Glitch

by Olivia Linden

  “He okay?” Araceli asked Scratch. Scratch stared at her before answering.

  “Yeah, always,” he grumbled before he continued through the living room.

  “When Jack gets back bring him here, okay?” Glitch requested as Scratch strolled towards the door. Scratch nodded, throwing up his hand in a wave, before leaving their apartment. Glitch had no doubt that Scratch would be monitoring the hell out of Jack’s progress. Even though Jack tended to be short, even Glitch noticed that he wasn’t quite himself. They needed to all be in the right mindset to deal with this shit.

  “Is everything alright?” Araceli asked. He could see her interest in what had happened, but he couldn’t say that he wasn’t glad she hadn’t asked more than that. He wouldn’t tell her, couldn’t.

  “Yeah, we just wanted to make sure that Jack was up to speed with everything that is going on around us. Eagle is taking his time going after the three of us it seems. And I have a feeling some jobs are about to open up soon.”

  “The better to hang you with, right? Luckily you will have an extra hacker on hand, so I’ll be able to help watch your back. He won’t expect that.”

  “True, and lord knows the money will do us good. The more you can move and monitor my program the better,” Glitch said.

  “Have you thought about after?” Araceli asked as Glitch flopped down on the couch next to her. She curled into his side and he wrapped his arm around her. It was so natural, like she was meant to be there. He kind of liked that.

  “What do you mean, after?” Glitch asked.

  “I mean, when you get away from him, when you’re free, have you thought about that?”

  “I think I’m so focused on getting to that point that my mind hasn’t had a chance to wander that far. Whatever happens, my plan is to have Eagle out of the way and us in the clear. These guys that he hired to replace us, I’m not so sure about,” Glitch explained. Araceli let out a little laugh before she climbed on his lap. She wrapped Glitch’s arms around her waist before leaning forward and running her fingers through his hair.

  “Maybe I didn’t ask my question right, so let me try again? Where are we going to be after this? I’m helping you get away from the Eagle, and be free from prosecution. I’ve given up my life to do that. But, not once, have you made any mention of what is going to happen after all this. I know it’s a lot going down, but I don’t want you to disappear on me again, you know?”

  “It’s not that I don’t think about that, Araceli, I just haven’t...cared. No,” he said, gripping her waist when she moved to get off him. “Hear me out. You’re here, Araceli. You have access to my lab, my systems, me. Scratch and Jack? They’re like my brothers and you’ve seen them. Dealt with them. You’re in my life now, an integral part, isn’t that enough?”

  “You really don’t do romance and flowery speech, do you?” Araceli asked, her gaze snapping fire at him.

  “I told you I didn’t. But I’m giving you what I got,” he said, caressing her face. “I may not be a man that tells you that he’d die without you. Hell, I couldn’t fix my mouth to say my life would be meaningless without you. It’s just not in my make-up,” he said, hoping she understood. Fearing that maybe she wouldn’t. He couldn’t change who he was. He rubbed his hands up and down her pants as he waited for her to speak. She looked down, noting the motion and her eyes softened.

  “I don’t need pretty promises, Liam. I wouldn’t believe them,” Araceli said as she got off his lap. She paced in front of him as she spoke, her facial expression slightly confused, as if she were trying to puzzle through her thoughts as she said them.

  “I really don’t need those promises. They are worthless in the long run. Let’s face it, people like you and I, Liam, need a kick in the ass every once in a while. I need someone who will call me on my shit when I need it. Someone who will force me to get over myself and will be there for me. Pretty words are great to hear, but actions speech so much louder.”

  Glitch agreed, wholeheartedly. Most of the time growing up his parents had been absent from his life. Not necessarily because they wanted to be, they just didn’t know how to deal with him. It hadn’t taken long for his father to realize that he couldn’t teach someone who excelled him in intelligence. His mother felt it difficult to connect because, while he needed human connection, to a point, he didn’t understand the need for emotional words and ties along with it. It was biology. As he grew older, well, the people around him really couldn’t deal, and it was easier to disappear behind numbers and code.

  Araceli, truly, was the first person he ever wanted to try more with. He didn’t think he was succeeding as well as he’d hoped, and it could be the situation around them. He couldn’t focus on her. He couldn’t focus on a ‘them’ when he could very well end up in a jail cell hanging from a sheet if they didn’t do this shit right. That didn’t mean he didn’t want it though. He watched her, the way she moved, and the way she worried her lip with her teeth when stressed. The way she twisted her fingers when she was agitated. God knew this woman was worth the ‘more’.

  But was he the man to give it to her? He’d figure he’d try to find out.

  “Is it a promise you’re looking for Araceli? Some statement that tells you what to look forward to? Is that what you need?” She shook her head.

  “Not a promise, your word is good enough. I know you, the promise would be pushing just a little too far with how things are right now. But, you can tell me that I’m going to go with you. That I’m not going to be left behind. You could tell me that you want me with you, wherever you go. You can tell me, somehow, we have a future, and all this I’m doing, all I’ve done, was for a reason.”

  “Araceli, why do you care so much?”

  “Liam, my perfectly imperfect, genius, can’t you see the answer to that already?”

  Chapter 19

  Staring into the seemingly endless depths of her warm brown eyes, Glitch finally understood.

  “You want to come with me,” he said.

  “Are you asking? Because that didn’t sound like a question,” she replied testily.

  “Is that what you want to do?” He understood what she was driving at, and his question was simply a stall tactic. In the back of his mind, he knew that inviting her into his world would lead to this, but he was sorely inexperienced in the relationship discussion arena.

  “Glitch,” her voice held a warning even as her eyes implored him to say the words she wanted to hear. This was hard for her too. They were both in unfamiliar territory.

  “Yes,” he answered her, finally. “I want you with me. But more than anything, I want you safe, so I’ve been hesitant to even think about what this means, but now I know that I want you with me no matter what. I just need you to understand that may mean walking through the fire to get there.”

  He noted the visible lilt in her shoulders as the tension ebbed away. It was still surreal to him that things were happening between them so swiftly.

  “I am scared,” she admitted. “Scared of how far Eagle will go with all of this, but I’m even more afraid of losing you again. I’d rather be by your side until the bitter end, then have you slip away again.”

  Glitch released a deep breath as the heaviness of the situation bore down on him. He didn’t know how to do emotions, he never had to before, but he couldn’t ignore the feelings that were swirling like a tornado inside of him. Nor could he ignore her honest outpour. The words wouldn’t form to express what was happening to his heart, but he figured he could show her.

  Tracing the outline of her lips with his thumb, he leaned forward and gently pressed his mouth to hers. Araceli trembled in his arms and her held her tighter. For the first time in his life, Glitch understood love and what it felt like to share it physically as his own body shuddered with the need to connect with her. Holding her in his arms that way, he also knew he never wanted to let her go.

  The soft kiss began to morph into a passionate declaration as his hunger for her became more pronoun
ced. Instead of just accepting that she was there, or would be, he wanted to make sure of it. He became desperate to bask in the headiness of it all, to drown in the pleasure that only she could ever give him.

  “I need you,” he whispered against her soft lips. “I love you,” he added with another kiss. “I want you. I want us.”

  “Liam,” she murmured breathlessly.

  “Shh. No more talking,” Glitch huffed as he lifted her into his arms.

  Once in his bedroom, he came to a stop in front of the large mirror on his dresser. Placing her on her feet, Glitch stood behind Araceli watching her reflection as he began to undress her. Hooking his thumbs into the elastic waistband of her yoga pants, he worked each side, kneeling behind her to lift each ankle free. He placed light kisses to the back of her knees and thighs before making his way back to standing.

  Slowly, his fingers trailed up her abdomen bunching her cotton tank above her navel before pulling it and her sports bra over her head in one motion. She broke their gaze then, her eyes following his touch as it seemingly torched her bare skin. His large palms slid smoothly over her silky flesh, starting with a gentle massage of her neck, and then sliding lower until he firmly cupped a breast in each hand. A whimper escaped her lips when he began to squeeze and knead her sensitive flesh.

  “Liam,” she groaned when his thumbs began to rub slow circles around her pointed nipples. The sensation thrilling her as it sent signals of arousal right to her core. She cried out when he began to tug and roll the sensitive flesh between his fingers, and her head fell back against his chest. Her entire body pressed backwards in her desire to feel the heat of his body on hers.

  Wanting to feel the same heat, Glitch reluctantly pulled one hand away so that he could unbutton his own shirt. His hips swiveling until his hardness was nestled into the crease of her bare backside. He couldn’t wait for his cock to be buried deep inside her. Somehow, the confirmation that she belonged to him excited him as much as her tempting, naked, flesh. He was sure she felt the same way, and wanted to show her that in all ways, he was hers.

  With his shirt now discarded, he made light work of his jeans and was now kicking his last leg free. The entire time his hand continued to tease her. Moving from her breast, he snaked his way down her torso and between her thighs until his hand covered her pussy. The heel of his palm pressing upwards caused her to groan and buck against him. In agony, she placed her hand on top of his to guide the pressure just where she needed it.

  Eyes full of hunger, Glitch watched through the mirror as they pleasured her together. The way her hips rolled, her eyes fluttered shut, and her soft moans and purrs caused his dick to throb mercilessly. He slipped his erection between her plump cheeks, groaning at the contact. Soft flesh was met with hard muscle as he pumped in and out of the tight space.

  “Mine,” he panted. His breath warming the skin of her neck where he pressed his lips. His eyes found her gaze and he locked in. He loved that he could see everything in her eyes. She was open to him, in all ways. Between her thighs, their hands worked in tandem, his larger hand spreading out so that his palm felt her wetness while his fingertips teased her clit.

  “No other man will ever touch you like this again,” he uttered hoarsely. “No other man will do what I do to you. Only to you.”

  At the same moment the profession slipped from his lips, he increased the pressure of his palm and pressed his thumb over her aching clit. Araceli released a strangled sob as her climax erupted. Her hand now gripping his wrist as her knees began to give way.

  With ease, he lifted her into his arms again, gently placed her onto the bed, and edged his body over hers. Her chest was heaving as the effects of her orgasm continued to ravage her body, causing her pointed nipples to graze against his bare chest. Araceli reached up to touch his face, tracing each feature as she stared at him in wonder. Glitch caught her hand in his and kissed each fingertip reverently before he leaned in and gave her a proper kiss. There was no holding back his hunger as he sucked her bottom lip before sliding his tongue into her mouth. She matched his need with a fire of her own, and soon they were both lost to each other.

  Pulling away to catch his breath, Glitch couldn’t believe what was happening to him. Araceli’s hair splayed across his pillow, her eyes shone with lust and adoration, and her body trembled under his. “You’re so damn beautiful,” he murmured as he nuzzled his nose to hers.

  Still speechless, she merely nodded as her body communicated what her mouth couldn’t. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him closer while her knees parted wide for him. Following her lead, Glitch raised his hips and positioned his tip until he was slipping into her tight entrance. He sucked in a deep breath, and she emitted a satisfied moan as their bodies melded together. Fighting his need to thrust into her, hard and deep, Glitch began to rock her with a slow and steady tempo instead.

  Placing his forehead to hers, Glitch gripped her thighs with his long arms as he thrust in and out. Each time relishing in the sweet pull of her body as it sucked his cock deeper. Sex for him was always just that. A meaningless series of actions that lead to a fast and furious release of tension. This was not that. With Araceli he wanted to take his time, enjoy each jolt of pleasure that pushed him closer to his internal crisis. Each time they came together felt better than the last, and this time was no exception. He worked his hips, finding all the places inside her that made her groan deep, or cry out with ecstasy. Knowing that she loved when he suckled her nipples, he kissed his way towards one of her luscious peaks. Licking her puckered flesh like a melting ice cream cone, his cock hardened even more when she moaned his name again and again.

  Beneath him, Araceli was falling apart. She rocked her hips to match his rhythm her back arching whenever his cock touched a sensitive spot deep inside her. While she had always known that she wanted Glitch, to finally know that he was hers felt divine. She too was new to the ultimate expression of love. It was a magic they shared together.

  Araceli’s body began to shake as her release seized her limbs. Glitch kept the same pace but thrust harder and harder until his body was tensing with a need to let go, too.

  “God,” she gasped. “Oh Liam. Oh, please don’t stop. Don’t ever stop!”

  “I’ll never stop,” he huffed. He cradled her face in his hands, balancing on his elbows while his pelvis arched so that he could thrust deeper.

  “Liam,” she wailed as she let it all go. Glitch answered with a growl that stemmed from the tips of his curled toes, and roared out of his throat. His motion stilled as his body jerked violently while he spurted deep inside her. He continued to grunt and groan, almost as if it felt so good it pained him.

  He rolled onto his back in an effort to catch his breath, and find his mind cause he’d surely lost it. Glancing over at Araceli, he smiled at the sight of her arm thrown over her head as she fought to catch her own breath. He moved back towards her, gathering her close until she was pressed against his side.

  “You love me,” she stated.

  “I do,” he replied simply, ignoring his usual tendency to sarcasm.

  “But you said it.” Her voice cracked, betraying her fiery emotions.

  “And I mean it,” he murmured into her hair as he stroked her comfortingly.

  “It’s just,” she began with uncertainty.

  “Surprising?” He tried to fill in the blanks.

  “No. Now I feel pressured into saying it before I’m ready,” she corrected.

  “Wait, What?” Glitch sputtered as he grasped her meaning. “Are you serious?” He couldn’t believe his ears. After everything, she wasn’t ready to reciprocate the hardest sentence he’d ever uttered in his life.

  She peered up at him with a guilty expression until she suddenly burst into laughter.

  “What the hell?” Glitch was beyond confused but couldn’t help chuckling at her infectious laughter.

  “Just kidding,” she teased. “Of course I love you, silly!”

  Glitch’s a
drenaline was pumping as his emotions tried to right themselves, and surprisingly, his dick was hard again.

  “I’m sorry,” she exclaimed at his smug expression, but still giggling.

  “You better be, cause I’m going to make you pay for that,” he warned as he slid his body back over hers.

  It was the best lesson of her life.

  Chapter 20

  There was no basking in the afterglow for Glitch. For the first time in his life, he relished the thought of sleeping in, spending the day catching up on all the time he missed out on when he was busy thinking he was unlovable. Now, he seemed to be filled with the once elusive emotion, and had a never-ending urge to ‘give it’ to Araceli. Unfortunately, that was not in the cards for him.

  The call from IT came bright and early. They finally conceded against the unrelenting viral attack of their systems, and called in the master himself to fix the issue. It was a funny situation, really, because not only did he have to pretend to clean up a mess he created, it was keeping him from what he would rather be doing instead. That bitch, Karma...