"Well, ya know where to find me when ya feel ready. Until then, I'll just be helping Erin match up all yer aliens with proper brides."
Until a man heard fifty women giggling over an old blow-hard making bad jokes at his expense, Nate didn't think that man could sincerely understand what true humility was. He was getting a daily dose lately.
"You do look good. Erin is right about that." Sheena smiled, reached out, and ran her fingers under the edges of his sash. There was no one like him. No one. Looking for another hundred years wasn't going to change that fact. "Marrying you again can only be asking for more trouble, but I guess a smart woman would focus on the benefits, like the one rising under that kilt you're wearing."
"No need for jealousy today. It won't be rising too far in this crowd, but you are a very smart woman-hopefully smart enough to know how deeply and sincerely I love you," Nate said, cupping her cheek with a hand.
"Yes, I am a smart woman … and I do know," Sheena said clearly, lifting her gaze from Nate's kilt to his eyes. "So yes, Nathaniel Tiberius, Admiral of the Alien Abduction Services airship. I bow to my fate today. I will marry you again. I will be your wife. "
The clapping and squealing in the room was deafening, but Nate barely heard it over his own laughter when Sheena stepped into his arms and hungrily put her lips on his.
- The End -
Excerpt: Peyton 313
Cyborgs: Mankind Redefined, Book 1
Chapter One
"Dr. Winters, how can you refuse this kind of money? Chancellor Li and I approved Norton's offer of twenty million solely because you are the last original cyborg creator. More is simply not a possibility. Now if it's the lead scientist position you crave, perhaps that can be discussed as an additional incentive for your return."
Kyra tried her best not to react too negatively to the giants glaring at her through her monstrous living room com. Jackson had abandoned the seldom used device during their divorce many years ago. She was only using it for the conference call so the UCN chancellors would see her relaxing on her sofa instead of staring intensely at her lab console.
She could handle the pressure they were exerting on her to return to Norton because she had no intention of going back. But it was not fun to face down several frowning impatient men whose every frustrated expression was being projected directly into her wide-eyed retinas. Luckily her far beyond Mensa level brain discarded her rising nervousness as it reminded her there was no reason to be intimidated by an optical illusion. She had met all the chancellors many times. Most of them were much shorter than her five foot ten inch height.
"Gentlemen, I am deeply honored you have taken the time to contact me this morning. But however inconceivable it might be for Norton or the UCN, my retirement has nothing to do with money. My plan is to find a more satisfying use of my skills. As you know my specialty has always been military cybernetics, but the final war has been over for almost a decade. There is no research being done at Norton right now that suits my desire to better the world we live in. I've made no secret of the fact that I am morally opposed to installing the behavior modification system in children."
Kyra watched as Chancellor Owens fought not to roll his eyes at her adamant statement. He was a thoroughly detestable man, and she didn't understand how someone like him had managed to become the UCN's head chancellor.
"Yes. We are all aware. Fortunately, there are other cyber scientists willing to lend their talents to that specific project. If Norton has nothing that interests you at the moment, perhaps a paid consultancy would suit you more than a permanent position. I'm sure the personal loss of not one, but two costly Cyber Husbands over the last seven years, has been traumatic for you. And we are all aware that Jackson left you no choice but to deal with his own death recently. What I'm trying to say is that we understand this may be a time in your life where it's natural you would be doing a lot of... self-reflection."
Kyra watched Chancellor Owens shrug his shoulders after his speech and look away. She had no logical reason to dislike him other than he always gave her the creeps. And she doubted he ever reflected on anything outside of his bank account for long.
"The consideration of the UCN council for my personal losses is greatly appreciated, but I assure you I am doing just fine. My relationship to Jackson was over long before his death occurred and brought me back into the picture temporarily. And as the submitted reports on my Cyber Husband's unfortunate deaths indicated, both of them came to me with undiagnosed mental health problems. Their losses merely taught me to be a smarter consumer about spending my money."