Authors: Gennita Low
Virtually His (31 page)
“Helen, drop whatever it is you’re doing and come with me. There’s nothing like shopping to soothe the soul,” Marlena had advised. “A beautiful outfit, the right pair of shoes, the finest underwear, and you’ll forget about those damn commandos at COMCEN.”
She’d taken a rain check, using her RV downtime as an excuse. “I’m still dealing with the serum in my system. Let me sleep it off. In a couple of days, M.?”
But she couldn’t sleep. That edgy feeling was teasing her like an itch; the more she ignored it, the more it bothered her. Yeah, she’d better stay at home until it went away.
However, the only way to get rid of it, it seemed, was giving in to it, and she was definitely not going to call Dr. Kirkland to tell Hades that her problem was still a problem.
She shook her head. It was good to have a few days to herself, get her head screwed back on, and figure out how to beat this thing. Armando’s explanation made sense, but she had a feeling that there was more going on than just her body chemistry overcompensating. She couldn’t rid herself of the nagging feeling that it had to do with her weird experience in the stairwell.
According to the chart, there was a spike in the energy reading from the ring T.’d given her at about the same moment she went blind. No, she didn’t actually go blind; it was sort of—Helen frowned, trying to recall the sensation—like rain water splattering on glasses, except more gooey. She shuddered. Yeah, gooey was the right word there. Something sticky and alien colliding into, then slithering, inside her.
Helen sat up, eyes widening. If the energy alarm really somehow blocked a remote viewer from sensing certain things, then that meant a remote viewer in that area couldn’t have seen her. Could it be that his or her “shadow” form had unwittingly crashed through her as he or she ran down the stairwell?
Helen pinched the bridge of her nose. She was giving herself a headache with this. But if it was true, how did that cause her to feel like she did now? The idea was too far-fetched, but everything in TIVRRV was far-fetched, so what was one more theory?
She shivered again at the thought of that odd invasive sensation. She didn’t like that feeling at all. It was as if her whole warning system was screaming danger…as if there was an intruder.
An intruder. Inside her. Helen bit her lip. Did he or she leave something behind? Was that why she didn’t feel like herself?
She walked around her living room, trying to shake off the restlessness. Her mind kept wandering back to Hades. His touch. His dreams of her that invaded her own. His manipulation of her.
Sitting down at her laptop, she activated the program that had created her avatar. This had been the beginning of his manipulation of her, dammit. She had taken the bait like a hungry fish.
She studied the avatar, the tall and blond creation with the chocolate eyes. She made a face at the obvious and then grinned at the thought of making it tiny and ineffective. But that was part of NOPAIN, manipulating the subject to participate, even in anger or retaliation. If she continued playing with the avatar’s sexuality, even in fun, she was just continuing her own sexual imprint by him.
But she couldn’t help herself. Avoiding the lower part of the body, she jerked the wireless mouse back and forth, playing with the avatar’s facial features. Changing the hairstyle shorter.
Helen closed her eyes. Dark hair. That fit that personality. Eyes? Dark? Black? Leaner body?
His hands. She didn’t want to think of his hands, but that was what connected her to him physically. She could remember his touch—every intimate detail. He had very powerful hands; he’d shifted her body on her bed effortlessly. And talented lips and tongue. She remembered those too well.
Helen licked her lips, feeling flushed as she remembered her pleasure from that night. God, she wanted his hands on her again, virtual or not. But he was…
Water. She smelt the sea. And then she saw a man lying there. Dying. She was sure he was dying. A man turned toward her. Her vision got cloudy and she blinked hard, trying to focus. Must. Try. To. See. She took a step forward. Hard to breathe, as if the air was very thick here.
Okay, calm down, Helen. Step back. Step away. Oh, my God.
At the last second, Helen turned and ran. She felt herself sinking, falling into oblivion. But not before she told herself to remember what she saw.
Faded blue jeans.
Silver eyes.
Oh, my God. Not. Him.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-0077-1
VIRTUALLY HIS
Copyright © 2007 by Gennita Low.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, MIRA Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
MIRA and the Star Colophon are trademarks used under license and registered in Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.
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