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Angel patted his shoulder in the universal guy version of a hug. “Shit happens, mi amigo. It’s how we learn from our mistakes that make us who we are.” He then stood and moved a few steps away to talk with the hotel security.

The paramedics made their way through the crowd, and Tanwen let them take over. The three women moved over to the side as a stretcher was brought in. Tanwen took a deep breath and let it out to try and dispel the adrenaline still surging through her system. She was angry—no, she was more than angry; she was furious.

Julia ran a hand over her face and sighed. “I’m a corpsman, so I’ve seen injuries a lot worse than this, but I’ll be damned if this one isn’t going to haunt me. He wasn’t hurt in battle. He was hurt by the one person who was supposed to honor his trust more than anyone else. Instead she abused and hurt him for her own selfish needs.”

Saul gave a small shout as they unwrapped his hand to examine it, and Julia flinched.

Annie made a sound of agreement. “She needs to be in jail right now.”

Tanwen sighed and watched the stretcher roll past. The young man had his eyes closed, and tears wet his cheeks. “Do you think he’d press charges? ”

Julia rubbed her face. “I don’t know. She obviously doesn’t give a shit about him, but who knows what kind of mind games she’s played with him.”

Annie worked the sticks back into her hair. “I’ll be damned if she thinks she’s going to stay here.” She folded her arms over her chest, and Tanwen noticed the slight tremor that shook her body. “I know the owners pretty well, and I’ll make sure that bitch is out of here.”

Tanwen gave Annie a one-armed hug. “Thanks for getting that collar off him.”

Julia gave the hunk of metal and chain that had been kicked off to the side a venomous glare. “What kind of idiot makes a newbie wear a chain that heavy? He’ll be lucky if he doesn’t end up with permanent scars.” Her gaze softened, and she sighed. “Poor guy. You could see the need to please radiating off him like heat off the pavement in summertime.”

Tanwen exchanged a glance with Annie. “He should be back here in a couple of hours. Maybe someone who is experienced with…all of this should talk with him.”

Julia nodded, a distant look in her eyes. “Maybe.”

Chapter Six

The next morning Tanwen nervously drummed her fingers on the edge of the VR bed as the very good-looking blond man who stood behind Michelle at the computer terminal crossed his arms and stared at her. So far he hadn’t said anything, but Michelle had greeted her as if nothing was amiss.

Finally the blond man spoke. “Hello, Tanwen. My name is Luke.”

“Nice to meet you, Luke.” She clasped her hands together after he glanced at her tapping fingers. Why did she feel like a kid sitting in the principal’s office? Though goodness knows none of her principals had looked like the Greek god examining her with his bright blue eyes.

“I’m sorry for the delay, but because of the last-minute nature of your request, there are some adjustments to the simulation I need to make so you can become part of the VR zoo. I need to put your information into the simulation and adjust the variables in the program to recognize your requests as an authorized user and not a hacker.”

Guilt twisted her stomach. Bryan must have pulled some strings to get her here and had thrown everyone off schedule. She was probably creating all kinds of chaos with their workday. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know this would be a problem. If it’s okay with you, I can leave right now, and we can just forget it.”

The chair creaked as Michelle shook her head. “No, you stay right there.” She shot Tanwen a smile. “While I know enough to not crash the system, I’m afraid the advanced stuff has to be done by a Jedi Master. It’s really no trouble.”

Luke snickered, but he continued to look at Tanwen with an almost puzzled expression. “Tanwen, you’re here of your own free will, right?” Now Michelle turned in her chair to stare at Luke, but he ignored her. “No one is forcing their unwanted attention on you, are they?”

Tanwen scrunched her brows. “No, not at all.”

“I know Bryan can be a bit…demanding. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t feeling pressured into doing anything.”

Understanding dawned on her, and she adamantly shook her head. “No, he has been a perfect gentleman with me.” She flushed as she recalled some of the rather uncivilized things they had done together in VR, but it was the truth. “How do you know Bryan?”

“We were in the service together. He was my sergeant in the Army, and we’ve kept in touch since we both left the military. He is fond of you.”

The heat that flooded her face must have made her bright red, because Luke’s lips twitched in amusement. Michelle cleared her throat and turned back to the keyboard. “Now that we’ve established Tanwen isn’t under some evil dom spell, let’s get her in the simulation before she misses out.” Michelle gently elbowed Luke’s hip. “And aren’t your husband and wife waiting for you inside?”

Tanwen started and noticed Luke wore a wedding band on each ring finger. She tried not to stare, but she’d never met anyone who’d been married to more than one person at the same time. As she examined Luke, she couldn’t help but wonder what lucky woman got him and another man at the same time.

“Yeah. I don’t want to miss the sight of Maeve and Angel in their lion avatars.” A sensual smile curled his lips, and Tanwen’s blood heated when he gave her a rather naughty wink. “I get to be the lion tamer.”

Michelle gave Luke her seat and sat down next to Tanwen on the bed. “You are going to love the zoo.”

“Great, though I have no idea why a bunch of BDSM fans would want to go to a virtual zoo.”

Luke gave a chuckle that could only be described as evil. “Bryan didn’t tell you anything about it?”

“No, not at all.” She glanced at Michelle. “Should I be scared?”

Michelle shook her head and gave Tanwen’s shoulder a squeeze. “Nope. It really is beyond amazing. I envy you. I’ll be joining in during the evening run of the simulation. So far the network can only handle two hundred guests at a time without crashing. You’ll have three hours to play before the next group comes through.”

“Michelle, can you come here for a sec? I think I have the perfect avatar for her. Maeve couldn’t decide what she wanted to be. This is one of the costumes we made for her that she ended up not picking, but it’s still really hot.”

With a sway to her hips, Michelle strode over to the computer and leaned down, blocking Tanwen’s view. “That is fantastic and perfect for her.”

The bed creaked beneath her as Tanwen leaned so far forward she almost slid off in her efforts to see the screen. “What’s an avatar?”

Luke’s fingers flew over the keyboard. “The image you wear in the VR world, like a costume but better. I don’t want to ruin the surprise, so lie back, and we’ll get you into the simulation.”

Tanwen was tempted to stick her tongue out at him, but she did what she was told and lay back on the soft silk of the bed. As the top hissed shut, anticipation hummed through her body, and her nipples drew to hard points. She had no idea what waited for her on the other side, but as long as Bryan was with her, she knew it would be an experience to remember.

As she drifted to the sound of soft woodwinds being played from the speakers in the pod, she considered that thought. One of the things she missed about her marriage was sharing things with someone else. Exploring the world on her own was certainly freeing and fun, but she also liked having another person to share those memories with. Everyone told her she would get over the feeling of being lonely by herself, that she would come to value her solitary independence, but she missed having a steady man in her life.

Her first VR experience had certainly been enhanced by Bryan’s presence. At dinner she’d found herself remembering something about their time together and her whole body would grow warm. Even though they hadn’t spoken of it much, their VR excursion had flavored their interaction with a delicious spice of eroticism and allowed her to somewhat relax around him. Mind-blowing sex had a way of breaking down barriers and forming a bond, no matter how casual the encounter was supposed to be. At least with her it did.