It felt illegal.
But Milo writhed up into my touch, and I took it as a sign that he wanted me to keep touching him.
My fingers grazed the raised peak of one of his nipples, and he jerked in response.
His reaction felt familiar.
Even in the mess of blood and violence that was my mind, I remembered the way he moved when I touched him like this.
Like muscle memory.
Wanting to see if I could make him do it again, I lightly pinched the tips of both nipples under his shirt and twisted, reveling in the immediate arch of his back and desperate‘shit’that spilled from his lips directly into my mouth.
“You like that. I remember you like that.”
Real.
“Yes, Jay. I freaking like that…” he panted, but his voice was cracking now, and his cheeks were only growing more and more wet the longer we kissed.
He tasted like salt and regret, and I found myself pulling back.
He whimpered as if I were physically causing him pain by pulling away, but I shushed him, kissing him on the forehead and brushing his tears away from his cheeks.
“Are you alright?” I asked roughly, and he shook his head.
“No. No, of course I’m not alright. What did theydoto you?” He asked, sitting up in the chair and trying to turn to face me.
He wavered slightly and held a hand to his temple where I’d administered the injection.
Shit.
I rushed to his side and cradled his face in my hands, making sure he felt steady enough to sit on his own.
“It’s… a long story.”
Not really that long.
Just a few years of getting brain raped.
No big deal.
“Can we talk about it? Jay, I feel like… I feel like we were just in The Cave… but then I also have all these other memories…”
I blinked at him, giving him a curt nod.
“I understand the feeling.”
He frowned, his eyes flicking back and forth as he sorted through his own mess of memories. After a moment, he glanced back up at me, lips parted in shock.
“YoushotMelanie! You stole my mom… I’m pretty sure you blew up Neurovance…”
“Yep. All that happened,” NOVA chimed helpfully, and Milo’s eyes darted up to her speakers before landing back on me.
“Are you upset about those things?” I asked dryly. I didn’t know how to feel upset about murder anymore. That was one of the first pieces of my humanity they’d taken from me.
“Well, maybe not so much about Melanie… screw her. But… you shot like twenty innocent people in that crowd on our way out, Jay. What the heck was that about?”
I shrugged.
