The Virtual Man [The Virtual Reality 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Nikki Sinclaire

  “So you followed me to the ship in the hope of meeting me?” Ohhhh, how sweet, my own little stalker. “But how did you track me down?”

  “You know, you really should be more careful who you stick your luggage ID labels on,” he answered with a triumphant grin. “Besides, you hurt my upper lip. Want to kiss it and make it better?”

  Hmmnn, I should have stuck the label on his crotch. That’s it. No more talking. Time to make out!

  As if he could read her mind, Derek swept down on Tiana. She felt his urgency and his need from his kiss. Or maybe it was her own deep desire she was projecting onto him. Either way, if she didn’t kiss him, taste him, and savor him right now she was simply going to implode.

  As they merged into the kiss, Tiana felt like Derek had set off a wave of passion that burned its way down to her heart and then, like the ripples of an ion pulse in the midst of space, exploded, spreading warmth and contentment throughout not just her physical body, but also to her very soul. How could one kiss do so much to her? How could one kiss move her to the point of such desperation for a second one? She felt Derek’s arms pull her to him. She knew she should resist, but instead, her arms reached up and encircled the tall man’s neck, pulling him down to her with the same urgency with which he was claiming her. She allowed her fingers the pleasure of running through his soft and curly hair, caressing the nape of his neck.

  Tiana felt Derek’s kiss slow down. The passion of having to immediately have her appeared to be changing to one of enjoying and delighting in her. He expertly explored her mouth, paying his respects to every minute detail. His velvety tongue glided across hers, flicking back and forth, tasting her until she could almost feel her body melt into a pool of hot lava; lava which he and he alone had ever heated to this level. Not to be outdone, her tongue responded by sliding underneath his and savoring him. She reached out and gently nipped the tip of his tongue.

  Where had that come from? I am a civilized woman. I don’t bite.

  Derek’s moan of pleasure mixed with surprise at her challenge, corrected that perception. She was a woman in heat for her man.

  Yes, I do bite and I probably also scratch and claw.

  As Tiana felt Derek pull away from the kiss she almost flew into a panic, as if she couldn’t survive a single moment without it. She quickly calmed down as she felt him nipping at her neck. One moment, he was gently nuzzling her and the next he was nipping at her.

  His hands reached up and cupped her head as he allowed his lips to wander aimlessly over her face and neck. He licked and kissed his way up, finally resting upon her eyebrow. He kissed and tended to that eyebrow as if it were the most sexual part of her very being.

  Who would have ever thought eyebrows to be an erogenous zone?

  Not to be distracted into complacency, he moved on. When she felt him nuzzling and kissing his way across the top of her ear, she thought the sensation would kill her. He hadn’t even made a move to steal second base yet and she was tottering between passing out and ravaging him. Her panties were soaked with her desire for him. Her heart was clambering to know him. She was edging down a slippery slope. She was starting to turn her heart over to him. This simply could not be happening. It was just lust from being on the rebound, she reminded herself. She had no intention of belonging to anyone ever, but it didn’t change the reality that she was immersed in. Derek’s kisses were claiming her. It’s just lust. They were branding her with a searing heat that was bonding their hearts together. It’s just lust. She struggled to stop the searing connection. She must not get emotionally involved with this, or any other man, yet she was becoming his, irreparably his. What if he was another Tom? She couldn’t take having her heart betrayed once more.

  Too fast. Too fast.

  Gathering what little strength and logic she had left, Tiana managed to utter the words that neither she nor Derek wanted to hear, “Derek, I … we shouldn’t …”

  “Yes, I know. Trust me.”

  Hell, I do trust you. It’s me I don’t trust!

  She silently admitted that she wanted him. She wanted him more than she had ever wanted any other man, including Tom.

  Tom. Tom who? Control, control, control, potential heart-wreck ahead!

  Every alarm she had protecting the secured perimeter around her heart was going off. Loudly! Unfortunately, her heart wasn’t listening. Her defenses were crumbling and she was beginning to raise the white-hot flag of surrender. To make matters worse, she was surrendering to a man she barely knew who was wanted across the galaxy for crimes he supposedly had not committed. Or so he said.

  “My angel of mercy, I would never do anything to rush you or dishonor you in any way.”

  * * * *

  Derek desired this woman more than his very breath, but he meant what he said. That fact scared him to death. What was he going to do? He had made up his mind to never trust or feel for a woman for as long as he lived, but not allowing his heart to feel what it felt for her right now would be worse than death itself.

  He thought he had loved Melinda. If that had been love, then what was this all-consuming emotion he felt for Tiana that wrenched his heart right out of his chest and laid it at her feet? Her pretty little bare feet with delicious little toes polished red, mind you!

  These new feelings that this strangely exotic woman brought out in him were a hundred times more potent than anything he had ever felt before and permeated his mind, body and very soul. Derek didn’t know exactly when it happened, but it him like a ton of bricks. This, not whatever it was he had felt for Melinda and others before her, was real love.

  I, Derek Hart, am falling in love with Tiana Weiss and there isn’t a thing I can do about it.

  The one thing he could do, however, was protect her. He would not allow anyone to harm her, regardless of his own fate.

  Derek pulled away, gentling and soothing her passion with tender strokes down her back.

  “Tiana, there’s something you need to hear.”

  Chapter 14

  The Killer

  As Derek finished playing a copy of the transmission he had intercepted earlier, Tiana sat in quiet shock.

  “I don’t understand. I have no personal enemies. My ex-husband may not like me very much, but I’m out of his life now. There’s no real need for him to want me dead. Besides, he’s the one who cheated on me, not the other way around. I’m the one who should want him dead.”

  “What about your job? Would anyone there benefit from seeing you dead?”

  “I suppose someone would need to take my place if I was dead, but I’m high enough in management that my replacement would probably be recruited away from another firm. We don’t have any potential Partners waiting in the wings at this time.”

  “There’s got to be a reason for someone wanting to kill you.”

  “Yes, I know, but it’s not terribly obvious,” she said, frustration seething inside her.

  “People do odd things for incomprehensible reasons. In my case, I’m still trying to figure out why Melinda would have gone to all the trouble of establishing and maintaining a relationship with me and then deciphering my code, just to steal a few household items. Seems like a lot of effort for a comparatively small payoff. There are much more profitable things she could have done with access to my code. For one thing, she could have stolen it and sold it to the competition. She would have made a lot more money.”

  “Yes, that doesn’t make much sense either.” Tiana paused, tilting her chin and furrowing her brow as she thought.

  She is so cute, Derek thought. I wonder if she does that when she’s analyzing a complex engineering problem.

  “Unless, that is, the goal was to frame you, rather than making a profit.”

  “Frame me? Why?”

  “Perhaps to get you out of the way? Clearly, no one in your company profited by your professional demise, since it is no longer in business. Are there any competitors who will benefit from you being in prison and the failure of your company?”
>
  “No, at least not in the short run. The home holographic chamber market has gone into a recession. People are afraid to bring an artificial intelligence ‘creature,’ for lack of a better word, into their homes. The prevalent opinion is that the chamber’s computer could spy, blackmail and potentially even physically harm a home’s occupants. It would be like allowing a perfect stranger to live in your home with you.”

  “Okay, let’s assume that nobody profited from your conviction and explore another possibility. Why would anybody want to neutralize you? You are, after all, one of the galaxy’s most prominent and, might I add, sexiest scientists,” she added in an attempt to lighten the mood.

  “You mean, besides every other scientist in the universe who failed to qualify for the ‘sexiest scientist’ title?”

  “Now don’t go inflating that fat head of yours, Mr. Hart. What were you working on at the time you were framed?”

  “I was just working on improvements on the home holographic chamber. Nothing terribly earth-shattering. However, now that I think about it, there was a contract we had just landed that I hadn’t started working on yet. I was planning on using some of the concepts from the home-based unit to create an even smaller holographic projector, one about the size of a man’s watch, with limited functionality, specifically that of generating a holographic person. Think of it, this holographic person could move about freely without being limited to the confines of a holographic chamber. They could be used as maids, gardeners and so forth, and at the end of the day, turned off and the watch-sized device stored on a shelf.”

  “Interesting. Perhaps someone didn’t want you working on that project.”

  “Who? The maids’ union?”

  “I’m serious, Derek. Just think about it.”

  “Sorry. Let’s get back to you, though. Why would anyone want to kill you? What are you working on?”

  “Well, my stop is the last stop for this starship. I am heading for Earth’s Magellan Outpost, where I’ll be heading up a project to build a space station.”

  “Who would benefit from the station not being built? What’s the station’s purpose?”

  “Well, supposedly it is to be used for scientific research. I’ve looked at some preliminary plans and I have to admit that there are some inconsistencies between its stated use and the layout of the facilities.”

  Derek straightened. His career in holography had taught him that where inconsistencies existed the potential for disaster followed closely behind.

  “What do you mean by inconsistencies?”

  “Well, for one thing, it’s sorely lacking in lab space. One would think that at a scientific space station, lab space would be plentiful. In addition, for a space station of its size, it is sorely lacking in dormitory space, bathrooms and waste facilities as well as recreational space. I had been so self-absorbed by the overwhelming nature of my personal problems that I didn’t question the design. My job, after all, is to build it, not design it.”

  “Okay, why would anyone build the largest research facility in space and barely put any scientists in it? Computers and robots have their place, but artificial intelligence is not advanced enough for frontline scientific research yet.”

  “That’s a good question. Can you hook me up with one of your ‘back door’ connections to the galactic-net?”

  “Sure,” he smiled wickedly, “if my mistress would be kind enough to allow me to have computer access without beating me or hanging me from the ceiling.”

  “Mistress … Mistress Tiana …” she pondered. “You have to admit, it does have a nice ring to it.”

  Derek’s mind wandered as he considered the possibilities. Tiana didn’t give him a chance to respond.

  “You can have computer access back, but I am making no promises with regards to not beating you,” she said with a grin even more wicked than his.

  “Computer, restore computer privileges to Derek Hart using his voice as the security code.”

  “Derek Hart,” he stated for the computer’s benefit.

  “Access for Derek Hart has been reestablished,” responded the computer in its usual smooth tone.

  “Computer, materialize console.” Without wasting a minute, Derek established the connection, this time routing it through the communication systems of two other ships in the vicinity, making it even harder to trace both its origin and destination.

  “What are you going to look for?” he asked as he turned the console over to her.

  “I think I’ll start by doing a little checking on our client, the Galactic Science Foundation. It doesn’t make any sense for them to build the odd design they commissioned Interstellar to build. They’re smarter than that.”

  “Just remember the old saying, ‘follow the money’.”

  Tiana stretched out on the couch under Derek’s detailed scrutiny. Her dress rode up her legs as she relaxed, leaned her head back into her arms and prepared for the search. The soft white skin of her delectable thighs and recently pedicured little feet stood out in stark contrast to the dark green velvet of the plush couch. Derek sat on the other arm of the couch’s ‘L,’ taking in the view and hoping the dress would ride just a little higher. He wondered what kind of panties she was wearing today. Now that she knew he wasn’t an AI, his voyeuristic privileges would probably be seriously curtailed.

  “Computer,” she began, totally focused on her task, “Access Interstellar Engineering’s accounting database and identify the bank and account number from which payment is received for the Omicron quadrant space station project.”

  “Please enter security code,” the monotone voice returned.

  “Tiana Weiss.”

  “Voice recognition confirmed,” the computer acknowledged. “Sol Savings and Loan, account number 5529289302787.”

  Tiana turned to Derek. “Can you get me into the Sol Savings and Loan central computer system?”

  * * * *

  Derek’s fingers glided across the console’s keyboard for just a few seconds. “Okay, we’re in.”

  Damn, he’s good, she thought. I wonder what he’s like … never mind. Focus, Tiana, focus …

  “Computer, provide me with the name and location of the account holder for the previously selected bank account number.”

  “Galactic Science Foundation, Pluto Outpost.”

  “I thought they were headquartered on Mars?” Derek questioned.

  “They are, but they do have field offices throughout our solar system. Computer, please identify any deposit patterns within the selected account that match up with the payments made thus far from the selected account to Interstellar Engineering.”

  The computer barely broke a sweat before returning a response.

  “Each time a payment is made to Interstellar Engineering from the selected account, three deposits from three different banks are received into the selected account totaling the amount of the payment issued to Interstellar Engineering.”

  “The source of the money appears to be outside the GSF,” Derek extrapolated, turning his attention to the computer. “Computer, are these deposits received before or after payment to Interstellar is issued and is there any pattern to the amounts deposited?”

  “The pattern is random in both cases.”

  This time it was Tiana’s turn to interpret the computer’s response. “That means that in each case there are three deposits of varying amounts deposited into the GSF’s account when a payment is issued to Interstellar. When added, in every case, all three total the single payment issued. To further remove attention to these deposits, their timing is random. The plot thickens. Computer, identify from which banks the previously selected deposits are initiated.”

  “In each combination of three deposits the same three banking institutions are always used: First Intergalactic Bank, Mars Trust Bank and Mother Earth Savings and Loan.”

  “Derek, let’s make your job a little more challenging this time. Can you get us into the Galactic Reserve Bank?”

  D
erek’s skilled hands glided across the console’s keyboard performing their magic. Minutes later, they were in.

  “Computer, who are the account holders and where are they located?”

  “The identity of the account holders on all three of these accounts is classified. All three of these accounts were opened from the Pluto Outpost.”

  “Pluto is starting to become a recurring theme? What’s on Pluto?” Derek asked.

  “Well,” Tiana hesitated, wondering if she should really share what she knew. “I have visited Pluto before. A few years ago, when I was working on a top secret weapons project for the Galactic Alliance. It is not common knowledge, and I could probably go to jail for telling you this, but the Alliance has an intelligence office in orbit around Pluto that, if asked, they would claim does not exist. Based on the information we have just gathered, it would seem that the space station is likely being financed with military money, not GSF money. Pair that with the fact that its design does not really complement its supposed function, and it becomes painfully obvious that the station I’m supposed to build is actually some kind of military facility. My guess is that I would have eventually been given just enough information to ensure the job got done right, but there’s no telling.”

  “So, if we follow this new train of reasoning, who would benefit from your demise?”

  “If I had turned down this assignment, then Interstellar would have had to hire someone from the outside, with the appropriate skills and security clearance. We have no one else in our office with the background to handle a project of this size and complexity. Our competitors might have benefited, assuming they had the right personnel on board, or—” she stopped, deep in thought.

  “What?”

  “Or perhaps an enemy of the Galactic Alliance.”

  “That would certainly add another level of complexity to this situation.”