Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“It’s beautiful.” Mal stared at the twisted, corroded artifact. “Not in a flowers or rainbows kind of way. It’s interesting, unique, special.”
It was also a symbol of so much more. For a planet, it was a symbol of everything they valued. For Forge, it was something to acquire and inflict harm with.
“Yes, it is.” Xander’s voice was subdued and maybe a little awed. “I’ve learned a lot about true beauty on this journey.”
She turned and saw he was looking at her. Sweet scrap, he made her knees go weak. “Go get it, tough guy.”
She watched him lift the mechanism with exquisite care.
There was a flicker of light on the other side of the altar. Mal tensed and watched as a hologram of Forge appeared.
“You beat my maze.” His voice was colored with shock.
“You’re damn right we did, you crazy fuck,” Mal spat.
“You beat it. All of it.”
He looked like someone had whacked him over the head with a sonic hammer.
“You will honor your agreement,” Xander said darkly. “We beat the maze. The Antikythera is ours.”
Another flash of light and they were caught in a teletransportation beam.
As they reappeared in the teletransportation room. Mal took a second to find her balance. Xander was beside her and surprisingly, so was Krypto.
Forge was the only one in the room, no obedient servants at the console. He stared at them before his gaze moved to the mechanism. “It’s so perfect. I can’t let it go.” He drew a small energy pistol from his pocket.
Time slowed for Mal. She saw Forge aim the pistol at Xander. He was the Technomancer, he’d know all the points where a Centaxian cyborg was vulnerable.
Then, many things happened all at once.
Mal shoved forward. The pistol fired. Xander shouted. The teletrans beam flashed. A big body knocked Mal sideways.
She slammed into the floor, her temple hitting the ground. Dark splotches crowded her vision. She had to be hallucinating because she was certain she could hear Dathan swearing.
“Malin!” Xander used his remaining arm to help her sit up. His fingers probed her head. “How many fingers?”
She looked at his long lean fingers. “Eleven.”
“Very funny.” He shoved his face in close to hers. “What were you thinking leaping in front of me like that?”
She gingerly touched the tender spot on her scalp. “That I really didn’t want you to die.”
The fight drained out of him, his face softened. “Same for me, Malin. That’s why I—” his voice broke and he cleared his throat “—I do not like watching you leap in front of weapons.”
She patted her chest and stomach. “I don’t seem to have an energy burn.”
“Because your new dog is even more crazy than you are.”
She looked over her shoulder and saw Krypto sitting beside her, a laser burn etched on his armored paneling. “Good robot dog.”
“You two okay?”
Mal blinked and stared up at Niklas. Behind him, Dathan stood, one hand propped against the wall and a pistol trained on Forge, who was kneeling on the ground. “I thought I imagined hearing Dathan’s creative cursing.”
A small smile crossed Nik’s mouth. “Apparently teletransportation doesn’t agree with him.”
“I still feel like I’m going to toss up my dinner,” Dathan grumbled.
Forge moved, his gaze skittering around the room.
Dathan narrowed his eyes at the Technomancer. “Don’t move. And remember, you crazy asshole, you’re in the line of fire if my dinner does reappear.”
Niklas crouched in front of Mal and Xander. “You guys look terrible.” His gaze skimmed Mal’s torn dress and bleeding calf and feet, then Xander’s missing arm.
Mal leaned her head against Xander’s chest. Now that they were safe, exhaustion slammed into her. “You try and beat a crazy man’s technomaze filled with robots out to kill you and see how you come out of it.”
“Point taken.”
She tipped her head back to her cyborg. “Hey, where’s the Antikythera?”
A strange look passed over Xander’s face.
“What?” she said.
“I…dropped it.”
Dropped it? Mal looked around and spotted the priceless artifact on its side under the computer console.
Xander blinked slowly. “When Forge fired and you leaped, I didn’t even think about it.”
Her chest was caught in a vice. In such a short time, he’d melted everything inside her. How could she ever have thought what she’d felt before him had been anything close to love?
How would she survive when he walked away from her?
“I’ve got it.” Nik scooped it up. “Thank the stars for its protective casing.” He lifted it to eye level. “Extraordinary.”
Mal felt another wave of exhaustion flow over her. “Can we please go now?”
“Yes.” Xander helped her to her feet.
“What do you want to do about him?” Dathan motioned with the gun at Forge.
The man’s head stayed down, staring at the floor.
“Nothing,” Mal said. “I very much doubt after this fiasco anyone will accept any more invitations from the Technomancer.” And she’d pass the word around to make sure.
“I say we leave him here. All alone.” She stepped closer, until he looked up at her.
“You destroyed the one person I think truly cared about you. You want to be alone with only your metal creations as company, so be it.” She turned away, and grabbed Xander’s hand.
“Let’s go. I’ve had enough of this rogue planet.
” Then she motioned for Krypto to follow her and looked back over her shoulder. “Oh, and I’m taking the dog.”
Xander sat in the medical alcove on the Infinitas, enjoying watching Malin fuss over him as she worked on reattaching a temporary mechanical arm she’d found aboard.
She muttered to herself, grunted occasionally, apologized when she thought she’d hurt him.
When she caught her tongue between her teeth as she concentrated, his cock had turned hard as space rock.
He could watch her forever.
He wanted her forever.
He had fallen in love.
Xander knew once they came off the Via Maris Bridge, he would be inundated with tasks and responsibilities. He had allies to contact, a planet to free, people to save, and his team and brother to rescue.
But when it was all over, he knew he wanted to be with Malin.
He didn’t know how. He knew plenty of people at Centax Security would fight him every step of the way, but he’d make it happen.
“Wiggle your fingers.”
He obeyed, and when she continued frowning, he lifted those fingers and brushed the crease between her eyes.
She smiled at him. She probably thought he couldn’t see the sadness buried in the depths of her eyes.
“Malin, when this is over—”
She shot to her feet. “All done. Let me just tuck this wiring away.” She fiddled with the opening at the top of his bicep, then closed it.
“There we go. Like new.” She waggled her eyebrows.
“Goddess of all things mechanical, remember? It isn’t as fancy as your old arm, but it’ll do until you can get the CenSec experts to look at it when you get home. ”
When he got home. “Malin—”
“Shut up, Xander. I don’t want to feel sad.” She slid onto his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him.
The taste of her exploded in his mouth. He kissed her hard until her head bent back. Her short nails dug into his skin, and she squirmed against him, making low, sexy noises in her throat.
He pulled back. “Why don’t you want to hear me tell you that I love you?”
“I do. More than anything.” She pressed her forehead to his. “But after this is all over, okay?”
Maybe she was right. But for now, he could show her that love. He slid his hands under her bottom and stood. He strode down the corridor and entered her cabin.
After dumping her on the bed, it took him mere seconds to strip off her clothes.
“Hurry up, tough guy.” She writhed on the covers, heavy eyes watching him.
He put one knee on the bed, yanked her legs apart and put his hungry mouth at the juncture of her thighs.
She bucked off the bed with a wild cry, but he held her down and worked her hard as he ate her. He loved the taste of her. He drove his tongue inside her, pulled back to lick at her tight clit, and kept lapping until she came.
While she lay there panting, he yanked off his clothes.
When he moved back to the bed, she came up on her knees, pretty breasts bobbing and distracting him. As he palmed one, she smiled.
“Get on the bed. On your back.”
He arched a brow at her bossy tone, but happily obeyed. He stretched out, loving the way she ate up his body with her gaze. All of it, his muscles, his implants, the man and the machine.
When she straddled his stomach, her hot, damp pussy brushed over him and made his muscles bunch.
“Malin.” Her name was little more than a growl.
“My turn to take what I want.” Without another word, she gripped his cock, lifted her hips. In one sharp move, she thrust her hips down and took him inside.
Xander groaned. She was hot, wet, and so tight.
She started moving. Hard and fast and a little rough.
He watched her face, every tiny expression that flitted across her features. He tried to move his hands to touch her, but she shook her head and pushed his hands down. She moved faster, flesh slapping against flesh. Her moves were edged with a desperation that drove his own desire higher.
He let her have her way. But he couldn’t stop from thrusting his hips off the bed, driving himself deeper inside her.
Her head dropped back, exposing her slim throat.
She was so beautiful and she was his.
He felt her orgasm coming in the way her hips moved faster, less controlled. Then her body clamped down on his and she cried out.
In a flash, Xander flipped her onto her back. He angled her hips and hammered into her. He needed more, needed to get deeper inside her.
Seconds later, his own release roared through him, and he collapsed on top of her.
When he could move again, he rolled to the side and pulled her on top of him. She snuggled in, her weight barely noticeable, her hair tickling his cheek.
He knew he was holding her a little too tight, but he didn’t care. He had duties that would demand all of his attention and take him away from her. He slid a hand into her hair and tangled it there. Just like he wanted to tangle her life with his.
Then Malin moved, sliding down his body, her mouth trailing over his skin. His pulse leaped.
She looked up at him, eyes slumberous and her lips curved in a wicked smile. “Again.”
He watched her slide lower and his cock swelled. “Again.”
For now, she was here with him. He’d worry about everything else later.