Page 5 of The Cyborg Way
“Is something wrong with your home?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” she said quickly, trying to sound confident, but her efforts were unsuccessful.
Levi gave her a thoughtful look, then headed for the airlock.
“Good, then perhaps this is a good time to take you up on your offer of a cup of tea.”
“No!” she cried, hurrying after him and grabbing his arm.
Oh my. It was the first time she’d ever touched him, and despite her worries she couldn’t help noticing the warm, firm muscles beneath her hand. He made an odd sound, almost a growl, and she looked up to find him staring down at her hand.
“You object to me entering your home?” he asked stiffly.
“I…”
Why did she suddenly have the impression that if she said yes, she would hurt his feelings? But if she said no, he might find out about Henry. He frowned again as she tried to come up with a reasonable excuse.
“Are you offended by my presence?”
“Of course not.”
“Good. Then we will have tea.”
Without waiting for a response, he strode off towards the airlock, and she hurried after him, praying that Henry had crawled back under the covers.
CHAPTER THREE
Levi made his way through the outer door of the airlock to Ellie’s home, then waited for her to join him. He half-expected her to resume her protests, but she stood silently as he closed the outer door and they waited for the air to cycle. Even though she had invited him to enter many times before, he was uncomfortable with his assertiveness. However, his instincts were telling him that something was wrong, and a soldier learned never to ignore his instincts.
This was the first time they had ever been quite so close, and he was overwhelmingly conscious of her—of her diminutive size and sweet scent. Her body was so sweetly curved that it was easy to forget how small she was, but she would fit easily beneath his arm. As oxygen flowed into the room, more of her scent filled his head—delicious, enticing, arousing. To his shock, his shaft began to stiffen. How long had it been since he’d had an erection? He immediately ordered his body to calm, but for once his nanites failed him. He remained achingly erect as the inner door opened into her habitat.
Her scent was even stronger here and did nothing to help him assume control of his errant body. In a vain attempt to distract himself, he looked around curiously. It wasn’t the first time he’d been inside a homesteader’s habitat, but although they followed the same basic pattern, they were all different. He’d tried to imagine Elle’s home many times, but he hadn’t realized how warm and inviting it would appear. Just a few simple touches made all the difference—colorful lengths of fabric framing the big window panels across the front of the dome, a collection of rocks polished to a soft sheen on the shelf below them, and multiple plants added for decoration as well as to freshen the air.
As he looked around, his gaze snagged on the disheveled bed built into an alcove along one side of the room. The bed he barely used at Ranger headquarters was always made with military position, but there was something undeniably appealing about the tangled mess of bedding. He could picture her small body nestled amongst the covers, her cheeks flushed and her eyes heavy with sleep—or passion.Fuck.The image did nothing to help control his erection.
“Well? What do you think?” she asked, her expression still anxious as she pulled off her facemask and shrugged out of the heavy thermal coat.
His mouth went dry. The mask had been one of the smaller ones, only concealing her nose and upper cheeks, but without that small barrier, she looked even prettier than usual. And young. Far too young for him. But that knowledge didn’t stop his eyes tracking down the soft curves straining against her practical coveralls. The neck was open, revealing a small expanse of pale flesh, and he saw the pulse in her neck flutter.
“It is very… appealing,” he managed to say at last.
“Thank you. Umm, did you want some tea?”
Her eyes darted around nervously as she spoke, and he frowned, following her gaze. She gave the bed a worried look, and he automatically took a half-step towards it before she grabbed his arm again.
“What are you doing? I mean, where are you going?”
Her big blue eyes looked almost frantic with worry, and he couldn’t resist touching her cheek in a comforting gesture. At least he meant it to be comforting, but the silky softness of her skin beneath his hand sent another wave of heat surging through his body. Her eyes widened, the worry replaced by something that looked suspiciously like… arousal?
Don’t be foolish, he told himself. He was projecting his own desires onto her. He started to take a step back, not realizing that the bed was almost directly behind him. Her eyes widened again, and she suddenly wrapped her hands around his neck as she pulled his head down towards hers. He was too shocked to resist, and then the impossible softness of her lips touched his and all thought of resistance disappeared.
He groaned against her mouth, and her lips parted beneath his. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he deepened the kiss, delving into the impossible sweetness of her mouth. For a fraction of a second she froze, but then she sighed into his mouth and responded, her tongue dancing shyly with his as she returned the kiss. A year of pent-up longing and need urged him on as he yanked her harder against his body, barely remembering to temper his strength. She didn’t seem to mind, pressing herself even closer, the lush mounds of her breasts a tormenting pleasure against his chest. Her small hands tightened on his shoulders, urging him on. By the time hereluctantly raised his head, she looked dazed and breathless, but she smiled up at him, her lips pink and swollen.
“That was?—”
A flicker of movement from the kitchen area caught his attention, and he whirled in that direction, automatically thrusting her behind him. His head went to the holster of his gun before he remembered he couldn’t fire within the habitat and take the chance of breaching the dome.
“No! No, Levi, you can’t.”
