Page 95 of Twice the Rivalry

He moved the hand that was cupping her jaw into her hair, running his fingers through the strands. “Then I know who to go to if I need pointers.” The feel of his fingers in her hair was soothing, and her eyes drifted closed briefly, enjoying it. “Glitch, I’m not saying we need to figure everything out now. It’s probably the worst time for this shit. But I want you to know I want you, and I understand how important your work and your team are. I don’t want to take any of that away from you. All I want is a chance to be important to you as well. However we have to make it work, we can figure it out together. I just need you to give me a shot. No pressure past that, alright?”

Slowly she nodded. Licking her lips nervously, she said carefully, “I don’t know anything about love or how to give you what you need, Code. I’m not going to be easy, and I’m not going to sit back and let you take over. I’m strong-willed, I’m smart, and I may not always put you or your feelings first when it comes to the way the team works or the people we’re trying to save. I have to be upfront about that, because it wouldn’t be fair to you if I wasn’t truthful about expectations. Because it’s you that would have to bend and give, not me.

“My parents are dead. My team is my family, and they are the only thing up until now that has mattered to me. They are there for me, they trained me, and we have our own routines and ways of doing things. Not just out on a mission, but when we’re back at our place and relaxing. I spend hours learning how to braid and work on Warg and Vultures’ hair. I spend time sparring and joking around with Taz. I go into private meetings with Simba and Jag. I work with a team of men. I know you boys around here are all about no one touching your women, or even making comments about the women, but that’s not reality in my club. If you got jealous and said something about it, it wouldn’t change. You would have to live with it, and not grow to resent me or consider me untrustworthy.

“And when it comes to missions, there could be times I have to leave and go with them. They’re few and far between, but they do happen. You won’t be coming with me. You can’t. There could be times when I don’t talk to you or see you for days. That’s a lot of trust between the two of us, and I don’t know you’re really understanding or seeing that. Because if you ever gave me an ultimatum of them or you, I don’t know that I would pick you. I know that’s harsh, but I’m being as honest as I can. Because as much as you say you love me, I don’t know if you’ll be happy with what I can give you in return.”

He was silent for a long moment, digesting her words. “I know how important your team is to you,” he finally said slowly, and she could see him trying to piece together his thoughts before he voiced them. “ I’m not going to ask you to put me above them. And right now, you’re right, I won’t be equal to them. That’s just reality. Will I hope to be at least equal to them someday? Yes. Am I going to get jealous and act like an idiot? Also yes. But I can work on that. Maybe after a while, we end up going our separate ways, but I think we’ve already established that I don’t give in easily, so if you give me a shot, you’re not going to be able to kick me out without a fight.”

“I could just have the guys throw you out,” she joked lightly.

He smirked. “I have a feeling that while they would, they’d also let me right back in. As it is, we have more important things we need to get working on right now. You and I can put the two of us on the back burner for the moment, get these scumbags taken care of, and then figure us out. Alright? When you’re ready to talk, we’ll talk.”

Slowly, she nodded. He was right. She needed to focus on security right now, since that was the first line of defense against the Ghost team. Still, she didn’t move away from him, feeling like if she did, the spell would break. Everything in her was screaming to do it. To give him a chance. Hadn’t she been wondering about what it would be like when she went home and he wasn’t there? Would they chalk it up to a fling and go back to only seeing each other when their clubs got together? Because if she was honest with herself, she didn’t like the idea of not seeing Code. She got used to him being around, and she could admit she liked him. Liked the way he interacted with his brothers, with her, even if he was a pain in the ass at times and needed his ego checked. And she liked the way he made her feel. At first it had been anger, then lust, then something more.

Hell, she didn’t kick him out of her bed; that should have been her first clue. She supposed it boiled down to, did she have feelings for him? Something past a friendship or a camaraderie? Something that could bloom into more? Instead of saying anything, she leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his in a soft kiss. It wasn’t hurried, wasn’t passionate; it was simple and sweet, but it said everything she didn’t know how to voice. Thankfully, he didn’t push her away. His grip on her head tightened for a moment before he pulled away and rested his forehead against hers.

That simple gesture alone made her body relax. “I don’t know about love, but I definitely care for you, Code,” she breathed softly. “You make me feel things I haven’t before, and it scares the shit out of me.”

He gave a soft chuckle as he released her and pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. “Then you know exactly how I feel, kitten, and we can be scared shitless together. Okay?”

She nodded. “Okay.” He pressed another quick kiss to her mouth, and then they were on their feet and he nudged her to take her seat. Neither of them spoke, until finally she told herself she needed to get a grip, and cleared her throat. “Alright, enough mushy stuff, we have work to do.”

He chuckled and gave her a knowing grin. “Let’s get to it,” he agreed, moving to take his seat.

They worked nonstop for hours, bickering and fighting over the best course of action to make the system as effective as they could in such a short amount of time. Neither of them were willing to give in on some things, but they eventually found ways to compromise. By the time they finished, it was late, and her eyes were burning from staring at their screens for so long. Finally, she stopped and said, “I’m done. I can’t do any more tonight.”

She turned in her chair and let out a gasp of surprise when Code was already there and moving to scoop her up and into his arms. “I think I should start calling you bunny instead of kitten,” he said in amusement as he carried her out of the office and toward the stairs. She glanced around and saw that while the common room was empty, there was movement outside.

Looking back up at Code, she frowned and asked, “Why?”

“Because I was done an hour ago and you just kept going. You never even noticed. I was going to suggest we stop then, but you were so in the zone I didn’t bother. You’re like a little Energizer Bunny, and you never seem to run out of batteries. But I think I prefer you to be a kitten. Bunnies might fuck a lot, but they don’t have a kitten’s sharp claws, and you definitely can do some damage when you get pissed off,” he teased as he headed down the hall to his room.

Glitch smirked at that reference. Since today was all about honesty, she could admit that she much preferred kitten to bunny. Bunnies were soft and fluffy. Kittens were cute and unpredictable, exactly the way she liked to think of herself. Of course, she never considered it for a pet name, but she liked when Code called her by it. It made her want to snuggle into him.

Damn it, she did have it bad, she thought as he unlocked his door. She couldn’t stop her laughter when she saw the blow up doll still in the middle of the bed. “Weren’t you saying something earlier about us talking about this?” she asked him, tongue in cheek when he set her feet on the floor.

His eyes heated at the reminder. “I did, but I think we’re going to have to hold off on that little chat. Don’t worry, I won’t be forgetting,” he assured her, eyes bright with promise.

She grinned at him. “Bring it on, caveman,” she purred.

Code turned and shoved the doll and its attachments off the bed. “Get your ass under the covers. I’m tired and we have more work to do in the morning.” She didn’t need to be told twice. She stripped down and crawled in. When she curled into Code, she smiled to herself when he groaned at the feeling of her naked skin against his. “You’re playing with fire, kitten,” he warned her, his hand moving cup her ass and give it a hard squeeze.

“Easy access for later,” she said tiredly. “I need sleep, so keep your cock away from me until I can actually enjoy it.” She nuzzled into him, laying her head in the crook of his shoulder, and draping her leg over his stomach. She felt a small burst of amusement when she nudged against his erection and he made another sound. “Night, caveman,” she murmured drowsily.

“Night, kitten,” he murmured back, kissing the top of her head and letting go of her ass to wrap his arm around her.

Just before she allowed herself to drift off to sleep, she realized how much she liked this, and how much she didn’t want it to end.

CHAPTERFORTY-THREE

GLITCH

She was sure Code would act differently today now that they’d had a big moment, but he was acting completely normal, and she didn’t know if she wanted to thank him or scream at him. It was messing with her head. She was constantly looking over at him, his declarations from yesterday echoing in her mind. She went over them again and again, pulling them apart, dissecting them until she wanted to scream. Especially because it felt like he knew exactly what she was doing and was amused by the whole thing, the bastard.

She turned her head to glare at the back of his for good measure, and she could swear that she saw his shoulders shake in silent laughter.Asshole.

She looked back at her screen and scowled as she tried to tell herself to let it go and get back to work. Of course, that was a futile effort. Finally, she pushed back from her computer and stood up. “I’m taking a break,” she snapped, irritated.

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