Free Night Whispers: ShadowLands, Book 1 by Alisha Rai

body as if they were normal people just looking at each other…he’d never forget that. She was stunning, her body showcased in that floral dotted dress from the store window she’d passed months ago.
    James bit his lip, because otherwise he was too damn tempted to sit here the whole night licking it. He couldn’t honestly taste her. After all, virtual reality wasn’t real, despite how good Jules had tasted and smelled and looked and, God…felt. She’d felt really, really good.
    James shuddered. Her small, capable hand wrapped around his cock would be an experience he would take to his grave. His swollen erection still hadn’t subsided. He was strangely averse to touching himself to rid himself of the condition, not after her hand had been on him so recently.
    It shouldn’t have felt any different from when he took care of business, and yet the excitement and eroticism had been ramped up immeasurably. Perhaps it was the fact that she’d been so very willing. She wanted him. As much as he wanted her. A smile curved his lips. He liked that. He liked it a lot.
    Will she want you this much if she ever meets you?
    The thought got rid of his smile in a hurry. He closed his eyes, the better not to see all the flaws she would see if they actually were to meet in person.
    He should have been honest with her. The guilt of his deception weighed down on him, mingled with the exhilaration of being with her in some small way.
    He had entertained the fantasy of them meeting in person and falling in love, neither of them disappointing the other. Yet now, Jules would know at first glance she was simply so much more than he was.
    She was brave. He was not. She was fearless. He was a mass of fears. She defended their race with a knife. He was pretty good with a gun, but he’d only honed his skill on the shooting range. Her face and body had no flaws.
    And his…
    After looking into her eyes and seeing happiness and caring and lust, he didn’t know if he could bear it if, in real life, those things were absent.
    Cross that bridge when you get to it.
    God knew when or if it would even happen. They hadn’t exactly spoken of it. Maybe before that distant time in the future he could make himself more worthy of her. And admit the small lie of omission he’d implicitly told in that VR exercise.
    With a sigh, he launched himself off the bed. It was the middle of the night, but there was no use lollygagging around when he had no intention or hope of sleep. He could get some work done. Maybe, he mused as he slipped his feet into a pair of shoes and collected his specs, he could jot down some notes for the programmers on ironing some of the kinks out of the program they’d used.
    Raven was never fully asleep, as there was always more to do than there were hours in the day. James nodded to the few people who were up and about as he made his way from his room to his office.
    The door unlocked with a press of his finger on the lock, and he shut it, hoping no one would come bother him. The lights flickered on, the dim lighting suiting his tired eyes perfectly. He sank into his swivel chair and docked his handheld monitor. The big computer instantly took over, whirring to life, as it defaulted to accept her data.
    He pulled up the spec program, hoping it would help him fight the urge to click into Jules with audio so he could listen to her breathe as she slept, and holy God, could he get any creepier?
    He knew he couldn’t violate her dignity that way. Too much had been taken from her by force. He’d let her keep her privacy for as long as he was able. He winced as he thought of the hardships she’d experienced in her young life. She was lucky she had strong will and mind, to be able to overcome a life of poverty and drug abuse.
    Overcome it to be badass and capable, while retaining that core layer of vulnerable sweetness.
    He tapped his pen against the counter. Jiggled his leg. Should he call her? No. No. She was sleeping, and he’d bothered