The Rebel's Cyborg

by Maya Carnage

  Clearing his throat, he approaches her. “How did it go today?”

  She continues to stare up at the ceiling, and says, “She wasn’t there. She’s staying in the city at Axe’s apartment.”

  “After being on The Gregory the last few weeks, she’s probably craving peace and quiet. The rebels are at the safe house, so she won’t get that there.”

  Kayla nods and sits up, scooting back to rest against the bed frame. “I really wanted to see her,” she murmured, looking crestfallen.

  He moves around until he’s sitting next to her. She drops her head onto his shoulder, and he wraps an arm around her, pulling her close. “I know where Axe lives. We can go there tomorrow.” It will be rude to invade their privacy, but he doesn’t care as long as it cheers up the woman next to him.

  “Don’t tempt me. It’s killing me not knowing how pissed she is with me.”

  “You don’t know that she is.”

  She scoffs. “Oh, I know my baby sister pretty well. She’s going to lay into me the first chance she gets. I fucked up by not telling her everything before I left, especially, since I didn’t trust Stanley. Anything could have happened to her, Rodrick.”

  “Hey, stop that right now.” He grasps her chin between his fingers and tilts her head up until their eyes meet. “Nothing happened. She’s safe and sound with Axe. Even if Stan sent a team out to The Gregory, there’s no way of telling what would have happened.”

  She drops her head onto his chest after he releases her. “We were never close, but that changed over the last five years. With my secretiveness, it feels like I pushed her away again and I don’t know if she’ll forgive me this time.”

  “Why did you do it last time?” He combs his fingers through her smooth, silky hair, letting each strand fall softly from his hold before raking them through again.

  “Our dad became consumed with being a rebel after our mom died. He lived and breathed the job, and not too long after he expected the same from us. We were just kids. Everything hurt so damned much that I couldn’t take it anymore, so I closed myself off. Dawn lost more than a mother. She lost her whole family. We weren’t any good to her, and she practically raised herself afterward.”

  “People can be unexplainable during grief. They'll become a completely different person right before our eyes, but it's because they're dealing with terrible pain and don't know what else to do.”

  “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. What went on with you today?” she said, nuzzling into the hollow space between his neck and shoulder.

  Her warm breath tickles his cool skin, speeding his mechanical heart up. It will only take a second to slow it back down, and he’s about to do just that when he pauses.

  It feels right having her wrapped in his arms.

  His feelings for her have grown in the short time they’ve been together. Rodrick’s never cared about someone the way he does Kayla. It’s all-consuming. She’s constantly in his head when they’re not together. He’s also fascinated by the way she brushes her hair after she gets out of the shower! The ridiculousness of it all makes him want to groan.

  He rakes a hand down his face, jostling Kayla. He sucks in a quick breath as she shifts higher up his body and throws her leg over his waist. He smothers a groan as his cock stiffens.

  His fingers curl into the fabric of her shirt. It would be so easy to pull her close and give into the thunderous need to kiss her. Resisting her has challenged his steadfast patience. It was stupid of him to pull away from her last time, and regret has plagued him ever since, running away made him a coward. He’s tired of the sharp sting inside him every single time he thinks about what could have happened that afternoon.

  Kayla said it was meaningless, only wanting him to past the time, but he doesn’t believe that. She pushes people away, and she’s done it for so long that it’s instinct now. She’s too afraid to see what can happen if she lets her guard down and give in to the burning passion inside of her. If it’s anything like his, then it’s a fiery flame engulfing her whole being.

  Her soft lips brush against his skin, and the overwhelming urge to take her as his ignites inside of him. He leaps upon her, settling his heavy weight over her delicate body. With her caged in his arms, he leans down to rest his forehead on hers. Her hot breath fans against his open lips and he presses his mouth to hers.

  Chapter Eleven

  Kayla

  Her heart races as Rodrick settles on top of her, and she lifts her legs, digging her heels into his lower back. She’s been secretly begging for this since she kissed him. It still pisses her off that he pulled away. They could have been doing this for days now, but no, he had to be logical and think with his head instead of his dick. It will serve him right if she pulls away from him now, leaving him high and dry.

  His lips leave hers and trails down her jaw, shuddering as he sucks at the sensitive skin. Yeah, maybe next time because this is too good to give up, and she’s a greedy woman.

  “I can stop if you want me to,” he said, pressing small kisses along the length of her neck.

  She quickly shakes her head and tightens her legs around him. “Don’t you dare.” She takes his face in her hands, pulling him back up to her. Their mouths meet with a clash, and his tongue lashes out, swiping against her closed lips. She parts her lips on a moan. Passion pours out of him as he devours her, nipping at her bottom lip before thrusting his tongue against hers.

  Giving into temptation, she moves her hands down to caress his back. The strong, tight muscles cause her to moan. The need to feel all of him rises inside of her, and she grips his sides, pulling him down until his full weight is resting between her legs. His thickness grinds against her core with every tiny shift of his body. A liquid heat begins low in her belly.

  She digs her nails into his back as Rodrick rocks into her, grinding against her clit with each delicious slide of his hips. A groan leaves her lips when she tries to pull his shirt off and meets resistance.

  He sits up, reaching back to pull his shirt over his head. A whimper escapes her. Her body’s cold and bereft without his, and though it is only a few seconds, the urge to clasp him to her and never let him go is overwhelming.

  She frowns. Strong feelings like those aren’t common for her, and she doesn’t know what to think about having them toward Rodrick. She shakes her head and leans up enough to whip her own shirt off and unclasp her bra, tossing them to the side. They wrestle with the rest of their clothes, kissing in between undressing each other.

  Rodrick pauses, raking his eyes down her bare body. His eyes gleam with unspent passion. “You’re beautiful,” he rasped.

  A small smile touches her lips, and she lifts her hand to touch his cheek. Words become lodged in her throat, and she wants to say them to him no matter how stupid she’ll feel afterward. There’s something special about Rodrick. They butt heads and most days she wants to hit him, but he makes her feel like she’s more than a rebel. That’s all she’d ever been to everyone else.

  Except for Dawn.

  She’s let her sister down too many times and has taken her for granted. Heart heavy with thoughts of her sister, she kisses Rodrick. She needs to fix things with her sister, but she can’t do anything about it now, and she doesn’t want to ruin what’s beginning between her and Rodrick.

  “I thought you didn’t want to complicate things?” she asked ruefully.

  He nuzzles her neck, pressing small kisses every so often. “I am, but it doesn’t matter to me anymore.”

  “Oh, yeah? Mr. Precision doesn’t give a shit about messing up the job?” She snorts and pushes him onto his back, tired of his slow pace. It’s been entirely too slow between them, and honestly, she wants fast and hard. And it looks like Rodrick’s going to need a helping hand to get started.

  Straddling him, she grinds down on his cock, eliciting moans from them both. He grabs her hips, moving her back and forth along his length. He didn’t need much of a nudge after all it seems. Leaning up, he grabs th
e back of her head and kisses her, angling her to the side to deepen the kiss.

  With a sigh, she winds her arms around his neck, pressing her breasts against his hard chest. The hair on his chest rasps against the tight points of her nipples, gasping she shudders in his arms as tiny sparks of pleasure bursts in her core. She can come just like this if she wanted, and it won’t take much more, but she craves something else.

  She wants to feel the heat of Rodrick’s breath on her face as he thrusts into her. For so long she’s wanted to be with him and in the beginning, she would have been fine with a quick lay, but not now. Pulling back from him, she rises onto her knees to meet his eyes and reaches down to take him in her hand. His fingers dig into the soft flesh of her hips as he groans.

  He’s hard as steel in her hand. She swipes her thumb threw the pearl of semen beading on the head of his cock, and he twitches in her grasp. Raising her hand to her mouth, her tongue darts out and licks the drop from her thumb. His eyes latched onto the small movement, watching with rapt attention. A smoldering look in his eyes.

  Kayla glances down at his shaft. Precum leaks from the tip, slipping down the sides. The head is red and swollen. Rodrick’s got to be aching for relief. An evil grin stretches her lips, and she moves as if to get off him. “You know what? I think I’m going to go take a bath instead.”

  He growls, tossing her on her back and moving over her. She widens her legs, giving him more room. She chuckles at the hungry look on his face.

  “You’re not so calm and collected when you’re hot and bothered. So raw and hungry,” she murmured, stroking a hand over the rippling muscles of his chest. “I like it.”

  He takes her mouth, and hitches her thigh over his hip, reaching down to press his shaft to her opening. A shuddering breath leaves her as he roughly thrusts all the way into her. Settling her hands on his shoulders, she holds him closer to her. The thundering beat of his heart beats in rhythm with hers.

  She knew it would be like this. Risking the possibility of sounding like a lovesick puppy, they fit perfectly together.

  Rodrick pulls out of her. She whimpers at the lost of fullness, but it quickly turns into a groan as he thrusts back into her. Pressure builds in her core, and she wraps her legs around him, anchoring him to her.

  The sounds of their skin slapping together and him sliding in and out of her sopping wetness fill the room, bouncing off the walls and echoing around the small space.

  He grunts above her and picks up his speed, ramming into her. She moves her hands around to his back, clawing at him as she hits her peak, bursting apart at the seams.

  “Yes!” she screamed, digging her heels into him. “Don’t stop, Rodrick.”

  At the sound of his name, his thrusts become erratic and his cock jerks inside of her. His whole body trembles beneath her hands as he comes. With one last pump, he collapses on top of her.

  She strokes his back idly, pressing a kiss to his temple.

  ◆◆◆

  The safe house where the eighth ward rebels are staying is past the sympathizers’ headquarters. Sweat glistens on her skin by the time the long one-story building comes into view. Rodrick took the long trek over here to fill her in on what went on in the meeting with Ian and Kingston today. Before coming here, Kayla wrote a quick message to Rosalind asking her to contact the second ward because they need their help for Kingston’s plan, and she must admit it’s a good one.

  The droplets of sweat running down her back and legs are irritating the hell out of her, and she can’t wait until she can take a shower. She quirks an eyebrow, glancing at the man next to her from the corner of her eye. Maybe he’ll want to join her, and they can repeat what happened earlier. Although, her mouth presses flat as she realizes he’s not in an awful state like her. Jealousy sours in her belly. Sometimes being a cyborg must have its perks. They don’t have to deal with unwanted sweat, nerves, indigestion, every other failing that humans deal with on a regular basis. It must be nice.

  “When do you think you’ll hear back from your friend?” Rodrick asked.

  She shrugs. “Rosalind isn’t the most reliable person, mainly because she’s doing too many things all at once and forgets about finishing them. She’ll ask the second ward as soon as she read my message, but I don’t know when she’ll get back to us.”

  “The only thing that matters is reaching out to the other ward.” He places his hand on her back as they walk up to the front door.

  She waits, holding her breath as his fist hits the metal door. It’s harsh and relentless to her ears, echoing throughout her head matching the thundering of her heart. The sweat coating her palms isn’t from walking through miles of dense forest, but the anxiety swirling in her gut. God, she feels like she’s going to puke.

  Dawn could be here. She wouldn't know what to say to her. Obviously, she needs to apologize, but she also needs to explain herself. She's crossing her fingers that Dawn understands why she did it all and forgives her.

  Rubbing her hands together, shaking her shoulders to loosen some of the nerves tensing the muscles up, she waits for someone to open the door. The heavy, warm weight of Rodrick’s hand settles on her shoulder. She looks at him, and he offers a calm smile, squeezing her shoulder. She breathes easier knowing that no matter what happens today she isn’t alone in the aftermath.

  The door opens, and a man she’s never met before is standing there looking down at them with a displeased expression.

  She raises her eyebrows.

  “You’re late. We expected you two over an hour ago,” the grouchy man said.

  “Sorry, something came up.” Rodrick takes her hand and strides through the door, pushing the man out of the way.

  Sexy times did. She resists the childish urge to stick her tongue out at the dark-haired man, but barely.

  “Ian and Kingston are here. Do you really think we can trust him?”

  “Yes, but even if I didn’t, he’s our best bet in weakening the cyborgs’ loyalty on Earth,” Rodrick moves his hand down to rest on the small of her back. “Did Dawn come with you?”

  Her body goes rigid, waiting. So that’s who the uptight man is, she thinks to herself.

  “No, she stayed behind with Kris at the apartment.” Axe glances at her, and it doesn’t take a genius to know it’s because of her that Dawn didn’t come.

  With a sigh, her shoulders slump. Her baby sister can’t avoid her forever, and eventually, she’ll realize Kayla will come looking for her. For now, she’ll give Dawn her space. She knows she did a shitty thing by not telling her all the information, keeping in her in the dark about important stuff that could have put her in a tough spot on The Gregory.

  She leans in closer to Rodrick, and straightens her back, standing tall. They’re here to discuss the upcoming attack against the Malviks, and that’s what she needs to focus on. She’ll deal with her screw up tomorrow. It might even be nice visiting Teraz. It isn’t like she’s seen a lot of it since she’s arrived here.

  Chapter Twelve

  Rodrick

  Rodrick paces across the floor in the living room of the sympathizers’ headquarters. He glances at the empty chair where Kayla sat earlier in the day before leaving to go meet her sister. Confront is a better word seeing as how Dawn isn’t expecting her, and Kayla’s grown tired of waiting for her sister to come to her. He’s surprised she’s waited as long as she did. She’s not a patient person, and he has to applaud her capability to give her sister the space she needed to come to terms with Kayla and their father withholding important information from her.

  Ian and his son Pax lounge on the couch, talking quietly to each other. Kingston leans against the wall with a perplexed frown on his face, arms crossed over his chest, staring out the window. They are all waiting for the eight ward rebels to call them and let them know how the mission went. The mission they’ve worked tirelessly at for the last few days. The mission that’s going to begin the rebellion against the Malviks.

  Rodrick rubs at his stomac
h where it feels like a rock has lodged its self in there. He can turn off his emotions if he wanted to, but since meeting Kayla and being around a human and their wide range of emotions, it somehow feels like he’s cheated himself of something wonderful, even if he feels like throwing the hell up.

  “We should have heard back from them by now,” Axe whispered to him.

  Rodrick didn’t even hear him sneak up on him, shaking his head at the lack of awareness on his part. He usually has his wits about him, but the mission has been weighing heavily on his mind since last night, and it seems there isn’t any room for anything else.

  He checks his watch and frowns. “They could have run into a problem. We’ll give them another hour before reaching out.”

  By the expression Axe’s face, he isn’t content with Rodrick’s reply, but there isn’t much else for them to do.

  “I didn’t think anything of it this morning when Enzo called me, but he said Gregor’s missing. He’s not at the safe house or at his apartment in the city. Enzo called his friends, but they haven’t heard from him in two days.”

  “Why’s that a problem? Gregor’s always been a loner. It’s not surprising he hasn’t been around.”

  Axe looks over at Kingston. “You should have seen him when Kingston told him about his plan. Gregor was furious. We both know how loyal Gregor is to his duty to the Malviks.”

  Rodrick stops breathing.

  Gregor’s respectable and honorable. There’s no way he’d betray them even with his duty to the Malviks. Rodrick can’t believe it, but he has to make sure because he can’t risk putting the eighth ward rebels in danger.

  Rushing over to the comm in the living room, he calls Gregor’s portable device. He holds his breath, hoping his friend picks up. Axe stands behind him, and Rodrick can feel the other man’s worry thickening the air. He probably doesn’t want to believe Gregor’s capable of doing what is running through both of their minds right now.