Melting Iron by Laurann Dohner Read Free Book Online Page A

slept down the hallway.”
    “I see.” Her temper flared. “I’m good enough to fuck once but I’m not good enough to sleep with? This damn room is like a tomb. I froze my ass off last night since that thin cover doesn’t do shit and you’re telling me I could have used your body heat to stay warm? Nice.”
    “The room temperature isn’t to your liking?” He pushed away from the wall. “Why didn’t you say something?”
    “Would you have cared?”
    The frown was instant. “What is your preference for the temperature? I’ll set the control to that.”
    She was surprised that he’d care if she was chilled in his room and a little touched that he was willing to adjust the controls to her specification. She told him what she preferred. He nodded, cocked his head, and closed his eyes. In seconds his blue eyes opened back up.
    “Done.”
    She swallowed her surprise. “You just remote-accessed the room controls with your mind?”
    “Yes. With your talent for opening doors, I assumed you could do other things so I have deactivated everything in the room but basic things like the foam cleanser and the lighting controls. All other functions are remotely controlled by me.”
    She bit her lip and then stood, inched closer to him. She hated to admit it even to herself but she was fascinated. “What do you have under your skin?”
    Iron’s eyes narrowed as he stared down at her. “Why do you want to know? Are you seeking weaknesses to attack?”
    “Man, are you paranoid. No. I’m a mechanic. What are you running under your skin?”
    He paused, studying her carefully. “I have enhancements.”
    “I get that.” She rolled her eyes and stopped feet from him to stare up into his handsome features. He was good-looking. “What kind?”
    “I have several chips embedded in my brain that were implanted to help me control my body functions and a processor to calculate and store information.” He paused. “I have a limited range for sending and receiving signals but that ability was given to me so I could pilot a shuttle faster.”
    “Shit. You can access everything aboard a shuttle without moving to different stations, can’t you?”
    “Yes. I was one of the first prototypes in the pilot program on Earth.”
    Shock tore through her. “That’s impossible.” Her gaze swept over him from head to foot. He looked maybe thirty-eight years old, tops. Closer to thirty-five, actually. “You’d be old if that were true.”
    “Just my donors were human. Cyborgs were designed to age slower. I have no reason to lie. I was a pilot prototype on Earth.”
    “Shit!” She took a step back from him. “That means you’re as old as my father.”
    He shrugged. “What is the relevance?”
    “We had sex.” She made a face. “I did someone my father’s age. That’s just wrong.”
    A spark of some emotion flashed in his eyes. “I bet I do not look like your father.”
    Her gaze slowly went over him this time, taking in his broad shoulders, the massive leather-clad, thick biceps, his firm, flat stomach, his tapered hips, and down his thick, muscular thighs. “No. You sure as hell don’t. Even in his prime, my father wasn’t built like you. He’s small and wiry.”
    “Is he still alive then?”
    “Yeah. My folks live on Earth. I go visit them every time I’m off duty and take the shuttle to Earth. I paid for some medical enhancements for them so they are in decent shape for their age but damn…” She moved closer to him, her attention locked on his body still. “For an old guy, you have it going on.”
    “What does that mean?”
    She looked up into his face. The sex between them had been damn good and she was curious. “Take off your clothes. I can totally mind-wash the thought of how old you are when I see you naked. You look my age and you’ve got the best body I’ve ever seen.”
    His eyebrows rose. “What did you say?”
    “I said take off your clothes. I’m your sex slave, right? It’s damn hard to have