B Cubed #3 Borg Read Online Free PDF Page A

tunneler without bashing his
head. Broad shoulders filled the small space but it was his domineering
presence that really spread out so no place was safe.
                His
face was too rugged to be truly handsome and his dark hair was longish but
jagged on the ends, cut haphazardly, like he’d done it himself with a
switchblade when it had grown too long to be ignored.  His eyes were his most electric
feature, a deep green like healthy plant leaves.  She could glean nothing from
his reserved expression, not intent or emotion of any kind. She saw no sign of
technology about his person, so he must be another former Bred slave. He didn’t
take her proffered hand and after an awkward moment, she let it drop.
                Which
was more foolish, locking herself in the tunneler or agreeing to accompany such
a large man to wherever he was going? Danger clung to him along with innate
sensuality. She didn’t think she’d ever noticed the play of a man’s muscles
before, but even the slightest shift made her keenly aware that he was male. He
was bigger than any man she’d seen before, bigger than her uncle or the Bred
escort, even bigger than the ones who’d…
                She
derailed that thought before it dragged her down.
                “I
won’t hurt you.” Berrick’s green eyes had a ring of gold around them that
seemed to expand as he spoke. Without the door between them, his deep, husky
voice stroked over her like a caress.
                She
figured he was reading her wimpy body language, just like her Bred escort had.
Sick of cowering, Sage forced her shoulders back and lifted her chin. “I never
thought you would.”
                “Fibber,”
he offered a quicksilver smile to take the sting out of his words before
turning his back on her and heading for the control panel.
                Sage
let out a relieved breath. Being ignored was better than his scrutiny. There
was something about the way he looked at her, like he was drinking her in and
would continue to do so until there was nothing left.  She sank down on the
nearest seat and tried to calm her galloping heart.
    “Buckle up,” he called.
    She did. Cleared her throat and asked, “So,
where are we going?”
    His big hands flew over the controls, more adept
than any Bred she’d ever seen. Their race was strong but not usually so technologically
savvy. Berrick must have been practicing since his emancipation to become so
proficient.
      The door shut and the tunneler angled down
against the bedrock. “To the thermal beacons.”
    Sage braced her hands on either side of herself
as the tunneler rocked. “What are those?”
    “Relay devices that detect changes around the
globe.”
    Sage wasn’t sure what good that would do, but
the Born tended only to worry about themselves. “Are you looking for anything
in particular?”
    Berrick didn’t respond right away. Maybe he
hadn’t heard her question. Or maybe she was being nosy and his silence was his
way of letting her know it without being rude. She picked up Lily, who was
remarkably calm considering the little dog didn’t like strange men any more
than her mistress.
    Since the tunneler only had one window right
above the helix nose, there was nothing to see other than crushed rock. This
trail had no illumination, so the only light came from inside the tight cabin.
Her companion was a dark massive shape in front of her. All bulging muscles and
coiled power.
    “I’m looking for signs that our planet is dying,”
He murmured, startling her.
    “Dying?” All the air left her lungs. Here she’d
been panicking over her mating—and whatever it entailed—and the planet could be
dying?
    “I was told by a soothsayer that she’s almost
out of time. The readings will confirm it, one way or another.”
    “What—?” she cleared her throat and tried again.
“What if the earth really is dying? Is there anything we can do to fix