Why did she care so much about him leaving?
“Vee, you’re overreacting—”
She swallowed hard looking away.
“—but you don’t know how terrible people can be,” Cypher continued. “Think about what’s happened in the last few weeks to achieve your dreams, even if most of what’s happened wasn’t your fault… Now imagine if you were someone else who knew full well what the repercussions are, and with a steadfast ambition, would do to achieve their dreams?”
“Don’t go,” she pleaded anyway, despite what he was telling her.
His face softened. “And when we do have to leave?”
“Then we’ll play it safe, take extra precautions, and make it to the championship in one piece. If you do go out there and something does happen, it could be all over the network within minutes. It’s not worth it, not this. You’ve been after restoring your anonymity this whole time…”
“You’re worth it.”
Her lips snapped closed.
“I won’t leave,” he grumbled.
Her mouth parted in relief. “Thank you.”
“But you have to distract me.”
“I—”
He reached up and rubbed a strand of her hair between his fingers. “Are you up for it?” His voice lowered, heated. “Rutting, if you’re confused at all. Letting me have at your body the way my bear needs it? The way a man needs it?”
“I thought since I pushed you away…” She found it hard to continue.
In a niggling, remote part of her mind, she still couldn’t believe Cypher wanted her. Maybe it wasn’t Cypher that wanted her; maybe it was the mindless bear inside him. She shook her head before the thoughts could take root and worry her further.
“That I would leave you alone?” he growled. “The only thing I’m leaving alone is your raw pussy. There’s no amount of healing ointment that’ll heal you up after taking me as you have. You can push me away all you want—my cock will find its way back between your legs. Until our time has come to an end, that won’t change, I assure you. Not unless you walk away. And a warning, Vee, if you do that, it’ll be very, very hard for me to not try and stop you.”
Her mouth fell open. One minute she was begging him to not leave and possibly commit murder, now his ferocity was aimed back at her. It was like whiplash after days of returning to a degree of normalcy. He removed it all from her in a hot minute.
“Like that Cyborg Zeph and the woman he abducted?” she whispered.
Cypher’s body tensed. His big hands grasped her shoulders. “Exactly like that.”
Blood raced through her veins. She believed him. He stared hard, pinning her with his strange eyes, and Vee gulped.
Did the protesters and anti-cyborg groups actually have a legitimate reason to be afraid?
Everything in her screamed at her to run. To leave now before things went any further between them. If she had learned one thing about Cypher in their time together, it was that he didn’t lie.
He has all the power in the universe to take everything away from me.
Her heart thrummed, her body heating.
“Well, Vee, do you want to find out what lengths I’ll go to to convince you to let me take you to bed?”
“No,” she whispered.
A hungry expression crossed his face. “Good.”
He flipped her around and pushed her to the wall, falling to his knees behind her. Vee caught herself and pressed her palms to the cool metal as Cypher reached around and unbuttoned her jeans, tugging them down her thighs in one swift movement. Her panties followed soon after.
His fingers pulled apart her cheeks, exposing her entirely from behind, and Vee jumped when his face fell upon her.
