“Yeah, more. I was told that when immortals remain loyal to each other even when they can’t be together, it means that they are fated mates.”
“Who told you that?”
“We now have access to the clan’s social network. Someone named Ella posted a list of indicators for a truelove mate, and fidelity was the first and most important one.”
“Ella is my niece. I need to ask her about it. What are the other signs?”
“Missing each other, wanting to spend every moment together, and of course, love.”
“We are not in love, Greggory. We barely know each other.”
“True, but that’s only because we haven’t had enough time together.”
Eleanor closed her eyes. “Frankly, I’m afraid that once you get to know me better, you are going to like me less, not more.”
“Why would you think that?”
As if she was going to list for him all the things that were less than desirable about her. “It’s just silly insecurity. I don’t have a good track record with men.”
He grinned, putting his fully elongated fangs on display. “But I’m not a man. I’m an immortal, and we are a different breed. Besides, none of the other men you’ve dated before worked out because you were meant to be with me.”
The sight of those sharp fangs brought back memories of what he’d made her feel with his bite, and her nipples pebbled in response.
“That’s such a nice thing to say.” She shifted, adjusting the nightgown’s neckline in an attempt to cover the evidence. “Especially when said while flashing a pair of enormous fangs.”
A glow started deep in Greggory’s eyes. “Do they scare you?”
She shook her head. “After experiencing what they can do, they are a trigger for arousal, not fear.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” His eyes trailed down, and his tongue darted to lick over his fangs. “Take off the nightgown, Eleanor, and let me see those perfect breasts of yours.”
48
Richard
Laptop tucked under his arm, Richard headed to the café for breakfast. The grading was done on Kalugal’s lots, and today the crew was starting to dig the foundations.
It was a good enough reason to celebrate. Finally, he would have something to do other than stare at dirt. Kalugal wanted him to prepare a list of appliances for the smaller houses, but he had not specified any particular style. His instructions had been to find good quality devices that would last for many years and that incorporated the latest technology.
Were induction ovens the latest thing? Or was there something even more innovative than that?
Spotting William reading a newspaper at one of the café’s tables, Richard decided to ask the expert. If anyone knew, it would be the clan’s genius tech guy.
“Good morning. May I join you?”
“Gladly.” The guy put the paper down and motioned toward the chair next to him. “Newspapers nowadays are just ridiculous. It hurts to read the crap that they call news. What happened to real reporters?”
“It’s this damn generation.” Richard sat down and put his laptop on the table. “They don’t understand the difference between reporting the actual news and writing opinions about it. Why do they think that I want to read their spin on things?” He shook his head. “I sound like an old man, don’t I?”
“You may sound like one, but I actually am. And you know what? Each generation is unhappy with the one following it. Although, this time I have to agree with the old-timers. Something must have gone wrong with the education system in this country.”
“I blame social media.” Richard sighed. “You have no idea how happy I am to live here in the village. It’s like we are on a different planet, and none of the outside nonsense touches us. The only things I miss are the freedom to travel and good restaurants. I can’t take Stella anywhere fun.”
By now, everyone knew that they were a couple, but most importantly, Stella had officially accepted him as her boyfriend, and they were even talking about him moving in with her.
It was a bit too soon for that, so Richard wasn’t pushing it, but he was spending every evening with her and staying most of the night, but not all.
He was waiting for her to ask him to stay.
“I know where you can take Stella that is fun.” William pushed his glasses up his nose. “Even super fun. The virtual machines are up and running, and we already conducted a first successful test with Kri and Eleanor. They went on a ski adventure together.”
Richard arched a brow. “I was under the impression that the virtual fun time was sexual.”
“We can modify it to do whatever we want. It can teach people how to fly a plane, or how to dive, or any other solo or joined activity. The possibilities are virtually endless.” William chuckled at his own joke. “I need to run a test with a human, and you are the only one in the village.”
“Then I guess that I have no choice but to volunteer.”
“I would greatly appreciate it if you do, and I promise that you are going to have more fun than you can imagine.” William smiled sheepishly. “I was involved with the Perfect Match Studios from the very beginning, but I didn’t feel comfortable trying their style of virtual adventure. Now that we have our own machines and adventures that are not romantic in nature, I gave it a try, and I had the time of my life.”
“That’s reassuring. I would have felt iffy about going for it knowing that the inventor didn’t try it himself.”
“I’m not the one who invented it. I only helped the founders and their teams to get over several hurdles that they didn’t know how to solve.”
“Nevertheless, I’m glad that you tried the program yourself. If I’m going to suggest it to Stella, I want to be sure that it’s safe.”
“You can ask Kri about her experience, or Eleanor.”
Richard grimaced. “I don’t trust anything Eleanor has to say. But I will gladly talk to Kri. Stella will also trust her feedback more than Eleanor’s.”
“If Stella doesn’t want to do it, you can go for a solo adventure.” William cleared his throat. “That being said, the Perfect Match Studios made all of their virtual adventures available to us, and they created amazing environments for couples that are highly customizable. You can really go wild with your choice of adventure.”
Richard’s appetite had already been whetted enough, but William’s last comment had his imagination soaring to new heights. He had to convince Stella to have an adventure with him.
“One more thing,” William said. “The programs designed by the Perfect Match Studios use avatars, so you can actually be someone else inside the adventure, and not just pretend it. It’s incredibly liberating.”
“Will I remember it after it’s over?”
“Of course. Otherwise, what’s the point?”
“True. But what if Stella and I want to do it as ourselves?”
“Do you mean that you want to enter the adventure with the awareness of who you really are?”
“Yes.”
“It takes away from the fun. The idea is to let go of your fears and inhibitions and not take them with you. That can only be achieved with full immersion.”