Lie to Me (Pearl Island Trilogy #4)(60)
Since the game’s central control had been set up to detect when only one combatant remained alive, the pulsing music subsided as the search lights went off and regular lights came on. With his heart beating as hard from adrenaline as the unexpected appearance of Chloe, Luc looked down and saw her standing with her hands still over her ears, her body curled into itself to make her the smallest target possible.
He watched as she opened her eyes and uncovered her ears. Sensing no danger, she cautiously straightened to look around while his team of coders picked themselves up off the floor.
“Awesome game!”
“Punk, I killed you like three times.”
“Look at the score I racked up.”
“Yeah, but you better watch your back next time.”
Their post-game chatter barely registered as he watched Chloe. Looking disoriented, she finally glanced up at him. Longing ripped through him at the sight of uncertainty in her eyes.
What was she doing here?
“Dude!” Martin called up to him. “Let’s go again. I need to extract some revenge from Farrell the Traitor.”
Luc pulled his gaze away from Chloe long enough to address his motley gang of die-hard gamers. “Actually, now that I have reasserted myself as supreme ruler of the universe, I think it’s time you peons got back to work.”
With a great deal of fake grumbling, they began removing their vests.
“Zeke,” he called to his head coder. “Send our guest up.”
“As you command!” Zeke thumped his chest with a fist, then shot his arm out straight in a salute.
Chloe blinked as Luc turned and disappeared from sight.
The tall, blond scarecrow of a guy who had answered the door turned to her with a crooked grin as he hunched over, curling his shoulders. “Walk this way,” he said in an odd voice as he shuffled away from her, dragging one foot.
She frowned in confusion.
“What?” He straightened. “You’ve never seen Young Frankenstein?”
“I’m sorry, no.”
Sighing in disappointment, he motioned for her to follow him to an open, cage-style elevator. Once she entered, he reached in and punched a button. “You’ll find the master on the third floor.”
He stepped back as the doors closed, leaving her alone in the elevator. As the cage lifted, she could finally take in the space. Drawing level with the second floor, she saw a wide, open area, like a hotel mezzanine, with a lounge area in the middle and arcade games lining the walls. Down a corridor lined with movie posters, she saw a sign that said Theater.
Luc hadn’t exaggerated. He really had turned a warehouse into a gamers’ paradise.
So why did it feel as if she were entering a dragon’s lair?
Chapter 16
Chloe’s stomach knotted as she approached an open door on the third floor. She expected to find an office with Luc sitting at a desk. Instead, as she peered through the opening, she saw an apartment. The sitting area to the right screamed bachelor pad, but a bachelor with incredible taste.
Deep blue walls would have made the space too dark, but mood lighting throughout gave it the feel of a sophisticated cave. The two recliners and sofa that faced a massive, wall-mounted TV may have been brown leather, a typical bachelor choice, but the sleek lines kept them modern rather than clichéd.
The art, though, caught her attention more than the furnishings. Several large pieces of computer-generated images had been sandwiched between sheets of glass so they floated off the walls. The images depicted what had to be the worlds of Vortal, a castle in a lush forest, a ship riding the crest of a wave on a moonlit sea, a dark street in New Orleans where danger seemed to lurk in every shadow.
The sound of ice dropping into a glass from an automatic dispenser drew her attention to the left. Luc stood with his back to her in a kitchenette done mostly in more shades of dark blue with under-cabinet lights washing down a backsplash of glass tiles. He’d removed the short-sleeved shirt he’d worn earlier and now had on only a black T-shirt and jeans. They both fit his well-toned body perfectly, bringing back memories of her hands running over his warm skin and defined muscles. Heat washed through her, followed by longing.
Without turning to face her, he opened one of the glass-fronted cabinets and took down a bottle of bourbon.
As he poured a generous amount into the glass of ice, some of the amber liquid splashed out, onto the counter. He set the bottle down, braced both hands on the counter, and let his head drop forward.
“May I come in?” she asked.
Luc sucked in a slow breath to steady himself. He was shaking, damn it. Actually shaking. He just couldn’t tell if the tremors came from hope or anger. He’d spent every day since leaving Pearl Island torn between calling Chloe to somehow make things right, and being so furious over what she’d done he never wanted to see her again.
And now, she was here. Suddenly here.
“Sure,” he said, as casually as possible. Scooping up the glass, he turned to face her. The sight of her standing in the doorway to his apartment, backlit by the brighter light beyond, took his breath away. How was it possible for her to be more beautiful than he remembered? Had his brain diminished her in his memory out of self-preservation? It came rushing back now, though: the laughter, the spontaneity, the sense of rightness he felt being with her.