“Ice?” She kept her voice low, just above a whisper.

He didn’t move, his breathing didn’t change, nor did his soft snores. She smiled, studying his mouth. He had full, pouty lips when they were relaxed, ones she longed to suck on and play with. Her hand slid up his abdomen, over his bellybutton, and then higher to his rib cage. She hesitated there before she inched her hand higher, placing it over his heart.

He had one—she could feel it beating strongly and steadily under her fingertips, and wondered if it were possible that he could love someone. If a man could ever fall in 35 love with her, she wished it could be Ice, with his amazing sexual skills. She held back a snort at the irony of her situation. She had finally found a guy she wanted to get tightly involved with, stick with for a long time, and to be with him she had to pretend to be a sex bot.

She pushed back the covers to bare his chest to her view, a sight she realized she would never get tired of seeing. He had a sensual body that she longed to explore every inch of. Seeing it was great but touching was better. Her attention fixed on his nipple nearest her face, wondering if would awake him if she played with it. She really wanted to know if he was sensitive.

Knowing she didn’t dare in case he woke up, she shifted slightly and reached up to touch his hair, spread over on his arm. She was careful to avoid brushing his skin. She lifted up a soft, thick lock, and smiled when it curled slightly around her finger before she released it.

“Ice?” She tried again, her voice rising slightly in volume.

He didn’t budge, his snores didn’t change, nor did his breathing. Megan felt secure now so she moved again, lifting up slightly, and curled her arm between them, resting her head on his bent, muscular arm instead to use him as a pillow. She placed her other hand on top of his heart again and then shifted her leg, lifting it over his warm thigh, going skin to skin with him under the blankets. Her leg slid between his muscular thighs as she wiggled closer to press tighter against him.

“You’re so damn warm and big,” she said softly, inches from his ear. “You don’t know how nice this is for me. I’ve been so lonely.”

She thought she saw a muscle twitch near his mouth but when she lifted her head to study his handsome features, it appeared as though he hadn’t moved at all. She put her head back down, relaxing, curling tighter against her cyborg.

“I want to tell you the truth, I really do, and I feel so bad about the lies. If I had a choice I’d just come clean but I’m too afraid,” she admitted softly. “I just couldn’t resist taking the opportunity to be with you when it came along. I’ve watched you for long and wanted to be this close to you too much.”

She sighed and took a breath. “Computer, lights off.”

The room returned to total darkness and Megan closed her eyes, enjoying how warm and wonderful it was to be cuddled up with her cyborg. She’d never dare curl her body around his if he were aware of her actions. Bots, even with the highest programming, wouldn’t ever crave the close contact with him that she did.

She moved her hand on his chest again, rubbing his rib cage, just touching him. She wasn’t sure when she’d get the chance again, if ever. “I just wish things were different and we weren’t enemies. That’s what we are, isn’t it?”

Of course he didn’t answer her, unless she took his snoring for an affirmative reply.

She rubbed her cheek on his arm, still surprised that his skin could be so baby soft when his muscles were so hard. She stilled and exhaustion caught up with her.

She mentally set an internal alarm, a trick she’d had to use often to not oversleep since Clara had a tendency to refuse to give wake-up calls, and she was pretty sure the damn computer would dock her pay or report her to the company if she was late on her shifts. She silently promised herself that in a few hours she’d wake and roll away from Ice before he caught her snuggled up to him.

* * * * * “She is asleep,” Onyx said softly. “Her breathing pattern changed.”

“I’m aware.” Ice frowned into the darkness. “She didn’t attack me.”

“Perhaps she examined your body, hunting for weak spots to attack later.”

Amusement laced Onyx’s voice. “She did seem interested in examining your body. You may have been incorrect when assessing that sex with you is considered torturous. She appeared to enjoy running her hands over you.”

“Shut up. I’m disconnecting now.” Ice took control of the link, turning off the feed to the camera, and blocked Onyx from hacking into his living quarters or his com link again.

He turned his head slightly, his jaw brushing Megan’s forehead and he froze there, enjoying the womanly scent of her. She confused him. She’d been given the perfect opportunity to harm him if that was her intention but instead she’d used her advantage to caress him and whisper puzzling words to him. It had alarmed him when she’d admitted to having watched him for a long time.

What did that mean? He didn’t know and it bothered him. It implied she had to be a spy but for whom? Earth Government? Did she work for a bounty hunter hoping to score a huge reward for finding large numbers of cyborgs? Her soft, womanly body tempted him to touch her as she snuggled against his side and her breath fanned his arm, making him aware of her even more.

Her breast pressed to his rib cage taunted him and his hand itched to cup that soft mound that rested there. He admitted that what he really wanted to do was roll over, pin her under him, and f**k her again. He couldn’t get enough of the little human and no other female had ever affected him that strongly.

He had avoided growing attached to any female. He’d seen his friends join family units, the females controlling every aspect of their lives. The women scheduled when her males got to see her, right down to when she would have sex with them, and controlled their careers to help keep her males from being near her at the same time. As a male in a family unit contract he wouldn’t be permitted to touch other females. Even bots would be off limits to him, the females stating that it wasted precious sperm and lowered their count for breeding purposes.

Ice enjoyed his freedom. He needed to be in control of his career, deciding when he would have sex, and scheduling visits to Folion whenever possible between missions they were assigned. Attachments to females were mistakes other males made, in his estimation, and now he felt things for a human. She’d said they were enemies and that statement was correct. He couldn’t trust her, didn’t even know her real reason for being with him or why she had come aboard the Rally, yet he refused to do the logical thing.

That would have been to return her to the cargo hold, place her under arrest, and allow Gene to interrogate her until she gave up every secret she kept.

Megan moved and he focused solely on her as her hand slid lower to his hipbone, her small fingers curving around it, and her thigh slid upward to rest against his balls.

The soft glide of her skin against his sensitive sac had his c**k twitching to life, blood rushing there, and the urge to roll her grew stronger.

Disbelief welled inside him. So did frustration when he ordered his body to ignore his physical reactions to Megan, attempting to shut down the part of his brain that controlled his sexual desire, and it refused to be denied. His c**k hardened instead of softening and lifted higher, pressing against the bedding, throbbing. He tried again, mentally ordering his body to shut down in that regard but his sex taunted him by continuing to ache for Megan’s body. It made it worse when her hand shifted a little lower, lightly pressing against the shaft.

He locked his teeth together and lay there for a long time, too aware of her breathing, the way every breath pressed her breast against his chest and then eased. She tortured him with her pinky pressed to the side of his cock, only she wasn’t even aware of what she did to him. He wondered what type of flaw plagued him to make him act the way he had recently. Perhaps Onyx was correct in stating that he had become irrational. His control had slipped and so had his common sense. He had a weakness suddenly and her name was Megan.

Ice discovered that when his sexual need eased, he found enjoyment in having a woman sleeping in his bed. He’d never had one share a sleeping cycle with him before.

Sexual encounters with cyborg females were arranged, timed, and once the intercourse completed, they separated. That had always been the case since Ice had never joined a family unit. A yawn threatened that he stifled and he allowed his brain to totally shut down so he could sleep.

* * * * * Megan woke up to darkness, confused for a moment, and then smiled as she remembered where that wonderful source of warmth came from. She slowly lifted her leg, cradled snug between Ice’s thighs, realizing that he’d stopped snoring, and regretted it when she turned over to face away from him. She hesitated and then wiggled so her ass and backside were still pressed firmly against his warm body.

Ice suddenly rolled, faced her back, and his arm wrapped around her waist. She was stunned as he spooned her and became outright astonished when she realized Ice’s hard c**k pressed against her. A grin curved her lips at the proof that cyborgs men got hard-ons when they slept, just the way human ones did.

A large, hot hand moved and gripped her breast. Megan’s eyes flew open as Ice shifted his big body, grinding his c**k against her ass. Desire flared inside her, even 38 though she was still half asleep, and she lifted her thigh to make room for him. His c**k ended up pressed against her pu**y. She wiggled her ass again and the body behind hers suddenly tensed as the hand holding her breast squeezed.

“Lights on,” Ice rumbled, his voice gruff.

Harsh, strong lighting blinded Megan as the room brightened to full capacity.

Before she could get her bearings, Ice released her, and rolled away. She thought she heard him utter a soft curse. She blinked rapidly, trying to adjust her vision to the bright lighting as she turned her head. She watched the na**d backside of one sexy cyborg walk quickly across the room to the foam cleansing unit. It stunned her when he stepped inside without even glancing at her and hit the button. The wall rose, enclosing him.

She sat up and yawned, having no idea how long she’d slept but knowing it had been a few hours at least. Her body was rested and obviously not exhausted still since she’d physically responded to a turned-on cyborg. She could hear the unit working as Ice foamed up to start his day.

Do I get up and get dressed? Stay in bed the way a good bot would since he didn’t tell me to move? Damn, she thought, staying put, deciding a bot wouldn’t assume anything, just wait for orders.

Minutes later the cleansing unit door lowered and a very na**d and still aroused Ice stepped out. His blue gaze locked on Megan and her heart pounded in her chest when she recognized that look he gave her. He slowly approached her.

“Get up,” he ordered.

Megan forced her body to move and she stood next to the bed totally naked, staring up at Ice as he stopped just feet from her. Ice let his attention lower from her face down to her br**sts. His tongue slid out between his full, sexy lips, and he wet his lower lip.

“Turn around, face the bed, bend over, and grip the edge of the frame now to brace for me while I f**k you.”

Her heart raced, knowing for sure what he would do to her. She was ready—she could feel the wetness between her thighs still, proof that her touching him and sleeping next to him had affected her the way it had him. His proof of passion pointed straight up and out, impressively standing at attention just for her. Megan slowly followed his orders, presenting him with her ass as she bent. Her fingers curled around the edge of the bed just as he’d demanded, her palms on the mattress to hold her weight up.

“Spread your thighs wider apart.”

She widened her stance by two feet and she could see between her own legs as Ice took a step closer, then surprised her when she saw him lower his body to crouch behind her, his weight resting on his bent legs. His hands gripped her inner thighs high and he gave her a little nudge so she spread her thighs wider by another foot.