Page 42 of Cyborg's Tether

His gaze softened. “Other humans and cyborgs make it work every day, and we’ve already proven we’re stronger together. Why should this be any different?”

Her heart swelled with emotion. She stood on her tiptoes, bringing her face closer to his. “You’re right. We’ve faced worse odds than this.”

His lips curved into a smile. “Much worse.”

Their lips met in a tender kiss, full of promise and shared understanding. As they pulled apart, she summoned her courage to say, “I love you, X.”

His human eye blinked rapidly for a moment as his expression softened. “I love you too, Amaya.”

“Stay with me tonight?” she asked softly.

“Tonight and every night.” He pulled her close. “Always.”

Chapter 16—Xavier

WEEKS LATER, XAVIER’Seyelids snapped open, his cybernetic implants instantly adjusting to the dim light of Amaya’s quarters. They were like his quarters now too since they had spent so much time there together.

The dream clung to him like a phantom, its vivid details fading even as he tried to grasp them. He sat up slowly, careful not to disturb Amaya, who slept peacefully beside him. The room was quiet, save for the soft hum of the facility’s systems, and Amaya’s steady breathing. He looked at her sleeping form and her dark hair tousled against the pillow. A surge of affection washed over him, tempered by the lingering melancholy from his dream.

“Bette,” he whispered, testing the name on his tongue. It was both familiar and foreign, like a half-remembered song.

Amaya stirred, her eyes fluttering open. “Xavier? Is everything okay?”

He turned to her, meeting her concerned gaze. “I had a dream. A memory, I think.”

She sat up, pulling the sheets around her. “Tell me about it.”

He frowned as he tried to piece together the fragments of the dream. “There was a woman... Bette, I think. We were arguing about me joining the Intergalactic Corp.”

“How did you feel in the dream?” she asked softly in the quiet room.

“Conflicted. Determined, and now...melancholy.” He absently traced the cybernetic implants along his arm. “She said she wouldn’t wait for me when I returned.”

She reached for his hand. “That sounds like a difficult memory to process.”

He nodded, brushing his thumb over Amaya’s knuckles. “It’s strange to remember pieces of a life I can barely recall. A life before...this.” He gestured to his cyborg body.

“I could look into your human background,” she said. “With your permission, I could access the old personnel files to see if we can find out more about your past.”

He was quiet for a moment, considering her offer. The room seemed to grow smaller as he weighed the possibilities. Finally, he shook his head. “No. I appreciate the offer, Amaya, but I don’t wish to dwell on the past. My focus is on our future together.”

Amaya’s eyes widened slightly at his words. “Our future?”

Xavier turned to fully face her. “Yes. You and me, Amaya. What we have built here, and what we’re continuing to build. It is more important to me than fragments of a life I can no longer fully remember.”

A smile spread across Amaya’s face, and she leaned in closer to Xavier. “I feel the same way.”

Their lips met, the kiss soft and tender at first, then growing in intensity. Xavier’s cybernetic systems registered every touch, every subtle change in Amaya’s breathing and heart rate. He marveled at how his partially mechanical body could still experience such profound sensations.

She stroked his chest, tracing the lines where flesh met metal. Her touch sent sparks of pleasure through his neural network, eliciting a low groan from deep in his throat.

He broke the kiss. “I want you.”

She nodded, her eyes dark with desire. “I want you too, Xavier.”

They came together again, their bodies entwining as they shed what little clothing remained. Xavier’s enhanced strength allowed him to lift Amaya effortlessly, positioning her on his lap. She gasped as his cock surged into her pussy, digging her fingers into his shoulders.

They moved together in a rhythm that was both familiar and thrillingly new. Xavier’s cybernetic eye recorded every detail of Amaya’s face, the way her lips parted in pleasure, and the flush that spread across her cheeks. He was awed by her quiet beauty and the depths of his emotions for her.

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