Touching Ice (20 page)

let him go but she released him as she stepped back.

Ice quickly changed his pants, then donned a shirt, and put on his boots again. He

gave her a lingering look before he left his quarters. He didn’t touch the pad and she

realized he must be keeping his link to the ship active so he could remote control the

doors.

Turning, she sank onto the bed, worried. A shiver ran down her spine. Ice had no

idea what they were about to deal with but she had a pretty good idea this meeting

wasn’t going to go well.

She started to think, trying to remember everything about the Markus Models that

she’d been told or heard rumors about while she’d worked at the testing facility.

* * * * *

“What is wrong?” Onyx stopped at the table and sat. “I’ve been watching you for

five minutes and you didn’t even notice when I entered the room.”

Ice locked gazes with his friend. “The council ordered me to either hand Megan

over since I refuse to kill her myself or I can form a family unit with her.”

“So you’re joining a family unit? I understand your grimness. We’re of the same

mind on that issue but she is human. There are advantages to taking one as your

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female. She will be ordered to stay at your side since she won’t be trusted by other

cyborgs. You’ll have constant access to her and you do not have to share her body with

other males. I am surprised they offered to allow that, considering our status. We’ve

both overbred so our DNA is no longer required.”

“I also informed them she is an expert on the Markus Models to make her valuable

to them. We will be meeting their shuttle when the
Star
does, to bring Megan to that

meeting.”

Shock widened Onyx’s eyes. “You did what? Why would you do that? Even I saw

her terror when she spoke of them. She is convinced they are dangerous. I thought you

wanted to protect her. If they are as unstable as she suggested then you are putting her

at high risk.”

“She is definitely at risk with the council. They reversed the order to have her killed

since they have a use for her now. It wasn’t a hardship to agree to form a family unit

with her so they believe she’s got loyalty to me.”

“You have emotions for her.”

“I do.” Ice took a sip of his drink and ignored his food tray. “It angered me when I

saw her distress after I informed her of the conditions for the reversal of their order. I

believed she was upset at joining a family unit with me but instead her fear stems from

meeting that enemy shuttle.”

“So she agreed to the family unit arrangement?”

Ice hesitated. “I didn’t ask her. I said I informed her. As a human I do not need her

permission since on Garden they are considered property.”

“Did you inform her of this?”

“No. I am not without intelligence.”

Onyx grinned. “Your limbs are intact and I don’t see any visible damage. Human

women must be very different from our females. If you’d informed one of them of that

fact they would have attacked you.”

“Megan is nothing similar to our females in that regard.”

“However she is, it obviously instills great faith in you since you’re willing to put so

much trust in her. You know she could use these defense models to attack us.”

“She wouldn’t do that.” Ice glared at his friend. “I…trust her.” It amazed him as

that truth struck him but saying it aloud made him come to terms with it. “I really do

trust her, Onyx. She’s honest with me and she is worried about my safety over her

own.”

“I’m willing to rely on your judgment even if I do think you’ve been compromised

by her influence. I’d trust you over anyone else I’ve ever known in my life. I’ll inform

the men and we’ll ready for that meeting. I assume you want me to secure all

information so they can’t hack into our systems.”

“Yes. You know what to do.”

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“Of course.” Onyx nodded. “Go spend time with your female and I’ll take care of

everything.”

Ice stood. “Thank you.”

“I believe some things are worth keeping. I personally wouldn’t hook up with a

human but she’s not in my bed so I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose her.”

“She really matters to me.”

“Then do what you must to keep her. If that means we’re facing danger when we

go to that meeting then at least it will be an interesting day. It was getting a little boring

around here now that we no longer have use of the sex bots. Some of the males are

feeling a little sexual frustration after adjusting to regular pleasure. If it comes to a fight,

it may be to our advantage. There is nothing worse than a testy male.”

Ice disposed of his untouched food and walked through the ship. He had a lot to

consider. He finally returned to his room and to Megan. He’d come to a decision.

* * * * *

Ice appeared tired and grim when he walked into his quarters. Megan stopped

pacing and stared at him. She took a deep breath.

“I thought about this family unit thing while you were gone. This council of yours

needs me and I’m willing to face my deepest fears to interact with the Markus Models

for them but I won’t allow you to be forced into marrying me against your will. Have

them touch me so they know I’m not lying and I’ll tell them I’m on your side. It’s the

truth and I’d never want any of your people hurt. They’ll believe me then, right? Do

they have that lie detector ability the way you do?”

Ice paused inside the door and then walked slowly toward her. “They could do

that.”

“I don’t want you forced into something you don’t want to do just to save me, Ice. I

don’t want you unhappy or miserable. I really don’t want you to grow to hate and

resent me.”

He paused, studying her. “You’ve been thinking of ways to circumvent a family

unit with me out of a belief that I object to joining into a contract with you?”

“I know you don’t want to get attached. You kept me in your quarters on the

condition that didn’t happen and now they are forcing you to be locked to me, right? I

don’t want to hurt you in any way.”

Something in his eyes softened. “What about your emotions on the matter? What

are your thoughts of forming a family unit with me?”

She hesitated, surprised that he’d asked her what she felt and thought. “Um…I

wouldn’t be opposed but not at the price it would cost you.”

“It wouldn’t cost me, Megan. We already share quarters and it’s an arrangement

that is working for both of us. I agreed to the council’s terms and refuse to negotiate

with them again for you. I made an ideal bargain with them.”

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“But―”

He cut her off. “That’s it, Megan. It’s done. I filed the paperwork and transmitted it.

I’m just waiting for the official filing on Garden. We’re contracted in a family unit.”

“But you don’t want to be tied down. You don’t want―”

Ice closed the distance and grabbed Megan, jerking her against him to stare into her

stunned gaze. “I want you.”

She stared up into those beautiful silvery-blue eyes and saw raw emotion shining

there. It hit her like a brick as she identified the look he gave her. Her heart raced and

her hands reached up to grip his shoulders as she inched up on tiptoe to get closer to his

face, to make sure she was seeing right.

The truth hit her then. “You love me, don’t you?”

Ice’s gaze drifted from hers, darting around the room, focusing anywhere but on

her. Megan leaned closer into him, her hands sliding up his neck until she cupped his

face. She had to blink back tears. He didn’t deny it.

“Ice?” she whispered. “Look at me, please?”

He sighed and glanced down. “Yes.”

“Yes, you’re looking at me or yes, you love me?”

He attempted to turn his face away but Megan’s hold on him tightened. He didn’t

struggle or shove her away. He just refused to look at her again, staring at the cleaning

unit across the room instead. She took a deep breath, seeing a darker-gray color spread

across his cheekbones as she studied his handsome face. He was embarrassed and then

she understood.

“I love you, Ice.” She whispered the words to him. “I think I’ve loved you since the

moment you showed up on my screen when you walked aboard the
Folion
.”

That got him to look at her, their gazes meeting and holding. She nodded at him.

“Really. I love you and if you feel that way about me, I’d be thrilled.”

He blew out air from his lungs and frowned. “I am not thrilled.”

“But you love me, don’t you?” She tried to hide her smile but failed when the grin

wouldn’t be denied.

“I do but you don’t need to appear so gleeful over my weakness.”

That killed her smile. “It’s not a weakness. It’s wonderful and the most precious gift

you can share with someone.”

His expression and gaze softened, along with his tone of voice. “A gift?”

“Oh yeah.” She nodded vigorously. “Definitely a gift, Ice.” She grinned again. “We

need to celebrate.”

“Why?”

“It’s not the why you should be curious about but the how.”

His eyebrow arched. “I don’t understand.”

Her grin widened. “We’re going to get naked and have lots of sex.”

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He finally smiled back at her. “A human custom?”

“Oh yeah. There are some great things about humans.”

His hands gripped her ass. “I have to agree.”

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Fear had a taste and Megan didn’t enjoying it one bit as she swallowed it down. The

uniform Ice had put her in was black leather, similar to his own, only this one fit her

smaller frame. It had been specially made for her. She stood still, attempting to ignore

the heavy, uncomfortable weight of the shirt as they docked with the
Star
.

Ice’s hand brushed her hip and she looked up at him. “You appear frightened. Hide

your expressions.”

“I’m not you. I don’t have your control but I’ll try.”

He nodded. “Just stay at my side and if trouble breaks out get behind me and

return to the
Rally
. I’ll cover your exit.”

That’s what she feared most. Ice would end up fighting the Markus Models if

something went wrong. The bump when they connected to the other ship was slight

and it took everything inside Megan to move forward when the docking doors opened.

Nervousness over boarding a large A-class ship full of cyborgs made her heart pound

but Ice tugged her forward.

Cyborgs weren’t a threat to her any longer, according to Ice, and she believed him.

As they walked into a large cargo bay she nearly stumbled as dozens of cyborgs waited,

all shades of gray skin tones, wearing black leather uniforms matching Ice’s. A dark-

haired one moved forward, smiling, and held out his hand to Ice.

Ice didn’t just shake the other cyborg’s hand but instead embraced the man. “Flint,

it’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you as well. I miss your daily humor.” They released each other

and the cyborg, Flint, turned his attention on Megan. He ran his gaze down her and

then back up to her face, a dark eyebrow arching before he grinned at Ice. “What

happened to you swearing you’d never trust a human woman sleeping in your bed?”

Ice backed up. “I hadn’t met the right one yet. I thought you’d lost your senses

when I took yours from that shuttle we boarded.”

Flint chuckled. “She’s our expert?”

Ice turned and, with a jerk of his head, motioned Megan forward. “Megan, this is

my good friend, Flint. You’ll get to know him when we do more joint missions in the

future. The
Star
and the
Rally
usually travel together. I had taken the
Rally
crew for a

short vacation when
Folion
was destroyed. Once that happened we were forbidden to

return until you were assessed.”

She took a step closer and thrust out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Flint.” She

met his gaze as he took her hand, giving it a gentle shake, before releasing her quickly.

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“You as well. I read everything Ice wrote in his report about what information you

shared about these defense hybrids. Have you come up with a reason for why they

would contact us? How much danger is my ship in?”

“They are dangerous, unstable, and I’ll say it again. This is a mistake. You can’t

trust them. They are more advanced than anything you’ve ever come into contact with.

It’s been a long time since you were created and technology has changed drastically on

Earth.” She paused, glancing at Ice to see his frown, but turned her attention back on

the cyborg who obviously commanded the bigger ship. “They are organic on the

outside but under their cloned skin they are a classified metal that is damn near

impossible to destroy. They can hack your computer systems, take whatever

information they want, and probably even take control of your ship. They appear

human but don’t let that fool you. They are androids. Machines. They aren’t similar to

you in any way except they were created in part in a cloning lab.”

Flint stared at her, studying her face, and then sighed, giving his full attention to

Ice. “A few members of the council arrived just before you did.” He paused. “We’re