Zoe checked the scan results. Clean. She plugged in her jump drive. All backed up. Intrigued, she finally let herself click on the icon.
Holy shit.
The icon opened a virtual room. One dominated by a bed, filmy curtains hanging from the ceiling and satin pillows mounding against the headboard. On the huge bed were two cartoonish figures. Naked. Very, very naked.
Zoe’s mouth dropped.
“Microsoft offered him a job. He said he might take it.”
Zoe’s eyes rounded and she gasped. Oh, God. That naked cartoon girl was her.
“I know, it’s a shock,” Meghan continued, her tone teary. “I hate that he’s giving up like this. But he said it’s what he wants to do.”
Zoe grunted. She’d figured out that the arrow keys would move her naked cartoon around. Up, down, up, down. The naked cartoon man’s face was hidden by a mask, but his grin was clear. Zoe figured out how to move around the room to change the view and noted that the avatar looked amazingly accurate. Except…the tattoo was missing.
“Wow,” she breathed. Whoever had created this was a genius. Video-game seduction. Was it Gandalf? Given that she was here to track down a video-game master, that wasn’t a speculative leap. But, she peered closer, no. Gandalf hadn’t created this. Not only was it missing her trademark tattoo, but like any artist, Gandalf had a distinctive style. Stark, edgy and animated. These were…well, real. Like people. Zoe stared in awe. She noted the company logo on the bottom of the screen. Avigraph. No, not the same company Gandalf worked at. Obviously, her masked hottie had hacking skills and an account with some new social networking program. And what a program it was! She moved her avatar back, noting the muscled physique of the sexy guy in the shadows. Yummy. Her heart raced a little, her blood warming. Animated porn. If she turned on her speakers would she hear a bump and grind soundtrack?
“I told him you were looking for Gandalf. He said we’re crazy, but he sounded sort of hopeful. So, don’t give up, okay?” Meghan’s voice, coming from somewhere in the background, paused. Then, “Zoe? Are you upset that I told him?”
Zoe blinked a couple of times. “Upset?”
The male cartoon moved. Her heart damn near jumped through her chest and Zoe almost screamed. She watched his animated hand reach out to curve over her cartoon breast, the thumb brushing the nipple enticingly. Heat curled low in her belly. She blew out a breath.
“Nope, not upset.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No. I just have to, you know, process it. I’ll talk to you later.” She didn’t take her eyes off the screen and the magic that cartoon guy was playing on her body as she hit the off key on her phone.
Her masked lover had created this? She noted at the bottom of the screen the word Avigraph. Was it like that Web site Second Life? Maybe her masked lover had just created avatars of the two of them but hadn’t created the program? Her mind raced, trying to figure out the answers. All she knew was this guy had obviously hacked her computer. But how? When? He’d have had to have access to her room, wouldn’t he? To her laptop at least, to turn it on?
Speaking of turn-ons. Zoe’s breath caught in her chest as the male avatar jackknifed up, his abs rippling in cartoon sexiness. His mouth latched on to her turgid nipple. Zoe’s own, non-cartoon nipples peaked in aching hardness.
His hand traced her body from nipple to waist, then down to the curls between her legs. As though he was actually touching her body, warmth dampened her core. His mouth released her nipple. Zoe almost groaned in disappointment. He took her cyber hand and, after sucking her fingers into his mouth, trailed it down over her bereft breast, then down the same path his own hand had taken. He pressed her fingers to the valley between her animated legs.
Zoe narrowed her eyes, then, realizing what he was asking, she gasped. Her heart revved. Mesmerized, she followed his unspoken request. Shifting the laptop next to her on the bed, she slid down to lie on her side. Using the touch pad in concert with her movements, she made her avatar mimic her. She slipped her fingers into her mouth, wetting them, then traced the wet temptation around her aching nipple. She didn’t know how to make her avatar pinch or flick the flesh, but didn’t let that detail stop her from pleasuring herself.
The animated man shifted, sliding down her body. His fingers covered hers, pressing so she could see finger marks on her drawn breasts. Then he lifted her thighs, draping them over his shoulders. Zoe groaned. Her hand dropped to her own thighs, her finger tracing her swollen lips, then flicking the throbbing nub already damp with desire.
He buried his face between her legs. Zoe closed her eyes, letting the images of yesterday’s delight with the masked hunk fill her mind: the sensation of his tongue over her skin. His fingers driving her wild, her own musky scent filled the air as she worked her flesh. Eyes still closed, she abandoned the touch pad to tweak her nipple in time with the fingers of her other hand moving in, out, swirling, then plunging again.