Page 155 of GlitchBorn Heart

The sand beneath my feet flickers, unstable, as though DreamNet itself is hanging by a thread. Between Kael, myself, and Eli, our magic is threatening to break through the code holding it all together.

Kael doesn’t sit. He paces beside me, uptight and nervous. He has no control right now, and it’s eating him alive. His beautiful, glowing eyes scan the horizon like he’s trying to figure out every outcome, solve every problem.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I murmur, though we both know it isn’t real. “Despite you know...the impending doom stuff.” I give him a small piece of a smile.

“It’s a lie,” he says, “but it’s the lie I built for you. I’ve been refining the code, trying to make what little time you have left here...manageable.” He swallows as he stumbles over the words. “I’m moving up the extraction timeline again.”

He stops and finally sits on the blanket, a muffled sigh ringing out of him, pure exhaustion. He’s between two worlds, the corporate Kael and the real Kael. I can see the turmoil in his eyes, torn between the persona he portrays and the person he truly is.

He was right about what he said back in the penthouse. He’s not the good guy. He’s the villain in my story, consumed with darkness and unspoken sins. I absolve him.

If falling for the villain is a sin, then damn me all to hell.

There’s a storm forming beyond the simulated sky. Lines of digital static drift like fog, low on the horizon. LINK? Who knows? It’s still a reminder that time is running out. I intend to use it wisely. I need to feel alive again, and if Kael’s the only bridge back to the real world, I’m going to run across it until my lungs scream.

I give him a little shove back, making him brace his weight on his palms behind him. I seat myself on his lap. My legs on either side of him, my core pressed to his, just feeling him underneath me is enough. He grasps my hips, and our lips meet, hot, messy, needy.

“You came for me.” I peel off my jacket, the heat of the sand raising the hairs on my arms. Beneath the thin tank top, my nipples strain against the fabric, the air between us thick enough to taste.

His words slip from him like a confession he didn’t plan to give. “Taiyō...you don’t know how badly I wanted to come for you.”

One eyebrow arches at his own double entendre. The corners of his mouth flicker with a dangerous half-smile, the one that says he’s aware of exactly how far he’s gone and how far he wants it to go.

I swallow, pulse skipping, a giggle escapes. The code-sky above us flickers with lightning, matching the lust rising in my body. My lips part but nothing comes out. The way he said it makes me want to give myself to him.

“Well, this is nice.” He traces my neck with tiny nibbles. “But it doesn’t solve any of our problems.”

“Stop.” I laugh, placing one finger over his lips. “No ‘Dr. Kael Ryudon’ for right now.” I can’t deny my mouth on his any longer as I meet his tongue with mine. I pull away and immediately feel the cold rush of air where there was unbridled heat.

“Just Kael.” I place both my hands on his neck, my fingers dragging down and tracing the lines of ink. I stare into his coal black eyes and drink in his beauty, the slight almond shape of his eyelids, that strand of hair that falls over one of them, when he tilts his head forward to kiss me. His harsh cheekbones leading to full luscious lips. I clench, a tingle rushing between my legs, imagining those lips on me.

I feel his erection probing me through his pants, pants that feel way too constrained. I need the friction, the feel of his hardness on my aching entrance.

I move, rubbing back and forth against him, testing the waters, just to push that restraint that I see him wield every day like a weapon. His moan is deep, almost animal-like. “Fuck, Taiyō, what are you trying to do? Ruin me right here on the beach?”

“I’m happy to see you. And from the looks of it, you’re really happy to see me too.” My eyes flick downward at his tented pants.

“What do you think?” He thrusts against me, stealing my breath away, the sensation running over my core, wetness pooling inside me.

“I was afraid you would be angry with me...you know, for making you leave.” I suck in his bottom lip, tasting the false salt air on it.

Kael doesn’t move. He continues the pressure between my legs, his hands digging into the flesh around my hips, holding me there. “Never. No...not anger. Not toward you, Little Taiyō.” He steals a kiss, his hands wandering the small of my back. “I don’t agree with your method, but you ripped me out of a collapsing grid, away from Eli’s void. You’re probably the only reason I’m still breathing.”

“I thought you’d hate me for it.” My words are breathy against his mouth. “You don’t like losing control of any situation.”

He leans closer, his forehead against mine. “I don’t,” he admits. “But you’ve been stealing my resolve from the first moment I saw you. And somehow I keep letting you.”

My heart stutters. The edge of his smirk is teasing me, calling me to put my lips to it. He draws his thumb along my lower lip where I’d just bitten his, as if feeling the sting again.

“You’re a force to be reckoned with, Taiyō. A sun so blinding it burns the hands of anyone who dares hold it. Especially someone as dark as me.” His tongue traces circles around the sensitive spot below my jaw. “And still, I reach for you.”

He flips me over onto my back, thrusting against me, a reminder of how badly he wants our bodies to touch. “Even when you were trying to push me away, you were pulling me closer.”

His mouth brushes my ear, voice dropping lower: “If I wanted to be angry, Taiyō, I wouldn’t be here now. But I am. I’m still here. Still touching you. Still wanting you.” He slides my top up revealing my breasts to him. A quick flick of his hand behind me and my nipples break free, my bra snapping to my neckline.

His tongue runs around the rim, his mouth settling in and closing around the peak. Warm, and intense, his breath sends chills up my spine.

He sucks once, taking my whole nipple into his eager mouth, then releases me and blows. The cold air in deep contrast to his hot, wet tongue almost makes me climax from the sensation.