Page 39 of 8-Bit & Cat

She nodded, gasping for air. “I’m so terrified.”

He kissed her again. “You’re our angel. I won’t let you go.”

She nodded a lot. “That goes both ways.” She raised her hand and paused just before the screen. “Zero,” she gasped, getting his green eyes boring into hers. “I…” She swallowed, suddenly worried to say it. But then she imagined never seeing him again and agony flooded her chest, filling her eyes with tears. “I love you. You’re very beautiful. Inside,” she gasped, notwanting him to think she only cared about his looks. “And out, but then you already know that.”

His mouth was on hers again, and while he kissed her, she pressed her palm against the screen.

****

The moment her palm touched the screen, a low, humming vibration ran through the nodes on her body—first cool, then sharp. It wasn’t painful, but it felt like something was testing the edges of her nerves, mapping her.

Her breath shallowed. “Zero? Is it working? I can feel something.”

“I’m here.” His voice sounded softer, maybe farther. “Stay with me.”

Pressure hit. A pull—not external, but inside her skull. Like something pressing into her perception, adjusting, shifting, folding something new into place.

She gasped, gripping the edge of the chair. “Oh—shit.”

“It’s just the system aligning.” Zero’s words seemed to be turned low.

Her vision flickered and it made her pulse lurch. Not a blackout—but overlaying maybe. Like a second screen was being added to her mind, a depth she hadn’t had before.

She squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t like this.”

A warmth pressed against her mind. Not physical. Something else. “Zero?

“I have you.”

Her entire body locked up. That was in her mind! Her breaths flew out. “I heard you. In my mind I think!”

“You did,” he said softly. The sound was cinematic and made her gasp. The presence pressed again. Steady. “Yes, that’s me.”

Her stomach dropped. “Zero—”

“You’re okay,” he urged as she panted at the strange sensation of him holding her together. For some reason it made her emotional and her breath hitched. “I can hear you in my mind,” she whispered, letting go an amazed laugh, blinking away tears. “Did it work?”

“It’s still working, Kitten.”

Oh God, he… “You sound sure, are you?”

“I am. Brace for movement.”

Everything shifted and she was suddenly standing on her feet. “Holy crap!” she gasped, looking around, her eyes landing on Zero, sitting at a two-person table. She glanced at the room that was more of an apartment, then back at him.

“Welcome to my suite. Come sit.”

****

ZERO:

The moment he’d gotten locked into her, Zero had stilled.

It shouldn’t have been possible.

He didn’t have a body.

No nerves to fire.

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