Excerpt of Virtual Heaven by Ann Lawrence

Chapter 1

The warrior loomed over her. His leather jerkin, open to his waist, revealed a bounty of chest muscles and a corrugation of abdominals. Tight buff breeches hugged lean hips and well shaped thighs. Maggie O'Brien's gaze jumped from his belt buckle to his jewel–encrusted boot knife, avoiding the obvious indications of a man well endowed. Clear thought fled.

""Is the poster straight now?""

Maggie jerked to attention. ""Huh?""

Gwen Marlowe scrambled down from her low stepladder. ""The poster? Is it straight?""

Maggie crossed her arms and hugged herself against the chilly air in Virtual Heaven, Gwen's video game shop. ""Yes. It's fine.""

The two friends faced the poster that advertised Tolemac Wars, a virtual reality game.

""Kinda cute, isn't he?"" Gwen said.

Maggie tipped her head back and examined the man who bristled with weapons and bulged with muscle.

""You bet."" She sighed. ""Why don't real men look that good?""

""Now, Mag, don't be so cynical."" Gwen gave a playful tug to an unruly lock of Maggie's long black hair. ""There are a few men that great, even here in Ocean City, New Jersey. Maybe if you came out of your jewelry shop, you might see one.""

Maggie snorted with disdain, clinging stubbornly to her viewpoint. ""Some artist conjures them up to torture us wallflowers. He reminds me of those guys you see on the covers of romance novels. Those men don't exist either.""

""Funny you should mention that. The artist who did that poster uses live models, so that guy up there really exists. Now, stop gawking and come help me count my change."

They counted the store's earnings. As Gwen chatted, Maggie found her attention drifting to the poster and the medieval man who dominated it. She caught the tail–end of a question.

""––so why did you come here tonight? You might be right next door, but it seems like we never see each other anymore. I know you didn't come to play a game.""

Maggie hid a sheepish grin and went to the front of Gwen's store for a bag she'd dropped by the door. A distant roll of thunder reminded her a nor'easter was moving in. ""I'm invited to a storm party––""

""A storm party? What the heck's that?"" Gwen snatched the bag from Maggie's hands and spilled the contents on the counter, heaping it with clothing, jewelry, and shoes.

""You know . . . an excuse to have a party. I guess it's also to mark the end of the season. I was hoping to meet someone new.""

""Finally. I was beginning to worry about you. It's time you got over Tony.""

""I'm over Tony,"" Maggie murmured.

Gwen placed a sympathetic hand on Maggie's. ""You say that, but your reclusive behavior tells me different. I want my happy, vibrant friend back. You've hidden in your jewelry shop for months. I know he hurt you, Mag, but Tony and you just weren't meant to be. Try to think of him as just another boyfriend.""

Maggie dipped her head and hid behind her hair. Gwen had no idea of the depths of humiliation and pain that thoughts of Tony engendered, even now, months after their break–up. ""I really thought we'd eventually get married, Gwen. All those empty promises––"" Maggie mentally shook herself, determined to banish the painful thoughts. ""Help me pick something to wear. I can't make up my mind. I want to look good.""

""Maggie, you could go in those old gray sweats and you'd look good. You'd have all the dates you wanted if you'd just try a little.""

For a bleak moment, Maggie considered her friend's words. ""I'm not sure I'm ready.""

""Yes you are. Think positively. Not all men are domineering womanizers like Tony. Now, let's see these outfits."" Gwen sorted through the pile of clothing and held up a short red dress. ""Pretty stunning, but not you."" She cast it aside in favor of a wad of black material. Shaking it out, she said, ""You always look great in black. Let's see this on you.""

Maggie cast a regretful glance at the red dress. She'd spent a fortune on it and the matching shoes in an uncharacteristic moment of panic spending.

She looked about the long, low displays of games. ""Where shall I go? I can't change out here.""

Maggie and Gwen turned to the expanse of glass windows fronting the boardwalk shop. Rain pelted the window, obscured their view of the wide wooden promenade and the roiling ocean just beyond a stretch of sand.

""I think the bathroom is probably freezing about now. I know! The virtual reality booth. Come on."" Gwen led Maggie to a free–standing chamber by the poster that had occupied so much of Maggie's attention.

Maggie paused at the entrance and stared up at the warrior. ""He is beautiful. Arrogant, I would think, but . . . powerful.""

The warrior had eyes an improbable shade of aqua. His tangled brown hair reminded Maggie of a surfer's, with sun streaks like streams of lava running through its length. Above him, the Tolemac sun, a red nightmare in a purple sky, appeared ready to sink behind a mountain range of sharp peaks, their summits capped with gilded snow.

""Who's the woman behind him?"" Maggie asked Gwen. ""Why's she so indistinct? She almost blends into the background.""

""I call her the Shadow Woman. She pops up at the most convenient times and saves him from some peril. She's a slave.""

""How do you know she's a slave?"" Maggie asked.

""No arm rings."" Gwen entered the virtual reality booth.

Maggie's gaze returned to the warrior. Three silver–hued rings encircled his well developed upper arm. Maggie sighed, then followed Gwen. ""Is she his slave?""

""Maybe. I only know she's really good at saving his butt. I suppose, after we go home, after the shop is closed, he rewards her, somewhere out there in cyberspace."