His Monster (Digital Demons Book 1) Read online

  “A little.”

  “Well, why don’t we design you a character, and then, you can tell me about the report.”

  She looked around, and there was no other chair in the office. He rolled his chair backward and patted his thighs.

  “Right. Fine.” She smiled as she carefully lowered herself to an upright position across his thighs. “It is a good thing that your wilted mushroom is perfectly fine, or this would be the last thing on my mind.”

  He looked slightly appalled. “Mushroom?”

  She chuckled. “He misspelled a few things. I think I made him nervous.”

  “You have that effect on men who can’t focus.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a quick kiss.

  “Are you saying that you are the only one who can handle me?”

  “Yes. In all senses of the term.”

  She grinned. “How are you coming on the list?”

  He scooped her up and pivoted her so that she was facing his computer. “Come on, let’s get you an avatar.”

  She snorted and reached for the keyboard. “Of course, but remember, you asked for this.”

  Her fingers started to move on the keyboard, and the screen flickered sharply with every addition to the basic character that she was allowed to install based on the character portion of that morning’s read.

  “How are you doing that?” He murmured it in her ear.

  “I am very smart. I am guessing that you stole my laptop along with everything else?”

  He chuckled. “Of course.”

  “Good. Install the program on my computer, and I will take her through the newbie village and bulk her stats up a little.”

  He looked over her shoulder. “Is that...”

  “Miyuki. She loves the idea of the game, so I thought she could be my avatar since I am hers.”

  She leaned to one side so he could see it clearly. A woman with white hair and blue eyes in a kimono and armor. She carried a wand and a sword.

  “How did you do that?”

  “I used the code for unclassified. Harder to gain skills but easier to gain experience.”

  “How did you know about that?” He gave her a squeeze.

  “I read. It was mentioned in a brief about the unclassified being allowed exclusive bonuses when collecting treasure that didn’t apply to a particular skill set. So, more money?”

  He chuckled. “And other stuff.”

  She grinned. “I think she needs a hairpin.”

  “Well, go looking for it.”

  She clicked around to find what she was looking for, and then, she entered the newbie village and started killing small creatures until she had completed the first level. The next level was a quest. She walked around in the game and looked for the lost ring of a local lady. Some kind of enchanted toad had hopped off with it, so she had to go find it.

  The Boss reached past her at one point to press something, but it didn’t interfere with gameplay, so she kept going. His computer was fast. She barely had to wait for it to catch up as she went whipping through the levels using as many direct tasks as she could. Nothing that required waiting, unless the waiting could be applied and left to mature on its own. Flowers, potions, recipes, the kind of thing that could become its own artifact if left to simply do its thing.

  The air was filled with the scent of food, and she smelled something delightful at close range. “Open.”

  She took the bite and kept playing.

  * * * *

  Neil was looking for Serene, and the last place he looked was the Boss’s office. He paused and was stunned at what he was seeing. It wasn’t because Serene was perched on the Boss’s lap, it wasn’t because he was feeding her carefully, it was because the huge screen behind the Boss showed the elapsed time in the game for that player, and the player had to have been hitting every cache in her path. She was very good. Well, she was the goddess of intelligence, after all. Who knew that it extended to game playing?

  The Boss caught his gaze and nodded. Neil held up the paperwork, and he brought it in. Either one of them could sign off on the extra supplies, but Serene normally did that sort of thing as a matter of habit.

  Neil watched Serene’s avatar race around the screen, not wasting any time or steps. Every move was efficient. If she was as good when she got to the dueling level, she was going to climb the ranks with nauseating ease.

  Neil put the documents down, and the Boss signed them. “Did you show her how?”

  The Boss shook his head. “I think the snow woman is playing, and I think I just figured out how to get the oni and the snow woman to have a meeting on equal footing.”

  Serene was in a world all her own, but she said quite clearly, “You had better not go over budget and get a new coffee maker. You can already make the coffees of half the globe. Be satisfied with that.”

  While she spoke, her hands moved and keys clicked.

  Neil chuckled. “Well, the Boss signed it, so we will have to deal with whatever my twisted heart desires when it arrives.”

  “Fine. I will take it out of his hide.” While she spoke, her hands didn’t falter.

  Neil looked at the Boss, and the Boss was grinning. The two of them together were humming with energy, and Serene wasn’t even paying attention.

  Neil took the paperwork with him and left to let the guys delivering the gym equipment into the annex of the studio. It would be a relief to be able to work out on the premises.

  Chapter Twelve

  Her alarm chirped, pulling her out of the game. “Oh, shit!”

  The Boss whispered in her ear. “What?”

  “Um, I am supposed to be in a meeting with you.” She turned to face him.

  He kissed her. “I think you are already here. So, status report?”

  She glanced at the game and blinked. “Level fifty-seven? Miyuki really liked that game.”

  “I can tell, your body temperature dropped.”

  She patted his thigh. “Sorry about that.”

  Serene put her hands on the table and pushed herself to a standing position. Her legs wobbled. She turned and leaned against the desk. “Right. So, what did you want to know?”

  He laughed. “I think we will call it a day. You have a bad case of monitor face.”

  She tried to focus on him, but she kept seeing figures from the came superimposed over his features.

  “Come on. We will knock off early and get you into a hot bath. You have to be stiff from sitting still that long.”

  She almost asked him how stiff he was, but he stood and closed the laptops before she could ask. She leaned back as he pressed against her chest to close the computers.

  Serene was leaning on her hands, and he deliberately unplugged the chargers before he stood straight.

  “Would you like to grab your stuff from your office?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. That would be a good idea. Meet you in the lobby?”

  He grinned. “I will meet you at your office. Don’t forget Etta’s offerings for the day.”

  “Right. Um. Okay.”

  She headed down via the elevator and gathered her purse along with the garment bags. She closed her office door and tried to rationalize the gaming. If Miyuki wanted it as an outlet, she was going to have to share the body instead of chilling her down.

  The Boss walked up to her and smiled. “Ready?” He handed her the phone. “Here you go.”

  She sighed. “I swear, I am going to have to pin this to me.”

  “I will help you keep track of it.” He had the laptops under one arm. He offered her the other.

  They took the elevator and then walked to his car. He held the door open for her and took her parcels and stowed them in the trunk.

  She buckled in and smiled slightly as he began the drive home. She was asleep before they had driven five blocks.

  Serene was warm. She was toasty, and she squirmed in place.

  There was a relieved exhale
next to her. “Thank goodness. I was afraid that the snow woman had cooled you too much.”

  She opened her eyes and turned in his arms. “What happened?”

  “You fainted—low body temperature. I got us home and then pulled you into the dimensional doorway. It was relatively easy to get you into bed after that.” He smiled.

  Serene blinked. “Miyuki... she’s missing.”

  He rolled with her and carried her to the doorway of the gauzy tent that she had seen the first time. In the distance, there were gouts of steam and flashes of flame.

  “Miyuki and Koji are settling some differences.”

  She smiled slightly. “She will do well. She has a focus that is intense, and now that she has been watching the modern era, she knows that she can fight to defend herself and her body with everything in her. Whatever happens, she is done being a victim.”

  “You aren’t worried?”

  “No. If she is weak, I will help her regain her strength, and if she is successful, she will have choice. That is what she wants. She wants to choose.”

  “What do you want?” He put her back in the bed and pulled a sheet over them both.

  “I want something that is mine. All my life, I have had things taken from me and denied to me, so I want something to be mine.”

  He nodded. “We can do that. Do you need that before we spend a night together?”

  She chuckled. “Not six days and seven nights?”

  “That will be for the physical world. Right now, we are in the space between, and time doesn’t matter.”

  “So, this is a freebie?” She smiled and went up on one elbow.

  He blinked. His expression was startled. He carefully put a hand on her hip. “Is that agreement?”

  “Well, I was very cold, so it would only be appropriate to be heated from the inside out.” Serene was taken over, and the goddess slid her leg over her husband’s hip.

  “No. It is her first time. She can choose, but let me do the work. I will be careful.”

  The goddess chuckled. “And now I remember why we were together as the humans changed our names. You are so very conscientious.”

  The Boss laughed. “Less sexy words have never been spoken.”

  Serene surface and moved toward him for a kiss. She whispered, “I actually thought it was pretty hot.”

  She brushed her lips against his, and he closed his hand on her hip. She moved her tongue across the seam of his lips, and he opened to slowly stroke her tongue with his. They deepened their kiss until she was moaning, and he had pressed their bodies together. This was so much different than when they were wearing the suits. He had textures on him that she wanted time to explore.

  The Boss took over and took his time, he worked his way down her neck, camped out at her breasts until she was sobbing as the heat built inside her and didn’t have an outlet. He licked his way down her belly while his fingers stroked in and out at a slow and leisurely pace that mocked her pulse. She twisted and whimpered, growled and snarled. He continued his slow pace, fitting in a third finger that eventually managed to move with the others in and out of her in a slick sawing motion.

  When he removed his fingers, he sat up and arranged her carefully, his legs behind her and hers wrapped around his hips. He lifted up until his erection was lodged in her opening. Then, he kissed her as he let her body’s lubrication and gravity ease her onto him.

  The kiss was marvellously distracting, and the overwhelming feeling of fullness faded after a few minutes. The Boss didn’t seem to be in a hurry.

  She rotated her hips slightly and pressed the soles of her feet together behind his back. She flexed her calves and lifted herself slightly before relaxing the muscle and sliding down. Her hands on his shoulders helped for balance, and she moved again.

  He groaned, and his neck flexed.

  She blushed and whispered, “Am I doing it wrong? She won’t say anything.”

  He shuddered. “No, you are not doing it wrong. You are doing it very right.”

  She moved again, using him for leverage, and then, she slowly descended again. She repeated it, and he started to shake violently.

  Serene licked her lips and took one of his hands and placed it under her backside. “You do some of the work.”

  His eyes opened wide, and he kissed her while lifting and lowering her at a slow and steady pace. The wet sounds from the impact of their bodies made her sense of embarrassment flare. The fire was building inside her again, and the soft noises she made echoed her desperation.

  The fire in her veins tightened and then surged into her sex, lighting her ablaze. She screamed, and the fire burst loose.

  The blaze continued to rip through her until she felt his hands grip her hips, and he jerked her over him. He shuddered in her arms, and she pressed her forehead against his shoulder as she fought for breath. He threaded his fingers through her hair and tugged her hair back so he could kiss her. When he lifted his head, he smiled. “So, that one was for you.”

  She blinked and nodded slowly.

  “Now, this is for me.” He tilted her back to the bed and slowly flexed his hips, moving inside her.

  Serene blushed until her body picked up on the rhythm, and then, she stopped caring. As long as muscle fatigue didn’t cross back into the physical realm, she would have sex as long as he wanted to. He appeared to be rather good at it.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Miyuki and Koji walked back to the tent, noting the scorched panels and smouldering wood. In the center of the pile were the two lovers wrapped together and breathing as one.

  Miyuki asked, “Were we ever like that?”

  He smiled. “No. I was always too afraid of you leaving, and you were trapped. It was not a good situation and not well done of me.”

  He bowed. “I am sorry that you felt such pain when I took you as my bride.”

  Miyuki paused, “As Serene would say, I accept your apology, but don’t fucking try it again.” She nodded, pleased with herself.

  She was covered in burns, Koji was covered in frostbite, but they had agreed that they would put differences aside for this existence. She had the jar of her ashes to prove it.

  “It is amusing that Serene manifests as fire. She is the calmest human I have ever known when the Boss isn’t there.”

  Koji had a seat and picked food out of the scorched bits. He brought his finds over to Miyuki. “Here. The master chose a good body for this time.”

  “He gets to choose?”

  Koji nodded. “The avatars are willing. This one was sixteen, very thin, very smart, and very lonely. The master gave him instructions on how to reach his full potential, and now, he and the master have integrated fully. It has taken a few decades, though.”

  Miyuki sighed. “Serene is so very afraid of her own body. Her confidence is bravado, but she learned early in her adult life that the worst someone can do is laugh at her. She uses that as her armor, but she rarely makes confident moves. It is frustrating. She can be so much more. She has taught me so much about standing up for oneself, but she doesn’t practice it.”

  He chuckled. “So, I have her to thank for nearly losing an eye?”

  “No. That was all me. I learned how to fight this afternoon. Those games are fun.”

  “Your avatar lets you play?”

  “She helped me make a character that looks like how I always dreamed I would look.” She smiled wistfully. “A blue kimono with bursting stars and armor. Even the obi is armor.”

  “A blue kimono with stars?” Koji blinked. “I was bringing you one that last day.”

  She chuckled. “Perhaps my spirit saw it that day.”

  She sat on a log and looked at the couple. “How long do we let them sleep?”

  “I don’t know. Why did you almost kill your avatar?”

  Miyuki frowned. “I didn’t know I was doing it. I just wanted to stay in a place where I had power and freedom. Those things were not available
when I was growing up.”

  “Nor me. Well, I guess being female, you were under more restriction.”

  She snorted. “Do you think?”

  “I think you are embracing the modern parlance.”

  She grinned. “I am. Serene is a good influence, and the goddess is all about women advancing themselves. I am going to ask for a machine of my own that I can play at will.”

  Koji frowned. “You can do that?”

  She held up her ashes. “I can now. I am permanently tethered to Serene, but I can transfer myself anywhere now.”

  “Miyuki, may I court you?”

  She paused. “You wish to court me?”

  “I do. We had children. Children who are grown and have had generations beyond them. I would like to find them and introduce ourselves.”

  “I would like the story not to be so sad.” She looked at him.

  “So, let me try again. This time, I will have advisors, and you will have protectors. It will be better.”

  “Let me decide after they are wed. If I can see a happy couple, I might be inspired.”

  She glanced over at the bed where the Boss was holding Serene close, his hands touching as much of her as possible while letting her breathe.

  Koji looked at them. “I don’t think we ever looked like that.”

  “No. But, it might be worth the effort to see if it was possible.”

  Serene started squirming, and the Boss woke up, stroking her hair and feathering kisses over her brow. Miyuki walked up to Serene and touched her shoulder, sliding back inside her where she belonged. The Boss’s eyes flared orange as Koji did the same.

  * * * *

  Serene walked back through the doorway and into the Boss’s home. Her red dress was repaired when they walked through, but since she wasn’t wearing it, it didn’t really matter.

  He led her to his bedroom, where her clothing was hanging next to his. Well, her new stuff. The only familiar stuff was her robe, so that is what she put on. “What time is it?”

  The Boss smiled. “Six. What would you like for dinner?”