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

by Nikki Sinclaire

  “After a period of two years we would, of course, divorce and go our separate ways,” she answered, lifting her little chin up in the haughtiest way she knew how.

  “That’s awfully kind of you to offer. Thank you. I suppose I would go on with you to the Magellan Outpost after the wedding?”

  “For the two-year period you would need to be working for me. That justifies the Alliance dropping the prison sentence. The law requires that you be involved in improving the planet so as to enhance its habitability and commercial prospects. Constructing a space station qualifies as such.”

  “Okay, I accept your offer and at the end of the two years we will go our separate ways. I will work hard for you and uphold my end of the bargain.”

  Tiana felt Derek’s words rip her heart right out of her chest. Of course he’d accept so quickly. Anything with two legs and breasts would suffice. He doesn’t even have to look for a bride. What was I thinking?

  “As my legal residence has already been recorded, we do not need to be on the planet for me to redeem you, therefore, we can get the Captain to marry us immediately and the two-year clock will start ticking.”

  As Tiana walked away, her very soul felt so wounded it sent tears to her eyes.

  Damn, I should get the prize for being the universe’s biggest idiot.

  She had allowed herself to develop feelings, for someone who clearly did not reciprocate them, and she had now made matters worse by agreeing to a marriage of convenience that was completely for his benefit. There wasn’t even anything in it for her. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  Once she was out of Derek’s sight, the weight of her situation came crashing down on her. She broke down with a loud sob and allowed the tears to flow. She sank down, her back to the wall and sat there for what felt like an hour, allowing her grief to wash over her until she had no more tears to shed.

  “Are you okay?” she heard a gentle voice say. Tiana looked up to find a pretty woman with grey eyes and shoulder length blond hair squatting down not more than twelve inches in front of her. The woman had a soft, concerned look on her face. It was the one look Tiana would not have ever pictured on the face of Commander Hollinger, the ship’s Security Officer.

  “I guess so.”

  “It must be hard to see someone you care for locked up. I’m really sorry.”

  “That’s not it. Commander Hollinger, do you ever feel like your heart has a mind of its own and it is bound and determined to engage itself with the wrong guys?”

  “Actually, no, Ms. Weiss. The guys I meet typically run the other way when they find out what I do for a living,. It would appear that men don’t like butt-kicking women in a social setting. I have yet to meet a man who doesn’t immediately begin some macho posturing.”

  The thought of some poor soul making undesired advances on the Amazon-sized woman did amuse her.

  “Please, call me Tiana. You are so pretty. I can’t imagine men not flocking to you.”

  “Well, unfortunately, that’s my reality,” Commander Hollinger responded with a sad look in her eyes. “Regarding Mr. Hart, I can’t tell you whether he did what he was convicted of or not, but I can tell you that man would willingly sacrifice his life for you. I saw it in his actions and in his eyes when he thought we were there to kill you.”

  “I think you misread the situation, he was just doing the he-man, protect the weaker sex thing. He may be in lust with me, but his intentions toward me are not romantic.”

  “I’m afraid I am not qualified to tell you much of anything about romantic attraction, but it’s obvious that he does at least care for you a great deal. I would give my right arm to just once find a man who cared for me enough to want to protect me the way Mr. Hart protects you.”

  “You really think so?”

  “No, I know so!”

  Tiana simply shook her head. This from a woman men are afraid of. No, the Commander just doesn’t get it.

  Chapter 19

  The Wedding

  What the hell am I doing?

  Confused, disconnected and highly emotionally charged thoughts of her impending wedding raced through Tiana’s brain. It wasn’t like she hadn’t been married once before, and she understood she was doing it to help out a man she … liked a lot … even though he did not feel the same way and had no intention of staying married to her past the two-year mark, but deep down, not even understanding why, Tiana, was taking this wedding seriously. She wanted, however short the duration, for this to be a real marriage. She wanted their union to become as important to Derek as it was to her. She knew the risk she was taking in allowing her hopes to soar, but she couldn’t help herself. For some strange reason, she really liked the idea of being his wife.

  Rita was the maid of honor and, after much coercion, the Marshall had agreed to serve as Derek’s best man. There wasn’t any of the pomp and circumstance of her first wedding, but she was every bit as giddy as she had been the first time around. The only other person in attendance was John Maverick, who, as captains have done since ancient wooden ships had first set sail thousands of years ago across the oceans back on Earth, would be presiding over the ceremony.

  As she followed Rita into the Captain’s private dining room, she looked up at her groom. Derek looked so handsome in the suit they had shopped for together. He had purchased, with her help of course, a dark gray suit that fit his well-toned body like a glove. Underneath the suit, a classic white Martian-cotton shirt, with buttons instead of the more commonly used adhesive seals, highlighted every ripple of her fiancé’s torso. Shoes made of authentic Aurelian rhinoceros leather, not the more commonly used artificially synthesized version, completed the look.

  The outside wall of the room was made of Rita’s patented steel tempered-glass alloy, giving them a breathtaking view of space. Derek had somehow managed to talk the schedule-conscious Captain into dropping out of hyperspace for the duration of the wedding, directly in front of a passing comet. Not many girls ever had the opportunity to be married with a blaze of fire as a backdrop.

  Her wedding dress was simple. She wore a short, pleated white skirt that fell halfway between her knees and the curve of what Derek had referred to as her ‘sweet cheeks.’ Underneath her skirt a lacy thong — Rita’s suggestion — was waiting for her husband to discover at the proper time. Above the waist she wore a stylish, long-sleeved lacy white blouse. Derek kept looking at it. She figured he was probably trying to determine whether or not she was wearing a bra. He would just have to wait to find out.

  Of course, no outfit would be complete without the proper shoes. She wore her favorite pair of white, high-heeled sandals, which she knew highlighted her muscular legs in a way she hoped would clear Derek’s brain of all activity other than her seduction.

  There were no rings, no flowers and within a short five minutes they were husband and wife, Derek was no longer a ward of the Galactic Alliance and the Captain had returned his ship into hyperspace.

  He was now her responsibility. She sure hoped he wouldn’t do anything stupid.

  As they walked back to Tiana’s suite, an awkward silence engulfed them. She knew what she wanted, but she didn’t know what his expectations would be. Would he make love to her? Would the relationship that had developed between them resume its natural course and continue to grow or would this contrived ‘wedding for freedom’ business result in them now becoming simply roommates? Two business partners watching the clock tick for the next 730 days.

  As they reached her suite, wordlessly, Derek, in one swift, fluid motion picked her up and cradled her tenderly in his strong arms.

  “Derek, what are you doing? I’m too heavy.”

  “As if, my pocket-sized Venus. What does it look like I’m doing? I’m going to carry you over the threshold. You are my bride, aren’t you?”

  Okay, right answer!

  Touched by the romantic gesture, she put her arms around his neck and rested her head on his hard, muscular chest.

  * * * *

  �
��Computer, open door.”

  Derek carried her in as if she was light as a feather. He didn’t care what it took; by the time the two years were up she simply had to fall in love with him and want to stay together.

  “My, how sweet.” Derek’s thoughts were interrupted by a familiar female voice as the door closed behind them. “Derek, darling, you never carried me over the threshold.”

  A good-looking, tall brunette stepped out of the bedroom pointing a disruptor at them.

  “Melinda! What in the world are you doing here?”

  “Derek,” Tiana interjected, “that’s Chrissie, my former maid.”

  “Well, it appears that your slut ex-maid and my snake in the grass ex-girlfriend are the same person. What an incredible coincidence, huh. My, my, it’s a small galaxy after all. It’s a small, small galaxy.”

  “Oh, Derek, I sure have missed your sarcasm. Let’s go easy on the name-calling, though, you might accidentally piss me off and I might accidentally disrupt a hole through your wife’s tits.”

  Derek slowly put Tiana back down on her own two feet. As he did so, his hand accidentally slid up her thigh, under her dress and onto her curvy bottom. He felt his insides, not to mention his outsides, twitch with lust.

  Shit, shit, shit, not a good time to get aroused!

  “You know, Melinda, the different pieces to this complicated puzzle are starting to come together,” Derek said. “Between seducing Tiana’s husband so that he would become your pawn and seducing me so that you could derail the Portable People project, not to mention killing off several other scientists and engineers, you’ve been very busy, haven’t you?”

  Hating his pseudo-superiority, she responded sarcastically, “Not bad, Derek, darling. Has the little woman, and I do mean little, been helping you with your homework? I see you’ve found someone else to lead you by the balls.”

  Slowly, Melinda, alias Chrissie, walked the length of the room, placing herself between them and the door as Tiana continued Derek’s train of deductive thinking.

  “Conniving bitch, traitorous whore, hmm, there’s more to you than meets the eye, isn’t there. I think you go by a couple of other names as well, don’t you?” Tiana said, letting her temper get the better of her.

  “Ah, the carrot-topped twit thinks. She even speaks. Correct so far, but I fear that the knowledge of who I really am is a little beyond your pea-size human brain. You know, sweetie, there’s more at play here than just my sleeping with both of your husbands. If it’s any consolation, though, Derek was the better fuck. Weren’t you, stud?” she said, feasting her eyes upon Derek and eating him alive with her look, her intent, obviously, to taunt Tiana.

  For centuries, redheads have carried the unfair reputation of having an anger problem. All her life, Tiana had lived up to this reputation, yet, for the most part, she had maintained control during the past couple of weeks, and she had really thought she had turned things around. She knew Chrissie had slept with her ex-husband, and while the knowledge had cut through her deeply, she had managed to keep her anger under control. Knowing that this woman had hurt Derek had also been unpleasant, but even throught that, she had kept herself under control. She was trying. She was really, really trying to behave herself and be the civilized woman that, as a member of one of the most advanced species in the universe, she was expected to be. She had convinced herself that she had turned the corner on her anger and that, for the rest of her days. She would handle all situations with a calm demeanor and the dignity that her lofty position in the galaxy’s engineering community demanded, regardless of what anyone ever did or could possibly say. Unfortunately, she had not counted on ever hearing another woman use the word ‘fuck’ in relation to her new husband.

  Tiana grabbed a vase off an endtable and hurled it at Chrissie. No, actually, it wasn’t Chrissie she was hurling the vase at, it was Melinda whom she was going to tear apart limb from limb. She was the one who had defiled her new husband and who had, well … She really pisses me off. The fact that the two women were the same person was irrelevant.

  “Bitch!” Tiana yelled as the vase hit its mark, injuring as well as temporarily distracting Melinda, who in turn fired the disruptor in Tiana’s general direction, barely missing her.

  Before Melinda knew what was happening, Tiana had hurled herself upon her and, holding her by her hair, was repeatedly beating the other woman in the face.

  Derek availed himself of the opportunity and grabbed the disruptor off the floor where Melinda had been forced to drop it before gingerly approaching the two struggling women.

  It had all happened so quickly, but as she was about to vent her anger with another blow to Melinda’s face, Tiana felt a sharp pain on her side and subsequently found herself hurled across the room and right into Derek with a force she knew human beings were incapable of. As Derek and she hit the wall, they both had the wind knocked out of them. Tiana watched as Melinda swiftly got up, apparently unscathed despite being hit by a vase and getting pounded on by a very angry redhead. Just as quickly, she scowled at Tiana with a lifetime of hate blazing in her eyes and ran out the door, avoiding Derek’s disruptor shot.

  Chapter 19

  Abandon Ship

  “Captain, we have disruptor fire in Suite 1005”

  Acting quickly as he ran off the bridge, the Captain hailed his Security Officer and ordered, “Commander Hollinger, dispatch a security team to meet me in Suite 1005. Weapons at the ready.”

  He had a very good idea of who had probably fired the disruptor.

  Hurrying down the corridors leading to the section of the ship where the first-class suites were located, he saw a woman running at him, stopping in her tracks as soon as she saw him. Seeing the woman took him back fifteen years to the time when he had last seen her. The day the MPs had taken Colonel Katia Reginald of the Terrilian Armada, alias Lieutenant Cecilia Hammonds, away to await execution as a spy. Colonel Reginald had never made it to her cell. She had overpowered her escort and made her escape, leaving their lifeless bodies behind as a reminder that Terrilians were physically superior in every way.

  This time, he was not taking any chances. Captain Maverick quickly drew his disruptor and fired at her as she ducked to the side, making her escape down an adjacent corridor. Wasting no time, the Captain called for reinforcements and gave chase. She was heading in the direction of the ship’s central engine room. He had to hurry, for she could certainly cause some damage in there. This woman had cost him fifteen years of pain. Fifteen years of mourning. Fifteen years that he could have spent with the love of his life. Fifteen years that he could have spent with … his wife.

  Captain Maverick chased the Terrilian spy into the engine room. As he walked in he was greeted by the lifeless body of one of his ship engineers. His neck had been snapped like a twig.

  Stepping over the body, the Captain proceeded silently. She had to be somewhere nearby. If she still had the disruptor, he would already be dead. The room was full of pipes, energy containers and a variety of mechanical control systems behind which she could be hiding. As he rounded a corner he almost tripped on a second corpse. He recognized the face. The lifeless body belonged to one of his trainees, barely eighteen. The way his head hung limply to the side indicated the way he had been killed. The Captain heard a noise to his left and quickly turned. As he did, he saw a magnetic degausser hitting the floor after bouncing off a pipe. Oh no. He had fallen for the oldest trick in the book.

  Before he could turn back, a swift kick in the gut reminded him of why he shouldn’t have looked away. Damn Terrilian! A second kick sent his disruptor flying across the room and behind a couple of reactors. He didn’t sit around waiting for the third kick. Instead, with the nimbleness of a man half his age, Captain Maverick rolled out of the way and drew himself up to his feet.

  They both now stood, in fighting stances, assessing each other’s weaknesses. They were two old warriors, still fighting a war that should have been long over but knowing the enemy never rested.


  “Tsk, tsk, Jonathan. You know you can’t possibly beat me. I am genetically superior. How about we both go our separate ways and leave this argument for another day?”

  “Sorry, but no. Why destroy tomorrow what I can destroy today and should have destroyed on yesterday’s yesterday. I’m not much on procrastination. Besides, where will you go?”

  “Why don’t you let me worry about that? I did just fine the last time our paths crossed.”

  Captain Maverick’s response was a flying kick that hit its mark on the Terrilian’s beautiful chin, sending her sprawling across the slick metal floor of the engine room.

  Jumping back to her feet, refusing to give the Captain an opportunity for a second strike, she rubbed what was sure to become a nasty bruise on her chin.

  “My, my, you’ve been working out. Okay, suit yourself, Johnny boy. I have, shall we say, a little time to kill.”

  With that, she delivered a low roundkick to the back of the Captain’s knees that sent him to the floor. She followed the attack by jumping up in the air, intent on landing with both feet on the Captain’s ribcage. Not being terribly keen on having his ribcage crushed, Maverick rolled out of the way, kicking her square in the center of her back. Had she been human, he would have cracked her spine and the fight would have been over. Even though her face reflected the pain he had inflicted on her, she got back up to resume the fight.

  As they squared off, the Captain thought he was seeing things when he noticed a perfect circle being cut out of the wall from outside the ship. Knowing there was nothing but space on the other side, and that in a matter of seconds, once the hole was completed, the ship’s inside pressure would push everything in the room out through it, he quickly ran through the door leading back out of the engine room and activated the airlock.

  Through the glass window on the door he saw his old enemy activate an energy field around herself and throw down a little round explosive device that adhered to the metal floor. As the hole was completed, Captain Maverick watched as his longtime enemy was sucked out into space. On the other side of the hole was a small ship that quickly attached a tractor beam to her.