Taunting Krell Read online

  Anger glinted in his eyes. “You find this amusing?”

  “Not really but it beats us having a staring contest, doesn’t it? You’re not real talkative and that leaves it up to me to open a line of communication.” She watched him.

  “I’ll take you to your room. I’m sure you’re in need of rest.”

  “No. Please? I’ve been locked to a med bed and was about to go out of my mind. I’m used to activity. I’m not into sitting still much or a big sleeper.”

  He didn’t speak and it started to bug her. She’d rather argue with him than just stand there mute. Anything would be better than being locked inside a room until she screamed from boredom. She studied his clothes, the way his muscles were tense, and glanced around the room. A workout area had been set aside and he had a punching bag, weights to lift and a lot of padded floor.

  “Were you working out when I arrived?”

  “Yes. I do that to stay fit and healthy.”

  “You were designed that way so it doesn’t matter if you work out or not. You’ll always look like this.”

  He growled at her in response.

  She frowned. “Look, I’m the same way. I could eat and eat but I don’t gain weight. It kind of sucks. I never thought I’d bitch about that but after a few decades you just want to change something, anything, but it doesn’t happen. My body maintains and so does yours.” She glanced down at her chest. “Be happy you’re a defense model. I think they stole a sexbot design to make this body and scaled everything back but the breasts.” She tilted her head slightly, staring at him. “Talk about uncomfortable. I wonder how long they had the body displayed inside the lab, in storage. They don’t clothe them, you know. The team who designed it had to have seen it every day. Yuk. Talk about needing therapy.”

  Emotion finally showed on his face when he expressed shock. “A sexbot?”

  “Yeah. I’ve got double-D cups. Those are sexbot specifications. No other work Models or clones were made with breasts that size. I wish they hadn’t screwed with my height though. I’m betting they did it to hide the fact that no Models were designed this small and it helped hide the fact that this body isn’t totally human. I looked up the measurements for the sexbots and standard on them is about five foot seven or eight. They shortchanged me. That’s a joke.” She smiled. “Get it? Short and they changed me?”

  He stared at her.

  “Do you have a sense of humor at all? I’m trying real hard here to get you to crack a smile.”

  “No.”

  “Big surprise. Great. I’m locked up with the grim cyborg. Maybe you should call Councilman Zorus and tell him to assign me to someone else. At least jerks who want to beat on me or nail me would talk. You know, telling me I suck for being human-looking or how I should suck on them.”

  His mouth twitched.

  “Ah ha! You almost smiled, didn’t you?”

  “No. That was a grimace. I understood the crude reference.”

  “I’m just grateful you got the innuendo. There’s hope for you yet.” She glanced at his workout area again. “Want to spar?” Her gaze slid to his. “Since you aren’t much of a talker? I could use the physical outlet.”

  “It wouldn’t be fair and your leg is injured.”

  She bent and removed her boots since he wasn’t wearing any footwear. She removed her socks before she straightened. “I heal fast and the leg is all good now. I know it won’t be fair but I’ll try to go easy on you. I won’t hurt you.”

  His mouth dropped open and his eyes widened before he hid his shocked response. “I meant it wouldn’t be fair to you. You are no match for me.”

  She inched closer and grinned. “The bigger they are, the harder they fall. That’s an Earth saying if you don’t remember or never heard it. You’re going down.”

  “You’re serious? You want to spar with me?” He backed up into the center of the padded mats and actually smiled.

  Cyan had to remember to breathe. It changed his face so much and despite the scars, she could tell he’d once been truly handsome. He still was—the scars on his face gave him a rakish, dangerous look. She followed him onto his training mats. Her hands rose, palms open, and she rolled her shoulders to loosen up.

  “How about a little wager? If I win, you have to try to talk to me more, Krell. The tall, dark and moody thing drives me kind of nuts. I’ve spent too much time with an annoying computer over the past few weeks. Your doctors just wanted to ask me questions that gave me a migraine and that kind of ruined hearing another voice. Deal?”

  “You’re a soldier, correct? Earth Government trained you to fight?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m going to win. Their training wasn’t sufficient.”

  “Really? What do you want from me if you win? Notice I said ‘if’. Don’t get too cocky.”

  “Silence for five hours.”

  “Ouch.”

  His hands lifted and his palms opened. She had to admit feeling a little relief at the gesture. She didn’t want to box with the cyborg. A punch from one felt like hitting a wall, from what she remembered. He couldn’t break her bones but he could cause damage to her body. Bruises or split skin hurt.

  “Deal?” He almost appeared happy to her.

  “Fine. Now I know you’re going to kiss the mat, Too Tall. I can’t shut up for that long.”

  “I’ll take it easy on you. It will be considered my win after you’re pinned flat and unable to move.”

  Cyan laughed. “You’re so confident. I’ll have to tell you all about my likes and dislikes after I pin you down. I like that in a man though. That bit of info was free.”

  He crouched a little, his blue eyes glinted with amusement, and it brought him down more to her level. It was a mistake but she appreciated him trying to even their heights out as much as possible. It told her he was into fair fights and it made her like him more.

  “You come at me,” he rasped in that deep, husky tone of his, “when you’re ready to rest on the floor.”

  “You ready? I don’t want you whining afterward that I took you by surprise.”

  He actually chuckled, a wonderful sound. “I’m prepared to enjoy five hours of non-chatter.”

  “I’ll remember you said that and we’ll talk about it.” She suddenly lunged to his left and made him twist his upper body to try to follow her. She threw out an arm, nailing him in the hip.

  He stumbled off balance, his crouched position already putting him at a disadvantage, and she pounced. Her fingers gripped his forearm, hot skin registered as she touched him, and she yanked him forward to put him totally off balance but used the hold to propel her at him in the same motion.

  Their bodies collided but she had the advantage as they fell. She landed on top of him. He twisted onto his back a split second before he hit the mat and shock widened his eyes when he found her sprawled over his chest. She moved fast, threw a thigh over his hip, straddled him, and used her free hand to slam the palm of it into his diaphragm as she lifted to sit on his hips.

  It knocked the air from of his lungs as he hissed out a breath and her hold on his arm slid up to his shoulder. She used all the strength in her arm to pull as she lifted up, grabbed his hip and rolled him while he fought to catch his breath. Her weight collapsed onto his ass when she straddled him again, grabbed for his wrists and yanked them behind his back, twisting them up to the point she knew he’d feel pain but it wouldn’t hurt him too much.

  “What is that I hear, Krell? Did you say uncle?”

  He gasped in air and his body tensed under hers. She clamped her knees on his hips tightly, lifted her feet, hooked them between his partially spread thighs and leaned forward enough to jerk them apart. Muscles strained and she knew she was going to hurt later from pulling a few but she managed to spread his thighs enough to make it harder for him to roll back over.

  He snarled, not really a word but it might have been a curse. His head reared back but she jerked hers to the side just in time to avoid him smashing her
face with the back of his skull. He tried to roll but with his arms twisted up his back and held in the center of his spine, he couldn’t find any leverage.

  “You’re pinned, Too Tall.”

  When his body felt as if it turned to stone under her she actually experienced fear. He was stronger and in a lengthy fight, he’d win. She’d had surprise to her advantage and knew she couldn’t hold him down for long.

  He took some deep breaths but only turned his head to stare at her over his shoulder. Anger burned in those chilly blue eyes. “I could get free but I’d have to seriously injure you.”

  “Don’t be a sore loser.”

  She released his wrists and her legs relaxed. She managed to bite back a groan as pain shot up her thigh to her butt. That move would cost her for sure but she’d heal within a few hours from the muscle damage. The guy was really strong. She didn’t move from her seat on his ass but she did straighten.

  He suddenly rolled and surprised her. Cyan gasped as her back hit the mat and she ended up pinned under about two hundred sixty pounds of muscular cyborg. He moved fast, jerked her arms above her head to secure her wrists with his hands, and since she’d been sitting on him with her legs spread, his hips ended up snugly cradled between her thighs. She swallowed and stared up at him with a little worry. He wasn’t crushing her but enough of his weight rested on top of her that she could barely draw breath.

  “How did you do that?”

  She stared into his eyes. “You underestimated me. It’s a common mistake. I am short, appear to be totally human, but I’m stronger than they are. Faster.”

  His gaze lowered to her mouth and he adjusted his weight to ease some of it off her chest. It did however move his hips as he slid a few inches upward. Her eyes widened and her lips parted in surprise. That wasn’t just his hips pressed against her. Something hard and thick wedged along the seam of her pants.

  “Are you angry?”

  He met her gaze again. “I’m surprised and slightly irritated but the latter is directed at myself.”

  “I guess it’s okay to point out that I pinned you first and that means I won.”

  The chill returned to his eyes. “That would be a fair assessment. What do you want to talk about?”

  She hesitated. “Do you always get a hard-on when you fight or should I feel worried that we’re really about to do this for real? I’m not having sex with you.”

  He suddenly lifted off her, stood, but bent over to offer her a hand up. She hesitated but placed hers inside his. He pulled her to her feet fast enough to give her a head rush and she stumbled. His other hand shot out to grip her hip to steady her. Long fingers curved there and remained. They studied each other.

  “I apologize.” His cheeks appeared to darken slightly on his pale, silvery skin. “It was the adrenaline rush.”

  “Uh-huh.” She took a step back and he released her. “Okay. I’ll buy that.” Don’t look. Her gaze still shot downward despite her mental order. The outline of his engorged cock was clear through his pants. “Shit. Size proportioned is right.” Her gaze jerked up to his face and she realized she’d actually said that aloud. “Sorry! Maybe we shouldn’t talk. Where is this room you said I could sleep in?”

  He backed away and turned his body to try to hide the fact that the material of his pants was thin and he obviously wasn’t wearing underwear since his cock strained against the front of them. “It’s down the hall, first door to the left.”

  She spun, frantically looked for an escape, and caught a glimpse of the hallway. She didn’t bother retrieving her boots or socks. Her heart hammered as she quickened her pace to put space between them.

  The room was average sized, very sparse on furnishings, and besides the bed it only contained a nightstand. No entertainment unit adorned the wall. She closed the door and leaned against it.

  The guy was hung. She doubted she’d ever get the image out of her head of the grim cyborg sporting wood. More like a mast, she amended, and shook her head in disgust at her sense of humor. Up note, he’s not as robotic as he seems. She grinned. And tough women turn him on.

  Krell turned and punched the bag when he heard Cyan’s door close. He glared down at his wayward cock and clenched his teeth. He hadn’t had sex with a woman in years. Cyborg females found him boring, unattractive or emotionally undesirable. He rarely left Garden despite Mavo asking him to go on a few off-world assignments on some of the ships they’d acquired. He’d mentioned sexbots and a space station where the artificial females wouldn’t notice the scars or be intimidated by his size.

  Krell had felt insulted at the time when his friend had made that suggestion. He’d be better off seeing to his own needs than playing with an animated sex doll. Cyan’s body flashed in his mind. She was too short, too small, but perfect otherwise. She believed she’d been modeled after a sexbot. He might have been too hasty to assume one wouldn’t be appealing.

  He stared down at his cock again, grateful that it had softened since she’d fled the room, and closed his eyes. He accessed his implants and reconfigured his physical responses, shutting down the connection between his thoughts and his dick. Next time he wouldn’t get an erection in front of the spy.

  Her heaving breasts, which had nearly spilled from the top of her shirt, wouldn’t get a response from his body in that manner again. He might notice their soft swell, imagine what it would be like to tear open her shirt to touch them, but he wouldn’t embarrass himself by allowing her to know the direction his thoughts had traveled.

  A bell chimed and he opened his eyes, spun and walked to the wall. He touched the pad to open mental communications as he lowered his mental shielding to allow his projected thoughts to be picked up. “What?”

  “Has she arrived?”

  “Yes. She’s inside the guestroom.”

  “You need to get to know her, learn how to read her correctly and discover if she’s telling the truth. You can’t do that if she’s in another room.”

  “Don’t tell me how to do my job, Zorus. Where is Charlie? Isn’t your female demanding your attention?”

  “She’s taking a shower while I prepare our food. I just wanted to check in with you.”

  “Stop bothering me. You already forced me to deal with this female. Isn’t that enough for you?”

  Zorus laughed, sure to amplify the sound in the connection, and Krell growled in response, sending that clearly too.

  “Talk to her. Watch her features and do what you do best. You will learn how to detect her lies. I heard you showed up at Medical. The paperwork was received at the council building. They believe you activated your sperm. Thank you.”

  “You’re lucky I didn’t have to actually take the shots. I’d have borrowed an extra one to jam into your nuts just for the pleasure of it.”

  Zorus laughed again. “I see having company doesn’t improve your disposition. I almost feel sorry for that female. The faster you can prove who she is, the faster you can get her out of your home.”

  “Save your pity for your own female. It amazes me that she doesn’t kill you while you sleep. End transmission.” He jerked his hand away from the pad, cut the link with his mind as well, and spun. “Bastard.”

  He stormed through his home to the guestroom. Zorus had made a good point. The faster he learned how to read the female, the quicker she’d be sent away. It didn’t matter to him if that would be to a detention center for being their enemy or if they gave her a home of her own. He just wanted her out of his. He knocked.

  Get to know her, learn her facial expressions, her weaknesses, and pay attention to her pulse rate. Read her and get her out of my home. He blew out air. Quickly.

  Chapter Five

  Cyan opened the door carefully, wondering if he’d forgotten to give her some new order. He’d already told her not to leave his home. Krell towered in the hallway, his head nearly touched the ceiling, and a frown firmly curved his lips.

  “You won the bet and I’ll talk to you.”

  Don’t l
ook down at his crotch. It’s tempting, but don’t. She managed to keep her gaze from dropping and took a deep breath. He was trying to make an effort and she was bored.

  “All right. That would be great. I have a million questions.”

  He backed up, giving her room to follow him to the living area. That statement earned her a suspicious glare before he spun around to stalk away, leaving her to trail behind, admiring his firm ass. He dropped into a big black chair, pointed to one opposite him, and she remembered he was supposed to be good at interrogating prisoners. She bet that was his real reason for wanting to have a conversation.

  She sat, crossed her arms under her breasts, and the staring contest began. She lost, blinked first, and it annoyed her enough to speak. “What do you do for fun on this planet besides work out?”

  “I analyze data and evaluate threat assessments to my people.”

  She swallowed. “Okay. And that’s fun?”

  “I enjoy working and I don’t have to spend time with others except for designated meetings to update the other analysts and compare our information.”

  “You work from home?”

  “Yes.”

  Silence stretched. “Do you date? Have friends? Have some kind of weird ritual you do?”

  That drew a frown. “Weird ritual?”

  “Perhaps go jogging in the morning?”

  “You consider jogging a weird ritual?”

  “Yes. Unless something is running from me that I have to catch or something scary is chasing me, I don’t run. It’s just weird to think it’s fun otherwise.”

  His mouth twitched again.

  “Another grimace or did you nearly smile?”

  “What do you do on Earth for fun?”

  “I don’t spend a lot of time there. I’m usually assigned to one of the orbiting ships. In my off-duty hours I try to avoid men. Otherwise I guess my fun consists of hurting them.”

  “Why?”

  “There aren’t many females who enjoy being assigned off the surface and the males outnumber women seventeen to one on ships. Therefore they do dumb things often.”