The Outlaw Cyborg (Cyborgs on Mars #5) - Honey Phillips Page 0,30

was struggling with the hybrid, and she urged Winston to move faster. Another shot rang out, and both men crumpled to the ground.

Please let him be all right, please let him be all right. The words repeated over and over in her head as they raced across the sand.

She arrived just in time to see John lurch to his feet and she half-climbed, half-fell down off the horse to throw herself at him. Winston was right beside her, nudging John with his big head until John leaned against him.

“Are you all right? Are you hurt?”

“Nothing serious,” he said reassuringly, already looking better. “The wounds are already healing. But unfortunately the hybrid is dead.”

“I don’t care about him. I only care about you.” The words emerged before she could call them back, and she immediately panicked. “That is, I was worried about you,” she added stiffly.

He smiled at her and touched her cheek. “I understand.”

To her relief, he didn’t add anything else but turned to survey the very obviously dead hybrid. “I really didn’t want to kill him. I was hoping for some answers. Do you know who he was?”

She forced herself to look at the body. “Malton, I think. Which would make sense. He was some kind of chemist. He made a lot of money selling a miracle cure that turned out to be even worse than the disease.”

“GenCon sure knows how to pick them.”

“Desperate men with large amounts of money don’t tend to be particularly respectable.”

“No, I suppose not.” He studied her face. “This isn’t just about the hybrids, is it? What kind of answer are you expecting to find at this lab, Serena? Are you sure it’s worth it?”

“Yes,” she said immediately, her hand moving to her stomach before she could prevent it.

“Very well. I’ll follow you back over to the rocks, and we can decide how to proceed.”

He lifted her easily on to Winston’s back and headed for the rover. She had a sudden foolish impulse to call him back, to abandon her search, but she wouldn’t. She couldn’t.

Chapter Thirteen

As John drove the rover back towards the rock, he realized he was watching the slender figure on top of the big horse rather than his surroundings. He used the hidden cybernetics to check again, but there were no other structures nearby, nor were there any lifeforms. He hadn’t mentioned that capability to her, just as he hadn’t told her about his mission—although he had been about to when he’d heard the rover. But he had to tell her, he decided.

Once they were back amongst the rocks, she brought Winston to a halt and slid down with unexpected grace. She was frowning at the rover when he joined her.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just realized that I don’t exactly look like I usually do when I made a surprise visit.”

“I have no doubt you could carry it off, but I have a surprise for you.” He hid a smile at the suspicious look on her face as he turned to the bundled supplies on Winston’s back and retrieved one of the bags. “Here.”

“What is it?”

“One of your suits. I packed it while you were changing in your office. It occurred to me that you might want to resume your professional persona when we arrived.”

Did she flinch at his last sentence? Before he could decide, her expression cleared and she reached for the suit.

“Thank you. I’ll just go and change—” She cast a somewhat frustrated look at the barren surroundings.

“You’re welcome to change right here,” he suggested helpfully, meeting her gaze with limpid innocence when she shook her head at him.

“I suppose I might as well. It’s not like you haven’t seen me naked.”

Deliberately holding his gaze, she unfastened the coverall and let it fall to the ground. All the blood in his body rushed to his cock. Her pale body, completely naked, glowed against the surrounding rocks. A cool breeze whispered past them, and her nipples stiffened to small pink peaks, but she didn’t flinch, standing there defiantly. He took a step towards her, then another, before he remembered their destination and came to a halt.

“You, my love, are a tease.”

“A tease is someone who doesn’t deliver what she promises.” Her voice had turned low and husky. “I’m perfectly willing to deliver.”

“Are you sure?’ he asked, even as he took another step forward.

“Yes.” Her eyes met his. “Seeing you fall like that… I thought I lost you.”

“You’re not going to lose me.”

“Aren’t I?” A shadow crossed her face. “We don’t know