Chapter 9 Roxi
Fracture’s dedication to his Brothers and Sisters and his loyalty to the rebellion is greater than Garett’s, a coveted human male.
Somehow, being one of the few men left wasn’t enough for that bastard.
I don’t know what the Solcrue promised him that was better than what he had with us.
But Garett sold out all of us, the entire rebellion for whatever it was.
Just once, I’d like a straightforward explanation for how one man can betray his entire species while a synthetic man in constant pain from shattering can fight, tooth and edge, risking life to save that same species. To save me.
I’ll settle for finding Garett in the after-realm, whenever it arrives to take me. I hope he’s ready. Because I eagerly await my chance to kick his ass.
“Hey,” Fracture shakes my shoulder. “I’m going with you.”
“Kraken said the same thing,” I mumble. “He was so dedicated and effective until that damned coilgun took him out. I fucking hate those things.”
“Roxi,” Fracture coos. “Coilguns don’t work on atomorphs. We shatter. That’s why we were made.”
I nod. “But now Solcrue have capsule guns for every class of Titan.”
Fracture slides closer and wraps an arm around my back, pulling me into the shield of his body. “With any luck, we’ll get stuck in one together.”
“You want to save me a third time?” I ask with a laugh. “Talk about an ego hit. I’m the one that’s supposed to protect you.” But I like the idea of being stuck with Fracture a little too much.
His eyebrows pinch upward, proving he doesn’t know what I am. “Maybe if we were on your base. But you are out here with us. The roles are reversed. That is why Creators made us, is it not?”
“You were built to preserve humanity, not necessarily the physical humans. Anyone with humanity. Brothers and Sisters. Humans. Even Solcrue and Kilthrians if they display the correct qualities.”
Fracture shifts back in alarm. “You can’t mean that.”
I look up at him. “I’m just telling you what I know. But it is why Chaos believes in Jeris and Menace tolerates Sythius.”
“Evo does not tolerate Crezlith.”
“Doesn’t he?”
“No.”
“He could’ve snapped his neck with a single finger. Instead, he beat the crap out of him. Why?”
“Torture before he dies.”
I shake my head. “He doesn’t want him to die. He wants him to suffer eternally. I locked the door, but I know Evo can unlock it.”
“Then why bother?”
“If I had left the door unlocked, that would have sent him a message that I’m done with Crezlith. I’m not. So Evo cannot keep him within an inch of his life. I need him coherent so I can probe him more for additional information.”
Fracture grins. “As long as you let me watch you work.”
The seams on his face are almost undetectable now. I reach up and run a finger over them anyway, to get a sense of their transitions. “Fracture, I think, during battle, you need to stay away from me.”
His smile falls. “Why?”
“Because of this. If you touch me, I shut down your defense systems, and your skills become null. Savage may have been right. I don’t want to risk you.”
“No… Roxi.”
“In this form, you are just a metal soldier who is stronger and faster than a human. Your unique skills as Titans are your advantage. I can’t take that away from you. I won’t.”
When I pull away, Fracture follows.
“Please don’t. I can still fight. Just don’t take this feeling away from me.” Fracture touches my face and studies my mouth with curiosity. “Not when I finally feel normal.”
I slide back. “Prove to me you can switch it on quickly.”
Fracture lowers his arm, sighs, and crackles as his skin covers in white fissures. “Happy?”
“No. Satisfied, yes.” I get up and stand in front of him, where he sits on the bench. “It’s not that I don’t want to be close to you. I do not want to be your weakness. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
An alert flashes as an abrupt movement warning siren warbles.
The whole ship jolts, and I’m knocked into Fracture. He braces himself on the lockers behind him and solidifies before his arms wrap around me and steady me against the mounds of his broad chest. I gasp from the jarring motion and a surge of lust.
Fracture traces my nose with his. His hot breath stirs up the loose bangs that have fallen from my ponytail. He carries the slightly sweet and minty metallic scent of nanosolution mixed with grease and fresh polymeric nano armor.
We shouldn’t be doing this, but I can’t stop myself from sweeping my lips over his. His mouth is firm and smooth and hangs open in shock.
“Roxi… I…”
It feels too good to finally be held by someone who wants to protect me instead of hurt me.
His eyes go distant, then light up with communication.
He relays a message as it appears in my vision.
I look away so he doesn’t see that I see.
“Residual disturbance in space from the solar storm that recently passed through. Lotus says there will be more. Savage is requesting us on the stealth transport for supply prep. We’re cloaking and heading into a debris field outside of the planet’s orbit. Chasm has assigned your crew.”
He blinks and looks down at me. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to ruin the moment.”
“You didn’t. It’s just the war. But I’m tired of it ruining everything. So I’m not upset. I want to get this shit over with.”
Fracture rests his forehead against mine. “What was your life like before this? Before the war?”
I shrug. “There has only been this as far as I can remember. I don’t really remember being a child. It was too many…” Don’t say lifetimes. “Battles ago.”
He rubs his mouth with his hand. “I had an abusive father who was also a coward because he didn’t want to fight for humanity. After my parents died, I moved around a lot. I had anger issues, kept breaking things, so I ended up drifting.”
I lean back and study him. “That explains why you meshed so well with your Titan body.”
“You assume I have.”
“I didn’t say it was easy. But if anyone can pull off atomorphosis, it would be someone already used to the behaviors of that model of husk. But I am sorry you had to endure that.”
He looks down at his boots. “I was hoping you had a happy memory to share, something to hang on to.”
“I don’t. But I have an idea.”
“Oh?”
If this is the last peaceful moment I get, I want to take advantage of it.
So I lean in and kiss Fracture. It’s just a quick touch, mostly to see how he reacts.
But I like the way he feels. The Titan Creators would have shamed me, maybe even banned me from all Titan and Omega Force facilities.
But if this is it, I want to have one good thing to replay as I expire.
The motor in his chest thunders. His eyelids droop as he responds to my affection.
“What…” He slowly breaks the kiss. “What was that for?”
“A good memory to hold on to.”
Fracture inhales deeply, slides a hand up the back of my neck, and kisses me back, deeper, longer, his surprisingly soft tongue gliding over mine until my belly is afire with tingling urges to be filled with him.
“This is definitely a good memory,” he mutters.
“Mmm, yeah. And while I don’t mind looking at you naked, I’m glad you have adaptive armor for this mission.”
“Oh?” Amusement touches his eyes. “I thought I was embarrassing you.”
“I have worked closely with Titans for years but never in that kind of way. I’ve…seen things.”
He chuckles. “Familiar with Titan things but haven’t taken one for a ride?”
And there he goes making me want him when we’re, once again, about to deal with some heavy shit.
“It wasn’t quite fraternization because I was never in the Titan chain of command.
But I had an obligation and a need to stay focused before.
Now that Leah Krader is with Savage and Esthielle is with Armor, I… see the way it can work.”
I nip at his bottom lip. “And I definitely want to take yours for a ride. If we survive this.”
“Aw…fuck. You do?” Fracture draws me tighter, between his thighs that drip with weapons. Sitting down, he is eye-level with me. My heart beats faster as his large, warm hands glide around my hips.
He doesn’t know what I am. If he did, he would never touch me the way he does. But I’m so glad he does, I hope he never finds out. I have never felt so wanted in all my lives.
It isn’t because of what I can build or what I can fix. He sees me. And when I’m close to him, I feel almost like a normal human again. Just a simple person who longs to be safe, loved, and respected without first fulfilling a long list of impossible tasks or selling her soul to the enemy.
I run a hand over the shoulder plates above his digibadge. “Bet you never turn the nanoreception off.”
He hums a quiet note. “If I need to work with humans, I do. Then it will at least make the suit a barrier between me and their delicate skin. But for this mission, I have something better than armor. You gave that to me and to us.”
He tilts my chin up so I meet his gaze. Fracture is serious, almost like he knows my sense of purpose is crushed under guilt, and my self-worth has crumbled because I failed to protect my base, and I’m terrified that it’s going to happen again.
“Roxi, you arrived with skills, knowledge, and commitment that give us hope. And that is more powerful than you realize.”