Steele took my hand and brought it to his lips. “Sweetheart, don’t cry.”
“No, it’s fine. I can still hardly believe that you are really my cyborg.”
Steele smiled sympathetically. “That’s who I am, exactly. I am your cyborg from now on.”
I gripped his hand and laughed happily through my tears, realizing I wanted to be his, too.
“Finding his genetic mate is the most precious thing in a cyborg’s life. It was the one promise made to all cyborgs sent to war. If they survived and returned to Earth, they would be given a genetic mate to love and create a family with. They did not learn until near the end of the war that no mates had been located for any of them. Those of us awakened after the war immediately learned that we would be expected to find our own genetic mates.”
“But they are making a database. I got my DNA scan almost a year ago—but you never came.”
Steele looked down at the table regretfully. “I never fought in the war. It didn’t seem fair that I should get my genetic mate ahead of those who did. I felt unworthy in the face of those warriors who fought for up to a whole century,” he sighed ruefully. “I am so sorry. I should have been thinking of you. I should have come sooner. My emotions flawed my logic. When the opportunity to go west was offered, I took that as my signal to come to find you. I’d planned to seek you after we finished our mission at the alien base.
“Then I found you there.”
“They’ve been compiling a database for several years now, but there are still thousands of cyborgs who have never found their mates. So, I know just how fortunate I am that I found you.”
“What happens if a cyborg finds his genetic mate, and she does not want to be his mate?”
“That happens sometimes. However, we cyborgs don’t give up that easily. One would never force a female to become his mate, but he would try to win her over and give her time to get to know him.”
“And that’s what we’re doing now, right?” I gave him a shy smile. Although I wished he’d come sooner, he came when I needed him the most.
Steele smiled back. “You should know that cyborgs dote on their mates and shamelessly adore them.”
We chatted casually throughout dinner, pausing occasionally to gaze out over the beauty of Lake Michigan under a clear blue sky. When we finished eating, Steele paid for the meal with his CPU, and we took an auto tram back to our hotel.
It was too early for sleep, but we had nothing to do but wait until morning to catch the transport back to Montana.
“I calculate you have never watched a Holovid show before. We could sit on the bed and watch a holo-play on it.”
He crossed the room and propped up the pillows against the headboard of the king-size bed. Steele sat on the bed, kicked off his boots, and sat with his back against one of the pillows. He patted it beside him, so I followed suit and sat next to him. I barely knew what a holoviewer was. Steele turned it on and found what was called a romantic comedy.
I gasped in delight as the miniature people seemed to come to life in the box mounted on the wall before us. I was fascinated by the visual portrayal of life on Earth before the disastrous bombing that nearly destroyed it. The story was funny, poignant, and sweet in its portraying the trials of two people falling in love and overcoming misunderstandings.
I enjoyed sitting on the bed, cuddled against Steele with his arm around my shoulders. It felt right. I was glad Steele was willing to take things slowly. I wanted to be with him, but I wasn’t ready to breed with him even though I craved it very much.
After the first play, Steele got drinks and a snack of wheat crackers from the food dispenser for us while we watched a second play. I never saw the end of the second program because I fell asleep with my head against Steele’s shoulder and his arm wrapped around me.
Chapter Five
Steele
“No! No! Please, no, “Zaya cried in her sleep.
I immediately woke as Zaya struggled in my arms.
“Zaya, wake up. You’re alright. It’s me, Steele. You are safe now. Zaya, wake up.”
Her hazel eyes flew open, and she glared at me, blinking several times. “Steele, it is you. Oh my God. It was a dream.”
I rocked her in my arms. “Yes, sweetheart. It was a dream.”
Zaya reached up and caressed my face as if to reassure herself that I was indeed real. “You saved me,” and then she kissed me, turning to press against me.
I kissed her back, only meaning to comfort her, but the feel of her body against me and her sweet scent made me rock hard. I couldn’t help that any more than I could refrain from kissing her seeking lips. Zaya didn’t seem to want to hold back as she rubbed her crotch against my erection.
I let myself enjoy the feel of her for a couple of minutes before I forced myself to pull away from her. Although she seemed willing to continue, this was not how I wanted to breed with her for the first time. I did not want to take her on the heels of a nightmare about her captivity with the Mesaarkan rapist.
