Stealing Coal (11 page)

focus to watch his fingers work the front opening.

“I will not hurt you. This is going to be about learning pleasure.”

He wiggled his hips slightly to bare more of his body when his pants lowered. It

fascinated her as his skin was revealed. A few inches more and she held her breath as

his cock sprang free from the material. She stared at his large, erect sex, which pointed

straight up at her. It amazed her that something that size could defy gravity. This time

she wasn’t afraid of him.

“What frightens you about males?”

She swallowed hard. “I told you, I’ve been hurt.” She didn’t expand her

explanation, figuring he could guess from what she’d already told him about her ex.

“I really could track him down and kill him for you if you were to ask it as payment

from me for rescuing me from the freighter.”

“Don’t tempt me.” It shocked her when she smiled, amused at the image of how

Darren would react if he ever ran into the terrifying cyborg. She realized she should be

running for another room to try to hide from the man who pushed his pants down his

thighs and stepped out of them. Instead she said, “He enjoyed fear. It turned him on

more.”

“I don’t want that.” Coal straightened, stood motionless, allowing her to study

every inch of him if she dared. “What will make you less afraid of me? You may touch

me.”

The idea of reaching out to put her hands on him had her lacing her fingers together

in her lap. Curiosity tempted her to actually do it.

“I won’t attack you. I won’t get so excited that I harm you. Touch me. Perhaps that

will make you more comfortable with the sight of my body.” He hesitated. “I know my

size is intimidating but I’d never use it against you to cause any pain.”

An emotion flashed in his eyes but she caught it. She just wasn’t sure why he felt

vulnerable. She had a lifetime of feeling that way—she recognized that look.

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“This is insane.”

He moved slowly and sat on the bed a few feet from her. She glanced at his lap,

gawking a little at his hefty erection, and then jerked her gaze back up to his face when

he spoke.

“What is insane about me helping you get past your fear of males?”

“I don’t know you and you’re naked.”

He eased his hand toward her, palm out. “Take my hand.”

She hesitated and then unlocked her fingers, actually putting her hand in his. He

didn’t comment on it if he noticed how she trembled. He inched her palm to his chest,

placing it over his heart, and gently held it there. Heat radiated off his skin, more so

than anyone she’d ever touched.

“You’re very warm.”

“You mentioned that before.”

She had, believing he’d been sick with a fever. His hand released hers, leaving her

touching him on her own. She gazed up into his beautiful eyes as her fingers inched up

to his collarbone, hesitated there, and then slid upward to curve around the bend of his

broad shoulder.

“There’s no need to be timid. I will remain still,” he encouraged her softly. “There’s

no pain here, Jill.” He paused. “I will not harm you.”

Honesty and sincerity shone in his eyes. Jill wanted to believe him but it would be

insane to do so. She didn’t know him—cyborgs had to be pretty dangerous, considering

that Earth Government had tried to kill all of them—but her other hand lifted to touch

his thigh inches above his knee. Hot skin greeted her there as well.

Coal took a shallow breath. “I’ll lie down and you can explore me if you wish.”

She released him and watched as he very slowly stretched out on the bed until he

rested flat on his back. His arms rose and he laced his fingers behind his head, using his

palms to form a pillow.

“Go ahead, Jill. You may explore any part of me you wish.”

She turned to allow her gaze to travel over his impressive form. His beauty of his

muscular, toned body wasn’t lost on her. Even his unusual gray coloring attracted her,

tempting her to spread her hands over him.

“Have you ever willingly touched a man?”

“No.”

“What do you fear?”

Images of her past flashed. Her ex-husband had really hurt her and on top of it all,

he’d been verbally abusive. She’d never wanted to touch a man before, never had been

given the opportunity to do it without fear. It sank in slowly that she wasn’t afraid. She

felt curious, definitely, but memories of what Coal had done to her body had her

feeling…aroused.

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“I’m not sure,” she admitted, caressing his thigh, amazed that the small amount of

hair there could be so soft and that his warm skin could be silky textured, considering

the strength of muscles lurking just beneath.

“There’s no pain here,” he assured her again. “I will never hurt you. I give my word

on that.”

Her gaze lifted up his body to meet his intense, beautiful eyes. Sincerity shone in

those dark depths and she really wanted to believe him enough to put faith in his word.

“You can touch me anywhere, explore anything, and I will remain still.”

Jill hesitated and then shifted on the bed, bending her knee, and turned to face him.

Her other hand shook slightly when she reached over and firmly put her hand over his

other thigh. She looked down, watching in amazement as his cock stiffened even more,

rising straight up his belly.

“Go ahead,” he urged. “Have you ever touched a male’s sex?”

No
. She bit her lower lip in nervousness when she concentrated on his stiff shaft.

Her right hand slid up his thigh ever so slowly. When she nearly reached it, his cock

moved, jerking slightly, and she froze.

“It’s a normal reaction. I’m very turned on. Your hands are incredibly gentle and

nearly torturing me with wanting more.”

“You won’t knock me over, pin me down, and force me to take you?”

His mouth tensed. “No. I really want five minutes alone with the male who put that

terror into your eyes.”

Her fear eased instantly and she smiled. “What would you do to the asshole?”

It was Coal’s turn to hesitate. “I don’t want to frighten you but I am capable of

violence under certain circumstances. I’d love to hurt him the way he did you.”

Her eyebrows shot up and her sense of humor kicked in. “You want to pin him

down and force yourself on him?”

His eyes rounded with horror. “No! I am not into forcing sex on anyone and males

do not turn me on. I would wish to terrify him and cause him pain.”

She laughed, completely relaxing. “I was teasing.”

“It isn’t funny that a male harmed you.”

Her smile died. “I know. Sometimes I deal with pain by making jokes. It’s a

defensive mechanism that’s kept me sane when times turned really bad.”

“I understand. Let’s forget about the…” He paused. “Asshole.”

Jill smiled again and lowered her attention to his cock. It surprised her how large he

was, the darker gray color fascinating, and he had no hair there at all. Her hand moved,

inching up until her fingertips brushed against the base of his shaft. He sucked in air

but didn’t ask her to stop. She glanced up, saw his eyes were closed now and then she

openly studied the part of the male anatomy that she’d dreaded the most.

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Her hand brushed the shaft tentatively at first. It stunned her that the skin there felt

so smooth and velvety, though he had turned incredibly hard with desire. He took a

deep breath, kept his eyes closed, and she grew bolder by attempting to encircle his

cock. Her finger and thumb couldn’t touch—his sex too thick for her to do that.

She released him and braced a hand on the bed when she shifted her position until

she hovered over his lap on her knees. The muscles that ran along his stomach up to his

rib cage were tense, thick ridges under his skin. Her hand flattened there to feel them,

intrigued by his physique.

“I’ve never seen anyone like you.”

Dark eyes opened and met her gaze. “Cyborgs are different. I believe you’ll adjust

to my coloring.”

“I meant how in shape you are. You’re really strong, aren’t you?”

His pink tongue darted out to swipe his lips while he watched her. “Yes. I’m

noticeably stronger than human males.”

Her gaze drifted down his body and then stopped at her hand resting on his belly.

“Do you have metal parts inside?” She looked at his face, hoping the question wouldn’t

insult him.

“I have implants and some of my bones have been reinforced for hard labor.”

A shiver went down her spine at the idea of what must have been done to him. “I’m

sorry. Did it hurt?”

He shrugged. “We were created in laboratories and I was fully grown to adult male

size by the time they allowed us to become conscious. They had finished producing me

by that stage.”

It sounded so cold and sterile to Jill. Sympathy for the big cyborg had her rubbing

his skin again over his taut belly, this time in hopes of soothing the sad look that

sparked in his beautiful eyes.

“I’m sorry. Earth Government does a lot of horrible things since the wars ended and

the countries became united. I think they let all that power get to the bureaucrats until

they really do have a God complex.”

“You aren’t old enough to have been a part of what was done to me and I’m

grateful to be alive.” His face tensed, his lips pressing tightly together into a grim line.

“My people are capable of hoarding power over the weaker class as well.”

Jill hesitated to pry but she really wanted to know. Coal watched her too and then

took a deep breath. His grim look made her wonder what had put that angry expression

there.

“More male cyborgs were made than female ones. They had problems early on that

made them halt production of our females.”

“May I ask what that was?”

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Stealing Coal

“Your males tried to use them for sex and when cyborg women fought back, they

were killed. It wasn’t cost effective to spend money to create something that wouldn’t

survive long enough to turn a profit.”

Jill pulled her hand away from him and sat back on the bed, horrified. “Oh God.”

Coal slowly sat up, careful not to startle her. “Cyborg females had difficult lives.

There were very few of them compared to all the males and when we fled Earth their

survival became our first priority.”

“Did a lot of you escape?”

“I won’t give you a number. I gave my word I’d free you and what you already

know is far too much for Earth Government to learn.”

“I wouldn’t turn you in.” It hurt a little that Coal thought she would but then, she

reminded herself, they didn’t know each other. “I swear.”

“I refuse to give you numbers.”

“Okay. It’s not important but I hope a lot of you did.” She meant it.

He watched her, studying her. His body relaxed after a few deep breaths. “I believe

you.”

“Good. I know we’re different but you can trust me.”

Coal slowly reached out to her. She tensed up but his hand just covered hers.

Warm, gentle fingers curved around the back of her hand. She noticed how much

bigger his were compared to hers, dwarfing hers in his hold.

“Jill?”

Her gaze lifted. “Yes?”

He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “We’re not so different and we have

something in common.”

She couldn’t see it. They had drastically dissimilar pasts. She’d come from her

mother’s womb—he’d come from a laboratory. She had pink skin and he had gray. She

didn’t have reinforced bones, whatever that meant, but he did. They weren’t similar in

size by a long shot.

“We have both been used for sex against our will. I was forced to be a breeder to

our females. At first I agreed to the tests and to attempt intercourse with a few females

to discover if we were able to breed. I enjoyed the sex at first but when two of the

females were impregnated I realized the gravity of the consequences.”

“You have two kids?” For some reason she didn’t like hearing that.

“I only willingly helped create two. The rest were a result of forced donations from

my body.”

Jill looked him over with a quick sweep. “You’re telling me some of your own

women really forced you to have sex?” She couldn’t even imagine that. He had to be the

biggest, strongest man she’d ever laid eyes on. She hadn’t really believed him when

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he’d said it before, chalking it up to a plot to gain her trust, but she didn’t think that

way anymore. “You’re so big.”

“Our females are strong and I didn’t wish to kill them when we fought. They would

attack me in groups, restrain me, and give me drugs to confuse my mind. When they

ran out of drugs they operated to damage the implants in my head that allowed me to

control my physical responses. They would torture me until my body complied. I could

withhold any responses to the things they did to me until they damaged my implants.”

Mute, Jill gaped at him.

“The implants allowed me to deaden parts of my body. We were created to work

for humans and the physical labor could be very painful at times. They didn’t want that

to slow progression of our duties and the abilities to ignore any discomfort were

deemed important. There were also risks of us being captured and they needed us to be