Meanwhile, she was doing her best to pretend that being carried was her idea. As they passed other people in the halls—mostly males—she gave them a cool, disinterested look as though she was used to riding around in his arms. K-lx approved of her attitude. It was good that she wasn’t struggling since he would have refused to put her down until he was certain they were someplace safe.
Since she was looking outwards, he felt free to study her face. She had sweet features—a heart-shaped face with a small nose and lush, kissable lips. But it was her eyes that really held him. They were a soft, chocolate brown that seemed to touch something inside K-lx the moment he looked into them. He was still thinking of how she’d cupped his jaw and brushed his hair back to look into his face. Her touch was so gentle and he knew instinctively that he wanted her to touch him again…almost as much as he wanted to touch her.
But his new Mistress wasn’t the only thing on his mind. His eyes shifted from side to side, taking in the space station as they moved through it. When he’d been put into Stasis, the humans hadn’t had this kind of technology. They had barely made it to their own moon. And now, here they were, among the rings of the planet they called “Saturn.” Well, they were still stuck in their own solar system but it was a leap forward, he thought.
He wished he could remember more about the time he had come from. It must be hundreds of years in the past. Which meant that anyone he ever knew would be dead now.
He had a feeling he ought to care about that but he’d had his memories wiped when he entered the Program…and that was pretty much all he remembered. He didn’t know why they had wiped him or how, but it was probably just as well they had. What if he’d had a mate he loved and she was gone now?
This thought seemed to bring an echo of pain with it—which he pushed away. There was no point in trying to drag up the past, especially when there was no way to get back to it. He was here now and he had a new Mistress to protect.
And to pleasure, whispered a little voice in his head. K-lx felt his shaft harden at the thought. Gods, yes! He would be more than happy to pleasure her when she wanted him to. But for now, he would be content to protect her—especially from that skinny little asshole who had threatened her!
Just the thought of that male coming anywhere his new female made a possessive growl rise in his throat. No one would hurt her while he was there to watch over her, he swore to himself. She had rescued him when he was lost in terror and fury—he was in her debt and he was going to keep her safe from now on.
Mine, a dark voice growled in his head. The Link they shared wasn’t quite like a Soul-Bond, but it was close. Close enough for him to feel both possessive and protective of the curvy little Elite scientist in his arms.
She was his now and he would fight or die to protect her.
4
CORINNE
The minute she got back to her rooms, K-lx set her down on her feet, much to Corinne’s relief. She wasn’t sure what she would do if he had refused to put her down. She directed the big K-Unit to sit on her bed—which he did—and began composing a quick communication to the Chairman of the Company. In reality, it would doubtless go through countless channels before it got to him—if it got to him. But she had to detail what had gone on in the lab and give him her professional opinion on why K-lx must be allowed to continue to exist.
She honestly wasn’t too worried about the big Cyborg. She knew how the Company thought—how it functioned. Everything was about profit, profit, and more profit. There was no way they would junk a valuable piece of antique Cybernetic property just because it had run amok and killed a few people. Human lives were nothing compared to credits—at least to the ones who owned the station and all the people inside it.
Corinne herself had another year left to go on her contract. She’d been planning to stay on at the station and sign another contract after it elapsed…but that was before she’d been demoted. Now she wasn’t sure what she’d do.
For all intents and purposes, she was now a Handler. The Neural Link she had with K-lx already felt deeper than any she’d ever experienced and she knew it wouldn’t be possible to break it. Once a Handler linked with a Cyborg, the linking was generally for life unless one of them died.
She’d had another Cyborg, a long time ago, before she was promoted to Director of Cybernetics. But L-5 had died on a rescue mission, through no fault of hers. Corinne still mourned him. He had been a simple soul but gentle and dependable. After his death and decommission, she’d chosen to climb the corporate ladder rather than taking on another Unit. In fact, she’d believed she would never be a Handler again.
Guess I was wrong about that, she thought, cutting her eyes to the side to study K-lx. The huge K-Unit was taking up most of her bed and it occurred to her to wonder where she was going to put him tonight. Most Cyborgs “slept” in their charging stations but she had no station for K-lx—hell, she didn’t even know if he needed one. She’d read once that the old Units had a self-recharging power source located inside their torso—somewhere near the solar plexus. The secret of that had been lost to modern Cybertronics. But if it was true, he might not need to dock and charge at all.
Curious to see what she could find, she did a more comprehensive search. After a few tries at narrowing her search results and adding in his full Unit name and number, she came up with something surprising—it appeared to be a Handler’s manual specifically for dealing with Kindred Cyborgs. It was hundreds of years old but her computer was able to translate it into Standard. Intrigued, she pulled it up and began to read.
Many mistake the new K-Unit Cyborg for the Dark Kindred—which are a branch of the Kindred family tree which have sworn to forego emotions and augment themselves with mechanical “enhancements,” one section read. And though we did work with the same Tolleg surgeons who help to grow and build the Dark Kindred, the K-Units are altogether different.
K-Units are built from Kindred soldiers who were wounded in battle too badly to live without intervention. They still have emotions, even though their memories have—from necessity—been wiped, the manual went on. They have very specific mental, emotional, and physical needs which can only be met by the right Handler. It is recommended that the Handler be an unmarried and unattached female as the K-Unit Cyborg can become extremely possessive and protective of his Handler and will feel extreme jealousy if she is in a romantic relationship with another male.
Corinne frowned. Huh—well, it was a good thing she was single, she supposed. She hadn’t had a romantic relationship in the past three years. Not since her ex, Artie, had moved from the station and taken a post on Iepetus. He’d wanted her to come along, but that would have meant a demotion and Corrine had refused to follow him. Why should his career be more important than hers?
She had never regretted the decision, though she had spent some lonely nights, wishing she had someone to warm her bed. Artie hadn’t been the best lover, but at least he’d been a warm body and that was worth a lot in the chilly station. The Company didn’t like to pay to heat it to a comfortable temperature and it got even colder at night.
Corinne cast another sidelong glance at K-lx and found, to her surprise and unease, that the big K-Unit was studying her. When she met his eyes, he held her gaze as if to say, What?
Well, at least he wasn’t probing at their Link, she thought uneasily.
“Just give me another minute or two and I’ll be with you,” she said aloud, though she had never felt the need to explain herself to a Cyborg before. Mostly they just stood or sat like a living piece of meat until you activated them. She’d never had one stare at her and study her like K-lx was.
“I will wait until you are ready to interact,” he rumbled.
“All right. Er…why are you staring at me?” Corinne asked him.
He shrugged, his broad, bare shoulders rolling with the motion.
“I like looking at you, Mistress. You are beautiful—an Elite.”
