“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 na**d and have lots of sex.”

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.”

Chapter Eleven

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.

“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 being graced with Councilman Zorus’ presence.” The large cyborg’s voice deepened when he said the name. “He demanded to be present and speak to them himself. He is insistent that we can broker a deal and is rambling on about how useful an ally they will be.”

“Damn.” Ice was irritated. “Nothing good happens when he is around.”

“Exactly.” Flint gave a nod. “I have Mira locked in our room where she’s out of sight and I put a few guards outside my quarters. I don’t trust that bastard since he hates all humans.” He focused on Megan. “My wife would like to meet you, Megan.

Mira is from Earth. I’m afraid she may want to spend hours talking to you. I believe she’s lonely for another woman to spend time with and I hope you will humor her.”

A human had married the big cyborg? It surprised her but she managed a nod.

“That sounds nice.”

“Good.” Flint turned, addressing the rows of cyborgs standing at attention. “I want everyone prepared for the worst. You heard Ice’s female and read the report.” He turned then, staring down at Megan. “If this goes bad, do you have any suggestions? We’re prepared to attempt electrocution in case that flaw design wasn’t fixed.”

“Pray,” she said softly.

The dark-haired cyborg softly cursed. “Great.” He lifted his head, stared up at a camera, and nodded. “They are docking.” He faced another door. “We’re boarding their shuttle. If a fight takes place we are going to retreat and attack their ship. That is a target we know how to deal with.”

Ice nodded and spoke softly. “You heard Flint. Keep linked to me and if this goes bad undock and we’ll meet up at our preplanned destination. Do not wait for us to return. We’ll stay aboard the Star.” He met Megan’s raised eyebrow. “I’m talking to the Rally. We’re in constant communication.”

Doors opened and Megan tensed, expecting the Markus Models to enter the large cargo bay but instead she saw four cyborg males approaching but they weren’t wearing black uniforms. Instead they wore red matching ones. Ice tensed.

“The council,” he whispered loud enough for Megan to hear. “Zorus is the one on the far left.”

It stunned her that such a handsome man had such a black heart. He looked tall, probably at least six foot four with dark-brown hair tied back in a tight ponytail. He had thick, dark eyelashes that windowed a pair of sexy, dark-brown eyes that locked on her.

The rage she saw when their gazes met had her inching closer to Ice as the four council members drew near. All cyborgs were beefy, strong men, but Zorus seemed particularly thick muscled in his shoulders and upper arms.

“Ice.” Zorus glared at Megan. “That is what you risked your career on? She’s not even attractive.”

Ice moved suddenly, putting his body in front of Megan, blocking her view of the rude bastard who’d just insulted her. She knew Ice put himself between her and the council members to protect her.

“Councilman Zorus.” Ice’s tone turned chilly. “She’s attractive. It’s your perspective of humans that is disagreeable.”

“They can’t be trusted.”

Flint cleared his throat. “The shuttle has docked with us and the Markus Models are waiting.” Something in his dark eyes flashed. “Why don’t you go first since you set up this meeting, Councilman Zorus?” He waved his hand toward another door. “After you, sir.”

Megan craned her head a little to peer around Ice and watched as Zorus shot Flint a glare but he nodded. “They are going to be aid against the enemy.”

That had to be humans, Megan surmised. She stood there until Ice reached back, offering her his arm. Her fingers gratefully curled around his forearm as he led her to follow the four councilmen toward the waiting shuttle that held her biggest fear. The doors opened and the cyborgs entered in pairs, with Zorus at the lead.

For some reason the councilmen stopped quickly inside and Megan thought she heard one of them utter a harsh curse. They moved forward again and Ice’s arm tensed under her fingers. She heard him mutter a four letter word and her gaze flew up to his.

He stared at something ahead of them to the left. She had tall men blocking her view and didn’t see what captured their attention until they were almost in the center of the small cargo hold.

Megan stared in horror at the far wall. One of the sex bots was naked, bound by her wrists pulled above her head, dangling a few feet from the floor, and her hair was gone.

The now-bald bot blinked and as she turned her head to track the movement in the room, Megan got to see the back of its head from a side view. The rear plate of her skull was missing so her inner electronics were exposed. The bot’s lips moved but no sound came out. At that point Megan saw the other damage that had been done to the bot. Her artificial skin had been cut open in places on her thighs and down one side by her hip to expose her inner metal frame.

“Oh my God,” Megan gasped. “What did they do to her?” She took a step toward the bot but Ice’s hand clamped down on her fingers, locking her to him, and kept her in place.

“Quiet,” he whispered. “Mask your expressions now. They come.”

She heard them before she could see them enter the room. She’d forgotten how heavy the Markus Models were with their metal interior frames and the resulting thumps their feet made on the cargo flooring as they drew closer. She had to inch away from Ice a little to see around the cyborgs in front of her but she couldn’t go far since Ice had her hand pinned on his arm with his fingers gripping her. Four androids walked into the cargo area single file and then lined up side by side to face their visitors.

“Eerie,” a cyborg muttered behind Megan.

She knew what he meant. The androids were exact replicas made from the same mold. If that wasn’t bad enough, they moved in synchronicity, each movement a mirror as they silently studied the four cyborg council members. Their heads turned at the same angles, their gazes locking on each male one at a time, and finally someone spoke.

The councilman stepped forward a few feet and halted. “I’m Zorus. You requested asylum and we’re here to discuss the terms.” He glanced at the four artificially made men. “Are there more than four of you? Who is in charge?”