His lips twisted.Too late for that, McNeil.Everything, as usual, was ass backwards.
One day he would get back to normal.
Jed looked at the control panels in front of him and a rueful smile crept onto his lips. Getting back to normal? With a woman who couldspy with her mind? With a woman who joined in his sexual fantasies when they were asleep? He shook his head, slightly bemused by his own thoughts. What was he thinking?
He had been having some strange ideas lately. When emotions got in the way, he did what he did best—compartmentalize.
If he stopped viewing his assignment as part of his job, there would be more complications than it would be worth. Lives could be put at risk. He’d learned that lesson a few times in this lifetime.
In comparison, in many ways, Elena was a fledgling in the cloak-and-dagger world. Her two years away from field experience had also made her vulnerable emotionally. Killer instinct was usually the first to go. He had to be careful and not give her too many choices, especially in the beginning.
Sexual desire was an important part of an intimate bond, but so was trust. It surprised him that she wasn’t fighting him as hard as he’d thought she would. One punch. Probably more coming later. But there was no deep hatred or hysteria, powerful emotions that could weaken any imprinting process.
Elena definitely wasn’t acting revolted or disgusted. That meant what they’d intimately shared didn’t revolt or disgust her. He found that oddly pleasing.
“Activate program,” he instructed softly.
Chapter Eleven
It was like standing in a huge spotlight on center stage. Except there wasn’t an audience waiting for her performance. She stood there, waiting.
And on cue, he suddenly appeared, timing impeccable. Hades.
Helen grinned. She couldn’t help it. When a delicious naked man, sleek and sensuous, sauntered toward a girl, and he was all hers in that place and time, there was just so much self-control a healthy female had. Her libido didn’t seem to care that said male was also a computer-generated avatar.
She went up to him, eyeing his body appreciatively. One would think now that she knew the face behind the avatar, it would be less exciting to watch a naked man. Not so. It made everything brand new, more exciting, even. The real man behind the controls was far, far more intriguing.
They met in the middle somewhere, still in that spotlight. The few times they’d done this, he had activated different scenes, once using the virtual image of a room that looked the same as the VR room in which she’d learned remote viewing, and the last time, he’d recreated her quarters to the last detail, reminding her how he’d come to her that one memorable night.
She knew him well enough by now to understand what he was trying to do. He wanted her to anticipate his next move, to wonder, and thus keep her mind on him. It was essential because of the brainwave synchronization going on.
She cocked her head.“Hades or Jed?”
“Does it matter?”
The man before her was a blond god, created by the newest virtual programming technology. She had had a hand it. At first, Derek had produced a really buffed up version of the caveman type, and that wasn’t anything like the way she’d envisioned the perfect male, so she’d fiddled with the program andvoila!A dream man, virtually hers.
Did it matter what she called him?“No. Yes.”
“You sound undecided.”
She changed the subject.“Shouldn’t we get started?”She looked around her.“Where’s the scenery?”
“We have time while our brainwaves get in sync.”He stepped closer.“Do we really need any scenery?”
She cocked her head to one side.“Do you think, now that I know what you’re up to, I’d let you seduce me so easily?”
“Yes.”
“What, you just snap your fingers and my body will magically obey?”
His smile indicated an arrogance used to compliance. Her eyes narrowed.
“You’re asking for another punch,”she warned,“and that’s not going to help with the brainwave syncing going on, what with me in a mood to kick your ass. Unless, I can make you pissed off too?”
Jed McNeil pissed off? Every time she’d seen him, he was downright cold-blooded. Did the man even feel anything?
But he did. Her mind mocked her with a sexy memory of him pushing deep inside her as he climaxed. He’d growled out something and had kissed her till she was breathless. His heart beating rapidly against hers as he lay on top of her. His soft words spoken against her ear, words that had turned her on.
