would be able to fly them and set any course as needed. The fact that she was a small woman would help her use less air. Her only hope of escape would be to get to an escape pod and launch. It was the only option. She wasn’t going to be a heartless man’s “thing”. She was more than a piece of property.

An hour later when Flint returned she was calm. He entered the room carrying her new clothing. She eyed the black leather material he held, realizing that all the cyborgs she’d seen seemed to like to dress in black leather. She wondered if her new outfits were made from the same material as their uniforms. Her next thought was, Is he putting me in uniform? She didn’t ask.

Flint placed the clothing on the bed. “Two pairs of pants, two shirts, and one flight suit.”

“What about a bra and panties?”

He shook his head. “We don’t have a clothier machine on board that has been programmed for women’s bodies. The Doc had to modify your shirts by hand to show off your markings. That was the extent of his sewing ability. Unless you can make your own underwear you won’t be wearing any until we reach Garden.”

“What about the ones I was wearing?”

“I got rid of them.”

She frowned as her gaze went to the clothes and then nodded. “Thank you.”

“You are still agitated. Your heart rate is accelerated and you are flushed, implying you are angry and distressed. I thought you would have learned to control yourself while I was gone.”

She looked down at his boots. “What happens if one of your damn cyborg buddies swears he won’t damage me? Are you going to barter with my body then?” Her gaze shot up to his and she glared at him.

He blinked. “I hadn’t considered it.”

“Consider this,” she ground out. “You have to sleep sometime, Flint. If you let someone else touch me I’ll kill you.”

He frowned. “I said I would not share you. You’re being totally irrational. You got angry and unbalanced over the topic of me ha**ng s*x with other women. I don’t follow the jump from that conversation to you threatening me harm if I let someone touch you.”

“It wasn’t a jump. I thought you wouldn’t let another cyborg touch me because you felt possessive of me in a caring way that implied you would be bothered emotionally at the thought of another man touching me. That’s how I felt about you and the thought of you with other women. I thought you had the capacity to have those kinds of feelings. You put me in my place and set me straight now so I am perfectly aware that I’m just property.” She took a deep breath. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be? I think leaving me alone so I can find some control would be nice. I need a lot more time though.”

Dark blue eyes regarded her, but he masked any emotions he had. “Do not ever threaten to kill me again, Mira. I don’t take threats well.”

Pain stabbed at her. That was all he had to say on the matter? No denials of what she’d said, no clarifications that he had emotions for her. She’d secretly hoped he’d tell her that he did have some feelings for her. He didn’t.

He watched her closely.

“I have a raid to plan. We’re going to go after the Piera shuttle.”

“What is that?”

He sighed. “Are you always so full of questions?”

“Yes.”

He shifted his weight. “The Piera is a large shuttle that travels from the Vonder Station to Earth and back.”

“ Vonderis the scientific station that is in orbit over Arian Nine, right? I read something about them trying to plant the planet with enough vegetation to create adequate oxygen on the surface to sustain human life.”

“That’s the one. From our reports, they are almost successful. They have a high volume of human females who work on Vonder and they rotate the crew monthly. Our reports state that Earth Government hires mainly human women for the station.”

“Why?”

Irritation flashed in his eyes. “I’m not certain. My best guess is that females are smaller and use fewer supplies than their male counterparts. I don’t work for Earth Government and I do not know their reasons. I just know that when we have scanned their shuttles they are mostly carrying women. In fourteen hours we will intercept the shuttle. It’s a fast transport but it’s not heavily armed. I believe if we order them