Page 43 of Rescued By The Alien Prince Pirate

"What?" I returned his grin with a self-conscious chuckle. "Why are you looking at me that way?"

"I'm not looking at you in any particular way," Cyburn said, still eagerly grinning.

"Yes, you are," I teased.

Cyburn shrugged as if he was trying to pull off a stint that would make him appear harmless. He was good at flirting… a littletoogood if you asked me. Sometimes I couldn't tell if he was joking around with me or being serious.

Sometimes I couldn't tell if he wanted to kiss me gently and tenderly strip me naked— or if he wanted to force me up against the wall— rip my clothes off and take me like an animal.

I probably would be fine with either of those options at this point, but Istillworried about how he was recovering. I didn't want another passing out episode to occur.

Besides, I was exhausted. The longer we waited it out in here, the more we couldalltry to get our stamina back to a place where we could prevail over these Belic beastly robots.

The static of Cyburn's communicator began to crackle through his headset that was still attached to his life support helmet.

We both glanced over at the helmet which was sitting on the table next to the cot.

"You can remove the headpiece and put it on the intercom setting," Cyburn mentioned, pointing to the helmet.

"Okay." I picked it up and unhooked the device from the inside of the helmet. It was easier than I expected.

"Now press the intercom button on the side of the attachment," Cyburn instructed.

I did as he asked, and the breezy, robotic voice of Silver began to come through a little clearer.

"Cyburn? It's Silver. Is everything okay on your end? I have a few of your crew members on the line with me. I just wanted to do a quick check in with everybody."

Cyburn tried to sit up straight. He groaned a little in the process and winced. When I stiffened and tried to reach out to help him, he held out a hand and gave me a melancholy smile.

"I've got it, really. I'm just a little stiff and sore from not moving around much in the past few hours."

"Okay…" I trailed off warily.

I wanted to be convinced by what he was telling me, but I was still a little on the fence about it. I reminded myself that he knew his own body better than I did, and to just give him a chance to prove that he was alright.

"I'm here," Cyburn said with a grunt, still trying to adjust himself in the cot to a more comfortable seated position.

"Okay good." The female A.I. sounded relieved to hear it. "I have favorable news to report, as well on my end."

Cyburn sat up straight and narrowed his eyes in concentration. Silver had his full, undivided attention.

"Oh? What is it?"

"Your crew has all been cleared," Silver declared proudly. "Each of them is still alive and aboard the Belic ship."

Cyburn breathed a huge sigh of relief. "That's wonderful news, Silver."

He proceeded to talk to a few of his crew members, including a lieutenant and a hacker guard. His mood brightened when he heard their voices. He became more energized, more spirited. He talked with his arms gesturing with wild animation. He couldn't stop smiling. He seemed pleased with the progress.

"All in all, the robots are still fighting but the cyborg officers have fled with Jun," Silver mentioned.

"We'll still have to deal with that problematic issue," Cyburn agreed with a bit of chagrin. "But at least we don't have to worry about them on this ship at the moment."

"Just be careful, and I am sure you can't wait to reunite with your crew," Silver said.

"You've got that right," Cyburn said eagerly.

I fed into the incredible, noble aura that Cyburn emanated. He was the essence of loyalty and self-sacrifice.

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