Programmed To Please (The Tau Cetus Chronicles) (3 page)

Jai silently groaned. Was she really going to have to watch as Veraine screwed Ginger doggie-style now?

“Another perk of the job?” She threw the sarcastic comment in Veraine’s general direction.

“Tempting,” he answered, “but I can’t recover that quickly.” He was obviously referring to the amazing blow job the Doll had just given him. “And if
you
do fellatio right, Callex might not need anything else from you that first day either.”

Jai raised an eyebrow. Hmm. Callex might use her just
once?
Was the fellatio technique really that good? She’d definitely have to go home and practice sucking her thumb.

Veraine reached into a drawer of his desk and slowly drew out a life-sized silicone penis.

“Oh, come on,” Jai protested. “Can’t you just
tell
me what to do during anal sex, without having to demonstrate it?” She didn’t know why she felt so uncomfortable for the Doll and what it was about to endure – it was just a
machine
, for God’s sake!

That’s the problem with them looking so life-like.

Veraine shrugged. “Whatever you want.” He put down the dildo. “The trick to great anal sex for a guy is…once he’s inside you and moving… clench your muscles for a tighter fit. Guaranteed to drive him over the edge.”

Jai nodded. “I can do that.”

Veraine glanced at the doll. “Ginger? Cow position.”

Already on all fours, the Doll immediately let her belly sink toward the floor, while wiggling her backside in the air. Good God. Except for the wiggle, Jai recognized this pose. It was yoga. The ‘dog tilt’ position.

“This angle will help a man sink deeper inside you, while looking like you’re offering yourself up to him,” Veraine explained. “Guys can’t resist it. And again, like the two-finger pressure in fellatio, it’s only meant as an extra push toward pleasure.” He nodded. “And there’s another position that will take his cock even deeper. Ginger? Congress of a cow.”

 The Doll stood and then bent over at the waist with her hands touching the floor, her backside once again high in the air. Her glorious waves of red hair cascaded over the floor as she turned her head to throw an inviting smile their way.

Veraine waved a hand. “This works for both vaginal and anal sex. Men love it. It’s right out of the Kama Sutra.”

“Oh, great,” Jai complained. “In addition to all these lessons, now I have to go home and bone up on the world’s oldest sex manual?”

Carron snorted from the corner. “
Bone up.
Ha ha. Good one.
”

Jai felt her teeth clench.

Veraine lifted a shoulder. “These are just a few tricks to keep in reserve, in case you need something to blow his mind. But there is one last demonstration, and this one is important.” He glanced at the Doll. “Ginger? On the couch. I want the elephant posture.”

 The Doll complied by standing upright and then heading for a long sofa positioned against one wall of the computer lab. She lay down on the seat cushion on her stomach, with her legs slightly parted.  Veraine didn’t take off his trousers this time, but he went over and mounted her, lying on top of her with his legs between hers, and pretended to penetrate her. Jai frowned as he built a rhythm of simulated thrusting. What was this supposed to show?

And then she heard it. Quietly at first, but then louder. The Doll was actually gasping, moaning. As if she was…
enjoying sex
! The little noises sounded completely natural, and grew louder as she squirmed, sighed, whimpered, begged, swore, and finally screamed in pleasure before going completely still on the couch.

Jai felt the color drain from her face.

Veraine stood. “She’s programmed to ‘come’ only once the client has, but you will have to respond to Callex as if you’re enjoying what he’s doing. It’s a real turn-on for a man to think he can make even a machine
feel.
It’s one of the best-kept secrets of our Dolls.
”
     

Fucking hell.
Jai felt numb, heavy, almost rooted to the floor where she stood.

“You’re looking a little… overwhelmed,” Anson Carron said. He crossed the room to pick up the pile of papers from next to the printer, and handed them to her. “This is probably a lot to process. Go home and study. And then have a good night’s sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow at noon at the Beautiful Dolls boudoir downtown.”

Jai didn’t answer. She couldn’t. She was so close to losing it that she was barely able to control her shaking as she followed Titus Veraine to the building exit.

How the hell was she going to go through with this?  It was one thing to agree to sexually service Marque Callex in order to get information out of him, but how in God’s name was she supposed to
feign pleasure
while being fucked by her enemy?

Impossible. She’d been counting on the fact that she was supposed to be a machine not to have to react to him at all. In fact, it was the only way she could see to mentally protect herself from the degradation of this assignment. Yes. She’d planned to divorce herself entirely from what he was doing to her.

But to have to pretend to enjoy it? Heaven help her.

A cold shiver of dread ran down her spine.

Chapter Two

In the back seat of his missile-proof town car, Marque Callex absently turned the 4x6 ecru-colored, gold-embossed invitation card over and over between his fingers.

He’d heard of Beautiful Dolls – was there anyone on Tau Cetus who hadn’t? – but he’d  never availed himself of its services. Never had the need to, in the past. And never had the time to, these days. Work was his mistress now. And a demanding mistress she was.

He tossed the invitation onto the seat beside him and reached up to loosen the blue silk tie gracing his tailor-made and perfectly pressed white cotton shirt. He’d ditched the jacket of his bespoke navy suit as soon as he’d climbed into the car.

Taking a deep breath, he counted to five, and then slowly let the air out. Unfortunately, it didn’t help to ease the tension in his body.

God, what he wouldn’t give for a scotch on the rocks.

He reached up with one hand to massage the nape of his neck. Glancing at his antique Rolex as he brought his hand back down, he noted the time. 12:20. His appointment was for 12:30.

What the hell had made him accept the Beautiful Dolls invitation? He was insane to even consider it with the mountain of work waiting for him back at his office. Production deadlines. Shipment scheduling. Security arrangements.

Especially
the security arrangements.

Hell, he could work day and night. But it was that very fact which had precipitated this decision.

He needed to relax. A clear mind was a sharp mind. And there was a lot on his mind these days.

So. What better way to unwind than with a week of free, no-commitment, no-holds-barred sex, in return for giving that lewd purveyor of prostitution Anson Carron feedback on how his newest model of sex robot performed?

Marque’s mouth twisted into a wry line.

He’d admit, when the invitation had first arrived, he’d been instantly suspicious. No good businessman gave away his merchandise for free. So what was really behind the offer? Marque knew Beautiful Dolls was legit; it had been around for almost two decades. Was it in trouble financially? That seemed unlikely. Sex sells. Always had, from time immemorial. In fact, next to Marque’s line of work, Carron’s was probably the most profitable. And undoubtedly far safer. He’d lay odds that Anson Carron didn’t have to travel around in a missile-proof car.

But if Beautiful Dolls
was
in financial jeopardy, then Carron’s strategy became clear. This free week with a sexbot was a loss leader of sorts, intended to lure in high-end businessmen like Marque, maybe even addict them to Beautiful Dolls’ sexual services. If that happened, Carron might be able to raise the profile of his company as a result of having such an elite clientele. As a fellow capitalist, Marque could understand that strategy.

But no one was going to addict Marque Callex to artificial sex. He’d carefully seen to that when filling out his answers to the Beautiful Dolls questionnaire. He planned to simply use the sex machine for his own pleasure, and be done with it in a week. All he needed was a little stress relief.

And he’d purposely scheduled these five sessions at Beautiful Dolls during lunch time. It might not be his usual routine to leave his office, but no one would question if he went out for lunch, right? He just wouldn’t mention where he happened to be going, or that he wouldn’t technically be eating.

Or who might be eating me…

 In the back seat of his car, Marque smiled. Yes, he was looking forward meeting this Beautiful Doll sexbot. 

“We’re pulling up, sir.”

Marque nodded toward his driver/bodyguard Bursus, and then glanced out the tinted car window. As per standard operating procedure, Bursus made a slow circuit past the private parking area behind the Beautiful Dolls building, in order to survey the location. Bursus was checking for ambush areas. Kidnapping potential. Sniper vantage points. 

Marque Callex had enemies.

Another reason he rarely went out to lunch.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Maybe the Beautiful Dolls invitation had arrived at exactly the right time.

#

“He’s here.”

Leith Wyatt delivered the news to Jai in her private room at the Beautiful Dolls boudoir. If Jai hadn’t been a nervous wreck before, the announcement that her target had just arrived set her already jumpy pulse racing.

Wyatt gave her an attempt at a reassuring pat on the shoulder, and then jerked his hand away. “Shit. That stuff they coated you with makes your skin feel... rubbery, almost. And you’re glowing.”

Jai looked down at her oddly luminous arm. “It’s a thin compound that’s supposed to mimic synthetic skin. Or at least mimic it enough to convince Callex that my skin isn’t real. It’s a diversionary tactic, actually. To distract him.”

“It’s weird.” 

Jai couldn’t agree more. She’d spent the entire morning having every inch of her body coated and prepped and primped for this meeting with Callex. The things Carron’s staff had done to her – some of them very, very intimate things – Jai never wanted repeated after this week was up.

“Carron is out in the concierge area welcoming Callex,” Wyatt continued. “He sent me to supposedly give you a final once-over before the two of them come in here. Are you okay?”

Jai arched an eyebrow. How on earth could she possibly be okay? The fate of the world might literally rest on how good a fuck she could be. On how carefully she could build trust and cleverly wrangle information out of one of the most notoriously secretive arms dealer on the planet. She was most definitely
not
okay.

Wyatt saw the look on her face. “I probably should have said, are you
ready?
”

Jai grimaced. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”

Wyatt nodded. “Carron recommends that you sit in a chair with your eyes closed. That way, you can stay very still until he calls your name. At that point, open your eyes slowly, and follow his lead.”

Jai swallowed hard. She distinctly remembered how Ginger had opened her eyes when Titus Veraine had activated her yesterday by calling her name. Jai also wryly remembered how Ginger had blindly obeyed all of Veraine’s instructions, and Jai dearly hoped that Carron wasn’t planning on giving Marque Callex a preliminary demonstration of every sexual skill she was capable of before today’s session even began. Performing for one man was going to be difficult enough, but performing for two?

Wyatt threw an uneasy glance toward the door. “I should probably be getting back out there. Callex brought his guerilla of a bodyguard with him. Just remember, I’ll be secretly recording everything that goes on in this room. I’ll always be close by. There’s no chance Callex will hurt you. Just get the information out of him as soon as you can, and this will all be over with. His admission will be the evidence we need.”

Jai had a feeling it wouldn’t be quite as easy as that.

Wyatt gave her a last once-over. “You know, if I didn’t know you were human, I’d doubt it myself. Carron did a good job. You’re beautiful with that blonde hair, but you look…
other-worldly
. Besides your weird skin, your eyes are like blue starbursts. I never knew contact lenses could do that.”

“Let’s just hope I fool Callex.”

 Wyatt shrugged. “Carron thinks Marque Callex will believe you’re a robot simply because we’ve told him you are one. He has no reason to doubt it. Plus, he’s never been to Beautiful Dolls before, so he has nothing to compare you to. But if you get the feeling he’s starting to suspect something, try that trick of yours where you freeze up completely. The one that drives me crazy. If
that
doesn’t convince him you’re a robot, nothing will. Good luck.”

Wyatt gave her hand a squeeze, then turned and left the room. Jai watched uneasily as the door swung shut.
Don’t think of that closing door as sealing your fate!
As she felt panic start to rise, she forced her gaze to wander around the room. The minimalist Zen-like setting – with its tranquil fountain bubbling softly in the corner, its calming blonde wood furniture, and its dim mood lighting – did nothing to settle her nerves. After all, there was a wall of sex toys hidden behind the delicate rice-paper Shoji screen just behind her.

And then there was the king-sized platform bed that dominated the room...

Breathe. Just breathe.

She took a seat in a hard-backed armchair near the bed and closed her eyes. The firm chair helped her maintain an immobile position while she tried to remember her yoga mantra.
I am
on the in breath;
relaxed
on the out breath.
I am…relaxed
.

By the fifth breath, it had helped a little.

Wyatt hadn’t said anything about her outfit, but the translucent scrap of silk she was wearing was designed to be yet another tactic to distract Marque Callex from investigating too closely whether she was an actual robot. She’d wrapped the thin, diaphanous rectangular piece of material around her naked body like a sarong, and tied the two ends behind her neck. One tug on the knot, and the garment would come undone, but if Callex wanted a tease, he would also be able to slip his hands easily beneath the wrapped material. Especially since it was short enough to barely reach the tops of her thighs.