VirtualDesire by Ann Lawrence Read Free Book Online Page A

her scarred table. He knew well the value of ancestors. As an orphan, he
had no mother’s table to preserve.
    The snake man picked himself up off the floor. “Get
downstairs, Gwen. Call the cops.” He spread his arms to protect the woman.
    Wind whipped at Vad’s robe and tore at his hair. It thrummed
like the wings of a thousand ravens about his ears. Vad considered how best to
handle her protector without hurting him or offending her further.
    Gwen giggled. Her Vad look-alike pushed through the deck
door, struggling a moment as six and a half feet of man and a mountain of fur
were caught between the uprights. He looked ridiculous. The robe came only to
mid-calf on him. The ocean winds flapped it about his legs and threatened to
once again reveal a tantalizing length of muscled thigh—and other important
stuff.
    Somehow she could not be afraid of a man who nursed a dirty
cloak like a beloved child. Any fear she had dissolved. “Let him alone, Neil.
I’m sorry I called you.”
    Neil ignored her. He took matters into his own hands. He
strode to the kitchen, lifted the phone, and punched 9-1-1.
    Gwen sighed. “Prepare yourself, Vad. You’re about to answer
a zillion questions.”
    “From whom?” He hovered at the deck door, arms clutching his
cloak.
    “The police.” When he tipped his head and looked confused,
she smiled. “Here, beyond the ice fields, we don’t have an army in charge. We
have what we call the police. In fact, if you listen, you should hear them any
moment now.”
    He dropped his furs. With fluid grace, he drew his knife. He
looked as if he were preparing to confront an army. “What is a zillion?”
    “A lot. Take it from me.” Gwen sighed heavily at the distant
wail of sirens on the sea air. It made her heart beat faster. She didn’t want
him arrested. She wanted him at her ball. “Now put the knife away.”
    “Yo, bud. Take it easy.” Neil encircled Gwen in his arms and
put her behind him again.
    As much as she appreciated the gallantry, it blocked her
view. Robe open, blade in hand, the man looked so much like the Tolemac
warrior—from his straight, noble nose to his honed, muscular body—she almost
fainted. Beard or not, there was no mistaking that arrogant sneer.
    She whispered in Neil’s ear, “He must have posed for those
posters. Look at him. Really look at him.” Her heart slammed in her chest—and
not from fear.
    The police hammered on her door. Neil jerked it open.
    “Oh, no,” she said with a groan. The man who stepped into
her apartment was the last man on earth she wished to see. Her former
fiancé—now her older sister’s husband. Talk about grand larceny. What the heck
was the traitorous detective doing answering a routine call?
    “Gwen? Are you okay?” R. Walter Gordon stepped into her
apartment. Two other officers stepped in behind him. There were no guns drawn,
but Gwen knew that if Vad made a move, there would be.
    “I’m fine. We really don’t need you,” she said, hands up,
palms out. Her voice sounded shrill and peevish to her. This was her warrior.
Nut case or not, she’d invited him into her apartment. If someone hurt him,
she’d never forgive herself. “Just go away. Please.”
    “The guy’s got a knife,” Neil said.
    The officers ignored her as they faced Vad. If they’d missed
the knife, they must be blind. Relief came from an unexpected quarter. Vad
turned his blade hilt out and offered it to Gwen; then he belted his robe and
yawned. He scratched his ear. He looked like a harmless, sleepy guy who’d just
climbed out of bed.
    Oh, no . What would Walter think? And what story would
he spread—like a bad flu virus—to her sister and her mother? She hugged Vad’s
knife to her chest as he had his furs. She acted without thought. She slid an
arm around Vad’s waist and hugged him close as well. “There’s nothing wrong
here, Walter.”
    Neil gasped. Vad stiffened, but did not move from her
embrace. It was like hugging a petrified