Programmed To Please (The Tau Cetus Chronicles)

by Jenna Ives

  And as if all that weren’t difficult enough, on Sunday the sex lessons began.

  Despite her distaste at this assignment, Jai couldn’t help but be impressed by what she saw when she arrived at the Beautiful Dolls factory.

  Carron led her through the production room floor, where robot models of every height and body shape stood in various stages of readiness. Male. Female. Blondes, brunettes, redheads. Thin, voluptuous, athletic. Females with a range of breast shapes, and males with every size penis imaginable. Erect penises, of course. And the eeriest part was that the Dolls were more lifelike – even in their immobility – than Jai would have thought possible.

  Stopping to touch one as they passed by, Jai would have been hard pressed to say the thin membrane covering the machinery wasn’t actually skin. Except, maybe, for the slightly luminous sheen of it.

  “Every sexual fantasy can be fulfilled by a Beautiful Doll,” Carron informed her as they walked, obviously mistaking her interest in the Dolls. “For a price.”

  Next it was on to the programming lab, where a man in a blue polo shirt and khaki pants typed feverishly at a keyboard. Next to him stood a naked Doll, connected by a single cable leading from the side of her head to his computer.

  Jai stopped in her tracks and stared at the Doll. Now this was what Marque Callex should have ordered. The Doll had gorgeous, flowing red hair. Easily double-D breasts. Curvy hips that would cradle a man while he sank himself deep inside her. Hell, even the Doll’s lips were full and pouty, an unspoken invitation if ever Jai saw one. The robot screamed sex; it was the embodiment of sin. Jai could imagine a man wanting to fuck a woman like this in every way possible.

  She’s not a woman. She’s a freaking robot!

  Still, she – it – was absolutely gorgeous.

  Carron made the introduction. “This is Titus Veraine, my chief programmer.”

  The man at the keyboard absently nodded in her direction, then went back to his typing.

  “And this,” Carron continued, with a wave of his hand, “is Ginger, our most popular model.”

  Jai turned her attention back to the Doll. Gorgeous Ginger was Beautiful Dolls’ most popular sexbot? Jai could certainly believe it.

  “Ginger is here to… help out… today.” Carron smiled a salacious smile that twisted Jai’s stomach into a small knot. He glanced at the programmer. “Titus, are you ready with the instructions?”

  Veraine leaned back from his console and nodded. He reached over to a nearby printer and grabbed a handful of papers. Swiveling in his chair toward Jai, he took his first real look at her, his eyes blatantly assessing her body like Carron’s had done in Commander Rainey’s office. “Not bad,” he said to Carron. “We can work with this.”

  “Watch it, asshole,” Jai warned. “I’m human. And I’m standing right here. Don’t talk about me like I’m one of your Dolls.”

  Veraine shrugged. “Whatever. But I’d recommend you check the attitude, lady. No one’s going to want sex with a sharp-tongued bitch.”

  Jai swallowed uncomfortably. Veraine was right. She’d have to change her behavior from sour to sweet if she was going to successfully seduce Marque Callex. Dear God. This case was going to be the toughest assignment of her career.

  Veraine waved the sheaf of papers toward her. “I’ve printed out everything we’ll be doing today, so you can review them later. Right now, we’ll start at the beginning. With fellatio.”

  Fellatio? Damn. Jai was far from a virgin, but she had a feeling that what she was about to learn under the tutelage of Carron’s sex expert today would be eye-opening.

  “I’ll explain things first, and then we’ll do a demonstration.” Veraine leaned toward the Doll and carefully unhooked the cable from her head. “Ginger? Say hello to Jai.”

  The Doll slowly opened her eyes.

  Jai blinked in surprise. The sexbot’s eyes were a deep, emerald green, and had an almost starburst quality to them. Ginger’s eyes were downright beautiful, so beautiful that Jai imagined a man could easily drown in them.

  “Hello, Jai,” Ginger purred.

  Jai’s eyes opened even wider. The sexbot’s voice was a verbal caress, smooth as silk. Those two simple words were an erotic come-on in themselves. Good lord. Did men regularly fall in love with these Dolls?

  No knowing whether she was supposed to answer the sexbot, Jai threw a questioning glance at Veraine, who nodded. Jai cleared her throat. “Hello, Ginger.”

  The Doll actually smiled.

  Too freaky.

  “She’s programmed to respond to verbal commands,” Veraine explained. “And to pick up on verbal or physical cues.” He spoke as if having an artificial naked women standing next to him was nothing out of the ordinary.

  It’s not. It’s his job. And she’s a machine. Get a grip, Jai.

  “Now,” Veraine said. “First lesson. Fellatio. The secret to amazing fellatio is for the woman to suck the man’s penis like a baby would suck its thumb – hard, fast and strong. None of this slow licking up one side and down the other, or sliding it in and out of your mouth.” He gestured to Jai’s hand. “Try it. Stick your thumb in your mouth and suck.”

  Jai raised a dubious eyebrow, but she was here to lose the attitude and learn the lessons – as Veraine had pointed out – so she did as he suggested. But she nearly choked when Veraine reached between his legs and started stroking himself while watching her.

  Veraine shook his head. “Ignore me. It’s just part of the job.”

  Ignore his penis, which was visibly stiffening? If he thinks I’m going to practice on him, he’s got another thing coming. Job or no job. Luckily, Jai’s training in Zavian street fighting combat – among other martial arts – guaranteed Veraine wouldn’t stand a chance if he tried anything with her.

  “Suck,” he ordered. “Suck as hard and as fast as you can. Think of a vacuum cleaner.”

  Veraine’s voice was detached, matter-of-fact, not sexually excited in the least. Jai tried to frown, but yesterday’s Botox injection had successfully frozen her forehead.

  How the hell was she was supposed to suck her thumb with the strength of a vacuum cleaner? Still, she practiced as best she could, settling into a rhythm while Veraine continued to stroke himself

  “Good. Keep going.” He turned to the Doll. “Ginger? Come here. Demonstrate fellatio.”

  Veraine quickly unbuttoned his trousers and pushed them down to his knees. Jai’s thumb stilled in her mouth as she watched, wide-eyed, while the high-end Doll complacently knelt in front of Veraine and demonstrated her perfect technique on his now-erect penis. Despite herself, Jai watched in fascination as the Doll’s checks sucked in and puffed out at a remarkable pace, over and over. Jai would never be able to perform at the speed Ginger did, but then, Veraine only lasted about fifteen seconds before he groaned loudly and exploded in the Doll’s mouth. Hopefully, Marque Callex would still be satisfied if Jai took thirty seconds to achieve the same effect.

  Veraine zipped himself up as he struggled to catch his breath. “Mmm. One of the perks of the job,” he admitted with a too-satisfied grin.

  Jai’s eyes narrowed.

  Veraine ignored the look of disapproval. “Now. Obviously you won’t be able to perform at the 19-mile-per-hour rate Ginger does, but that’s fine. Callex thinks he’s getting the most lifelike, realistic Doll to roll off our assembly line. Real women don’t perform at inhuman speeds. This fellatio technique is failsafe, trust me, but if you happen to need an extra push to send him over the edge…”

  Jai waited.

  “There’s a spot at the base of a man’s cock where if you apply pressure with one or two fingers – especially when he’s almost at the edge of his control – it’ll result in an orgasm that’ll blow his mind.” Veraine looked down at the Doll, who was still on her knees in front of him. “Ginger? Demonstrate fellatio 2 on Mr. Carron.”

  Jai glanced next to her. She’d completely forgotten about the oily Anson Carron, who’d apparently enjoyed the recent
Veraine/Ginger blow show immensely, and was now standing with his pants around his ankles, stroking his own erect penis.

  Ugh. Men. They could be so disgusting.

  Ginger took two short steps on her knees over to the Beautiful Dolls owner, and took him into her mouth. Ten seconds of high-powered sucking, accompanied by her two-fingered pressure at the base of Carron’s cock, and the show was over.

  Watching it, Jai felt sick. Prostitution was the world’s oldest profession, true, but could it really be passed off – and accepted – as everyday commerce just because the prostitutes these days were robots?

  Obviously, Anson Carron thought so. According to Commander Rainey, it was a highly profitable business.

  “Next lesson. Anal sex.”

  You need to treat this assignment like a job, Jai. It’s the only way you’ll get through it unscathed.

  Right. It was just another case. One that would save the world and avenge the death of a fellow Tau Cetus agent, as long as she could sexually satisfy the world’s most powerful arms dealer and get him to spill top secret information. No pressure there.

  “Ginger?” Veraine called to the Doll. “Get ready for anal sex.”

  Still on her knees, Ginger dutifully dropped onto her hands, giving both men and Jai a view of her perfect backside.

  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-commi
tment, 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.