Kili sucked in a deep breath and blinked as her eyes adjusted to white, searing sunlight. Her first glance at her vacation setting sent her stomach plummeting. Where was the desert island with the horseshoe strip of pale sand and navy sea? Sure, heat radiated off the ground in suffocating waves, but where was the cabana boy in the Speedo?

Instead, an endless savannah stretched in front of her with tall, golden grass waving in the hot breeze and gnarled, stunted trees dotting the horizon. “What the hell?”

Stones skittered behind her and she spun to find a large, male figure standing on a rocky knoll. At least the program had gotten that much right. The Ice Man’s incredible, burly physique was nude except for a furry loincloth that draped from a slender cord at his waist, leaving the sides of his tanned hips and his massive, sleek thighs bare. The breeze ruffled his pale hair as he strode toward her, his sharp gaze sweeping down her body, a predatory gleam in his eyes.

Kili’s heart thudded and her nipples tightened, the sensitive tips pressing into supple fabric. She glanced down and noted she too wore an animal’s skin, tanned and buttery-soft. The miniscule top barely covered her breasts and was knotted between them. Another soft garment draped around her hips, and the breeze licking up her thighs revealed she was totally nude underneath the crude clothing. “Now, that’s attention to detail,” she murmured. But if this was her fantasy, why weren’t her hips
slimmer?

When she brought up her head again, Ice Man’s attention was directed behind her and his entire body tensed. He hefted a spear in one hand, holding it above his shoulder.

She followed his gaze and saw an enormous creature crouched low in the grass staring back at them, cat-like with long fangs curving like tusks from its gaping mouth.

Before she could gasp a warning, Ice Man let loose his spear and snagged her wrist, dragging her behind him as he ran back up the knoll.

A hideous, snarling scream erupted, and Kili forgot that none of this was real-her heart accelerated and her breath rasped as she ran like the wind, flying up the rocks behind the gladiator, grateful for the fur-lined booties that shielded her feet from the harsh terrain.

Just as they crested the knoll, the sound of heavy paws thundered behind them. She didn’t dare look back, but Ice Man dropped her hand and drew another spear from the leather sheath strapped to his back. With a lithe twist, he turned and launched the spear straight into the large cat’s chest.

The animal dropped like a rock without a sound, dead before it hit the ground.

Kili shivered and reminded herself — this isn’t real. All that blood spurting in a gurgling stream from the creature’s gaping wound was just part of the program hooked up to her brainwaves to deliver a virtual adventure. She’d never really been in danger, but her racing heart didn’t seem to know the difference. The trembling that shook her body felt authentic, as did the excitement that thrummed through her veins.

She drew a deep, steadying breath and lifted her head to find Ice Man’s gaze leveled on her.

His chest gleamed with sweat, his jaw was taut, and hunger glinted in his hard eyes.

“I’m guessing this is where we’re supposed to share celebratory sex, huh?”