them.”

  “Don’t be so sure about that,” another responded. “None of this shit went down until they were brought on board.”

  “There’s no fucking way they can get out of their cells, let alone make it through the ship unseen.”

  “That new guy with the tattoos is a twat with murder in his eyes. He gives me the creeps.”

  Gunner smirked. How cute. They’re complimenting me.

  “So what? Still can’t get out. If anything it’s one of the new recruits making his move. And if he creeps you out, I heard he’s pretty friendly with his cell mate. We can have some fun tonight.”

  Gunner stiffened, his hands dropping from the wall to clench into fists at his side. Elodie. He was going to make his way to Ballsy sight unseen but now...his codes scattered. He felt his territory being threatened.

  The men drew closer, each heavy booted step snapping a little bit more of his control. The jackal screeched and howled at the thought of these men getting any closer to Elodie.

  They know we’re close.

  He hadn’t hidden it—hadn’t cared enough over the days they huddled together and talked. Suddenly, the idea of anyone—anything—with eyes on them, even if it was the ship’s AI made, him furious. Others would’ve caught on. Kallan came to mind. His moments with Elodie were his and his alone. He needed to make sure they stayed that way.

  Gunner jerked and twitched, his control commands dying in his head, his mission wavering as the stench of the men thickened.

  “Which is why we’re being forced to check on them,” one of the men said.

  “Ballsy’s dead after this shit show is under control. Can’t break the codes of that twat’s ship, and can’t find the prick who’s painting the floors with blood.”

  “Maybe... But Juke doesn’t have another to take his place.”

  “Hah! Any one of us could take his place. How fucking hard is it to maintain the ship feeds? All you gotta do is watch the fucking holograms for blips and send the androids to investigate.”

  “I heard the ship has a virus.”

  “Ships can’t get fucking viruses, Ghet. If anything, Ballsy’s the murderer and a damn piss poor one at that!”

  The men drew nearer and Gunner lowered himself into a crouch, eyes glazed, his jeans shredding ever-so-slowly as his claws sprang forth.

  The jackal panted, excited. Territorial.

  “Don’t know. But the systems could corrupt, I’ve heard stories. Whatever the fuck is happening, if Juke doesn’t gut Ballsy, I will. We were supposed to be on Elyria but now we’re headed off to fuck-knows where and I can’t stand the sight of you guys anymore. I need some fucking women. Damnit, I need some fucking sunlight.”

  The men cackled and they came into view. His spine bowed, his canines pushed out, his long-pointed ears shot out.

  His eyes bled neon red.

  The men weren’t getting any closer to what was his.

  “The captain’s locked himself in the bridge and hasn’t come out since the fourth body was found. Makes you wonder,” one of them said.

  “Wonder what? He’s losing control. He keeps wanting to replace his men with prisoner scum.”

  “Wonder if he’s afraid.”

  A burst of sadistic laughter. “Cunt should be! Any day now, he’s gonna have a knife in his back.”

  Gunner grew and his shape distorted, his fingers stretching apart and sharpening. His legs and arms broke and straightened, and his malleable skin pulled into his beast, now hidden behind his metal mainframe. His nose and jaw lengthened into a snout, and a low, hungry growl brewed deep in his throat. The pain was delicious, soothing, euphoric.

  And then his nanocells made him numb.

  At the corner, the men stopped, one of them holding out a hand for him to see. “Do you hear that?”

  “Hear what?”

  “That!”

  The snarl deepened, lengthened, vibrated and spread out from his vocals in low, piercing waves. A monster in the dark. Gunner drew his lips back as his tail dragged out of his spine to thump against the metal, ringing throughout the passageway.

  “What the fuck is that sound?”

  Gunner scraped his claws across the floor, slinking out of the darkness like Anubis from the bowels of the underworld. All three men drew their guns.

  His nostrils flared at the smell of piss and he pounced on the first click of gunfire.

  “Sound the alarms!” one of them screamed. The bullets ricocheted off his outer metal frame. He dropped the closest man to the floor, tearing out his throat and cleansing his beast’s mouth with blood.

  The next second his teeth were ripping through the cloth, skin, and tendons of the next guard, slamming him to the ground. The guard screamed as Gunner tore off his leg. The third man—the smartest of the group—turned away and ran toward the elevator.

  Gunner dropped the half-severed leg with a hiss and crushed the remaining wails out from the man under his paws, walking over him and killing him with his weight.

  The third died on a lunge, hitting the open shaft just as Gunner brought him down.

  A shudder. Gone. The jackal stretched, grinned, and receded.

  He rose up as a man, taking the guns off his kill with him, and kicking the corpse out of the elevator’s way. If Ballsy was a dead man, then he’s my dead man.

  ELODIE SUCKED IN A breath when the shadow stopped in front of her cell door, and for a brief moment, as the lights flickered again, she hoped it was Gunn
er, that he was already back. That she had lost track of time and the gunshots she heard were only in her head.

  “Boy,” the man grunted and she recognized his voice.

  “Da—Chesnik?” She caught herself and scurried forward, clutching the bars.

  “Is that you, Chesnik?” Someone else asked.

  Grumbles and questions filtered through the space. She couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t believe it when the lights went back out and a flashlight switched on. Her dad’s face came into view.

  “We don’t have much time,” he muttered, looking down at the lock. “Gotta get you out of here.”

  Her hands shook as she reached through and tried to touch him. “You came back,” she whispered.

  He grunted, “It wasn’t easy. Isn’t safe still.”

  “Look at me, please.”

  He lifted his wrinkled, tired eyes, having aged even more since she last saw him and she couldn’t hold back the tears that sprang forth.

  “Don’t go doing something stupid like that, boy, we don’t have time!”

  Elodie drew her hands back. “What do you mean?”

  “I’m getting you out of here.”

  “What? How?”

  Her dad produced a keycard, one of the ones she had seen dozens of times used on the cells, and pressed it into her door. A ping sounded and it opened. The barrier was gone.

  Elodie didn’t care and rushed into his arms.

  “Boy...” He tensed as she buried her head into his chest, wiping her tears onto his vest, and heaved a sob. She didn’t care who saw or what the others thought.

  She held onto him tight and shivered in distress when his arms banded around her in an embrace. “Dad,” she choked out and breathed in his smell, creating more tears in the process. “I never thought I was going to see you again.”

  “There, there, boy. I wouldn’t leave you behind.”

  “But you did! You did leave...”

  His eyes drooped, sad, and she reached up to smear the dew on her lashes away. “I didn’t want to give you hope when the odds were bad.”