Peyton 313 (6 page)

“Pain? I’m not really into that sort of kink, but if restraints are my only option to get out of this chair, I guess I’m game,” Peyton declared, winking at her sudden flush.

Kyra pressed her mouth into a line as she snapped and locked the mobile restraints on his wrists. “I was briefly divorced. Before I could really get used to that status, it turned into being widowed too. And I’m glad to report that the sick bastard I married is dead. So you see, Captain Elliott, I’m not a pleasant woman these days. I have no time for sex games, including innuendo that’s going nowhere.”

Kyra bent, lifted the legs of his jeans, and snapped the ankle restraints on him. She made sure they rubbed against his bare skin.

“Who said anything about games? I just thought you might want to know I was interested in case you were interested back,” Peyton declared, staring at the top of the woman’s bowed head. Her position on her knees in front of him gave him wicked ideas, but he thought telling her might be just a little too honest. Her exasperated sigh over his comments made him grin.

“After the bedtime story I’m going to tell you this evening, you won’t want anything to do with me at all, much less anything sexual. The only important thing you need to file away in your newly rebooted data center is that you will always have a choice in every life decision from now on. I did my job well this time. Trust me when I say that being attracted to me would create a situation neither of us could handle.”

Peyton watched her pace twenty feet away and well out of his reach. “What is it you’re keeping from me, Doc?”

“Many things,” Kyra said sadly. “Ready for our test, Captain?”

“Not really. See? I’m being honest again,” Peyton declared, grinning at her frown. Pain suddenly shooting through his extremities had him swearing viciously. “Why don’t I remember anything hurting like this before? My fucking legs are working again by the way. And I almost pissed myself thanks to your restraints. Hope you think that’s enough testing because that’s all I can take.”

Satisfied by his fierce complaining, Kyra walked back to the chair and knelt at his feet again. She had thumb-printed the chair restraint locks so a light swipe across the sensor instantly opened them. After the ankle ones were removed, she removed the one across his chest. Lastly, she moved to his wrists, pausing as she met his questioning gaze. She had to tell him what she was feeling. The urge was too compelling and his gaze was too full of hope.

“Today you are more yourself than you’ve been in a long time, Captain Elliot. Since this may be the only nice conversation you and I are ever going to have, I want to thank you for your military service and all the amazing things you’ve done. I’ll even admit that you’re far more charming than your record indicated. In another time and another place, I might have been willing to play all kinds of games with you. But this is definitely not that time or place. We are suspended between heaven and hell right now, and neither of us is an angel.”

“Lady, I don’t know what kind of magic you have in your voice, but my dick gets rock hard just listening to you. Sleep in the cage with me tonight and I’ll show you heaven. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted a woman as much as I want you right now. Sorry if the speed of my interest offends your sensibilities. I’m listening to a little voice that keeps yelling inside me. It’s saying this may be my one and only chance to get you to see I’m more than just some super soldier machine in need of fixing.”

Kyra felt her lip tremble and bit it hard to make it stop before she answered. “I already know that about you. That’s why I’m doing this. Now don’t make me like you any more than I already do.”

“See? I knew you liked me,” Peyton bragged, wishing she’d come a lot closer. She smelled amazing.

Kyra wondered if Peyton’s desire for her was a lingering aftereffect of all those years of Cyber Husband programming? He would have studied her file extensively because Norton would have made him do so. He would have learned all he could about her likes and dislikes. That’s how the program worked and she hadn’t removed that chip—on purpose. She needed him to like her at least a little.

Peyton stared at the woman’s disappointed face. She looked ready to cry and he couldn’t stand seeing her that way. “How about a kiss to test your theories about us, Doc? Just one. I need it and I think you need it too. You’ve already admitted you aren’t married. Look—my wrists are still chained to the chair. What could one kiss hurt? Come on—what do you say?”

Kyra sighed. She was as exasperated with him as she was charmed by his pleading. Tomorrow Peyton Elliott was going to hate her. She was one hundred percent sure of it because it had been proven twice already with her restorations.

Tomorrow when Peyton Elliott knew the truth, he would hate his life and those who had consigned him to his living hell. Tomorrow the machine would be partially back and Peyton would not be this light-hearted, mostly human version of himself. He would be a new kind of redefined cyborg. While no one knew what that was going to be like—not even her—she would bet her retirement Peyton was still going to hate her after he integrated the present with his past.

“Please—one kiss, Doc. That’s all I’m asking,” Peyton whispered.

Kyra sighed loudly. “You’re a hard man to say no to, and today I’m a sentimental fool. Close your eyes, Captain. I haven’t kissed a man in a long time. I can’t look at you or I’ll lose my nerve.”

When Peyton sighed dramatically in return and leaned his head back, Kyra climbed on the electrical shield at the bottom of the operating chair until she was standing between his legs. Heat emanated from every inch of the man and he still smelled a little like burnt circuitry. Yet underneath that stark reality, Peyton also smelled masculine and very alluring.

Kyra sighed again. “I wish I could send you out the door to live whatever the hell kind of life you want just as you are right now. That’s what you deserve, Captain Elliott. I want that badly for you, but I can’t make it happen. Your cybernetic enhancements require you to retain knowledge of how they work. Too much is at stake and the outcome of your healing affects more than just the two of us. But thank you for giving me a glimpse of why putting you through this hell is so important. This moment—it’s very humanizing for both of us—to want to be kissed and then actually be kissed. Thank you for sharing this moment with me.”

“Man, you sure talk a lot. Still waiting for that kiss, Doc,” Peyton said. He was keeping his eyes tight and his mind off how sexy she sounded when she got all philosophical.

Kyra snorted at his chastising. She touched her lips to Peyton’s and instantly found her bottom one nipped aggressively between two rows of even teeth. Moaning at the delicate trap he’d set for her, her body tipped forward against his and she had to catch herself on his wide shoulders. Her hands slipped over them and down his chest without her mind questioning the action.

When she moaned against his mouth, Peyton ordered himself to turn loose. After he did, he stared hard at the lip he’d bitten. The woman wanted him. He could taste it, smell it, and damn it he wanted her too. It was exhilarating to feel such pure desire flowing so freely through his cells.

A demand to sate that intense longing came from some desperate part of him that was both familiar and strange at the same time. What the hell was happening to his mind? It was both relieving and like finally waking up after being asleep for too long.

“Climb up here and give me a real kiss, Doc. And don’t be so damn stingy with sharing your tongue. I intend to use it to imagine what else I’m going to do when you cut me loose from this freaking chair.”

Groaning at how aroused he’d just made her with his sexy declaration, Kyra climbed into Peyton’s large lap to straddle him. It gave her better access to his mouth and the chance to indulge just a little more as she eased her hips down on him. She sighed at her nearly out-of-control feelings and touched her forehead to his.

“The only reason I’m doing this is because I know you’re going to take great pleasure in ridding yourself of this memory tomorrow. I won’t blame you for that action, Peyton. Hell, I think it’s the smartest thing you could do.”

“Stop whining about what hasn’t happened yet, Doc. I’m so hard for you I hurt. It’s damn cruel to suggest this instant attraction between us is nothing. Now kiss me like you want to—and damn it, I know you want to. I am a cyborg, you know.”

He ordered his processor to store the image of her face just as she caved in to his demand and dipped her mouth to his. Her lips were lush and hot and wet, and her kiss was the most deliriously wonderful experience he could recall happening in ages. Free of leg restraints, he lifted his hips, begging her to ride the hardness she had caused. He watched her eyes close in pleasure at his action, but lowered himself back down to the chair when he saw two tears run down her face. A second later, tears were flowing off her chin in two tiny, steady streams.

“What? What is it, Doc? What’s wrong with this? The attraction is mutual, isn’t it? We’re alone in here just the two of us. I’m wearing too many damn restraints to do much harm to you. Hell, keep the chair restraints in place woman—just be with me before I die from wanting you.”

“I can’t. I can’t take advantage of you, no matter what I’m feeling,” Kyra said, lifting both her arms to swipe at her eyes. “Thank you for the sexy kiss, Captain Elliott. It’s been a very, very long time since I felt anything remotely close to that level of desire for a man. Even if you wipe this away, I’ll never forget it—or you.”

Kyra slid reluctantly off his lap and straightened her clothing. “I’m going to release the last of the chair restraints now. Please keep your physical distance so I don’t have to use the controller. I’ve hurt you enough in the last couple days.”

She hastily swiped her thumb across both wrist bands and stepped out of reach. It surprised her when Peyton remained seated. She wiped her eyes again as she put more distance between them. The one sleeve got so wet, she had to switch to the other to stop the flow.

“How are your legs now? Can you walk yet?” she asked to distract herself.

“The initial paralysis is gone. However, I have another kind of problem preventing walking at the moment. Give me a moment to. . .adjust.”

Kyra shook her head. Denial was not just a river in Egypt. It was her best coping mechanism.

“There’s a bathroom with a large shower off to the right. I won’t put you in the cage until you’ve had some time to clean up. You’ll find toiletries, towels, and men’s clothing in the cabinets. The men’s clothing should fit well enough. The last cyborg that used them was your size. Everything about this situation is temporary, including your time with me. Please don’t forget that.”

Peyton toyed with the mobile restraints on his wrist. He could tell they were uniquely coded because he’d found a slew of standard codes stored somewhere he couldn’t pinpoint in his mind, but none had activated the release mechanism. He might be able to decipher the code and escape them well before her intended release time, but it would take more than a day to do so. Until then, he would play along and find out what the hell was going on here. Was he a patient or a prisoner? He still couldn’t quite tell. The sexy doctor wasn’t giving much away.

“So is your word the real deal, Doc? If I do as you ask, you’ll tell me what this secrecy is all about?”

He watched as she nodded, looking incredibly sad. Was it because of his question? She wiped her eyes on each of her sleeves again and made him regret asking her anything. Her persistent crying played hell with his intentions to honor her request to keep his distance. If he moved fast enough, he could probably prevent her from using the controller on her wrist. And if that worked, he could actually have her in his arms before she could deny him. He wanted that volatile, sexy-talking mouth of hers on his again. He wanted to see how much more the woman could make him feel.

“Stop looking at me that way, Captain Elliott. Go take a shower—a cold shower. I’ll tell you everything tonight after you’ve eaten. While you’re cleaning up, I’ll put your dinner inside the cage. I tried to make the damn thing as comfortable as I could.”

Nodding at her husky, almost tearful reply—which had his damn dick twitching again—he reluctantly rose from the chair and took a couple careful steps. The stiffness in his limbs eased as he moved across the floor in the direction she had pointed. It was only after he closed the bathroom door behind him that he allowed himself to wonder why the medical room had looked so much like a cybernetic lab.

Chapter 5

After locking him in the cage with his dinner as promised, his mad scientist had disappeared for an hour while he ate. When she finally returned, she smelled strongly of the citrus body spray she had mentioned. His senses tingled with excitement, but he knew not to get his hopes up when he saw her shoulder length hair clipped tight at the back of her head. The style made her look older than she was and way more severe. All traces of the softer woman who had climbed into his lap to kiss him had been erased from her body. The woman staring at him through the bars now projected nothing but a professional stoicism, right down to the fresh white lab coat she wore.

Despite his capacity for analyzing large amounts of data, Peyton could only guess the reasons Dr. Winters had taken so many physical steps to retreat from him. Her shadowed, hollowed out eyes hinted at a story, but it was one he wasn’t sure he was ready to hear yet. He had seen that same look on plenty of non-enhanced soldiers when they had been gearing up to do something they hated—like facing their potential deaths. A feeling of dread dropped like a cloud over his entire body. There didn’t seem to be a damn thing he could do to stop himself from feeling it.

“Doc—I have to tell you this. It pisses me off to see you looking like I’m going to kill you in a few minutes. No matter what you’ve got to tell me, I’d never do that. Hell, I’ve been in more bad shit in my life than you could ever imagine. I double damn guarantee your story won’t be the most horrible one I’ve ever heard.”