Page 43 of GlitchBorn Heart

Better to hide in the illusion.

“LINK—set an alarm for one-thirty a.m.” That should allow sufficient time for me to get in and out of DreamNet before TheKast and be ready for whatever happens next. Ready to protect Eli, ready to run, if needed.

ALARM SET LLLLLLLYRAAAAA

LINK’S voice glitches, like a club song being remixed, not the sharp, clean voice I normally hear. Goosebumps. I shake it off. Just a glitch. TheKast makes everything struggle before it rolls out.

For a second, the alarm icon on my DataLINK pulses too slow, offbeat, like a drunken heartbeat. Then it corrects itself, steady, perfect, reassuring.

Weird.

I twist the band releasing its warm glow against my wrist. I lay back and whisper into the quiet room: “Don’t let them find us...please”. I have no idea who I’m saying this to: God, gods, Fate? The world unravels, the ringing of worry is swallowed by the soft hum of dreams. Straight in. No lobby tonight.

My beach is bathed in a warm golden glow; I immediately feel it blush over my face. The sky glows the soft amber of a world that’s never known ruin. My sanctuary.

I take a deep breath and try to unclench my fists. Here, there are no boots on rain slick streets, no corporate scanners, no fear. No reason to run.

“Running from me when you should be running to me.” The voice is deep, smooth, threaded with shadows. It slides over my skin like silk. Fear and intrigue battle instantly inside me. I turn. Sure enough, he’s there. The hunter has found the hunted.

Kael’s suit jacket is dark as coal, he’s shirtless underneath, pants rolled, bare feet caked with sand. His tousled hair shadows his dark eyes, making them gleam like melted gold in half-light. He shouldn’t be here, can’t be here, yet he is, and every nerve in my body responds.

“You.” My voice waivers with nervousness.

“Me.” His gaze locks onto mine. He steps closer, each movement slow, and deliberate, almost predatory. “I built this, Lyra. I can find you anywhere you go inside my code. Plus, you invited me, remember?”

Shit, he’s right. He’s hacking into my dreams, and for some strange reason I’m allowing it. No, I want it.

I swallow, heat crawling up my throat. “How are you really here in DreamNet with me? Or is this just my imagination? What do you want?” I study his beautiful, harsh face, trying to coax the truth out of him, to see if he knows what I am.

His lips curve, dangerously. “You. I’m in every night, looking for you...tonight I just got lucky.

What is it with these men and stalking? And why is there wetness pooling between my legs because of it?

The air between us tightens, charged. I want to turn away, but I don’t. Instead, my breath hitches as he sits beside me on the beach blanket, our shoulders touching. His scent is intoxicating, clean, like the ocean air mixed with something spicy: dark vanilla and cinnamon. It makes me dizzy with desire.

“What do you want?” I whisper.

His hand lifts, fingers caressing my cheek, barely touching. “What do you want?”

“You...I think?” Stars, he sucks the air out of my words. “I have no idea why, but I feel like I’m being tethered to you, pulled in by you. It’s like...” I try to finish my sentence when his lips crash into mine.

His tongue explores me deeply, like he can feel my soul through his kiss. He even tastes like cinnamon and spice and everything that calls me back to a time where life was cozy, comfortable, and so, so safe.

I want to trust him, but I can’t. He may be trying to trap me. I need to break away. I barely know this man, but every perfect line of him feels like it’s written for me, like my pulse is answering his. His eyes hold me captive, daring me to create distance.

“We shouldn’t.” My voice is a hush I don’t even recognize. Inside, I think we should. I’m so aroused by his lips on mine, but I can’t reveal what I am if he doesn’t already know.

He tilts his head, that infuriating, smug smirk tugging at his lips. “Little Taiyō...you already have.” He continues his kisses in a trail down my neck. He grips my hair and gently tugs, opening my neck further so he can bury himself in me.

I breathe him in. That nickname cuts through me, fierce and tender, but dangerous. I hate that I like it. I hate that I want him. “Little Taiyō?” I ask in between restless breaths. Please don’t let him stop. “Why do you and Ash call me that?”

His mouth moves back to my lips, barely touching them. Our eyes lock, and I feel his warm breath. “Japanese...Little Sun...you burn bright for me, Lyra.” He sucks in my bottom lip gently, wetness from his tongue spreading over my mouth. “From the moment I saw you in that club, I knew you were a spark, no, a flame I’d chase forever.” He pulls me onto his lap, legs straddled, so close I can feel the heat rising from him. His cock is rock hard and pressing into my core. “My darkness wants to consume your light.”

Fuck. I don’t care if he knows. I’m undone. This man has ruined me, to the point where I don’t even care if he’s here to capture me. At least I can die happy.

I’m so desperate for affection, so wanting of his touch, that I surrender to him, grinding against him, his hardness straining against his pants. Lips parting, tongues seeking, I give into him, and I have no explanation for it.

Before I can rethink this, before I can breathe, his hands slide to each side of my face. The celestial tattoos running down his fingers are visible from the corner of my sight, coaxing my face upward. He breathes with heightened arousal. ”Lyra, I want...”