Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88447 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88447 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
“Now, tell me, what’s an MMO?”
“It’s an online game played in real time by real people all over the world. The abbreviation stands for Massively Multiplayer Online.”
“Sounds interesting.”
“Oh, it really is,” she said in an excited voice.
She went into a long, enthusiastic explanation of this online game called Horse Lords that she played. It was fantasy based and had evidently been around for years. The more she described the complex structure of Horse Lords, and the fact that it was a massive online game where she played with real people in tournaments for real money, the more interested I became.
“So, what server do you play on? Maybe you could show me the ropes,” I asked as she moved around next to me.
“Oh no, I’m not playing with you.”
Offended, I glared into the dark in her general direction. “Why not?”
“Because, it takes dedication to get good enough to game at my level.” She giggled and I couldn’t help but smile. “That sounded really snobby. What I’m trying to say is it takes a lot of time and effort to teach someone Horse Lords. I don’t want to waste my time with someone who may figure out two weeks from now that gaming isn’t for them after I spent twenty hours explaining everything to them. Gaming is my fun time, my down time, not my holding newbie’s hands time.”
“Makes sense.”
“Mint?” she asked.
“What?”
“Would you like a mint?”
Now that she mentioned it, my mouth was suddenly feeling as dry as the desert. “Please.”
“Here, um—I’m holding it out.”
Instead of taking it from her hand with my own, I leaned forward and found her wrist, holding it steady as I slowly, gently took the mint from between her fingers with my mouth. She froze, and a slight tremble went through her as I gave her fingertip a fleeting lick. The soft, breathy gasp that escaped her was one of the most erotic things I’d ever heard.
A bright light flashed, and we both cried out, shielding our faces as the overhead lights blazed to life. The harsh shrill of the phone ringing echoed in the enclosed space, and I fumbled for the emergency phone with bleary eyes. After being in the dark for so long, I was as blind as a mole.
“Hello,” I growled out as I finally got the receiver to my ear.
“Mr. Magnus? This is Andrew. We’re working on getting you out of there right now, but it will be a few minutes. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. What happened?”
“A dust storm knocked out the power, and our generators failed.”
“They failed?” I growled out. “Why did they fail?”
“We’re looking into that right now, sir. Mr. Brass thinks they were sabotaged. The building has been secured, but Mr. Brass has requested that you help in the search.”
My mind raced as I went through hundreds of scenarios, each worse than the one before. “Of course.”
I hung up the phone, then turned to get my first look at Layla and I froze.
I swear, I just stood there, literally struck dumb by how beautiful she was.
She was stunning. Striking in a way that caught your eye and held your gaze. The kind of woman men fought wars over. I forgot everything as I took in her delicate features, her impossibly wide light brown eyes, the dark sweep of her long chocolate brown hair against her golden skin. Though I could only see half her profile, she had the bone structure of a goddess, and I just stared as my brain tried to take her in. A flush hit her tanned cheek as she ducked her head, her hair sliding forward to hide half her face. Her glorious eyes were locked on the floor now, and she nervously clutched Vali’s leash in both hands.
A woman as beautiful as her should have been oozing confidence, but Layla looked like my inspection made her physically uncomfortable. Her body curved in on itself, her shoulders rounding and her height decreasing as she seemed to somehow grow smaller. She turned subtly away from me until I could only see a sliver of her face and the lovely curve of her jaw.
She wasn’t dressed to impress, either. Her loose, pale pink shirt hung past her upper thighs, hiding her shape. A pair of leggings with unicorns all over them—they looked like they could have belonged to a twelve-year old—graced her curvy legs, and a pair of white sneakers with sparkly pink laces adorned her small feet. Her t-shirt had a saying printed on it, along with the picture of what looked like a surprised cartoon cougar.
An unexpected snort escaped me as I read her shirt aloud. “Stop making me laugh, I might puma pants? Really, Layla?”
She shrugged, but some of the stiffness went out of her frame. “What? It’s funny. You’re laughing.”
“Indeed, I am.” Squatting down, I held out my hand to Vali, tearing my gaze from his arresting mistress. “You’re right, he’s a big boy. He’s got to be what, close to a hundred pounds? That’s big for a lab or a pit bull. And you’re right, his overbite does make him show a hint of fang.”