This was incredible. “I’m not much of the soldier type.”
Harper smiled, but his eyes still looked sad. “We’ll protect you. The best thing to do is run and we’ll fight.”
She wasn’t a coward. “Hell, no. I’ll protect myself.”
They both laughed, and when Conner glanced to the ceiling, she figured her avatar might not live long if she acted too brave.
“Why don’t you put your purse and jacket on the table? No one will be coming in, as it’s not open to the public yet.”
That made her feel special. She did as he asked and returned to the gaming consoles. Conner helped her up onto the platform and moved behind her. Since the stand was only three feet by three feet, his chest lightly touched her back and distracted her. With his hands on her waist, he guided her onto the gray tablet on the ground.
“This is just like Wii or X-Box. Jog in place and your avatar will run. Turn, and she’ll turn.”
She hadn’t played with an X-Box in years, but she remembered the basics. “Okay.”
He handed her the weapon that was attached to a glove via wires and helped her thread her fingers into the device. The other glove just had wires coming out of it. “The computer will know where you’re aiming. If you need to hold onto something, grab the handrail. It’s natural at first to get disoriented.”
She hoped she didn’t look like a fool or worse, all jerky and scared. God forbid if she mistakenly shot one of them instead of one of the bad animals.
He lowered the headset into place then tucked a few strands of hair that had been caught in the earphones behind her ear. His touch set her skin on fire. Reacting like this wasn’t natural, yet Holly wasn’t sure what she could to do about it. Attraction was attraction.
Conner squeezed her shoulder. “Harper and I are going to hook in.”
A few seconds later, the world in front of her changed. Holy crap. She was standing on a planet with two moons, a sky the color of blood, and tons of large red rocks scattered everywhere. While large mountains surrounded them, there were a few trees dotting the landscape, which seemed a little out of place given this was supposed to be Mars. Then again, there weren’t any wild animals on the real planet either.
A loud roar nearby made her jump, and suddenly two large men with weapons appeared in her peripheral vision. One had a long, black queue down his back and the other was taller with short blondish-brown hair. Very cool. She lifted her foot and pretended to walk. Suddenly, the back of her avatar appeared. Her look-alike had a curvy waist, really long legs, and straight auburn hair. How did they do that?
In her headset, Harper’s voice rang through. “We’re going to explore to caves to the right. Holly, stay behind us.”
She wasn’t sure she liked the command, but since she’d never played the game, she decided to go with the flow. She held onto the gun but twisted to the right. When she marched in place, she moved behind them. They stopped, and since she was admiring the realistic scenery, she ran into Conner’s virtual back and tumbled on her butt. What she’d feared would happen just did. Crap. Conner turned around, held out his virtual hand, and waited until she did the same. His avatar pulled her to her feet.
“You okay, baby?”
Was he serious? Avatars couldn’t feel anything, but she went along with the game. “Yeah. My butt’s a little sore, that’s all.”
He chuckled. No sooner had he pulled her up when a loud wailing rent the air, and the realism took her by surprise. As she turned, something that looked like a cross between a dinosaur and an elephant stepped out of a cave and charged. It was cool to see all three guns trained on the animal, but she waited to see what Conner and Harper would do before firing. She figured the animal was one that would harm them until Harper lowered his weapon.
“Run,” he commanded.
Uncertain what that meant, she twisted to the side and pumped her feet up and down. She probably looked ludicrous, but no one could see her as the two men were wearing their helmets, too. Her pulse raced, not only from the exertion, but from the excitement of being chased. A different wail sounded, but she didn’t look behind her. Conner’s avatar came alongside her, wrapped his arm around her avatar, and led her deep into a cave across from where the animals had been hiding. Once inside, Harper rushed in and all three plastered their backs against the cave wall.
Conner faced Harper. “Why didn’t you shoot?”
“Didn’t you see the baby teraptasaur?”
Teraptasaur? She had no idea he’d learned the names of the fake beasts. The man must be seriously addicted, though she wasn’t one to cast stones. When she wasn’t working, she’d spend hours competing online with her fellow video gamers.
“No,” Conner said.
She hadn’t either, but then again, she’d been too busy trying to figure out what was going on. Suddenly another beast from inside their cave rushed toward them. Her pulse spiked even though she wasn’t moving. Conner raised his gun and fired, and the animal dropped to his knees.
“Holly, you and Harper find a place to hide. Quickly.” His voice actually sounded as if he was scared.
Harper reached out his hand and her avatar took his. While she couldn’t feel him actually tug on her, she ran to keep up. The game must know when two avatars were connected and treated them as one.
“What should we do?” There really wasn’t any place to hide. Talking out loud seemed odd, but he and Conner had communicated with each other, so why shouldn’t she?
“We could head for the hills or hide behind the rocks and wait for Conner.”
There was no way she’d leave Conner to battle the beasts himself. “Let’s hide and wait.”
“Good. Keep low.”
Was she really supposed to duck? His avatar crouched, so she did, too, but then an animal jumped from behind a pile of rocks and came toward them. Without thinking she twisted and fired, killing the beast. A twang reverberated in her belly. She didn’t like doing harm to anything. Hell, once she ran over a squirrel and was sick to her stomach all night.
“That was one of the good beasts.”
“Sorry.” Crap. She couldn’t even play this virtual reality game right, but with practice she bet she’d be a contender.
“Not to worry. No one was harmed in the making of this video.”
Between breaths, she chuckled. She appreciated that he didn’t try to make her feel bad. Conner’s avatar joined then and suddenly everything froze. Across the screen came the stat of how many animals were destroyed and how many were spared.
It was over way too soon, but the rush continued to race through her veins long after the game ended. With her gun attached to her glove, she wasn’t sure how to get out of the apparatus. It was Harper who reached her first. His words came out a little muffled until he lifted her headset. She blinked, as the room was a lot lighter than the game.
“How did you like it, sugar?”
Sugar? For a split second she wondered what he called his wife. Did he use the nickname for fear he’d call her Wendy by mistake?
Stop finding reasons why you can’t be with them.
Harper touched her wrist, causing her pulse to spike, and he acted as if he was waiting for her to respond. She faced him. “It was incredible. The animals seemed to appear out of nowhere, but they did come from logical places. I loved it.” I also liked how you wanted to protect me. “I’m still blown away by the smooth and realistic movements of the avatars.”
“I’m glad you appreciated the game. I’m kind of addicted myself.” He glanced down at her hands. “Let’s get those gloves off.”
Harper removed the gun and the attached glove then gently tugged off the other one. He then placed the equipment on a hook on the outside of the stand before stepping off the platform.
“How long were we in the game?” It only seemed like a few minutes.
“About twenty minutes.”
“Really?” She couldn’t wrap her mind around that fact. “I must have been really lost in that wor
ld.”
“It happens to all of us. You did really well not to get dizzy on your first time. You kept up real well, too.” He took her hand. “Watch your step.”
Conner stepped next to her. “You hungry, baby?”
She was always hungry. “Yes.”
“Grab your gear, and we can get to know each other better over dinner.”
Tension rippled down her belly. There were things she didn’t want them to know about her. She was proud of her accomplishments after high school, but other than having the greatest brother and younger sister, there wasn’t much about her childhood that she wanted to divulge.
Conflict tugged at her. Relationships were built on trust. That meant she’d have to open up—but that didn’t mean it had to be tonight.
Chapter Three
Harper walked a step behind Holly, taking in the sway of her hips and her long, sensuous legs. For two steps, he squeezed his eyes shut. He wanted to run his hands through her hair, but he feared what the memory would do to his heart. Conner had been right. Other than looks, Holly was nothing like Wendy. Whereas Wendy was self-confident, Holly was shy and almost introverted. He guessed the grade-school kids might have mocked her for being so thin and so tall. He could relate, except for the opposite reason. When he was fourteen, he was as wide as he was tall. The hurtful names were bad enough, but it was the laughter and finger pointing that tore him up.
He was lucky. During the summer between his sophomore and junior year, he grew five inches and worked out. When he came back, he was bigger and stronger than most of the kids. While he didn’t lower himself to name calling, he got his revenge on the football field—and it felt damned good.
He and Conner had decided to take Holly to the nicest of their three restaurants located in the casino. The Mountain Retreat was the one they owned. The other two were local restaurants that rented space from them. It was a win-win for both sides as it catered to more people.
As soon as they stepped inside the restaurant, the hostess showed them to a booth in the back where they’d have some privacy. Holly slipped in one side and Conner slid in next to her. That meant he’d have to face her. Harper wanted to be able to treat her like the women who’d come here looking for a quick fling, but Holly was too sensitive, too lovely, and too special for him to take advantage of her. Fuck. Conner seemed so enamored by her sharp mind and caring nature that he asked Harper to give a try at a real relationship.
Are you ready?
He wished he could be, but his wife’s ghost still haunted him.
The waiter rushed over as if his job depended on it. “Mr. Anderson, Mr. Gillespie, ma’am. What can I get you to drink?”
“Any bottled beer will do,” Conner said.
“Same.” Tonight was about Holly, not trying to forget.
“Water with lemon, please.”
She’d hesitated as if she wanted to order something else. He didn’t want to pressure her, but he wanted her to know she could order anything. “We don’t have to pay here, sugar.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really?” Her smile lit him up inside. “Then can I have a white wine?”
His laugh escaped without him intending it to. Making her happy pleased him.
As soon as the waiter left, she glanced between them. “Tell me why you two Indiana boys decided to own a casino of all things. I know the history with Jack Marr, but why were you tempted?”
He’d let Conner field that question. After all, he was the one who wanted to make it big in the worst way. He nodded to his cousin.
Conner blew out a breath. “It’s been a long time since anyone asked me that question. I think it was my dad who inspired me.”
“What did he do?” She leaned closer.
“I never wanted to be poor and have to worry about how to support a family.” His chuckle came out rueful. “Though with our back account, I’m lucky to pay our house payment.”
Harper didn’t want Holly to feel sorry for them. “We’re doing okay, sugar, but we could do a better job at keeping track of expenses.”
She sucked in her bottom lip and looked temptingly kissable. “There are a lot of casinos in this town so the competition must be pretty fierce. Do you advertise much?”
That had been a bone of contention between them. “Not enough.”
A pretty shade of pink filled her face. “I happened to take a look at your website and it’s, well, kind of lame.”
Harper laughed and pointed a finger at Conner. “Way to go, coz.”
Conner shrugged. “So my graphic artist skills aren’t the best.”
Her eyes widened. “For an amateur, you did great, but this place is so much nicer than what was represented on the web. For starters, you don’t even have the menus online. Hell, I didn’t even know your casino had food.”
Harper now had an ally. “Told ya.”
Conner shot him the bird and then laughed. “What do you suggest?”
“Would you like me to throw something together? I bet Dani would love to come down and take photos—ones that show off the place, not ones that spy on the owners.”
He did like her sense of humor. Harper reached across the table and placed his hand on hers. His damn cock hardened, but he refused to back down. “We’d love it. Just make sure you give us a bill.”
Her mouth opened and her cute nose shot high in the air. “Then I won’t do it. I offered as a…friend.”
Had she meant to say lover? Now his balls tightened. Good thing the waiter showed up with their drinks or he might have said something he’d regret—like he’d be happy to take it out in trade. You suck.
Being lonely was more like it.
All three ordered, but he worried when Holly only asked for the chicken Caesar salad. “You get to order a full meal, you know.”
“This will be more than enough. I have a small stomach.”
Because she never ate. Perhaps she liked looking thin.
He caught Conner slipping a hand under the table where he probably placed it on her knee. Yup. Another shot of pink raced up her face. Harper needed to intercede. “I know you have work to do, but tomorrow’s Sunday. It’s Conner’s day to man the store, so to speak, so I wondered if you might like to go for a hike in the mountains? We’ll take it real slow as the altitude can get to a person who isn’t used to it.” Just shut up. He didn’t dare glance over at Conner. They didn’t have “days” when they needed to be here, as they had managers. He’d just said that because he wanted to take Holly out by himself.
Before he stepped to the side and let Conner do his thing, Harper wanted to be sure she wasn’t the one.
Conner kicked him under the table. “I guess I forgot to tell you that Pulls is back from vacation earlier than expected, so he can watch the shop.” Conner faced Holly. “What do you say? You up for hiking with both of us?”
Didn’t his cousin trust him alone with Holly? The fucker. They’d have to talk.
“Sounds great, but what kind of name is Pulls?”
Conner laughed, and Holly’s eyes lit up. She responded to his cousin, but then again, so did all the women.
“His real name is McClelland Kalkhofer, but he spent his youth pulling the levers on the slot machine so much that he developed a frozen shoulder.”
She leaned back and smiled. “Hence the name Pulls. Got it.”
Her curiosity appealed to him, but then again, her excitement during the virtual reality game thrilled him, too. Holly was a natural woman, and he liked that. He’d been about to compare her to Wendy when he stopped himself. Conner was right, he needed to start living again, but it was just so damned hard.
The food came all too quickly. He should have asked the cook to take his time, as sitting with her and listening to her thoughts enchanted him.
Harper took a bite of his steak. Man did that taste good. “So tell me, when Dani and Nikki were trying to catch us in that human trafficking scheme, what caught your attention that convinced you we might be innocent? Was it because we went to N
otre Dame and foolishly hooked up with Jack Marr?”
She drew in her bottom lip. “I’m not really supposed to talk about what I did or what I found.”
“Do you do something that is illegal?” Like hack into their school records?
“No. Well, not really, but sometimes, I have to kind of look in places that I shouldn’t.”
Conner’s cheer seemed to disappear. “Tell us something about us that you shouldn’t know.”
“That you two are almost broke.” Both had already spilled the beans about that. “You pour your money back into the casino but of late things haven’t been going as well as you’d like.”
Conner’s hand returned to the tabletop. “Just how did you learn that?”
She drew in a large breath between her teeth. “Let’s say, I did a little snooping at your bank. I tried to trace payments to some offshore banks, but couldn’t find any big payoffs. Given that tidbit, I was able to convince the powers that be that perhaps you two were being duped.”
Regardless that she deserved a medal for helping them, Harper felt like yanking her chain. “Well, Conner, your plan worked.” Now it was his turn to nudge Conner under the table.
“Whew. Our hundreds of millions are safe. Switzerland sure is a wonderful country.”
Holly grinned. “Laughs on you. I was able to hack into your computer, get your Swiss bank account number, and then withdraw the amount in four equal sums and have them sent to The Cayman Islands, Andorra, Belize, and Luxembourg.”
Both he and Harper burst out laughing. “Then I guess you’re picking up the dinner tab, sugar.”
Her cheeks sagged, as did most of the rest of her body, and the flash of fear stabbed his gut.
Harper reached out and picked up her hand. “I was only kidding. I told you the food is free.”
Her smile came out weak. “I knew that.”
She was defensive. She’d probably spent years building a shell around herself to keep others out. How well he understood that concept. For some strange reason, he wanted to see what was underneath.
Freedom to Love [Freedom, Colorado 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 3