Jenna McCormick: Born

His genetically enhanced Bred senses let him hear every step as she padded across the floor, the scrape of the chair she sat in.

“Do you not wish to don clean clothing?”

A pause, as if she took a sip of some liquid and required time to swallow. “I plan to continue my bath after I have finished here.”

His cock throbbed, imagining helping her clean every inch of her perfect body.

“What is on your face?” Mel asked.

Shit. Cormack glanced down at his filthy hands.

Well that had been a stupid maneuver, one he should have never indulged in. What had he been hoping to prove?

“It must have been on my shift, from dropping it too near the hearth.” Allora said. The falsehood sounded weak and reedy to him and he regretted his actions.

Yet he would not take it back, not when the most magnificent female he had ever laid eyes on had agreed to be his. Something about him appealed to her, it had from the start. His task mistress was not the type to dally with males. Hell, until a few hours ago she had still been untouched, a virgin.

Cormack had deflowered virgins before, but even untouched Bred woman were never as innocent as Allora. Listening to adults the next cot over rut on an hourly basis had a way of maturing a soul long before the body was capable.

She hadn’t been raised like that however, her nights were filled with quiet, perhaps even a romanticized longing for the way a man and woman could come together, the way he had long ago, before some Bred woman had decided he was old enough to rut with. Cormack shook his head, not wanting to think about how awful it had been. Her calloused hands on his body, her complaints when he stumbled or stalled, her shriek of rage when his erection faltered before she could climax.

“What is wrong with you?” She’d seethed at him and stormed away. Hours later, everyone in the barracks knew he had been unable to perform.

Nowhere had been safe from the taunts, the sly comments and knowing looks.

She’d been recycled soon after that. Determined to end the rumors, Cormack picked another Bred woman, this one closer to his own age and fucked her.

When she was spent, and with his cock still slick from her sheath, he took another and after her, two more, fueled by burning humiliation and the need to bury the rumors forever.

It had worked, his reputation as a virile male solidified. But at what cost?

“This is very good.” Allora’s voice woke him from his melancholy. “Would you care for some?”

She would share her plate with a Bred?

Wonderment and jealousy dueled within him, marveling at her generosity, yet wishing he could be the one to break bread with her. Sharing the food from her own plate was quite different than tossing a packet of paste at him. His stomach rumbled and he reached for one of the packets Lara had given him, sucking back the nutrients before the nursemaid heard and came to investigate.

“I am fine. Do you wish to talk about—?”

“No,” The vehemence in her voice startled him. “I need time to absorb it all. Tell no one what I asked from you.”

“Of course not, Allora. It will all work out for the best, you will see.”

“Will you come with me? If I am forced to go with him?”

Cormack’s heart skipped a beat, just as it had when he’d first overheard her say she planned to leave. What was worse, imagining her fighting for her life, trying to cross scorching lands under the unrelenting sun or in the arms of another man?”

It will not matter to you; you will be recycled soon enough. He nodded, accepting his fate. If that were the case, then Allora should be safe and protected, with Mel to confide in.

He could have nothing beyond this one night, could ask nothing more from his task mistress. She’d kept his secrets so far, and enjoyed his touch.

Cormack would give her a night to remember, blaze the trail so whenever she thought of sex in the future, it would be him she recalled.

What better legacy could a bred possibly hope to leave behind?

Allora yawned, and even from a distance it sounded feigned. “I wish to continue my bath and retire for the night. Leave the plate „til morning.”

In his mind’s eye, he could picture Mel curtsying and let out a sigh of relief when she left.

No sound from the other room. Was she waiting for him to go out there and claim her or had she changed her mind? The nutri packet turned to a mass of oily snakes in his gut. Did I come so close only to have her refuse me now?

Hands fisted at his sides, he decided he would just have to convince her again. Striding to the curtain, he shoved the swath of heavy fabric aside to meet her startled gaze. She held the tray, with half her meal still steaming upon it.

“I…I thought you might be hungry.”

His mouth fell open. She would share her meal with me? Of course, she’d offered to do the same with Mel, but her consideration touched him nonetheless.

“Ravenous, thank you.”

She led him back to the table and gestured for him to sit in the one chair. He eyed the uncovered entrance to her chamber. “Anyone passing by could see me.”

She shrugged her slim shoulders. “No one will pass by—I am the only occupant of this dead-end tunnel. Sit, eat.”

Though she commanded him like a dog, he couldn’t help but obey. Actual fresh bread, spiced with some kind of herb, and a thick slab of meat beckoned to him. It took all his will not to stuff it all in his mouth at once. Instead he picked up the fork she’d placed beside the dish and used it to separate a small bit of the meat from the bone. Stabbing the red chunk, he brought it to his lips, inhaling the scent until his mouth watered for the first taste.

Unable to resist a moment longer, he opened his mouth and inserted the fork. His taste buds exploded with pleasure and he moaned aloud. “This is unbelievable.”

“You act as though you’ve never had meat before.”

He met her gaze. “I haven’t.”

Her eyes went wide. “But as a field laborer you are entitled to high end protein—

“I never ate it.” He didn’t wish to talk about this and it would be a crime to let such a meal grow cold.

He cut off another bite, and hauled her into his lap.

Soft, warm curves pressed up against him. Raising the fork to her lips he asked, “Share this with me?”

She shook her head. “No, I’ve had my fill, you should eat.”

How to make her understand? “Please? It is…important to me to share this with you.”

With such a limited time he wanted to share everything he possibly could with her.

And only her.

She searched his features then parted her lips, taking the morsel of food. He watched her chew it slowly, enjoying each flicker of emotion, taking a mental picture of how she looked as she savored it.

Swallowing, she licked her lips. “Satisfied?”

The scent of her hair, the touch of her body, the dulcet cadence of her voice, the look of playful teasing on her beautiful face. More than I’ve ever been in my entire life. “Not by a long shot.”

The way he looks at me. Allora had to remind herself to breathe, to blink, for it was so easy to get lost inside Cormack’s penetrating stare. She felt as though she had no secrets left, was more exposed than when she’d been naked.

“Finish it,” she gestured toward the plate, made a move to get up.

His arm held her in place. “Only if you stay right where you are.”

Nodding her head, she studied him while he ate with manners better than most Borns. She’d expected him to wolf the meal down, but he savored each bite chewing slowly, eyelids low but still watching her.

This close, she could tell he carried not an extra ounce of fat on his lean frame and his ribs pressed into her side where he held her close. She wanted to ask why he had never eaten the meat his hard labor earned him. Any other man would have without thinking twice, taking what he saw as his due, whether Bred or Born.