Reaper

by Kelsey Nicole Price

  Reaper could have shoved me in Dax’s waiting arms. He could have walked away again, leaving me alone. But instead, he held me tighter. I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I want to stay with Reaper.”

  Dax’s face flushed with disappointment. Reaper blinked at me with wide eyes. He looked like he didn’t quite believe it, like he was waiting for me to say ‘just kidding’ and jump into Dax’s waiting arms. I snuggled closer to him, relaxing within his arms, using my body to tell him I wasn’t going anywhere. His features softened, the tension draining away.

  “I will take good care of Theo, Miss. Aria.” I promise.” Dax assured me.

  “I know you will. You did a great job with him this afternoon. Just no more pancakes if he wakes this time and asks okay? He’s had enough for today.” Dax gave me a nod in agreement. “Thank you so much for all your help, Dax. I don’t know what I would do without you.” Reaper let out another snarl. I ignored it. “And we are friends, Dax, just call me Aria, okay?”

  He blushed at the compliment and nodded his head. “Take as much time as you need Aria. Theo will be safe.” The green cyborg hurried off and into my quarters.

  Reaper remained silent as he carried me the rest of the way to his room. Stepping inside, he slammed the huge door behind him. I twisted my head away from the warmth of Reaper’s chest and peered around the room. I hadn’t really looked at anything besides the cyborg currently holding me the last time I was here.

  The first thing I noticed was the entire space was devoid of color. The walls were almost the same shade of gray as his skin, and they were speckled with large holes the size of his fist. Had Reaper been beating the shit out of those poor walls? I guess it was better than choking people.

  No personal possessions decorated the counters or shelves. No holographic photo displays. No rows of entertainment files lined up by the large viewer screen sitting on a table in front of the couch. The couch, itself, was a lighter shade of gray and was the only thing that appeared cozy even with the lack of extra pillows and blankets that littered the one in my room. My heart constricted, sorrow beat against my ribs at the thought that Reaper simply had a room, not a place to call home. Pulling my attention away from the room, I focused it on the cyborg in whose arms I rested. “Do you want to put me down now?”

  “No.” Reaper lowered his body onto the couch, taking me with him. His hold strong and sure. He rested his chin on the top of my head.

  I didn’t argue. I liked the feeling of being in his arms. I wasn’t going to fight it. My nightmares had been circling around me like ghosts. Being in Reaper’s arms kept them at bay. I settled against him with a sigh. The time to talk was coming. Still, I felt safe. Protected. Reaper was my lighthouse in the dark.

  Chapter Seven

  Reaper

  Aria’s body relaxed against my frame. My fabricated heart clenched within my chest. I’ve faced battlefields filled with the corpses of my brothers. I’ve executed members of my kind to end their suffering. I’ve been tortured, humiliated, and used for target practice. I’ve never broken. I endured it all knowing one day, no matter what it took, I would be free.

  Aria could be the thing to break me. The sight of her tears had caused a system wide panic. My circuits danced wildly as I tried to assess her damage and figure out how to fix it. My processors came up empty. No part of my programming knew what to do to stop her tears. Hauling her into my arms had been instinct, the man ruling over the machine, desperate to comfort my female. I never expected her to stay. I waited for her let go; to demand to be given to Dax. The Science Model all too eager to get his arms around my female. His green eyes blazed with desire, his frame leaning in closer, waiting for her to say she wanted him. Instead, she chose me. Tucked her body tighter against my frame and declared she wanted to stay with me. My processors wanted to shout for joy. The sensation, so new and unfamiliar, caused my vocal systems to once again malfunction. I had only managed one word since.

  I swallowed hard, allowing a liberal coating of fluid to slide down my throat, hoping it would ease the malfunction. “Let me hold you.” I whispered. Four whole words. I was on a roll. The words were spoken into her hair, my warm breath sending tiny strands of golden locks to flutter around my lips. I dipped my head, nuzzling my mouth against the sunshine-colored mane. Warm and sweet, I fought the urge to bury my face deeper.

  A tiny gasp broke the silence as she tensed but then relaxed, pressing her body closer to mine. “Why are you being so nice to me?” She tipped her head back to peer at me, confusion in her eyes.

  I took a breath, trying to calm my racing heart. “We have a truce.”

  “This goes beyond a truce, Reaper.” She shifted in my lap, swinging her legs over my thighs, straddling me. Her fingers reached up and started making slow circles over the dark fabric of my shirt, right over my heart. Did she know what her fingers were doing? Each slow circle, like a shock to my circuits. My frame jolted, trying to get closer.

  Her fingers drifted from my chest to my neck, stroking the corded muscle now standing at attention, straining against her fingertips. My whole frame tensed under her touch, desperate for contact.

  “Every time I think I start to figure out some part of you, you show me something else. I have been frustrated, pissed-off, grateful, confused, excited, and protected all in a matter of days. You’re like an amusement park ride, Reaper, every time I try to get off, I find myself racing back to stand in line just to discover what you might reveal next.” Her fingers moved to caress my bald head before dusting over the sharp angles of my cheekbones.

  The gentle exploration wreaked havoc on my circuits. No part of me is soft. The hard lines of my face unyielded beneath her fingers. I wanted to thrust every rigid dip and plane deeper into her fingertips; savor the contrasting sensations of our unique frames.

  At that exact moment, my cock decided to join the party, growing hard under her lap. I shifted slightly, trying to hide my aroused state; her fingers froze on my face, ending their tender exploration.

  I commanded my cock to stand down, but it disobeyed, refusing my order like it had a mind of its own. I glared at the offending appendage.

  Her fingers gripped my chin, drawing my attention back to her. “Did you just glare at your...mini Reaper?”

  That annoying vocal malfunction popped up again, affecting my ability to form words, so I just nodded.

  She laughed. A real, true laugh that I can’t help but store in my processors to play on repeat. I never want the sound to end.

  She shook her head. “I’m no expert, but I don’t think glaring at it will make it listen to you.”

  “It should.” I grumbled.

  Her hands found my cheeks, cupping them with her unique softness. She smiled, right before her lips fused to mine. Her kiss was like a branding iron, hot and searing against my flesh, my frame practically melting beneath my skin.

  My processors flickered. I had survived every cruel torment only to be destroyed by Aria’s mouth on mine. My breath stopped in my synthetic lungs as she used her mouth and tongue to coax me into kissing her back.

  I must have hesitated for too long.

  Quickly, she pulled back, hurt flashing in her blue eyes. “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have done that. We have a truce. That was a mistake.” She tried jumping up from my lap, but my arms swept around her form, trapping her against me, halting her frantic retreat.

  I captured her chin in my hands. “That was not a mistake, princess.” The endearment broke free without thought. I pressed my forehead against hers, drawing the sweet scent of her into my lungs. The feeling of her against me, the taste of her lips, had me longing to confess. To spill my circuits and expose the inner workings of my thoughts.

  The dam broke and I started spewing words like a cyborg fresh out of the vats. “I like you. I more than like you. You are all I think about. I order myself to stop. I tell myself to forget about you. I punch holes in my walls because I’m not your cyborg. Every second I have with you, I burn into
my processors because I’m not sure I’ll get another one. The mere thought you might desire someone else drives my every circuit insane. The way I like you should scare you.” I growl the last words, my frame bracing for the rejection.

  Instead, Aria’s brow furrow beneath mine. “If that’s true, why didn’t you kiss me back?”

  Shame, not rejection, burned through my circuits. I dropped my gaze, unable to look at her. “That was my first.” I muttered.

  “First what, Reaper?” Aria nudged my chin with her finger, her blue eyes meeting mine. “I was your first kiss?”

  “Yes,” I confirmed as heat rushed to my gray cheeks. Kissing wasn’t a skill required to kill, so I never learned. Not that any females were lining up to kiss me anyway. My admission effectively cancelled my cool cyborg card.

  She leaned in, tracing my jawline. “Reaper, you know you’re sexy right?” She brushed her thumb over my lips. “The females you have met before must have been freaking nuts not to realize what level of hotness they had in front of them.”

  And just like that, my cool cyborg card was reinstated.

  “I am flattered by the fact I’m the lucky girl who got to give you your first kiss. I would really like to give you your second. How about we try again?”

  My head gave a jerky nod, and I watched in utter fascination as Aria moved in to give me the second kiss of my lifetime.

  *Aria*

  I leaned into Reaper, my lips ghosting over his, once, twice before I pressed my mouth to his. My hands found his cheeks, capturing them to hold his face to mine. Make this good, my mind ordered. I still can’t believe I’m giving Reaper his first kiss...well, second kiss. It boggled my mind that no other woman had been tempted by the sight of him. Reaper was all hard edges and lick-able goodness. Every gray inch of him the definition of sexy.

  Licking the seam of his lips, I used my tongue to encourage him to open, he hesitated then his lips parted. I wasted no time, I swept my tongue into his mouth to explore, stroking his tongue with mine.

  Reaper groaned, taking control of the kiss, one hand gripped the back of my neck, and the other dragged my body closer to his solid frame. His tongue dueled with mine, matching me stroke for stroke, exploring my mouth with a vengeance. Reaper kisses me like a man possessed, declaring a brutal claim of ownership over my mouth.

  I wanted his claim over every part of me. I straddled his hips and rocked mine, delighted to find something very hard to grind against. I hadn’t seen Reaper’s cock, but I knew it would match the rest of him—large, gray, and spectacular.

  Lust slammed through me, moisture gathering between my thighs. I could cum simply grinding against the cock still trapped by his pants.

  Reaper thrusted his hips up to match mine, his cock hitting the perfect spot, and I moaned into his mouth. Reaper broke the kiss, his eyes blazing with blue heat. He thrust hard and I threw my head back, releasing another moan.

  I started to pant. “Keep doing that and I am going to cum.” In my pants, like a teenage girl dry-humping for the first time. I didn’t give a damn. I needed to come like I needed my next breath, and I wanted Reaper to be the one to do it.

  His only answer was a low snarl, he gripped my hips and lifted me to gain access to my pants, yanking them down to my knees. With a hard tug my panties are torn free, exposing my pussy to his bright blue gaze. His hands settled on my hips, fingertips trembling against my skin. His cheeks had darkened, like a fine coat of ash had settled on his skin.

  “I’m dying to touch you.”

  But he didn’t make a move, remaining perfectly still, his fingers so close to where I needed them.

  “Go ahead,” I permitted.

  His fingers slid over my slit, stroking my pussy, a look of reverence on his handsome face. His fingertips glistened, coated by my honey. His blue eyes glued to my dripping pussy, a groan of appreciation escaped his lips. My core clenched.

  His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. “Tell me how to please you.” Sheer determination blazed in his eyes. My pleasure became his sole focus. Perched on the front line, he waited for me to instruct him.

  The idea went straight to my head, unleashing a new girl I had never met before. Never a fan of talking dirty, filthy words started spilling from my lips. “Fuck me with your fingers at the same time you rub my clit.” I command him, my shyness disappearing under his heated gaze.

  He inhaled sharply, my words sucking the breath from his lungs. He licked his lips. The image of him feasting on my pussy shot through my brain. Baby steps, I tell myself. If I had been Reaper’s first kiss, then I might be his first of everything. I didn’t want to rush this. He could taste me next time. Now, I wanted his fingers to do the talking.

  *Reaper*

  I shuddered at the sight of Aria’s wet and warm pussy. It was the first one I had seen up close and I didn’t think I had ever seen anything more perfect. I had anatomy files stored in my processors. I knew what a naked human female would look like but knowing and seeing it in the flesh were two very different things.

  My cock strained against my pants, heavy and aching between my thighs. I had never needed to cum so badly. I was pretty sure watching Aria cum would be all I needed to push me over the edge.

  My hand shook when I did what Aria commanded, thrusting one of my fingers into her tight heat, my thumb seeking the swollen nub peeking out, rubbing it up and down before making slow and steady circles.

  Aria bucked in my hold; moans fell from her lips.

  “Another finger. I need more,” she ordered.

  I plunge another gray finger inside her, fucking her pussy as if my fingers were my cock, my thumb rubbing faster against her clit.

  “Reaper, it feels so good. I’m going to...” Aria’s words came out broken, her pussy clenching around my fingers, as she fumbles, trying to find my cock through my pants. Her hand pushed against the hard bulge and stroked me up and down, the fabric creating delicious friction against my cock. Stroking my cock is what finally pushed her over the edge; cumming on my fingers with a shout.

  Thrusting my cock hard into her seeking palm, I cum hard in my pants, my seed soaking through the fabric, Heat rose to my cheeks, embarrassment burned through my wires. I tried to ignore it, moving my hand I tugged her pants back into place, covering one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen from view.

  I never wanted this moment to end but my spent cum was drying in my pants, making my cock stick to my thigh. It was a very unpleasant sensation. Aria’s hand was still laying on top of my pants, her fingers directly over the huge wet spot that was darkening as it dried. I froze. The clear evidence of my lack of control evident against her palm.

  Aria glanced down. Horror flooded me. Would she think I wouldn’t be able to please her? That I’d cum with my first thrust if she ever let me into her body?

  I jumped up and tried to get her away from the humiliating stain on my pants. In my haste I forgot Aria was still on my lap. The force unseated her, and she crashed to the floor with a hard thud. I winced. Will my humiliation ever end? I dropped to the floor, gathering her back in my arms, offering some reassuring pats to her back. It was all I could think to do, my circuits blanked out, refusing to offer any advice.

  “What the hell, Reaper? I never pegged for you the type of guy to cum and run.” Her voice was filled with irritation, “and stop patting my back like that,” she hissed, “You are going to break something with how hard you are going at it back there.”

  I pulled my hand back, staring at it like it was the most offensive thing I had ever seen.

  Aria quirked an eyebrow before clasping her sides, dissolving into a fit of giggles.

  She was laughing at me. I shrank back, schooling my features until they were emotionless. It didn’t stop the shame and rage from rolling through my circuits.

  Aria saw my blank expression and shook her head, “No. No, Reaper I’m not laughing at you.” She captured my face with her hands. “I’m laughing at our situation. Look at us,�
� her hand moved over us, “...tangled up on the floor after we came so hard I think we both saw stars.” She brushes her lips over mine. “I know I did.”

  I hated the feeling of uncertainty creeping into my processors. “You enjoyed me touching you?”

  “Liked would put it mildly, Reaper. Remember when you told me you tried to order yourself to stop? When how much you liked me should scare me?” She crawled back into my lap, unconcerned with the wet spot under her thighs. She pulled me closer, touching her forehead to mine. “I know this is crazy. I have demons. I am the mother of a cyborg, I worry every day I’ll fail him because I’m merely human and the shit in my head messes me up to the point that some days I don’t even recognize myself.” Her eyes closed, her warm breath breezed over my features.

  Her eyes popped open. “Doing this with you, Reaper, is insane but ordering myself to stop hasn’t worked. The truth is I don’t want it to.” Aria wrapped her arms around me, burying her face into my neck as she whispered, “Maybe you should be scared, too, Reaper.”

  “I don’t scare easily, princess.” I slid my fingers into her silky strands of sunshine. “and you’re not merely a human. I’ve never met anyone like you. Someone willing to love a child that isn’t her own kind. Willing to protect him with her life. Most people wouldn’t care what happened to Theo because he is only a cyborg.”

  “He’s a child,” Aria snarled, venom dripping from her voice.

  “That, right there, proves that you are special, Aria. No one ever comes to the defense of a cyborg, small or otherwise. You are fierce in your protection of Theo. I have no doubt you would do anything to protect him. You have the heart of a Military Model.”

  Aria shook her head against my neck then buried her face even deeper. “Somedays I wish I could erase it all. Close my eyes and wake up the girl I was before they took me. Then I feel guilty. Theo would still be trapped there if I hadn’t been arrested and tossed into that cell. He would be there all alone, terrified and hurting, without anyone to protect him or he could have been dead by now.” She shuddered against my frame. “Theo was so close, Reaper.” She whispered. “I stayed up all night singing to him the first night they put him in my cell. He would have died if I hadn’t been there. He would have died like...” Her body stiffened as small cry shattered the air. “I don’t think I can talk about them.” Sucking in a breath, great big sobs wrack her small form, her body hitching within my hold, her head burrowing into my neck, hot tears soaking through my shirt and onto my shoulder. Each one felt like a knife straight to my chest. Her tears far sharper than any dagger that had ever pierced my frame. Aria begins to cry harder cutting my soul to shreds.