Page 83 of The Nanny and the Nerd
“What’s your question?” he asked, shifting in his seat. He could feel more blood leave his brain and head south, thanks to Penelope and her shoulder.
She pointed at the screen, and as if the universe were purposefully taunting him, the motion exposed another inch of her creamy-white skin. “Boomer wants to make the Land of Mist scene I wrote into a cut scene. What’s a cut scene?”
Crap! He’d signed off on this before he’d left the office. The scene follows gameplay through the perilous Archers Alley. In the scene, AI-77 takes an arrow to the chest to keep it from killing Princess Amelia, and she rewards his bravery by…
His pulse kicked up, remembering what happened next. Jesus, no wonder the whole office was emailing her! After reading this cut scene she’d put together, Penelope Fennimore most likely replaced Lara Croft from the mega-popular game Tomb Raider as the hottest thing in gaming in the minds of his employees.
“A cut scene is like a mini movie the player gets to watch between completing the challenges,” he answered, damned lucky his brain and mouth were still connected.
“He wants you to let him know if the scene will be rated M or AO. What are those?” she asked innocently.
She had no idea!
“They’re like movie ratings. M is for mature. Think of an M gaming rating like a rated R movie. And AO is adults only. AO can include graphic violence and explicit sex.”
“Explicit sex?” Penny repeated, her voice going up an octave.
“Explicit sex,” he repeated—like somebody really needed to repeat that!
“In a video game?” she questioned, her voice growing breathy.
“It’s a booming industry, but Gale Gaming doesn’t put out AO games. AI-77 will have a mature rating—due to the violence.”
She cocked her head to the side. “So, no sex?”
“Not exactly,” he replied. “We can show the beginning of a sex scene, then allude to it.”
He was one hundred and seven percent sure his entire blood supply had gone to his cock. Yeah, he didn’t know where the extra seven percent came from. His brain couldn’t both follow this conversation and do the math. Not to mention, if she said sex one more time, he might not be able to control himself. He’d read the Land of Mist scene she’d outlined. It was hot as hell.
She nodded and chewed her lip. “It’s an important part of the new narrative I created.”
“I believe this is where you inserted the possibility of a romance between Princess Amelia and AI-77,” he said, trying to get his mind back on the damned game.
She’d blushed all the way from her cheeks to that patch of exposed skin on her shoulder. “I didn’t hold back when I wrote that scene. It poured out of me. I probably should have deleted the racy parts before I left them on the board for everyone to read.”
“It’s part of your creative process, I imagine,” he said with a wave of his hand, not knowing what the hell he meant. But he had to say something.
“It is. And you’re wrong.”
“Wrong? I’m never wrong,” he answered.
She gave him a coy smile that he wanted to kiss right off her face. “You are when it comes to this,” she purred.
He frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“There most definitelyisa romance. AI-77 and Princess Amelia are destined to be together. She’s the key to tapping into his humanity. The Land of Mist is where they drop their guard and heal in the waters of—”
“Salvation,” he supplied, remembering her every word. “How did you come up with that?”
“On the storyboard. I noticed these places in the game to replenish the characters’ health and reload ammunition.”
She’d picked up more than he thought!
“Those are standard elements to allow the player to remain in the game,” he answered.
“I took thosestandard elements, created the Land of Mist, then wove the love story into it. From what Boomer wrote in the email, I think we need to act it out to make sure it flows.”
“Act it out?” he echoed.
