Iris tried to be tough, and she hated the tears that filled her eyes at the memory of the four men hitting her. As soon as she started to cry bitter, angry tears, Jolt jumped up and scooped her up into his arms and sat back in the chair with her on his lap. He wrapped the sheet snuggly around her and held her close with her face pressed into his shoulder as she sobbed.
Better for her to let it out than to keep it bottled up inside, thought Jolt. He just held her and stroked her short hair, wishing he could kill them all again. Eventually, her sobs faded and she shifted in his arms.
Jolt couldn’t resist pressing his lips to the top of her head. She hiccupped a few times as she nestled her head against his chest. He held her firmly and rubbed her back tenderly, wishing he could wipe away all her pain.
She quieted and seemed content to be in his arms. Jolt rested his cheek against her hair and just listened to her breathe. Several minutes later one of the newbies named Axel Rex brought in a plastic crate of clothing for Iris. He had alerted Jolt through their internal network that the delivery had arrived.
The only place to get clothing close to her size was from their battleshipStarfire Nemesisin orbit over Earth. They still had a limited amount of clothing in women’s uniform sizes from when they had females serving on the ship. Their uniforms had been simple in the end, black cargo pants with khaki green or tan t-shirts and black jackets.
Matix Tell hadn’t questioned his request to shuttle down some clothing for Jolt’s female. Matix was well aware that there was nowhere to get any. The Enclave was consistently running short though they had ordered machinery that would make clothing. It hadn’t yet arrived.
Axel came in and left the plastic crate on the bed and left without a word. Jolt felt sure that Iris hadn’t noticed.
She had been quiet for some time, so Jolt leaned back to look at her face. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy from crying, but her tears had dried. She looked a little embarrassed, shaking her head.
“I’m not usually such a crybaby. It just makes me so mad that those guys beat on me like that. Bastards!”
“Yes, they were,” Jolt agreed as he brushed the back of his fingers down her cheek gently. “They’re never going to hurt anyone again.”
Iris breathed in deeply and let out a sigh as she rubbed her cheek against his fingers. The gentleness of his touch was soothing and surprising. She looked up into his eyes, her lips parted. They stared into each other’s eyes for endless seconds.
Jolt hardly dared to move. He didn’t want to frighten her with the intensity of his feelings for her. He had waited all his life to find his mate and dreamed in some of his darkest moments of having her in his arms like this. So, he paused to let her make the first move.
Her eyes moved to his mouth, and she moved closer, it seemed a millimeter at a time until her lips pressed to his and moved in a tentative caress. Jolt kissed her back softly, savoring the feel of her lips against his.
It was his first real kiss ever---withhisfemale. He kept it gentle, suppressing his passion for her.
Her body may have been healed, but her battered soul would take a little longer. She needed time to trust him and learn that she was safe with him. He would let her tell him when she wanted more.
“That was nice,” Iris said when the kiss was finished. “You have been really nice. I didn’t expect that from a cyborg.”
“We treasure our females. They are the future of our race. These males preying on women are risking the future of their offspring. Too many of them have never learned what family means to our race,” Jolt said. “Damaging females is evil. They should be protecting them.”
“Most of the males who have families leave the city to get away from the gangs. I wanted to leave, but I didn’t think I could survive on my own,” Iris said. “I forage and hunt and set snares, but I don’t know about growing food.”
“Those things can be learned, and we have the knowledge,” Jolt said. “At the Enclave near old Chicago, they have people who can help with teaching. I’ve put in a request to get some help here and to see if they can take people from Farringay into their community.”
“I would like to learn,” Iris said.
Jolt smiled. “I’ll get you a tablet and show you how to use it.”
“A tablet?”
“Tech connected to our ship’s AI unit.”
“Why don’t you get dressed and I will go find one for you.” Jolt stood up and set her on the med cot beside the box with her clothes. “I’ll take you to the mess to get something to eat, too.”
Iris stared after him after he left the room. Jolt had called her his female, she pondered. Did he think he owned her? No, he’d said mate. The way he looked at her then the gentleness of his kiss did things to her body she never felt before.
Iris looked at the clothes in the crate, black cargo pants, three pair, three khaki tan t-shirts, a pair of adjustable boots and one black jacket with numerous pockets. The clothes were nothing fancy, but they were clean and appeared to be new. She was thrilled to have them. She took out a shirt and pants and pulled them on.
She didn’t even wonder about the lack of underwear as she hadn’t had any that she could ever remember. Iris found they were a little loose, but the pants were long enough without dragging on the ground, and the shirt was comfortable.
The boots were another story. They were designed to automatically adjust to the wearer’s correct size. They fit fine, but she didn’t like the way her feet felt all closed in. She took them off and put them back in the crate. The floors were smooth and free of debris; she would save the boots to wear outdoors.
Chapter Three
Jolt put Axel in charge of that day’s operations in Farringay. His teams knew their assignments, and Jolt didn’t want to leave Iris. He knew he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the job while he yearned to be with her.
