“Until the transformation is done.”
***
HOURS HAD GONE BY ANDshe was still squirming like a maggot on the pallet. There wasn’t any pain but the need to scratch and tear at her skin had almost been a madness in itself. Cagley offered to put her to sleep, but Elodie refused. She was thankful for the restraints and the numbing effect that still tightly gripped her body, and although a billion different reactions were happening inside of her, she still retained a fairly clear head. Gunner had told her this would be over fast. She would have to talk to him about his idea of what ‘over fast’ meant.
Gunner sat beside her now that the nanocells had attached to her and didn’t have the ability to attach to him. Even if they did, his body would absorb them or kill them off. At least that’s what Cagley told her after the reaction had been going on for some time.
“How are you feeling?”
Elodie unlocked her jaw and winced. “Frustrated.”
“Oh?”
“I really, really want to scratch or maybe dive into a pool of water. Maybe take a three-day shower or stand out in the freezing cold until I’m an icicle with no feeling left. Is there a cold planet nearby?”
Gunner chuckled. “You’re over sensitized. I’ll take care of that later.”
Elodie pursed her lips. “Take care of it now!”
“I don’t think so, Ely. Rose may be the only Cyborg on this ship that’ll vouch for me. If she came back in here to find me fucking you while you’re restrained, she’d drag me out before your orgasm ended.”
Her eyes widened. “Would an orgasm help?”
More laughter. “It probably couldn’t hurt. What kind of question is that?”
“The kind that distracts me.” She sighed and wiggled. Gunner loomed over her and crowded her space, pressing a soft, knowing kiss over her pouted lips. That small touch alone, that small relief, was enough to make her moan. He rose up.
“Another,” she demanded.
“Later.”
Elodie sagged with a grumble.Later.
A ping sounded by the door. “Come in,” Elodie yelled.
Cagley entered the space with a tablet in her hand. Gunner shifted slightly to let her near. She was the only being who Gunner willingly let near her. They hadn’t encountered many people as they repaired his ship, but he still felt the need to shield her. The fact that he trusted Cagley, in some small way, had Elodie trusting her too.
The doctor checked over her vitals quietly, unusually tense from their previous encounter. Her soft features now held an edge to them that hadn’t been there before. A minuscule crease between her brows and an even slighter crease to her lip.
“Am I okay?” Elodie asked after a minute.
“Very much so.”
Relief.
“Are we able to leave now?” Gunner stepped forward.
“Not...quite.” Cagley prepared another needle and injected a fresh dose of that numbing serum into her arm. Elodie sighed and settled back.
“What do you mean not quite?” Gunner asked.
“You’re being requested to join Cypher and several of the others above.”
Elodie looked between Cagley and Gunner.
“Why?” he asked angrily. “He could just meet me here or ping me on the network. Isn’t Cypher usually hibernating?”
Cagley shrugged her shoulders and pulled up a stool to sit down next to her. “I don’t know, but I’ll stay with Elodie until you get back.”
