Page 46 of Kiss of Steel

“I’d never met him until we woke up on the spaceship headed to Hell’s Gate. He saved my life. He could have left the ship without me, but he didn’t. He got us accepted on Refuge.”

She cocked her head. “You haven’t been friends for very long, then. Are you sure you can trust him?”

“Yes,” he said without equivocation. Besides the fact that Fury could have left him behind, his gut told him he was trustworthy. Experience had taught him to trust his intuition.

“Then I trust him because I trust you,” she said. “Now I understand why you left so fast when I mentioned Solutions the other night.”

“I needed to process your revelation. Finding out you worked for them came as a shock—but after I cooled down, I knew you wouldn’t have been a party to their crimes. It’s not in you. You’re a good person.” He wished he could say the same about himself.

She cupped his cheeks and looked into his eyes. “You drew the line when it needed to be drawn. You developed a conscience despite Solutions trying to prevent it. You’re a good person—I’m going to keep repeating it until you believe it.”

As long as she kept loving him, that would be enough. He brushed his lips against hers in gratitude. He didn’t deserve her but vowed to spend the rest of his life trying to become the man she deserved. She stroked his nape and moved her mouth against his, teasing his lips with the tip of her tongue, her sweet breath caressing his face. He pulled her closer, and the kiss deepened, becoming intimate and searching.

After another lingering kiss, they separated, and she smoothed her palms over the planes of his chest in a gentle examination of his injuries, but his cock thickened with desire at her touch. “I can’t believe what a close call you had…” She shook her head and gripped his waist, staring up at him. She bit her lip with concern—for him. She was so damn beautiful.

“It’s over. I’m fine.”Touch me. Touch my cock.

“How can you brush it aside like it’s nothing?”

Because that’s how he’d always dealt with unpleasantness. This wasn’t his first brush with death. He’d been living on borrowed time from the moment he’d emerged from the gestation tank. Cyborgs were hardier, tougher, more resilient than any human—but had a much higher “turnover” rate due to the dangers they encountered on a daily basis. Despite the protective mods, the average lifespan of a cyborg was about twenty years. Given he’d no longer be rushing into harm’s way, he could expect to live out a normal human lifespan.

“Let’s just say I’m confident I can get an extension on my lease now that I’m on Refuge.”Touch me.

“What does that mean?”

“It means the incident with the horniger was a freak occurrence unlikely to repeat itself.” He shifted her so that her bottom pressed on his erection. He waggled his eyebrows, leering at her.

“Jason! You’ve been hurt!” She wiggled off him, but not before desire flashed in her eyes. He stifled a triumphant grin.

“The doctor told me to stay in bed,” he reminded her.

“That’s not what he meant, and you know it.” She leaped off the sofa.

“Maybe he did.” He stood up and grabbed her hand, pulling her close so that her lower body pressed against his hard-on.

“Jason…” She tried to sound stern, but he could see her weakening.

“Honoria…” he parodied in a soft voice. “Don’t turn me away. I need to be close to you.” Needed to hold her, be inside her.

“You were gored! What if you rip open—”

“That won’t happen.” She couldn’t tell what was happening inside his body, but his biofeedback signaled internal healing was close to completion. “Promise. We’ll take it slow and gentle.” He brushed a tender kiss to her lips then nuzzled her throat.

“All right,” she capitulated with a moan. “But you let me do the work. Don’t exert yourself.”

“Deal.” He picked her up.

“This is exactly what you’re not supposed to do!” She glowered as he strode to the bedroom.

“Well, we’re already here.” He nudged the door open with his foot, noting that maintenance had fixed the hole he’d kicked in the panel. He lowered her to her feet beside the bed.

“Sit,” she ordered and pressed on his shoulders.

He perched on the mattress, and she tugged off his boots. She motioned for him to stand, undid his pants, and shoved them down his legs. His erection sprang out and waved at her. He stepped out of the puddle of clothing and sat on the bed again, enjoying his own private striptease as she undressed.

Finally, she was gloriously naked. “Lie down,” she ordered.

“You’re so cute when you’re bossy.” She was cute all the time.

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