Chapter 15

120

Kaitlin woke up gasping. Heat pulsed in the depths of her body. As she blinked the sleep from her eyes, she could only hold onto the dream’s edges, but edges were enough.

Tony’s hands. Ai’s lips. She didn’t remember what they’d done in the dream except make her squirm, but they’d been so, so good at that. So good, she was still squirming, even just from a fraction of a memory.

Damn it. She needed to clear her head. A walk on the beach would do some good. The drone floated at her side; she almost never left it behind.

She chose a stretch of beach which sat in an early-morning zone. It felt like the hour or so after dawn, when the air was brisk and fresh, and the sky was slightly dim. The little bit of chill helped to wake her up; her bikini did little to shield her from it. Yet just a hill away, there was the warmer span where she and Ai had walked together.

Where Ai had asked Kaitlin to lose her top. Where she’d wanted Kaitlin to walk around in such immodesty, had enjoyed watching her.

Would Tony enjoy it too?

No. No, no, bad thought. Kaitlin slapped her cheeks to wake herself up and banish the thought from her mind. She made sure her top was neat and secure before she started the drone recording.

She waved at the camera. “Hey guys! You did it. You won the League. Tony’s done all his exams.” But she’d already gushed enough about their ass-kicking. She had a different point. “So what are you going to do now?”

She drew her hands behind her neck, fingers interlocked. “Let’s be honest. It’s Saturday and you’ve been working crazy-hard for weeks. You’re not going to want to leave bed today. And that’s fine! Saturdays are for sleeping in.” She would be, if that dream wasn’t still tingling in her skin.

No, no, don’t think about that. She shook herself. “But after that, here’s what you should do: have fun. Make the most of it. Ai, go for that beach trip. Have a picnic. Something like that.” She smiled, a soft thought coming to her heart. “It’s like we’re all on vacation together. Let’s make it a good one, yeah?”

A buzz in her head interrupted her train of thought. “Another call coming in. Talk soon! Love you!” She blew the drone a kiss just before ending the message, then answered the call.

(Kaitlin. Are you still up? Busy? I have an idea.) Carla sounded wired.

Kaitlin blinked. (Uh, I’m up. What’s on your mind?)

(Relive, ) Carla said. (I’ve spent most of the night looking over what he’s sent the office. Good stuff. Have a couple of questions you can—)

(Hold up, ) Kaitlin said. (Most of the night? Carla, it’s morning.)

Carla paused. (So it is. Anyway. This program, is it a big install?)

(Uh, no. I just have it in my personal partition.) When Kaitlin’s SOUL moved, the Relive program would go with her.

(Perfect.) Carla’s giddy tone reminded her of when Tony had a big idea. (See, it occurred to me. We know the playback works on synthetic brains, but what about the recording? The way he does it, the compression suspension, I want to see how well that transfers.)

(Uh-huh.) Kaitlin had trouble keeping up, but she did catch some. (So you want a copy to try out?)

(Oh, I have a better idea than that.) That tone didn’t remind her of Tony. It reminded her of being on her knees in Get Hooked. (Do you have any plans for today?)

Try to resist the urge to masturbate while thinking about her brother. (Uh, no, nothing specific.)

(Good. I can be at your hotel room in ten minutes.)

Kaitlin turned her stroll to head ‘home’. (See you then.) Surely, Carla could get Kaitlin’s mind off ... things.

121

“Talk soon! Love you!” Kaitlin blew a kiss, and the window froze, the video over.

Tony and Ai had found the message waiting when they woke up, and curled up together to watch it from bed.

Ai lifted a hand. Her fingers traced the empty air in front of the image. “She looks good in that bikini.”

“Y-Yeah, she does.” Tony still struggled. Yes, he liked how Kaitlin looked. But it still disoriented him to praise another woman’s body, right in front of his lover. Let alone to have his lover do it first. “She really is made for the beach, in that body.”

“Correct.” Ai lay her head on his chest and shamelessly escalated. “How do you think she would look without the bikini?”

Good question. Would she be tanned like that all over, or would pale lines mark off her more private skin? That thought jumped into Tony’s head before he remembered to be embarrassed about it. Then he shot Ai a blushing glare.

Her smile was just a little too playful to be innocent. “She’s pretty to look at,” she echoed. “I know you’d look at her in swimwear.” She kissed his chest and started her soft way downward. “Would you look at her in lingerie? If she allowed it, would you look at her naked?”

Each suggestion put an image in Tony’s head. What lingerie would Kaitlin wear? He knew the shape of her body, but how different would it look with Kaitlin wearing it, driving it? Those images stirred him just as much as Ai’s kisses, and his breath grew short. “Why are you teasing me like this?”

“Because it’s so effective.” Her whisper tickled across his abdomen. Her fingers curled around his length, swollen by her touches and suggestions.

Positioned like she was, she could only have planned one thing. That prediction heightened Tony’s anticipation, until he cried out before her mouth touched him. It started with a lick, broad and experimental as it ran along the bottom of his shaft. Wet and textured, the touch made him gasp; and when she hummed with appreciation, those vibrations made him groan.

Several more licks followed, each slightly different, trying new ways of pleasing him. She was still learning, but she learned with the eagerness of someone fascinated by her ... subject. Swirling licks sent more heat through him and pulled hotter moans from his lips, so she focused on those, her tongue gracing every angle of him.

But for a long while, she just licked. That felt good, but it was a trickle of pleasure that wouldn’t keep up with his needs, let alone his wants. He ran his fingers through her hair, so silky under his fingers. “Your mouth,” he murmured. “On me.” He didn’t push her, didn’t force her.

She didn’t need him to. She took that little bit of guidance and moved over him. At first, she just held her mouth wide open: around him but not on him, in a way that surrounded him with a feeling of heat, of breath heaving around him, while her tongue continued. She’d gained confidence in that, her tongue graceful as it circled around his head. Then, finally, her mouth closed.

Soft, smooth lips held him just below the ridge. He’d kissed them so many times, but now he felt them in a whole new way. That alone made him arch, made his hips rise. Then she actually got started.

Soft suction, more like gentle nursing than anything else, pulled on him. Warm, appreciative hums vibrated through her lips and tongue and into his shaft. And all the while, her tongue kept roaming, enjoying every inch of him. Ai’s attention was delicate, elegant; it took its time in building his pleasure. He relaxed into it, his hand playing through her hair. Not for control, but just for affection, to feel her move without directing it.

Her gentle approach only built his pleasure slowly ... but it still built. Tony felt the knot tighten deep inside, his breath coming hotter, turning into heavy moans. Hearing it, feeling how he throbbed, she knew what was approaching; and she purred with excitement. She wanted him to finish.

That encouragement helped him over the line. The slow way she’d built his pleasure filled him all the way to the brim before it finally spilled over. His whole body quaked with it. While he jolted under her, her lips sealed and squeezed tighter, holding every twitch, catching every gushing spasm, and humming with her own joy.

Even when he slumped back, she wasn’t quite done enjoying herself. She lifted off him with her eyes softly closed, her lips tightly shut, her cheeks bulging out. Gulp by gulp, she emptied her mouth — then sighed happily and gave him a serene smile. “I like salty flavours.”

He laughed, the sound mingling with his wearied gasps. “I’ll give you that one any time.” He sat up and kissed her, not caring about the traces on her lips; he just wanted to feel her lips under his.

She laughed, leaning into him, her arms around his neck. “Kaitlin was half-right about something. I don’t want to leave bed all day.” Her smile brushed across his ear. “But I’ve had enough sleep.”

Even so soon after release, that sounded good. But while Ai had exuberance and eagerness, Tony had a bit more experience. “That sounds impractical. We’ll need to eat at some point.”

“My roller can bring things in,” she said. “My kitchen extensions are sufficient.”

He shook his head, amused. Time would tell, and meanwhile. “Speaking of extensions. I want to introduce you to some things.” He moved to the bed’s edge.

She caught him, hugging his arm to her chest, and pulled him back. “Not. Leaving. Bed.”

He laughed, but relented. Instead of getting out of the bed, he lay flat on his front, stretched an arm around, and pulled his little box from underneath and onto the bed.

She tilted her head, uncertain as she looked at the contents. “I’ve used toys before.”

Oh, he would so need to hear more about that later. For now, he just smiled and pulled out a few: a glove, a wand, and a wide, stretchy ring. “You haven’t had them with me. And you haven’t had me with them. They’re like force multipliers.” He strapped on the glove, tightening it into a perfect fit around his right hand.

She chewed her lip. His confidence, and her curiosity, overcame her uncertainty. She touched the glove, probing the leather texture. “What does this do?”

122

Kaitlin got back to her hotel with a few minutes to spare. Long enough to stand in front of her wardrobe and wonder if she should get changed. What could Carla have in mind? Another club date, like at Get Hooked? A restaurant dinner? Something relaxed at the beach or right there in her room?

While she was still wondering, Carla came in. She smiled. “Good.” She set her bag down by the door. “Get in bed.”

Kaitlin coughed, blinking. “Well that’s direct.” Yet, she still at least sat on the bed’s edge.

Carla joined her, lying flat on her back, and gave her an odd look. “How else would you do it?”

Kaitlin laughed. “You know how many answers that question has. On the couch, bent over the bathroom sink, up against a wall...”

Carla took her turn to blink, peering up at her. “Transferring SOUL while you’re upright, even leaning against a wall, is a terrible idea.”

“Transferring... oh!” Cheeks hot, Kaitlin hurried down next to Carla. Now the plan made sense; they didn’t need to put Relive in that body if they put Kaitlin in it. She peered at Carla’s face in profile. “I’ve ... never been in a synth body before.”

Carla smiled at her. Such a smile — the intellectual intensity that made her think of Tony, but also the erotic playfulness that made her squirm. “Then this will be even more fun. Come on; let’s swap, and we’ll give you something worth reliving.”

123

Ai peered at the glove fitted tightly on Tony’s hand. Black leather, like a shiny second skin, except for dark grey pads on the fingertips. She sat up more, resting on her heels. One hand ran along the glove, feeling its soft, slightly coarse texture. “What does this do?”

Tony smiled at her. The same smile as when he’d first ordered pizza for her: eagerness to show her a new experience, something he thought she would like. Just like then, he didn’t just tell her what to expect. He showed her. Then, he had lifted a slice to her mouth; now, he just touched her with his gloved hand.

The leathery texture had felt interesting under her fingertips. It felt nicer as it slid across her shoulder and down her chest. She leaned up into it out of reflex, offering her breast to his hand.

He gave her one cupping squeeze. That showed her the pads and how they felt firm, just a little hard. Then he held her nipple delicately between forefinger and thumb...

... and those pads vibrated.

Ai gasped and jolted towards it, her body craving more. It wasn’t her first time feeling a vibration on her nipple, but this was different. Before, even though it hadn’t come from a part of her body, she had still been in control of it. The toys were extensions of herself.

The glove was an extension of Tony.

He gave her a few more pulses, each one forcing a gasp from her lungs and leaving her heart burning with need. Then the vibration cut, leaving her with the smooth, firm pads held around her peak. “That’s what the glove does,” he said. His meaning was clear, and it sent quivers through her body. That was just the start.

He took her hand, held so gently in that leather grip. He kissed her fingertip and down to her palm, soft affection sending a different kind of shiver in its wake. As he rested his mouth on her palm, he raised the wand.

The grip fit well in his hand, and kept his thumb and forefinger in reach of hard controls: a dial and a trigger. A violet stripe ran along the black shaft, leading the eye towards the two metal tines at the tip. Those tines felt cool and hard as they touched either side of her fingertip.

When he pulled the trigger, it jolted her with electricity. A tiny voltage, too little for a visible spark, but it still made her tense, made her hand curl forwards. So fascinatingly involuntary. More of those jolts continued down her finger, to her palm; though her muscles flinched from pure reflex, she offered herself to the new feelings regardless.

He stopped there. His kisses teased along her wrist, his blue eyes locked onto her face with bright, intense focus. “Did you like that?”

“Uh-huh.” Between her gasps and her passion, that was the closest she came to forming words.

“Good.” The heat in his voice shot right to her soul. While he still held her hand, he moved the wand to her chest. The tines felt just a little warm as they touched the lower swell of her breast. Even having them touching somewhere so sensitive made her bite her lip, made her tense with anticipation.

She had a few seconds to catch her breath. Even so, she wasn’t prepared for the intensity of having electricity running through her breast. It made her scream, the sound layering pleasure and not-quite-pain.

As the shock ended, he leaned into her, urging her backwards. It wasn’t aggressive, wasn’t forceful, but it was so easy for her to just melt for him and let him guide the way. She sank onto her back, and with his guidance, parted her thighs. The next jolts hit along her inner thigh, making her jerk towards them, but that wasn’t all.

Tony had two hands, and no reason to use only one at once. His padded fingers pushed inside her. She squealed for them even before they started vibrating; then, that rumble inside her had her crying aloud, writhing, tension ready to break. And he still wasn’t done. The toys were extensions of him, but he still had his own body at his disposal. While he shocked her thigh and vibrated inside her, his mouth wrapped around her clitoris and suckled far more fiercely than she had given him.

It just wasn’t fair. The combined assault pushed her off a cliff, and he kept pushing. If she’d used those toys on herself, orgasm — especially an orgasm that hard — would have at least distracted her. But while she wailed, he kept up the attack, hot, relentless.

He didn’t stop until her cries turned into soft, tired mewls. Then he finally switched the toys off and hugged her from above, softly around her waist.

Worn out as she was, she could only limply receive it and gasp for breath. “That one,” she said. “We should send that to Belladonna.” Let the hacker envy her.

Tony whined, hiding his face against her neck. “Later.”

She laughed. With some effort, she found enough strength to lift her arm and stroke his hair. But while her body needed rest, her mind put itself back together. “You have one more toy. That big ring. What is it?”

Thinking about sharing it with her rather than about Belladonna, he smiled. “That one’s my favourite.”

He drew back from her, enough for her to see what he did. He stretched the ring’s band and put it not around his finger, but the base of his manhood. He’d long since recovered from spending himself in her mouth, and again stood firm and tall.

And again, he just showed her what the toy could do. He came close between her thighs and slid easily into her sopping wet entrance. Just being filled with his flesh sent an exhausted thrill through her; but at the deepest part of that thrust, the ring touched her entrance. Part of it snaked out, stretched up, and pressed right onto her pearl. It pulsed with a few swift vibrations, things which ran down his length as well as conducting straight into her.

She squealed with sensation, hips jerking forward ... but then they sank back again, limp on the bed. She whined, just like when they’d had pizza, and she couldn’t eat as much as she’d wanted to.

He kissed her while he pulled back and out. “We’ll have that to look forward to. For now, I need to get up.”

She whined again, weakly pulling on his arm. “Bed!”

He laughed. Though he could have easily just pulled away, he sat with her a moment longer, smiling down at her. “I have other biological needs, dear. The roller can’t bring the bathroom to me.”

Damn. That was a good point.

“Besides.” He kissed her cheek. “If we stay in bed all day, how will we have sex on the couch, or bent over the bathroom sink, or up against a wall?

That convinced her. She released his arm. “We’ll get started on those after breakfast.”

124

After a brief out-of-body experience, Kaitlin and Carla swapped places. Sliding into the new body was simple and smooth, like putting on a jacket. That, Katilin thought, was why they called it ‘resleeving’. If anything, it felt even smoother to move into that synthetic body.

She heard a series of tones, just like Tony’s computer; and then she opened her new eyes and sat up. She felt almost weightless, with how readily the body moved.

Carla didn’t have so easy a time of it. She yawned as she sat up, blinking. Kaitlin hadn’t been so tired, but Carla had just pulled an all-nighter. She looked down at herself. “Been a while since I was both biological and female.” She poked one breast. “Or this busty. How do you handle these things?”

Kaitlin laughed. Carla had already had her hands all over those breasts; there was nothing to be shy about there. “If we were talking about my birth sleeve, I’d say ‘they grew on me’.” It was strange to feel a different voice in her throat. She put one hand to her neck. “I’ve been wondering something.” She was never sure how to raise a topic like gender. “Are you, um, femme? Or...?”

“Fluid,” Carla said without hesitation. “Some days I feel more masculine, some days more feminine. Though I’m always more comfortable in a synth sleeve. Biology is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.”

Kaitlin smiled. “Ironic.” She caught herself staring at Carla. She’d had a few weeks to get used to that body, and it disoriented her to look at ‘herself’ from the outside.

She knew what she had to do. “Hang on a sec.” Getting to her feet and crossing the room was just as smooth as sitting up. Though her legs — though her whole body was so much longer than it had been, she trusted the body to know how to move.

In the bathroom, she peered into the mirror. Carla’s slightly tomboyish face peered back at her with deep, black eyes. Her hair had turned all black too, and fell in a chin-length bob cut. No makeup, not even the appearance of it; but it was all so nicely-constructed, so well-made.

Kaitlin hooked her fingers into the mouth’s corners and stuck her tongue out at the mirror.

From the doorway, Carla asked, “What are you doing?”

Other people didn’t usually see Kaitlin’s little resleeving ritual. She blushed; if anything, it felt warmer on that robotic face. Like a fluorescent bulb. “It’s just ... this thing I do with a new body. Funny faces. I do a few, and I feel like I can really own the face in the mirror, you know?”

“Huh. I usually just ... deal with it.” Carla stood next to Kaitlin, looking into the mirror. And she gave it a try, fingers pinching and pulling at her cheeks.

That was just the start. They kept going, escalating their expressions and trying to fight off laughter, until finally they broke into fits of giggling. But they acclimated. Even wearing each other’s faces, Kaitlin was Kaitlin and Carla was Carla.

Carla shook her head, smiling. That smile — relaxed, with neutral eyebrows — looked like Carla, even on that face. “I’ll have to remember that one.” She turned to face Kaitlin, looking her up and down. “Now ... synth body. What do you think so far?”

“It’s funny.” Kaitlin closed her eyes, to focus on sensation. “Mostly that it doesn’t feel funny. I feel ... a little sleepy. Not hungry, but a little thirsty. Not enough to be ... uncomfortable?”

Carla nodded. “Discomfort suppression. It’s standard on all our synth bodies, and enabled by default. Low power, dehydration, pain, temperature extremes ... you’re aware of them, but it’s not unpleasant.” She stepped behind Kaitlin. “An EC, especially, is all about pleasant feelings.” The shorter woman stretched up, breasts pillowed into Kaitlin’s back, and nipped her ear.

It was like a bolt of lightning that started a wildfire in Kaitlin’s body. She had an association with nibbling on her ear, that was one thing, but this?

“Fuck,” she whispered. “Have your ears been like that this whole time?”

“Actually, no.” Carla relaxed, standing with her face more comfortably at upper-back height. “I set that up just for you. Custom erogenous zone mapping, one of an EC’s special features.” She spoke those last two words with such promise. Kaitlin was going to get intimately familiar with those features.

She knew just where to start.

Two minutes later, she had Carla on the hotel bed, pinned eagerly on her back. While she stripped away the bikini, a hot, breathless kiss kept them both squirming. Breathless — what an observation. With those soft lips caving under hers, with the electric spark of shared passion conducting through her, Kaitlin felt a kind of excitement that should have made her gasp for breath.

But even breathing twice as hard was still zero. The new body just didn’t need the air. Its power source didn’t beat a rhythm she could feel pulsing in her veins. Yet, losing those bits of biology did nothing to reduce her experience of excitement. Kissing Carla still thrilled her, still urged her onwards into more, more, more.

Then the bikini was gone. Nothing stood in her way. Kaitlin brought her hand between Carla’s thighs and plunged her fingers inside her. She knew just the right force, just the right angle: she knew just how that body liked it.

After a few quick flicks of Kaitlin’s wrist, Carla broke the kiss. She did need to gasp, and needed her mouth free to whine with pleasure. “Oh god, oh god, oh god...”

And Kaitlin was just getting started. Let’s see, how did she work this...

It felt so much like shaking her hand around — a simple, user-friendly trigger. But it made her hand vibrate, rumbling inside Carla and pulling a squeal from her lips. As much as lust and an urge to pleasure, fascination drove Kaitlin. How much faster could she go?

She only got to experiment for a few minutes. Soon, Carla’s moans turned into overwhelmed shrieks of pleasure; her writhing turned into uncontrolled spasms. As much as Kaitlin would have loved to make her ride those fingers into the sunset, she slowed things down and let her finish her climax gracefully.

It took a lot out of Carla; she was left slumped back and gasping. “Fuck that was good. Best idea I’ve had all month. Next, we should—” But she cut herself off with a yawn, and frowned at her own limitations. The spirit was willing, but the flesh was tired.

Kaitlin giggled while she wiped tissues across her hand. “You just pulled an all-nighter. I woke up early. And you don’t have discomfort suppression anymore.” God, was she acting like a smug, superior synth? Such a stereotype. But now that she’d tried it out, she could see why they’d be so smug about features like those.

Carla grumbled. “It’s not that...” But before she could say ‘bad’, she was yawning again, and pouting over it.

Kaitlin pushed her shoulders down to keep her from sitting up. “You need a nap. Honestly, we both do.” She turned and rolled, curling herself in close beside Carla. “And I’m ... kind of curious just what sleeping is like in this body.” She grinned at Carla and waggled her eyebrows. “Come on. Sleep with me?”

Carla snorted a laugh, smiling at her. “If you ask like that, how can I possibly say no?”

125

Tony and Ai explored for hours. It was a process of experimentation and discovery, and not just for her. Yes, she had a lot to learn about what she wanted from a lover in general; but Tony had to discover just what he liked best with her, and they had to learn what worked best for them as a pair. Every lover was different. Sex with Ai wouldn’t be like sex with Sonia, or with anyone else who’d come before; it would be something wonderfully, gloriously new.

Across so, so many trials, they narrowed down their favourites. Their favourite position was anything that kept them face to face, kept them able to look into each other’s eyes and share that layer of closeness. Their favourite toy was a toss-up between the glove and the ring. Electricity was nice sometimes, but Ai couldn’t get enough of the vibrations. Their favourite place was probably either the bed or the shower, but they went back to the couch one more time to see if it was worth more than an honourable mention.

They were between sessions, and rested together on the couch, cuddling closely. That was another favourite: sharing in glowing affection afterwards. They sometimes lingered for a while in that embrace, even when they were ready for another round. Rejuv didn’t leave Tony with much downtime.

Then Ai suddenly straightened. She blinked, her eyes distant. “We have a visitor, Tony.”

A window popped into view and showed him the lobby. Nita stood waving at the camera, wearing a fishnet shirt over a black bra and tiny miniskirt. “Hey Ai! You around, girl? I need your opinion on something.”

Tony grumbled. He wouldn’t actually send Nita away or pretend not to be home or anything like that, but he could still complain about the interruption. Even though the day they’d had so far would still be a respectable amount of ‘fun’ if they’d spread it out over two months. “Tell her we’ll be, like, five minutes. Looks like we’ll have to put some clothes on today after all.”

Ai buzzed the elevator open. (I’m here. Come up, then wait five minutes.) Ai didn’t want to break the track record they had going, either. She gave him a shyly pensive look. “Maybe not. She has ... already seen me.” Her tone suggested there was some story behind that. As Tony kept looking at her, she ducked her head. “She and I ... played around. Tuesday morning. Not quite ‘making out’, but close.” She looked like she was just realising that she should probably feel guilty.

But ... why should she? He looked deeply into her eyes, trying to see past the outermost layers of regret. He ran a hand over her cheek. “Did you have fun?”

She startled for him, eyes going wide. With that touch, he could feel that blush ... and feel her skin moving against his fingers, when she nodded. “You’re not upset?”

“No.” The answer came so easily to him. He never would have guessed it after what had happened with Sonia and Rico ... but that was a long time ago, and this was a wholly different context. “It wasn’t cheating, Ai. Hell, I’d given you every reason to believe that this would never happen. And...” He bit his lip, blushing just from thinking what he was about to admit, but he still said it aloud. “N-Nita and I have never been each other’s type, but that mental image is ... kind of nice.”

She knew exactly what kind of ‘nice’ he meant. They’d been resting together for a few minutes by then, long enough for him to recover ... and the thoughts had him swelling against her, right where she could feel him pressing against her abdomen. Eagerness gleamed in her eyes — Ai was insatiable.

But they didn’t even have five minutes anymore. And even if Nita had seen Ai, she hadn’t seen Tony; they still needed to cover up.