Charli was half listening, half scanning the room. She didn't see Draken Almatto anywhere, or even his assistant, Matthew. She did see a PR rep from the company she worked for―Nancy Jackson, a gossipy woman who noticed her with astonishment and waved. Embarrassed, Charli waved back, then faced the front again.
Gordon was continuing: "We're on a tight schedule today. It's already ten after nine, and we're slated to announce the chosen candidates by 6 p.m. We'll be breaking for lunch and also between each candidate's trial as we're working with just one prototype and the machine will have to be sanitized each time. We're still waiting for Draken to get here, but as soon as he does, we'll get started."
"Is that the Robasm?" someone shouted.
"The very same," Gordon confirmed. "It's in its fifth and, we hope, final permutation before launch."
"Can you tell us anything about it now?"
"With pleasure." Gordon smiled. "The Robasm is a robot, sex platform, and sex toy rolled into one. It is portable and ultimately cost-effective, though the early adopters are expected to be paying in the mid six digits. Although there is a Robasm model for men in development, the targeted users for our first model are women from four feet ten inches to six feet three inches, and up to three hundred fifty pounds. We're proud of the Robasm's range and its safety features, which include several patented sensors the like of which you've probably never seen before...but what you probably want to know is exactly what it does, right?"
There was general laughter and hollering.
"The Robasm," Gordon said impressively, "is designed to pleasure women sexually. It uses penetration, friction, positioning, massage, and psychologically adaptive programming to maximize a woman's pleasure."
"What is psychologically adapting―whatever mumbo-jumbo you just said?" a woman in the audience called out.
Gordon chuckled. "It just means that it responds to a user's preferences without the user's explicit direction. The Robasm can accelerate or delay orgasm, or do a mashup of both."
"Amazing," came a comment.
"Isn't it?" Gordon said enthusiastically. "It also ties into the reason we're selecting two demonstrators today. Our research suggests the Robasm is best optimized for two distinct functions―one, to propel a woman toward orgasm. And two, to stop a woman's orgasm."
That got laughter. "Who wants a robot that blocks you from having an orgasm?" somebody shouted out.
"Many women find delayed gratification prolongs their pleasure. On the table you'll find several eye-opening studies cited. With that in mind, we'll be selecting one candidate who has difficulty achieving orgasm and needs a few assists. But we'll also be choosing a second candidate who prefers her orgasm delayed with a firm hand. The candidates chosen will be demonstrating how the Robasm performs for them based on their customized needs."
"Difficulty achieving orgasm. So you're saying half your target market identifies with asexuality?" somebody said disbelievingly.
"Not at all," Gordon said. "Our market is as horny as anyone seeking sex toys. They have all the hormones."
Amidst the general laughter, Charli muttered, "Why is it that men have libidos, but women have hormones?"
"What?" The redheaded candidate turned to her. She was nice-looking in a sleek, poised, lawyerish sort of way. But her lips were thinned and she seemed unhappy.
"We're at the mercy of our hormones, while men are made powerful by their libidos," Charli said. "It's just the way we talk about it. Maybe that's not really the way it is, but it makes us sound bad."
"I've never thought of it that way," the woman said, frowning.
"I'm Charli, by the way."
"Elizabeth."
I guess we're both here to audition. Are―um―are you feeling okay?"
"I'm fine, except this is the last place I want to be."
"Really?" Charli asked, but then she caught what Gordon was saying.
"...We simply designed the machine to meet a particular challenge―the effects of the various stressors that can make it difficult for women to satisfy themselves." He then went on to cite percentages of orgasms among different demographics, and Charli tuned him out.
So two women will be selected out of us five. One will have a hard time getting off, the other will have a hard time holding off.
Her face darkened. She had a good idea which slot Draken had put her into.
"What's going to happen now?" someone asked.
"The itinerary is over there on the table; grab yourself a copy, because we'll be following it pretty strictly today. First you'll get to examine the Robasm close-up. Then we'll be wheeling it into the lab and each candidate will be getting a private session with it. Ah, well, to be accurate I should say, semi-private. The R&D team will be in attendance, and we'll also be streaming the session onto the screen here, so you can see what's going on in the lab." Gordon pointed to a large screen behind him.
"So we'll be watching porn all day?" someone laughed.
"Actually for these trials, we're respecting the candidates' privacy," Gordon said gently and surprisingly. "The candidates will remain mostly clothed while they're mounted on the Robasm and the cameras will focus on their faces. Those actually in the room will see a bit more, and there will also be filming of the juicy parts―" he chuckled―"but those are for editorial review only. The teams will use the footage to determine angles and photogenicity in the various campaigns..."
Charli could not for the life of her close her jaw at the matter-of-fact way this Gordon guy was talking about watching a bunch of women getting fucked by a robotic dildo. Apparently she and the other women were going to be sitting in that robotic monstrosity of a chair and getting their parts stroked while everyone in the room watched their reactions via video streaming.
Unbelievable. She'd had no idea sex toys were even this much of a thing. Or robots.
Could she do it?
No way.
No. Way.
Except...
No.
Although...
While Charli vacillated, she found herself exchanging uncertain looks with Elizabeth. The pretty redhead's eyes had narrowed. She's even more confused than I am.
Charli wondered about that. She sort of knew why she herself was here―she was pretty much Draken's sex puppet by now, and she'd been lured by the prospect of seeing him. But why was Elizabeth here?
"You're saying Almatto himself is going to be here?" someone shouted.
"He said he would," Gordon answered. "This is his baby―actually, Draken was a co-developer―and I know he'll want to watch the Robasm in action. In fact―well, speak of the devil!"
Charli turned with everyone else to see Draken Almatto stride in through the double doors, accompanied by his assistant, Matthew.
Chapter 3
The breath left Charli's lungs. The two men, one auburn-haired and very tall, the other dirty blond and nearly as tall, looked terrifyingly hot together. Draken was wearing a deep brown pinstriped suit. He seemed impossibly gorgeous, his body splendidly tapered from his wide shoulders, just like he'd stepped out of a men's fashion magazine. He was scanning the room. And the moment he saw Charli, he grinned.
Matthew saw her, too, nodded politely―and then lit on the redhead next to her. And for the first time, Charli saw evidence of the playboy she'd been told lurked behind the mild-mannered assistant facade. His lips quirked and he folded his arms and leaned toward Draken, whispering something in Draken's ear. Draken frowned and shook his head.
Charli glanced quickly at Elizabeth and was startled to see her pale face freezing into chilling dismay at the sight of the two men.
No, not the two men. Matthew.
Interesting.
Draken and Matthew stopped a good twelve feet away after a lighthearted exchange with Gordon that Charli was too bowled over by the men's appearance to follow. She kept shooting glances at Draken, but he didn't look her way again. He was holding his phone.
A minute later, her phone buzzed. Heart pounding, sh
e reached into her purse.
Draken Almatto: Panties?
Charli Fontina: What about them?
Draken Almatto: Wearing them?
Charli Fontina: What do you think?
Draken Almatto: Good girl. So you know what you're here for now. Going to stay?
Charli Fontina: Considering it.
Draken Almatto: It pays well.
Charli Fontina: You know, if I were that mercenary, I'd have chosen banking, not modeling.
Draken Almatto: Demo-ing, not modeling. Still think you'd make a great pussy model.
Charli Fontina: So what do I have to do exactly?
Draken Almatto: Ask the man. I just work here.
Charli Fontina: Don't you want me to win the job?
Draken Almatto: Don't fucking care.
Draken Almatto: Just want to see you on the machine blushing in front of all these people. You. Will. Be. So. Gorgeous.
Charli Fontina: Perv.
Draken Almatto: You better believe it.
***
To Charli's relief, she wasn't called to the first audition. By the time Gordon announced the first name and one of the blondes accompanied him and a group of people in lab coats out of the room, Charli had gone on a tour around the pleasure robot like everyone else. Now she was both dreading her turn and excited.
The machine had lots of arms. Lots of extensions and attachments. Despite all the padding, its steel and forms made it look frighteningly medical.
Draken walked up to her after she came down from the stage, his eyes twinkling.
"Hello, Mr. Almatto," she said, unable to contain her smile.
"Why, hello, Ms. Fontina," he said, and flashed a professional smile at somebody nearby. When the person had passed, he clasped his arms behind his back and murmured, "What do you think?"
"It looks scary. I think it needs to be soft colors."
"It will be," he said. He wasn't touching her or looking at her. Still, his proximity had its usual effects on her body. Her nipples stabbed outward and her pussy swelled. Most of all, her heart was now pounding. Draken was here, and life was suddenly more interesting. "It's getting a cosmetic makeover. Pink and lilac."
"It's pretty huge."
"Nowhere the size it was originally. It's actually no larger than a recliner or a treadmill."
"Just scarier."
His brow lifted. "I promise you, Ms. Fontina. After one use, the sight of the Robasm should make you excited when you see it. It's designed to take care of your every need. That's also what we want to accomplish with the product demos. We want everyone who buys one to see what it can do in action before they receive it. When they look at it, they'll think mind-blowing orgasm."
"You're serious," she said, lowering her voice and looking around her. "You really made this thing. And you're going to sell it to people. Even though they can't hide it in a drawer or behind a curtain or whatever."
"Very serious. It will be the most sophisticated sex toy on the market. People will display it proudly. Some will even buy it purely as a conversation piece. The interest we've had worldwide has been frankly stunning. Market projections have surpassed ATS's most profitable contracts in the first year alone."
"Good for you," she mumbled.
"No. Good for you and other women." He assessed her, lingering on her legs pressed tightly together as she stood there shifting uncomfortably. He reached out and adjusted her glasses higher on her nose. "Glad to see you've been following the rules, Ms. Fontina. You're going to have a fantastic time today."
"Oh." She had wanted to ask more questions about the Robasm, but his last statement derailed that.
Draken drifted away then. After she watched the Robasm being wheeled away, Nancy from her office appeared. Charli managed to fend off her questions, but she dreaded the woman's reporting back to everyone back at the office that Charli was auditioning to demo the Robasm.
The natives began to get restless as the large screen on the stage remained blank. Spotting Elizabeth standing next to Matthew, Charli walked over to them, pausing only when she realized she was interrupting a private conversation.
"―not what I meant," Elizabeth was hissing. "I never expected something like this."
"But it's just what you need," Matthew said soothingly. "Welcome, Ms. Fontina. I'm glad you could come for an audition today."
"Hi, Matthew. Hi, again," she said to Elizabeth. "Am I interrupting something?"
"Not at all," Matthew said. "Charli Fontina, this is Elizabeth Armitage-Gauthier, a long-time friend of the family. Elizabeth, Charli does contract work for us at ATS."
"We've met," Elizabeth said coolly. Then she smiled tightly. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude. This is not the best time for me."
"You don't really want to be here, do you?" Charli asked curiously.
Elizabeth shook her head. "No. I'm only here because Matthew dared me."
"You're here," Matthew said mildly, "because you're stubborn as a mule, my love."
"I won't take your money, Matthew Harmon," Elizabeth said. "Not on your terms."
"I am interrupting," Charli said, backing up and pushing up her glasses when they almost slipped off her nose entirely.
"Not at all, Ms. Fontina," Matthew said courteously. "As I said, Eliza, stubborn. I've offered you an opportunity to earn the money you need, and all I hear are complaints."
"Auditioning with the Robasm?" Elizabeth's soft voice was thick with disbelief. "That's what you consider an opportunity?"
"You're really here on a dare?" Charli said at the same time.
Elizabeth shrugged. "It's a long story."
"The pay is excellent," Matthew said. "No strings attached. A hundred thousand up front, another hundred thousand for special video rights."
A stir around them alerted Charli. Her gaze flew to the projection screen. Now it had an image on it. A few seconds later, there was sound. The blond woman's tinny voice said, "Yes, I'm comfortable, thanks."
"Um," Charli said, staring at the close-up of the blond woman's face on the screen. You could see everything―her eyes, her nostrils, her flawless skin―and most of all, her expression. Those features had been utterly confident and composed a few minutes ago, but there was a bit of uncertainty now.
Out of the corner of her eye, Charli saw that Elizabeth's gaze, too, was transfixed to the screen. As was everyone else's. The entire room had quieted and stilled.
After a few minutes had passed without much happening, most of the people in the room who were there to observe had turned back to their conversations and activities. All the other interviewees had, too. Not Charli. She found herself standing alone and staring at the screen, hooked by the subtly changing emotions in the woman's face.
Surprise. Dismay. Relief. Curiosity.
Alarm.
The gamut of emotions Charli observed, coupled with the slight mechanical whirring sounds, while not being able to witness exactly what the Robasm was doing to the blonde's body, was disturbing. Yet the transmitted conversation sounded very pragmatic. Does that fit? Put it around here. Just raise it a few inches.
"Whoa," said a deep voice softly behind her. It was Draken.
"I―I thought you were participating," Charli said, aware suddenly of her nipples.
"I'll be going in in a sec," Draken said absently. "She's being fitted to the machine. First they had to drape on the sani-sleeves. Normally the user gets naked, but for hygiene and time reasons we're doing it this way. Fucking erotic, isn't it?"
"What is?"
"Just seeing her face."
"She's beautiful," Charli said.
"Exquisite," Draken said. "But I was talking about her facial expressions. Although they're nothing to yours, Charli, glasses and all. And in a little while, everybody in this room will know that your most innocent, wide-eyed look is rated X."
She frowned, not sure what that meant.
"All right, Ms. Fontina. I have to go in there. I see you're already pretty excited about this. You're
going to stay and wait to be called?"
"Probably," she said, reddening and checking to see if they were being overheard. "I...I guess I'm curious. I've hardly ever...ah...used sex toys, though. I mean, there was last week, but...are you sure you want me to do this, Mr. Almatto?"
"Positively sure, Ms. Fontina." He bent down and whispered in her ear, "I'm hard as stone in my pants just thinking about fitting you to the Robasm. It's been all I could do not to throw you over my shoulder and dismiss everyone. But you'll like this. Lots of people to gawk at you, my little exhibitionist."
That did it. She was too wet not to stay. The decision had been made for her by her pussy. Not that she was going to admit that he had her number. "Do we have to spend the whole day here while everyone else gets interviewed?"
"Mm, yes. I want you to watch the screen carefully during the auditions, so you might as well take a seat and get comfortable." His voice turned husky, making her shiver.
"Why do you care?"
He stroked her cheek. "I want you anticipating, baby. Because we both know this will make you wet enough to last through the weekend. When Monday comes around, you're going to be begging for that orgasm."
She bit her lip and turned her head to look at him. "Won't I get one today?"
"An orgasm? No, not today, darling. Not if everything works as it should."
"Oh, hell," she blurted, and he laughed.
"You'll come very close, though," he said, and Charli took it as a threat, though his tone said it was a promise.
"W―when will I be called?"
"I have no idea. Gordon's handling that."
Damn, damn, damn.
She stared after him after he left, wondering if anybody had seen the attention he'd paid her. A quick scan of the room said they definitely had. People were staring and remarking to each other. She groaned inwardly. She didn't want to be known as Draken Almatto's fuck toy.
As far as watching the screen...it wasn't as bad as Draken had said. It was worse.
Her Alpha Lover: A Draken and Charli Boxed Set Page 13
