Virtually His by Gennita Low Page B

feeling that the person behind her avatar did that a lot.
    A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips. “A test.”
    “Of?” It irked her that he didn’t address her comment about how he’d introduced himself.
    “Your reflexes. You didn’t show much surprise at the sudden temperature changes. And you also aren’t afraid of heights. That’s good to know.”
    Helen stared hard at him, then laughed. “Reacting to temperature changes? Excuse me,” she pointed out in between chuckles, “but I’m not the one naked here. You…ummm…didn’t react much to extreme heat and height, either. That’s good to know.”
    She was still holding on to his arm. When the wind was gusting hard, his solidity was very reassuring. An image of an anchor materialized in her mind.
    “That’s good to know.”
    Helen glared at the man beside her. She was getting terribly tired of his reading her thoughts. What she needed was…pure adrenaline. Without allowing herself to deliberate, she tugged at Hades’ arm and stepped off the building. It was a heart-stopping moment. His eyes met hers for that split second just before the free fall. He twisted his body and held her in his arms. There was no surprise in his gaze. Or fear. Whoooooosh.
    Rush of air. Heart pounding. Her eyes closed as her head spun. In the back of her mind, the good Helen was already scolding her stupidity. Helen, you dumb-ass, you can die from this, you know? VR is simulation of reality! A fall can result in fatality. And the wicked Helen, despite knowing how bad her decision was, still grinned back.
    By logic, a falling body from atop a high-rise tumbled down. She wasn’t tumbling; she was floating. Panic should make her claw the air. Scream. Kick out. She was enveloped in warmth and there was no fear.
    The spinning stopped. Helen opened her eyes. And saw nothing because she was buried in somebody’s chest. She heard the pounding of his heart. He was warm; he even had a scent. She turned her head. The scenery around them had returned to the white nothingness.
    “Don’t move,” Hades instructed softly.
    She had a feeling that if she disobeyed this time, she would regret it. “Don’t make a habit of ordering me around,” she said, and was a bit annoyed at the huskiness of her voice. Dammit, did his arms around her have to feel so real?
    He didn’t answer. There was a short silence as they sort of floated. Helen didn’t mind. Now that her body had caught up with her head, she felt a bit weak-kneed and breathless. Her arms, she discovered, were between their bodies and if she moved her right hand just a bit lower…
    “That was a good test of me, but wrong time,” he told her, his voice vibrating in her ear.
    “Why?” She forced the former suggestion from her mind.
    “Because you alarmed poor Derek and Dr. Kirkland. The spike in your stats was unexpected and I didn’t tell them we were doing anything too dangerous today.”
    Today. Something else to mull over later. Hades must have some kind of communicating device with Dr. Kirkland and Derek. “So am I suffering cardiac arrest in real life?” She felt pretty calm about that. Besides, she was busy trying to stop her right hand from checking out something more interesting.
    “No. You didn’t go splat. I turned that reality off. That’s the easy part. Stopping your mind from thinking that you’re falling to your death, however, is an entirely different thing.”
    She slowly slid her head up to look into his face. His skin was smooth against hers and she ignored the urge to lick it to see whether he had a taste, too. He looked incredible up close, chiseled cheekbones and perfect lips. His eyes were half-open, sensual. And all those lovely blond locks cried out for her hands to run through them. This was a great way to have a heart attack.
    There were more horrible ways to die, she supposed. Perhaps having a logical and calm conversation about simulated reality would settle her mind.
    “What kind of