El Finito Book 1

by M. E. Thorne

  “Does that happen often?” Gloria asked, leaning over the counter. I averted my eyes as her breasts swung into view, much to Gnasher’s amusement. “Getting into fights?”

  “Let’s get some breakfast,” Noctis called as he came back up to the front. He had changed into a pair of slacks and a loose leather vest that laced up along the sides.

  “Breakfast?" He handed over a thick envelope. “Though I guess it’s technically late enough to call it brunch.”

  I checked it, saw it was stuffed full of credits, and then passed it over to Gnasher. She tucked it into her shirt. Generally, she held onto any credits we earned or valuable items we found while working. Anyone stupid enough to try and rob or pickpocket her would get their fingers bitten off.

  “I know a place just down the street,” he pushed the curtain out of the way. “My treat.”

  Gloria hopped off the stool she had been sitting on and we followed them outside.

  “We’ll close up for a bit,” he explained, pulling down a steel shutter that barred the entrance to his shop. “I have an -- idea -- I want to talk to you about if you have time.”

  I looked at Gnasher, and she just shrugged. “Free food is free food.”

  Noctis led us to a small restaurant, built out of an old tunnel just like his own. It was mostly empty at that time of day, and we were easily able to grab a table near the kitchen. The air inside smelled like cooking eggs, hot grease, and sizzling meat.

  Gnasher almost tripped over herself when we first walked in; she was in love at first sniff.

  Gloria sat to my immediate left, while her brother took a seat across from me. If he was bothered by the fact that his little sister was practically sitting on my lap, he didn’t show it. We just made small talk after the waitress took our orders, catching up on the times.

  Gloria practically hung on to every word. She was deeply interested in our delving trips and the crazy adventures we had gone through during our times in The Stacks. She made me repeat the story about the time we’d had to run from a carnivorous cockroach twice.

  Gnasher chimed in occasionally, but she spent most of her time whispering to Gloria behind my back.

  When the food arrived it was heavenly. I had ordered a cheese and mushroom omelet, while Gnasher had picked a stack of mole sausages that she happily tore into. Noctis and his sister had opted for fruit salads.

  “So, what’s going on?” I finally asked after the waitress cleared our plates. I was feeling a bit on edge again. “You said you wanted to talk about an idea?”

  “Nothing outside of your comfort zone,” Noctis assured me. “I’m approaching you on this because I know you’re a damn good delver, and I’ve seen you pop open locks and doors that would stump most experts. If nothing else, you're trustworthy, which is a rare trait.”

  “Plus, you’re working with Gnasher,” he nodded at my partner. “Everyone knows she’s the damn meanest fighter the Guild has had in years. All the rumors paint you two as a hell of a team.”

  “Flattery is always appreciated,” Gnasher answered.

  “Get on with it,” I prompted him.

  “I’ve got information about an unclaimed area in The Stacks,” he said. “I’m hoping someone will check it out for me, see if there’s anything valuable and if so bring it back.”

  “Unless this involves a huge stack of credits, I’m going to have a hard time considering it,” I said bluntly.

  Technically there’s nothing in the Delvers’ Guild rules that says you can’t do freelance salvage runs into unclaimed areas, but it was not smiled upon. People had been booted for mounting unauthorized searches using Guild resources or trying to steal salvaged goods located during official jobs. They were very strict about the rules, and we had already broken a major one by selling the gun rather than turning it over to the State.

  “Chill, chill,” he laughed. “I have a regular customer who ended up going into a bit of debt a while back. He sold me some old corporate files as restitution.”

  Now that is interesting, I thought. Data centers and records repositories had been prime military targets during the war, leaving us in the dark about much of our history. If it’s a map, it could be worth a ton of credits. Especially if it shows an area the Delvers’ Guild hasn’t explored yet.

  Noctis smiled, he knew he had my attention. “Turns out he had unknowingly stumbled across a bunch of data, including the architectural blueprints to a corporate lab. A place called Nakamura-Ghosi Genetics.”

  That stopped me cold. Research labs, specifically those that specialized in genetics, were considered the holy grail by the State and the Delvers’ Guild.

  Our ancestors had been workers, soldiers, test subjects, and cannon fodder, genetically engineered life forms created by the corporations. They had focused on short-sighted goals; strength, durability, and resilience. As a result, they didn’t put a lot of thought into the long-term health consequences for the test subjects of their selfish science experiments.

  Despite our stamina, strength, and fantastic capabilities, I knew many hybrids who suffered from long-term medical conditions. Cancer, degenerative blindness, and crippling arthritis were all common problems for older hybrids. Fertility was a major problem as well. Many people had difficulty with conception since their genetic quarks made it impossible for them to find mates that were physically and genetically compatible enough to produce offspring.

  I suddenly thought of Spinny. Arachne were extremely rare, I hadn’t heard of a new one being born in my lifetime.

  I took a breath, tempering my enthusiasm. Gnasher was paying close attention as well.

  “You’re looking for someone willing to go to this lab and ransack the place?” I asked.

  Noctis shook his head. “I’m a businessman, a crooked one, but I’m not a monster. I know how important a find like this could be. You check the lab and bring back anything that might be worthwhile. If we think there’s some larger, medical value to it, I know a guy who knows a guy at State, we can pass a copy of the data on to them.”

  “And anything else?” Gnasher asked.

  He relaxed back into his seat. “I’ll sell whatever you find. But again, I have no idea what’s out there. The guy who sold me the files had never been there himself, obviously. The corporate data included some limited information about the surrounding region of The Stacks, but not enough to pinpoint exactly where the lab is located. It could be a treasure trove or it could be a smoldering, radioactive crater.”

  Gloria backed up, giving Gnasher and me a bit of space.

  “If we do this,” I glanced at Gnasher, and she gave a faint nod. “We want cash up front, that way we get paid even if there’s nothing there.”

  “Fine,” agreed Noctis, “but that means you don’t get a share if you find the motherlode and I become the richest man alive.”

  “We’re both assuming risk here,” I said. “What’s your offer.”

  “Five grand,” he nodded to Gnasher. “Each.”

  We split up after the bill was paid.

  Gnasher and I asked for a day to think about the offer. Noctis gave us his contact information, then said he was heading home to get some sleep before leaving ahead of us. Gloria stuck with us as we left, she was practically grappled onto my arm.

  “I’m going to go out and do some shopping,” Gnasher announced. She kissed me on the cheek, then grinned and winked at Gloria, before trotting down the street.

  “Wait, what?” I disentangled myself from the bat-girl and hurried after my girlfriend, catching up with her a few meters away. “What’s all this about?”

  With a dramatic sigh, she pulled me aside and asked. “How many people have you slept with?”

  Utterly unprepared for the question, I reddened and then mumbled, “Three, three-and-a-half?”

  She gave me a flat, concerned stare before stating, “Blowjobs don’t count.”

  “Then two,” I admitted, “including you.”

  Taking me gently and turning me arou
nd, Gnasher pointed to Gloria, who was waiting with a mischievous looking grin.

  “I want this for you,” she whispered into my ear, fingers sliding along my arms. “I can’t believe in this entire galaxy there’s just one person you’re destined to love and be with.

  “Love isn’t selfish, it isn’t restrictive. The more people you love the stronger and more unique those connections become. I love Spinny because she’s calm and wise, and is always willing to listen to me no matter how silly my problem is. And I love you because of how strong and resourceful you are, and how you always go out of your way to make sure I’m happy.”

  “And the important part is,” she whispered, holding me close, “is I don’t love either of you any less for the other. Each love is beautiful and unique. And I want you to experience that, a life full of love, for yourself.”

  She stepped back and gave me a small shove toward Gloria. “Go, you have my permission. Spend some time with her, have crazy, passionate sex, maybe fall in love, maybe find a new friend or companion. I want you to go out and see what kind of wonderful love this galaxy has for you.”

  She smiled and waved, then was gone, dashing off.

  Gloria came over and draped a wing across my back as she wrapped an arm around me.

  “You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” she said, with a disappointed, slightly brittle smile.

  I leaned my head in and nuzzled her hand, rubbing it against my cheek.

  “No, I do, really. I’m just amazed how lucky I am, to have an amazing girlfriend like that," I reached my free hand under her wing and around her waist. “And I’m amazed a cute girl like yourself would be interested in a guy like me. I feel like the luckiest man alive”

  She reached up and gave me a slow, smoldering kiss. “Let’s go and find somewhere a little more private.”

  Gloria directed us towards a nearby commercial hub, built in a large open space that probably had once been an assembly plant or warehouse. The leftover shipping and storage containers had been welded together, converted into apartments, businesses, and hotels.

  She picked a hotel that specialized in short-term rates.

  Stepping into the lobby, she insisted on paying, “I know the guy running the desk, he’s giving me a good deal.”

  The room we got wasn’t much, just a bed with a dusty mirror hanging over the headboard and a small bathroom unit epoxied in the far corner. But the sheets were clean. I figured that’s what mattered. There were no windows, just a few dim lights embedded in the ceiling.

  “Light’s a pain in the ass anyway,” Gloria whispered into my ear, as she shut the door. “I like to do it in the dark.”

  Shoving me down onto the bed, she tugged off my shirt and ran her hands over my chest. I leaned in for another kiss, but she playfully shoved me back. Running her nails along my abs, she slowly worked her way down towards my belt, teasing me with each touch.

  I grinned and went with it, resting my arms behind my head.

  Stopping just short of taking off my pants, she instead stepped back up and began to dance and sway. She fluttered her wings out, lightly brushing my skin and teasing me with the wingtips, which drove me wild.

  She stopped for a moment, leaning in to unbuckle my belt and snake my cock out of my boxers. Giving my cock a lustful inspection, she licked her lips in anticipation. She then resumed her dance, using her wings to gently buffet and caress my member.

  I could feel myself break out in a sweat. Each touch of her wing sent a shock through me.

  Sitting back up, I reached out for her and began pulling the straps of her clothing free. Her lithe, sexy figure revealed itself with each discarded bit of fabric; the gentle swell of her breasts, the flight muscles that ran along her upper chest and back, and her long, toned legs. Each time she danced in she brushed her nipples against my eager lips or rubbed her ass against my cock.

  Unable to hold back any longer, I grabbed her and pulled her onto my lap, crushing her lips against my own in a frenzied kiss. My hands roamed freely, exploring every part of her supple but strong body. A faint layer of peach fuzz seemed to cover her skin, blending with her pale complexion. It was prickly and warm.

  She wrapped herself around me, her hunger matching my own. Her wings pulsated with heat and blood.

  She moaned slightly when I began to explore downward, reaching her damp bush. My fingers played with her lips and clitoris as she began to rub herself against my hand.

  With loving care, she began running her stubby fingers along my arms and chest again.

  “I love strong people,” she moaned, pausing to push me down onto the bed. “The second I saw you, I knew I had to have you."

  Sizing me up, she crouched down and took the tip of my cock into her mouth. She gave me a sultry wink before swallowing me whole. It was one of the most intense feelings I’d ever experienced. Her throat was incredibly warm and tight. A vibration began, one that played with my every nerve.

  I groaned at the amazing thrill as she bobbed her head, running her lips down my shaft, working with excruciating slowness. My hands twisted in the sheets as my feet curled into the carpet

  “Did you know,” she giggled, popping her lips loose, “that bats hunt via echolocation, using ultrasonic waves?”

  She played with the tip of my dick, her tongue dipping into each crevice and over each ridge, humming to herself again. It was a high-pitched, barely audible noise. But when she unexpectedly surged forward and fully took my cock into her mouth again, I almost screamed in pleasure.

  A tingling, overwhelming sensation ran from the crown of my cock down to the base of my balls, bringing me to my limit in amazing bliss.

  Leveraging myself up onto my elbows, I looked down and saw the almost luminous glow of Gloria’s eyes, mischievous and seductive, as she brought me ever closer to climax.

  I placed my hands along the sides of her head. My fingertips felt the hum, a rattle in my bones, as she turned it up a thousandfold. I couldn’t take it anymore, it was too good, too much. With a throat wrenching grunt, I let loose. She continued to stare into my eyes as she swallowed every drop of my burning hot cum.

  I collapsed back, like a dead thing. My muscles helplessly twitched and flexed; my thighs burned as if I had just run a thousand-yard sprint. I cried a little, just out of sheer joy and relief.

  Gloria daintily wiped her mouth, then crawled into bed after me. She draped her wings against my heaving chest, cooing happily and complimenting my performance.

  “That was a lot,” she giggled, “I almost wasn’t able to swallow it all. A bit musky though, I think you may be eating too many mushrooms.”

  “Mushrooms are good for you,” I said offhandedly, too drained for any kind of logical argument.

  I pulled her close and worshiped her with kisses and licks. Feeling a bit more restored, I switched positions with her, determined I should reward her as she had rewarded me.

  Chapter 5

  The front desk called a few hours later, letting us know our time was almost up.

  The air in the small room reeked of sex, musk, and the sweet, light nectar of her sex. We had spent the entire time fucking, and I was happily exhausted.

  After my last load, Gloria had carefully extracted herself from me. Starting up the bathroom shower, she left the door open so I could watch. She basked in the cold water, letting it run across her feverish skin as she slowly fingered her swollen pussy.