by Megan Hart
“Gemma,” he whispered, the sound of my name like music on his tongue.
I gave in to the pleasure, let it take me, sweep me away. The pace quickened and his breath grew harsh in his throat. He shuddered as his climax burst from him, and I joined him in the trance of sensuality overtaking us.
I slept beside him in that soft bed, and woke to find myself alone in the dark. Beside me on the pillow lay a red rose. A real flower, not hologram. I lifted it to my nose and inhaled the true and beautiful scent of it, and I touched the pillow where his head had rested.
He’d also left a note.
Tonight.
Chapter Six
I moved through the next morning as though I’d been wrapped in plaz film. Colors and sounds seemed muted and hazy. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling at inappropriate times.
I had another date. We were going to an outdoor show at one of the larger city parks. He’d asked to see me again, and while the thought of it made my stomach clench, it also made my heart pound so fiercely I imagined the world could see my blood pumping through my body beneath my clothes.
“Hey, Gemma.” Eddie snapped his fingers in front of my face. “Wake up.”
“Sorry.” I focused my gaze on his face. “What did you say?”
“I asked which District you wanted to patrol today.” Eddie peered at me closely. “You all right?”
I nodded. “Sure.”
He touched a spot on my neck, exposed by my regulation upswept hairstyle. One of Declan’s love bites, still sensitive even today. “What’s this?”
“I saw him again.”
“Who?”
Eddie’s a great partner and a helluva sexy man, but he is, after all, a man. Sometimes you have to lead them a little bit.
“Declan.”
He frowned, still not getting it. “Who’s he?”
I sighed, but couldn’t get too frustrated with him, even if I was going to have to spell it out for him. “IIP.”
“Shit, G! What were you thinking?” He looked so stunned, I almost laughed.
“I wasn’t on duty. It’s okay.”
We were currently the only passengers on this stretch of the pedtread. Eddie still looked around surreptitiously, like someone could overhear us. An unlikely event, in any case, since the Newcity motto is “to thine own business attend”.
“You didn’t file that report.”
I shook my head.
“G!” Eddie grimaced. “If Rando finds out…”
“She’s not going to find out.” I gave him a stern glare. “Is she?”
He held up his hands. “Not from me.”
I hesitated before telling Eddie the rest of the story. Eddie’s been my best friend for four years. But he is a guy. Guys do not always understand the importance of things like flowers—or at least their ideas of why symbols like that are important are a whole lot different than women’s. Still, he is my best friend, and with Britney still gallivanting around Offworld, I had to tell someone.
“He asked me out. I have another date with him tonight.”
Eddie didn’t say anything for a long couple of minutes. He only stared. The silence between us had almost become uncomfortable when he spoke.
“Good for you, Gemma,” he said quietly. “It’s about time.”
We were on duty, so he couldn’t hug me, but his gaze wrapped me in the warmth of his friendship. Tears stung my eyes for a moment before I blinked them away. “Thanks, Eddie.”
He tapped my shoulder and gave me one of his patented grins. “See what a mind-blowing orgasm can do to a person?”
I gave him a punch on the arm, a lot harder than the one he’d given me. “Let’s get to work.”
Because we were working in pairs, our patrol area was twice as large. We’d been assigned Sector 1, which included Districts 26-32, 51-56 and 76-100. Newcity is divided into four Sectors and one hundred Districts, all arranged in a series of concentric rings. We’d have to cover a lot of ground before tonight. Eddie grumbled as we headed toward the first Lovehut, but without much heat. I’m good at my job, but Eddie loves his.
“Let’s start with the huts and move to the clubs,” Eddie said. “Get through the registered bots before we go after the unregged ones.”
That sounded fine to me. Even this early in the afternoon, the Lovehut was packed. They all have state-of-the-art beverage and food service, all the sports channels on the viddy and even reading material. They’ve become the most popular recreation facilities in the Newcity, even if you’re not looking for sex.
Of course, most people in the huts are looking for sex. Even if they come for any other reason, like to watch the latest Entron-8 versus Halitopa intergalactic Donball match on the viddy, it’s likely that before the night is through they’ll be engaged in some sort of sexual congress. STDs were eradicated about seventy-five years ago, and all citizens are provided with completely effective birth control that has to be surgically reversed in order to procreate. Without the fear of disease or inadvertent pregnancy, citizens have made sex the number one favorite recreational activity. It even beats viddy watching.
Eddie and I both spotted a likely subject at the same time. She was a tall, statuesque brunette. She didn’t really look much different from the statuesque redhead or blonde standing beside her, but what gave her away was the quiver. Ops learn to spot it from a mile away. A Pleasurebot with a faulty ignition shivers when she smiles. It’s a subtle gesture, but one that can’t be hidden, since it’s programmed into them to smile almost all the time.
It can be nearly impossible to tell if a bot’s about to malfunction, but with this one there could be no doubt. She was so far gone even a citizen should have been able to tell she was ready to explode.
Not the guy chatting her up, apparently. Or maybe he was one of those people who get off on the danger of it. More likely, he thought he could handle it. He had that over-muscled, macho look about him: bulging arms in a too-tight shirt, thighs like pillars. His neck was so thickly corded you could’ve played a tune by plucking his tendons.
The brunette looked like a PSSN-F-03 to me, but after my recent mix-up I felt myself second guessing. Eddie had no problem. He gave the couple a nod, and said in an aside: “Passion Model, looks like an 02. Definite quiver. You want to take it, or should I?”
I prefer het pairings, though of course I’ll do whatever the job requires. Since I had the choice, though, I was more than happy to give this one to Eddie. Watching and standing backup would be fine with me.
We walked over to the brunette and her partner. The man instantly blanched and looked from us to her and back again.
“Shit,” he said.
“Sir, step aside, please.” Eddie took a little too much pleasure in usurping muscle-boy’s date. It was that testosterone thing, I guess. I could practically smell it on both of them.
The guy knew better than to protest, though, as I’m sure he would’ve had Eddie been a civilian. The uniform gets a lot of respect, especially since the penalty for assaulting an Op became instant Offworld jail time. Offworld prison isn’t pretty.
“R.I. Op EDDE 08111977.” Eddie lifted the sleeve of his shirt to show off the tatbadge. “Registration, please.”
The brunette gave him a wide-eyed stare. Her lips trembled. She was trying desperately not to smile. After a second, though, her internal programming won out over free will, and she flashed her pearly whites. The instant her lips curved, her cheeks and eyes began a minute series of tremors that lasted for about two seconds. The quiver.
“I have my regs right here, officer.” She unzipped the top of her one-piece jumpsuit and exposed a set of firm, full breasts topped with cherry nipples. She lifted out a small pouch and handed it to Eddie.
He remained unmoved by the sight of her bare chest. Off duty Eddie can be hornier than a moose, but on the job he’s purely professional. It would take a little more than bare boobs to get him worked up.
Eddie glanced at the small self-contained viddy unit,
then handed it to me. Her name was Relava, manufactured fifteen years previously. I gave her another look. She was in pretty good shape for her age. Most Pleasurebots who aren’t in private service get worked hard. Her skin was still pretty, her eyes still clear. Aside from the broken ignition, she could’ve walked off the assembly line last week. Okay, maybe last year. The closer I looked, the more wear and tear I saw.
“Is there a problem, officers?”
At least she wasn’t going to run. “Your inspection is out of date, Relava. We have reason to believe you have a malfunctioning ignition. According to Mandate 6978, we’re going to have to check you out.”
She sighed and looked so broken for a minute I thought she might cry, except bots have no tears. “Okay.”
We took her to the closest station, only about a block away. She gave us no trouble, but no help, either. She didn’t say one word the entire walk.
We signed in and went to one of the sterile white rooms. Without being asked, Relava unzipped her jumpsuit and stepped out of it. She folded it carefully and put it on the dresser. She was conscientious. Someone had taught her that. Most bots just toss their stuff right on the floor—they’re careless by nature.
“How long were you in private service?” I asked.
She looked startled. “Four years. I was a pre-order.”
Eddie gave me a glance. It was hard not to feel sorry for these metalgirls. Somebody had looked through a catalog or browsed online, chosen their features and personality traits, clicked a button and placed an order. It was harder for them than the generic off-the-shelf models. People had higher expectations of pre-orders.
Eddie began to read her rights. “I am going to engage in sexual congress with you. You will perform appropriate sexual acts with and upon me in order to stimulate me and yourself to orgasm. Am I clear?”
She nodded. She looked at me. “Is she going to participate?”
“Operative GMMA 4121609 is going to observe and assist if necessary.”
I knew what Eddie’s idea of assisting was, and I stifled a chuckle. It must be every man’s fantasy to have two women at once. I pulled up a chair and sat to watch the action.
“I’m sure Operative EDDE 08111977 won’t need any assistance from me.”
Relava shrugged. “Okay.”
I’m sure she didn’t feel much like smiling, but she had no choice. My heart went out to her again as I watched the quiver cross her lovely features. If we found she had a faulty ignition, and I was certain we would, Relava would have to go in for repairs. A model this old would be unlikely to be released back into the workforce. It was more likely she’d simply be donated for Offworld prison use, or sent to one of the Oldcity sex centers. She might even be retired.
Relava went to Eddie and knelt in front of him. With her eyes on the floor, she sighed so fiercely her creamy shoulders lifted. Then she reached for his crotch.
Eddie put his hand on hers. “Wait, Relava.”
Again, the wide-eyed stare. “You don’t want that?”
Eddie, still fully clad, looked at me over Relava’s head. I could tell he was as sympathetic to this bot as I was. She didn’t have much of a chance, poor thing, and her behavior showed she knew it.
Eddie, despite being a testosterone-driven man, is also tender-hearted. “Get on the bed, Relava.”
Her perfect brow creased. “Okay.”
Eddie shrugged out of his shirt and pants, and tossed them to me to fold. I’d say men are also careless by nature. Maybe that’s why bots are too—they were originally designed by men, after all. I set his clothes and utility belt on the dresser, though I’d make sure to give him a little hell later about his assumption that I’d perform maid duties.
Eddie has a fine body, without cosmetic enhancements. He keeps trim through workouts, not surgery. The hair on his body is slightly darker than the hair on his head, and it furs his chest, arms, legs and groin. He’s a tall man too, with long legs and a long torso that combined make him seem taller.
He’s also got an amazing cock. It’s not huge in length or girth, though I know many women find that attractive. It’s just the right size. What makes it so extraordinary is its perfection. Every ridge and wrinkle is lovely, from the pink, smooth head down to the thin-skinned surface at the root. Eddie’s cock tastes like spice—not musky, not dirty. He’s always clean.
Watching him, even though at this moment his cock still curled in its nest of hair, flaccid, I felt myself stirring. I could too well remember what sort of lover Eddie is, and thinking of it made my body recall Declan’s touch and the way he made me come.
A faulty ignition won’t break down until after the second orgasm. Eddie had his work cut out for him. Relava lay back on the bed, legs spread. Clearly she wasn’t expecting much in the way of wooing.
Eddie is a quality not quantity man. It’s the reason he’s so popular with the ladies in his personal life. He knelt between Relava’s open thighs and touched her, gently, just inside each knee.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” It might have sounded trite or clichéd, but Eddie meant it. Not all Ops uphold the tenets of our training: be generous in your duties. Most hold the Newcity motto in higher esteem. “To thine own business attend.” It doesn’t make for good lovemaking.
Pleasurebots don’t require much foreplay—they’re programmed for pleasure and can come from stimulation that would leave a normal woman cold. But just because they don’t need it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have it. Their sole purpose is to feel and provide pleasure, and anyone who doesn’t allow them that is doing himself a huge disfavor.
Relava relaxed against the pillows. Eddie slid down the bed until he lay prone, propped on his elbows, his face between her legs. From my vantage point I could see everything he was doing. Technically, I didn’t have to watch…I just wanted to.
Her pubic hair was limited to a fluffy tuft just above the hood of her clitoris. Below that, around her labia and anus, she looked as smooth as satin. Her clit was like a ruby red jewel tucked into a tiny cloak of pale peach. Now, because of Eddie’s attentions, it pushed up from its covering. She glistened already, the dew of her arousal coating her opening.
Eddie pushed her legs flat to the bed and met my eyes in the headboard mirror. He was doing that so I’d have a clear view. That devil. He knew me too well.
He bent his head to Relava’s waiting clitoris and licked it. She made a low moan, and her hips jerked. I could imagine all too well the sensation pulsing through her. I felt it answered in the twinge between my own legs. Since I wasn’t expecting to participate in this inspection, I hadn’t bothered to press the button that would turn on my sexual response receptors. Then again, I didn’t think I’d need to. Watching Eddie go down on Relava was enough.
She sighed. “That’s nice.”
Like I said, it doesn’t take much to please a Pleasurebot. They can get off if the wind blows the right way. Eddie was making a little more effort than that.
With slow, regular strokes he swept his tongue along her cherry red button. Regularity was the key. Too many men think if they stagger the strokes it will get us hot faster. Eddie knows better.
He worked his tongue a little faster while he stroked her thighs. I could see the glisten of her sex fluids, and my own pussy clenched in response.
From my vantage point, it was easy to see how Eddie’s cock was lengthening and stiffening. It pushed against the softness of the mattress, and he lifted his hips to allow it room to grow. Now he went up slightly on his knees, his erection standing along the line of his belly like an arrow pointing to Relava. His balls tightened and relaxed while I watched, and the sight made my breath catch in my throat. He was so lovely.
The curve of his buttocks, lightly covered in golden hair, prompted me to reach out and caress him, but I resisted. I was on the job. There was to be no personal pleasuring in an inspection station—and this was Eddie’s inspection, not mine. Watching him lick and stroke Relava made me think of Declan, and how he’d
done the same to me the night before. How could I help getting aroused?
Eddie slid a finger inside Relava, and she let out a small yelp of pleasure. As he slid it in and out, twisting his hand so his finger turned inside her, he continued the same regular licking of her now hugely engorged clitoris. Relava was making mewing sounds. Her thighs trembled, and her hips jerked with every stroke he gave her. It wouldn’t be long before she had her first orgasm.
Eddie’s cock twitched against the sheets and his buttocks clenched as he thrust a little bit. He’d fuck her next, because it was the best way to get a bot to malfunction if she were going to.
Relava’s mewing turning to a low, continuous moan. She arched back, bringing her flesh up to meet Eddie’s mouth and hand. The bed shook from her tremors. She cried out, then again, and Eddie pressed his finger deep inside to trigger a deeper orgasm. She came, head thrashing, hips jerking, thighs splaying.
“That was really nice,” she said after a few seconds. She smiled. The quiver was more noticeable now. “Now do you want me to go down on you?”
For people outside the field, it’s hard to understand how your body can be straining with sexual arousal but your mind can remain calm and professional. What they don’t see is that sex for Ops is a job like any other. Athletes use their bodies in their art, and we use ours. If you don’t learn to separate the job from your private life, you’ll never make it in the field. R.I. Ops rarely orgasm on duty, even though we might be aroused.
“You will perform fellatio until I tell you to stop.” Eddie’s cock bobbed a bit on the word fellatio, but his voice was steady. “You will self-stimulate as appropriate. Do you have any questions?”
She shook her head, and they switched places on the bed. Eddie leaned against the headboard, with Relava between his spread legs. Without hesitation and frankly, without much finesse, she lowered her mouth onto his erection. Eddie closed his eyes for a moment as initial sensation must’ve rocketed through him. He didn’t make any noise.