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murdered them for defending themselves against sexual abuse. Earth Government stopped the
production of females and only produced males thereafter. That s why there were so few of them left
alive. We made it a priority to protect them and make certain they escaped with us. He paused.
That s how it became law that female cyborgs enter into a contract with multiple males to form a
family unit.
Eve was horrified, despite having been told that fact before. She hadn t been able to stand men
touching her, knowing she longed to be with Blackie, despite his absence in her life. To be ordered to
marry more than one man would not only damage her heart but tear her soul apart now that they were
bonded.
Integrating your women with our men would have changed the way things are now.
Would they have made it law that canine units had to be with more than one cyborg? It wouldn t
work. Canine units are loyal to the extreme.
They would have taken your needs into account. It also would have put more females into our
society and lessened the need to pair cyborg women with multiple males.
You think cyborgs would have accepted us the way we are?
He tugged her closer until her body pressed against his. Yes. You have no idea how difficult it
has been for our unbalanced society.
Tell me.
It was hard to think when warmth seeped through his uniform into her clothes. She wished they
were naked and back inside their quarters. She might have avoided sex all her life but now she knew
what she d been missing with Blackie. It would be nice to make up for lost time.
We turned off our implants. It allowed emotions to rise inside us, allowed us to experience
them, good and bad. His hands slid higher, to her waist. Jealousy and possessiveness were present
but we had to conceal them for the harmony of all. It wasn t fair to expect such a high percentage of
our male population not to have the ability to join family units. They would have resented the ones
who did.
Do you feel possessive of me?
Yes. He didn t hesitate to answer. You belong to me.
She liked that. So you re saying they feared a lot of men would kill the married ones just to put
some widows back on the market?
His lips twitched at the corners but he resisted the smile. That is a very Earth way to put it but
it s accurate. The council feared the men would fight over women. It is also a requirement that we
produce children. Pairing only a single male with a woman would have restricted our genetic pools
and caused health issues in the future generations.
They want women to hook up and have babies with multiple partners so the DNA is more
diversified when those kids grow up and have some babies of their own?
Correct.
There would have been a lot more women available if we hadn t been left behind. You really
needed us, because even with multiple male partners, many children still have the same genes the
mother s.
Yes.
Do you think it s going to piss some of your guys off that we were left behind?
I m certain they will be angry. He paused. The family unit structures would have had a more
satisfying outcome.
What does that mean?
Our women were given an unfair advantage over the men.
They got to pick and choose who they married instead of men having much of a choice?
He stepped back, releasing her. Yes. The women were empowered by their situation.
They rub it in?
Anger flared in his gaze. They lost their compassion.
That surprised her. They are mean to their husbands?
I have avoided joining a family unit for many reasons. He paused. Let s go to our quarters.
Did you eat enough?
You re changing the subject.
It s not a good one.
I want to know.
He lifted a hand and brushed a tendril of her hair back. Our women are cold, controlling, and
any male who doesn t comply with their demands is considered unworthy of joining a family unit by
all women.
You piss off one, they all hold it against you?
The male is deemed undesirable by all and has no chance of entering into a contract with
another woman. They can be merciless with their demands.
She studied her mate s dour expression. You avoided getting married because you re an alpha
but you would have been forced to be a beta. That sucks. Do they make you clean house and treat their
husbands like slaves or something?
There s much more to it than that, Eve.
So fill me in.
Why are you so curious?
I m going to live with these people on your world. I want to know the score. She grinned,
deciding to lighten his grim mood with teasing. Are you afraid to tell me in case I become really
demanding and high maintenance? I won t.
That s not it. He blew out a breath. They are ice cold and rarely show emotions unless it is
contempt, anger or disapproval. They choose their males according to their rank in our society or for
physical traits they wish to pass on to the next generation. Personality traits are ignored. We re
expected to conceal those while with them. It irritates them otherwise.
Eve was stunned.
Sex is initiated by women only when they decide to conceive a child or if they deem that our
physical needs have been ignored long enough. They activate their sex drives, order us to and it s
usually timed down to the second. Occasionally they allow us to touch them if we ve done something
to earn their respect. It is nothing like what you and I have. He sighed. I ve witnessed men who
joined family units turn bitter but they are locked into the contract without any recourse to negotiate
for more satisfying terms.
Wow. She didn t even know what to say. It sounded horrible to her.
I wish to end our discussion of this subject.
It was kind of depressing so she agreed. Okay.
He held out his hand. Let s return to our room.
How did your meeting go?
Blackie led her out of the cafeteria and down the hallway. Fleet contacted the council again.
They demanded we return to Garden immediately.
Because of Danica and me? Did they know about us?
His tone became chilly. I m not certain what they were told. Fleet didn t share that information.
I know one member who does. Parlis.
How would he know if you didn t?
The door to their quarters opened and Blackie ushered her inside. The moment it sealed, he
gripped her hips once more. He was the one you knew as Freedom.
Her stomach felt as if it dropped to her feet. Parlis?
That is his name. Freedom was his code name for the mission, as yours was Hellfire. It was to
protect his true identity. All cyborgs who had any association with him before he escaped would have
immediately been killed if Earth Government discovered he was behind our rebellion. They wouldn t
have taken a chance that he hadn t infected other cyborgs.
Infected?
That s what Earth Government considered any dissident in our ranks. As if being aware of our
situation and demanding it change was a virus instead of a sign of intelligence.
They were dicks.
He smiled. Your Earth speech is entertaining. I d forgotten that over time.
Well, you will have plenty of reminders as my mate. I have atrocious English. Living all those
years with Danica on the freighter only made it worse. Then there were the people we dealt with on
the stations we occasionally came into contact with. Criminals and losers in general who couldn t
integrate with any semblance of society.
No more.
Right. Will you correct the way I speak?
No. I wouldn t want you to change.
Her mate knew the right things to say to make her love him more. I m glad.
You are perfect.
You so want to get me naked, don t you? She grinned, reaching up and sliding her fingers
under the bottom of his shirt to feel his skin. He was so warm and so hers. You don t need pretty
words.
I mean it.
Yeah, he s been worth waiting so long for. She had no doubt about that as he helped her strip off
his shirt. He removed his boots while she yanked off her shoes. Danica might be worried about being
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