“Take those off, Sunshine. I’m not going to jump your frame, I promise.” I said sleepily.
“Hang on,” he grumbled. He slid my head carefully off his chest and left the bed. The sound of a drawer caused me to open my eyes. I’m so glad I did. I got a glorious view of firm, yellow ass cheeks. Seriously, you could bounce a quarter off those things. The sight didn’t last long. Acer reached in the drawer and removed a pair of black boxers, pulling them, hiding his magnificent ass from view. He then grabbed the zipper and tugged, unzipping the jacket before shrugging it off his shoulders. He stomped back to the bed and hopped in, positioning himself on his back.
Wasting no time, I snuggled back up against his frame and dropped my head onto his chest, once again. Only this time, it was warm flesh with a hint of smooth metal resting under my cheek.
“Better?” he asked.
“Much. Thank you,” I replied with a yawn.
“Good. Now go to sleep.”
I didn’t even get the chance to offer a response. Finally, safe, tucked tightly against my Sunshine’s frame, I fell fast asleep.
Chapter Six
*Acer*
“Open up, Acer. I know you’re in there!” Reaper’s familiar voice made me scowl. Didn’t he die? I should have known that indestructible son of a bitch would find a way to come back online.
I knew in my circuits he was here for Marley. There was no way I would let him take her.
Marley stirred beside me, her eyes popped open as Reaper started beating my door like a cyborg possessed.
“Who is trying to kill your door?” A crease appeared between her eyes as she pushed herself off my chest and swung her legs over the bed’s edge.
I grabbed her arm. “Stay here. I’ll deal with Reaper and his incessant banging.”
She tugged her arm free. “I’m coming with you Sunshine. We can deal with it together.”
“No. There might be trouble. I need you to stay where I know you’re safe.” I sat. Hopping out of bed, I grabbed a black hoodie and matching pair of sweats. I pulled the hood up, concealing my face from view.
“Are you in trouble in because of me?” The question came out as nothing more than a whisper.
I spun, and within two steps, I was by her side. I gripped her arms and gently tugged her upward, eye-level with me. I felt my eyes flash, the bright spark of gold lighting up the room for a brief second. “Never because of you. You know my past. You know I hate the face I wear. I spend my days avoiding others. Keep to myself unless I’m called on a mission. I dislike being exposed, but I went on every single one, each with the hope I might find you.” I pushed the hood back. “You’re the only one I don’t mind showing my face to. The only good thing I ever got to experience in my brutal lifetime.”
I decided to take a chance. I brushed a quick kiss over her lips. “I made my own enemies, lovely. No part of this is your fault.”
She cupped my cheek, trailing her thumb over both metal and skin. “I don’t think I’ve said thank you. You found me—saved me. Thank you, Sunshine. Thank you for not giving up on me.” Her arms wrapped around my neck, pulling me to her in a tight hug.
I stood there, unsure, but I finally returned her embrace, enjoying the feel of holding her close. More pounding interrupted the moment. I released her and tossed the hood back over my head. I watched her slide down on the bed and sit back on her heels. I moved to the door but stopped. I hesitated to leave her for even a second. I turned and found her staring at me with worry in her eyes. The urge to stay grew even stronger. I forced myself to remain where I stood and offered reassurances instead, “Everything will be fine. Trust me.”
She gave me a small smile. “I do.”
A rush of warmth filled my chest, lighting up my processors, and causing something foreign to settle in my circuits. My feet started to move without thought, and I gathered her into my arms.
I knew, every time I held her, it would only make letting her go that much harder, but I couldn’t stop myself. Her arms wrapped around my waist and she clung to me like I was some sort of hero. I wanted to tell her I was the villain. That, when the madness finally claimed me, I would have to leave her even knowing how much it would hurt her. She hadn’t even been in my life one full day, and already, I couldn’t think about living without her. I searched for too long, waited years to find the MechTech who consumed my processors.
Marley was the only one I would play the role of hero for. I knew it was selfish, but I’d continue to play it for her until my processors failed.
Reaper pounded louder. “Acer! Open this fucking door right now, or I’ll tear it down!”
Marley pulled away from my frame. “I think he means it. You should probably go and find out what he wants.”
“I’ll be back.” I stormed towards the front door and flung it wide open. “What the fuck do you want, Military Model?” I snarled at Reaper, baring my teeth as my fingers curled into a fist.
Reaper looked around my frame, which blocked the doorway. His eyes searched for something. My female. He looked for my female. I snarled deeper, bumping my chest into his, pushing his frame back into the hall. He growled low, his eyes blazed. His frame collided with mine as he tried to force his way inside.
“Where is the female?” he roared. “What have you done to her?” His hands pressed against my chest, and he used all his strength to try and move me. My metallic heels dug into the floor. My toes curled into the concrete as I fought his assault. Pain shot up my frame, the metal of my legs bent slightly as I struggled to remain in place. I’m strong, but Military Models are stronger, built to take a heavy beating and keep fighting. With broader chests and two inches more on height, they are formidable opponents.
Up until now, I never tangled with Reaper. My processors were unsure I could take him in prolonged combat, but I didn’t have a female to protect before. Besides, Reaper just got put back together. He wasn’t fully repaired. I had a chance and a female waiting on me. That thought, alone, gave me enough strength to slam into Reaper’s frame. I managed to knock him back. He stumbled but didn’t go down. I planted my feet even deeper into the floor and braced myself for another round.
“Stop!” The sound of Marley’s shout behind me caught me off-guard, and Reaper took the opportunity to strike. He hit me hard in the chest, knocking me off my feet, and we tumbled to the floor in a tangled heap of gray and yellow.
I heard running and saw Marley’s hand grab at Reaper’s arm while she tried with all her might to pull him off me. “Leave him alone!” A small, pale fist started to smack him with all its might, and Reaper’s frame squirmed as he tried to dodge it.
“Ow! That hurts, female! Stop it!” Marley didn’t listen. She raised a foot and kicked him in the thigh. “Get off!” Kick. “You big bully!” Punch. “What’s wrong with Military Models and their need for violence?” Kick. “Be more than your programming!” Punch.
I couldn’t help the smirk as I listened to her berate Reaper. It was highly amusing.
“This isn’t funny,” Reaper growled. “Tell her to stop.”
“I can hear you, you big brute.” Kick. “He doesn’t need to tell me anything! Do you know I generally like Military Models? She shook her head like she couldn’t believe she was beating on a cyborg. She released a sigh and the pummeling stopped. “Are you done trying to hurt my cyborg?”
“Yes,” Reaper swung his leg over my frame and stood. He extended a hand and helped me to my feet, all under Marley’s watchful gaze. Her fingers twitched like they waited to start smacking him once more if he made any sudden moves to hurt me.
“Just so you know, I don’t usually go around hitting cyborgs.”
Reaper turned his attention to her. “Thank God for that. You actually managed to make your blows hurt. I’m guessing that’s because you received Dax’s upgrade.” He gave her a once over. “Dax was the one who informed me that when Acer brought you in, he demanded you get the formula that upgrades a human into something more.” He took a step forward, moving
away from me, closer to her. “Is that true?”
The Military Model towered over Marley’s frame. All cyborgs were taller than humans. but Military Models were taller than the other models. I stood about six-and-a-half feet, and Reaper was closer to 6’8. Marley could be no more than 5’5.
In comparison to him, she seemed so tiny. Delicate. Fragile. Reaper stood far too close for my liking. I pulled her tight against me and shot Reaper a glare. “You should be asking me what happened, not her. She wasn’t conscious when I brought her to Dax, she can’t tell you anything.”
Reaper swung his gaze back to me. “So, you admit you brought a human female to our headquarters without permission and proceeded to administer a drug that could have been fatal to the female without her consent?” Reapers eyes flashed as his fists curled by his sides.
“She was dying! I did what I had to do! Should I have just let her die?” My voice rose as my chest heaved, rage and fear of what could have been mixing in my circuits. My free hand clenched, metal dug into metal leaving tiny gouges in my palm.
“You should have seen if Dax could have healed her then given her a choice. She can’t go back now. The process can’t be reversed! You’ve trapped her here. She’s stuck. What if she wanted to be free? What if she didn’t want to spend the rest of her now-infinite lifetime hiding underground, always in danger, always hunted by the Global Allegiance?” Reaper snarled. “Not only that, you could have killed her, Acer! Is the CPU in that metal skull of yours not processing that?” Reaper’s voice rose to match mine, and the force of our shouts shook the walls.
I hugged her tighter to my frame to keep Marley out of his reach; every instinct inside me screamed I needed to protect my female.
“You behaved selfishly, Acer. You only thought about what you wanted and nothing else. I don’t trust you with her.” He looked at Marley, and his eyes softened slightly. “I want you to come with me, female. You will be provided with your own quarters. You are free, of course, to visit Acer any time. After what I experienced today, I’m no longer afraid he will attempt to take advantage of you.”
That Military Model son of a bitch dared to smile at her. I would rearrange Reaper’s face with my fucking fists.
I took a step forward, forgetting my arm still wrapped around Marley’s waist. I dropped my arm and stepped in front of her, blocking her from the cyborg attempting to take her from me.
“You will not take her from me.” I puffed out my chest. “Try it and, once again, your female will find you in nothing but pieces, Military Model.”
Reaper pointed at me, the finger once covered in gray skin now gleamed brightly. His entire right hand been stripped to the metal. Both his hands had been. The left had been salvageable, and new skin had been grafted on. The right hadn’t fared so well. Now, it resembled mine. Some part of me liked it. At least now I wasn’t the only freak running around with their metal frame on display for the world to see.
“You are the one who violated the rules. You brought an unknown human into headquarters without asking if it was okay. What if she had been hostile to cyborgs? What if she was a human who hated us? Or, what if you had killed her injecting her with something only tested twice, with side effects not everyone wants to spend their whole life living with? Maybe she wanted to stay just a normal, average human.” He gestured with his metal hand and waved it over Marley’s frame. “Maybe she didn’t want to be this.” The last word was growled so low it was hard to understand.
Guilt assailed my circuits. I pushed it back. I could address it with Marley, later. Right now, I had to stop him from taking her away from me. My heart constricted within my frame at the mere thought of being separated from her. My simulated breathing started coming out in pants.
Kill him, my processors whispered. Eliminate the threat. He can’t have her! You found her first. She’s ours. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. They were dangerous whispers. Thoughts that invaded my skull like poison, infecting me—corroding me from the inside out.
Marley’s hands dug into my hoodie. “I don’t want to go! I refuse,” she shouted before her hands dug in even harder.
Reaper sighed. “Somehow, I expected that.” His tone relaxed when he spoke to her, but he reached up, intending to tap his communicator.
My hand shot out, and I knocked his hand away. I wasn’t stupid. I could fight Reaper and maybe win—especially if Marley helped. But a whole team of cyborgs? I’d fight until my last simulated breath, but I knew I’d lose.
There was also no way Marley would sit back and watch. They would try to not hurt her. But if they killed me, I don’t think she would take it well.
She would be damaged. She trusted me. I wouldn’t fail her.
I shoved Reaper. “This is between me and you! You know what’s funny? The fact that you are trying to punish me for something you did as well. Iris. Aria. The new one I haven’t bothered to learn her name—the one chasing Hester like a love-sick fool. Each of them unknown! Still, you allowed them here. You made us accept humans into our home simply because one conveniently got the hots for a Service Model and wanted her friends to come along for the ride.” I could feel my eyes spark as I shoved a finger into his chest. “Then you went and got your circuits all twisted over the blonde one and her tag-along cyborg child. To top it off, you injected one of them without their consent—used Iris like a goddamn guinea pig.” I shouted, my rage set on boil. “Maybe it’s time we start looking into new leadership. I don’t care to follow a cyborg who expects the rules followed but breaks them for himself when it’s convenient.” My fingers twitched, aching for a fight. The unhinged part of my CPU laughed, egging me on, desperate to feel the Military Model’s mechanical fluid splashing over my silver fists.
“Acer.” Marley’s soft voice cleared my head, blowing away the smoke, cooling the rage in my circuits. I turned, and Marley wasted no time, jumping so fast I barely had time to catch her. Her arms wrapped around my neck and her legs locked around my waist. She turned her head, shooting Reaper a glare.
“I trust him. Not you. I stay with him. You want me? You’ll have to pry me off his frame.” Her words sounded strong, but I felt her body shudder against mine. The sticky, sweet scent of fear rolled off her. The scent strong enough that Reaper took a step back.
“Look at me,” I ordered. Her face whipped to mine. This close, I could see the slight tremble of her chin. “Deep breath, lovely. You are okay.”
She listened to my words, taking a deep breath then releasing it. “God. Why am I going full damsel in distress right now? I fought a Military Model for goodness sakes!” She shook her head, her arms tightening around my neck. “Everything’s a mess. The only way I know you’re real is when you are with me. What if he takes me, and you disappear? What if none of this is real?” A hysterical laugh bubbled from her lips. “I don’t want to go back into the dark,” she whispered, pain etched into every word.
My heart stuttered within my frame. “Never.”
Chapter Seven
*Marley*
My brain began to flash warning signs, but I remained in Acer’s arms, paralyzed. I licked my lips, trying to recapture the taste of my cyborg instead of the thick and bitter taste of fear coating my tongue.
I’d been running on adrenaline and hope. Kept on my feet by the sheer force of will to be with my cyborg. Like a flower too long without the sun, I soaked up every drop Acer had been willing to give. Without him, I am afraid I will wither, and draw back inside myself to find a safe place to hide in the dark.
I hadn’t been free for more than a day. My mind a playground of every horror I endured just waiting to be unleashed. I couldn’t hide behind Acer forever, but was it too much to ask to for more than a day?
I swallowed, forcing down the taste of my fear. With an unsteady breath, I turned my head to look at the Military Model. “Please don’t make me leave,” I begged. “Acer might have made some mistakes, but he believed I was dying. The truth is, I was. Dr. Rosenfield never came back
. For days, I laid on the floor, wondering when I would take my last breath.” I felt tears gather in my eyes, but I willed them away. I had to finish. I needed him to understand. “And the truth is, I prayed for it.” My admission made Acer’s arms tighten around me. Cool fingers gripped my chin, and he turned my face back to him.
Without some of the features used to express emotions, Acer had to rely on his eyes to do it for him. They were golden windows into his soul. Most never looked close enough. I hadn’t ever been able look away.
I stared at him; I saw his worry and sadness. The fear I almost gave up. I cupped his cheek. “I didn’t. I’m here. I’m a mess, but I’m here.”
He nodded, his eyes flashing.
“Dr. Rosenfield?” Reaper asked, a hard edge to his voice.
My head whipped back to the Military Model. “You knew her?” He nodded and traced a scar over his throat. I eyed the scar and the shiny metal hand he sported. The pieces clicked into place. Acer said the Military Model had been repaired. He had threatened to return him in pieces back to his female if he refused to leave me alone. Tearing cyborgs apart was always one of the doctor’s specialties. Sympathy for the Military Model welled up in my chest.
I loosened my grip on Acer and landed back on the floor on shaky legs. I reached for the Military Model’s metal hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m sorry,” I whispered softly. I knew how evil that woman truly was. Anybody subjected to her brand of terror never came back the same.
The Military Model appeared taken aback by my gesture but composed himself quickly. “How long were you...” he trailed off, not wanting to finish. I guessed what he wanted to know- how long had I been with the doctor.
I shrugged. “Don’t really know. When she wasn’t experimenting on me, she kept me in stasis, so I have no idea how long I was there.” I fiddled with the edge of my night shirt. “She took me the night the Global Allegiance started the mass termination of all the cyborgs. She faked my death. Promised she would make sure I was cared for. Told me she understood my love of the cyborgs, and she wanted to make sure they weren’t all lost forever.” I batted away the tears that finally broke free and took a deep breath. I had been a fool; putting my trust in the wrong person had sentenced me to a fate that, up until now, I believed was worse than death. I looked the Military Model in the eyes. “I found out too late it was all a lie.”
Acer Page 4
